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Coffee Break – Nylon Tote

Gap has a great nylon tote for sale right now. It's stylish, lightweight, and big enough for lots (and lots!) of files. It's the perfect thing to keep in your office or your car for when your workload unexpectedly creeps into your weekend. It's $69.95 at Gap, available in both black and a neutral gray/beige. Gap Nylon Tote (L-2)

Sales of note for 12.2.24 (Happy Cyber Monday!! See our full sale listing here!)

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

110 Comments

    1. I have a nylon purse from the Gap that I’ve had for years (as in, since my freshman year in college- which was 1998), and it’s just now starting to show some wear. I’d get another one in a second. (It’s a small purse, not a tote like this, but it speaks well of the quality.)

      1. I have a big nylon bag from the Gap that I have had for about that long, too! Recently it’s been my “go-to” daily bag because it’s a nice size (one redweld will fit along with my personal items), lightweight, and shows no signs of wear.

        I would totally buy another one, too, but given how this one is holding up, I’m not sure that I’ll ever have to.

    2. BR also has a nice nylon tote right now. I might get this one instead of the Longchamp, which is lovely, but so dang expensive for nylon.

    3. I wonder how the nylon wears? Nylon thickness can really vary. I’m almost tempted to splurge for Tumi instead if it will last longer.

      1. I can’t comment on the Gap nylon quality, but I can wholeheartedly endorse the Tumi Essential tote. I’ve used mine every day, lugging my laptop and files back and forth from the office, and use it as my carry-on on most flights, and I haven’t noticed any decrease in quality. Plus you get the Tumi warranty and bag-tracking system. If you’re a member of Rulala/Guilt/Ideeli, wait for a Tumi sale and buy it then.

    4. Love that it has a non-black lining – it makes it so much easier to find items inside! Now if only more purse/tote manufacturers would take note…

  2. Gap has an extra 30% off with the code 48HOURS for the next day and a half or so, making this bag just about $50.

  3. Way to expensive. $70 for a plastic tote? No way, man.

    I got a cheapie version of this from Century 21 for $9.99. Go their for a better deal.

  4. Anyone else following the Amanda Knox thing? The whole situation is so weird and the media circus has been so severe that I’m resentful that I’m interested in today’s verdict…

    1. Unfortunately, yes, too. It is like the bad accident that you can’t look away from…

    2. Yeah, I’m hooked. Feel strangely guilty about it. I’d like to trust the Italian legal system but have heard enough about it to make me wonder . . . .

    3. Yes! I’m anxiously awaiting the verdict. I still don’t know whether I believe she’s innocent or guilty.

      1. Yeah, I’m firmly undecided – I think the whole situation’s sad. I mean, whether AK did it or not, a girl’s dead…

      2. From CNN:

        [Updated at 3:48 p.m. ET] A jury has partially overturned the conviction of Amanda Knox.

        The jury as overturned the murder conviction but upheld the conviction on the defamation charges.

        The judge has called for silence in the courtroom as applause erupts.

        The jury has also overturned the murder conviction of Raffaelle Sollecito. Both will be free to leave.

    4. As someone who was living in Seattle for this, I got pretty hooked. I also became pretty convinced she was innocent. Admittedly, my sources are the Seattle news media and Vanity Fair, but there was enough inconsistency in the evidence that I was far from convinced. Plus, call me naive, but I just haven’t ever been able to convince myself of a reason why she would do this. I do feel terribly for the Kirchner family. Today must be such a painful day for them.

      1. It seemed as if the evidence was very weak. But, why on earth did she make up that story about her boss? I’m undecided as to whether she was really innocent, but definitely think there was not enough for a conviction.

        1. The evidence was weak, but her actions make me question her innocence:

          1) The confession: She first said that she in the house on the night of the murder and that she heard Merideth scream, identifying her boss s the assailant.

          2) The alibi: Her boyfriend did not back up her alibi on the night of the murder. She claimed she spent the evening with him watching a movie on his computer. His computer records show no activity on his laptop between 9pm and 5:30am the next morning–the time frame in which the murder took place. She and her boyfriend both turned off their cell phones on the night of the murder and then turned them back on at 6am the next day.

          Sounds suspicious to me.

    5. Anyone understand why she was appealing the conviction but there was a jury? A jury on appeal?

    6. I just heard she was INOCENT!

      I can NOT believe she served 4 years in jail and was INOCENT!

      Is there anything we Corporetes should do for her now?

      I think it would be a good idea.

    7. I have had my eye on it a bit because my little sister spent a semester in Perugia the year before this happened. It gives me the creeps!

  5. Confession: I ordered one of the J.Lo bags and kind of love it. You can remove the J.lo tag. It smells a little weird, but I assume that will dissipate. I spent about $65 after all the coupons (originally $119) and think I am going to keep it.

      1. I really like it in the gray! Maybe I will hunt down some coupons for myself! The gray is on sale so I don’t have too far to go to get in to a reasonable price.

  6. Attention girl in front of me at the take-out place:

    When you ordered and paid for your lunch while talking on your cell phone the entire time, then complained loudly into your cell phone right in front of the cashier, “They never give you receipts any more unless you ask. It’s so RUDE!”

    I don’t think you know what “rude” means.

    1. I used to work at a coffee bar where customers would order while on their cell phone, get the drink, and then say we messed up because she forgot to say skim milk or decaf. If they got off their phone for 2 minutes and ordered correctly, then there wouldn’t be a problem. People are rude but don’t get it.

      1. From Weird Al’s “Craigslist”

        An open letter to the snotty barista at the Coffee Bean on San Vacente Boulevard:
        I know there were twenty people behind me in line,
        But I was on a cell phone call with my mother.
        Didn’t you see me hold up my index finger?
        That means I’ll order my soy decaf hazelnut latte in just a couple minutes.
        So what’s with the attitude lady?
        No tip for you!

        1. Then pls step off the line so that you don’t hold up those 20 people. As a barista who makes about minimum wage working her bleep off, she would probably like to serve those customers so she can get back to the other 15 things she has to do. Making her and the other people wait for you to finish your conversation is rude. I was a barista for way too long!

          1. you have to hear the song. The way he says “with my mother” and “in juuuusst a couple minutes” is hilarious.

          5. Weird Al Yanovich is an American singer who is known for creating parodies of top 40 songs and other cultural phenomena. He also plays the accordion.

          2. His Alpocalypse concert was shown on Comedy Central just Sunday night- look for re-airings! (As someone who has seen him in concert, I must say that nothing beats the experience :) )

    2. Long ago, I worked part-time in a small privately owned grocery store. The owner would smile pleasantly but not move a muscle if a customer came through his line while talking on a cell phone. Eventually the customer would notice nothing was being rung up, and would mouth, “Go ahead.” The owner would say, “Oh no, I’ll wait until you’re finished with your phone call, the other customers don’t mind waiting.” The result was always a quick “I gotta hang up now.”

  7. I’m working for my 15th day in a row on a document review project. Most days have been 13-15 hours, but yesterday I was here until 1am and got back in at 8:30 this morning. I got a grand total of 3.5 hours of sleep last night and I’m at the point of doing the head nod thing at my desk. Any quick tips on how to stay awake? I keep drinking caffeine and getting up every 30 minutes or so just to walk down the hall. Does anyone have another method to stay awake? I just need to make it through the end of Tuesday when this project finally ends.

    1. 15 minute power nap – or zone out. Head phones on and just stop focusing on anything for about 15 minutes.

      Cold water to drink to alternate with the caffeine.

      Make sure you eat something. If you are short on sleep your body needs to come with the energy from somewhere.

    2. I would suggest a 20 minute nap. That usually helps even when you’re unable to really catch up on sleep. Otherwise, ice water and sugary snacks.

    3. fresh air whenever possible, and keep eating lots of protein – string cheese, etc – throughout the day. i’d have a small snack every hour or so.

    4. Catnap if you can. And try some exercise to get your blood flowing ~ go for a quick walk, or just do some pushups, squats, stretches, etc. wherever you can get a little privacy. I’m also a fan of rubbing peppermint oil into my temples ~ maybe a quick trip to CVS for Vick’s VapoRub would help?

      Good luck!

    5. Unfortunately a nap of any length just isn’t an option. I’ll go get some string cheese and snacks and take a quick lap around the block and do the cold water thing too. Peppermint oil is an interesting idea too. Thanks all! Any additional ideas would be awesome too

      2. Try a taking packet of Emergen-C. It’s been discussed on this site before, and it may just be a placebo, but it works for some of us.

        And drink lots of water.

        1. I second the Emergen-C suggestion. It really helps me a lot when I haven’t slept well and need a pick-me-up.

    7. either really spicy (think red hots), sour, or pepperminty hard candies–whichever one is hardest for your pallet to handle.

  8. I broke up with my boyfriend of over three years this weekend. Pretty sure it’s for good. My instigation, not planned, but I had been debating it for a while and realized it needed to get done. Thursday was all jokes and fun, but Friday he pushed my buttons one too many times (started over work stress and my handling of it) and I just called it off.

    We’ve texted once since. Both of us are very sad. He’s surprised. I offered to try counseling in our post-breakup discussion, but he doesn’t want too. I’m just numb. My friends have been great, even though I haven’t been up to seeing anyone yet. Just trying to get through the next few days and making sure I actually eat occasionally.

    Trying not to freak out about being in my mid-30s with a job that makes it hard to make the time to meet people. Pre-BF I was fine being single, enjoyed it quite a bit, but it’ll take sometime to get back there I know.

    REALLY trying not to cry too much at work. Thank goodness I have a door.

    2. I’m right there with you. Almost 2 years together – and I’m about 4 months out from the break up, and trying to figure out the being single thing again. I have the time to do things, but its tough finding the things.

      So hugs for now. Don’t feel bad for grieving the relationship, do feel free to wallow for a bit, and then find that thing you love to do that you weren’t able to do because of the time you spent with him.

    3. Sounds like you did what you needed to do, not that that makes it less painful. Hang in there, and if you need reading material, I’ve always had a soft spot for “It’s Called a Breakup Because It’s Broken” by Greg Ahrendt. My girlfriends and I have passed it around amongst ourselves for several tough breakups, the last of which was mine.

    4. I did the same thing when I was your age and I think it takes a lot of courage (if I do say so myself). I had loved being single, but not so much in my mid-30’s. Friends were a huge help and I cried on various shoulders a lot. I just had to believe that life would get better – and it did. I have been very happily married for years now and I am sure you will have a happy ending too, whatever you want that ending to be.

      1. Ditto. It takes a lot of courage, and you’ll be happier for it in the long run.

        Big hugs. Break ups are so hard. Give yourself time.

        I too was unsure of how to be single again well beyond the kegger age, but you’ll find you meet great men in the most surprising ways.

      2. A third one chimes in. It does take a lot of courage to call it off at a time when lots of people are coupled. I was horrified to find myself single again in my mid-30s (totally thought he was The One), and again in my late 30s. I was really afraid I’d missed the boat and should have just settled… until I met the most amazing, perfect-for-me guy – through friends, no less – at 39.

        Hang in there! Girlfriends, chick flicks, Ben & Jerry’s, hard workouts are all balm for the soul.

    5. Thanks, ladies.

      I’m trying to focus on all the stuff I didn’t focus on because he was around, getting used to doing all those little everyday things solo. Although not my first relationship by far, it was the most intertwined I had been with anyone.

      And I keep thinking I’m opening myself up for something better — even if that doesn’t include another person.

  9. Does anyone know anything about how many minutes the wash cycle should take? For adult clothes? I have been using 8 minutes for years, for no particular reason. Maybe 7 would be fine? 6? What difference would it make anyway?

    1. I imagine it depends on the machine. If you want to see, just run a non-emergency load for 6 (or 7) minutes. If they come out clean, it makes no difference.

      Also, be sure you are using the correct amount of detergent. Most people use way too much.

    2. Do you have to enter the minutes manually on your washer? I have no idea. But a normal wash on my HE top loader is about 45 minutes. A rinse/spin only is 20. So my completely uneducated guess would be about 20 minutes?

      But if 7 is working for you, I’d stick with it. I believe a “handwash” cycle is about 20 min, which would probably do the trick for all my professional clothes. (ie, the ones not mauled by messy toddler fingers)

    3. It depends on the machine and the cycle. HE machines usually have longer cycles, and if you’re talking a heavy duty wash cycle like whites or bulky items, the wash cycle will also be longer. For delicates, you’d probably want a shorter wash cycle to minimize the wear and tear on the clothing.

    4. The washers in my building run for about 35 minutes. No idea how much of that is wash cycle.

  10. I have a hypothetical for the lawyers in the hive. I do health research, so vaccines are a common topic around the watercooler. Today a coworker brought up a Law and Order episode where the parents of a child who died of measles (and who was unable to be vaccinated themselves for medical reasons) sued the parents of the electively unvaccinated child who spread the disease. May have been an accusation of manslaughter? Maybe just damages? We were wondering if such a case would even be plausible.

    Not trying to get a vaccine debate! But we non-lawyers were curious how much of this was tv and how much was substance, and so I thought someone here may enjoy informing us.

    1. It’s a stretch. It’s not my area of law, but I think a real plaintiff would have a hard time proving causation either actual (but for the child being unvaccinated, the boy would not have died) or proximate (more complicated analysis).

      I think it would be plausible if the state passed a law that corrected the causation problem. But I don’t see any states doing this.

      1. Hmmm… interesting. Our gut response was that it wasn’t realistic, but we couldn’t form any sensible reason for it. Thanks!

      2. Don’t be so certain that it would be hard to prove causation. The CDC has teams of investigators who they send out to investigate when outbreaks happen. There was a case a few years back where there was a measles outbreak, and they tracked it to an unvaccinated kid who had travelled abroad, after which his parents took him to the grocery store where he infected a number of others with measles, including an infant who nearly died. There was a story on This American Life about it. It of course will depend on the particular illness, but at least in some cases, proving causation might not be too big of an obstacle.

        1. True. Viruses essentially can be mapped like DNA, so if somehow the two children had samples available, it could be matched.

          I’ll have to look up that TAL story. It sounds like a similar situation to this hypothetical.

        2. I don’t think that’s going to be the legal hurdle though. I think it would be hard to show true causation merely from lack of vaccination. As North Shore pointed out, parents would need to be negligent in their other actions as well- either by lying to the school or sending a child to school when s/he’s symptomatic. If the school knows Jane isn’t vaccinated and she develops symptoms during the school day, then it’s likely going to be on the school to ensure she gets sent home ASAP and avoids contact with others who haven’t been vaccinated.

        3. Even if there’s causation, I don’t think that you could prove duty. It’s going to be a hard case (and would result in some weird law) to show that a person has a duty to receive potentially dangerous* medical treatment just to avoid possibly impacting another person down the road.

          * I know that vaccines are mostly safe and would certainly see that my kids got them; my “potentially dangerous” phrasing is only acknowledging that there are some risks, not in any way endorsing the view that vacccines are evil or dangerous or awful.

    2. If it’s one private party suing another, it would be a civil lawsuit, something like wrongful death. I don’t know if it would work, but anyone can bring a lawsuit in America — it just might take some time to get it tossed out if it’s not plausible. I know in my kids’ public school, you have to be vaccinated to attend (or have some legitimate reason for waiver), so if, say, a parent failed to vaccinate a child, lied on the forms, took the child to a country that carried one of those diseases, brought home a sick child, and sent that child to school, it seems like that would be negligently endangering the lives of the other children. Obviously it would all depend on the facts and the law of the state, but it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to me that such a lawsuit could happen.

      1. Interesting. Thanks for the info.

        The public school law in our area is worded very vaguely and it’s therefore quite a simple process to get the exemption. So there are, in fact, many unvaccinated children in the schools. One reason why it’s such a hot topic around here.

      2. I think its plausible. Not my area of law, but I remember from Torts class the “eggshell plaintiff” — you take your plaintiff as you find them and if they are particularly fragile, too bad for you if you did something ‘wrong’.

        Here, you’d have to show that you did something wrong. That you knew that the child had measles or likely had measles and that you allowed him/her to interact with other kids.

        Again, not my area, but it seems like its been litigated heavily with HIV, which I think would be similar (but again, not sure).

    3. The other issue would be what duty is owed by parent-defendants to child who died. For the non-lawyers, in order to have a valid claim, there are 4 pre-requisites: 1) duty (2) breach of the duty (3) proximate causation, and (4) damages.

      Maybe there would be a duty to warn of an unvaccinated child, but unless the state law requires vaccinations, I think that could be a hurdle. For instance, there is no duty to even lift a finger to assist a drowning man, and generally strangers owe no duties to one another.
      Knowingly exposing a known partner to HIV seems very different than just not getting your child vaccinated and possibly exposing other children to the disease for which your child was not vaccinated.

  11. Are pencil skirts supposed to sit at the waist (the smallest/narrowest part of the body) or the hips? I ordered “The Skirt” (http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/halogen-seamed-skirt/3167843?origin=keywordsearch&resultback=574). The 2 petite is a little bit snug around my hips, but it fits well when it sits right at my waist, rather than around my hips. My Limited pencil skirts sit right on my hips, so maybe I’m just used to that look. I’m wondering if I should return it for the 4P? Maybe it just looks funny because I have a small waist and bigger hips. Fellow pears, what should I do?

    1. I am pear shaped and have to wear it at my waist. I was surprised that it was a little snug since so many have said it runs big!

      1. I was surpsied too! I wear a 0 at Express and a 2 at the limited, so I thought the 2P for this skirt would work. I tried it on again, and I’m still not sure what to do. I feel like it’s a little snug and you can see a slight stomach pooch, and when I tuck in my shirt it’s a little worse. And my weight fluctuates a little, so I’m worried if I gain a few pounds it will definitely be too small. But if I get the 4, it will probably be too baggy everywhere else. When I buy expensive (in my opinion) clothes, I feel like they must fit perfectly!

    2. The Skirt is designed to be worn at the waist. I think if you ordered the 4P and had it sit at your hips, it would still look really bulky below your hips.

    4. Whatever works. I have pencil skirts that sit at the waist and others that sit lower, and my only basis for judgment is how the darts fit across the back. If your seat is clearly not where it’s supposed to be, you’re in the wrong size. Otherwise, it can be the “right” fit with any rise.

    5. Small waist, wide hips here. I personally find skirts that fit at the waist more flattering.

      But I suspect that the difference is actually a result of the two different brands. I suspect Limited intends for theirs to sit more on the hips and the Halogen one is intended to sit more on the waist. It seems to fit high on the model. If it fits well when sitting on your waist, then I say you have the correct size. If it is intended to sit at your waist and you order a size larger to sit it lower, the darts or curved seams will hit wrong and make your bum and pelvis look funny. But if it’s too snug to sit down, then you should order up. Hope that helps.

      1. Thanks! I never thought to try to sit down in it! So, after trying it on again and sitting down, it feels pretty good. Does it shrink in the wash? I’m mostly worred about the stomach pooch, but I think the next size up will be way too big. If your skirts show a little bit of a pooch, do you buy the next size up? And when I say stomach pooch, I mean that when you stand sideways in the mirror there’s a little curve on the lower stomach instead of being perfectly straight. Maybe I should just hit the treadmill more.

        1. I wouldn’t expect a poly/rayon skirt to shrink, even with a little spandex. Plus, it’s probably dry clean or handwash/line dry anyway.

          As for stomach pooch: I’m currently pregnant with my second child, so a tummy pooch has become a way of life. ;) But I do know what you mean. It’s actually natural to the female form, even when I had impressive abs as a youngster (if I do say so myself). That alone isn’t really a reason to buy up – unless it’s a result of the waist cutting in – since a larger size will likely be too large in the waist and cause its own issues. Without seeing it on you, I’d say it may be fitting correctly, you just aren’t used to seeing clothes fitted to your natural waist (or “my mother’s waist,” as a friend likes to call it!). It means you have a waist, so pat yourself on the back.

          And as someone who likes to buy high-end staples for a figure that seems to exist only in the space between a 4 and 6, I have found the best approach is to alternate which I buy to essentially build a wardrobe in each size, then I can bounce between the two when I’m bloated/chubby or sticking to an exercise routine.

          1. That’s a good idea to alternate which sizes to buy. I definitely have days/weeks where my pants are either a little too tight or a little too loose.

            Thanks for the input! I think I’ll keep the skirt.

    6. Glad I’m not the only person for whom ‘the skirt’ failed miserably and seemed to run small. But, I never ever wear my skirts at the waist. I think the most flattering place to wear skirts (for a lot of people, not all obviously) is about an inch or so down from the natural waist, as the skirt basically fits around the largest part of the “pooch”, skims over it, doesn’t highlight it at all, and essentially makes me look completely flat. I think it looks unflattering when a lot of women wear their skirts at their waist only to (inadvertantly?) highlight their rather large tummy pooches, which could easily be made to look more streamlined by sizing up and pulling the skirt down.

      Not that pooches are bad per se, I just think it looks strange to be wearing an otherwise form fitting and streamlined outfit (skirt especially) with your pooch, well, pooching out when it could easily be skimmed over with a slightly larger size placed slightly differently.

      1. I think you’ve explained why the Skirt doesn’t fit me well. If I wear it high, it just emphasizes pooch but worn lower, it’s tight in the waist and too big everywhere else.

        1. 100% my issue with it. I just can’t wear skirts at my natural waist. I already usually size up and tailor in the hips to get skirts to sit how I want, and this one just doesn’t lend itself to that. So unfortunate because it’s a great skirt.

    7. I just ordered the same in 0 petite and it fits the same on me. It is loose enough that it does not really want to fit right at the waist, but when it rides down to the hips, it seems a little snug.
      I think I will just wear spanx.

  12. Just overheard this conversation of 4 female law students getting ready before a moot court competition. Please excuse the Ellen-style caps for emphasis:

    Girl 1: I always put up my hair because otherwise I’ll play with it.
    Girl 2: I only play with my hair at APPROPRIATE times, like when there is a pause. And I make sure I SMILE so that its EFFECTIVE.
    Girl 3: Don’t forget there are four male judges tonight. FOUR. MALE. JUDGES. (said in a way that clearly implied they will win because they are young, pretty girls who twirl their hair at appropriate times and smile)

    It took all of my strength not to smack girl 2 & 3 in the head, or recommend reading Corporette.

    1. gag me with a spoon (seems appropriate here). I’m impressed with your restraint!

  13. A question for the lawyers out there (if anyone is still reading this!)

    I’m a law student and an intern. I was recently given an assignment to research an area of state law. The assignment made sense and I asked some intelligent questions to clarify the scope, and whether they wanted me to look into X and Y side issues.

    Then I go to research it and find… nothing. Absolutely NOTHING. I’ve done every variant of every search possible and have looked in secondary sources, statutes, and case databases. I’ve consulted black’s to get some ideas for other search terms. I have literally NOTHING and this is not one of those uber-narrow questions that might not have an answer. I sent an email today to the person who gave me the assignment, outlining everything I’ve done and asking for guidance on how to proceed. FWIW, I’m generally told I’m a good researcher and have experienced many a time when I could find nothing – but it was always on very narrow questions.

    But I feel kind of like I’m in a twighlight zone, where someone asks me to correct the citations on something but I’ve never heard of the bluebook. Or that I’m misspelling something (I checked. twice.).

    What do you guys do in such situations? How do you deal with the feeling that you are missing something?

    1. Have you googled it? Seriously, sometimes there’s some random stuff that will lead you to something.

    2. What is it? I second googling. My firm recently started cracking down on WL/Lexis and googling generally can save me a few paid-for searches.

    3. Put it on natural search (not terms and connectors) and type the holding that you would ideally like to see.

      Make sure you’re getting state and federal-fed court might have something on point.

      Did you call the westlaw/Lexis research attorney? It is hit or miss, but they’re sometimes helpful.

    5. This happens to me a lot. It kind of depends on your jurisdiction. My state is pretty notorious for having lots of questions out there that you’d think would have cases on point, but none exist.

      I second googling and calling the WL research attorney. Also, if you haven’t already tried this, I almost always start with a secondary source if that’s available, even if it’s not specific to my state. Sometimes those will have search phrases that I never would have thought of.

      Other than that, there really might not be an answer. Take comfort in the fact that attys will often give you projects that are difficult because they tried a few basic searches and found nothing and they don’t have time to go to all the other stuff.

    6. Welcome to the world of research! :) I’m constantly shocked to find that there’s no law on issues that seem like they should come up all of the time.

      All of the advice given here is good. I’ve also found it helpful to 1) Look at other sources (out of state, just general unrealiable articles on the web) to see if you get some better ideas of how to word things, and 2) back track- that is, reduce your issue to one simple part (i.e., if your issue involves some weird circumstance that occurred in connection with an assault, start by looking at the elements of assault and try to branch out from there to look for situtations that can be compared to yours).

      But often, there simply isn’t law where you need it, and the people you’re working for should understand that. It sounds like you’re on the right track with telling them what you’ve done and asking for more help.

    7. Thanks ladies! I did try googling it (nothing useful) and tried the West attorney – he helped me by doing a keyword search using the terms I used in my question to him. Sigh. I’ll give the natural language search one more try though :)

      1. This is a common problem in state law research. I know in my state, most trial court opinions aren’t published on Westlaw/Lexis. What you have to do in my state is actually go to the legal journal for that county, and that is where they publish. A lot of the counties with major cities have these for free online, but some you have to actually schlep over there and look through. I have always found that weird, because the trial court is required to write an opinion if there is an appeal, so often there are after-the-fact opinions, but many opinions, available but not online at all.

        It is a common misconception that all research can be done online. Sometimes, it is better to go to the books or other sources. Sometimes court websites will also have opinions by judge, and you can look up your own judge. I know the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court you can look up opinions by topic, and order them by judge and time. Missouri state courts you have to actually go to the courthouse.

    8. Try flipping through the West Keynumber books (the ones that organize cases by topic). Look for your topic, but also just scan the index to see if any phrases jump out at you. I usually make a list and check potential topics off one by one. Also, try to think about people that would have come across this and call them up–in my experience most people are happy to chat with you for a minute or two. Is there an agency that deals with this area that you can call–they may have someone that would know whether there is case law out there. I realize this is a little late to reply, but maybe you are still looking into things.

  14. Any tips out there on a nice play to stay in manhattan for 3 nights in November for less then $250 a night? Me and two of my girlfriends are going down, beyond hostels, but not quite that flush (and I need money for shopping too!). All advice appreciated!

    3. The Hampton Inn on Pearl St is affordable, clean,pleasent. Good, free breakfasts too. Wherever you end up, check the bedbug registry before you book!

  15. Sometimes residents who go out of town for a few days used to “rent” out their place for those days at much cheaper rates than hotels. I don’t know if that still happens much though? Check craigslist or other sites?

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