ZiefBrief

Keeping Track of Cupcake

One of ZiefBriefs most popular posts, as measured by hits from web search engines, was an early entry about USF Law alumna Cupcake Brown (click here to read.) Ms. Brown's story of redemption is truly remarkable and her autobiography A Piece of Cake received popular acclaim from many quarters.

So we were interested to read in a recent article appearing in the San Francisco Recorder that Cupcake has decided to leave the firm of Bingham McCutchen to pursue other, non-legal opportunities. In the article she expresses the desire to take the message of her personal story to others and work on a movie adaptation of her autobiography. She also says that she might return to the practice of law some day in the future, perhaps as a public interest lawyer.

Whatever she decides to do and wherever her path takes her, ZiefBrief wishes her the best of luck and will look forward to the next chapter in her life.

Picturing Justice Goes on Permanent Hiatus.

We are sorry to note that the on-line journal Picturing Justice is no longer accepting new articles. A special message on their home page reads: "From 1997 to 2006 Picturing Justice published over 300 short articles on the intersection between law and lawyers on one side and popular culture on the other. While we are no longer accepting new articles, we hope readers will continue to enjoy the articles in our archives."

We at Zief Brief have always enjoyed reading and promoting this pioneering web publication. While Picturing Justice was originally the effort of the USF law community (and especially Professor John Denvir) it has gone on to have a web-wide list of contributors. They will be missed.

Cupcake Brown, USF Law Alumna Tells Her Story

We take a moment to depart from reporting our usual dry legal books to mention an upcoming publication with a strong local association. The story of Cupcake Brown affirms the incredible resilience of the human spirit in the face of crushing adversity. Ms. Brown was abandoned, abused, addicted, and seemingly doomed to the ignominious death of a crack addict. But in an amazing reversal she salvaged her humanity and conquered her multiple addictions. She is also a graduate of USF Law (where she worked in the law library) and practices law here in San Francisco. Since graduation she has written the story of her life in A Piece of Cake: A Memoir, which will be published at the end of February. It is an unfortunate twist of fate that the work of fiction-writing "memoirists" such as James Frey may have tainted the whole genre of dramatic autobiography. It certainly would be a shame if the fallout from the Frey debacle kept anyone from reading Cupcake’s remarkable story.

Some trenchant reviews of A Piece of Cake:
Review by Janet Maslin in the New York Times (free registration required)
Review by Christina Eng in the San Francisco Chronicle

[update] CBS News Early Show Segment:
From Torment To Triumph: Cupcake Brown [March 14, 2006]