January is Consumer Law Resources Month

January is Consumer Law Resources Month at the Harris County Law Library.

• Visit our Featured Resource Section to see new and updated resources from the National Consumer Law Center.

• Browse consumer law news, sample pleadings and other companion materials in the NCLC databases now available on the Law Library research computers.

• Stay up to date on Texas consumer law with Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law Course books from the State Bar of Texas.

• Self-represented litigants can find a copy of the HBA Consumer Law Handbook, which features a variety of legal information of interest to consumers, including guidance on buying a car, dealing with debt collection, landlord/tenant disputes, and more. Download a free copy through the HBA's Legal Handbooks website today.

For more information on Consumer Law and Protection, visit these websites:

• Attorney General of Texas - Consumer Protection

• Federal Trade Commission: Consumer Information

  • FTC Consumer Information Videos

  • IdentityTheft.gov

  • Consumer Complaint Assistance

• University of Houston Law Center: Center for Consumer Law

Resolve to Learn Legal Tech in 2019 with Free CLE from the Legal Tech Institute

Resolve to build your legal tech proficiency by watching free CLEs in 2019! The Harris County Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute provides access, via its web pages and the Law Library’s YouTube channel, to several on-demand learning opportunities. Watch videos from the comfort of your home or office and earn CLE credit, including ethics credit, as you learn.

Visit our Legal Tech Institute On-demand Learning page to view the following videos:

• The Ethics of Cloud Computing

• The Robot Lawyer: Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law

• Fulfilling Ethical Obligations with Legal Research

Additional videos, which no are no longer accredited by the State Bar of Texas but are still useful tools for learning about legal tech, are available at the same link.

Supplement your online learning with in-person, hands-on legal tech training every Thursday at 2:00 pm in the Law Library’s Legal Tech Lab. View our new 2019 Course Catalog to find the right class for you!

Explore the rest of the LTI page to register for our latest installment of the Legal Tech Institute Lecture Series, Blending Your Legal Research, which will be offered on January 17, 2019 at 12:00 pm at Congress Plaza.

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.”

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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 Combined Forms Packets from TexasLawHelp.org

The Harris County Law Library's collection of combined forms packets contain valuable self-help instructions and forms from TexasLawHelp.org. The packets on this page have been assembled to assist institutions that help self-represented litigants who need printed forms, such as county law libraries, public libraries, clerk's offices, and community centers. If you are an individual representing yourself, please visit TexasLawHelp.org to find interactive checklists and chat assistance that will provide additional guidance.

Note: Most of the instructions and forms included in the combined forms packets were originally developed by the Travis County Law Library for use throughout Texas. Countless Texans have benefited from the hard work and dedication of the reference attorneys and law librarians in Travis County and we at Harris County Law Library appreciate their efforts immensely.

As of this month, a few new forms packets are available, specifically forms in Spanish for divorce and annulment. Please visit the Combined Forms Packets page and scroll down to the bottom of the column on the right, where you will find Formularios en Español. Available Spanish forms include

• Divorcio de Mutuo Acuerdo Conjunto A

• Divorcio de Mutuo Acuerdo Conjunto B

• Divorcio de Mutuo Acuerdo Conjunto C

• Divorcio de Mutuo Acuerdo Conjunto D

• Anular un Matrimonio de Mutuo Acuerdo

The Combined Forms Packets page is updated regularly as changes to the law are adopted and incorporated into the TexasLawHelp forms. For additional content on any number of legal topics, as well as Toolkits, Checklists, and FAQs that will assist self-represented litigants in completing the TexasLawHelp forms, please visit TexasLawHelp.org in English or Spanish.

Latest & Greatest – Blockchain for Business Lawyers

Edited by James A. Cox and Mark W. Rasmussen

Published by American Bar Association. Section of Science & Technology Law

KF 1030 .E4 C69 2018

You’ve probably heard the term “blockchain” before. You also probably know that it is one of the newer and constantly evolving technologies that can change the way business is conducted. But, do you really know what it is and what it can do for you and your law practice? Co-editors James A. Cox and Mark W. Rasmussen have teamed up with a host of experts to explain and (hopefully) demystify this innovative technology in their new book, Blockchain for Business Lawyers. 

To do this, the authors begin with an introduction to blockchain technology, discussing its origin, its implications, and its advantages and disadvantages for business. Succeeding chapters define cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, describe some other financial blockchain applications, and discuss smart contracts, their ramifications and their enforceability. From a legal perspective, the authors examine securities and commodities laws and regulations, antitrust regulation and key antitrust issues, federal and state regulation of money transmitters, state laws addressing blockchain technology, and the means of resolving disputes arising from use of blockchain. No discussion of technology would ever be complete without an explanation of data security and privacy. 

So, if you want to know what all the buzz is about blockchain, be sure to have a look at Blockchain for Business Lawyers. Find it in our Legal Tech Collection.