Jan
26
Does the ABA Do Good? (Part I)
Posted by: Michael Ariens | January 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment
No. (This, however, is a polemic, and as such I am unfairly neglecting some of the fine work done by some ABA sections.) As a law student, I had an inchoate thought that the ABA could be a kind of strong mediating institution between the state and the individual that would make it beneficial to the public, not [...]
Jan
16
Contract Rights Under Assault
Posted by: Matthew Fernholz | January 16, 2010 | 7 Comments
In 1789, as the inchoate American government was climbing out of the mountainous debt left over from the Revolutionary War, a thorny political problem emerged. While most of the chattering class was consumed with the debate over whether the states’ war debt should be federalized, another far more visceral controversy arose. Because the Continental Congress [...]
Jan
3
Top Ten Changes in the Legal Profession Since 1979, Part II
Posted by: Michael Ariens | January 3, 2010 | 2 Comments
The first half of the Top Ten list was posted yesterday here. 6. The changing structure of law firms, including specialization. Only a few law firms were “national” or “international” in any sense of the word in 1979. The most well known was Baker & McKenzie, the Chicago behemoth. If I recall correctly, Foley & Lardner had [...]
Jan
2
Top Ten Changes in the Legal Profession Since 1979, Part I
Posted by: Michael Ariens | January 2, 2010 | 3 Comments
I was asked by Michael O’Hear to serve as the January guest blogger (blawger?), and thank him for this opportunity. I teach courses in Constitutional Law, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and American Legal History at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, where I began teaching in the Fall of 1987. My website [...]
Dec
13
Add Judges To The List of Professionals Who Must Take Care In Using Facebook
Posted by: Stephen Boyett | December 13, 2009 | 6 Comments
Professor Lisa Mazzie posted a blog entry back in September about the use of Facebook and other social networking websites by lawyers. The post shed light on the trouble an attorney can face when the substance of his or her webpage falls short of professional standards. As Professor Mazzie explained, postings that “criticize” judges, “reveal” [...]
Nov
17
What Is a Lie and Is It Constitutionally Protected?
Posted by: Richard M. Esenberg | November 17, 2009 | 6 Comments
I think that the three judge panel’s decision to recommend dismissal of ethics charges against Justice Michael Gableman is the right outcome. I doubt that we really want tribunals passing upon the truth and falsity of campaign speech – even for judges. There were differing approaches taken by the panel judges. Judges Snyder and Deininger [...]
Oct
10
Legal Ethics Course Name
Posted by: J. Gordon Hylton | October 10, 2009 | 5 Comments
The October 2009 edition of the National Jurist magazine includes a statement from Jack Crittenden, the publication’s editor-in-chief, calling for law schools to begin teaching morality. Citing the embarrassing role played by lawyers in the financial meltdown of 2008, Crittenden writes that “our law schools should be discussing the concepts of fairness and compassion in [...]
Oct
3
Questions of Professionalism
Posted by: Rebecca K. Blemberg | October 3, 2009 | 2 Comments
I’ve been thinking about professionalism lately. Two discussions in the past week or so have stuck with me. The first discussion appeared in the Law Librarian Blog (thank you, Professor O’Brien, for forwarding it.) In Florida, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Presnell issued an order denying a plaintiff’s motion for voluntary dismissal for Failing to [...]
Sep
13
Lawyers & Social Networking
Posted by: Lisa A. Mazzie | September 13, 2009 | 9 Comments
An article in today’s New York Times talks about what can happen when lawyers open up online. The article begins with the story of Sean Conway. Attorney Conway took to his blog to state exactly how angry he was with a Fort Lauderdale judge. He said she was an “Evil, Unfair Witch.” But because Conway is [...]
Sep
13
Client service is not a class taught in law schools, but don’t forget that client service is at the heart of what we do as lawyers. Our mandate as attorneys is to zealously (and ethically, of course) represent our clients. So whatever area of the law you are in or going into, don’t forget that [...]
Sep
4
Rumors of the Death of the Billable Hour Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
Posted by: Tim Casey | September 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Or so it seems to me. Lately, there has been a variety of articles proclaiming the death, or impending death, of the billable hour. So goes the argument: Billable hours misalign incentives between lawyers and their clients; law firms and lawyers have faced increasing pressure over recent years to redefine their business model and move [...]
Sep
4
Thinking Like a Lawyer
Posted by: Lisa A. Mazzie | September 4, 2009 | 4 Comments
At the start of each academic year, I cannot help but to think of Professor Kingsfield, the notorious contracts professor in The Paper Chase. The various classroom scenes where Professor Kingsfield grills student after student on classic contracts cases like Hawkins v. McGee have for years served as a sort of example of the “typical” [...]
Blog Editors
- Alan Borsuk
- Bruce E. Boyden
- Edward A. Fallone
- Melissa L. Greipp
- Scott C. Idleman
- Lisa Mazzie
- Michael M. O'Hear
- Ryan Scoville
