Meeting Expectations
By Jean Holcomb
For an issue filled with stories that share a common theme centered on contract law, it would at first glance seem to be a stretch for the law library column to find a story line to match that theme. But if the heart of a contract “story” focuses on the theme of meeting expectations between parties and what happens if those expectations aren’t met, then many parallels can be found in how our law library operates.
Over 100,000 people come to our two Libraries each year. They share one common trait. Each expects to find answers.
What each does to find the answers to their questions varies widely. Many start their quest at the Library information desk. Others prefer to start the investigative process on their own.
The choice for a starting point in the research process may depend upon the prior experience of the user and their familiarity with legal research resources. Members of the legal profession trained in the pre-Westlaw/Lexis days might turn to a secondary resource like ALR or a digest. Recent law school graduates might gravitate to online or web resources bypassing the books altogether. For members of the general public with no grounding in legal research, the starting points may be even more varied, but asking questions of the library staff almost always fits into their process.
While our goal is to ensure that everyone who uses the Library has a positive research experience, we recognize that barriers exist to meeting all ex-pectations. Some-times now, a favorite research tool no longer exists or is too expensive for the Library to continue to maintain. For example, if one volume of Pacific Reports that in 1992 cost $34.00 now costs over $140.00, we can’t afford to maintain that resource in book form.
We do, however, understand that our users expect to be able to find up to the minute case law. To meet user expectations for case law reports, we have added online resources such as Westlaw, Lexis, and Loislaw. We also provide computer access to the world of resources available on the web including links to state court web sites that report recent decisions.
Because we want our users to have successful research experiences thus meeting their expectations, we need to be sure that all users can navigate the changing landscape of information formats. For that reason, the staff offers training in small groups and on-demand to help anyone who wishes to learn new online research skills or to polish existing skills. Our monthly training schedule appears on the www.kcll.org web site. To take advance of our pledge to supply on-demand training, stop at the research assistance desk in the Seattle Library or at the information desk at the RJC.
Internet class topic: The Seattle Law Library Internet lunch-break class for web users will be held on the third Thursday of the month on the sixth floor of the County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue. The March 17 class will provide tips about using the free Wi-Fi service now available in both the Seattle and RJC Law Libraries. The April 21 training will cover information about a new, easy way to automatically receive news from the Internet using RSS--Really Simple Syndication. RSS is an XML based format for reading news using your Internet Brower. For information about the training, contact Rita Kaiser at (206) 296-0940. For information about additional training opportunities, view the monthly training calendar on the library’s web page at www.kcll.org.
Gifts: Nathaniel B. Green, Jr. and Stokes Lawrence, PS
Recent Acquisitions, King County Law Library: Banking: Mergers & Acquisitions in the Financial Services Industry; Bankruptcy Law: Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice; Civil Procedure: Consumer Arbitration Agreements; Sample Jury Instructions in Civil Antitrust Cases; Blue’s Guide to Jury Selection; Contract Law: The ABCs of the UCC Article 3, Negotiable Instruments & Article 4, Bank Deposits and Collections; Foreclosing, Protecting and Defending Liens; Negotiating and Drafting Contract Boilerplate; Corpor-ation Law: The Legal Audit: Corporate Internal Investigation; Domestic Relations: Handling Your First (or Next) Dissolution Trial with Confi-dence; Adoption Practice and Proce-dure: Keeping Current; Education Law: School Violence: From Discipline to Due Process; Estate Planning: Flexible Trusts and Estates for Uncertain Times; Health Law: HIPAA: A Practical Guide to the Privacy and Security of Health Data; Immigration Law: Immigration Law and Procedure in a Nutshell; Insurance Law: Commercial Crime Policy; Insurance Today: The Markets, The Claims, and Critical Litigation Issues; Directors and Officers Liability: Prevention, Insurance and Indemnifi-cation; Intellectual Property: Trademark Law Practice Forms; Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting; Juvenile Justice: How to Work With Your Court: A Guide for Child Welfare Agency Administrators; Labor Law: Employment Law; Workers’ Compensa-tion and Employee Protection Laws in a Nutshell; Maritime Law: The Law of Seamen; Patent Law: The Patent Guidebook; Practice of Law: The Lawyer’s Guide to Strategic Planning: Defining, Setting, and Achieving Your Firm’s Goals; Real Property: Miller & Starr California Real Estate; Securities: Treatise on the Law of Securities Regulation; Understanding the New Hedge Fund Rule; Taxation: The Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations; The Chari-table Giving Toolbox; Tort Law: Aviation Tort and Regulatory Law; Privacy Law 2004; Trade Regulation: Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices; Access to Utility Service; Trial Practice: Creating Winning Trial Strategies and Graphics.
Jean Holcomb is the King County Law Librarian. She welcomes your comments. Call her at (206) 296-0940,
or email her at jean.holcomb@metrokc.gov.
Collections Note
by Rita Dermody, Collection Access Services Librarian.
Following the theme of contract law and agreements for this issue of the Bar Bulletin, I decided to highlight titles in the library that discuss the attorney fee agreement. As stated in the Foreword to Winning Alternatives to the Billable Hour, “How fee-for-service is constructed and executed can either help or hinder the overall health and vitality of the lawyer-client bond.”
I’ve listed below books in the King County Law Library that discuss and provide examples of fee agreements that will help you develop a healthy and vital lawyer-client bond. Please visit our Library and check them out.
Attorneys’ Fees, 3rd ed. By Robert L. Rossi, Thomson West. Two volume discussion of attorneys’ fees with sample agreements in Appendix A.
Billing Innovations: New Win-Win Ways to End Hourly Billing, by Richard C. Reed. American Bar Association, 1996. Chapter 3 contains sample agreements.
Collecting Your Fee: Getting Paid from intake to Invoice, by Edward Poll. American Bar Association, 2003. CD-ROM accompanies text and contains forms found in the appendix.
The Essential Formbook: Comprehensive Management Tool for Lawyers, by Gary A. Munneke and Anthony E. Davis, American Bar Association. Volume 1 includes client intake and fee agreements; volume 2 contains fees, billing, and collection.
Fee Agreement Forms Manual, Continuing Education of the Bar, California. Though emphasis is for the California bar, sample provisions may provide guidance in creating an agreement appropriate for Washington State. Contains sample provisions and commentary, sample agreements, and checklist of sample provisions.
Winning Alternatives to the Billable Hour: Strategies That Work, 2nd ed., American Bar Association, 2002. New edition of text originally written by local attorney Richard C. Reed. Appendix contains fee letter, agreements and other resources.
