Get Free Public Access to the LexisNexis Digital Library eBook Collection Today!

The Harris County Law Library is excited to announce the launch of a new public service. Beginning this week, the Law Library will offer public access to the LexisNexis Digital Library. This collection of more than 100 titles contains full-text, searchable, digital versions of many popular practice guides such as Dorsaneo’s Texas Litigation Guide, Texas Transaction Guide, Texas Criminal Practice Guide, Texas Family Law Practice & Procedure, and Moore’s Federal Practice. Also included are several popular treatises including Appleman on Insurance, Collier on Bankruptcy, and Corbin on Contracts. A full list of available titles in our Digital Collection is available here.

Sign up to access our Digital Collection on our Lexis eBook Account Request page. Once you submit the form, Law Library staff will create your personal account and email you a username and password. You will then be ready to check out any volume in the collection.

LexisNexis ebooks can be read on any internet-connected device. Use your favorite browser (Google Chrome is recommended for the best navigation experience), or read on the go by downloading the Digital Library app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. After installing the app, you will be prompted to enter a library code: harriscountylaw. Then sign in with your username and password.

If you have access to LexisAdvance (sign up here for a free public access account), you can link directly to the cases and statutes cited in the ebooks. You can also markup the text, and keep notes and highlights even after you have returned a volume to use the next time you check it out!

If you have any questions about the LexisNexis Digital Library eBook Collection, please contact our Virtual Reference Desk. For training materials and user guides, visit the LexisNexis Digital Library training page.

After the Moratorium: National Eviction Resources and Data

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A provision of the CARES Act which has, so far, protected millions of people from losing their housing, is set to expire on July 25, 2020. Potentially, many residents of Harris County (and the rest of the nation) could be facing eviction. In response to the need for reliable information about housing instability, we’ve posted a number of helpful resources in this blog. In May, we wrote about the eviction moratoria issued at the federal and state levels, and in June, we provided links to information and self-help tools from Texas Law Help and Lone Star Legal Aid for those at risk of losing their homes. Now we are offering a bird’s eye view of eviction across our country, providing links to resources that present both national and state-by-state data.

• As Protections Expire, Millions Of Americans Face Threats Of Eviction – NPR Morning Edition, July 21, 2020 (Audio)

  • 6-minute nutshell interview with Matt Desmond, author of Evicted and founder of the Princeton Eviction Lab

• STOUT interactive eviction tool -- Developed by Stout Risius Ross, LLC (STOUT) with input from National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (NCCRC)

  • Provides access to data on estimated number of tenants experiencing rental shortfalls along with data showing tenant confidence levels in their ability to pay next month’s rent.       

• COVID-19 Housing Policy Scorecard – Princeton Eviction Lab

  • See the list of additional COVID-19 housing resources and tools built by other organizations

• COVID-19 Protections for Homeless Populations -- National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty

  • See compiled list of COVID-19 Resources on Housing Alternatives

• Eviction Moratorium Maps – Regional Housing Legal Services (RHLS)

  • Presents a graphic visualization of moratoria in effect in each state, at each phase of eviction

• Federal Eviction Moratoriums — National Low Income Housing Coalition

  • Searchable database and map allow some renters to identify if their home is covered by the CARES Act eviction moratoriums

• Just Shelter

  • Identifies organizations that preserve affordable housing, prevent eviction, and reduce family homelessness; Presents personal eviction stories

• The Scarlet E: Unmasking America’s Eviction Crisis – On the Media (Audio)

  • A four-part series on the “eviction epidemic” in this country; Hosted by Brooke Gladstone

21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge ©

During this time of social unrest and cultural awakening, many people — historians, social scientists, celebrities, and other high-profile figures — are recommending collections of books, films, essays, podcasts, websites, and more that explore the lived experiences of Black Americans. These carefully curated lists examine racial tensions in this country, both past and present.

While these recommended resources are helpful and informative, they are best understood in context. To provide this frame of reference, the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law has issued a challenge, The 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge. Diversity expert Eddie Moore, Jr. formulated the idea for this Challenge “to advance deeper understandings of the intersections of race, power, privilege, supremacy and oppression.” It consists of 21 assignments that examine elements of Black history, identity and culture, and the Black community’s experience of racism in America. It is designed to “assist each of us to become more aware, compassionate, constructive, engaged people in the quest for racial equity.”

The Challenge officially began on June 17, 2020, but the syllabus is posted on the ABA website and openly accessible to the public at any time. Anyone who is interested is encouraged to explore. If you wish to be recognized for participating in the challenge, please send a message to the LEL Section office. Your name will added to a roster of colleagues also taking part.

On-the-Go Scanning with Office Lens

As many of us continue to work from home, accessing the right tech tools — software and hardware — is essential but not always easy. For instance, how do you share digital scans of printed documents without having access to a document scanner? Of course you can always buy a desktop scanner or an all-in-one printing device, but perhaps you need to scan on the go, or you just don’t want to spend money on hardware that takes up space and might not be needed once we all return to work. As an alternative, the Harris County Law Library recommends Microsoft Office Lens, a free scanning app for your Apple or Android device that allows you to scan on the go and save your scanned documents to your phone, tablet, or the cloud. It also integrates with Microsoft’s Office 365 software, the cloud-based suite of office applications that’s available by subscription for an annual or monthly fee.

Office Lens is our scanning app of choice for its quality, reliability, consistency, and ease of use. Other scanning options do exist, and you may find one that you like better, but we’ve been using — and recommending — Office Lens to library patrons who need a quick and easy scanning solution from a trusted brand ever since a solo attorney at one of our Hands-on Legal Tech Training classes suggested that we try it out. We did, and we liked it!

It’s a great tool for digitizing and storing receipts, business cards, or other printed documents. Simply snap a photo using the camera on your phone or tablet, capturing it as a whiteboard, a document, a business card, or a photo. Then, edit the image by cropping, rotating, or adding text. Finally, store the image as a PDF file or a Word document, and share it as needed.

There are many other reliable and recommended scanning apps available, but Office Lens is our app of choice. For a good list of additional tech tools and resources, take a look at the ABA Legal Technology Buyer’s Guide as well as the Harris County Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute page of Legal Tech Links.

Texas Legal App from the State Bar Computer & Technology Section

Typically, access to the Texas Legal App is a benefit provided to members of the Computer & Technology Section of the State Bar of Texas. For a limited time, through June 30, 2020, the C & T Section is offering free access to the Texas Legal App for all Texas attorneys, paralegals, and law clerks. To become an authorized user of the app during this period, simply submit the enrollment form, available here. You will be asked to provide your name, an email address, your Bar number (or cell phone number if not a Bar member), and your area of practice. You will then be provided with links to the Web interface, the iOS app, and the Android app. You will also get login credentials to access the app itself. Once logged in, you will find a wealth of useful information and primary sources, including more than 62 civil codes and statutes. For a full list of the available resources, click here.

All content is keyword searchable and includes internal linking to other code sections available via the app. The app is also customizable, allowing you to create modules of content relevant to your practice area. Instructions for adding modules are provided in the C & T Texas Legal App how-to installation video available in the TechBytes library, which we wrote about for this blog in 2018. If you find content you wish to print and/or save as a PDF, the app will allow you to do that as well.

While we all continue to Stay Home and Work Safe, access to some traditional legal research resources may be limited. Take advantage of the Computer & Technology Section’s generous offer to share access to this valuable tool, the Texas Legal App, and consider joining the section to ensure the app’s continued availability. Also, remember that we at the Harris County Law Library are still providing services via our Virtual Reference Desk and new Chat Reference. Until we can see you again at the Law Library, stay in touch and informed using our remote services. We’re here to help!