A collection of KCLL Director Barbara Engstrom’s
KCBA Bar Bulletin columns
FROM THE DIRECTOR: APRIL 2024
April 24, 2024ChatGPT for Lawyers 101 By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director King County Law Library I’ll be the first to admit that when I hear about the latest, greatest “advancement” in legal technology, I usually greet it with an eyeroll. Most of the time these legal tech wonders fizzle out and are… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: DECEMBER 2023
December 4, 2023Citing Slavery: The Long Tail of the “Peculiar Institution” in Case Citation By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director A few months ago, I read an article about a Virginia case that made me do a double take – as in – wait, there’s no way this is an actual, real opinion. … Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: OCTOBER 2023
October 6, 2023Hello, My Name is: TOD – Getting to Know Transfer on Death Deeds By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director I often think of Transfer on Death (TOD) deeds as a new estate planning tool in Washington, but they’ve actually been around for almost a decade. That said, it seems like TOD… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: AUGUST 2023
August 10, 2023All the World’s A Stage By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director The other day when I was searching the KCLL catalog for something totally unrelated, the title Acting Skill for Lawyers popped up. I envisioned advice on how to chew the scenery with “Law and Order” level aplomb, did a big… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: JULY 2023
July 7, 2023Mens Sana in Corpore Sano By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director While getting on my bike to ride to work in the cold rain and dark during Seattle winters can seem like torture, it is usually the best part of my day. I often have “Ah ha!” moments during my ride… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: JUNE 2023
June 13, 2023AI Generated Art: A Pixel is Worth a Thousand Lawsuits By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director During the height of the pandemic and the insanity of the 2020 election I sought out things that were peaceful and calming. One of usual my moments of Zen was looking at my friend Ward’s… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: MAY 2023
May 9, 2023Packets for the People (Including Attorneys) By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director Prior to the pandemic, the law library hosted three in-person legal clinics per week. While there were sometimes long lines for the walk-in clinics and perhaps a wait time of a week or two for the clinics that required… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: APRIL 2023
April 7, 2023Come Gather Young Lawyers: A Response to the Curmudgeon By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director In the February edition of the Bar Bulletin, Mike Goldenkranz (self-described “full-time curmudgeon”) made a compelling appeal to our community to create pathways for young attorneys to pursue low bono law practice.[1] Renting office space in… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: MARCH 2023
March 13, 2023Guest Column: What is Happening in Iran? An Iranian American Attorney Explains By: Hazel Engstrom, Reporter for the Ballard High School Talisman On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Zhina Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman was killed at the hands of Iran’s morality police for not wearing her Hijab to the standard of… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: FEBRUARY 2023
February 6, 2023A Fond Farewell to a Friend: Many Thanks to Stephen Seely By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director King County Law Library When Stephen Seely started as Outreach Services Attorney at the King County Law Library, he was not long out of law school. He’d practiced for a bit and decided he’d… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: JANUARY 2023
January 10, 2023Doxxing, Swatting, and Paper Terrorism? Tips to Protect Your Personal Information By Barbara Engstrom and Stephen Seely We all know that apps and trackers collect information from our phones, doorbell cameras, digital speakers, and pretty much any “smart” appliance. It safe to assume that much of our personal information is… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: DECEMBER 2022
December 2, 2022Guerrilla Disbarment: An Unusual Tactic for the Removal of Opposing Counsel By Stephen Seely, Outreach Services Attorney Years of working in the law library means being on the receiving end of unusual research questions, reviewing many aspects of Washington law, and uncovering some truly bizarre legal outcomes. One discovery that… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: NOVEMBER 2022
October 31, 2022Free to Roam the Cabin By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director King County Law Library This is your captain speaking: “We have turned off the fasten seatbelt signs. You are now free to roam the cabin.” Back in the Stacks For those of you who have been itching to get back… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: OCTOBER 2022
October 7, 2022Lawyer TikTok? Yes, It’s a Thing. By Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director King County Law Library An article titled “How Lawyers Can Benefit from TikTok Without Being ‘Cringe’”[1] recently came across my inbox. My first thought was: Wait, how does a lawyer even have a professional presence on TikTok? From my… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: SEPTEMBER 2022
September 2, 2022The New Supreme Court Paradigm: Legal Research Post-Roe Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library Many people have used the term consequential to describe the October 2021 U.S. Supreme Court term. Somehow, the word “consequential” doesn’t seem adequate to describe the seismic shift in jurisprudence that just happened and… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: August 2022
August 5, 2022Moments of Joy – Art in the Law Library Tamara Hayes, Technical Services Librarian Those who visited the downtown courthouse in the before times and entered on Third Avenue should be quite familiar with the murals that cover the first floor of the King County Courthouse, but did you know… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: June 2022
June 10, 2022Fantastic Beasts of Administrative Law and Where to Find Them Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library Unless the focus of one’s practice is a heavily regulated area of law, most attorneys don’t engage with Washington administrative law very often. If the occasion arises where one must enter this… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: APRIL 2022
April 12, 2022The Lies of Executive Order 9066 Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library February 19, 2022 marked the 80th anniversary of FDR’s signing Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forceable removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II. Most of us were likely… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: MARCH 2022
March 11, 2022Wait! That’s Mine: Getting Stuff Back with Replevin By Barbara Engstrom and Stephen Seely For attorneys, replevin is likely not a question that comes across their desks very often. At county law libraries however, “How do I get my stuff back?” is asked with regularity. In order to help our… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: FEBRUARY 2022
February 4, 2022Open the Pod Bay Doors HAL Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library While the public patron computers at the law library weren’t quite as old as HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, they were close. The law library’s first public computers were purchased for the grand opening of… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: JANUARY 2022
January 11, 2022Fighting Word(s): Using Microsoft Word More Effectively in Your Law Practice Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library There are certain documents that I find drafting on Microsoft Word unendingly frustrating. From unwanted autocorrections to automated formatting issues, it can often feel like a wrestling match to get a… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: NOVEMBER 2021
October 29, 2021Ransomware Attacks and Your Practice Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library Ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline, JBS (the world’s largest meat processing plant), and various hospitals and schools became major news stories over the last year. Law firms were no strangers to cybersecurity risk either. The first well-publicized… Read more
FROM THE DIRECTOR: OCTOBER 2021
September 27, 2021Keeping Up with the Law Librarians Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library Yes, Keeping up with the Kardashians has been cancelled, but never fear, the law library has you covered for the newest trends (at least in law library land.) As we transition into fall, it’s a good… Read more
From the Director: August 2021
July 30, 2021Climate Change and Your Law Practice Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library In the past, a climate change practice might have been primarily limited to environmental laws dealing with technical, regulatory aspects of carbon emissions. The collapse of the Surfside condominium tower, the “heat dome” that brought Las… Read more
From the Director: March 2021
March 31, 2021Let the Law Library be Your Alexa Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director, King County Law Library Imagine having a remote assistant like Alexa but focused squarely on helping you with your legal practice. As a subscriber to the King County Law Library, you essentially have your very own virtual legal assistant… Read more
From the Director: February 2021
February 26, 2021Skip Tracing: What It Is and How to Do It Ethically Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director King County Law Library with Stephen Seely, Outreach Services Attorney King County Law Library One of the most popular CLEs that we offer at the King County Law Library is on the topic of skip… Read more
From the Director: January 2021
January 29, 2021Contact Tracing: Tracking Legislation in Washington State in a Pandemic Session Barbara Engstrom, Executive Director King County Law Library While the vaccine is producing some light at the end of the dreadful tunnel that was 2020, the effects of the pandemic are still going to be felt for the foreseeable… Read more