A Simple Wardrobe for a Complex Profession

man in a business suitThis semester in Professor Lisa Mazzie’s Advanced Legal Writing: Writing for Law Practice seminar, students are required to write one blog post on a law- or law school-related topic of their choice. Writing blog posts as a lawyer is a great way to practice writing skills, and to do so in a way that allows the writer a little more freedom to showcase his or her own voice, and—eventually for these students—a great way to maintain visibility as a legal professional. Here is one of those blog posts, this one written by 3L Corey Westfall.

A lawyer wears—what does a lawyer wear? I ask you that question after my roommate professed that “we are going to be lawyers soon, so we should dress like lawyers.”

If the 2017 American Bar Association (“ABA”) annual conference provided an entire session focused solely on fashion, fashion must be a real legal issue! ABA paid for a Brooks Brothers session that provided modeling, lectures, and a pamphlet.

And while Brooks Brothers used that session to advertise their “relatively affordable pieces” (do not be duped; there are more affordable options), Brooks Brothers also provided some useful tips: (1) stick to dark grey and dark blue suits/skirts; and (2) limit shirts to solid blue and solid white, and lightly patterned versions of blue and white. (Number (2) for women may have some slight variations in color, but not much.) Conservative tips, but safe nonetheless.

We law students are joining a profession older than we are, with fashion norms out-aging our already-outdated law school wardrobe!

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Give Attention to Concerns About Privacy Close to Home, Author Suggests

Yes, the furor over data from millions of Facebook users being used for political purposes is important. But just driving down the street raises important privacy issues also. And whether you can make sense of the Facebook issues, you could and probably should give attention to high-tech monitoring of your daily life.

That was the thrust of an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” program Thursday in Eckstein Hall featuring Cyrus Farivar, author of a new book, Habeas Data: Privacy vs. the Rise of Surveillance Tech. Farivar is also a regular contributor to Ars Technica, which covers news related to technology.

Gousha introduced Farivar by saying that talking about technology and privacy is “a conversation that is perfect for our times.” In the week when great attention focused on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying at length before congressional committees, Farivar agreed.

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Overheard Outside Eckstein Hall

The following conversation was overheard this morning outside of the entrance to the parking structure in Eckstein Hall:

Parking Attendant:  I’m sorry, but you will have to back up your car.  The parking structure is full.

Faculty Member:  I can see past the gate.  There are plenty of empty spots.

Parking Attendant:  Those spots are reserved for faculty and students only.

Faculty Member:  But I have been on the faculty for 26 years.

Parking Attendant:  My apologies.  I didn’t recognize you.  However, those spots are reserved for today’s On the Issues with Mike Gousha.  He is interviewing the author of the book “Trump Bad: How to Sell Your Book By Using Trump’s Name in the Title.”

Faculty Member:  I happen to know that that event is tomorrow.

Parking Attendant:  My mistake.  Today those spots are reserved for people attending Charles Franklin’s press conference.  He has new poll results: “Public Support for Cheese Curds Reaches Record Low in Wisconsin.”

Faculty Member:  I think that you made that up.

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