We're taking a break from blogging for the holidays -- we'll resume on Tuesday, January 3, 2006.  Happy Holidays from Heafey Law Library!

Most first-year law students get all kinds of Lexis and Westlaw handouts during their first semester of law school, then promptly lose most of them.  Fortunately, both Lexis and Westlaw have placed most of their user guides on their websites, so there's no need to keep track of paper copies.  Click here for Westlaw's user guides and here for Lexis user guides.

For those of you still working on papers, here is an up-to-date notice of Heafey's holiday break hours.  We'll be closed from December 23, 2005 to January 2, 2006, reopening on January 3, 2006.  If you live in the South Bay and need a study/work space, San Jose State University's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library is open on December 27, 28, and 29.  King Library is open to the public.

Like most librarians, I have a few "top 10" research guides that I recommend to patrons.  Today, I’m featuring one of my favorite guides on researching California legislative history by UC Hastings’ Susan Nevelow Mart.  The guide gives researchers an intuitive, step-by-step introduction to the mysteries of California legislative history research and identifies all of the key materials that you’ll need.   --Posted by Amy Wright

Continuing today’s theme of international criminal law resources, we’re featuring a relatively new blog from Pace Law School faculty called Jus in Bello.  The blog concentrates on the International Criminal Court, other international criminal tribunals, and the law of international criminal prosecutions. Thanks to Out of the Jungle for the tip.

The Frederick K. Cox International Law Center and the Public International Law and Policy Group have teamed up to create the Saddam Hussein Trial Blog.  In addition to blog commentary, you can find basic information about the tribunal as well as key trial documents at the site.  Thanks to Yale Law School’s Lillian Goldman Law Library for the tip.

When I started practicing law eight years ago, I must have thought "Wow, they never taught me about THAT in law school!" at least three times a day.  While law school does a great job of teaching you the things you need to know to pass the bar exam, it won't necessarily teach you how to have a harmonious relationship with a difficult client, how to market your practice, or which legal technology is worth buying.  Fortunately, today's recent law school graduates and newly minted lawyers have access to lots of valuable law practice management and client relations tips on the Internet, including the ABA's Law Practice Today, which features articles on legal technology, marketing, management, and finance.  For daily free tips on a variety of law practice management issues, I highly recommend the law practice management blogs featured in the November 2005 issue.

--Posted by Amy Wright