Law Students

Viva La Lawsuit!

Posted on April 08, 2009
It won't come as a shock to most of you that I am no fan of Coldplay. In fact, I hate them. Coldplay, to me, embodies the spirit of blandness. Their massive audience is a testament to their ability to completely boil out anything interesting (and thus possibly objectionable) from their songs, to the point where everyone seems to like them, but no one is really sure why...

Way To Go Danny!!!

Posted on April 08, 2009
Daniel Redman ('08) has this interesting piece on Slate.

A haiku for an under-appreciated holiday

Posted on April 06, 2009
From stretch to strike zone,Maple, ash smash over walls,Life is sweet again.PS: N&B is 1500 posts old. Go us!

ATL at Boalt

Posted on April 06, 2009
Tomorrow afternoon, David Lat of the slightly more famous blog Above the Law will be talking during lunch. He will be discussing topics ranging from legal blogging to the effects of the economic crisis on the legal industry. One can only hope that someone (read: Patrick) will be live blogging the blog talk...

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DE Stands Up For Academic Freedom

Posted on April 04, 2009
In today's Contra Costa Times, DE responded to an article which inferred that the University may discipline Y*o for his opinions during work for the Bush administration. Click on the title of this post for a link.Please note that I do not include an opinion here as to torture memo's, or any other work by Professor Y*o...

An Argument For Fox News Polls

Posted on April 03, 2009
Because they're so ridiculously funny, I think we need more of them. In what seems like a life imitates art scenario (see, e.g., "Do Democrats cause cancer? Find out at foxnews.com"), here's the latest gem:Do you think the federal government should increase taxes on the wealthiest individuals so that nobody gets to be too rich?As a friend said:Reminds me of a Soviet joke...

An Argument for Fire Alarms

Posted on April 02, 2009
Something (and probably something inadvertent) triggered the fire alarm today at around 12:20, and after my eardrums settled a bit, the whole experience reminded me: I love Boalt Hall.I love Boalt Hall for the way its hokey, flakeyness creates eddies and pockets of social interaction...

DE back to Harvard?

Posted on April 01, 2009
Good catch by Matt:The LA Times has a good article highlighting how DE has been back to Boston three times in the last month. Combined with the recent scandal their current Dean has been in, they draw the conclusion that DE is interviewing for the job...

Your Own Worst Enemy Has Come to Town (She?s that Lady in the Back Row)

Posted on April 01, 2009
The story that follows comes to me secondhand, and while I belive every word is accurate I could be mistaken. If so, don't yell at me. Correct me.Apparently yesterday?s CDO lunch talk about firm stability in this economy came prefaced with assurances that the discussion would not be taped, that the conversation would be confidential, and that students should be candid the speaker...

Torture Foiled No Plots

Posted on March 31, 2009
The Washington Post, by no means a bastion of liberal ideals, has a great article on the ineffectiveness (and indeed counterproductiveness) of using torture as means of obtaining intelligence. Dan Froomkin has a follow-up editorial that also makes for good reading...

Ten Feet Off of Beale

Posted on March 30, 2009
According to the NY Times, Glenn Beck is the next big thing. Crazy is in this year! Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have been regularly skewering Mr. Beck (to hilarious effect), but it's my turn. From the Times:In an interview, Mr. Beck, who recently rewatched the 1976 film ?Network,? said he identified with the character of Howard Beale, the unhinged TV news anchorman who declares on the air that he is ?mad as hell...

Emergency Notice: Decreasing Procrastination Workshop . . . Tomorrow

Posted on March 30, 2009
Hat tip to Matt in the comments below:While we're on awesome emails today, how about James Lyda? "DECREASING PROCRASTINATION WORKSHOP - Tomorrow" - classic. I think I saw that in a Family Guy once.

Someone Swung the Sensible Stick!

Posted on March 30, 2009
Great news from BB via email today:After the 2009-2010 academic year, all 1L students will take five units of Civ Pro instead of four units (thereby eliminating the need for Civ Pro II).Beginning with the class of 2012, students will be required to take 220...

Adventures in the Twitscape

Posted on March 27, 2009
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. -- The Serenity PrayerSome things, I've learned, are just going to happen. No matter what. And the less you kid yourself about their inevitability, the happier you'll be...

No Noose Is Good News

Posted on March 27, 2009
Via ATL, there are reports of outside firms that are not at the top of the Vault rankings opening up shops here in L.A. to capitalize on the lawyers now available on the market. Just a few weeks ago, I wrote, "Someone asked if this presents firms 'lower' down the food-chain with an opportunity to upgrade to say former L&W or Orrick associates...

Latest BCS Busters? The U.S. Senate!

Posted on March 26, 2009
Congress has been embattled for a long time now. They could use a win, and I can't think of a bigger one than bringing down the scourge of American sports. (Ok, fixing the economy might compare.)Seriously, is anyone left who still likes the BCS? Quiet down, state of Florida...

The Very Idea of a Bird

Posted on March 25, 2009
The very idea of a bird is a symbol and a suggestion to the poet. A bird seems to be at the top of the scale, so vehement and intense his life . . . how many suggestions to the poet in their flight and song! - John Burroughs. . . and perhaps also a symbol and suggestion to David Hackbart of Pennsylvania, who was inspired to give Sergeant Brian Elledge the finger moments before the Pittsburgh police officer pulled him over...

My President Is 'Down to Earth'

Posted on March 23, 2009
Michelle Obama will soon plant a vegetable garden on the south lawn at the White House. As a commentator to the article notes, what a fine idea. Even finer is what it represents: this White House is making a gentle but firm gesture against industrialization of our food supply, and a simple but unmistakable bow to its own frailty; after all, it's pretty tough to be cocky when you grow you own vegetables...

A Tragic Weekend in Oakland

Posted on March 23, 2009
A commentator below asks for a thread on the shooting of four Oakland Police officers by a parolee over the weekend. Undoubtedly views will vary. "How outraged would we be," someone will ask in the comments, "if the police had killed three parolees this weekend?" "Why is it that we suddenly care" they will ask, "when an officer dies?"Those kinds of questions miss the the point...

Weekend at Bernie's Sentencing

Posted on March 23, 2009
I don't want to distract from the post below, but this is too rich for me to ignore. Here is a PDF of victim impact e-mails compiled by the US Attorney's office at the SDNY to present to the judge during Bernie Madoff's sentencing. (H/T: TPM). Some of the "highlights" from these e-mails appear in the comments.

The Bonus Tax

Posted on March 20, 2009
The New York Times reports that the House has passed a bill to impose a 90% tax on bonuses that people receive from firms which have accepted more than 5 billion in bailout money. As far as I'm concerned, it's about time. Here are the main arguments from the executives opposing the bonus tax...

Ninth Circuit Going to the Liu?

Posted on March 18, 2009
Law students generally don't get a chance to see the Recorder, so I thought I'd point out an article that may be of interest (it is available online too, but for subscribers only [EDIT: Patrick provides a link]). The Ninth Circuit currently has two vacancies--one seat transplanted from the D...

No Pac-10 Love from the Commander-in-Chief

Posted on March 18, 2009
ESPN's got a piece (here) on the "First Bracket" -- Obama's Tourney picks.Not only does Mr. President take Maryland over our very own Golden Bears (probably because of the Terp's vicinity to D.C.), he doesn't have much Pac-10 love at all. The only Pac-10 team he's got moving on is 4-seed Washington...

What About the 1L's?

Posted on March 17, 2009
This thread is highly related to the one immediately below, but probably worth keeping distinct. It solicits alumni who are on or have an inside angle with their firm's hiring committee, and asks: what about the 1L's? How, if at all, do you think your firm will adjust its hiring plan for this fall? How do you think 2009's 2L applicants to your firm will fare in comparison to 2L's from 2008?There is a lot of gloom-and-doom information out there, and the last six months on ATL and related sites have seen an incredible development of what I suppose is called "conventional wisdom...

L'Affair Layoffs

Posted on March 16, 2009
Like I said, I have some thoughts running through my head on this topic that I'll be exploring in greater detail. One that's troubling me is the "Cravathization" of firms. I think I may have read a while back somewhere (possibly on Adam Smith, Esq.?) about how a lot of firms mimicked the Cravath model of promising the top talent at top rates...

Jon Stewart pwns Jim Cramer

Posted on March 15, 2009
If you missed Daily Show Thursday night (and have been living under a rock since then), then you missed Jon Stewart at his best. He dominated CNBC's Jim Cramer in a well-prepared and bitingly sarcastic interview. The whole interview is available in three parts here...

Forgive me, Uncle Sam, for I have not sinned.

Posted on March 12, 2009
There's been some talk about student debt forgiveness as a way to stimulate the economy. (See ATL, University Business, and The Huffington Post.) My first thought was, "Yeah, right." My second thought was, "Please God, make this happen!" I'm no economist, but, at first glance, forgiving student debt makes about as much sense as any other piece of the bailout...

Less than 3 weeks to make big purchases!!!

Posted on March 12, 2009
Thanks to the incompetent individuals running our state, sales tax will increase significantly on 4/1/09. Here's a web page where you can confirm rates by city and county for your upcoming estimates.Berkeley residents will soon be paying a whopping 9...

Two Cautionary Notes

Posted on March 11, 2009
The weather has been beautiful, the DOW has been up for over fifty hours, and spring break is right around the corner. Not to be a debbie downer or anything, but I'd like to share two tidbits from my afternoon. First, this list from The Shark. It is a compendium of information from various law blogs about layoffs and shortening of summer programs...

3Ls shifting their sleepless nights to the 1Ls?

Posted on March 09, 2009
A gem exists in the ATL comments to the Morgan Lewis layoff post.In order to avoid revoking 3L offers, ML decided to defer their ENTIRE incoming class to the following year.But what of the 2L summers? ML sent each of them a "reassuring" email today as well...

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