This month I finally got a Los Angeles County Law Library card at the main downtown branch located at 301 West First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012-3100; (213) 629-3531. There is a $150 deposit required and the annual fee is $50. Or something like that, the price was irrelevant to the benefit of taking home four practice guide binders back home to LAX. I didn’t even ask for a receipt because the incredible librarian said it wasn’t necessary. I walked out the doors with a well used three volume Rutter Group Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial and a virgin Title VII practice guide tucked into my new really cool black book/grocery check out bag with the new LA Law Library logo for $8.00. Sure could have used this living out in the provinces of the San Fernando Valley in my youth.
Los Angeles County Public Law Library 90012
The books are loaned for five days, and renewable two times only. When I called after the first five days to renew, someone had placed a hold on one of the three volume binders so I just finished up using all three and returned them. I ended up getting spoiled as usual having the last binder around for fifteen whole days and was going to cram on it on the overdue date of Sunday when a more appropriate Sunday afternoon with a loved one came up. We stopped and put the books in the book drop on our way to The Norton Simon Art Museum in Pasadena. I snoozed and slipped on my CLE but won on life. I don’t even really need detailed practice guides, but is sure is nice to know they are there and available to take home now. Every single person working in this library is very nice and attentive and I always feel really good using this wonderful resource. The cost will pay for itself by eliminating my usual $20+ law library photocopy jobs, and eliminate the waste from the paper legal research that will be trashed.
As a paralegal I do a lot of legal research and cite checking for lawyers in Century City, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. A lot of my consumer clients that I work for as a legal document assistant live in Inglewood, the South Bay and Long Beach. Now I have better access to legal resources for my family law, contract, construction, probate, criminal, trust litigation, enforcement of judgment, federal trademark infringement and dilution, copyright infringement, civil rights, commercial unlawful detainer, business dispute, open book accounting, real estate, uncontested divorce and other practice areas involving court forms and pleadings.
The library also allows two hours of WestLaw per person per day. There is a new private section for attorneys, presumably to insulate them from the indigent population using the Internet and law library as sanctuary. I would gladly pay the extra to join the private area. I always do, say if the gym has an executive membership for extra, I always go for that. It’s like flying first class.
I am grateful to be able to support this outstanding world class free public legal resource by paying a nominal annual use fee and very reasonable deposit. All of the LA branch courts used to have nice little law libraries but their hours have been on the decline for decades prior to this current budget catastrophe. I got used to just getting on the freeway and going downtown in non-rush hours.
Now if I can only find another free downtown parking like the old State building that was demolished after the 1992 Earthquake. Please feel free to comment if you can help me with that one. I would rather not have to park up in Chinatown and walk down Broadway.
