Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground

IN THE MAGAZINES . . . Free from the Internet, some articles you might want to read--

Simple Everything you need to know about Iraq, explained. [Mother Jones]

Complex What the Libby trial says about the government, the press, and abusive leaks. [The New York Times Magazine]

Illuminating John Updike comments on a new biography of Alfred Einstein. [The New Yorker]

Bitter The feuds and rivalries that shaped Pink Floyd. [Rolling Stone]

Funny The new Onion News Network. [Newsweek]

AT MY TRIAL PRACTICE WEBLOG . . . "A New Column at Discovery Resources: Depositions and Electronic Discovery."

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

• Rue Princesse
• Daily Struggles with Inanimate Objects
• Fave Fifteen Plus
• Juz The Fax
• The New New Left
• Lawyerlike
• 81 Ideas
• The Energy Law Blog
• PT-LawMom
  

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

AT MY TRIAL PRACTICE WEBSITE . . . "How to Track Changes with Word."

THE WEEKLY LAW SCHOOL ROUNDUP . . . The Weekly Law School Roundup alternates between Legal Underground and divine angst, where Kristine has posted this week's Weekly Law School Roundup #63. The next installment will appear here this Sunday, so be sure to check back.

THE GRAYING OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION . . . At f/k/a, David Giacalone has an interesting and thought-provoking (and very long) post titled "the Graying Bar: let’s not forget the ethics." Here's part of the problem that Giacalone addresses--

[I]n the vast hinterlands of legal practice in America (outside the realm of elite law firms) — where most lawyers toil and most clients are served — there are a lot of older lawyers who have failed to keep abreast of changes in the law, even in areas where they regularly practice.

For every sage jurist or lawyer who brings glory to the profession, we have all winced over (or smirked at) the courthouse lawyer who has overstayed his welcome in the profession.  What will the Bar do to protect our clients (and our profession) when the Overtimers greatly multiply in number over the next couple of decades?

Here's part of Giacalone's call to action--

[W]e need to help judges and lawyers understand that they have a duty to resign, retire, or withdraw from practice, when physical and mental disability poses a significant threat to their competence and diligence, and to the adequate performance of their duties to clients.

It's a weblog post worth reading. Link from Blawg Review #101 by Diana Skaggs at Divorce Law Journal.

TWO YEARS AGO AT LEGAL UNDERGROUND . . . Two years ago at Legal Underground, I featured a guest post by my mother, Pamela Schaeffer: "A Lawyer’s Mother Reports on a Recent Trip to Paris, Concluding that Traveling There Is Not as Difficult as Some Might Think."

Those were the days when even professional writers were all anxious to try out the weblogging thing. My mother certainly qualified.

Now it's Google Book Search that's giving a boost to her career. As I mentioned before, her writing on religious issues has been cited in an amazing number of books.

And she did the guest post here for free. Foolish!

AT MY TRIAL PRACTICE WEBSITE . . . "Keeping Track of Deposition and Trial Testimony: from the Complex to the Simple."

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.

AT MY TRIAL PRACTICE WEBSITE . . . "Jury Consultants: A Critical Look at Psychology Today."