tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20420732870719008512024-02-02T10:47:39.597-08:00The LawyerThe Lawyer is the leading website for the entire legal profession. Read the latest legal industry news and insight and search for legal jobs and training courses.himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comBlogger275125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-80576083615461950282012-04-01T01:14:00.001-07:002012-04-01T01:14:03.186-07:00an aging actor oh so furioushimankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-79619734892297211222012-03-24T12:18:00.002-07:002012-03-24T12:18:56.268-07:00Do I Need a Bankruptcy Lawyer Just to Get Information About Filing?<div style="text-align: justify;">Many Americans these days are facing financial difficulties with some of them to the extreme of needing to file for bankruptcy. Before making the decision about filing for bankruptcy most people would like to learn a little bit about it and fly under the radar. Even though filing bankruptcy has lost its taboo over the last couple years, it is still something that most people don't want to talk about. So that leads to the question, how do you learn about filing for bankruptcy if you're afraid to ask anyone. The easiest and the best way to get information is to consult a bankruptcy lawyer to discuss your financial situation and ask questions that are plaguing you. That's the easiest way, but for most people it's a last resort to make that call. With the growth of the Internet, most individuals search the web and try and get the answers that are close to their situation. The problem with this is, if you don't know what you're looking for, many times the information you gather is either dated or outright wrong.<br />
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First of all, the normal Joe should stay away from blog sites to look for information on a bankruptcy filing. While, blog sites are very informative and entertaining, they are very opinionated. Another reason to be careful of blog sites is that different states handle a bankruptcy filing in different ways and usually the poster doesn't identify the state they are writing from. This could make all the difference in the world if someone is talking about a homestead exemption in the state they reside offers very generous bankruptcy exemption laws, only to find out that this does not apply to your particular situation. A lot of the information that is written online is from a bankruptcy lawyer. You need to just be careful where the bankruptcy lawyer practices. That's why it's advisable to use the bankruptcy court website for general information where even the bankruptcy forms are downloadable for your convenience. There are many other good legal sites with large amounts of information about filing for bankruptcy. It's important to make sure that the site is regularly maintained and the information is current as the bankruptcy laws are constantly changing.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
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This takes me back to my original point of how much easier it is to consult a bankruptcy attorney in your area about your particular situation. If you're dead set on using the Internet for information, it would be a good idea to gather as much information as possible, write down some questions that are vague for your situation and call the bankruptcy lawyer to make an appointment and get answers for all those plaguing bankruptcy questions. This is a hybrid method of getting the best of both worlds, a cheap legal education and getting schooled by a bankruptcy lawyer. By the end of this exercise, a person would have a good idea on which direction they should move in the future.himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-50966372965345816852012-03-24T12:17:00.000-07:002012-03-24T12:17:46.894-07:005 Tips for Hiring a Personal Lawyer<div style="text-align: justify;">Everyone needs legal help and professional attorneys sometime in their life. People just can't manage all the legal issues and situations on their own as it requires special skills and extensive subject knowledge. However, many clients have found it very frustrating when they go out to find a lawyer and hire the specialist for their requirements. Usually, they end up paying huge sum of money for various services that they don't need or expected for. Hiring an attorney can be one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. It is very important that you make the correct choice when it comes to legal advice and legal issues<br />
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Here are 5 tips for hiring a personal lawyer that will definitely help you in making the right choice in your legal matters:<br />
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1.How do they bill for their services: Most of the clients are afraid of talking about the billing method adopted by the lawyer for the services they offer to them. As you are most probably seeking legal advice for monetary issues therefore this should be one of the very first questions that you ask you lawyer. It is better to clear everything in the beginning rather than be surprised later. The most suitable and effective engagement model would be a flat fee or a project based payment. Try to avoid lawyers who charge on an hourly basis unless it is required by the court in special cases. Further, ask and clarify that the lawyer would not send any unexpected bills to you for phone calls or anything else.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
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2.How effective is their response system: Lawyers can be very nonresponsive and it has been a problem for many clients. Usually, the lack of administrative support is the main reason behind such services. You should ask your lawyer how he or she plans to respond to your legal needs and how soon and effectively can they offer legal advice to you. Many a times, lawyers think that they can take care of all the office work on their own and start practicing as a one man team who takes care of administrative, managerial as well as core activities. Make sure that you do not suffer the same way like many have in the past when you find a lawyer and need legal advice.<br />
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3.Proactive communication policy: The general thinking in the legal industry is that clients will communicate with the lawyer as and when anything comes up. However, this is just pure laziness on part of lawyers who do not really take their clients seriously. It would be better if you find a lawyer who proactively communicates with their clients at least every quarterly via mail and every month through email. It would be much better if the lawyer can stay in touch with you on a weekly basis.<br />
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4.In which situations can you seek legal help from the lawyer: Today, lawyers need to have specialization in one or more legal practice areas in order to survive in the tough competition. You should not be associated with a lawyer who presents himself as an expert of whatever is thrown in his way. You definitely want a lawyer who has broad enough expertise to offer you legal advice on various legal and financial issues that may come up in your life.<br />
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5.In case the lawyer retires or dies: This may sound a little weird and uncomfortable at first but this is one of the most important questions you should ask the lawyer before you hire him or her. However, a true professional lawyer will definitely have a clear plan in effect that ensures that the clients and their requirements are taken care of, no matter what happens to the lawyer.<br />
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These 5 tips will help you in your quest to find a lawyer who can be really useful for you and provide you most effective legal advice and legal help. Look out for the answers that the lawyers give you for the above questions and try to verify them first before you go into any contract with any lawyer.himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-27896091563981154552012-03-24T12:16:00.000-07:002012-03-24T12:16:23.315-07:00The Characteristics of a Good Bankruptcy Lawyer<div style="text-align: justify;">Bankruptcy is the state whereby a person is left in a financial difficulty as a result of a troubled economy or a personal crisis. It can also be referred to as being insolvent. A bankrupt individual is usually unable to pay his or her debts. At this point, a person has to begin a fresh life. Therefore, when filing for bankruptcy, it is advisable to hire the services of a capable and reputable bankruptcy lawyer. Having a competent attorney is very vital. This is because you get to understand the functions and implications of bankruptcy laws. In addition, the attorney helps you apply the laws efficiently. This helps in beginning a new life. The process of getting a lawyer should not be rushed. This is because a bankruptcy law suit is very complex. Therefore, it requires some planning as well as research. There are vital aspects to consider. For instance, you should look for one of the most experienced lawyers to handle your case. He knows everything about the financial problems and can provide solutions.<br />
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In addition, an experienced lawyer always has a lot of exposure to these cases. For instance, you may come across a learned attorney with no experience. With all the education, you are likely to lose the case. Therefore, in these cases, it is not only about the education of the attorney but also his technical ability and knowledge. This type of attorney should have a proven track record. This record must show the ability of the lawyer to deliver the required results. Anyway, a good lawyer should be able to deliver with or without pressure.<br />
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Furthermore, a bankrupt person needs a friendly and kind attorney. Debts are some of the things that no one would want to have. When a person has huge debts, it is normal to see him stressed. Consequently, this is the sort of character that can make a person calm. For that reason, a good bankruptcy lawyer should be easy going and optimistic. A positive lawyer will make you feel better about the situation. This is because he makes you believe that everything will turn out positively. Therefore, the personality of the attorney is of extreme importance.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
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Although most of these lawyers are good and educated, different lawyers have varied skills. Therefore, the attorney you chose must possess the right skills to handle your case. This is because the things to be addressed in bankruptcy may prove very hard to comprehend. For instance, you could be dealing against a very smart and creative person. For this reason, your attorney should have the capability to handle anything that comes up. You will realize that when you have a good attorney, you will not necessarily have to give the creditor what he or she wants. This is because a smart lawyer will counteract and do his best to salvage your situation.<br />
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One great characteristic of a bankruptcy lawyer is composure. As mentioned earlier, bankruptcy cases are very difficult to handle. Therefore, this cases need to be addressed with a lot of tranquility. This will avoid rushing, which might make the case harder to handle. For instance, a smart bankruptcy lawyer should anticipate the legal hurdles and complications on board. This allows him to put strategies on how to tackle the issues later. Furthermore, a committed attorney will follow up the periodic changes on the case. In short, before getting a bankruptcy lawyer, get some guidance from experienced people. The most important thing to consider when looking for this type of lawyer is experience. However, the other aspects to look are composure, personality and the track record.himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-30064864510903728912012-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:002012-03-24T12:14:22.116-07:00Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer for Drug Charges<div style="text-align: justify;">Probably one of the most serious cases that anyone could face is drug charges. In many countries, the consequences of being proven guilty of this crime are no joke, which includes paying hefty fines, jail time and of course, a permanent mark on the criminal record. Aside from this, being convicted for this case would definitely affect the reputation of a person significantly, reducing good opportunities that he could take. That is why, when facing this serious kind of charges, it is very important to be represented by a good criminal defense lawyer.<br />
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Lawyers are professionals who can represent people who are facing drug charges offense or defense. They are expert individuals who are well trained and experienced in handling this kind of circumstances. Being professionals who have dedicated their lives studying laws and court systems, they are well knowledgeable about the ins and outs of these kinds of charges.<br />
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Hiring a criminal defense lawyer from a good criminal law firm is very essential in order for a person charged with drug cases to have their rights protected. If a person is properly represented, he would be guided carefully on the proper process. This would prevent you from saying things that can push you deeper into conviction, and this is true even if the person being charged is innocent of the crime.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
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Aside from this, being properly represented in facing drug charges increases the chance of positive outcome. Lawyers have a wide connection in different kinds of fields, allowing you to gather necessary evidence that would be needed for the progress of the case. The more evidence and data are gathered, the better the chances of having a stronger case for the defense.<br />
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Since the role the lawyers would play in the case is very crucial, you should be sure that you would be making the proper choice in selecting the attorney who will represent you. You should be sure that he has a wide experience in the field and know exactly how to get you out of the case with the best deal possible.<br />
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You should also select someone who has a good personality, someone you would be willing to entrust your life and future to. The relationship between the lawyer and the defendant is very important, as the two needs to cooperate for the progress of the case, getting a lawyer who you would be confident working with would result into greater advantages in the case.himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-49250352725226578982012-03-22T08:20:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.540-07:00New Adaptation of "1984" Under Consideration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/gorwell.htm" target="_blank">George Orwell's</a> 1984 <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/orwells-1984-film-adaptation-imagine-303003" target="_blank">may be returning to the screen.</a> Brian Grazer and Ron Howard at Imagine Entertainment were looking into adapting the iconic novel with the assistance of artist Shepard Fairey. At the same time, LBI Entertainment's Julie Yorn had a similar project in the works.As a result, the two companies have decided to team up.<br /><br />1984 has been adapted before: In <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048918/" target="_blank">1956</a> Edmond O'Brien and Michael Redgrave starred in a big screen adaptation and in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087803/" target="_blank">1984</a> John Hurt and Richard Burton starred in a big screen production.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-109894090963293312012-03-22T07:58:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.540-07:00Love, Loyalty, and Sacrifice in "To Kill a Mockingbird"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Linda Ross Meyer, Quinnipiac University School of Law, has published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2011438" target="_blank">Love, Law and Sacrifice in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'</a>. Here is the abstract.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This paper reflects on themes of love, loyalty, and sacrifice in the film version of 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' Using the typology of Kierkegaard's knight of the infinite/knight of faith, the paper argues that Atticus does not stand for liberal principles of universal law but rather faith in the possibilities of friendship and neighborliness.</blockquote>Download the paper from SSRN at the link.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-38045270149913327642012-03-21T09:51:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.540-07:00Crime Shows Recognized At Royal Television Society Programme Awards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Two law-related shows <a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/893777-luther-and-fresh-meat-among-winners-at-2012-rts-programme-awards" target="_blank">won awards</a> at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards, held March 20th in London. The acclaimed crime drama <u><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s8jk0" target="_blank">Luther</a></u>, which stars the wonderful Idris Elba, took home honors as best drama series. Mr. Elba won a <a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2012/01/for-your-consideration-luthers-idris-elba-golden-globe-nominee/" target="_blank">Golden Globe</a> earlier this season for his role as Luther, the conflicted detective.<br /><br />Dominic West and Emily Watson, stars of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1831575/" target="_blank">Appropriate Adult</a>, a miniseries dramatizing the career of serial killer Fred West and Janet Leach, the social worker who sat in on his meetings with police, won for their roles as Fred and Janet. <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sundance-channel-acquires-british-miniseries-21393" target="_blank">The Sundance Channel bought the rights to the series last fall</a>. More <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14788309" target="_blank">here </a>from the BBC about the miniseries.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-23841673620618797802012-03-20T12:38:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.541-07:00Law and Literature In the First Year Curriculum: Tort Law<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Zahr Said, University of Washington School of Law, has published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2016583" target="_blank">Incorporating Literary Methods and Texts in the Teaching of Tort Law</a> at 3 California Law Review Circuit 170 (January 2012). Here is the abstract.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This essay, presented in a Law and Humanities Section panel at the 2012 AALS Annual Meeting, discusses my use of literature to aid and amplify legal analysis in a first-year Torts class. Literary texts and methods helped my students investigate how the law conceives of, and expresses, duties and losses among parties. The course drew on several diverse strands of law-and-literature methodology and it incorporated literary texts and methods into discussions of case law and legal policy to produce analysis that is deeply interdisciplinary. <br /><br /><br /><br />Content and methodology, to the extent they can be satisfactorily decoupled, informed my teaching of Torts in separate ways. First, I incorporated a central literary text that accompanied more traditional legal materials. Second, I required students to engage in close reading and I helped them theorize the act of reading itself. By emphasizing the textually mediated nature of the cases — both as a function of common law’s system of authority through analogy, and as a function of the casebook editors’ choices — I hope to have made clear to students that this is a new type of reading they are doing in law school, and that they are learning to think in new ways. In growing acculturated to legal analysis, law students are learning not just a new language, but a new awareness of how and why they read the way they do.<br /><br /><br /><br />The paper includes an appendix listing some discussion questions for The Sweet Hereafter, by Russell Banks, one of the texts I used in the class.</blockquote>Download the article from SSRN at the link.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-52646739889121494562012-03-20T11:35:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.541-07:00International Law, Torture and "24"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Knut Fournier has published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2015129" target="_blank">Torture Justification in ‘24’: Aesthetics of the Bush Administration</a><br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">In the context of the War on Terror, fiction is a support of ideologies for the Bush administration. The TV series '24' resorts on all legal justifications of torture made by the Bush administration, and justifies torture as being necessary, effective, and lawful. In that justification process, the thesis of the main international lawyers supportive of the Bush doctrines are used in a very detailed way, maintaining a 'simulacra' in the sense of Baudrillard.</blockquote>Download the paper from SSRN at the link. NB: The text is in French.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-78424723121206608972012-03-20T07:53:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.541-07:00Law, Culture, and Housing Law and Policy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Lisa T. Alexander, University of Wisconsin Law School, has published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2009914" target="_blank">Hip-Hop and Housing: Revisiting Culture, Urban Space, Power, and Law</a>, at 63 Hastings Law Journal 803 (2012).<br /><br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">U.S. housing law is finally receiving its due attention. Scholars and practitioners are focused primarily on the subprime mortgage and foreclosure crises. Yet the current recession has also resurrected the debate about the efficacy of place-based lawmaking. Place-based laws direct economic resources to low-income neighborhoods to help existing residents remain in place and to improve those areas. Law-and-economists and staunch integrationists attack place-based lawmaking on economic and social grounds. This Article examines the efficacy of place-based lawmaking through the underutilized prism of culture. Using a sociolegal approach, it develops a theory of cultural collective efficacy as a justification for place-based lawmaking. Cultural collective efficacy describes positive social networks that inner-city residents develop through participation in musical, artistic, and other neighborhood-based cultural endeavors. This Article analyzes two examples of cultural collective efficacy: the early development of hip-hop in the Bronx and community murals developed by Mexican immigrants in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. These examples show that cultural collective efficacy can help inner-city residents mitigate the negative effects of living in a poor and segregated community and obtain more concrete benefits from urban revitalization in their communities. Cultural collective efficacy also provides a framework to examine important microdynamics in the inner-city that scholars and policymakers have ignored. Lastly, this Article devises new combinations of place-based laws that might protect cultural collective efficacy, such as: (1) historic districts with affordable housing protections secured through transferable development rights, (2) foreclosure prevention strategies, (3) techniques to mitigate eminent domain abuse, and (4) reinterpretations of the Fair Housing Act's "affirmatively furthering" fair housing mandate. These examples of place-based lawmaking may more effectively promote equitable development and advance distributive justice in U.S. housing law and policy.</blockquote>Download the article from SSRN at the link.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-8844973256387629402012-03-19T11:32:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.541-07:00More Baseball Trading Cards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Ross E.Davies, George Mason University School of Law; The Green Bag, Craig D. Rust, George Mason University School of Law Alumni, and Adam Aft, George Mason School of Law Alumni, have published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2001114" target="_blank">Supreme Court Sluggers: Introducing the Scalia, Fortas, and Goldberg/Miller Trading Cards</a> in volume 2 of the Journal of Law (2012). Here is the abstract.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><br />We are pleased to introduce a few new members of the“Supreme Court Sluggers” trading card lineup. The addition of Justice Antonin Scalia to the team is in keeping with our goal of expeditiously compiling and publishing data for all current members of the Supreme Court. (We have issued cards featuring Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justice John Paul Stevens, and Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Samuel Alito are in the works.) This season, we have also completed the first two cards of what might be called our “Veterans” series of those who served long ago: Justice Arthur Goldberg, who appears in the company of baseball great Marvin Miller, and Justice Abe Fortas.</blockquote>Download the article from SSRN at the link.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-18808512402424421092012-03-19T09:15:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.541-07:00Race, Law, and American Literary Studies: A Conference at the University of Maryland<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">From Christopher Brown, Ph.D. candidate, Department of English, University of Maryland, news of an exciting upcoming conference at the University: <a href="http://www.english.umd.edu/RaceLawUSLit" target="_blank">Race, Law, and American Literary Studies.</a> Among the speakers are Brook Thomas, Nan Goodman, and Eric Foner. The conference runs from March 29 through March 30.<br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMjTESQJjTOqbIMwKuubZFbXSIN1JmCC8DvLroYlC-L4mfT_tqbpE_ZZSDl49nGD8IPDLV_QPeqmg7Sd7FhFNTxSIaQKI1yQAfOoKbi1ikoty0F4ZQWZZi-47PvZTxxOTsaMEzuaKtpE/s1600/RLL+Graphic+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMjTESQJjTOqbIMwKuubZFbXSIN1JmCC8DvLroYlC-L4mfT_tqbpE_ZZSDl49nGD8IPDLV_QPeqmg7Sd7FhFNTxSIaQKI1yQAfOoKbi1ikoty0F4ZQWZZi-47PvZTxxOTsaMEzuaKtpE/s320/RLL+Graphic+(2).jpg" width="181px" /></a></div><div align="center"></div></div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-16345454316699043292012-03-19T07:21:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.541-07:00Harry Potter in the Law School Curriculum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Marc Roark of the Literary Table <a href="http://literarytable.com/2012/03/19/magic-and-muggle-toys-as-metaphors-of-translation-how-harry-potter-makes-a-case-for-literature-inclusion-in-the-legal-curriculum/" target="_blank">on using Harry Potter in the Law School curriculum</a>.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-18881780289767073512012-03-16T05:52:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.541-07:00ASLCH Conference Underway In Dallas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The annual conference of <a href="http://www.law.syr.edu/academics/centers/lch/conference.html" target="_blank">ASLCH (the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanitie</a>s) is going on this weekend at Texas Wesleyan School of Law in Dallas. The Graduate Student Workshop, the association's first, was yesterday, and Susan Ayres tells me it was very successful. Today the panel presentations begin. The law school is a lovely venue and everyone has been making us feel very welcome.<br /><br />The theme for this year's conference is "Representing Justice." The keynote speakers are Judith Resnik and Dennis Curtis. Their recent book, Representing Justice, is featured <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/books/16justice.html" target="_blank">here</a> in the New York Times.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-37801096319895098422012-03-13T11:50:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.542-07:00The US Constitutional Model and Chinese Legal History<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Jedidiah Kroncke, Harvard Law School, has published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1997423" target="_blank">An Early Tragedy of Comparative Constitutionalism: Frank Goodnow & the Chinese Republic</a>. Here is the abstract.<br /><br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This article recovers a lost episode in the neglected early history of American comparative constitutionalism. In 1913, pioneering comparative lawyer Frank Goodnow was sent to China to assist the new Chinese Republic in the writing of its first constitution. Goodnow’s mission reflected the growing interest of America in China’s legal development in this era, and his constitution-writing project won broad support from the American legal profession. Goodnow’s tenure ultimately generated great controversy when he advised China to adopt constitutional monarchy rather than continue on as a republic. This article describes this controversy and how American international engagement was increasingly shaped in the early 20th century by the attempted export of American legal models as a presumptively altruistic mechanism of modernization. Goodnow’s allegiance to comparative legal science agitated against this more parochial view of legal internationalism, and in the end he was excommunicated from American foreign policy affairs.<br /><br /><br /><br />More broadly, this article shows how the early history of American comparative constitutionalism had its roots in the early 20th century American discourse on colonial administration. Goodnow and other American lawyers of the era turned to indirect engagements with foreign legal reform only after the popular rejection of colonialism that had been already constitutionally sanctioned by the now infamous Insular Cases. This article further argues that these colonial roots and Goodnow’s feckless misadventure in China hold key lessons for today’s comparative constitutionalists. It provides a vivid example of how the technocratic illusion of engaging in depoliticized legal reform abroad is self-defeating and untenable. Further, it warns against the inherent tensions between a methodologically coherent comparative law and the desire to export American constitutional models abroad, and how such tensions can undercut clear-sighted American understanding of foreign legal developments.</blockquote>Download the paper from SSRN at the link.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-82667372387471109692012-03-13T11:46:00.000-07:002012-03-26T03:36:02.542-07:00Harry Potter and the First Year Curriculum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Nancy J.White, Central Michigan University, has published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1997352" target="_blank">Harry Potter and the Denial of Due Process</a>. Here is the abstract.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This paper is designed to be used to teach students the concept of due process using the book/move Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It contains an overview of due process and examples using due process violations from the book.</blockquote>Download the paper from SSRN at the link.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-44170294626948800422012-03-10T07:07:00.000-08:002012-03-26T03:36:02.542-07:00Law and the Humanities in the Curriculum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.californialawreview.org/circuit" target="_blank">The current issue of the California Law Review</a> is a companion to the Ninth Circuit's Symposium <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">on </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Excavating and Integrating Law and the Humanities into the Core Curriculum</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. The symposium features contributions from Bret Asbury, Ariela Gross, Melissa Murray, Zahr Said, Carol Sanger, David Sklansky, and Rose Cuison Villazor. </span><br /><br />[Information provided by Melissa Murray, Professor of Law, UC Berkeley].<br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /><br /></span></div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-87883051914109090562012-03-10T06:26:00.000-08:002012-03-26T03:36:02.542-07:00Conference on the Iconography of Justice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Warburg Institute is sponsoring a conference on the Iconography of Justice on May 7, 2012. Speakers include Dennis Curtis, Dame Hazel Genn, Martin Loughlin, Judith Resnik, Peter Mack, and Avrom Sherr. More<a href="http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/events/colloquia-2011-12/iconography-of-justice/" target="_blank"> here from</a> the Institute's website. <br /><br />[Information provided by Melissa Murray, Professor of Law, UC, Berkeley]</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-42193038635184219872012-03-07T08:19:00.000-08:002012-03-26T03:36:02.542-07:00They're Not Lawyers, But They Play Them In the Movies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Attorney Alan L. Rupe discusses what movies have taught him about how to present a case in <a href="http://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/litigationnews/practice_areas/employment-movies.html" target="_blank">What I Learned at the Movies.</a> Among the films he lists as worthy of legal study are Legally Blonde, North Country, Norma Rae, Philadelphia, and the lesser-known Office Space.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-6429996848005486742012-03-07T08:02:00.000-08:002012-03-26T03:36:02.542-07:00Swinish Behavior?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Robert Krulwich ponders law, journalism, ethics, and the three little pigs <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/03/05/147977288/the-three-little-pigs-and-the-future-of-journalsim" target="_blank">in this essay</a> for National Public Radio. I would say he hams up it, but...</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-63488715974522834692012-02-29T21:10:00.000-08:002012-03-26T03:36:02.542-07:00USA Network's Legal Series Return With New Episodes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">USA Network's law-related series <a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/fairlylegal/?__source=ggl|fairly+legal|Brand|G_FairlyLegal2.0&sky=ggl|fairly+legal|Brand|G_FairlyLegal2.0" target="_blank">Fairly Legal</a> returns Friday, March 16th at 9 p.m., 8 p.m. Central time. Sarah Shahi stars as Kate Reid, a lawyer turned mediator at her late father's San Francisco law firm. In addition, the pseudo-psychic detective show <a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/" target="_blank">Psych</a> returns this week, and the legal dramedy <a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/suits/" target="_blank">Suits </a>is back this summer. Watch full episodes from its first season <a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/videos/#/Suits/Full%20Episodes" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-35888883977592649392012-02-29T08:55:00.000-08:002012-03-26T03:36:02.543-07:00The Norman Invasion and the Irish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Katherine Jacob, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, has published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2006672" target="_blank">Divine Diversion: Divine Retribution as Dispute Resolution and the Norman Invasion of Ireland</a>. Here is the abstract.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This essay reevaluates the Anglo-Norman invasion’s impact on native Irish culture by analyzing references to divine power in the medieval native Irish annals. This essay posits that native Irish society’s destabilization in the wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion may be better understood by analyzing patterns in the native Irish cultural belief in spiritual vengeance. Part I discusses divine retribution’s general cultural context, and explores its position in native Irish culture. It briefly compares saints’ roles in native Irish culture with their position in Anglo-Norman culture, and describes the Anglo-Norman incursion in Ireland and its wider impacts on native Irish society. Part II analyzes the native Irish annals and presents a process to assess variations in spiritual authority’s influence in native Irish culture. It presents statistical results, evaluates their significance in context, and contends that the Anglo-Norman arrival transformed native Irish perception of divine retribution as a legitimate form of dispute resolution. Then, it proposes a results-based model for dissecting divine retribution’s role in disputes. Part III discusses spiritual vengeance’s function in modern cross-cultural disputes. It then applies the proposed model to suggest that the way the Anglo-Normans avoided spiritual wrath in Ireland might provide a usable framework to suppress an opposition’s faith in, and utilization of, divine retribution as dispute resolution.</blockquote>The full text is not available from SSRN.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-69888693132957055332012-02-29T08:41:00.000-08:002012-03-26T03:36:02.543-07:00Law and Tyranny<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Timothy Sandefur, Pacific Legal Foundation, has published <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_360286382">Love and Solipsism: Law and Arbitrary Rule in Classical Drama</a>. Here is the abstract.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">What distinguishes the rule of law from the lawless, arbitrary rule of brute force — which can almost interchangeably be described as tyranny or as anarchy — is that in a lawful rule the government’s coercive power operates according to principles of generality, regularity, fairness, rationality and public-orientation, whereas the arbitrary or lawless ruler wields power in the service of his (or their) own self-interest, or by mere ipse dixit. Law is to arbitrariness as reason is to mere will. In this paper, I explore the dichotomy between lawful and arbitrary rule as it has been represented in literature. I examine first the primal foundation of lawful rule, as depicted in Aeschylus’ Oresteia, in which law is generated by domesticating the use of force, through persuasion and willing union. Athena creates lawful order, not by fiat, but by marrying the Furies to “Persuasion”: the ambient coercive powers of the people — morally justified, yet dangerously personal urges for vengeance — will now be rationalized in accordance with public, logical, and articulable principles. By contrast, in Shakespeare’s Richard III, we witness the subversion and near-destruction of lawful order by a man who will tear apart the newly framed lawful order and make the state serve his own private ends. The contrast of these two dramas reveals that the tyrant is essentially a solipsist: his ultimate goal is to make the real world obey his say-so. And if law is like love, the tyrant is like the rapist: the forced surrender of intimacy is the best facsimile of love the solipsist can create; but it can never actually be love, because the two are separated by the same invisible and impenetrable boundary that separates truth from falsehood, or genuine loyalty from the rule of terror. I conclude with a look at the dissenter living in a lawless order, as depicted in two variations on the story of Antigone — the first by Sophocles and the second by Jean Anouilh. In both, the lawless, arbitrary rule is challenged in the name of law, and in each, the ruler nearly succeeds in substituting his private realm of mere words for the public realm of actual things. What emerges from this study is that the basic premise of all lawful order — the root of all secure liberty — is that there is a gap between the will of the ruler and the genuine law. Whenever such a gap exists — whenever it is meaningful to deliberate over whether the ruler’s commands are, in fact, law — the society will, to that extent, become one of lawful order and of (at least some) freedom. The link between tyranny and solipsism is that where the ruler’s will is accounted the law, there can be no genuine law, and thus no freedom. The paradox whereby tyranny is lawless is explained by the fact that tyranny is an attempt to impose by convention what does not originate in nature — and in the end, neither physical nature nor the nature of human relationships can be subjected to such bommands. The ultimate demand of the lawless ruler(s) is to substitute his (or their) word for the world — to compel the subject to love him (or them). And because that can never be accomplished, arbitrary rule is doomed to eventual collapse.</blockquote>Download the paper from SSRN at the link.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042073287071900851.post-50896423315988585372012-02-29T08:38:00.000-08:002012-03-26T03:36:02.543-07:00The Lawyer As Trickster<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">John Denvir, University of San Francisco, School of Law, has published <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2010074" target="_blank">Guile is Good: the Lawyer as Trickster</a>. Here is the abstract.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">What is the lawyer’s genius — the talent that distinguishes us from other professions? Movies and television suggest that it is more than legal knowledge and technical skills; it is the way lawyers use creativity and cunning to outwit their adversaries. Lawyers in films and television act much like the Trickster figure in mythology and folklore. Moreover, study of the professional lives of the best real life lawyers reveals these same trickster talents. The paper argues that lawyers should embrace the trickster identity because it celebrates the valuable contributions lawyers make to the public good.</blockquote>Download the paper from SSRN at the link.</div>himankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03050560173170008917noreply@blogger.com