Author: Chi Song

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Foreclosure Mediation Brief Advice Project

The Foreclosure Mediation Brief Advice Project is a free clinic open to homeowners facing foreclosure without legal representation. Launched in August 2014 by the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service and Civil Justice, Inc., this walk-in clinic is staffed by attorneys in order to answer homeowners’ questions about foreclosure mediation, provide legal advice regarding foreclosure, and assist with understanding your foreclosure-related court documents.

What is foreclosure? Foreclosure is the legal process that the lender starts with the courts when you have not made your mortgage payments, and the lender wants to force the sale of the house to recover the balance of the mortgage.

What is foreclosure mediation? Foreclosure mediation is a confidential conversation between the homeowner and the lender with a mediator where the homeowner and lender can discuss the current mortgage and foreclosure situation. This mediation can be an opportunity for the homeowner to learn about available resources for their particular situation. In order for the homeowner to have the right to request a mediation, the homeowner must have been served an Order to Docket and a Final Loss Mitigation Affidavit by the lender. Please note that the clinic’s attorney cannot attend the mediation with you. More detailed information about the foreclosure process and foreclosure mediation  is available at the Maryland People’s Law Library at http://www.peoples-law.org/foreclosure-mediation.

The clinic is located at 11101 Gilroy Road, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031 at the Office of Administrative Hearings (Administrative Law Building). Hours of operation are Mondays and Wednesdays, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (new intakes are not accepted after 4:00 p.m.). The clinic is first-come, first-serve. Homeowners in any part of the foreclosure process are welcome at the clinic and do not need to make an appointment. If you have any questions regarding how to access these great resources, please contact the Law Library!

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer in the Library: Wednesday Wrap-up

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Thank you Chris!

The Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program sponsored by The Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can talk with a volunteer attorney for up to 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary, but sign-up is required at the law library’s information desk. Sign-up begins at 10:45 a.m., and time slots are determined by a lottery. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015, the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program. Thank you, Chris Boucher, for volunteering and providing this service to the public. Six people took part in the program and were able to speak with the attorney to request assistance with issues such as wills, trusts, employment discrimination, landlord/tenant and debt issues. The next program date is Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

The Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is also hosted by the Anne Arundel County Public Library, Glen Burnie Regional Library, on every third Wednesday of the month, August through May, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  Sign-up is at 4:15 p.m., and time slots are determined by lottery.  The Glen Burnie Regional Library is located at 1010 Eastway, Glen Burnie, Maryland 21060.  Their main telephone number is (410) 222 – 6270.

More information about the program is available at http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library. The Ask A Lawyer In The Law Library program is a limited legal advice service. The program is not a substitute for representation. If you need an attorney to represent you, you can contact the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
 
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lawlibrary

The Peabody Library

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The photo is courtesy of the Peabody Library.

Your friendly law library interns have started a bucket list to visit the most beautiful libraries in the United States. Our first stop was the George Peabody Library, founded in 1857 and located in Baltimore, Maryland. The George Peabody Library (formerly known as the Library of the Peabody Institute of the City of Baltimore) was originally a free public library and part of the Peabody Institute, which is now a division of The Johns Hopkins University.

Paul Espinosa, the Curator of the Peabody Library, gave us a great tour of the library’s architecture, exhibit space and special collections. As you can see in the photograph, the library’s architecture is dramatic and striking, with five tiers of ornamental cast-iron balconies leading up to a skylight 61 feet above the main floor. If you cannot visit the library in person, I would recommend viewing the Peabody Library through this site created by Matthew Petroff, available at http://www.360cities.net/image/george-peabody-library, which provides fantastic panaromic views of the library. Although I do not understand the physics behind the 360-degree view of the Peabody Library, I can attest that it accurately captures what you would see if you were standing there in person.

My favorite part of the tour was viewing the library’s special collections, specifically the books with a fore-edge painting (a scene painted on the page edges of a book so that when the book’s pages are either fanned or closed, you can see the painting). It was amazing to see the amount of detail on such small canvases, and I can only imagine the skill required to paint the paper edges. Check out examples of fore-edge painting and other gems from the library’s Special Collections here! For more information about the library, check out their website and Wunderkammer Tumblr (Wunderkammer = Cabinet of Curiosities).

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lawlibrary Legal Technology

Legal Research in the Blogosphere – SCOTUSblog

Legal research can be challenging, even for experienced attorneys; however, there are many resources available to assist both attorneys and non-attorneys with their legal research needs. The Legal Research in the Blogosphere series will share blog posts and online sites that legal researchers may find useful.

Scotusblog was founded in 2002 by the wife and husband team of Amy Howe and Tom Goldstein. Currently, the blog has over twenty writers who publish posts on issues closely related to the Supreme Court, such as posts on every merits case before the Supreme Court (prior to argument, after argument and after decision). This can be a great resource for those legal researchers interested in following the Supreme Court’s current events.

For non-attorney readers, the blog publishes “Plain English” posts where cases are drafted in plain language. The blog also includes an introduction to Supreme Court procedure, a glossary of legal terms, and biographies of the Supreme Court Justices. For visual learners, the blog has a multimedia library with videos of interviews with the Supreme Court Justices, news footage, presentations, and other resources. You can read about the blog’s vision here.

Please note that the blog is not the official website for the Supreme Court. The official Supreme Court website is available at http://www.supremecourt.gov/default.aspx.  On the Supreme Court’s website you will also find a wealth of information, including biographies of the Supreme Court Justices, opinions, calendars for oral arguments, Court Rules, and guidance for attorneys. If you are interested in learning more about the Supreme Court and Supreme Court practice, please stop by the Law Library.

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lawlibrary

Practice of Law – Legal Writing Tips

photo 3 (2)Each month, the AACPLL Blog will publish a post with helpful legal research tips.  If you would like more information about any of the tips referenced in this post or series, please feel free to contact the Law Library!

Effective writing skills are a must for any attorney, whether your practice is big or small, transactional or litigation. Bryan A. Garner, perhaps best known as the editor-in-chief of Black’s Law Dictionary, published an article with the ABA Journal with ten tips to improve your legal writing. Embedded in these legal writing tips are helpful legal research tips such as understanding the client’s problem (Tip #1) and not relying exclusively on computer research (Tip #2). My favorite tip is to proofread one more time than you think necessary (Tip #10).  Mr. Garner suggests a dramatic, out loud reading as a proofreading technique, which I did for this blog post (although my dramatic reading was conducted in a whisper as I am working at the law library). Check out all ten tips at  http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/10_tips_for_better_legal_writing!

If you are interested in learning more about improving your legal writing, these resources are available at the Law Library!

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library: Wednesday Wrap-up

admin-ajaxThe Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program sponsored by The Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can talk with a volunteer attorney for up to 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary, but sign-up is required at the law library’s information desk. Sign-up begins at 10:45 a.m., and time slots are determined by a lottery. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

On Wednesday, February 4, 2015, the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program. Thank you, Mike Ragland and Jack Paltell, from Bell, Ragland, Gauges & Paltell, for volunteering and providing this service to the public. Six people took part in the program and were able to speak with the attorney to request assistance with issues such as severance packages, foreclosure, garnishment, car titles, bankruptcy and unemployment. The next program date is Wednesday, February 11, 2015.

Do you have a criminal law matter? Criminal Law matters are best addressed by the Office of the Public Defender. Information about the Office of the Public Defender is available at http://www.opd.state.md.us/.

More information about the program is available at http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library. The Ask A Lawyer In The Law Library program is a limited legal advice service. The program is not a substitute for representation. If you need an attorney to represent you, you can contact the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
 
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lawlibrary

Legal Research Tips – Goodbye THOMAS. Hello Congress.gov!

THOMAS is retiring! Launched in 1995 by the Library of Congress and named after Thomas Jefferson, one of the United States’s founding fathers, THOMAS is a great online database of federal legislative information. The specific date of THOMAS’s retirement has not yet been set, but expect THOMAS to retire after the 2015 fiscal year.

Introducing Congress.gov! Congress.gov is now the official website for federal legislative information and provides the public with access to both current and historic legislative information including bill summaries, bill status, presidential nominations, treaties, and committee reports. Note that the default search setting for Congress.gov is the current session of Congress. Common search options are available in a drop-down menu next to the main search box at the top of the webpage, and advanced search settings are available through the “Advanced” link to the right of the main search box.  For more search tips, check out https://www.congress.gov/help/search-tips-overview.

Information is generally updated the morning after a session adjourns, and specific update schedules are available at https://www.congress.gov/about/coverage-dates.  Every Monday, the website compiles a list of the top ten most-viewed bills from the previous week. This can be a great resource to quickly find a popular topic or get a sense of what is trending.  Here are some highlights from the site.

If you would like to learn more about Congress.gov or receive assistance in navigating the site, contact us at the Law Library, and we will be more than happy to assist you.

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lawlibrary

Legal Research in the Blogosphere – ABA Blawg Directory

Legal research can be challenging, even for experienced attorneys; however, there are many resources available to assist both attorneys and non-attorneys with their legal research needs.  The Legal Research in the Blogosphere series will share blog posts and online sites that legal researchers may find useful.

The American Bar Association (ABA) maintains a comprehensive directory of law blogs, which is available at http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs/.  The blogs are organized by topic, author type, region, law school and courts.  These blogs can be good resources for more specialized information as well as fun to read.  In addition, the ABA maintains a blog “Hall of Fame” and annual rankings.  Check them out to see if your favorite law blog made the list.

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library: Wednesday Wrap-up

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Thank you Kemp!

The Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program sponsored by The Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service.  Every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can talk with a volunteer attorney for up to 20 minutes.  No appointment is necessary, but sign-up is required at the law library’s information desk.  Sign-up begins at 10:45 a.m., and time slots are determined by a lottery. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

On Wednesday, January 28, 2015,  the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program.  Thank you, Kemp Hammond from Baldwin, Kagan & Gormley, for volunteering and providing this service to the public. Six people took part in the program and were able to speak with the attorney to request assistance with issues such as unemployment, mortgages, requesting injunctions and civil procedure.  The next program date is Wednesday, February 4, 2015.

It is helpful to prepare for your session with the attorney.  Here are some helpful tips:

  • Write a list of specific questions for the attorney.
  • Bring any paperwork and information related to the case.
  • Organize any paperwork from most recent on the top to oldest at the bottom.
  • Identify all deadlines.
  • Prepare a timeline of the legal issue.

If you would like to read up on your issue prior to your session with the attorney, please come find us at the Law Library’s information desk.  We are happy to assist you.

More information about the program is available at http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.  The Ask A Lawyer In The Law Library program is a limited legal advice service. The program is not a substitute for representation. If you need an attorney to represent you, you can contact the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
 
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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

AACPLL Self Help and Pro Bono Wiki

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Here is a screen shot of the main page of the wiki.

In 2009, in response to the growing number of self-represented litigants in Anne Arundel County, the Law Library and the Pro Bono Committee of the Anne Arundel Bar Association collaborated to develop a wiki that serves as a guide to pro bono and self-help resources and referrals.  The wiki facilitates the sharing of information for the administration and development of pro bono projects in Anne Arundel County by providing those in need of services and service providers with helpful resources. One of the many resources available on the wiki site is a directory of pro bono and reduced fee civil legal services.  In addition, you can find family law resources, resources for unaccompanied homeless youth, and legal self-help centers.

Check out the wiki at aacpll.pbworks.com!