November 17, 2014
A sober and impartial analysis of the recent ranking of the "top 50" law faculties...
...from Professor Bainbridge at UCLA.
November 17, 2014 in Faculty News, Legal Humor, Rankings | Permalink
April 01, 2014
Too busy to be funny today...
...but others, fortunately, aren't: see Dan Filler, Jeffrey Harrison, Larry Solum.
UPDATE: And Michael Dorf (thanks to Kent McKeever for the pointer).
April 1, 2014 in Legal Humor | Permalink
January 24, 2014
Volokh blog to go behind a paywall in six months!
But, seriously, it seems a surprising decision. Even I will miss reading a couple of those folks now and then (and not simply for head-shaking amusement!).
January 24, 2014 in Law in Cyberspace, Legal Humor, Of Academic Interest | Permalink
December 07, 2013
Judge Baer vs. Justice Alito
From a Reuters item:
A federal judge this week defended his custom of urging lead law firms in class actions to staff the lawsuits with women and minority lawyers, two weeks after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito took the unusual step of criticizing the practice....
Alito likened the practice to "court-approved discrimination" and said it might warrant further review by the high court.
In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Baer, 80, said that Alito lacked "either understanding or interest" in the discrimination faced by blacks, Latinos and women....
In court orders, Baer has written that the practice is warranted under a federal rule governing the certification of class action lawsuits. The rule says a judge may, among other things, "consider any other matter pertinent to counsel's ability to fairly and adequately represent the interests of the class."
In the interview, Baer said that he does not require the firms to assign minority and women lawyers to cases. Instead, he said he notes the value of taking race and gender into account, and only in cases where the plaintiffs are mainly minorities and women.
If plaintiffs were "all white Anglo-Saxon Protestants," Baer said, "I would not likely be making these comments."
Baer, whom President Bill Clinton nominated to the bench in 1994, said Alito's salvo did not surprise him.
"I think the tongue-in-cheek answer would be that I was surprised because of how much he's done in the way of supporting anti-discrimination laws over the years," Baer said. "But that would be just a facetious comment."
Judge Baer for the win!
December 7, 2013 in Legal Humor, Legal Profession, Of Academic Interest | Permalink
October 01, 2013
Stuff faculty appointments commitees say...
October 1, 2013 in Advice for Academic Job Seekers, Legal Humor | Permalink
April 02, 2013
April Fool's Day at Legal Theory Blog
April 2, 2013 in Legal Humor, Of Academic Interest | Permalink
February 20, 2013
Paul Campos admits he doesn't "even [know] what it means" to think like a lawyer
This probably explains a lot. Fortunately, Fred Schauer has recently written a book that could help him with his questions, like, "What does it mean to teach people to think like lawyers? How is thinking like a lawyer different from ordinary thinking?"
(Thanks to Nick Smith for the pointer.)
UPDATE: A senior legal academic, who has been involved extensively with legal education reform, writes: "Keep up the Campos bashing. I think that some of the law school critics have done a good service. Even when I don't agree with everything, it was necessary for legal educators to give up a bit of complacency. I've never met Campos, but he is disgraceful." It's hard to disagree with any of that, but I don't really plan to keep up the "bashing," since, as we saw a few weeks back, by Campos's own admission, there really isn't much content to his routine.
February 20, 2013 in Jurisprudence, Law Professors Saying Dumb Things, Legal Humor, Of Academic Interest, Professional Advice | Permalink
December 21, 2012
Loans and the end of the world: legal issues
Reader Ben Schewel shares this handy "Default Clause" just in case (author unknown):
12.7 END OF WORLD. In the event that the world as known to mankind shall come to an end, whether through natural forces (including, without limitation, plague, drought, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods), manmade forces (including, without limitation, nuclear or biological war, pollution and global warming), or divine forces (including, without limitation, the Second Coming, the Mayan Cataclysm, and the Rapture, regardless of religious affiliation of Bank or Borrower), then, in such event, all outstanding principal, interest, fees and charges remaining under the Loan Documents shall immediately become due and payable to Bank at Bank’s offices or designated shelter, without notice of any kind of character, all such notice being hereby waived by Borrower, and Borrower agrees that the end of the world shall not be deemed or construed to constitute a valid excuse or defense to payment; provided further, that in the event that the end of the world shall be divinely inspired, then, in such event, Borrower further agrees that Bank shall be aligned with forces of goodness and light, and Borrower shall be aligned with the forces of evil and darkness, and that Borrower shall be cast into a pit of fire until all sums owing under the Loan Documents, including attorney fees, shall be fully paid; provided further, that in the event that Borrower should be reincarnated subsequent to the end of the world, whether as an animal, vegetable or mineral, then, in such event, Bank shall have and possess, in addition to the collateral stated in the Loan Documents, a security interest in all of Borrower’s useful products, including, without limitation, any and all fur, hide, meat, edible portions, medicinal properties, and mineral rights, to further secure the prompt payment of all sums owing under the Loan Documents.
December 21, 2012 in Legal Humor | Permalink
More cutting-edge empirical work
"Please pass the salt": Download SALT research
(Thanks to Richard Stith for the pointer.)
December 21, 2012 in Legal Humor | Permalink
November 07, 2012
With Harvard's Elizabeth Warren Heading to the U.S. Senate...
November 7, 2012 in Faculty News, Legal Humor | Permalink