06 September 2010 | Legal Industry News

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I Graduated From Law School . . . But I Have No Idea How to Be a Lawyer

Monday, September 6th, 2010
Source: Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

For me, there’s a very bright light at the end of this tunnel. I graduate from law school in December and then it’s out into the real world. My experience at Marquette, in the classroom, has been an exceptional one; but until I spent a summer surrounded by practicing lawyers, writing actual briefs, drafting complaints, and petitioning an out-of-state court for pro hac vice admission, I hadn’t realized how just how clueless I really was.

Granted, I could rattle off the elements of adverse possession with the best of ‘em (thanks Parlow), discuss “penumbras” over cocktails, and wow underclassmen with my thorough understanding of International Shoe… but when I showed up for work on my first day and was handed a new-client file and asked to draft a summons and complaint, the only thing I could muster up was a spot-on impression of a deer in headlights. I thought I remembered talking about complaints in a class once (which one was it?) but the task of actually having to write one was overwhelmingly daunting.

Luckily for me, the attorney who assigned me the project must have noticed the sweat dripping from my temples and...

Foreign Prices Undercutting Domestic Chinese Prices. Yes, You Read That Right.

Monday, September 6th, 2010
Source: China Law Blog

Call me weird, but I have always been fascinated by the pricing of goods and, in particular, price elasticity. The following two examples have always fascinated me:

1. My old law firm represented a surgeon whose income fell in one year from around $450,000 to around $40,000 after an industry-wide change in insurance reimbursement. The industry talked of how this change might lead to a tiny decline in surgeon income, but, clearly, the tiny decline was not across the board.

2. During the Asian crisis of 1997, I read an article in a Korean newspaper discussing the decline in Korean imports. Imports were down across the board, let's say 40% (I am making up that number because I just do not remember). But, and here's the kicker, the market for quinces (I think it was quinces) from New Zealand (or was it Australia?) had disappeared entirely. In other words, it had gone from tens of millions of dollars to zero. Just plain zero. The Asian crisis had completely destroyed that one market for goods.

Fascinating article in the Economic Observer the other day, entitled, "Are Foreign Manufacturers Undercutting Domestic Competitors?" The article focuses on how...

Federal Court Sides With Eminem in Royalty Dispute; Record Business Does Not Implode.

Monday, September 6th, 2010
Source: WSJ.com: Law Blog - WSJ.com In a decision that could affect the financial relationships between record labels and performers, a federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday ruled that songs downloaded from Apple’s iTunes store are not actually purchased, but are rather “licensed” by the ostensible buyer. Read the rest of the...

David Levin, Burning Man Barrister

Monday, September 6th, 2010
Source: WSJ.com: Law Blog - WSJ.com If you break laws at Burning Man, there's one guy to call. Read the rest of the...

Vegas, Baby! Ruling a Possible Boon to ‘Copyright-Troll’ Suits

Monday, September 6th, 2010
Source: WSJ.com: Law Blog - WSJ.com In recent weeks, there's been a lot of talk about this outfit called Righthaven, a sort of online copyright enforcer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The enterprise won a key ruling in a Nevada federal court on Thursday. Read the rest of the...

iLook China, With An R Rating.

Monday, September 6th, 2010
Source: China Law Blog

I have had the blog iLook China on my blogroll for the last few months and I have to say that I only read its frequent postings maybe half the time.

It is often too intellectual, too historical, too tangential, and, most importantly, too pro-China for me. But it just occurred to me that I was not being fair in not listing it on our blogroll. It is a thoughtful blog with an oftentimes original take on China issues and my sometimes disagreeing with it is not a good reason not to have it on our blogroll.

Just to be clear, I am not listing it just because it has a different viewpoint; I am listing it because it is well-written and thoughtful. Just by way of an example, check out the post, "The Sky is Falling in China but only in China," which discusses the unfairness of a Los Angeles Times story using one recent crash as evidence of how China's airline safety is slipping.

iLook China is written by Lloyd Lofthouse and its tag-line is "looking at China from an outsider's point of view." Lofthouse describes his blog as follows: