Does Google Have YOUR Number?

Do you use Gmail? How about YouTube? Google Docs? Are you concerned about all that information Google may be collecting about you? Now there's Google's Privacy Dashboard with a control panel that lets you see what Google knows about you, and modify your preferences - all in one place.

Watch a video of Google Privacy Dashboard here.

Legal History for the Modern Researcher

Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History, available online through the Library's A-Z list, and in print in the reference area, covers legal history from ancient to modern times with historical and contemporary comparisons of world legal systems. The approximately 1,000 articles are written by experts and scholars, usually law professors (including BC’s Professor Mary Bilder), and explore Ancient Greek Law, Ancient and Medieval Roman Law, Chinese Law, English Common Law, Islamic Law, United States Law, and the laws of other regions such as Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. In her entry “The Colonial Period: The Sources of Colonial Law Dutch,” Professor Bilder discusses the influences of Spanish and French, Dutch, and English Common Law on the law of the colonies. The encyclopedia includes an extensive bibliography in which major books in each topic are identified.

New SEC Staff Legal Bulletin - CEO succession plans

The SEC's Division of Corporate Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin 14E, regarding shareholder proposals, on October 27, 2009. The Bulletin discusses the application of Rule 14a-8(i)(7) to shareholder proposals related to succession plans for a chief executive officer (CEO). While the SEC has issued no-action letters in the past barring such shareholder proposals on the basis that the proposal extends down to the level of hiring and management of employees, Staff Legal Bulletin 14E signals a move away from this position. The Bulletin language references the strong policy implications inherent in CEO succession planning and states that "Going forward, we will take the view that a company generally may not rely on Rule 14a-8(i)(7) to exclude a proposal that focuses on CEO succession planning."

Staff Legal Bulletin 14E is available on the SEC website, Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis and Knowledge Mosaic. It is not available on Westlaw as of today.

New Uniform Bar Exam

The movement toward a Uniform Bar Exam has gained momentum recently. An article in the National Law Journal indicated that ten states will adopt the Uniform Bar Exam, designed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, in 2011. The new exam will allow portability of bar exam scores to other jurisdictions also adopting the exam. What will the impact on law school curricula be as more states move to the uniform exam model? Douglas Berman thoughtfully adresses that question in his Law School Innovation blog post today.

24 Hours of Legal Rebels

The ABA Journal is hosting an unprecedented 24 hours of podcasts, live chats and essays by legal scholars and practitioners on Wednesday, October 13th and Thursday, October 14th. These legal experts will predict the future of the profession and will address the changes that need to be made in big law firms, solo practices, law schools, legal services, legal ethics, legal marketing and law technology. The programs will run from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT on both days. For a schedule of the programs, click on the title to this blog entry. The blog entry title will also link to the programs on Wednesday and Thursday. Remember to adjust the schedule forward to Eastern Standard Time.

Zotero Users Guide

A better way - Zotero is a Firefox extension designed to help you collect, organize, and use online research. Boston College Law School's Faculty & Technology Support Specialist, Chester Kozilowski, has created a Zotero LibGuide, and at BC Law our law review students are interested in the collaboration (Groups) tools and the ability to easily cite check. We’re hoping this interest catches on with other students and with our faculty.

Zotero gets rave reviews from its users. If you've heard of Zotero, or are looking for a better way to organize or share webpages and online documents, check it out!

United Kingdom Supreme Court

News from across the pond - today is the day the United Kingdom Supreme Court replaces the House of Lords as the highest court in the UK.

For Anglophiles, today's Times Online has posted "Supreme Court opens as fears raised of US-style selection of judges" - the article includes a video of the opening, and a link to a slide show of the Court building and courtrooms. Or check out this article from the paper's legal news section: "Justices swear themselves in as Supreme Court opens."

And for those who are more interested in past history and daily gossip, the UKSCblog was launched today.