Thursday, December 1, 2022, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

--- CLASS WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM. ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME ---

Learn how to use citators to make sure your cases, statutes, and regulations are still good law, and find more citations for your research question. Learn about the major online case citators – Shepard’s on Lexis Advance and KeyCite on Westlaw.

Class covers:

• Accessing Shepard’s on Lexis Advance and KeyCite on Westlaw
• “Shepardizing” and “Keyciting” a case
• “Shepardizing” and “Keyciting” a statute
• Explanation of Shepard’s signals and KeyCite symbols
• Reviewing results

Registration fees: FREE
Registration reserves spot

No legal advice:
LA Law Library provides access to legal resources and assistance with legal research. LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Thursday, December 15, 2022, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. 

--- CLASSES WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM. ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME ---

Learn how to evaluate and use free sources of legal information online. This class also introduces select low cost websites for researching California and federal law. 

Class covers:

• How to search for bills, codes, regulations, and case law
• Sources for Los Angeles City and County law and government
• General legal research sites, including Google Scholar and FindLaw for Legal Professionals
• Legal research tips
• Hands-on exercises

Registration fees: FREE
Registration reserves spot

No legal advice:
LA Law Library provides access to legal resources and assistance with legal research. LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Class recorded April 29, 2022

In this class, learn what to consider before filing a lawsuit for libel or slander (defamation). If someone makes untrue, damaging statements about you that may be grounds for a defamation lawsuit.  But these types of lawsuits are notoriously difficult to litigate successfully, are subject to many potential defenses, and often result in unintended blowback for a plaintiff. Learn from an experienced civil litigator who has brought and defended many significant cases involving defamation claims in federal and state courts. 

Class covers:

• How to determine if you have a viable defamation claim
• Libel vs. slander: different types of defamation
• How to assess whether the possible benefits of bringing a defamation lawsuit outweigh the costs
• Common defenses to a defamation claim
• Where and how to file, and important deadlines and time limits
• Calculating damages in a defamation lawsuit

Presented by: Michael Dore, Litigation Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Course Materials: If you would like to receive a copy of the course materials for any of the classes, including any PowerPoint used, please register at the Register Now! button for the class, provided below. A staff member will email you the course materials (usually within one business day)."

Registration fee: FREE

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The information presented in this program is not legal advice and is provided solely as an educational service to our patrons. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Class recorded April 29, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide – or has recently decided – several controversial cases, exercising its “province and duty…to say what the law is,” in the words of its famous 1803 decision in Marbury v. Madison. These cases come as the ideological makeup of the Court has changed, with justices generally viewed as conservative-leaning now holding a 6-3 advantage. In this class, hear from a prominent Supreme Court commentator and litigator about how the Court’s new and upcoming decisions on issues like abortion, gun ownership, religion in publicly funded schools, and voting rights, among others, could affect our constitutional and other important rights.

Class covers:

• An overview of major upcoming, and recently decided, U.S. Supreme Court cases
• The issues in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the major abortion rights case, and how the Court may decide
• New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, a case that could change Second Amendment gun ownership rights
• Why the recent decision Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, applying the Voting Rights Act, is so important
• Other cases affecting our constitutional and other important rights

Earn 1.0 hour general California participatory MCLE credit: After registration, a staff member will email you the course materials, an evaluation form, and your Certificate of Attendance (usually the next business day). Register first, then watch the recording to the end and answer the questions provided in the popup to verify your attendance.

Presented by: Amy L. Howe

Registration fee:  $25, Non-refundable.