WSLL @ Your Service February 2025
Contents
Wisconsin Law Help - Carol Hassler
Civil legal aid is a cornerstone of improving access to justice. There's a new website in Wisconsin to help self-represented litigants find clinics and organizations that can help, and learn more about the law. Wisconsin Law Help debuted in January. Managed by Judicare Legal Aid, WisLawHelp.org boasts a directory of legal aid organizations and clinics throughout the state, plus a guided interview designed to help people find the right organization for their need and situation.
WisLawHelp.org includes articles on housing law, consumer law, and family law, with plans to expand into further civil law topics in the future. Each short article describes general processes, and provides quick insight into legal issues that may confront somebody representing themselves.
In creating WisLawHelp, Judicare Legal Aid collaborated with Legal Action of Wisconsin, LIFT Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin Law School, the Wisconsin State Law Library, WisTAF, the Wisconsin Equal Justice Fund, the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission, the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic, and the Milwaukee Justice Center. To get started with WisLawHelp, visitors can use the Get Help feature to respond to questions about eligibility and their legal issue, and find tailored results to organizations that can help. A general directory is also available, allowing searches by county, by topic, and by the type of assistance provided. Organizations listed in the directory can help keep it up to date by sending an email to the address provided on their information page.
Head to WisLawHelp.org for legal information and to connect with civil legal aid organizations throughout the state.
New Books - Noelle Brasch
New Edition! Supreme Court and appellate advocacy, by David C. Frederick
Call number: KF 8870 .F73 2025
In the fourth edition of Supreme Court and appellate advocacy, the author continues to draw on his experiences before the Court and as an appellate litigator. With illustrations from real cases, this resource offers advice on how to prepare and deliver an oral argument capable of captivating the nine Justices of the Supreme Court. This revised edition contains new examples and covers developments in oral advocacy since the COVID-19 pandemic. As stated in the foreword by Justice Ginsburg, this guide "can arm an attorney to perform to best effect before any of our nation's multi-judge courts."
Topics include:
- History of oral argument
- Moot court
- Commonly asked questions from the bench
- Attributes of a good advocate
- Interacting with members of the Court
New Edition! Music Law : how to run your band's business by Richard Stim
Call number: KF 390 .E57 S87 2024
Music Law is an accessible guide for bands and independent musicians trying to navigate the music industry. Author Richard Stim, is a lawyer and musician himself who explains how to protect a band's business. AI and livestreaming are some of the issues discussed in this updated edition. With sample agreements and forms, this resource is a great place to start for anyone interested in the laws around making music.
Topics include:
- Writing band partnership agreements
- Finding fair management
- Legal issues in the recording studio
- Copyright
- Selling and licensing music
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.
Animal Law Research - Noelle Brasch
Check out this month's book display on animal law! These materials cover a variety of topics related to the welfare and treatment of pets, livestock, and wildlife. Animal law is a broad field that overlaps with a host of other areas of law including agricultural law, contract law, criminal law, and property law. Use these resources to assist with animal-related legal issues.
In this display
Animal law: cases and materials
KF390.5 .A5 A85 2014
Pet law and custody: establishing a worthy and equitable jurisprudence for the evolving family
KF390.5 .A5 G57 2017
Litigating animal law disputes: a complete guide for lawyers
KF390.5 .A5 L58 2009
The American Bar Association legal guide for dog owners
KF390.5 .D6 2014
Every dog's legal guide: a must-have book for your owner
KF390.5 .D6 2012
Endangered Species Act: law, policy, and perspectives
KF5640 .E4824 2021
Neighbor law: fences, trees, boundaries & noise
KF639 .J67 2023
Urban agriculture: policy, law strategy, and implementation
KF1682 .U73 2015
Agricultural and agribusiness law: an introduction for non-lawyers
KF1682 .F45 2019
Environmental aspects of real estate and commercial transactions: acquisition, development, and liability management
KF1298 .E577 2021
Digital resources
Animal Law Review (Also on HeinOnline)
Visit the Wisconsin State Law Library's Legal Topics Page on Animal Law to access, primary law, agency, and organization websites, and other resources.
Visit the Wisconsin State Law Library's Learning Center Page for a research guide on Agricultural Animals legal resources.
Tech Tip - Heidi Yelk
Creating a direct link to a page within a PDF document
When sharing information online or in an email, sometimes it's necessary to point people to information buried deep in a PDF document. This is an easy task, which can be accomplished simply by adding a few characters to the path of a PDF's URL.
For example, to link directly to page 32 of this document:
https://www.irp.wisc.edu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CSRA-22-24-T14-Report.pdf
Add on the following text: #page=32 as such:
https://www.irp.wisc.edu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CSRA-22-24-T14-Report.pdf#page=32
Keep in mind that you want to target the correct page, as numbered in the PDF file, which does not always match the numbered page of the published document.
Library News - Carol Hassler
Welcoming new staff
Please join us in welcoming our new Library Assistant, Noelle Brasch! Noelle brings her library materials processing, collection management, and research skills to our library, with experience with the U.S. Courts and University of Wisconsin. Welcome, Noelle!
Take a free class!
The first of our 2025 webinars are open for registration. Please reach out to Michael Keane with questions about the class and Jaden Henneman with questions about registering.
Concept to Codification
Wednesday, February 19, noon-1:00 p.m.
Location: Live webinar - Concept to Codification
Follow a bill through all stages of the legislative process. This class starts with a proposal for a law, follows that proposal through conception, drafting, introduction, hearings, debates, amendments, passage, approval and finally codification into the statutes.
Introduction to Wisconsin Legislative History
Wednesday, March 19, noon-1:00 p.m.
Location: Live webinar - Introduction to Wisconsin Legislative History
I need the legislative history of a Wisconsin statute. Where do I start? What do I do? Participants will look at the primary resources used to research Wisconsin legislative history, learn about the online Wisconsin legislative drafting files, and learn some helpful tips and tricks along the way. This introductory class covers basic research strategies and sources.
Federal Legislative History - Some Methods in Researching Acts of Congress
Law Day -Thursday, May 1, noon-1:00 p.m.
Location: Live webinar - Federal Legislative History - Some Methods in Researching Acts of Congress
Sometimes an Act of Congress leaves some room for disagreement about how it should be applied or interpreted. This class discusses some of the documentary sources that can help give insight into what Congress was considering while passing legislation. This information, available through sources such as Congress.gov and HeinOnline as well as a variety of printed material, is the sort usually resorted to by courts and lawyers when they ask, "What did Congress really mean?"
Wisconsin Legislative History - Budget Bill Calamities
Wednesday, June 11, noon-1:00 p.m.
Location: Live webinar - Wisconsin Legislative History - Budget Bill Calamities
Statutory provisions created by a budget bill pose special problems in legislative history research. The budget bill process is complex and the drafting file created during the process is even more daunting. Learn how to identify statutes created by budget bills and how to navigate the drafting file. This advanced class covers additional techniques used in budget bill research.
February Snapshot
Honoring Vel Phillips
Vel Phillips, born February 18, 1924 (some sources report 1923) in Milwaukee, was elected Wisconsin's first Black Secretary of State (1978) and was the first Black woman to be elected to statewide office (in any state). Serving as secretary of state was just one of her many contributions to the people of Wisconsin. She served as the first woman and first Black person on the Milwaukee Common Council (1956). She famously led the charge for fair housing in Milwaukee, introducing laws and participating in nonviolent protests in the City of Milwaukee (1962-1968). She became the first Black judge in the state of Wisconsin and the first female judge to serve on Milwaukee County Circuit Court (1971). This sculpture, unveiled in July 2024 and designed by the late artist Radcliffe Bailey is the first statue at the Wisconsin State Capitol honoring a person of color.
We are accepting snapshots! Do you have a photo highlighting libraries, attractions or points of historical interest? Send your photo the editor at carol.hassler@wicourts.gov to be included in a future issue.