A cautionary tale about reserving books

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

A must see video produced for The University of Huddersfield.  We've all seen this happen at some point in our careers. 

Posted by Sally Peat at 09:37 0 comments  

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November BIALL Newsletter!

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

The latest BIALL newsletter is now available to members at the BIALL website!

Highlights include;

Former BIALL Blogger and President Elect James Mullan give us an account of his time at the Annual Conference of the Australian Law Librarians Association (ALLA). I deduced from the article he had a good time at the conference but less so on the plane...

An account of A Day in the Life by Sarah Wheeler of the Supreme Court Library is a fascinating read. Find out what it is Sarah tries not to spill her tea on!

Stephen Wheeler from Pinsent Masons - editor of the BIALL newsletter - guides us through his career in his Library Routes.

Finally the Co-BIALL blogger Sally Peat answers questions in On The Spot. It gives us a revealing insight into what can go wrong when you go for a run...

Posted by Philip Cable at 21:01 0 comments  

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So What Is It That You Do?

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Some issues regarding our profession it seems are transatlantic.


Follow the link below to the 3 Geeks and a Law Blog. You will read a familiar story...


So, What Do You Do? … What Is That??

Posted by Philip Cable at 08:55 0 comments  

My Umbrella - and other BIALL Freebies

Thursday, 10 November 2011

The BIALL conference has enriched my life in many ways.

Whenever I go on holiday I put my tickets, insurance documents and passport in my BIALL 2006 (Brighton - Face the Front) leather folder - it’s the perfect size.

I never found a use for the Lawtel Travel Mug I picked up possibly back as far as 2004 at the Edinburgh conference (Changing Times - New Challenges). When I married, however, my teacher wife found it perfect for carrying cups of tea whilst removing any danger of spilling on the children.

I’m not sure where I picked up the bespectacled Westlaw Bear that sits on my desk but if it didn’t come into my life through the conference it really could have.

I have pens from various legal publishers on which to jot thoughts down on notepads which they also thoughtfully provided.

When it rains I use my Wildy’s umbrella which I picked up free from this year’s Newcastle BIALL conference. Sadly it broke on Friday … but never mind I’ve got a Kluwer blue and white stripy one I picked up last year.

The next BIALL Conference is in Belfast in 2012. Who know what you might pick up.

Posted by Philip Cable at 20:57 1 comments  

Do lawyers need to be scholars?

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

By: Natasha Choolhun

11 October 2011 - Sponsored by LexisNexis

This was an engaging debate touching on legal education, the legal market and the duty of the profession to support all parties, students, lawyers and consumers. Below are the key points made by the panel to illustrate how the debate evolved.

Speaker 1: Prof. Philippe Sands QC (UCL Faculty of Laws/ Matrix Chambers)
Philippe wished he hadn’t studied law as an undergraduate as law degrees “close the mind”. Lawyers need critical thinking skills which law degrees do not foster. He thinks current legal education is too employability driven, which is “a bad thing.”

The questions we should be asking are, “what is the social function of a lawyer?” and “how many lawyers do we need?”

Speaker 2: Rebecca Huxley-Binns (Law teacher of the year 2010, Nottingham Trent)
Rebecca proposed that law degrees should be “value driven” and suggested scrapping the 7 foundation subjects and introducing skills and ethics. However, students do want to know how to be employable.

Speaker 3: David Bickerton (managing partner, Clifford Chance)
CC are happy with the quality of trainees they receive, (it doesn’t appear there are problems with legal education to them).

Speaker 4: Prof. Richard Moorhead (Cardiff Law School)
Richard concluded that lawyers do not need to be scholars as much work is transactional/ routine, but lawyers do need scholars to write textbooks & teach.

Speaker 5: Prof. Stephen Mayson (Director of Legal Services Policy Institute, College of Law)
Stephen delivered the most controversial statement of the debate, that the current legal education on offer is “not fit for purpose”. He said the basic skills needed to underpin a new model are research, writing and reasoning. Market developments should also be taken into consideration e.g. how does legal process outsourcing & “Co-op” law affect job supply for law students?

Posted by Sally Peat at 16:36 0 comments  

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