Lawyers practising in Christchurch during the earthquakes are urged to take part in potentially ground-breaking research which should benefit the entire profession. Professors Jeremy Finn and Elizabeth Toomey of Canterbury University have secured $45,000 from the New Zealand Law Foundation for the first stage of an investigation into the legal issues ... More about Earthquake legal issue research project.
The Law Foundation is providing funding for a number of new projects. These include the following: Canterbury Earthquake Legal problems Like most Cantabrians, members of the local legal profession suffered considerably from the impact of the earthquakes. The Law Foundation is funding research to identify lessons that would help lawyers ... More about Law Foundation projects in 2012.
There are so many things to consider when crystal ball gazing future trends in legal research and law library matters, says former lawyer Paul Steele of consultancy Law Tune-Up Ltd. One important thing for the future, however, is the importance of integrating legal information into practice management systems. “Suppliers who ... More about What’s the future for legal research?.
The 21st Century legal information environment is complex and its boundaries are becoming somewhat limitless. The growing availability of primary legal materials from a variety of web sources is evolving the way in which we access these resources. But does this mean the faithful law library will become redundant? New ... More about Developments mean changing focus for law libraries.
One legal database lawyers should bookmark in their browsers is NZLII. It is free and can, therefore, help to reduce commercial costs. And it is rapidly becoming the one-stop shop for accessing primary law. Pronounced “en zed lee”, the letters stand for New Zealand Legal Information Institute, and it is ... More about NZLII provides free access to legal information.
Online resources have created a new legal research paradigm – one the profession, including digital natives, is struggling to utilise to its full potential. Ian Gallacher of Syracuse University College of Law has written a paper called: Forty-Two: The Hitchhiker's Guide To Teaching Legal Research To The Google Generation ... More about Learning how to do online legal research.
The Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States has placed a free searchable beta version of the US Code online.The United States Code is a consolidation by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. The Code has been officially published every ... More about United States Code available online.
While dedicated legal apps for the New Zealand market are still being developed, there are a host of more general apps available for download that lawyers may find useful. Here is a selection: Evernote Evernote allows you to store and organise notes, clippings, photos and other ... More about 10 handy applications for your smart phone or tablet.
Mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers are changing how lawyers access information and legal publishers are developing new products for these platforms. Mobile devices are tipped to become the primary method of connection to the internet within the next few years and already lawyers are using them for more ... More about Mobile devices changing how we work.
From 22 December 2010, the New Zealand Legislation website (www.legislation.govt.nz) provides web feeds (also known as RSS feeds) that users can subscribe to, allowing them to see changes made on the legislation website that relate to their areas of interest. Ready-made feeds will include all new Acts, or all ... More about RSS Feed available for NZ legislation changes.
The Employment Court website will contain judgments from the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in employment cases. This will include judgments on applications for leave and on substantive appeals. Chief Judge Colgan of the Employment Court says that while many of the appellate judgments are obtainable from the ... More about Employment Court Decisions online.
The New Zealand Law Foundation has given NZLII a grant of $23,396 to place Environment Court decisions on its website. This involves scanning 8,300 Environment Court decisions held at the Otago University Law Library. Decisions from 2005 on will be made fully searchable and the remainder will be loaded in pdf format. The ... More about Environment Ct decisions online.
The Law Foundation has agreed to a grant of $20,953 for publication of a book entitled Law into Action: Implementing Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Aotearoa New Zealand. The book will be edited by barrister Peter Hosking, executive director of the Human Rights Foundation of Aotearoa New Zealand, and is ... More about Economic Culture & Social Rights.
A project to review the current state of the rule of law in New Zealand has received a NZ Law Foundation grant of $5,000. Led by Otago University Associate Professor Andrew Geddis, the project will produce a report to the NZLS Rule of Law Committee. Originally suggested by the NZLS Human ... More about Review of rule of law in NZ.
A study of the effectiveness of Youth Justice Family Group Conferences 21 years on has received a Law Foundation grant of $32,700. The analysis is being conducted by the Henwood Trust, which works with community and government agencies to influence systemic change. The Trust was established in 2004 by Judge Carolyn Henwood. It ... More about Family Group Conference study.
New Zealand Acts as enacted by Parliament and the earlier Legislative Council, are now available online going right back to 1841. The New Zealand Acts 1841–2007 As-Enacted Collection has been put together by the Parliamentary Counsel Office by scanning original printed volumes to produce facsimiles in PDF format. The files have also ... More about NZ Acts 1841 to 2007 Online.
$1.75 million legal research project unveiled A $1.75 million research project led by Victoria University and funded by the New Zealand Law Foundation aims to help get regulation right for New Zealand. At the project’s launch in September 2010, Professor Susy Frankel of Victoria University’s Law Faculty and project leader said ... More about Regulatory reform research.
‘A to Js’ go digital A project to digitise the Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives (commonly known as the “A to Js”) was launched on 19 August 2010 at Parliament by the Speaker, Dr the Rt Hon Lockwood Smith. The appendices are a collection of government-related reports published ... More about Appendices to Journals of House.
The Legal Maori Project is a major research initiative being undertaken at the Victoria University Law Faculty that has recently completed two major works timed to coincide with 2010 Maori language week. The Legal Maori Project aims to produce a legal dictionary for speakers of te reo Maori, providing them with ... More about Legal Maori Project.
Law Foundation grant funds lost cases project New Zealanders are being asked to search their memories and their attics to assist with a project aimed at recovering that nation’s lost case law before it turns to dust. The New Zealand Law Foundation has made $95,000 available to help researchers hunt ... More about Lost Cases project.