The Law Library has added Texas Jury Verdicts & Settlements to its Thomson Reuters Westlaw digital collection. That means you now have free access to a searchable database containing thousands of reports of verdicts and settlements, including factual accounts and amounts awarded/agree to, that you can use for case valuation and negotiations research. Visit the Law Library to learn more about this and other digital resources available on our legal research computers at our downtown Houston location.
Lawyers at the Law Library
Houston Bar Association President Neil Kelly visited the Harris County Law Library and Houston Volunteer Lawyers on September 4. In the photo from left are Parker Lee, HVL volunteer and associate with Andrews Kurth LLP; Stephanie Sommerlatte, HVL Staff Attorney; Patrick Yarborough, HVL volunteer and associate with Andrews Kurth; County Attorney Vince Ryan; Law Library Director Mariann Sears; Neil Kelly; and Alissa Rubin, Executive Director of HVL.
Source: Harris County Law Library, Photographer Joe Strange
The Harris County Law Library is pleased to announce a new program that helps litigants with limited means to speak with an attorney within steps of the courthouses in Harris County, Texas. In collaboration with Houston Volunteer Lawyers, volunteer attorneys and law students are now meeting with self-represented litigants every Wednesday and Friday from 9a.m. to 12p.m. at the Law Library's downtown Houston location. The Law Library provides support services to both the volunteer attorneys and limited-means clients by offering research and technology support, computers where self-represented litigants can access and create documents, and information about navigating the downtown courthouse complex.
Wednesday Clinics
Each Wednesday, faculty and students from Houston College of Law help self-represented litigants determine the legal information and documentation they need to represent themselves in court. The purpose of these clinics is multifaceted. Students gain professional experience and an awareness of the depth of the access to justice problems many individuals face while self-represented litigants receive assistance that makes their legal process more efficient both for them and the courts hearing their cases.
Friday Clinics
On Fridays, associates from Andrews Kurth, LLP staff clinics at the Law Library. Andrews Kurth is a Houston-based firm that is frequently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service and is listed as an Equal Access Firm by Houston Volunteers Lawyers. Additional members of Houston's legal community have pledged to staff Friday clinics at the Law Library to ensure that services remain available for those in need.
A Collaborative Effort
The initial plan to bring volunteer lawyers to the Law Library began as a collaboration between Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan and the Houston Bar Association several years ago. When the Law Library joined the County Attorney's Office in 2011, plans were laid to build out a new space for the Law Library on the first floor of Congress Plaza (1019 Congress Street) complete with offices for volunteer attorneys on the lower level. With all services operational, including those provided by the volunteer attorneys, the Law Library is more useful to the residents of Harris County than ever before and has become a great resource for anyone who must go to court without an attorney.
Immigration Law Resource Month
In conjunction with the upcoming CLE series on Immigration Law and Internment Camps in Texas, which will feature three seminars in the month of October, the Harris County Law Library is highlighting our collection of Immigration Law Resources. Throughout September, print materials on all aspects of immigration law will be on display. Treatises like Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook (the 15th edition, just published and pictured here, is now on our shelves) and a number of CLE coursebooks from TexasBarCLE will be highlighted. You’ll also find immigration law resources in the Law Library’s digital collection, including official immigration forms through Westlaw and the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal on HeinOnline. Search the Law Library catalog for additional titles or ask the library staff for assistance in finding the resources you need.
Creating an Automatic Table of Contents in Microsoft Word
To create a table of contents that’s easy to edit and maintain, begin by selecting a Heading from the Styles menu. The styles are located on the Home tab where several pre-formatted options are available to choose from. As you prepare your document, be sure to identify each new section of text with a unique heading. These are the items that will appear as entries in your table of contents.
Next, place your cursor within the document at the point where you wish you insert your table of contents, usually near the beginning. On the References tab, locate the Table of Contents button. By default, the button should be located on the far left side of the task ribbon. Click on this button and select one of the Automatic Table of Contents options. Microsoft Word will automatically create a table of contents, generated from the headings and subheadings within your document.
For a detailed demonstration of how to create, update, and customize your Table of Contents, visit the Microsoft Support site.
Ex Libris Juris Makes Texas Bar Today's Top 10
We are happy to announce that a recent Ex Libris Juris blog post - Who Owns Space Stuff? - was included in last week's Top 10 Blog Posts on Texas Bar Today, a publication of the State Bar of Texas. As the sole public law library in Space City, we are always happy for the opportunity to research and write about laws related to space exploration and our hometown space agency - NASA. Keep following our posts on Ex Libris Juris to see more posts on space law and plenty of other topics of interest to the Harris County legal community.