St. John & Associates International

Here are some upcoming events and job fairs.  Often, you can attend the Exhibit Hall for free, just by inquiring.  Happy Conferencing!

*10/24-10/27/10 – American Corporate Counsel (ACC) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX.
http://www.acc.com/education/am10/ 
Can’t make it in person? They have a virtual networking page.  Read their blog. Follow on Twitter.

*Mon. 10/25/10 – from 10-2 p.m.  Job Hunters Boot Camp Free.
Sponsored by: Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s Office. South San Francisco Conference Center, 255 South Airport Blvd., SSF. Pre-register 
by emailing:  speier.events@mail.house.gov 
http://www.ssfconf.com/getting_here/map_and_directions.html

*Mon. 10/25/10 – Wed. 10/27/10 – Internet Librarian – Monterey, CA.
Exhibit Hall is free, but you need to ask.  See: http://www.infotoday.com/il2010/  

*The MicroPatent database (www.micropat.com) lists upcoming Intellectual Property & Patent conferences (in the U.S. and world-wide).   
http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/science/?view=Conference&bu=Science/

*Fri. 11/5/10 – 9-5 p.m. – GGU Law School, San Francisco, CA.
9^th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference
For more information -Justin Reid at 415.369.5293 or jreid@ggu.edu 
General Admission : $75.00, GGU Alumni $35.00, Law Students = $14.00 

http://www.hg.org/legal-events.asp?action=page&pcomp=4959

*11/17/10-11/21/10 – National Asian Pacific American Bar Assoc (NAPABA) – Marriott Hotel, Los Angeles, CA.
http://www.napaba.org/napaba/showpage.asp?code=convention 

*Tues. 12/14/10 – 9-5, EST. – Virtual Legal Tech Show 
www.virtuallegaltechshow.com. 
Get 8 free hours of MCLE from anywhere.  You need to pre-register.  Sponnsors include: IBM, Thomson Reuters, Law Technology News, The NLJ, Cal Law, Law.com, HireCounsel.com. Includes virtual networking opportunities.

Legal Tech West Coast 2010 (in L.A.) was very inspiring.
More details…
Here’s a short recap:

1).  I have 15 copies of the Legal Tech speakers’ presentation on CD.  Email me if you would like a free copy.

2). Law Technology News (LTN) is an important publication for those on the Operations side of the Legal Department.  Check it out…

3). The exhibitor companies are growing and many are hiring.  List of exhibitors…

4). Costs are continuing to be scrutinized by firms and corporate legal departments.  Most cut their budgets from 5-20% in 2010.

5). E-Discovery is being outsourced to companies like Kroll Ontrack.

6). Upcoming virtual and live conferences include:

VIRTUAL LEGAL CAREER FAIR – SEPT. 16, 2010 ONLINE and

LegalTech New York – Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, 2011 – The Hilton New York

Here are some helpful websites:
www.sba.gov  (Small Business Administration)
www.fbo.gov  (Federal Business Opportunities)
www.sba.gov/services/index.html  (SBA’s Index of Services)
www.score.org (Service Core of Retired Executives)

We can help you get started and are here to assist with your legal, research, library and Knowledge Management needs.

Bar Association resources can be invaluable for job hunting and networking. Here are contacts for the San Francisco/Bay area:

The American Bar Association (ABA)  Annual Meeting will be in San Francisco on  8/5/10  – 8/10/10: http://new.abanet.org/annual/pages/default.aspx
ABAs Practice group meetings at the Annual conference: http://new.abanet.org/annual/pdfs/931528_General.pdf

ABA Journal’s May 2010 issue is here: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/

ABA Job Board is here.  Post your resume and search for jobs: http://jobs.abanet.org/search.cfm

ABA Journal’s Top 100 Law “Blawgs”   http://www.abajournal.com/blawg100  

The Bar Association of San Francisco sponsors many MCLE classes and events.  See their calendar:  http://www.sfbar.org/calendar/

The State Bar of California also has over 20 sections which are helpful for MCLE programs and networking.  Register for one of the sections here: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10161&id=39702

Check out Virtual LegalTech on Thursday, May 20, 2010 from 9-5 pm, EST.    Earn free California MCLE credits.  Network.  Attend the Exhibit call.  Talk with your legal colleagues.  Sponsors include: Thomson-Reuters, NLJ, Cal Law, etc. 

I attended the Vritual LegalTech in March 2010 and found it very professional, organized, with top notch speakers.  Sign up for free.  See their website for details.  www.virtuallegaltechshow.com.

Practising Law Institute (PLI) is providing free MCLE classes for job seekers, pro bono matters, students, etc.   See their website for details (www.pli.edu).
Some of you asked for more details, so I called them today (Wed. 4/28/2010) and asked:

Q:  Is it really free? 
A: Yes.

Q: Does this apply to all PLI classes (or just the ones marked Pro Bono?)
A: All PLI live seminars and/or live webcasts.

Q: Will others know that I am attending on scholarship?
A: No, others will not know. 

Q: Great.  What do we have to do? 
A: Fill out a scholarship application per course and submit a $25.00 check per course.  http://www.pli.edu/public/scholarships/default.asp
Allow up to 30 days for processing.  If you have an unemployment form or Unemployment check stub, you can submit it and this will expedite the PLI scholarship approval.    
When approved, you can attend either the live seminar or the live webcast.    

PLI’s  contact info: (800) 260-4PLI
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Eastern Time
FAX: (800) 321-0093
MAIL: Practising Law Institute
810 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019.  

PLI’s San Francisco office:  
685 Market Street
(between Third and Annie Streets)
Monadnock Building, First Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-4200
415-498-2821

Bernadette’s comment.  This is a great value, as many of PLI’s live seminars and live webcasts can cost $2,000.00+.  Attending the live seminar may be a good way to network.  Check out the upcoming PLI seminars at: http://www.pli.edu/product/seminars.asp 

Also, you may want to send them a Thank You.  This is a great service to our legal community.

Many of our clients have asked us about free legal databases.  The following legal publishers and vendors provide free access of select databases.  Many have links to sign up if you are working on Pro Bono projects and/or are currently job hunting.

Let us know of any additional resources that you would like us to post.   Good luck with your research and/or your job search.  Let us  know how we may be of assistance with  your Library, Knowledge Management or Research needs.

Regards,
Bernadette

Free legal databases, legal blogs and research resources 

Free legal databases

Cal Law has free Limited Access.  http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/subscribe_intermediate.jsp
You can also sign up to receive the Cal Law email news daily alerts for free.

LexisNexis – has free case law (federal and state) for the last 10 years.  Select coverage. http://www.lexisone.com/freecaselaw/coverage.html
Customer Support 800.227.9597 x56616 hours are 9-6 EST.  But the database access is available 24/7.

Martindale-Hubbell – (www.martindale.com) You can add a basic free profile.
Customer Support 800.526.4902 x 5096

Practicing Law Institute (PLI), www.pli.edu
“Full and partial scholarships are available for judges, judicial law clerks, law professors, law students, attorneys 65 or older, law librarians, attorneys who work for nonprofit organizations, legal services organizations or government agencies, and unemployed attorneys. Note: In 2009, they awarded 8,900 full scholarships to PLI seminars. They also have a free PLI program on the crisis in Haiti.
PLI’s scholarship link: http://www.pli.edu/public/scholarships/default.asp  Send a $25.00 processing fee with your scholarship form. 
Questions call:  NY office. (800) 260-4PLI. 
SF office:  685 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4200.  Tel. 415-498-2821

SEC – To search for free SEC filings: http://www.sec.gov/news/press/subscribe_updates.htm
To receive free SEC email updates. http://www.sec.gov/news/press/subscribe_updates.htm
SEC jobs: http://www.sec.gov/jobs.shtml

Stanford Law School’s Securities Class Action Clearinghouse http://securities.stanford.edu
This is an excellent repository of securities class action case summaries, pleadings & orders.  I used to manage this website for 3  years when I was a Research lawyer there.  You can search by name, ticker, judge, jurisdiction, etc.

Westlaw – Westlaw is offering free access for job seekers and for Pro Bono legal work.  This is for everyone in Legal (attorneys, paralegals, patent agents, secretaries, etc.)
Go to: www.betweencases.com.

Legal Placement Agencies

Some of our colleagues have found the following “head hunters” to be helpful.  We welcome your suggestions too.

Major, Lindsey & Africa – http://www.mlaglobal.com/pages/Home.aspx

The Dubin Group – http://www.dubingroup.com

Legal Blogs and research websites

Northern California Law Librarians www.nocall.org. 300 law librarians in Northern California contribute to this website.  They also have a link for topical areas of law and for California.

Three Geeks and a Law Blog http://www.geeklawblog.com/

Avvo.com www.avvo.com (This is helpful for finding a lawyer and getting short legal questions answered.  It is a good way to promote yourself).

Biospace Job Boards (http://www.biospace.com/jobs/homepage/)  You can include legal as a search term.  Searches all biotech jobs – U.S. wide.

California State Bar website (www.calbar.ca.gov) and
CA State Bar attorney search: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10114
Click on the right hand corner for membership info.  You can search by name, firm, location and/or by specialty area.

Career Builder www.careerbuilder.com

Craig’s List www.craigslist.com

Indeed  www.indeed.com.   It touts “One search, all jobs.” 1,123,757 new jobs in the last 7 days. Search job sites, newspapers, associations and company career pages.

International Trademark Association (www.inta.org)
http://www.inta.org/index.php?option=com_jobline&Itemid=156&getcontent=4

 JD Supra.com www.jdsupra.com (The website says, “Give content.  Get noticed.”)

Law Crossing (www.lawcrossing.com).   Their website says they are the #1 legal job board in the U.S.  They have listings for attorneys, paralegals and staff.  They give a free 72 hour trial, then it is $49.95/mo. Thereafter.   Customer Support 626.243.1801

Law Jobs (www.lawjobs.com). This is the Cal Law/Recorder’s online job link.

Linked In (www.linkedin.com).  This is excellent for building a free network of contacts and referrals.  You are welcome to add me as a link/referral.

Monster (www.monster.com)

SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission)  jobs http://www.sec.gov/jobs.shtml 

Simply Hired  www.simplyhired.com

U.C. Berkeley Career Center https://career.berkeley.edu/infolab/jobsites.stm#Law
Note: Scroll down to Law & Public Policy

USAJobs (www.usajobs.gov).  This is federal jobs in DC and throughout the U.S.  Search by job and by region/state.

Marketing Ideas

“Tips for branding your company” http://aboutpublicrelations.net/ucmckerns3.htm

The Rainmaker Institute (www.therainmakerinstitute.com). 
Note: I heard the founder Steve Fairley speak at last year’s Cal State Bar conference in San Diego.  He was an excellent speaker with great ideas for building your web presence.

ProMatch is part of the CONNECT! Job Seeker Center, a “one-stop” collaborative career services center comprised of over 25 local organizations that provide services for job seekers and businesses in Silicon Valley…”

Recommended Reading 

Brag, by Peggy Klaus

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels, by Michael Watkins

*The Knock “Em Dead Resumes by Martin Yate.  See: http://www.amazon.com/Knock-Dead-Resumes-Information-Techniques/dp/1598696742/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272479336&sr=1-1 

What Color is Your Parachute 2010,  by Richard N. Bolles

Who: A Method of Hiring, by Geoff Smart and Randy Street

Upcoming Legal conferences in California and beyond

California State Bar Conference – Sept. 25-26 in Monterey, CA.
http://calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?sCategoryPath=/Home/About%20the%20Bar/State%20Bar%20Annual%20Meeting

Would you like to help rebuild libraries that have been destroyed  and build new libraries in impoverished areas of the world?  Here are some ways to help.

Room to Read
RTR is based in San Francisco and has a global impact.  This tremendous organization has built 7,000+ libraries for school children in the last 10 years.  They are leading the way in the fight against illiteracy.  Check out their website for ways that we can help.

Haiti
Here are three organizations that are helping to rebuild libraries & archives after the earthquake: The American Library Association, Librarians Without Borders and UNESCO.   All of these organizations are contributing greatly to the rebuilding effort.