Question of the Week

Can you squeeze a winning appellate brief into a tweet?

One of the possible answers in our May caption contest (see cartoon at left—and for complete rules, follow this link) is “I hear his winning appellate brief was 140 characters or less.” Sounds impossible. But back in 2011, the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section held its first-ever Twitter brief…

May 14, 2014 5:45 PM CDT

What are the worst Supreme Court decisions ever?

Every lawyer has his or her least-favorite U.S. Supreme Court decisions—and this may be especially true for Supreme Court justices themselves. Last week, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens testified at hearings on campaign finance law in the wake of McCutcheon vs. FEC, the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier…

May 7, 2014 7:10 PM CDT

What is the most outrageous thing you have ever heard a witness say on the stand?

We just asked you about the most outrageous thing you’ve heard a lawyer say during opening or closing statements. And we’ve asked you about outrageous juror conduct. This week, we want you to turn your attention to your clients and witnesses: What is the most outrageous thing you have ever…

Apr 30, 2014 7:30 PM CDT

Has familiarity with Shakespeare helped you as a lawyer?

Playwright William Shakespeare’s 1564 birthdate is unknown, “but devotees have adopted April 23 as the day to celebrate—and this year, the man from Stratford turns 450,” NPR reports. Even after all this time, lawyers never go too long without Shakespeare entering the conversation. Just last month, University of Washington law…

Apr 23, 2014 7:50 PM CDT

What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve heard during opening or closing statements?

Last week, we learned about a lawyer who shared a personal story of sexual harassment during her closing arguments, a move that cost her client a $900,000 jury award when the 8th Circuit reversed. This sparked debate in the comments, as readers argued over what’s appropriate to share during opening…

Apr 16, 2014 8:00 PM CDT

Who are the all-time great US Supreme Court justices?

Last week at Bloomberg View, Harvard Law School professor Cass Sunstein endeavored to name the greatest U.S. Supreme Court justices among the 112 who have served. “It makes sense to consider two factors: historical significance and legal ability,” Sunstein wrote. “It would be too contentious to include only those justices…

Apr 9, 2014 5:45 PM CDT

Do law firms care what classes new lawyers took in law school?

A while back on the Twitter feed for Mootus, a platform for “open online legal argument”, this question was asked: Do law firms care what classes new lawyers took in law school? So this week, that’s our question for you. Were you asked about the law school classes you took…

Apr 2, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Did your law professors keep their personal opinions out of the classroom?

Last month, Josh Blackman, who teaches constitutional law and property at South Texas College of Law, wrote at his eponymous blog last month how he has trouble teaching Kelo v. City of New London. Blackman wrote that he tries to stay neutral in his lectures, but can’t with Kelo. “Every…

Mar 26, 2014 2:00 PM CDT

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen on a jury form?

Last month, we noted that a Pennsylvania judge scolded a couple after the boyfriend filled out the girlfriend’s jury summons form with all manner of disrespectful answers. Drayke Jacobs-Van-Tol responded to questions such as “How many children do you have” with smart-aleck answers, including “none survived the abortions” and “The…

Mar 19, 2014 5:00 PM CDT

What did you learn from your legal mentor? And mentors, what have you learned from your mentees?

Last week, career coach Cordell Parvin wrote a pair of posts about a mentor-mentee relationship between a partner and an associate at Canadian law firm Bennett Jones. Associate Christie Conway told Parvin that one thing her mentor, partner Greg Liakopoulos, did that helped build trust “was establish a policy that…

Mar 12, 2014 6:00 PM CDT

What differences have you seen among the baby boomers, Gen Xers and millennials in your workplace?

Last week, law firm marketing director Heather Morse wrote about how the changing of the guard, generation-wise, is affecting the legal industry. “Gen Xers do not have faith that ‘it’ (permanent financial success and security) will actually happen, and are therefore willing to take their clients to another firm to…

Mar 5, 2014 7:10 PM CST

If a biopic was made of your legal life, what would be on your movie poster?

Movies are moving front-and-center this week: This Sunday is the 86th Academy Awards. So this week, we’d like to ask you: If a biopic was made of your legal life, what would be on your movie poster? This question was suggested by reader Ken Bresler, and he gave some examples:…

Feb 26, 2014 7:30 PM CST

Have you ever had a law prof use TV or film to illustrate a concept?

Image from Shutterstock. On a recent snowy Friday when only five students could make it to class, Appalachian School of Law professor Paula Marie Young decided that she would screen a long excerpt from the the film The Negotiator. “It illustrates so many concepts I discuss in my courses,” Young…

Feb 19, 2014 6:36 PM CST

Are you still with your law school sweetheart? Or did stress kill the relationship?

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re digging up a Greedy Associates post from July with tips for how to help your romantic relationship survive law school. “I speak from a place of failure,” blogger William Peacock wrote. “I went into law school thinking I’d spend the rest of my life…

Feb 12, 2014 6:10 PM CST

What’s the oddest elective course that you took in law school?

This week, NPR blog The Protojournalist took note of unusual elective courses at U.S. colleges. Rutgers University offers (and has since at least 2012) a course called Politicizing Beyoncé in its department of women’s and gender studies. Portland Community College offers a smartphone photography course. And George Mason University has…

Feb 5, 2014 6:30 PM CST