Question of the Week

What are your ‘law school don’ts’?

The start of the school year is around the corner, and this week, Ms. JD shared on its Facebook page a post from 2008 in which law school students told readers their “law school don’ts.” Among them: • “Thinking about getting a pet? Don’t do it! You will live in…

Aug 9, 2017 2:00 PM CDT

Should bar exam pass scores be lower?

This week, the State Bar of California released results of a standard-setting study of the state bar exam’s passing score. One proposal that came out of the study was to set a new interim California bar exam cut score at 1414 from the current 1440. The California bar exam is…

Aug 2, 2017 10:15 AM CDT

Have you ever moonlighted to supplement your primary income?

This week’s featured blawg is Financial Panther, which focuses on a Minneapolis government lawyer’s management of his finances—including his “side hustles,” among them dog sitting, renting out a spare bedroom on Airbnb, delivering food via bike and selling furniture and other items he found in the trash. This week, we’d…

Jul 26, 2017 11:52 AM CDT

Is there an essential clothing brand or item that you buy repeatedly?

Earlier this month, athletic apparel maker Lululemon filed a patent infringement lawsuit—something the company has a history of doing—related to a sports bra design. Design patent suits are rare in the fashion industry, because the lifespan of a given clothing item is usually relatively short. So Lululemon “clearly sees this…

Jul 19, 2017 12:24 PM CDT

What’s the strangest hypothetical you’ve ever had on a law exam?

This week, we noted that Howard University School of Law decided a law professor’s exam question related to allegations of improper touching during a bikini wax constituted sexual harassment under school policy. So this week, we’d like to ask you: What’s the strangest hypothetical you’ve ever had on a law…

Jul 12, 2017 12:58 PM CDT

Who was your most difficult cross-examination?

In the July issue of the ABA Journal, litigators talk about how to cross-examine psychologists and psychiatrists. These witnesses can be tough to challenge because their testimony can have elements of hearsay as well as subjectivity. Lawyer William Chamblee of Chamblee Ryan in Dallas told the ABA Journal that his…

Jul 5, 2017 2:06 PM CDT

What hacks have you learned from years of business travel?

Traveling can be a fun adventure or a hellish affair. In our July cover story, we talk to lawyers about their own strategies for efficient and even enjoyable business travel. We also showcase 13 different tech tools that help take the hassle out of business trips. This week, we’d like…

Jun 28, 2017 3:09 PM CDT

Do you use social media to market your professional efforts?

Last week, Daliah Saper wrote about steps lawyers can take to use social media to market their law practices. Lawyers who don’t use social media for professional efforts may be an exception to the rule: In a survey earlier this year by the blog Attorney at Work, 70 percent of…

Jun 21, 2017 12:20 PM CDT

Do you watch video in your legal research?

Lawyers watch video at work, and sometimes the occasion is not even connected to fantasy sports. This month’s U.S. Senate testimony by fired FBI Director James Comey was arresting desktop viewing – “almost like a gladiator in D.C. event,” said Philippe Weiss, managing director of legal training firm Seyfarth Shaw…

Jun 14, 2017 1:00 PM CDT

If money were no object, would you stay in your job?

This week, we noted a story of a onetime lawyer who late last month took her first vows as a cloistered Dominican nun. One obstacle lawyer Tara Clemens—now Sister Marie Dominic—had to address before taking those vows was paying off $100,000 in student loans. Clemens accomplished this after seeking and…

Jun 7, 2017 1:20 PM CDT

Do you still take time to go out for lunch when at work?

Julie Jargon of the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) notes that the tradition of going to a restaurant to sit down for an afternoon meal has gone the way of the three-martini lunch. Citing information from a market research firm, Jargon reports that Americans made 433 million fewer restaurant trips…

May 31, 2017 10:50 AM CDT

How casual is your summer workplace wardrobe?

At the Careerist (sub. req.), blogger Vivia Chen notes a survey by Seyfarth Shaw’s consulting group that found half of the 400 managers surveyed had concerns about workers’ summer attire. Issues ranged from attire being too revealing or too casual down to having visible tattoos and piercings. “Although ‘traditional’ casual…

May 24, 2017 12:51 PM CDT

Do you take power naps during your workday?

This week, we noted that White & Case installed two napping pods in its Washington D.C. office last year. The “energy pods” are lounge chairs with a domed privacy visor. A White & Case partner said that the pods are well-received, though workers at the firm seem reluctant to admit…

May 17, 2017 2:04 PM CDT

Do you communicate with clients on social media?

This week, we noted that a Nebraska lawyer was suspended over the nonspecific nature of his replies to his client’s messages sent via Facebook. Some readers’ comments to this story on Facebook were surprised the lawyer was communicating with a client on Facebook at all, while others point out that…

May 10, 2017 1:45 PM CDT

How do you guard your personal data?

Now that Congress has rolled back regulation of internet service providers, the public debate over internet privacy has spread to new forums.

May 3, 2017 12:58 PM CDT