Feb

8

The Top Five Skills Necessary to be a Lawyer

Posted by: | February 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Hello to the blogosphere! Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Joanne Lipo Zovic, and I am a 1999 MULS grad. By way of background, my current (and very schizophrenic) professional life is comprised of a small private practice, work on a court-appointment in Chapter 128 cases, and teaching both at MULS and UWM and some private training (my [...]

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Jan

11

Why the Law Degree Is Called a J.D. and Not an LL.B.

Posted by: | January 11, 2012 | 1 Comment

Professor Greipp’s fascinating post on Lois Kuenzli Collins, an early female graduate of Marquette Law School, made reference to Ms. Collins’ law degree being upgraded to a J.D. in the late 1960s. That was actually a fairly common occurrence at that time, as thousands of American lawyers in the 1960s found themselves the possessors of [...]

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Dec

16

3,000 Billable Hour Requirement – Believable?

Posted by: | December 16, 2011 | 2 Comments

Did everyone happen to see this article in the ABA Journal? If you missed it, an attorney who had been fired is now suing his former law firm because the firm’s alleged requirement that attorneys bill 3,000 hours per year encouraged fraud. There are so many great conversations/debates that could be started by this lawsuit: [...]

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Dec

5

Greetings From Your December Alumni Blogger!

Posted by: | December 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment

As I’m sure many of you have read, there have been numerous articles lately discussing how in the current economic climate some clients are refusing to pay for work done by first year associates. These articles often go on to criticize law schools in general for inundating students with legal theory only, and not preparing [...]

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Nov

27

Trying to Get Away From Lawyers? Wisconsin May Not Be Such a Bad Place to Be

Posted by: | November 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates what it calls the “location quotient” for individual occupations.  This statistic is computed on a state-by-state basis and reflects the percentage of a jurisdiction’s population employed in a particular job or profession. The “location quotient” looks at the place in which the job is performed and not [...]

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Nov

17

Tackling the Unauthorized Practice of Law in Wisconsin Today

Posted by: | November 17, 2011 | 2 Comments

Professor Michael McChrystal once pointed out that in the State of Wisconsin, the penalty for working as a beautician without a license is not much different from the penalty for practicing law without a license.

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Nov

13

Typography for Lawyers

Posted by: | November 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment

“The four most important typographic choices you make in any document are point size, line spacing, line length, and font, because those choices determine how the body text looks.” Matthew Butterick, Typography for Lawyers: Essential Tools for Polished and Persuasive Documents, “Summary of Key Rules” (2010). Does that sentence make any sense to you? If [...]

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Nov

4

Three Mentors

Posted by: | November 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment

When I was attending law school, I always heard about the importance of having mentors.  I recall Professor Fallone quipping about his professor, Archibald Cox, and encouraging my Constitutional Law class to adopt heroes in the law.

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Nov

3

Pro Bono: A Lot to Celebrate

Posted by: | November 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Last week, as part of the American Bar Association’s coordinated effort to showcase the great difference pro bono makes, we hosted our third annual Pro Bono Celebration.  This gave us opportunity to highlight some of our community partners.  We celebrated with balloons and cake in the conference center and heard from Beth Cordes Thompson, Director [...]

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Oct

20

The Face in the Window

Posted by: | October 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment

John Luther Bryant was a happy guy as he drove down the dusty roads of rural Pickens County, Alabama.  Life was good on the family farm where he and his spinster sister, Miss Grace Bryant, worked to scratch out a living and raise enough food and chickens to support themselves while enjoying the peace and [...]

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Oct

4

Appearing Before the Court

Posted by: | October 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment

[Editor's Note: This month faculty members share their favorite brief writing or oral argument tip. This is the first entry in the series.] When people ask me about the most helpful tip I can give for writing a brief and appearing in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, my answer is always “preparation, preparation, preparation.” [...]

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Sep

16

Law Firms Are Not Run Like Businesses

Posted by: | September 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment

I remember my first “real” interview after I graduated from MULS (this phrase may explain my lack of success in OCI).  One thing the managing attorney said to me continues to stick out in my memory, especially now that I have started my own mediation firm.  “Firms are not run like businesses.”  He stated this [...]

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