Wisconsin State Law Library

What's New - Carol Hassler

Staff News

Beginning October 6th Lisa Winkler will take on the position of Outreach Services Librarian at the Wisconsin State Law Library. Lisa worked for nine years at the Dane County Legal Resource Center (DCLRC), most recently as the Dane County law librarian. During her time at the DCLRC she enjoyed working with pro se users, judges, court staff, attorneys, legal clinic volunteers, and more. Lisa is looking forward to connecting with our users around the state. Congratulations, Lisa!

The library welcomes Olivia Babler, our new circulation and filing assistant. Olivia is a recent UW graduate in Communications, with a concentration in film studies. She is currently preparing to apply to library school. Welcome, Olivia!

Left: Outreach Services Librarian Lisa Winkler
Right: Circulation and Filing Assistant Olivia Babler

MLRC Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Staff and supporters of the Milwaukee Legal Resource Center (MLRC) showcased their new space in the Milwaukee County Courthouse during a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 15th. The ceremony celebrated the newly renovated Milwaukee Legal Resource Center, Milwaukee Justice Center, and Records Center. The event highlighted the beautiful new setting for all three services. Chief Judge Kremers spoke at the affair and read a portion of a letter sent from Chief Justice Abrahamson recognizing the improvements to the Milwaukee Legal Resource Center. Be sure to stop by the next time you are in the courthouse.

Left: spacious new shelves at MLRC
Right: Attendees at the ribbon cutting ceremony

Upcoming Classes

Several classes are offered for CLE credit this fall, many of them free. Learn more and sign up on our Classes page.

In Madison:

• October 9th -Index to Legal Periodicals
• October 15th -WestlawNext
• November 11th - Researching Wisconsin legislative history

In Milwaukee:

• October 21st -Advanced legal research with WestlawNext
• October 21st -Legal ethics and professional responsibility
• November 18 -Wisconsin administrative law & legislative history research

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Website Design Updates in October - Carol Hassler

Five years after our last website redesign we will introduce a new look for wilawlibrary.gov this October. You'll notice more color, a larger text size, and improved display on mobile devices with this refreshed look. Watch for our new design to debut on October 20th.

The new home page includes a large search box to help users search or browse our hundreds of legal topics. We are also making it faster for website visitors to get to our most popular services by adding distinctive buttons near the top.

The organization of our website will stay the same so there is no need to update your bookmarks or relearn how to navigate the website. We will post tutorials on new website features and more information throughout October on our Library Highlights blog.

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This Just In - Pete Boll

Updated! Recovery of Damages for Lost Profits, September 2014 supplement, Robert L. Dunn
Lawpress Corporation, 2005
WSLL Call Number: KF 836 .D86 2005

This 2014 update is a standalone cumulative supplement to the two volume treatise.
More than 25 new cases that deal with the issue of damages for lost profit are analyzed in the supplement including:

Ford Contracting Inc., v. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, 429 S.W.3d 397
As a matter of first impression, equipment that is rendered idle by delay attributable to breaching party is a proper element of damages for lost profits.

Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Co. v. Gregg roofing, Inc., 178 Wash. App. 702
Merely providing testimony that business' reputation has been injured without quantifying amount of damages is insufficient for recovery.

New Edition! Handbook for Wisconsin Municipal Officials
League of Wisconsin Municipalities, 2012
WSLL Call Number: KFW 2831 .H36 2012

First published in 1975 this latest edition continues to focus on traditional issues of concern to Wisconsin municipal officials such as home rule authority, open meetings, public records, budgeting, and parliamentary procedure.

Included is hard to find information on topics like municipal legislative procedures, finance and taxation, municipal borrowing, and contracts at the municipal level.

The 2012 edition also reflects the impact of recent legislation that caps municipal tax levies, reduces state aid, and affects collective bargaining.

See our latest New Titles list for a list of new books and other resources.

For assistance in accessing these or other resources, please contact our Reference Desk.

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Start Here: Real Estate Law - Amy Crowder

The Wisconsin State Law Library's collection of real estate materials can help you with your research. This Start Here guide focuses on comprehensive works that cover a variety of real property law matters such as contracts and conveyances, brokers and salespersons, finance, titles, and condominiums.

For assistance in accessing these or other materials, please contact our Reference Desk.

Condominiums

Drafter's Guide to Wisconsin Condominium Documents, by Jesse S. Ishikawa and Brian Mullins
KFW2514.C6 I843

Legal Aspects of Condominium Development and Homeowners' Associations
KFW2514 .C6 L43 2008

Wisconsin Condominium Law Handbook, by Michael Altman and others
KFW2514.C6 C64

Contracts, Transactions, Brokers and Salespersons

Commercial Real Estate Transactions in Wisconsin, by Harvey L. Temkin and others
KFW2526.T46

Friedman on Contracts and Conveyances of Real Property, by Milton R. Friedman and James Charles Smith
KF670.F7 C67 Vols. Vols. 1-3

Handling Real Estate Transactions with Confidence
KFW2526.A75 G67 2011 Vols. 1-2

Real Estate Transactions System, by John L. Horwich and others
KFW2512.H642

Wisconsin Attorney's Desk Reference
KFW2481.W57 A5 Vols. 1-2

Wisconsin Real Estate Clauses: Contingencies and Other Standard Provisions, by Scott C. Minter
KFW2526.A65 W47 2012

Wisconsin Real Estate Law, by Scott C. Minter and Debra Peterson Conrad
KFW2512.M32 2014

Finance

Negotiating Real Estate Loan Terms and Workout Options
KF695.K73 2010

Real Estate Finance in a Nutshell, by Jon W. Bruce
KF695.Z9 B78 2008

General

Law of Real Property, by Richard Powell
KF570.P57 Vols. 1-17

Methods of Practice, by Jay E. Grenig and Nathan A. Fishbach
West's Wisconsin Practice Series
KFW2930.W613 Vol. 1

Real Estate Litigation Handbook, by David A. Soley
KF572.S66 2009

Real Estate Lore: Modern Techniques and Everyday Tips for the Practitioner, by Harris Ominsky
KF570.O475 2005

Thompson on Real Property
KF570.T458 R4 Vols. 1-15

Title

Bayse: Clearing Land Titles, by Nancy Saint-Paul
KF670 .B31

Patton and Palomar on Land Titles
KF670 .P3 L243 Vols. 1-4

Resolving Real Estate Title Defects
KFW2527.A75 R47 2006

Title Insurance: A Comprehensive Overview, by James L. Gosdin
KF1234 .G67 2007

Top 10 Title Defects Cured, by Josh C. Kopp and others
KFW2527.A75 K67 2013

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Tech Tip - Heidi Yelk

When keywords fail - Popular names

Generally, database searching is all about the keywords. Thanks to search engines like Google most people have become default keyword searchers, relying on an exact (or pretty close) match to the keywords used in their search. However, in some instances the keywords are not actually contained in the document for which you are searching. This can be the case when searching for U.S. acts by popular name. The "popular name" of the act may never appear in the U.S. Code or Statutes at Large.

One online solution to this problem is the Database of Federal Statute Names, created by the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School. This database does not include every act passed by Congress. It aims instead to "assemble every act of Congress whose name fails to reveal to the reader the matter addressed. This includes legislation popularly known by an individual's name as well as the more recent phenomenon of acronymically identified statutes." (see page 12 of How Federal Statutes are Named)

For example, the No FEAR Act falls into two categories: The act uses an acronym; FEAR stands for Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation. The popular name is not statutized, although the full name of the act is included in the short title.

The Database of Federal Statute Names is a useful reference when keywords fail. For more information about naming conventions, see How Federal Statutes are Named, included in the Winter 2013 issue of Law Library Journal.

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WSLL Recommends: League of Wisconsin Municipalities CD

Finding policy discussions on city and town issues can be difficult. When we get a question about local government law we like to turn to the League of Wisconsin Municipalities database on CD.

This database can assist in answering questions about liquor licenses, zoning powers, rights of way, municipal services, and more. Over three decades of legal analysis and several popular League of Wisconsin Municipalities manuals are included in this searchable database. Use this database to access:

• Legal opinions with index, 1975-
  An index of legal captions back to 1997 can also be searched on the League's website. Full text of these captions may be available in this CD.
• Popular manuals, including the Handbook for Wisconsin Municipal Officials and Special Assessments in Wisconsin.

The database is available on computers at the Wisconsin State Law Library (main library). Ask a librarian if you would like help using this database, or if you would like to request copies through our Order a Document service.

The database includes:

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