Study Break
This is where the law, society and pop culture intersect: A page devoted to enlightening, fascinating and quirky stories about the many facets - and faces - of law.
If you'd like to suggest something to share on this page, please e-mail Iris Yokoi at iyokoi@law.uci.edu
Prepare to read
The Brennan Center for Justice, part of NYU Law, has a new web site, Just Books, featuring excerpts, recommendations and reviews of law-related books. You can read an excerpt on Obama's Harvard Law years from The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama, or former Congressman Mickey Edwards's review of Arsenal of Democracy, or "Author Talk" interviews. And heed the "must-read" suggestions from former Pres. Bill Clinton, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and other legal dignitaries.
Trust her: It's 'Sushilicious'
One of our UCI Law students with impeccable taste, Christina Zabat-Fran, offered fellow students - both graduates and undergraduates - a local dining recommendation through her review of Sushilicious restaurant for the New University campus newspaper.
A man with a plan beyond the 'Jersey Shore'
Vinny Guadagnino of the latest MTV cult hit says law school is "always on the back burner." Who knew? Read his grammatically incorrect quotes about taking the LSAT.
Literary lawyers
A Dallas family law attorney won first place in this year's New York Law Journal Fiction Contest, which was started eight years ago by then-managing editor Rex Bossert (now UCI Law's Assistant Dean for Communications and Public Affairs) to encourage and inspire frustrated writers. As the contest continues to attract hundreds of manuscripts from lawyers and law students nationwide, the NYLJ checked in with past winners.
The ultimate Fantasy League - SCOTUS
You get to be the 10th Justice in "The Premier Supreme Court Fantasy League." As the home page at FantasySCOTUS.net explains: "Cert is Granted. You Listen to the Argument. You Read the Briefs. You Predict the Outcome. Compete for the Win!" At the end of the term, whoever predicts the most cases correctly will be confirmed as the Chief Justice.
Judge Wapner is back in 'People's Court'
Well, just for a special guest appearance Nov. 13 to litigate a special case in honor of his 90th (You go, Judge!) birthday. The judge that started it all in the reality TV genre also got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - further proof of the fine line between entertainment and law. And here's an NPR homage to the judge and "People's Court," complete with old school and modern-day video clips of the show (including current judge Marilyn Milian ripping a litigant who bragged that he was a student at University of Miami Law School!).
It's in The (Green) Bag
The Autumn issue of this quarterly journal, which offers entertaining and sometimes humorous essays on legal topics, is now available online. And if you missed it, you can read Dean Chemerinsky's essay in the Summer issue. Then take a moment to choose your favorite Supreme Court Justice bobblehead doll, or review the Justice John G. Roberts "Supreme Court Slugger" Trading Card.
Apps and Attorneys
The October issue of the ABA Journal features a list of "70 Sizzling Apps" for lawyers with smartphones. And if your smartphone of choice is an iPhone, the iPhone J.D. blog is a must read: Jeff Richardson, a partner at Adams and Reese in New Orleans, writes about new apps, reviews some of them and provides other practical iPhone tips.
Tune in tomorrow for more from the lecture hall
A Harvard professor's popular course on "Justice" has entered the realm of pop culture, now featured in a new public-television documentary series and in a book. The Chronicle of Higher Education notes that taking Michael Sandel's course to a wider national audience "may raise the scholar's profile, and, just maybe, the tone of political discourse."
Can lawyers find happiness?
Author Gretchen Rubin, a former lawyer and Supreme Court clerk, decided a few years ago to seek ways to be happier. She chronicled on her blog The Happiness Project her experiences "test-driving" studies and theories. Now, her project is due in book form in December. The WSJ Law Blog posted a two-part "chat" with Rubin (Ashby Jones must be very happy).
From 'The Paper' to 'The Paper Chase'?
At age 50, Orange County Register columnist Frank Mickadeit decided to go to law school. The veteran news reporter/editor/author/cigar aficionado/songwriter writes in his inimitable, witty style about what it's like to be among the oldest students in his classes at Chapman University. In this column, he tries to heed his law-school-graduate daughter's admonition not to be "That Guy."
Matt Damon and James Mutchnik - together on the Big Screen
The movie "The Informant!" (opening Friday, Sept. 18) tells the tale of Mark Whitacre, who in the 1990s blew the whistle on a price-fixing scheme at Archer Daniels Midland. Before you hit the megaplex, check out The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, which posted an interview with two of the real-life figures in the ADM investigation: prosecutor James Mutchnik and FBI agent Bob Herndon.
"Are Obama’s judges really liberals?"
Writer Jeffrey Toobin addresses the question of President Obama's judicial picks in the New Yorker.
"The 25 Greatest Legal TV Shows"
The ABA Journal put the question "What law shows do lawyers consider the best of all time?" to a jury of 12 experts - nine lawyers, two scholars and a TV critic - who chose favorites among the scores of legal-minded shows that have come and gone over the years. Check out the list and see if you agree with the picks.
