Lawyer in Your Living Room

davidPapkeI enjoyed serving on “the jury” chosen by the American Bar Association to pick the top 25 law shows during the history of prime-time television.  Our list and sketches of the shows just appeared in the August, 2009 ABA Journal.  I was pleased but surprised that “The Defenders,” a fine series from the early 1960s ranked third.  The other top series – “L.A. Law,” “Perry Mason,” and “Law & Order” – are not only great law shows but also milestones in the history of entertainment television.  Meanwhile, I’m not sure “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” deserve their places on the list.  I enjoy both, but they seem to me police procedurals rather than law shows.

If anyone is curious, here’s the full list:

  1. “L.A. Law” (1986-94)
  2. “Perry Mason” (1957-66)
  3. “The Defenders” (1961-65)
  4. “Law & Order” (1990-present)
  5. “The Practice” (1997-2004)
  6. “Ally McBeal “ (1997-2002)
  7. “Rumpole of the Bailey” (1978-1992)
  8. “Boston Legal” (2004-08)
  9. “Damages” (2007-present)
  10. “Night Court” (1984-1992)
  11. “Judging Amy” (1999-2005
  12. “Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law” (1971-74)
  13. “JAG” (1995-2005)
  14. “Shark” (2006-08)
  15. “Civil Wars” (1991-93)
  16. “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law” (2000-9)
  17. “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (2001-present)
  18. “Murder One” (1995-97)
  19. “Matlock” (1986-1995)
  20. “Reasonable Doubts” (1991-93)
  21. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (1999-present)
  22. “Judd for the Defense” (1967-69)
  23. “Paper Chase” (1978-79, 1983-86)
  24. “Petrocelli” (1974-76)
  25. “Eli Stone” (2008-09)
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Remembering Professor Wally MacBain

Former Marquette law professor Wallace Alexander MacBain, III passed away on July 17, 2009, as the result of complications from a fall at his home in Nashotah, Wisconsin.  Professor MacBain was born in Audubon, New Jersey, on March 21, 1933.  His father, Wallace A. MacBain, Jr., was a member of the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipworkers of America. 

Prof. MacBain graduated magna cum laude from Rutgers Law School in 1959 where he was also a member of the law review.  He spent the early years of his  professional life involved with school desegregation issues and served as a consultant to the United States government on that subject.  He joined the Marquette faculty in 1965 where he remained until his retirement at the end of the 1994-95 academic year.  As a faculty member, he served under Deans Seitz, Boden, DeGuire, and Barkan.

At Marquette, he served for several years as director of admissions (when that was still a position held by a faculty member).  Over the course of his career he taught a wide variety of courses, but his specialties were Constitutional Law, Civil Rights Legislation, and Conflicts of Law.  He was frequently quoted in the Milwaukee newspapers, and his most widely cited article had to do with the insanity defense.

His colleagues remember him as a devoted academic citizen and as a wonderful story teller.  He is survived by his wife as well as two children and two step-children and a number of grandchildren.

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Marquette Law Student Theresa Fallon Serving as ABA Law Student Division Liaison for the Dispute Resolution Section

I recently learned that Theresa Fallon, a 2L, was appointed by the ABA to serve as Liaison to the Section on Dispute Resolution for 2009-2010.  You can see a list naming Theresa and the other liaison appointees here.  Student liaisons to ABA entities such as the Dispute Resolution Section work to “serve as a line of communication between [their] respective entit[ies], Law Student Division, Division Circuits, and local law schools,” according to the front page of the Liaison website.

The competition for the liaison positions is tough, and it is an honor for Theresa to have been chosen.  In this position, Theresa will attend the section’s meetings and get to know its leadership, helping it to understand and serve the needs of law students.  She will also attend meetings for the ABA Law Student Division in the Seventh Circuit.  The liaison position is a wonderful opportunity for Theresa to make connections, serve the profession, and represent Marquette University Law School in national legal circles.

Continue ReadingMarquette Law Student Theresa Fallon Serving as ABA Law Student Division Liaison for the Dispute Resolution Section