RANDOM NOTES . . . Some bits of miscellany for a Wednesday morning--

--At Legal Blog Watch, Robert Ambrogi is looking for a neutral term for "tort reform. "For those of us who wish to refer to the debate in a neutral manner, what should we call it, if anything?" Ambrogi mentions two terms that won't work--tort deform and destruction of the civil justice system. Those terms are slanted too far in the other direction.

--This week is Spring Break for the Schaeffer children, who may or may not be out of town with me at certain times this week. I'd like to say more, but the criminals-reading-weblogs rule is in effect. If we are out of town, I might be spending the early mornings working on the first-year supplement to Deposition Checklists and Strategies. (I've got to get those plugs in!) My other early-morning activities might include Vioxx-trial preparation and Spanish-language acquisition, two tasks which are, of course, completely unrelated. Meanwhile, I might be spending a little time planning a trip to Mexico City with my daughter Lydia, who'll be graduating from high school this year. If we are planning the trip, we're trying to decide whether to stay in the Zona Rosa or Centro Histórico. If you happen to have a strong opinion either way, please check in.

--Eric Turkewitz is onto something with his Personal Injury Roundups at the New York Personal Injury Law Blogs. It's a concept like Blawg Review but more narrowly-focused on one area of the law. This makes it more useful for those who are looking for the particular type of information being rounded-up. I hope Turkewitz keeps it up.

--Finally, I wonder whether I need to rethink my marketing strategies at Schaeffer & Lamere. Consider this press release from a plaintiffs' firm: "Weitz & Luxenberg Hails $47.5 Million Vioxx Verdict against Merck." I suppose the idea is that those searching for news about the recent Vioxx verdict will find their way to this advertisement-disguised-as-news. It's really a clever idea. Should I adopt it? You'd be surprised at the things I could say about my law practice if I had my hyperbole generator working at full gear. Lately, I think I've been remiss in this department. For example, it's been at least three years since I updated the notable settlements page at my firm website. Something for the to-do list, I suppose.