Free CLE at the Harris County Law Library - Blending Your Legal Research

The Harris County Law Library will offer the latest installment of its Legal Tech Institute Lecture Series on January 17, 2019 at 12:00 pm. The presenters, Amy Small, Assistant Director of the Texas State Law Library, and Joseph Lawson, Deputy Director of the Harris County Law Library, will discuss strategies for using free and low cost legal research sources effectively. Attendees will learn to approach legal research systematically, utilizing free resources available online, including the e-books and legal databases in the Texas State Law Library’s digital collection. Presenters will also discuss how to use Westlaw and Lexis Advance, which can be accessed for free on site at the Harris County Law Library.

To enroll in this course, please visit the Blending Your Legal Research registration page. Look for other Legal Tech Institute programs, including the Hands-on Legal Tech Training classes offered every Thursday at 2:00 pm in our Legal Tech Lab in the Law Library. Our 2019 Course Catalog has just been published and is now available via the Legal Tech Institute online.

Law Library Legal Tech Institute Publishes 2019 Course Catalog

The Harris County Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute today released the 2019 Course Catalog for its Hands-on Legal Tech Training Program. This year, law librarians will teach nine courses on rotation at the Law Library’s Legal Tech Lab. Each course will focus on tech skills needed for legal work in a digital environment. Training sessions are free and open to all, and most carry free continuing legal education credit for Texas attorneys courtesy of the CLE Committee for the Office of Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney.

“Since the Law Library joined our Office, we have worked to make it a destination where all residents of Harris County can connect with their government and access legal information,” County Attorney Ryan said. “I encourage everyone to take advantage of the free educational programs at the Law Library and to never hesitate to ask to use ‘our’ resources – they are your resources.”

View fullsize

Two instructors lead small classes of nine participants to ensure an interactive environment where students can ask questions and practice skills as they learn. Laptops funded by a 2017 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation are provided or participants can bring their own devices. Each class also touches on skills for all in attendance, from beginners to pros.

“Technology has clearly been a disruptive force in the legal community,” Legal Tech Institute Director Joe Lawson said. “While that presents competitive opportunities for some, it also creates barriers for others. For example, solo attorneys and self-represented litigants, who do not have in-house trainers and support staff like large law firms, may find it difficult to learn each new legal research platform or to use Microsoft Word in a way that complies with the new, tech-heavy procedural rules. As a public law library, our mission is to eliminate barriers to legal information. Offering these free, hands-on training opportunities to all is a big step in the right direction.”

Visit the Legal Tech Institute website at www.harriscountylawlibrary.org/tech to download a copy of the Course Catalog and to register for an upcoming training session. Anyone who is unable to register on the website can find assistance from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Law Library’s reference desk, located at 1019 Congress Street, 1st floor, Houston, Texas 77002, or by phone at (713)755-8153.

New Video CLE: Fulfilling Ethical Obligations with Legal Research

The Legal Tech Institute at the Harris County Law Library has released a new video CLE. Fulfilling Ethical Obligations with Legal Research is the latest additional to our Learn On-Demand CLE library that lets you earn CLE credit in Texas while staying up to date on legal tech. Visit the Law Library's Legal Tech Institute page for more legal tech learning opportunities.

National Pro Bono Week

This week (Oct. 21-27, 2018) is the 10th Annual National Pro Bono Week! Legal organizations across the country have planned events to celebrate and educate pro bono attorneys in their communities, and the Harris County Law Library is no exception. On Thursday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m., we’ll offer our first session of Free Legal Tech for the Public, which is designed to help pro bono attorneys and self-represented litigants make sense of all the great online resources available to help individuals representing themselves in legal matters. Everyone is welcome to attend this Hands-on Legal Tech Training from the Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute and Texas attorneys can earn 1.0 hour of CLE credit. Click for details and registration information.

Hats Off to Houston Volunteer Lawyers!

In the tradition of celebrating excellence in pro bono work during National Pro Bono Week, the Law Library would like to give a hat tip to Houston Volunteer Lawyers! HVL attorneys staff the “Library Booth,” which is a legal information booth where self-represented litigants with limited means can speak with a licensed attorney for free. The Library Booth is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the lower level of our downtown Houston location. Working in close proximity with HVL attorneys, our law librarians see the positive impact it has on our patrons to have ready access to pro bono attorneys who can answer basic questions. With guidance, self-represented litigants can make better use of the Law Library’s collection and have improved access to justice. Visit www.makejusticehappen.org to see all the ways HVL supports pro bono.

Further Reading

• For more information about National Pro Bono Week, including a nationwide events calendar, visit www.probono.net

• For information about National Pro Bono Week events in Houston, visit the Houston Bar Association’s Pro Bono Week 2018 page.

• For more information about the Law Library’s Hands-on Legal Tech Training sessions, including the Pro Bono Week session of Free Legal Tech for the Public, visit our Legal Tech Institute website and click the Course Calendar.

How To Master Microsoft Excel

Excel is a data management tool used for organizing, calculating, graphing, and sharing tabular information. The importance of developing proficiency in the use of Excel cannot be overstated. Knowing how to manipulate spreadsheets is just as important as properly formatting a written document.

According to some, we spend 10% of our working lives manipulating spreadsheets, so becoming adept at using Excel can only improve your efficiency and productivity. Several resources are available to those interested in developing Excel proficiency.

For starters, we recommend that you visit our On-Demand Learning page from the Legal Tech Institute where you will find a recorded CLE called Excel Essentials for the Practice of Law, presented by none other than Ben Kusmin, the go-to expert on using Excel for legal work. Visit his website, Excel Esquire, for even more helpful tips and information.

Secondly, we recommend that you download The Definitive 100 Most Useful Excel Tips, an outstanding resource guide that includes, along with each tip, a utility score, a difficulty scale, an estimated learning time, and a suggestion for how to apply each skill practically.

If tackling 100 new skills seems a bit daunting, try a more gradual approach. Tackle just 10 Excel Functions Everyone Should Know, presented by Harvard Business Review.

Certainly, there is a wealth of additional resources you may consult, but the suggestions provided here are a great place to start. Look for our Legal Tech Institute to offer a Hands-on Legal Tech Training course, Excel for Legal Work, in the new year. Hope to see you there!

Need even more inspiration to become an Excel master? Check out this competition for expert Excel users, the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship, where a new Excel spreadsheet champion is crowned every year. Alternatively, consider the work of this incredible artist, who “paints” Japanese landscapes using Excel. Spreadsheets aren’t just for number crunchers any more!