Monday, January 31, 2011

an example of a public interest legal job...

hi folks...just got an announcement about this today. it gives you an example of the kind of job you might be qualified for if, for instance, you took Professor Colker's ADA class and worked independently with her and became someone of an expert in laws related to the ADA. actually, there are lots of legal advocacy groups that hire their own attorneys...other examples are Equal Justice Foundation, Foundation for Individual Rights, ACLU, etc.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Subject: DISABILITY RIGHTS STAFF ATTORNEY POSITION (in Nashville, TN)

DISABILITY RIGHTS STAFF ATTORNEY POSITION


Disability Law & Advocacy Center of Tennessee (DLAC) is a private nonprofit agency which is designated as the protection and advocacy system for Tennessee. DLAC is currently accepting applications for a staff attorney to work primarily in its employment law area which includes employment discrimination and vocational rehabilitation.

Licensed Tennessee attorneys with strong written and oral communication skills who want an opportunity to work on issues which significantly impact people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Although DLAC would prefer to receive applications from attorneys with employment and/or disability law experience, the agency is willing to consider applications from less experienced attorneys who have engaged in activities that demonstrate a strong interest in disability rights issues.

Submit cover letter, resume and writing sample to
P.O. Box 121257,
Nashville, TN 37212 or by e-mail to sheliam@dlactn.org by February 11, 2011.

Attorneys with disabilities are encouraged to apply. E.O.E.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Pelotonia death lawsuit

note how the lawsuit in this case is being used:
1) to get answers
2) to promote awareness

and how it is not being used:
1) to get money [the defendants didn't have insurance]

Bicyclist's family wants answers in her death

note also how the article mentions the insurance company Progressive was named as a party even though they are already cooperating. this is a standard move in civil litigation procedure--to name every party possible.

Attorney allegedly took his pay in painkillers

well, you don't want to do this after you graduate from law school and become a lawyer. my real question though is why is he in jail instead of a treatment center. he's pretty clearly an addict and even though he broke the law, wouldn't everyone be a lot better off if he went straight into treatment?

Attorney allegedly took his pay in painkillers

Saturday, January 22, 2011

another law school prof in the news...

he folks....read down towards the end--where is quotes Michael McCann, vermont law school professor and "sports law expert"...this is the guy you want to be if you are interested in law school and sports.

Federal judge: Former MLB players must testify in Barry Bonds perjury trial

if you are interested in sports law, 1) there's an entire sports law journal [comes out of Marquette], and 2) you should search this McCann guy on lexis-nexis academic and read one of his articles for summary #2 [assuming it fits an area of sports law you want to write about].

ps. this case reinforces a lesson learned in the Watergate era: it's not the original act that oftentimes gets people in trouble, but instead, the cover-up...

Thursday, January 20, 2011

home run baseball/property article

here ya go, folks...the citation for the law review article about who owned the barry bonds 73rd home run baseball. [it was caught by a fan named popov (to what degree the catch had been completed became the legal issue), that fan was attacked by a group of fans, and another fan, hayashi, emerged with the ball. interestingly, the author of the article was ultimately an expert witness for popov when the case went to trial! [a trial which was completed after the article was published, so i had to do some digging to find out that the court decided the catch was incomplete (whatever that means) and the ball should be sold and the profits equally divided].

23 Cardozo L. Rev. 1609, Paul Finkelman
Batter Up!: From the baseball field to the courthouse

ps. sorry that cite isn't clickable but you can find it by going through the OSU library page and then research databases then Lexis-Nexis Academic and then US Legal and then Law Reviews

mafia raid article

was just reading this on cnn.com, and not surprisingly, toward the end it quotes a law professor. to be honest i never noticed this as much myself--but law professors are everywhere! and if you want to have some fun after you're done reading the article, google that professor's name and read his wikipedia entry...he's got a JD and a PhD in criminology...and seems to be an expert on prisons, street gangs, and now organized crime. for you criminology majors in the class, this should be pretty interesting. oh, for everyone--your research on the law review article may very well lead to a presentation in the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum [denman.osu.ed]...think about it!

FBI targets mob...

an outline of tips on how to write a note/article...

more guidance on how to write a student note/article....i think much of her info comes from the sources listed below. for instance, her 10 kinds of notes come directly [one might say they are plagiarized from] the Delgado article. hmmm.

Writing a Note

the Yaphe article about student law review articles

hi folks...i am re-posting from the blog that the author of A Short Guide to Writing about Law maintains. there is a link in it talking about an article written by Andrew Yaphe discussing law review notes/articles written by law students.

Katie Pryal's blog

once you get to dr.pryal's blog, i would explore some of her outstanding resources for pre-law students in her class and maybe even bookmark it and return to it frequently. she is a pioneer in the area of pre-law student scholarship.

ps. in a footnote in the Yaphe article he cites another law review article called How to Write a Law Review Article, which you can find here:

Delgado

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

info on Professor Goldberger

hey folks....my constitutional law professor, who has recently retired, has agreed to do another socratic class for us, on tuesday 1/25. he hasn't got me the cases yet, but you can learn more about him here:

David Goldberger

also, you can listen to him argue in front of the US S Ct here:

http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1994/1994_93_986 [he goes first]
http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2004/2004_03_9877 [he goes second]

interesting story about OSU in the Dispatch

read this and then ponder a constitutional issue facing us here at OSU:

is it constitutional for a student group which gets funding from the university to exclude members based on sexual orientation?

OSU to reconsider continuing to let student religious groups ban gays, nonbelievers

Indiana University's pre-law page...

just wanted to post a link to this, FYI....it seems to be a great resource. i assume OSU has our own which you are well aware of, but this one might provide a few additional items for you... :)

http://hpplc.indiana.edu/law/

particularly, toward the bottom, there is the Prelaw Recommended Reading List...i read most of those books over the holiday break and found them to be quite interesting. excerpts of them can be found on Carmen and we will read some in the second half of the course...

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

large debt leads to exclusion from bar exam

this should make your blood boil; it certainly made mine.

In re Application of Griffin

ps. read it closely--he was allowed to take the bar exam a few times [unfortunately not passing]--and try to figure out why they disallow him to take it this time...

Freshwater case

hi folks...please follow these links to read about an interesting administrative law case that has been going on for a couple years. obviously the legal issue is interesting [1st A., establishment clause] but the reason i want you to see it is that of the $900,000 the school district paid to defend their firing of this teacher, over $800,000 went to one of the biggest highest-price law firms in the state...

Dispatch editorial Jan 18
More commentary
Dispatch editorial Jan 13

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Arizona prosecution

hi folks....toward the end of this article from the new york, there is a brief summary of the issues facing prosecutors in the Arizona massacre, importantly, who will go first--state or federal. it also gives a little history about this not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea which somewhat doesn't exist anymore.

Legal Strategy Could Hinge on Mental Assessment

ps. generally speaking, i think it is a good idea for you to look at the headlines of the NYT every day and follow the news, especially as it relates to law [which is about all the news in some way or another].

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

info on how to brief a case

in addition to the information in Pryal's A Short Guide to Writing about Law [p.25-34; 40-41], i found this website after a quick google search ["case brief sample"]....i think it does a good job of explaining the parts and giving a sample, etc...

http://www.lawnerds.com/guide/briefing.html

Sunday, January 9, 2011

another article to consider when thinking about law school

here ya go, more food for thought:

Supply v. Demand [from slate.com]

important story in today's NYT

i just read this story and i want everyone considering law school to read it. i don't think it should discourage you from going to law school, but it should really make you think about the law school you go to, the amount of debt you will have when you graduate, and what your future will be like for decades to come based on decisions you make right now.

[from NY Times]

Is Law School a Losing Game?

Welcome to the blog

This is the blog for Law School Writing. I will try to compile many articles of interest here, as well as commentary on them, information about assignments, etc.