The Shark

luce forward kills 2009 summer associate program.

[cynthia foster]

ATL is reporting that San Diego firm Luce Forward is rescinding all offers to 3Ls and canceling its summer associate program.  While I'm not entirely surprised (we think this will be a growing trend in the next few months), I am very saddened for all of you out there worried about your futures. 

We may have more on this story and its implications soon.  For now, I can tell you that the firm has confirmed that it is shuttering its 2009 summer associate program and giving all 3Ls with offers the big "JK."

what to do with the bluebook? one option: burn it. the other option: think of a better way.

[brian lauter]

How much time do law students waste paging through the Bluebook? If they’re on law review, or to a lesser extent any law journal, a lot of time.

The Legal Satyricon wants to save us all time and paper cuts by getting rid of the Bluebook altogether.

I’ve noted in the past that a Bluebook abolition movement has existed for a while in the darkest corners of the legal world, but I’ve never witnessed such conspicuous contempt for Bluebook before.

Calling the Bluebook a “distraction from the true craft of legal writing” and “the only book in existence that actually makes the world a shittier place,” the item explains in similarly profane language, that judges, lawyers, and clients don’t even care about correct Bluebook citation. It also suggests burning your Bluebook in protest.

More shocking than Legal Satyricon’s citation heresy, however, is Courtoons’ suggested one rule replacement: “Cite to stuff using common sense – put in the case name and the number. People will get it.”

Having suffered the damaging effects of intense long term exposure to the Bluebook, I understand this sentiment. However, before you go all Guy Montag on your Bluebook, I’d like to point out that the Bluebook also contains rules governing citation to all kinds of obscure materials like international treaties and administrative reports. There isn’t always a common sense method for citing these materials.

I have another solution:

Most attorneys, lawyers and judges now rely on online databases like Westlaw, Lexis, and LoisLaw for legal research. All we really need is a system of citation that will allow people easily search for sources using these services.

One or all of these organizations could easily publish a list of sources and the shorthand that must enter into the database to find those sources. No more formatting rules; just a simple citation key and, maybe, a quick explanation of how to use signals to appropriately indicate the purpose of a citation.

How great would it be to be able to cut and paste any citation into a database and have it immediately come up?  Until that day comes, you’re still my boy, Blue.

sexy rexy off to the belly of the sun.

[cynthia foster]

For all of you who have been wondering what has happened to Dean Rex Perschbacher of King Hall, I've got news for you.  He's in the running (along with four other finalists) for the dean position at University of Arizona's law school.  Despite King Hall's swandive in the bar passage rankings and 10 slot drop in the US News rankings during his tenure, Sexy Rexy may be off to sunnier, less bovine pastures.

think you're the funny guy in your section? think again.

[brian lauter]

Some humorless gunning I witnessed in class yesterday reminded me of an item I read a few weeks ago by Alan Childress of the Legal Profession Blog.

Childress asked:  “Does law school destroy your sense of humor?”   He went on to cite some pretty damning evidence showing that it does.

Most of Childress’ examples consist of dumb-sounding questions asked by an attorney that are followed by witty retorts from a witness, but they’re worth a read.

True to lawyer form, the commenters on Childress’ item immediately began arguing about one such example, laying down competing tortured hypotheticals to explain the appropriateness of the hypothetical lawyers' questions.

Childress’ subject, his examples, and the commenters’ responses have made me insecure about my own ability to be funny after two and a half years in law school, so I won’t make any attempts at wit here.

I will say, however, that Childress’ statement that “[l]awyers have our own sense of humor, which isn’t funny to ‘laypeople’...and objectively isn’t funny,” is somewhat frightening. He’s essentially referring to the maddening habit of lawyers and law students to make horrible law-related puns.

If naming your bowling team “The Splits of Authority” or wearing a t-shirt that says “Attractive Nuisance” is what passes for humor in the legal world, then we really are in trouble.

What Childress doesn’t consider, but what may be the answer to his question, is that funny people just don’t end up in law school. The law is a serious, logical, detail-oriented profession, and there may just be some self-selection going on.

Funny people self-select for normal jobs, and people who love obscure puns self-select for the law. Think about it the next time your top gunner raises his or her hand.

Ed. note: We think Brian is pretty funny.

law prof geeks out on harry potter like it's 2007.

[cynthia foster]

Ummmm.

I'm not so sure how to proceed with this one.

Madisonian.net, a site run by law profs from schools like Seton Hall and Pitt, has posted a very lengthy series of video tributes to Hermione Granger.  Right below the blast of fandom there were lengthy posts on trademark law and Japan's economy in the 90s.

Uh?

The Hermione post was authored by Ann Bartow of the University of South Carolina's law school (who incidentally has similar bangs to Hermione's).  The highlight, if one could call it that, of the collection has to be "Miss Independent" to the sweet sounds of Kelly Clarkson.

I'm looking forward to some lawprof fanfic.  Bookmarked!

another alternative career option: web 2.0 know it all.

[cynthia foster]       

A boy genius JD has made headlines (well, with the ABA) for forsaking the law to become a podcaster. 

Andrew Brody, who scored a perfect 180 on the LSAT and received a scholarship to NYU's law school, decided against practicing law, instead opting to train LSAT teachers and produce LSAT Logic in Everyday Life.

According to the ABA Journal, the "podcast finds flaws in arguments about current events, such as the recent trampling of a Wal-Mart greeter or flaws in labor statistics."

Brody's podcast gets between 20,000 and 30,000 listeners each episode.  One's gotta wonder if any of the 25 out of 125,000 LSAT-takers who will receive perfect scores on the exam are among them.

channel that one gender studies class you took in undergrad and understand rankings better.

[brian lauter]

I always just assumed that law school faculties hate law school rankings for the same reasons the rest of us do. It turns out, however, that they really hate them because rankings are the only form of discipline they’re ever subjected to.

In an article in the February issue of American Sociological Review, Professors Michael Sauder and Wendy Nelson Espeland apply the work of Michel Foucault to law schools and U.S. News rankings.

Foucault is a staple of college feminism classes, but he also, apparently, drew up a fairly well known sociological model of discipline and punishment. 

Sauder and Espeland argue that “Foucault’s insights about disciplinary power offer a compelling account of how cognitive, normative, and affective processes mediate members’ responses to environmental pressures, including multiple or coercive pressures from powerful outside organizations.”

Got it? Me neither, but it gets a little easier when you ignore Foucault. Sauder and Espeland essentially argue that rankings “discipline” law schools by acting as an external surveillance and normalization mechanism.

linx: how to do what you already do, but better.

[cynthia foster]

This first link is also useful for parents, aunts, bosses, and other victims of the generational gap.

• Facebook Instructional Video for Teachers (Legal Writing Prof Blog)
• Admissions Waitlist Strategies (Veritas Prep)
• The 10 "Most Innovative Law Schools" (Equal Justice Works
• Why Law School Sucks (Legal Ease)
• Why Law School Sucks Part II (Legal Ease)

santa clara team dominates moot court competition, moves on to international stage.

[petra pasternak]

The flames of pride are billowing at Santa Clara Law.

A team of three law students have beat out Yale Law and other schools in the North American round of the International Criminal Court moot court competition held at Pace University School of Law in the last weekend of January.  Next week, third-year Ann Marie Ursini, second-year Brandon Douglass and third-year Adam Birnbaum are hopping on a plane for the final round in The Hague.

Birnbaum said that people he doesn’t even know have come up to the team on campus to congratulate them. “Santa Clara is a very good law school,” he said. “But Yale is the number one school in the country, so I think this has really allowed people to take pride in the school in a way that maybe they don’t get to always do. It’s exciting for all of us.”

Santa Clara law has won the Pace competition before, said professor and coach Beth Van Schaack, but this is the first time that the first- and second-place winners have qualified for the global competition.

The competition starts in 10 days. The trio will match wits against teams from 18 other countries, including what Birnbaum refers to as heavyweights: China’s Tsinghua University, University of Pretoria in South Africa, and the London School of Economics. “We went into this with no expectation that we would advance to The Hague,” Birnbaum said. “And all of a sudden we have these briefs from international teams to read and research, and some of them are shockingly good.”

When they get back, the team won’t have to worry about filling out expense reports with the school. The Dutch government gave them $4,000 to cover flights and hotels.

wanted: scholar-king adept at indoctrination and soliciting money from dummies.

[brian lauter]

***Now Hiring***

North American law schools seek ambitious, attractive applicants for well-paid law school dean positions. Applicants must possess superior fundraising abilities and should enjoy working with numbers.

Looking for a challenge? These positions are perfect for doctrinaire, socially awkward law professors looking to test their complete ignorance of administrative leadership against the practical realities of running a large institution of learning!

Ideal candidates will have no ties to the hiring schools, but will have held quasi-prestigious positions at higher ranked schools.

Ability to relate to students will be considered, but, be assured, students will have no idea what your responsibilities actually are. Demonstrated dedication to ignoring student pleas for more practical legal education is also a plus.

27 positions available. Law schools reserve the right to revoke employment at any time. All positions begin upon completion of extensive background check.

Conservatives need not apply.