Jenkins Law Library Research Tips

Tips from the FTC

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

Protect your personal information by following these 10 Tips for Smart Holiday Shopping Online provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

NASD? Try FINRA

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

Looking for the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)? The NASD was consolidated with select functions of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to form a new organization, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). According to FINRA, they are responsible for: registering & educating industry participants, examining securities firms, writing & enforcing rules, and administering a dispute resolution forum for investors & registered firms.

PA Executive Orders

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

Select executive orders from Pennsylvania governors are available through PAPowerPort from 1973 - present.

Law Firm Economics

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

Economic statistics about law firms can be hard to find. Check out The Survey of Law Firm Economics by Altman Weil Publications, Inc. This title provides data on financials, hourly rates, billable hours, compensation & personnel ratios. Besides giving national averages, data is often broken down by practice area, firm size or region (i.e. New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic).

Philadelphia Election Information

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Need to find out where to cast your vote in the upcoming election or if your candidates won? Go to the Committee of Seventy's web site for complete election day information and posted results.

�Habla usted espa�ol?

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

You don't need to understand Spanish to use the Puerto Rico Statutes on Westlaw or Lexis. They're in English and fully annotated.

L&I's Code Library is online!

Mon, 1 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

The Department of Licenses and Inspections provides online access to the City of Philadelphia's Building Construction and Occupancy Code, Zoning Code and Codes governing Businesses, Trades and Profession. Please be advised that the language of the ICC Codes is not yet part of the website. This information can be purchased from the ICC or obtained from a library like Jenkins Law Library.

Shepards by the Books

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

If you're among the many researchers who assume everything is online, be careful when Shepardizing, not everything is covered. For example, trademarks and copyrights can not be Shepardized online. Stick to the Shepards books for these as well as for Professional and Judicial Conduct Citations and Uniform Commercial Code Citations.

Nothing but the Acts

Mon, 3 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Ever need to read a Pennsylvania act? Try the Legislative Reference Bureau's site which has the text of general laws from 1970 to 2003 (and much more). Browse Pamphlet Laws by year and act number or do a simple keyword search on summary and title fields.

Federal Appendix?

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

This reporter contains opinions issued by the U.S. Courts of Appeals that are not published in the Federal Reporter. Cases from the Federal Appendix can be retrieved on Westlaw and Lexis.

Canadian Counsel

Mon, 6 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Need to find the best or largest law firms in Canada? Visit the Lexpert Directory for information on the country's leading law firms and practitioners.

Pa.C.S., P.S. & Pa.C.S.A.: Alphabet soup

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Ever wonder what's up with all those abbreviations you see for the Pennsylvania statutes? Pa.C.S. is the citation abbreviation for Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, the official codification of the Pennsylvania laws. This set was created by the statutory consolidation project which has not yet been completed by the PA Legislature. P.S. is the citation abbreviation for Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes, the unofficial codification of the Pennsylvania laws published by Thomson/West. Pa.C.S.A. is the citation abbreviation for Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated, an annotated edition of the official codification, Pa.C.S, published by Thomson/West.

Federal Court Statistics

Mon, 9 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Ever need to figure out the average time a district court case takes from filing to trial for a civil action? How many pending cases there are each year? How many civil rights suits are filed? Take a look at the Federal Court Management Statistics site.

Sessions, sessions & more sessions

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Ever need to find an old state session law? Jenkins' collection has these laws for all fifty states, often spanning from the colonial era through the present!

Congressional Hearings and Reports

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Can't find a specific committee hearing on Lexis or Westlaw? Try the Congressional Information Service on microfiche at Jenkins. This service contains comprehensive coverage of Congressional hearings and reports from 1970 to the present. Can't make into the library? Jenkins Document Delivery Service can send you what you need.