Latest & Greatest – I Remember Atticus: Inspiring Stories Every Trial Lawyer Should Know

By Jim M. Perdue

Published by Texas Bar Books

KF 8700 .P47 2004

Taking perhaps the most famous fictional lawyer as his inspiration and muse, author Jim M. Perdue weaves together true stories that inspire trial lawyers to strive toward the attributes that Atticus Finch embodies and become the type of lawyer who commits to his clients and sees that justice is done. Perdue divides his book, I Remember Atticus: Inspiring Stories Every Trial Lawyer Should Know, into five main sections, each focusing on a different quality: faith, freedom, equality, courage, and perseverance. Using the story of Susanna from the Book of Daniel as the basis for his discussion of faith, Perdue delves into the role that faith played in the modeling of the law and how justice is a product of faith. From the Ten Commandments to the parables of Jesus, Perdue points out the lessons and morals to have come from these laws and stories. For his chapter on freedom, the author relates the story of Edward Bushell, a juror on a case against William Penn and William Mead, who refused to be bullied into giving a verdict with which he did not agree. He and several jurors were subsequently jailed for their verdict. For equality, Perdue examines the Haywood trial, a case in which the general secretary of the Western Federation of Miners was accused of hiring a hitman to kill the former governor of Idaho and yet, despite the powerful forces against him, was found not guilty. Courage is exemplified by the story and trial of the so-called Scottsboro boys, African-American youths who were accused of raping two white women on a train in Alabama. Reverend Joseph DeLaine is the author’s inspiration for perseverance for his fight to achieve equal educational opportunities for African-American schoolchildren in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Rounding out his book, Perdue offers facts that every trial lawyer should know and describes how trial lawyers can frame their own stories.

Be inspired. Read this book.

Latest & Greatest – Fastcase: The Definitive Guide

By Brian Huddleston

Published by American Bar Association Law Practice Division

KF 242 .A1 H833 2018

In 2017, Fastcase released Fastcase 7, a new version that promised greater ease of use with its new features and tools, including an overhauled interface. For those of you who may not know, Fastcase is an electronic legal research service providing users with access to cases, statutes, and regulations and secondary sources like treatises and law reviews. If you are new to Fastcase or just want to search more efficiently, Brian Huddleston’s book, Fastcase: The Definitive Guide, is the book for you. From the basics of searching to downloading and printing documents, Huddleston demonstrates how to get the most out of Fastcase and your time. With this book, you will learn how to:

  • Search for cases using official reporter citations or natural language or keyword searching;
  • Search across different jurisdictions;
  • Narrow search results with filters or through the Tag Cloud;
  • Perform authority checks using the Bad Law Bot;
  • Print, email, or save documents or copy and paste text; and
  • Perform legal research using the Fastcase mobile app

Fasctcase isn’t simply limited to finding relevant case law. As the author explains, users can search statutes, consult Statute Annotations Reports, and look at historic statutes and session laws. They can search regulations and administrative law resources for most states and the federal government. Based upon their subscription, users can also access secondary resources, such as treatises, law reviews, bar journals, practice guides, and forms. No matter what the search, the author provides ample illustrations throughout the book demonstrating how users can find the desired information.

Fastcase: The Definitive Guide is just as its title implies. It provides all of the information you need to know to use Fastcase 7 like an expert. You can find this book at the reference desk in our new Legal Tech Collection.

Did you know that as a member of the State Bar of Texas, attorneys have free (yes, free) access to Fastcase? If you are a member of the State Bar of Texas, you already should be taking advantage of this membership perk.

If you would like additional training using Fastcase, Harris County Law Library can help. Come to our Free Legal Tech for Legal Professionals course offered by our Legal Tech Institute.

Latest & Greatest – Texas Collections Manual, Fifth Edition

A Project of the Texas Collections Manual Committee

Published by TexasBarBooks

KFT 1367 .C6 T49 2018

One of our newest acquisitions from the State Bar of Texas is Texas Collections Manual, Fifth Edition. Prepared and written by the Texas Collections Manual Committee, Texas Collections Manual is a practice guide for Texas lawyers who handle collections matters. Like other titles offered by the State Bar, each chapter of the manual features handy and useful forms and practice notes that discuss and analyze the issues and topics addressed in that chapter. In this manual, you will find explanatory material and forms relating to, among other things:

  • Debt collection, including a discussion of maintaining a debt collection law practice;
  • self-help repossession;
  • prejudgment and postjudgment remedies;
  • creation and enforcement of liens, including mechanic’s liens;
  • petitions and causes of action;
  • trial and pretrial procedure;
  • landlord-tenant law concerning commercial and residential property leases;
  • claims procedure in probate and guardianship matters; and
  • bankruptcy issues.

Come to the Law Library and ask for Texas Collections Manual, Fifth Edition at the reference desk.