The Shark

linx: because twitter is too easy.

[cynthia]

• Looks like Kirsten Wolf 2.0? [SherriLynn]
• Since law school doesn't prepare you to be a lawyer, I suppose it's a small victory that it can prepare you to be something else. [The Legal Intelligencer via Law.com]  
• And here we thought law students didn't want to blog. [I Don't Wear Skinny Jeans]
• Deans at T1-T4 schools in Minnesota weigh in on the US News rankings. Can you guess where they each stand on them? You might be surprised. [MinnLawyer Blog] 
• Firm managing partners feel "slightly" less grim about the future. Huzzah! [Cal Law (free reg. req.)]

linx: do you think a facebook vanity url will help get you an offer, too?

[cynthia]

• "Soft skills" is the new "right place, right time" when it comes to summer associates nabbing job offers. (Stay Plugged In to Networking to Get the Most Out of Your Summer, Law.com)
• Two profs advance their suit against a publishing company that, they claim, harmed their reputations by attaching their names to a badly written text supplement. (Law Professors Clear Hurdle in Suit Against West Publishing, The Legal Intelligencer)
• Our good friend Dean Lawrence Velvel (about whom we love to write) has announced that his question mark of a law school will now also become a question mark of an undergrad institution. (Another New Law School, Sort Of, Legal Blog Watch)
• Did Shearman & Sterling incite a riot when they announced their start dates are first-come, first-served? I hear thundering feet. (Shearman & Sterling Start Date Watch: You'd Better Hurry, Above the Law)

linx: tweet tweet!

[cynthia foster]

Good Friday isn't the best day for news.  But here's a little.  You'll notice that it is, indeed, rankings season again.

• An Open Letter to Other Law Bloggers Regarding the US News Rankings (Brian Leiter's Law School Reports)
• More on the Law School 100 Rankings (TaxProf Blog)
• Twitter Resources for  Law Students (LawBound)
• School Dean and Law Prof at Chapman Debate if Former Bush Adviser John Yoo Fit to Teach (The Chronicles of a Blawgirl)

linx: what's a body to do?

[cynthia foster]

Happy spring.  Happy recession.  You know the drill.

• Open Thread: Student Debt and Tax Credits (The Blackbook Legal Blog)
• 23 Law Students Spend Spring Break Assisting Disaster Victims in New Orleans (Citizen Lawyer Program)
• Law Student on the People's Court (The Volokh Conspiracy)
• The WSJ on Law School and the Recession - A Deeper Look (Veritas Prep)

And last, but not least, a cartoon from last week's Recorder:

'Got a fresh delivery of deferred Big Law first-years — where do you want them?' 

Read more about the "flooded" public interest market in a National Law Journal article here.

linx: maybe the only way to make any money is to get on jeopardy.

[cynthia foster]

• What Is... a Boaltie (Nuts & Boalts' report that an alumnus won the big bucks on Jeopardy)
• Orrick Leads in Percentage of Associate, Counsel Jobs Slashed (American Lawyer Daily)
• Law Students Report Positive Reaction to No-Laptop Policy (ABA Journal)
• Yoo Regrets Not Being More 'Polished' (The Washington Independent)

And last, but nothing close to least:

If you're looking for something to do with all your unemployed time, check out LaidOffCamp.  Like SpaceCamp.  Just sub in ramen for astronaut food.

linx: faculty week, here at the shark.

[cynthia foster]

Orange County sure is a happening place lately.

• New UC Law School at Irvine is Ranked in Top 10, Based on Faculty (ABA Journal)
• Torture Memo Author Finds Friends and Foes at Chapman U (OC Weekly)
• Harvard Students Grill Starr About Role in Prop 8 Case (Bay Windows)
• No-Stat All Star Professors? (Opinio Juris)
• Poaching UC Faculty Persists in Recession (Contra Costa Times - includes an interview with Berkeley Law Dean Christopher Edley)
• A Symposium On the Evolution of J.D. Programs (Southwestern University)

linx: no negativity here.

[cynthia foster]

After yesterday's layoff bloodbath (in case you didn't hear, 800 lawyers lost their jobs yesterday - covered extensively here, free reg. req.), I thought it might be nice to not talk about job security/biglaw/everyone's tanking futures at all.  Your roundup for today:

• New Dean Chosen for Local Law School (OC Register - that local law school is Whittier)
• Online Law Research - Pros and Cons (Law Librarian Blog)
• Law School Defends Obama Poster Artist (Stanford News Service)
• Wow Again! (Nuts & Boalts - Berkeley Law receives record number of applicants, current students express relief at their good timing)
• What Would It Mean to Be the #1 Law School for Ethics? (PrawfsBlawg)

And from Overheard in New York:

"Guy: I can't decide which song to listen to. (girls around him look at him quizzically) No, I normally listen to Van Halen's Right Now before a test, but this is my first exam in law school, and I want to set a precedent.

- Fordham Law School Cafeteria, Lincoln Center"

And don't forget: we're hiring!

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.

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)

linx: how to be a better law school student and later a better lawyer.

[cynthia foster]

Before you go and add your CivPro prof on Facebook, check out the last one on the list to hear what profs are saying about being your friend on the internetz.

• Stanford Law School Launches the Stanford Center on the Legal Profession (SLS News Center)
• Why a Semester Away Should Be Required (Nuts & Boalts)
• Student's Free Speech Case May Lead to Legislation (Hartford Courant)
• Would Phil Areeda Have Been My Facebook Friend? (PrawfsBlawg)