Category Archives: PLI

Meet Our AALL 2021 Raffle Winner: Annie Mellott

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.

New Title! FinTech, RegTech, and the Financial Services Industry

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new treatise FinTech, RegTech, and the Financial Services Industry.

Editor Clifford Kirsch, a leading securities lawyer with more than 25 years of regulatory, corporate counsel, and private practice experience, and a team of 39 experts offer extensive analysis of the legal and compliance issues arising out of the increasingly rapid developments in financial technology, including crowdfunding, blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, and the advent of robo-advisors, and the emerging regulatory framework.

Divided into seven parts, this treatise:

  • Provides introductory discussions tracing the development of fintech, regtech, and suptech, as well as a review of the regulatory agencies that cover financial products and services that fall under the fintech umbrella.
  • Examines the business applications of fintech and their attendant regulatory implications, such as the use of digital technology by financial services firms to interact with customers; raising equity capital through the SEC’s Regulation Crowdfunding; and more.  
  • Covers the concept of creating a general ledger through blockchains, which can be relied upon by the public as a source of information of ownership.
  • Examines the issues that arise when considering the handling and use of data by fintechs.
  • Considers anti-money laundering in the fintech context.
  • Provides a discussion of the legal effectiveness of electronic signatures, electronic records, electronic delivery (“e-delivery”) of records, and electronic retention of records.
  • Discusses firms’ integration of data analytics into their compliance programs, as well as regulators’ use of data analytics to surveil financial markets for potential misconduct.

Order a print copy today. PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

More PLI Press books by Clifford Kirsch:

What’s New on PLI PLUS

We add content to PLI PLUS every month to ensure our subscribers have access to the most up-to-date and relevant secondary source legal documents. Renowned legal experts regularly update our acclaimed Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books, Transcripts, and Forms to reflect recent changes and developments in the law.

Click here to see what we added in July 2021!

PLI Chronicle: Special AALL Edition

Dear Readers,

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

New Edition! Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new edition of Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana: Cannabis, Hemp and CBD Regulation (2021 Edition).

This is a unique resource for lawyers who represent clients in the fast-growing legal cannabis industry. For lawyers new to representing marijuana clients, the authors provide an understanding of the definitions of marijuana and other cannabis products, as well as a review of the policy and political issues that have led to the controversy and uncertainty of the current environment.

The book also offers critical guidance on a wide range of interrelated topics, including:

  • The complex and varying state regulation of medical and non-medical marijuana;
  • Federal law, enforcement, and preemption and their implications for employment, taxes, and banking;
  • Various aspects of establishing and managing a marijuana enterprise, including the growing, licensing, labeling, transporting, and distribution of marijuana and related products.

The new edition adds the latest on regulation of CBD products, the Final Rule for the Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program, and the laws of the latest states to adopt some form of cannabis legalization—New Mexico, New York, South Dakota, and Virginia.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

New Edition! Thinking Like a Writer: A Lawyer’s Guide to Effective Writing and Editing

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of Thinking Like a Writer: A Lawyer’s Guide to Effective Writing and Editing (Fourth Edition).

A longtime favorite among PLI customers, this book provides practical advice to help lawyers strengthen their writing skills by “thinking like a writer” as effectively as they already think like a lawyer. It highlights guiding principles for writing clearly about complicated material and establishing credibility with demanding readers, and then turns those principles into specific techniques that apply to many types of documents and audiences.

  • Part I introduces the approach and principles that can guide lawyers in “thinking like a writer.”
  • Part II applies the guiding principles to a document’s organization.
  • Part III applies guiding principles to specific types of legal writing: letters, memoranda, and emails; briefs; and judicial opinions.
  • Part IV applies the principles to the smaller scale of paragraphs and sentences.
  • Part V applies the principles to the editing process, for both self-editing and editing the work of others.

Throughout, chapters include before-and-after examples to demonstrate how writing and editing can be improved by following the advice offered in the book.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

New Treatise! Principles of Appellate Litigation

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of Principles of Appellate Litigation: A Guide to Modern Practice.

This treatise is an expert guide to appellate litigation as it is practiced today. It covers all aspects of appellate practice, from issue preservation at trial to Supreme Court review, helping readers to: (1) plan an approach for handling an appeal from start to finish, (2) learn specific techniques and strategies for improving their written and oral advocacy, and (3) answer common procedural and technical questions.

For generalist litigators and inexperienced appellate lawyers, this book provides an invaluable introduction to modern appellate practice. For the experienced attorney looking to take his or her skills to the next level, leading appellate advocate Mark D. Harris and a team of expert litigators offer hard-won insights into doctrine, strategy, and technique.

Written in the engaging, thoughtful, and thorough style one would expect from top appellate practitioners, the book also includes practice tips, checklists, and excerpts from actual briefs analyzing the strategic choices of the authors as well as the mechanics of their written advocacy.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

What’s New on PLI PLUS

We add content to PLI PLUS every month to ensure our subscribers have access to the most up-to-date and relevant secondary source legal documents. Renowned legal experts regularly update our acclaimed Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books, Transcripts, and Forms to reflect recent changes and developments in the law.

Click here to see what we added in May 2021!