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Blawg Review

November 4, 2013 by Dave!

Last week, we lost a member of the “Blawg” community, someone who touched a number of lives and was responsible for making the Law Blog community feel a little more like a community: Ed. of Blawg Review. His son posted from his Twitter Account (@BlawgReview) that Ed had lost his battle with esophageal cancer.

It’s hard to explain to people who weren’t part of the early days of blogging/blawging, or who never had the pleasure of working with or meeting Ed, but I never even knew his real name and I’ll still miss him. I’d met him on several occasions in person and I always called him “Ed” which may or may not have been his real name–he went by the moniker “Ed Post” in his role as Blawg Review editor. But oddly, it didn’t matter. It was never about Ed. He always seemed to be working for the community, not working to promote himself. He was deliberate in taking himself out of the picture, which was ironic, because without Ed’s influence, the picture would have been monotone.

I really enjoyed conversations with Ed about law and life as he stopped by Chicago from his extensive travels. Seriously, talk about a road warrior–he was a walking ExOfficio ad. Ed made me think a lot about the role of attorneys in serving our clients, about how I approached the practice of law, and about communication and community among members of our profession.

Without waxing too nostalgic, the early days of Blawging did feel more like a community than they do today. Perhaps that’s because then, I was a law student, not yet a lawyer, so I had more time to participate without the pressures of work (or a mortgage or children, all of which I’ve acquired since those early days). But it felt like a community because people like Ed, and the Blawg Review Sherpas, worked to make it one. There are still great blawgers out there (many below) working to keep that community, and I think that would make Ed happy.

I had the pleasure of working with Ed. on seven Blawg Review issues:

  • Blawg Review #23
  • Blawg Review #70
  • Blawg Review #122
  • Blawg Review #182
  • Blawg Review #270
  • Blawg Review #291
  • Blawg Review #321

Everyone of them was fun and could not have been done without Ed’s guidance and the help of the Sherpas. And over the years, those Sherpas have given me other advice outside the realm of Blawg Review. Exemplary members of our profession, every one.

Blawg Review hadn’t been active in quite some time, but I still looked forward to the next time Ed came to Chicago.

In honor of Ed and his creation, several Bloggers have put together one final Blawg Review, and I can’t think of a better way to honor Ed than to read them.

Colin Samuels kicks things off at the Blawg Review site. Followed by:

  • Scott Greenfield at Simple Justice
  • Mark Bennett at Defending People
  • Antonin Pri­betic at The Trial Warrior
  • Brian Tannebaum at My Law License
  • Ken White at Popehat
  • Eric Turkewitz at the New York Personal Injury Law Blog
  • George Wallace at Delcarations and Exclusions
  • Gideon at A Public Defender
  • Ron Coleman at Likelihood of Confusion
  • Charon QC at UK Law Blog
  • Colin Samuels at Infamy or Praise

And finally, here’s a pic from Windy Pundit of a blawg meetup in Chicago many years ago. I’m the grinning doofus on the far left, and in typical fashion, Ed is tucked in the back, hiding his face–even though he was the reason most of us were there.

————————————-

As Ed required, every week: Blawg Review has information about all the Blawg Review hosts, and instructions on how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.

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Filed Under: Blawging, Law

Blawg Review #291: Sua Sponte Thanksgiving Edition

November 22, 2010 by Dave!

Blawg Review #291: The Sua Sponte Thanksgiving Edition

Ed. had asked me last about the possibility of hosting Blawg Review today, and I had indicated that I would, but since I would be traveling this weekend, that it would be a little more, um, low-key than some of my previous efforts.

Ed., being the kind soul that he is, decided that he didn’t want to burden me with the responsibility while on the road. And so, I thought he had been able to find someone else to host today. Imagine my surprise when I saw his tweet about lacking a host.

So I’ve decided to delay my travels a bit this morning to answer his call for a “sua sponte” edition. (I’m driving, so I have a *little* flexibility, and no groping. At least by the TSA.) So, here it is: your November 22, 2010 Blawg Review. Dave! Style, with an emphasis on Dave! and a little short on the style:

With Thanksgiving approaching fast, I thought I would take the time to focus the Blawg Review on lawyers I’m thankful for. Our is a profession that is often lambasted and subject to ridicule because of those members of the bar who are, well, lesser. It’s easy to take pot-shots at the worst of our profession and there are a number of blawgers out there doing just that. Some do it humorously, some do it viciously. But it’s rare (to me at least) to see lawyers celebrating good lawyers. And there are good lawyers. Let’s be thankful for them this week.

First up, I’m thankful for one of the most well-known lawyers of our history: Abraham Lincoln. I first encountered his famous “blog post” entitled “Notes for a Lecture on Law” when I was a law student. It was read during a guest lecture by Thomas Fitzgerald, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court (Ret.). I was incredibly moved by Lincoln’s words, and I try to live by them everyday in my practice. I’m thankful that Justice Fitzgerald shared them with us, and I’m thankful that the folks at Harris-Greenwell have them posted, along with some pics of the original in Lincoln’s hand, so you can see not only the incredible text, but get some insight into Lincoln’s thought and writing process.

Thinking back to Law School, I’m also thankful for the sort-of-weekly which is occasionally hosted by Evan Schaeffer and Thanks, But No Thanks. The Law School Roundup makes me thankful that there are law students out there who are not all self-entitled income seekers, and that there are people in law school today who are entering our profession to do some good–be it in public service or in the service of individuals. Reading student blawgs can be a great antidote to some of the cynics in or of our profession.

As a repeat host of Blawg Review, I’d be remise if I wasn’t also thankful for the Blawg Review sherpas who have helped shape my Blawg Review’s past with their numerous and insightful submissions. In addition to many others, I don’t think I could have done it without the assistance from Colin Samuels at Infamy or Praise who now puts together A Round Tuit or Victoria Pynchon who writes the The IP ADR Blog and The Negotiation Law Blog.

Speaking of lawyers helping other lawyers, there are countless blawgs out there who follow changes and happenings in their particular area of law or in a particular jurisdiction. I’d love to name them all here, but I simply can’t. However, since I drove through the “Crossroads of America” (Or as we Hoosiers call it, Indiana) yesterday, I thought I’d give a shout out to The Indiana Law Blog where Marcia Oddi does a fantastic job recapping news, cases, and developments in Indiana law. I’d be willing to bet there’s at least one blogger in your jurisdiction, in your practice area, doing the same thing. Find them. Support them. Post them here in the comments!

I’m also thankful of the folks in our profession who do the really hard stuff that I don’t have the constitution for (no pun intended). I’m speaking mostly of the Criminal Law folks like those working for Georgia Criminal Appeal Law Firm, who are again, to numerous to name in the limited time I’ve got. Some of them are gruff, some of them cultivate an “asshole” image in their on-line personas, but they all do something day-in and day-out that is vital to our lives: prosecutors work to protect our safety and defense attorney’s protect our liberties. So, why not highlight someone who’s not only been at both tables in the courtroom, but is also funny as hell? Here’s a thankful shout out to Ken Lammers who I’ve read since law school.

I don’t practice criminal law. I practice IP. And in that area, I’m particularly thankful that in my home town of Chicago, we have some great IP attorneys who also happen to be great people. If you’re ever in the Windy City for a conference or just passing through, you should try meet up with Kevin Thompson who writes Cyberlaw Central,
David Donoghue of the Chicago IP Litigation Blog or
Evan Brown of Internet Cases. All of them contribute to the IP community in Chicago and all good guys to grab a beer with.

As a solo practitioner, I’m also thankful for Carolyn Elefant and Susan Cartier Liebel. Carolyn writes over at My Shingle (among other places) and is, in my mind, the indisputable queen of solos. She provides so many resources and so much encouragement to those of us on our own in this profession that she deserves all the praise she gets. Susan is another outstanding supporter of solos, and her Solo Practice University is a fantastic resource for those just getting started in solo practice.

Finally, I’d like to take a moment to thank Ed. for Blawg Review. I’ve been reading (and contributing as a host) to Blawg Review for many years and I think it’s a fantastic resource for attorneys everywhere. There are so many wonderful blogs written by dedicated attorneys who take the time out of their busy days to write about topics that are important to them, topics to educate others, or even to merely vent and commiserate. In the deluge of information available, it can be really difficult to find all the good stuff, and Blawg Review helps shine a light on some of the gems out there that I might have missed otherwise.

Putting Blawg Review together is fun as a host, but sweating the details: arranging for hosts week after week, helping with topic ideas, submissions, and feedback once an edition is up must be grueling. But Ed. has never been anything but encouraging and gracious to me, and for that, I’m also thankful.

So, on that note, I encourage anyone reading this hastily dashed off, sua sponte version of Blawg Review to please leave a comment, highlighting one of your fellow attorneys that you are thankful for and why. I don’t have the time to do a fancy or theme based design for this edition, but I think that’s OK, and I’d love for anyone out there to share some good about our profession for this week. How about building a Thanksgiving Blawg Review together? Everyone bring a blawg for the feast, and enjoy!

And don’t forget, Blawg Review has information about next week’s host, and instructions how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.

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Filed Under: Blawging, Law

My Legal Rebel Move: Not Renewing My ABA Membership

July 22, 2010 by Dave!

The ABA (American Bar Association) has a feature they call “Legal Rebels“. Well, I am a Legal Rebel, and here’s why: I’m leaving the ABA. When my current membership expires, I’m not renewing it.

In a recent post over at My Shingle, Carolyn Elefant talks about the ABA “making a play” for solos and asks if solos should play back. I will preface this post by saying that I have not seen all of the ABA’s new efforts, but based on what was outlined in Carolyn’s post and the ABAJournal article I’m unimpressed.

Here’s the run-down:

* Sponsoring Solosez. Good for Solosez! How does that really help me? Solosez is a mailing list the overhead cannot be that much. And you do not have be an ABA member to participate in Solosez. So, this is worth $X a year??

* GP Solo Magazine. I don’t need another ******* magazine. Seriously. Every bar org out there has a magazine. Or six. I flip through them once standing next to the recycling bin, and unless something really seems worth reading, they go straight in. I probably get 6-8 of these types of magazines a month. In the last year, I’ve given a reprieve to _two_ issues to read an article. In both cases, I regretted it.

* Quarterly Solo e-Mail Newsletter. This is why people increasingly view the ABA as an anachronistic organization. An e-mail newsletter. Seriously???

* Smart Soloing eBook and publication. _Yawn_. As Carolyn mentions, these types of publications rarely contain information that isn’t already available by the boatload on other blogs or on-line resources that are, quite often, free.

* Smart Soloing School. The ABA is so tired and out of ideas, that they have decided to blatantly rip-off one of their _own_ nominated Legal Rebels, Susan Cartier Liebel, who runs Solo Practice University. The ABA claims their “school” is a $1600 value. Well, guess what? SPU costs a fraction of that, and provides excellent, on-going content and community. Why does the ABA need to re-invent the wheel? So they can focus even more on content I don’t need from them because it’s already being provided by someone else who is doing it well?

* Lobbying. Yes, I appreciate the ABA lobbying on behalf of lawyer advertising, blogging, virtual law office technology, etc. But as far as I can tell, given the disparate state of ethics rules across the country regarding virtual offices, etc. The ABA isn’t really doing a bang-up job there, either.

All these things are nice, but honestly, as a practicing solo, let me clue the ABA in on what it is that _*I*_ really need:

1. Community. I need to be in touch with other solos regularly to share resources, share/get referrals, and commiserate with. I can–and do already–have that nationwide through Solosez, Twitter, etc. I don’t need the ABA to do it because they are duplicating effort, and generally, not doing it very well. As for the in-person networking, one or two conferences a year does not make for good networking opportunities. My local bar associations (the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association) provide so much more value in terms of community and networking, that for the ABA to even attempt it is laughable.

2. Insurance. I need insurance: professional liability insurance, health insurance, life insurance. The ABA “value” really falters here. Did I say falter? I meant fail. Epic fail. Titanic fail. At least for my practice areas and geographic location. Considering the membership numbers at the ABA, the ABA should be able to offer me the best deal in all three areas of major insurance. Yet, in all three, the ABA offered me the _worst_ deals. How is that possible? They have the largest membership of any bar association, and they are lawyers–but they couldn’t negotiate better discounts than my local bars?! Should I fear for the future of the ABA or the future of my profession!?

3. Legal Research. Have you priced Lexis and Westlaw these days? I pay as I go for them, and rely primarily on Fastcase. Which, by the way, I get for _free_ from the Illinios State Bar Association. And the ISBA membership is _still_ less than ABA Membership.

4. CLE. Again, I can get this from so many other sources, most of the time cheaper and better. Including, again, my local bar associations.

So, while I think there _could_ be value in the ABA for solos, there certainly isn’t for me, at least not now. Right now, the only value I get from the ABA comes from Solosez and the TechShow, neither of which require membership to gain access to. For everything else, and I do mean everything, my local bar associations provide a much better return on investment for my membership fees. Of course, living in Chicago, my experience might not be the same for solos who don’t have strong local bar associations–I can’t speak to that.

But in the opinion of this solo Chicago attorney, take the money you save by not joining the ABA and join a local bar association instead. That’s the real “Legal Rebel” way.

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Filed Under: Law Tagged With: Solo "Legal Rebel" ABA

Blawg Review #270

June 28, 2010 by Dave!

I was wracking my brain, trying to come up with my theme for this edition of Blawg Review, when it happened. My youth was gone. I know, I’m pushing 40, so it probably left a long time ago, but this was the first time that it really hit hit me.

I was at my local home improvement store, shopping for yard supplies for a landscaping project when The Cure came over speakers. Not just late, sell-out, Friday I’m In Love Cure, either. Old Cure. And that’s when I realized that the music of my youth was being co-opted to sell me crap: I was a grown up.*

Yep. I’m no longer in school of any kind. I have a kid. I have a house. The rebellious songs of my youth are now being played on “classic rock” radio. So what better to do for Blawg Review than go retro!

Without further ado, I present to you, in full retro-web-vision, my nostalgic trip down memory lane of Blawg Reviews past, to see “Where are they now?”


Blawg Review #270

Best Viewed With Netscape 1.0

*As Ed. pointed out in an e-mail with the statement “Who is The Cure”? My cultural milestones won’t be yours. So think: hearing Iggy Pop sell Norwegian cruises. Or Led Zeppelin shleppin’ Cadillacs. The Beatles on a Nike commercial. Janis Joplin for Michelin Tires. Or Scott Joplin for Carbolic Smokeballs.

 

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Filed Under: Law Tagged With: Blawg Review, blawgreview, law

Happy Towel Day!

May 25, 2009 by Dave!


Kevin A. Thompson is hosting Blawg Review this week, on Towel Day.
So mix yourself a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster and check it out… but very carefully.

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Filed Under: Law Tagged With: Blawg Review, Towel Day

LexThink

January 29, 2009 by Dave!

Matt Homann has posted 10 reasons why you should attend LexThink:Innovate in March. And while I can actually cook 2 ‘three minute’ eggs in less than six minutes, the LexThink conference format is both innovative and effective. Well worth the time, in my book. And Matt’s put his money where his mouth is with a “name your own price” guarantee. When was the last time you saw a conference do that??

The timing of the conference couldn’t be worse for me (work projects) but I’m still trying to find a way to go… you should, too.

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Filed Under: BlawgThink, Law, Law School Tagged With: LexThink Conference Law Lawyer

Blawg Review #182

October 19, 2008 by Dave!


Just when I though it was safe to pack up the practice tests, I found out that passing the Illinois bar exam was only the first step. There is no reciprocity in the jurisdiction of Blawg Review!



You will be given three hours to complete this Blawg Review. Your score will be based on the number of questions you answer correctly. It is therefore to your advantage to try to answer as many questions as you can. Use your time effectively. Do not hurry, but work steadily and as quickly as you can without sacrificing your accuracy.
Blawg Review has information about next week’s host, and instructions on how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.
Begin Blawg Review!

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Filed Under: Blawging, Law Tagged With: Blawg BlawgReview "Blawg Review"

Book Review: Your Witness

October 5, 2008 by Dave!


Your Witness: Lessons on Cross-Examination and Life from Great Chicago Trial Lawyers

Edited by Steven F. Molo and James R. Figliulo
368 pages; Law Bulletin Publishing Company

Disclaimer: The publisher provided a free review copy of this title for review. My policy for this blog is not to accept any form of compensation for reviews, but I will accept review copies–which per my policy, I will then share, free of charge with a law student interested in reading the title. If you’re a law student, interested in reading this book, contact me via e-mail: first reply receives the book via snail-mail.

The first thing to note about Your Witness is that it made me want to be in a courtroom. As nervous as I was in Trial Advocacy, I did enjoy it on many levels. Trial is a combination of performance, battle, and intellectual pursuits that make being in a courtroom something very unique–and highly addictive.
I also have a confession… I read this book while studying for the bar exam.

This is important for two reasons: first, I passed, which means I managed to retain some sanity with the study breaks this book provided; second, it’s an easy read, not too distracting. Each of the fifty chapters is contributed by a ‘who’s who’ of Chicago trial lawyers. The common thread is that they are offering advice about cross-examination techniques and lessons from their years of experience.

The quality of each chapter, accordingly, varies quite a bit. Unfortunately, sometimes great skill in the courtroom really don’t translate into great skill at the word processor. Since I’ll soon be practicing in Chicago, I won’t burn any bridges here, but I’d say out of 50 chapters, there are probably 10 which are really outstanding, another 30 well worth the time, and 10 which could have been cut without missing anything from the book. There are probably five authors who could easily write enjoyable books of their own, and maybe, if I run into them around town I’ll suggest it. And there are a few others that I might not want to be up against in court, but that I think should put down the word processor and walk away slowly. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out who the editors probably just included to save face in the Chicago legal world, but there are a few of them.

The styles of the chapter, as well as the topics covered, vary as much as the personality of the individual attorneys themselves. Some offer straight up lessons, with examples thrown in to punctuate a point. Others write largely anecdotal war stories, but still offer some insight into cross-examination as the ‘moral of the story’. Those are my personal favorites. Some of these attorneys have some incredible ‘tales from the trenches’ that carry along with them valuable lessons on a variety of subjects relevant to cross-examination, including depositions, experts, witness preparation, advocate witnesses, hostile witnesses, liars, etc.

Even though some of the chapters are less valuable than others, the format of the book lends itself to skipping a chapter here and there if you find a particular author not to your liking. Additionally, since each chapter stands on it’s own, it is an easy read. You can pick up a chapter waiting on the train, standing in line somewhere, avoiding another Barbri test set.

If you’ve every taken Trial Ad and enjoyed it, I think you’ll enjoy this book. If you plan on being in a courtroom (representing someone, that is) in your career, you’ll enjoy this book and hopefully get something out of it as well. And even if you don’t practice in court, but just want some insight into what makes those members of the trial bar tick, I think this book is worth a read.

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Filed Under: Law Tagged With: Law Legal Book Review

Hallelujah!!!

October 1, 2008 by Dave!

Dear Mr. Gulbransen,
We are pleased to advise you that you have passed the July 2008 Illinois bar examination.

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Filed Under: Law, Law School Tagged With: Law lawschool "Bar Exam"

Great News for “Open Source” Licensing

August 14, 2008 by Dave!

Good news for open source/Creative Commons licensing proponents. It seems the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued an opinion in Jacobsen v. Katzer.

The case involved some open source code which was licensed under the Artistic 1.0 license. The District Court had determined that the alleged infringement constituted only a breach of contract, rather than copyright infringement, because the license was overly broad. The distinction between covenant and condition is important because a condition would revoke the license, while breaching a covenant would be a simple contract issue. This impacts evaluating the criteria for issuing a preliminary injunction: a mere breach of contract cause of action does not have a presumption of irreparable harm–so no injunction.

The CAFC relied heavily on the language of the license in its analysis, noting that the license used the term “condition” frequently and that other language was consistent with creating conditions under California law (the applicable law in this appeal).

Reading the terms of the license as conditions, which I think is pretty clear in this case, means that a violation of the condition results in revocation of the license, and therefore the use in question is infringing.
[Via Lessig]

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Filed Under: Law Tagged With: Law "Open Source" Copyright
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