The Legal Underground

WEEKEND READING . . . What you'll find for free this weekend in online magazines--

The Mighty Supremes: Not that Mighty? Why liberals shouldn't fear changes to the Supreme Court. [The New York Times Magazine]

But Still Pretty Mighty on Cultural Issues The next big Supreme Court battle might be gay rights. [The New Yorker]

Three Million Chinese Bloggers How the Chinese government is trying to keep bloggers under its thumb. [Business Week]

An Old Story, Sure, But Still Interesting The birth of Google. [Wired]

Years and Years and Years in the Making All about Window's Vista. [PC Magazine]

AT MY TRIAL PRACTICE WEBSITE . . .  "Plaintiffs' Lawyer Mark Lanier Received Special Powerpoint Training Before First Vioxx Trial."

IN STILL OTHER PODCASTING NEWS . . . Professor Ann Althouse said in a comment to this post about podcasting that she's "launching a podcast project in a week or so."

A NEW PODCAST ABOUT LAW SCHOOL . . . Daryl Fallin, a 35-year-old software security specialist who will soon begin his first year at University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, has started a podcast to chronicle the experience. You can find all the details at Fallin's website.

In the first installment, Fallin is joined by his friend Chris, a long-time "male secretary" at a law firm, who adds some color by asking Fallin questions about the upcoming semester. They discuss Fallin's rejection from other law schools, law-school rankings, and the possibility of sex in law school.

BLOGROLLING LEGAL UNDERGROUND . . . Thanks to the following weblogs and websites that have recently added permanent links to this one via their blogrolls*--

• High Fidelity Chicago
• 47 Words
• Andrew Ewalt's Law Blog
• Rayne of Terror
• Once and Future
• LawSchoolPodcast

*Blogroll (1) n. A list of favorite weblogs, typically found in a column on another weblog; (2) v. To add a weblog to a blogroll.

THE STANKOWSKI REPORT #11: Getting Down to Work

by Stan Stankowski

I creep through traffic. I am observant and clever. I see an opening a little bit ahead in the lane to the left. That lane is moving so much faster. I sneak in. Outstanding. I watch as the lane I just transitioned from begins to move twice as fast as my new lane. Shit.

And in a way, I realize this is a little like my career. The law is like no other industry. You go to school, where, bizarrely, after one year, you begin interviewing for jobs for three years later. These interviews are great. The people promise you lots of money, a powerful job and other various perks. Tickets, fancy meals, zero problems with your insurance carriers.... (seriously, pass the bar and watch how quickly those bastards back down, it's astounding).

AT MY TRIAL PRACTICE WEBSITE . . . "Impeaching at Trial with a Prior Inconsistent Statement: How to Validate First."

GUEST POST: A Trial Lawyer Tries His Hand at Comedy

by David Swanner

"You’re doing comedy? Cool. Uhh….Why?"

When I tell people that I took a comedy workshop and started doing stand-up comedy a few months ago, people typically are pretty amazed. I think because I might not be that interesting. Also, I think it’s one of those Walter Mitty dreams. “I wish I could do that.” But public speaking is scary, and stand-up comedy is the kamikaze of public speaking. The second response is why. I’ve always loved comedy and always wanted to do comedy. I also have a creative mind that doesn’t always get an opportunity to stretch when practicing law. So I did a comedy workshop.

The Workshop

The workshop was taught by Manny Oliveira who has been in comedy and performing for 27 years. Manny is not only one of the top headliners in the business, he’s also a tremendous teacher. I’ve seen him do three workshops now and have been amazed at the way he pulls the funny out of people. He helps people work up a routine where it brings out the best of them and their style.

We met for three hours on Monday night. Four weeks of the workshop, a week off, then a showcase performance where we would all go on stage and perform.

GUEST WRITERS WELCOME . . . Stay tuned for the regularly-scheduled Wednesday guest post, which is up next. In the meantime, if you would like to be a Wednesday guest writer, please send me an e-mail. The rules are here. I'd be happy to give you feedback on your posting ideas or to provide a list of topics, specially-tailored to your own interests.

All previous posts by guest writers are stored permanently in the "guests" and "guests 2" categories.

A FAVORITE GUEST-POSTER RETURNS . . . Here at the ATLA convention in Toronto, I finally got a chance to meet David Swanner, the author of the South Carolina Trial Law Blog. Swanner also happens to be the author of one of the most popular guest-posts ever published on this website: "Twelve Ways Technology Can Make You a Better Trial Lawyer."

Swanner was kind enough to post about our meeting here. What he didn't say is that I used our meeting as an opportunity to weasel a second guest-post from him, which will appear here in the morning.

Its working title: "A Trial Lawyer Tries his Hand at Comedy." It's been in the works for awhile but wasn't quite finished. Now it is--and it's great. I'll post it here tomorrow.