This month’s featured titles include:

NEW! Lawyer Law: Comparing the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct with the ALI Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers / by Thomas D. Morgan. American Bar Association, 2005
Call Number KF 306 .M67 2005

Morgan identifies 200 important issues in the field of legal ethics and examines what the two authoritative sources have to say about them. The issues are organized into six broad chapters: Regulation of the Legal Profession; The Client-Lawyer Relationship; Issues in Client Confidentiality; Issues in Conflicts of Interest; The Lawyer’s Duties to Tribunals and Nonclients; and Operation of a Law Practice.

For each issue, the author provides an introduction to put it in context, suggests policy choices faced in formulating the various rules, and identifies any important differences between the Model Rules and Restatement treatment of the issue. The full text of the relevant sections from the Model Rules and Restatement are then shown in contrasting font to help the reader distinguish which resource is being quoted or referenced. Finally, a few relevant cases are cited to help the reader begin his/her research.

NEW EDITION! Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual, 4th Edition / by L. Michael Tobin and Patrick J. Devitt. State Bar of Wisconsin CLE Books, 2005
Call Number KFW 2975 .D48 C74

First published in 1981, the Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual is intended to serve as a practice guide for attorneys. Fourth Edition updates include:

• Statutory citations updated through the 2003-04 legislative session
• Wisconsin Administrative Code citations updated through Administrative Register No. 591 (March 15, 2005)
• Expanded Checklist of Time Limitations with additional statutory citations
• Expanded Authorization for Release of Health Care and Other Records Form
• Added discussion on trust accounts
• Sample fee agreements revised to reflect the difference between nonrefundable fixed fee arrangements and hourly fee arrangements
• Expanded discussion of requests for substitution of judge
• Expanded discussion of bifurcated prison sentences to include information on procedures for early release under Truth in Sentencing II
• New Forms with commentary and instructions:
• Motion for Competency Examination
• Motion for Psychological Examination of Complaining Witness Motion to Transport Prisoner and related forms
• Motion for Certificate Regarding Out-of-State Witness
• And much more!

Check our library catalog for availability of these or other materials you may need. For additional assistance, please contact our Reference Desk.

Email Overload: How to Cope

Guessing the number of email messages in my inbox is a little like guessing the number of jellybeans in a big jar. There are just too many to count! Email overload is a common workplace problem; so much so that there are entire books written on it and academic teams dedicated to finding solutions.

There are also numerous websites that offer tips for taming your inbox. But chances are that if you’re struggling with the burden of 1000 email messages, you don’t have time to surf the web for organizational tips. To get you started, here are a few suggestions from the experts:

• Delete unwanted message at least once a week. Schedule a regular time (daily or weekly) to manage your inbox.
• Learn to use folders and filters. Create folders to sort messages and keep your inbox clean. Set up rules to filter newsletters and discussion lists into folders so they skip your inbox entirely.
• Schedule a time (daily or weekly) to read listserv messages and e-news.
• Consider reading email only once a day.
• Use the phone instead.
• Save as many messages as you want, but use a back-up disk, archive feature or network drive instead of your email server.
• Adopt a strict policy of using business email only for work-related messages. Use a home email address or free web service for family and personal matters.
• Use spam filters, delete spam immediately, and never respond to a spam message.
• Save time for your recipients: When sending email, put the whole message in the subject line and/or use subject line acronyms to quickly communicate the message. For example: “10:00 meeting cancelled (EOM)” in the subject line communicates that the meeting is cancelled, end of message. There’s no need to open the message; just delete it. Other timesaving acronyms include NRN (no reply needed); TY (thank you); and NRB (need response by).
• Don’t contribute to email overload. Be sure the email you send is relevant to the recipient.

When you’re ready for more email management advice, pay a virtual visit to the experts themselves:

• Linda Musthaler of Network World
• Rich Spitz of Lexien Management Consultants
• Karen Blakeman, RBA Information Services
• John Porcaro’s personal web log
• Business consultant Marilyn Paul
• Stever Robbins of Harvard Business School
• Communication expert Kaitlin Duck Sherwood

Is there a tech topic you’d like us to cover? Please send it to the editor.

Upcoming Classes
Our schedule of classes for January through May 2006 is now available. In January, we’ll guide you on a tour of The Wisconsin Legislature Website. In February, learn how to safeguard your office in our new class, Disasters: Prevent, Prepare, Recover. Just in time for tax season, our March class focuses on Tax Resources on the Web. In early April we’ll celebrate National Library Week by offering our ever popular WSLL Web Tour, and later that month, come and learn the answer to this question: Are You Using Google to Its Full Potential? In May, learn how to use Westlaw at the Wisconsin State Law Library.

Details and registration information are available on our Classes & Tours webpage.

Classes often fill up well before they are held, so register today!

Legal Research Tip
Whether you’re looking for a basic guide to doing legal research or you want to know more about using a specific resource, you might find it on our Legal Research Guides webpage. On our homepage, click Legal Research Guides in the green box located in the lower right corner.

The first listings are general legal research guides from the Wisconsin Court System Self-Help Center, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin State Law Library. Following them are guides for using specific resources, which are organized into categories such as Administrative, Statutory, Treaties, and Updating the Law. The final category, Legal Research Tools, provides links to tutorials, a guide to using the Restatements of the Law, and information on understanding legal citations.

If you don’t find what you need on the Legal Research Guides page, or if you’d rather speak directly with someone about your question, please contact our Reference Desk.

November is Child Safety and Protection Month. Visit America's Promise: The Alliance for Youth for tips on helping a child feel safe, child proofing areas where children live and play, discouraging bullying and intimidation, and providing a safe environment for children. November is also National Family Caregivers Month in recognition of those who assist loved ones who are chronically ill or disabled and unable to care for themselves.

Other November Notables

11 - Veteran's Day, observed on the anniversary of the signing of the World War I Armistice in 1918. In 1954, the holiday became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

13 - 19 Lung Cancer Awareness Week

15 - First day you can enroll in Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit offered by Medicare. For more information visit the Medicare website or phone 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

19 - National Adoption Day, an effort to bring awareness to the over 100,000 children in foster care awaiting adoption. November is also National Adoption Month.

24 - Thanksgiving Day. For tips on safely cooking your turkey, visit the USDA's Poultry Preparation Fact Sheet.

Happy Thanksgiving!