Spring Fling and Annual Meeting
Friday, May 4th from 5:00 till 8:00

This year’s Spring Fling and Annual Meeting will be at Nick’s Fish House and Grill  in South Baltimore.  We will have the entire Marina Room at our disposal with a light menu of sandwiches, quesadillas, including Nick’s signature jumbo lump broiled mini crab cakes. There will also be 2-drink tickets. The cost will be $20 per person. Ample parking is available onsite.  Online payment will be available in mid-April.

With Kathy Bayer and Ashley Dahlen  from GPO
Thursday, April 19th from 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Marshall Law Library at the University of Maryland School of Law
500 W. Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201-1786
Level 4 Class room, Room number 4403

An in-depth training session, just for librarians. Kathy and Kristina will provide an overview and introduction to FDSys; basic searching using simple and complex searches; advanced searching techniques; an overview of the “browse” and “retrieve by citation” features of FDys; and how to track a legislation and regulations.

If you  have a laptop, notebook, netbook, tablet, etc. feel free to bring it a long. The class is suited to a hands-on format.

Register online

Directions and parking information
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/aboutlibrary/location.html

• e-Book with Lexis: Wednesday April 11th
• FDSys Training in Baltimore: Thursday April 19th
• Spring Fling and Annual Meeting: Friday May 4th
• LLAM Reads with Jane McWilliams: Thursday, May 10th

Scott Meiser, Director, Product Planning at Lexis will discuss the challenges e-Books present to both publishers and librarians. We all need to contend with multiple file formats and multiple readers. There appears to be almost a direct ratio between the number of readers and the number of issues libraries need to address. These include: How do libraries lend eBooks? Do we let people download a title or just lend them a reader with titles pre-loaded. Does the library own the title or is it licensed? What is a fair price? How do we measure “circulation?”

Wednesday, April 11th at Noon
Marshall Law Library at the University of Maryland School of Law
Room 4409, Level 4 Study Lounge
Register online

Directions and parking information
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/aboutlibrary/location.html

This year’s holiday party will be at the eclectic  bb bistro in West Annapolis.  We will have the whole place to ourselves and Stacy and Clara will prepare a wonderful section of good eats. Beer and wine will be served.

bb bistro was as one of the first restaurants in Annapolis to receive the Environmental Stewardship Certification so we know their food is fresh; they don’t even own a freezer. The cost per person should be under $30, hopefully less.

As in past years, this is the date of Annapolis’ Midnight Madness holiday shopping event.

LLAM crafters, now is the time to think about to think about potential contributions to the silent auction.

bb bistro is located at:
112 Annapolis St
Annapolis, MD 21401

Please contact Mary Jo Lazun for more information.

Wednesday, November 9th,  12:00pm ’till 2:00pm @ University of Baltimore Student Center Room 301

Issues and questions involving administrative law seem to be occurring with great frequency.  This fall, LLAM is fortunate to have Arnold Rochvarg, University of Baltimore’s School of Law  administrative law expert, share his expertise with us.  We are all  deeply acquainted with his Maryland Administrative Law. (MICPEL 2d. ed. 2007) and soon we will also come to know his newest book, Principles and Practice of Maryland Administrative Law (Carolina Academic Press 2011).  See http://bit.ly/pCnfFh for details. During this lunchtime seminar Professor Rochvarg, will discuss the ” in’s and out’s ” of Maryland Administrative Law, recent changes to the law as highlighted in his new book.

Wednesday, October 12, 10:00am to noon @ the Maryland State Law Library

Exactly what happens when an appeal is filed with the Court of Special Appeals? Find out from the experts. Leslie Gradet, Clerk of the Court of Special Appeals, and Jeff Ross, Staff Attorney, will demystify the administrative side of the appellate process. They will also discuss the key role of legal research in appellate brief writing.

By Sara Witman
Research Librarian
Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander

On May 4, four LLAM members presented the basics of “Researching Law Like Lawyers” to a group of around 20 in-person academic and public librarians – as well as additional virtual participants – at the pre-conference portion of “Library Heaven 2011,” the Maryland Library Association and Delaware Library Association’s joint annual meeting in Ocean City, Maryland.

The pouring rain did not appear to deter attendance in the full room of the public library across the street from the Clarion Hotel. Speaking at the program were Joanie Bellistri of the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library; Susan Herrick of the Thurgood Marshall Law Library at the University of Maryland School of Law; Catherine McGuire of the Maryland State Law Library; and myself, Sara Witman from the law firm, Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander.

The full program title was “Demystifying Legal Research: Researching Law Like Lawyers,” and the four-part presentation covered the basics of most aspects of legal research in just under three hours.

By “demystifying,” the presenters hoped to make legal research clear and simple for librarians who may not do it every day. Since academic and public librarians often field legal research questions at a reference desk, the presentation was designed to provide these librarians with a background of relevant legal authorities and the legal research process.  The program was worth three contact hours of continuing education in Maryland.

Joanie first walked the attendees through the branches of government and court systems in both Maryland and Delaware.  She then described relevant secondary sources such as treatises and articles, and discussed how they are used in legal research and how to find them.

Catherine then moved on to statutory law.  She explained the Federal and Maryland legislative systems, how bills become laws, and how to conduct statutory research using both free and not-so-free sources.

The next part of the presentation was administrative law. Although this is often a daunting subject, Susan effortlessly provided a thorough overview of what regulations are, how they are promulgated, and where to find information about regulations online.

As the final portion of the program, I quickly explained the basics of case law.  I described what cases were and how to find them online, either from a free or paid source.

Interestingly, the presentation took place both on-site and online. Virtual participants watched the presentation on the internet and were given polls and questions to stay involved.  This was the first time the presenters had done a joint in-person/virtual presentation, and it was very successful.

By Susan Herrick
Research Librarian
University of Maryland School of Law

Our February program was a presentation on bankruptcy law by Edith K. Altice, Esq., of Saul Ewing.

Edie began her presentation by describing her background as a business attorney who was drafted into bankruptcy work when her firm became involved in a large high profile corporate bankruptcy case about ten years ago. Although she has obviously gained much expertise in bankruptcy during the intervening years, she emphasized the complexity of the area and stated that there was always much more to learn.

Edie covered the basics of bankruptcy law, starting with the constitutional authority of the U.S. Congress to legislate regarding bankruptcy, a power aimed toward avoiding debtors’ prisons. She described how federal and state law intersect in this area –  essentially that states can opt to define through legislation what property can be held exempt from bankruptcy, rather than adopting the federal exemptions. Edie then walked us through the bankruptcy process, introducing and explaining many essential concepts and terms along the way: from DIP (debtor in possession) and preferences, to more colorful and evocative terms such as “cram downs” and “claw backs,” attendees came away with a greatly improved understanding of the specialized and sometimes mystifying vocabulary of bankruptcy law.

Edie’s presentation addressed Chapter 11 corporate reorganizations as well as Chapter 7 liquidations and Chapter 13 personal reorganizations.  That’s a lot of ground in just over an hour, but she covered it with aplomb, offering many interesting examples related to high profile bankruptcy cases along the way, including those of Bernie Madoff and Borders (not her clients!), and some personal experiences with corporate clients of her firm.

Attending LLAM members asked many questions drawn from their own experiences as librarians trying to guide patrons involved in bankruptcy research. In addition to providing the legal perspective, Edie addressed some of the personal aspects of the various forms of bankruptcy, thus adding the “human touch” to a topic that touches the lives of many.

Edie also distributed an extremely helpful handout with a “nutshell” overview of the bankruptcy process and concise definitions of many specialized terms, which will prove a useful reference.

LLAM thanks Edie Altice for an extremely instructive and entertaining program!