ZiefBrief

Take me out to a lawsuit, take me out to a tort...

Ziefbrief usually resists the urge to report on every news report concerning what appears at first glance to be a case of litigation gone wild. But there comes now a report from the American Heartland that we feel inclined to mention to our readers. It seems that Northwestern University has had the magnanimous policy of allowing local children's baseball teams use of their baseball facilities. According to an article in the local Pioneer Local newspaper this policy is being curtailed because of the threat of a lawsuit from the parents of one of the young players. It seems that a certain times of the days the sun shines into the eyes of the pitcher and, in the words of the University, it is impossible "to do anything to mitigate the sun's effect on the vision of the pitcher, so we have made the unfortunate decision that we can no longer safely host these games." While we can understand the University's desire to shield itself from what appears to be a frivolous lawsuit, it does seem draconian to kick the tykes out entirely. According to a statement from one of the organizers of the local league the problem only exists for about a half hour in the evening. Perhaps this is more a problem of scheduling and a well timed extended 7th Inning Stretch might take care of the problem. While it is almost certain that the pundits will vilify the parents and try and paint them as irresponsible, law-suit happy greed-heads it is a shame that the problem couldn't have been resolved with more civility and intelligence on everyones part.

Original story from a posting in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Legal Blogs: Inspiration for Finding Law Review Topics

The annual hunt for law review topics is another seasonal activity revealed by ZiefBrief's current usage statistics.

Immersing yourself for a time in the legal news is a great way to get at least a kernel of a topic. The following collections of law blogs let you skim a vast number of posts in a short time, so that you can get a sense of what's new, hot, and — most important of all — interesting to you.

• Alltop.com's "Law" category - current headlines from about 150 major legal blogs, all displayed on one page for easy skimming
• LexMonitor - a daily review of legal blogs, with the option of browsing by topics ("channels")
• Justia's BlawgSearch - currently covering over 2800 legal blogs in 62 categories
• ABA Journal - current legal news and a Blawg Directory

For more ways to get a foothold on your law review topic, see our previous post, Summer Reading - Finding Paper & Law Review Topics.

Once you have that kernel, you can flesh it out with the techniques outlined in chapter two ("Inspiration: Choosing a Subject and Developing a Thesis") of Elizabeth Fajans & Mary R. Falk, Scholarly Writing for Law Students (3d ed. 2005).

Summer Reading - Preparing for Law School (2008)

Based on ZiefBrief's statistics, many newly-admitted law students spend these summer months mining Google for tips that will help them survive the beginning of law school. We believe that the best way to spend this summer is relaxing and doing something fun that you won't have time for once law school starts, but there's no lack of advice out there if you want it. Lately we've learned of —

• The Wish I Would Have Known blog - advice for law students by law students
• A Very Short Reading List for Incoming 1Ls - from the Law Librarian Blog
• The Summer Before Law School? - from Alan Childress on the Legal Profession Blog

Our previous "Summer Reading" posts have more —

• Summer Reading Before Law School (2007)
• Summer Reading: Bracing Yourself for the First Year of Law School
• Summer Reading Before Law School - Dean Brand's Recommendation

Z-Flyer Available For Your Enjoyment

The Dorraine Zief Law Library occasional newsletter, the Z-Flyer, is now available as a .pdf file for your edification (Click here to download) This edition includes:

* A Report from the International Association of Law Libraries 26th Annual Course in Mumbai India
* Instructions on accessing databases from remote locations
* An overview of some of the great materials available on HeinOnline
* An interview with library staff member Ellen Trice on the occasion of her celebrating 30 years of service to the USF Law Library

Is Google Changing Our Brain Wiring?

There's an interesting article in the Atlantic this month, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"  Author Nicholas Carr worries that Internet use is changing the way that we read and absorb information:

Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.

I see this phenomenon at work when I teach Advanced Legal Research.  I can tell that some students are skimming cases and statutes and occasionally missing some of the most crucial sections because they aren't in the habit of reading intensively.  It's easy to understand how it happens.  We are all trying to wade efficiently through the sea of information that hits us every day, and skimming is a necessary coping mechanism.  But once you find the cases and statutes that are relevant, you almost have to reset your brain and consciously switch it from the "skim" setting to the "intensive reading" setting in order to ensure that you don't miss something important.  It's not easy to make this switch, but it really is a vital skill for attorneys. 

Indispensable Practice Guide

The Zief librarians are always on the lookout for the next indispensable, "must have" practice guide, and we think all of our readers will agree that Cheerleading and the Law: Risk Management Strategies is a necessity for all lawyers confronting those pesky, cheerleading and mascot-related legal issues.  There are several handy chapters like:  "Mascots: Background, Court Cases and Other Issues" (this chapter begins with a helpful introductory discussion, "What Is a Mascot?"); "A Brief History of Cheerleading" (find out who qualifies as the first cheerleader!); and "Cheerleading and the Courts" (one of the subtopics in this chapter is entitled "Cheerleading Coach Offered a Plea Deal" -- yikes).  The book has at least one rave review from the President/CEO of Cheer Ltd. Inc., who claims that Cheerleading and the Law "may well be one of the most important books written for the spirit industry."  I never even knew that a "spirit industry" existed, but that's just one of the many, many valuable bits of information that you'll pick up when you read Cheerleading and the Law.

Unlike most treatises and practice guides, Cheerleading and the Law isn't a budget-buster. It can be yours for the low, low price of $22!  Pick it up today.

Oral Argument Audio Files

Howard Bashman just posted an announcement on How Appealing to let his readers know that the Fifth Circuit is now making audio files of oral arguments available on its website. Here is a short roundup of some other jurisdictions that furnish audio files of oral arguments on their websites:

United States Supreme Court Audio Files from oyez.org;
Ninth Circuit (case number or date of oral argument required);
Federal Circuit;
Seventh Circuit;
Eighth Circuit;
California Supreme Court (selected high-profile cases only!)
Colorado Supreme Court;
Delaware Supreme Court;
Florida First District Court of Appeal (video and audio);
Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal (video and audio);
Illinois Supreme Court;
Missouri Supreme Court
Nevada Supreme Court;
Texas Supreme Court;
Utah Supreme Court and Utah Court of Appeals;
Wisconsin Supreme Court.

If anyone knows of other appellate courts that make audio files of oral arguments available, let me know, and I'll add to this list!

Gossipy Law Blogs and Biglaw

The National Law Journal has an article today, "Gossip Blogs Bedevil Law Firms," which discusses how quickly law firms' dirty laundry -- things like layoffs, firings, associate lawsuits, and "Summer Associates Gone Wild" incidents -- gets aired for public consumption on blogs like Above the Law and WSJ's Law Blog.  The instant I read this headline, I immediately flashed back to childhood afternoons watching Scooby Doo with my sister.  At the end of each episode, the captured villain always shook his or her fist at the Scooby Doo Gang and said something like, "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!!"  I imagine a few law firm partners have expressed similar sentiments after finding their firms' inner workings discussed in great detail on gossip blogs.  (My apologies to any young readers out there who are shaking your heads in dismay over my antiquated cultural references -- I am of a certain age and cannot help myself!) 

It seems to me that this new transparency is a pretty good thing for those who are entering the Biglaw job market.  Back in the dark old pre-blog days, it was pretty tough to obtain detailed information about a firm unless you already knew someone who summered there before you or people who were currently working at the firm.  If you didn't have an inside source of information, you were stuck with NALP data and the inevitably glowing stories about what it's like to work at the firm that you get from associates during on-site interviews.

That's all changed.  Above the Law and other sites now regularly post detailed information about Biglaw bonuses, associate salaries, family leave policies, "real" versus "advertised" billable hour expectations, layoffs, and more, making it much easier to compare firms.  While you have to have some healthy skepticism about the veracity of readers' comments, the Wall Street Journal reporters and Above the Law's David Lat let readers know whether they have been able to substantiate the information in their posts.  Given the amount of time that you'll spend at a Biglaw firm after you accept an offer, it doesn't hurt to check out as many sources of information as possible so that you can make a decision that works for you.