Next week Practising Law Institute will be at the 2022 AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Denver, Colo., celebrating our profession and the experts who provide meaning to our organizations. We know with all the interesting sessions and networking events taking place, your conference schedules may get booked fast—so be sure to save some time to visit us at the PLI booth!
You’ll find us at booth #901, where you can see a live demonstration of the recently redesigned PLI PLUS and learn about new additions to the PLI Press catalog. And be sure to enter our raffle to win a gift certificate to a spa near you — PLI PLUS got a makeover this year, so we figured one lucky winner should too!
Find us at booth #901 at the Colorado Convention Center Exhibit Hall.
If you’d like to arrange a time to meet with someone on our team while at the conference, please contact your dedicated library relations manager or email libraryrelations@pli.edu.
At AALL’s 2021 Virtual Conference in July, PLI raffled off a one-year membership to MasterClass. This year’s winner is Annie Mellott, acquisitions librarian at William M. Rains Library at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Annie graciously agreed to be interviewed about her career in law librarianship for this blog.
Tell us a little about yourself. Why did you become a librarian? I’ve always been drawn to learning and education throughout my own studies. While getting my MA in Religious Studies, I started working in the library. I realized it was a perfect fit for me career wise because it allowed me to be in an educational environment while helping the community of students, faculty, and staff during their own research projects.
What do you like most about your job as acquisitions librarian at Loyola Law School? I love working in the background of the library to provide everyone with what they need. It feels really useful to be able to make information accessible to our patrons so that they have the smoothest experience possible while at Loyola Law School.
Which PLI publication do you most frequently recommend to students and/or faculty? Honestly, I don’t do much recommending as an acquisitions librarian! We have the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic here and make sure to keep Fragomen on Immigration Fundamentals on standing order so it’s always available for their reference.
What did you think of this year’s conference? What was the highlight for you? I thought this year’s conference went really well. I’m impressed with the online format working pretty seamlessly and loved the pre-recorded sessions and transcripts that I could revisit. It was also fun visiting the vendors in a safe way this year. I do miss the social and networking opportunities an in person conference allows us, but I’m glad we could convene safely.
For anyone attending this week’s America Association of Law Libraries Virtual Conference 2021, be sure to swing by PLI’s virtual booth to say hi! Don’t forget to enter our raffle for a chance to win a one-year pass to MasterClass.
PLI launched the online journal the PLI Chronicle in September 2020 with a simple mission: to present engaging and timely discussions about the legal industry from a diverse range of perspectives. Chronicle editor Alyse Greer explains, “Since everyone offers value to their fellow industry associates, all legal and accounting professionals are encouraged to submit articles. The publication gives authors a platform to educate others and the freedom to write in their own voices.”
We compiled this “special edition” of the Chronicle from articles published in previous issues as a way to familiarize librarians with this new content type. The selection reflects what we identified as themes running throughout this year’s American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) conference: 1) Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession; 2) The future of legal technology, education, and research; and 3) Mental health for legal practitioners.
In the articles below, you’ll find wellness tips from an attorney who overcame depression and addiction; a two-part look into the Internet of Things and open source software; musings on the role of curiosity in fostering inclusion and diversity initiatives; and more. You don’t need a subscription to read these articles. Everything published in the Chronicle is available for anyone and everyone to read. All you need is a PLI account, which is both free and easy to set up.
Our hope is that this curated edition will enhance the conference experience and perhaps even inspire some of our colleagues in law libraries to publish with us.
Sincerely, Jennifer Fiore, J.D., M.A. Associate Legal Editor, Publishing and PLI Plus
At the Virtual AALL Conference this year, PLI raffled off a one-year membership to MasterClass. Amy Eaton, director of library and research services at Perkins Coie LLP, was our winner. We caught up with Amy to discuss her career path, virtual work, and more.
Tell us a little about yourself. Why did you become a librarian?
Although I came to the profession early, it was not planned. I did know I wanted to be a librarian but I also loved art history. My plan was to get a Master’s in Art History followed by an MLS and work in a museum library. Instead we ended up in Detroit for my husband’s work and library opportunities were limited. My first job offer came from the Detroit College of Law (now part of Michigan State University). The director, Mario Ceresa, was willing to take a risk on someone with no JD and no legal background. I learned with the first year students, helping them with their exercises. It was great training and I found that I loved the work. Our ultimate goal was to return to the Seattle area and when we did, I was hired at my first law firm. I was scared to death most of the first month but learned that the work was pretty exciting and the people are great. I took a few detours during the following years but am happy to be back at a law firm.
What do you like most about your job at Perkins Coie?
The people. I work with, and am part of, a great team. The culture and respect for staff at Perkins Coie is unlike anything I have seen elsewhere.
What is a common research question you receive?
Although I occasionally chip in, my days at the reference desk are long past. Our two most common types of requests are related to document delivery and alerts.
Which PLI publication do you most frequently recommend to attorneys?
What part of AALL 2020 did you find most interesting and why?
I think AALL, PLLIP and AMPC did really well responding to the sudden and dramatic change in plans. The sessions I attended were well done and I had the opportunity to touch base with a few vendors. A big thank you to the vendors who continued to support AALL during the conference! I was particularly grateful to see the lower price point. I was able to “send” all my staff and hope that a virtual component will continue to be a part of the conference moving forward. This year I had the opportunity to work on several panels with people I did not know at all or did not know well. I love getting the chance to get know my colleagues who work in other types of libraries or different areas of the country. If someone asks you to be on a panel, say yes! It’s a great opportunity and we all want to hear from new faces with fresh perspectives.
What advice to you have for law librarians who are working remotely right now?
Don’t isolate yourself. In this environment it is easy to put your head down and work all day without creating or maintaining personal relationships. We all missed seeing our friends at AALL this year. Why not pick up the phone and call a few? Take a few minutes out of your day to check in on a friend or let a fellow law librarian author/panelist know that you appreciated their article or talk. Passing along a compliment is a sure fire way to improve their day and yours!
Even though we would have loved to be with you in person in the wonderful city of New Orleans this week, we are just as happy to connect with you in this new format. Swing by our virtual booth to say hi. Don’t forget to enter our raffle for a chance to win a one-year pass to MasterClass.
PLI is featured as the ‘Vendor Voice’ in the January/February 2020 AALL Spectrum. The publication spoke with PLI’s Director of Legal Information Services and Electronic Publishing, Alexa Robertson, about PLI’s online research utility (PLI PLUS), how the resource has evolved over time – including librarians’ contributions in shaping the product – as well as the challenges the legal industry has with regards to information. Check out the article below!
The latest edition of the Library Ledger is now available!
In this edition, we highlight the new monthly webinar series from our library team. We also showcase the PLI PLUS search widget and cyber-security resources. Kay Mitchell, Library Relations Manager, discusses the PLI’s Librarian Advisory Breakfast from the 2019 AALL Conference in Washington, DC.
Looking for an older edition? The complete archive of the Library Ledger is available here.
At the AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Washington, D.C. this year, PLI raffled off an Amazon Echo. Caren Luckie, Research Attorney at Jackson Walker was our winner. Check out our interview with Caren below!
Tell me a little about yourself. Why did you become a librarian?
I became a librarian somewhat by default. I was looking for a job after college, and was talking to a friend of my parents who was in charge of the Shell Oil business library. She was a Seven Sisters graduate (Wellesley) and said she would be willing and happy to hire another Seven Sisters (Mount Holyoke) graduate. And so it began. I spent 4 years in the Shell Oil library as a ‘clerk’, but handled basic research and reference requests. I went on to another job as a bloodstock researcher for a thoroughbred breeding farm, and then to law school. I didn’t think much about becoming a librarian until I was practicing law and decided that I didn’t like being first chair in a litigation practice. I wanted to do research and the background work. So I went to grad school at UT and got my MLIS in one year. With a background in research of all types, plus a law degree, I wanted to focus on research and being a law librarian was the way to go.
What do you like most about your job at Jackson Walker?
The variety. Much of my work is for the litigation group, but I work with all of our practice groups. I’m a “generalist” rather than a specialist, and it never (rarely) gets dull. Also the people – attorneys, staff, administration – are great. This month marks my 25th anniversary with Jackson Walker, so I think it’s safe to say that I like it here.
What is a common research question you receive?
There is no common question J I do quite a bit of public records research, both for our real estate practice and for our litigation group. But I also get complex legal research questions. I think my most common research project/question is checking on the status of tenants for our commercial real estate clients.
Which PLI publication do you most frequently recommend to attorneys?
That would depend on the practice group. For our real estate group, it’s frequently Friedman on Leases. For my First Amendment attorneys, Sack on Defamation.
What did you think of AALL 2019? Did you do any sightseeing in Washington D.C.?
I thought it was an excellent conference. The programs were good, and it’s always great to network with old friends and meet new colleagues. I spent 2 days before the conference sightseeing – my husband and I toured the Capital, spent time at the Spy Museum, and got to see the pandas at the National Zoo. I also got to see the Carnegie Library building that has been turned into an Apple Store. They share the building with the historical society, and have kept the building’s integrity – simply whitewashed the whole thing – and have the old blueprints and quite a few old photos.
