USM 0449 ME LawMag - University of Maine School of Law ...

Spearheading the
new clinic is
Christopher
Northrop, who is
widely known on
a state and
national level
for his work in
JUVENILE JUSTICE LAW CLINIC AROUND CAMPUS
focusing on two areas: collections of the most important works in legal history, and collections
that reflect Maine Law’s close ties with several prominent judges over the years.
As director, Knott would like to ensure that the library supports all of the school’s programs
not only those related to teaching and scholarship, but other law school programs such as the
Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic and the Center for Law and Innovation. Similarly, Knott would
like the library to play a greater role in serving second- and third-students as they write for
legal journals, interview for jobs or serve as summer associates at law firms. Externally, Knott
will be looking for ways the library can also be useful to the state through new partnerships
with other public libraries or other university libraries, as technology makes the sharing of
resources increasingly feasible.
“It isn’t a matter of wholesale change or deep restructuring of what we do, I just think we
need to make sure that we’re spending our efforts as wisely as we can,” Knott says.
Knott will be teaching courses in advanced legal research with his first class in the spring of
2007. Knott taught advanced legal research at Columbia, Georgetown and Fordham
Universities. He is co-author of a textbook on the topic, which is used by many law schools
around the country. The second edition of the book, “Where the Law Is: An Introduction to
Advanced Legal Research,” part of the American Casebook Series of West Publishing, was
published in June. The textbook teaches upper-level students how to understand the
structure of legal information and to make use of the interconnected and cross referential
nature of modern legal publications, Knott says.
“Students in my course should, by the end of the semester, know a good deal about the
legal texts they use every day, and should be much more confident in the uses of these texts,”
Knott explains.
As a law librarian, a teacher, a scholar of legal publications, and the son of a printer, Knott is
the appropriate person in the Law School to help students with such endeavors.
Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic Launches
New Juvenile Justice Clinic
written by elizabeth raffaele
WALKING INTO THE CUMBERLAND Legal Aid
Clinic in Portland, it is hard to miss the room with the
stuffed animals, wall murals and the smaller-sized
furniture just beyond the reception area. The room is a
reminder that many of the clients who come through the
doors of the clinic are children. Children or young adults
are often involved in a variety of cases, ranging from
custody proceedings to juvenile criminal proceedings.
juvenile justice. continued on page 15, after annual report.
14 MAINE LAW · FALL 2006