If you like viral videos, then you’ve probably seen Jill and Kevin's wedding entrance.
Well, 50% of marriages do end in divorce court (as opposed to the other 50%, which end in death) and so there’s here’s how some imagine the JK Divorce Entrance Dance.
Both are fun viewing.
Hat tip to Law.com’s Legal Blog Watch
The blawgs today are all about the Sotomayor conformation hearings. I would probably be more inclined to follow them all if I had any fear she would not be confirmed. But anyway, today was just opening statements.
For those who want to know what happened minute by minute, try SCOTUSblog here. They’ll be live blogging throughout.
The text of Judge Sotomayor’s opening state is here.
Nevada attorneys haven't really jumped on board the blogging train. But I am very happy to welcome the latter to join the wonderful world of blawgs - Virginia Hunt, who blogs at the Nevada Workers' Compensation Law Blog.
Virginia will be offering news and updates on WC law, as well as info on the claims process.
Welcome, Virginia!
Celebrate the holiday with a view of the Marshmallow Peep dioramas inspired by the legal profession. Click here for the peep gallery.
In fact, BSL is Number 1 on the list. What kind of list? The top ten Mormon-friendly law schools.
The list was compiled by the blog News For the Mormon Legal Community. Factors included percentage of the student body that is LDS, costs of living, cost of tuition, proximity to a temple, and the U.S. News and World report rank of the school. The list considers only law schools outside of Utah. See the complete list here and an explanation of the methodology here.
It has been nearly 22 years since I was a law student. But I do not recall the University of Colorado ever asking my religion. Are schools asking such questions now? Where is such information published?
Hat Tip to Wild Wild law.
Do bloggers look for love in the comments?
In my other life as a romance writer, I sometimes think about the concept of “cute meets” – interesting ways for a couple to meet. Just as in real life, romances frequently feature couples who met at work, or through friends, as well as the tried and true meets such as having feuding families or literally bumping into each other. However, I don’t think I’ve seen a romance where the couple was brought together by blogging.
But proving that truth is stranger than fiction, Ann Althouse, a University of Wisconsin law professor who has been blogging for years, recently announced her engagement to Meade, a frequent and long time commentator on her blog. While Meade has been commenting of Ann’s blog for about four years, the two met in person only in December.
The announcement was made in a post containing a series of photos, culminating in a shot of an engagement –placed on the pinkie finger.
Some legal bloggers have been rather snide about the event, but I am firm believer in happy endings. So I wish much happiness to the couple. But I don’t think this is a meet I’ll be featuring in one of my stories any time soon.
Hat tip to Legal Blog Watch
Even in these troubled economic times, there are law firms that are recruiting.
And a new style of recruitment involves the ever-popular Facebook. For example, last year, the international firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle put a recruitment page on the social networking site. The page appears devoted to the firm’s Summer Associate Program. This week, another firm, Munsch Hardt, followed suit with their recruitment page. They only have six fans so far, but I am sure things will pick up.
And hey, I too have a Facebook page, although I am not recruiting..
Online networking is a strange thing. When I first played with Facebook a bit, I spent my time finding other people I actually know in real life, and “friending them.” And a few such people found me, too. And then it snowballed. I was being “friended” by people I never met. However, I was assured that they have friends in common with me – sometimes they have many friends in common with me. So I “confirmed.”
It lets me enjoy an illusion of popularity. I just ignore the fact that, according to Facebook, I now have more friends than actual acquaintances.
If only bank accounts worked this way.
Ever wonder about the greatest legal movies ever made? Think your favorites made the list? Click here for a slideshow presented by the ABA Journal of the top 25 legal movies, as determined by a dozen attorneys who either teach law/popular courses and/or work in the film industry.
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Oddly, my favorite is not on the list. Go figure.
Some of the choices that did make the cut seem a bit off to me. For example, Kramer v. Kramer? Legal title, but not really a legal movie, in my book. And Miracle on 34th Street? True, fun courtroom scene – but is that what makes a movie “legal?”
Oh, well. This just proves there is no accounting for taste.
The ABA Journal is conducting a survey of attorneys about the job market and the current state of the economy. Click here to participate.
Here’s something you don’t see everyday. A 2d Circuit judge has criticized pro bono work as being “anti-social.”
It seems Judge Dennis Jacobs, Chief Judge of the 2d Circuit, does not like it when pro-bono work is used to expand judicial reaches into legislative matters. In a summary of the Judge’s remarks posted at the American Constitution Society Blog ,Judge Jacobs is purported to have said:
Pro bono work primarily is an "antisocial" and self-serving activity lawyers use to develop their skills, firms use to recruit and "give solace" to associates, and nonprofits use to further a political agenda.
A G.H.W. Bush appointee, Judge Jacobs, Chief Judge since 2002, spoke at a Federalist Society meeting in Rochester New York. He also criticized public interest lawyers for failing to take responsibility for their wins and losses. "No public good is good for everybody," the judge said.
See the stories:
2nd Circuit Chief Judge Says Pro Bono Work is 'Anti-Social',at ABAJournal.com.
And U.S. Judge: Pro Bono Is Antisocial at LegalBlogWatch.com
I had a great time discussing blogging at the SNAWA luncheon today. I hope to see many more Nevada lawyers blogging soon.
For links to the resources in the handout, read on
Continue Reading...
Yesterday, I commented our profession’s devotion to discussions of strategies for leaving the profession. I am sure that one reason that exits are so common, especially for litigators, is because of a simple fact – our clients come to us because they have trouble. In fact, in my more cynical moments, I have described commercial litigation as working for wealthy people who can’t get along.
With a daily reality like that, law can sometimes seem a meaningless grind.
Fortunately, there are times when I get to just feel good about what I do. And one of those times occurred last night, when I visited Lavo, the newest restaurant, lounge and nightclub from the people who brought you Tao Las Vegas, Tao Beach, and Tao New York.
Despite my presence, Lavo is clearly a happening place. More importantly, as I walked through the space filled with beautiful men and women enjoying good food, loud music, and intriguing décor, I got a reminder that what we do as lawyers can have real meaning to real people.
The reason I got to feel good so good about being there was because I was part of the legal team that overcame the attempts to prevent Lavo from ever coming into existence. Lavo represented years of planning and millions of dollars in investment by my clients. It employs hundreds of people.
And it is open.
That feels good.
And not only that, but I got to write a few damn good briefs (can you tell I don’t believe in false modesty?), including one in which I used a series of quotes from Machiavelli to establish the theme.
That’s the sort of thing legal writing geeks like me live for, you know.
I am a frequent proponent of “telling the story,” but when I give such advice, I am generally talking about writing.
MS JD has a great article about using storytelling to help make those public presentations more enjoyable and effective for all. Check out The Power of Storytelling in Your Legal Practice
Now I have to think up some stories to tell for my upcoming talks about blogging -
Blogging Your Way Through Life: How to start your own on-line journal, with Lisa McGlaun
and ....
In the August issue of Your ABA, (“e-news for members”), there is a report on a seminar given at the ABA’s annual meeting in New York last month. The title? “Create a New Career Out of Your Old Resume.” It was presented by lawyers who have transitioned into other careers.
Do the members of any other profession spend so much time and effort seeking ways to leave the profession?
Don’t get me wrong. I have no objections to anyone who doesn’t want to be a lawyer becoming something else. In fact, I positively cheer when a lawyer is able to quit the day job to write full time. (I also gnash my teeth in envy, but that’s another story...).
But what seems odd to me is how lawyers seem to institutionalize exits from the profession. For example, a quick google search for "leaving the law" yielded
a website devote to helping people leave the practice: http://www.leavingthelaw.com/;
a blog written by a "recovering lawyer" http://leavinglaw.wordpress.com/;
a Leaving the Law meetup group category (showing three formed groups, plus another 235 others interested) http://leavingthelaw.meetup.com/;
and too many articles on the topic to include here.
Do AMA gatherings include advice for walking away from a medical practice?
Yes, it's true. I actually agree with Justice Scalia about something. And as far as I know, the temperature in hell has not dropped below freezing.
Seems while accepting an award from the American Society of Legal Writers, Scalis stated that he does not believe that legal writing exists. Or at least, not as a separate category of writing. Instead, he places it with "nonfiction prose." See the ABA story here.
I agree. That's what we write, folks. (I consider mine, creative nonfiction, of coruse).
So there. I agree with a right wing justice on something. Can't call me closeminded!
Most lawyers have asked for an extension or continuance at some point, if not many points, in their legal careers. Legitimate reasons for the request abound. 
But few such requests are quite so blunt in their honesty as a request to reschedule oral argument filed in a bankruptcy court in the Sixth Circuit. That request stated:
Comes now the Appellant, by counsel, and moves the Court to reschedule the Oral Argument currently scheduled for August 1, 2007. The grounds for this motion are that undersigned counsel will be out of town in Oregon, on a 350-mile bicycle trip from July 30 through August 4, 2007, for no other reason than to please his wife. Counsel assures this panel that Oral Argument would be more enjoyable than the aforementioned bike trip.
No word on whether the request was granted.
Not that I am suspicious or anything, but speaking as a wife, I kind of wonder whether counsel was hoping it would be denied. “But honey, I can’t help it. I asked, but the Court just won’t let me move the date of the argument....”
Hat Tip to The New Legal Writer and Legal Antics
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Marketing is always an issue for law firms. When it comes to advertising, it can be hard to walk the line between an effective approach and an offensive one, as a few attorneys around town have heard.
Apparently not an issue for Charleston, W.Va. attorney Rusty Webb, who is participating as the “responsible attorney” in Valentine's Day giveaway sponsored by WKLC-FM, Rock 105. The prize?
A free divorce.
Hat tip to Law.com
Occasionally, I hear of antics that are a depressing reminder that truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction. Too often, the most fantastic, outrageous fiction plot pales in comparison to sordid reality.
Take, for example the recent disbarments of a pair of Massachusetts attorneys, who went to truly extraordinary lengths to find evidence of bias by a trial court judge. See the decisions In the Matter of Kevin P. Curry, No. SJC-09904 (Mass.), In the Matter of Gary C. Crossen, No. SJC-09905 (Mass.)here and here
The attorneys were convinced that the trial judge in certain stock transfer and shareholder derivative actions was biased in favor of one family of shareholders. This belief appears to have been based, at least in part, on the opinion that the judge was “too dumb” to have written the decision personally, a conclusion they shared with their clients.
Now - let me stop here and point out that there are, in this world, no doubt many judges who are less skilled at writing and analysis than their clerks or staff counsel. That might suggest the judge is lucky; it does not suggest the judge is corrupt.
However, certain of wrongdoing, these attorneys sought out proof. Among various efforts to dig up dirt, they engaged in an elaborate scheme to convince the trial judge’s clerk that he was being considered for a lucrative position as in-house counsel of a fictitious corporation. The clerk was flown to interviews with private investigators - and the attorneys themselves- masquerading as headhunters, at which interviews – surreptitiously tape recorded—he purportedly made statements suggesting the judge was predisposed to find in favor of the plaintiffs in the case. Note, however, that the statements were rather equivocal at first, so the attorneys “tried to browbeat the law clerk into confirming in sworn testimony their own suspicions.” Disciplinary counsel called the conduct “border[ing] on outright extortion.” The Massachusetts Supreme Court held that this was not an overstatement.
Remarkably, Crossen argued that “the sanction of disbarment is markedly disparate from sanctions for similar conduct.” The Court’s response is no surprise:
That there is no blueprint in our prior cases for the facts of this proceeding should come as no surprise, reflecting the unusual scope of the misconduct. The sanction of disbarment we impose is appropriate to ensure that the law clerk episode (or anything like it) remains sui generis.
Now seriously – could any writer of legal thrillers have conceived of this little episode?
Hat tip to Law.com
The Georgia Supreme Court yesterday upheld the decision of Georgia's "Board to Determine Fitness for Bar Applicants" to refuse to permit an applicant to sit for the bar exam. See decision, In the Matter of Wilie Jay White. The reason for the denial was White's lack of candor regarding an incident of plagiarism in his 2d year of law school.
According to the court, White "submitted a paper at the end of his second year of law school that was a virtually verbatim reproduction of sections of five previously published sources, none of which was cited in the paper. The Board gave White multiple opportunities to provide a fuller and more convincing explanation for his conduct, but he declined to do so. "
Note that it was not the plagiarism itself that led to the Board's decision, but instead, the applicant's failure to accept responsibility for the action. In other words, absolution is possible, if a penitent attitude is shown.
Hat tip to Legal Writing Prof Blog, who tipped the hat to the Legal Profession Blog,
The frustration of legal research (or is it the joy of quality on-line research?) was the subject of two short films recently.
Westlaw urges stress toy abuse prevention
Westlaw gets more points for laughs. The student film actually reminded me of the student briefs I used to read – just a vague at a times.. But nice score!
I only wish I could have offered commentary by a pair of robots.
Hat tips to California Blog of Appeal and Legal Writing Prof Blog
You can find some good advice on refining Internet searches at lawjobs.com’s post How Lawyers Can Improve Search Results, written by law librarian Tracey R. Rich.
For those interested in l what a company may have said about itself in the past, all sorts of interesting stuff can be found at the Way Back Machine, where websites of the past are archived. This can be a real treasure trove, especially if you are looking for a site that doesn’t seem to exist any more.
JDBliss picked up on the story it calls depresingly familiar in Why Are So Many Lawyers Unhappy? Five Reasons: (although six reasons are actually given...) and asks if there are any other reasons for lawyer dissatisfaction
Personally, I am much more curious about the 60% who are happy. What makes the satisfied majority so happy being a lawyer? Any thoughts?
The legal blawgosphere is buzzing with the news of the medical malpractice defendant who blogged during—and about—his trial. Unmasked as “Flea” in the midst of the trial, the case promptly settled the next day for a “substantial” amount. It seems likely Flea’s comments about his testimony practice sessions, and perhaps his less than complimentary comments about the jury, influenced the decision to settle. The underlying case involved allegations that Flea failed to diagnose a 12 year old’s diabetes; the boy died six weeks later of diabetic ketoacidosis.
Flea’s blog originally focused on pediatric medicine, and even won an award for its content. But once served with the lawsuit, he posted more and more often about the case. One has to wonder – did his lawyers know what he was up to?
The aftermath of the revelation of Flea’s identity was front page news in the Boston Globe today: “Blogger unmasked, court case upended.”
Here are a few links to other discussions of Flea and his fate:
For Med-Mal Doc, Blogging Proves Bad Medicine (Law.Com)
Blogging Defendant Blows Defense (Volokh Conspiracy)
A Law Blog First? Defendant Blogs His Own Trial (WSJ Law Blog)
Flea, flea as fast as you can (Legal Antics)
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