Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground

Law School: Two Years, Not Three?

Is law school too long? President Obama thinks so.

I agree. I spelled out my reasoning in an essay I once did for de novo: "Complications Mar The Law School Birthing Process." Here's a quote--

A more radical solution would be to change the nature of the third year of law school altogether. Don’t many already consider it wasted? Turn the third year into an opportunity for a yearlong apprenticeship with actual lawyers under the umbrella of the law schools; the law schools would function in the role of ombudsman, facilitating the communication between the law students and their firms. (A few states offer avenues to legal practice through apprenticeships, but not always under the tutelage of law schools.)

If you're interested in the debate, you're welcome to read the whole thing . . .

The Collected Four-Part Examination of the Lawyer's Briefcase, One of a Series of Essays on "Things Important to Every Lawyer"

From the archives, here are all four parts of my noted essay, "An Examination of the Lawyer's Briefcase," collected here in one post:

Part I: Introducing the Lawyer's Briefcase

Part II:  Selecting the Perfect Briefcase, Including Tips for Care and Cleaning

Part III:  More Suggestions for Stocking a Lawyer's Briefcase

Part IV:  Matching the Briefcase to the Occasion

And be sure to check out three other things that are important to every lawyer: a Circle of Advisors, a Giant Brain, and a Satisfying Hobby.

Update: Vincent Van Gogh's Death Was a Suicide

Updating this post from May, "Vincent Van Gogh . . . The Comic Novel Sacré Bleu Versus Van Gogh: The Life," this article is just in: "Research experts reject claim in biography that artist was murdered by 16-year-old schoolboy"--

The mystery surrounding Vincent van Gogh’s death has taken another twist after two experts disputed a recent biography that suggested he did not commit suicide but instead was killed by an acquaintance.

The Dutch painter was widely believed to have shot himself at the age of 37, even confessing it on his deathbed. Yet Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith made the shock claim that he had been shot, possibly accidentally, by a 16-year-old schoolboy.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors made the claim in Van Gogh: The Life, a 960-page biography released in October 2011. At the time of publication, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam said the theory was “dramatic” and “intriguing” but added that “plenty of questions remained unanswered.”

Two research experts from the museum were set on the trail of exploring the claims, however, and have no published their findings that the shocking theory of manslaughter, or even murder, simply does not add up.

That's right: the mystery continues!

A Woman's Back . . . Makes for a Good Book Cover

Even book designers fall prey to cliches. See "Show Some Spine," by Chloe Schama at the New York Times.