Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground

A WAY OUT FOR LAWYERS? . . . Lawyers seeking an easy way to a new career should consider this seminar in Los Angeles: "Writing the Legal Thriller." I was informed about this exciting opportunity via email earlier today.

Date: May 26. Cost: $495.

But wait! Lawyers who are both unhappy with their careers and broke can read my own how-to's here on this weblog for free.

I've developed a simple six-step plan for lawyers wishing to write a legal thriller (reading time: a half hour, perhaps the most important half hour of your career)--

• First, pick an original concept. See "Advice to Young Lawyers #4."

• Second, use your imagination. See "Advice to Clients of Lawyers #1."

• Third, daydream about becoming famous. See "Types of Lawyers #12: The Lawyer Who's Writing a Legal Thriller."

• Fourth, consider a parody. See "Types of Lawyers #9: The Lawyer on the Run."

• Fifth, don't waste your time on literature. See "Advice to Young Lawyers #21."

• Sixth, if you'd rather do movies, you can tempt Hollywood with long essays written in parts and posted on your weblog. See "An Introduction to Lawyers for Those Who Have Not Yet Had the Pleasure of Being Introduced: An Essay in Four Parts."

It really is true: follow these simple steps, and you'll be hobnobbing with John Grisham in no time!

The Weekly Law School Roundup #218

Here's your weekly list of good posts from the past week by law students, some current or almost current, some recently-graduated--

Quick Keyboard shortcuts for law students. [i don't wear skinny jeans]

Wonderland Closing argument, online. [law:/dev/null]

Never A list of ten. [Virgin in the Volcano]

Neighbors Meeting sodaman. [Dennis Jansen]

Greed A pet peeve. [My Legal Fiction]

Expense Paying for the bar exam. [Thanks, But No Thanks]

Challenge Health care and the law. [Fight the Hypo]

Fellowship Making a decision about law school. [Legally Questionable Content]

Realization Mom through a mom's eyes. [Starting to Melt]

Look for next week's roundup at Thanks, But No Thanks then it's back here the week after that. You can find some other recent roundups in the "At the Law Schools 2" category, as well as sixty or so older roundups from 2004-2005 here. Finally, if you want to know how I choose posts to highlight, see "How I Write the Weekly Law School Roundup." (If you have a law-student weblog that I don't seem to know about or that isn't in my blogroll, please send me an email.)

TWIN PEAKS . . . Twenty years later, Andrew Anthony explores "how Laura Palmer's death marked the rebirth of TV drama."  The article includes some interesting input from Twin Peaks cast members.

MONEY AND DRUGS . . . From the Washington Post: "When drug makers' profits outweigh penalties," by David Evans--

Across the United States, pharmaceutical companies have pleaded guilty to criminal charges or paid penalties in civil cases when the Justice Department finds that they deceptively marketed drugs for unapproved uses, putting millions of people at risk of chest infections, heart attacks, suicidal impulses or death.

...

Since May 2004, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb and four other drug companies have paid a total of $7 billion in fines and penalties. Six of the companies admitted in court that they marketed medicines for unapproved uses. In September 2007, New York-based Bristol-Myers paid $515 million -- without admitting or denying wrongdoing -- to federal and state governments in a civil lawsuit brought by the Justice Department. The six other companies pleaded guilty in criminal cases.

...

As large as the penalties are for drug companies caught breaking the off-label law, the fines are tiny compared with the firms' annual revenue. The $2.3 billion in fines and penalties Pfizer paid for marketing Bextra and three other drugs cited in the Sept. 2 plea agreement for off-label uses amount to just 14 percent of its $16.8 billion in revenue from selling those medicines from 2001 to 2008.

If you find these quotes interesting, read the whole thing. It originally appeared in Bloomberg Markets Magazine and received a Society of American Business Editors and Writers award for "enterprise reporting and general excellence."

THE WEEKLY LAW SCHOOL ROUNDUP . . . It's the Weekly Law School Roundup #217 from Thanks, But No Thanks. The next installment will appear here soon.

MORE KINDLE . . . Says Engadget, "Kindle for Mac now finally available."

The Weekly Law School Roundup #216

Here's your weekly list of good posts from the past week by law students, some current or almost current, some recently-graduated--

List Things done on Spring Break. [The JE Guide to Life]

Education Law school and the practicalities of being a lawyer. [HATE is easy . . . love takes COURAGE]

Seething Sprint and customer service. [Dennis Jansen]

Work The start of a career. [Starting to Melt]

Moral Cookies and TV. [Cowgirl in the City]

Fury Brawl in the parking lot. [Now That I'm Awake]

Complicated A friend needs advice. [The Divine Details]

Marketing Understanding national reach statistics. [Legally Questionable Content]

Game On buying a Wii. [law:/dev/null]

Look for next week's roundup at Thanks, But No Thanks then it's back here the week after that. You can find some other recent roundups in the "At the Law Schools 2" category, as well as sixty or so older roundups from 2004-2005 here. Finally, if you want to know how I choose posts to highlight, see "How I Write the Weekly Law School Roundup." (If you have a law-student weblog that I don't seem to know about or that isn't in my blogroll, please send me an email.)

THE WEEKLY LAW SCHOOL ROUNDUP . . . It's the Weekly Law School Roundup #215 from Thanks, But No Thanks. The next installment will appear here soon.

BOB DYLAN AND HIS SOURCES . . . From the Jewish Review of Books (and as seen at Arts & Letters Daily), "Bob Dylan: Messiah or Escape Artist?" by Ron Rosenbaum.

Rosenbaum, who is writing a book about Dylan, reviews another book about Dylan, Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet, by Seth Rogovo.

The issue: Whether "the most important thing about Dylan is his Jewishness." Read to find out.

JOHN MCPHEE . . . There's a rare interview with writer John McPhee at the Los Angeles Times: "John McPhee's new book gets personal."

Lately, I've been reading lots of McPhee. After a trip to Yellowstone last June, I decided to tackle Annals of the Former World.  It's a monster book about geology, of all things. Slow going, but fascinating. I plan to finish it this month.

McPhee's new book, Silk Parachute, is a collection of essays. For more about McPhee, take a look at the article about how he teaches nonfiction writing to his students: "Assembling the written word: McPhee reveals how the pieces go together," by Jennifer Greenstein Altmann.