Blawg Review #96

Welcome to this Presidents Day edition of Blawg Review. The South Carolina Appellate Law Blog is pleased to have y'all drop by. As the tag line indicates, my Blog follows the opinions of SCOTUS, the Fourth Circuit, and the South Carolina appellate courts. I also try to mix in a bit of fun and other legal news along the way.

As for me, I practice in Greenville, South Carolina, in the areas of civil and criminal appeals, health care, and professional negligence. A commitment to pro bono legal services is an important part of my practice. I serve as a pro bono special prosecutor for the state Attorney General in criminal domestic violence cases and also usually have at least one or two pro bono criminal appeals going at the same time. But for those darn Rules of Professional Conduct, I could convict a wife-beater and then represent him on appeal!

For those of you who don't know, Blawg Review is a collection of the best legal posts from around the blogosphere. I thank the editors for giving me this opportunity to host. I have divided the posts into broad categories reflecting the interests on the law blogging community during the past week. Each category will be dedicated to a different President in honor of the holiday. Without further delay, let's rock and roll with Blawg Review # 96.

SCOTUS

This category is dedicated to William Howard Taft for his services as POTUS and on SCOTUS!

Let's start with the big boys and girls in the black robes. They have been quiet lately, but we can soon expect things to heat up.

Orin Kerr at the Volokh Conspiracy questions whether Congress can force the Supremes to televise oral argument and other proceedings. Ilya Somin concurs with Kerr that Congress does have the power if it is so inclined. Hmmmm... I wonder if Justice Thomas would ask more questions if he was on camera?

Lyle Denniston of SCOTUS Blog reported on a new Guantanamo detainee case coming before the Supreme Court, this time involving a Chinese citizen from a persecuted ethnic minority group there.


IP Law

This section is dedicated to George Washington, who signed the First United States Patent Grant on July 31, 1790.

Trademark law rears its ugly head in the world of rock! Michael Atkins reported a case of a "band on the run" after discovering that their name was taken already by another band.

William Patry discussed an important case which considered when a copyright renewal term commences.

Congress has approved the creation of patent-specific judicial training but Tim Lee and others were not convinced that expertise is always a good thing.

Marty Schwimmer noted a copyright infringement dust-up between comedians Joe Rogan and Carlos Mencia. The Techdirt post has more details, including Mencia's DMCA takedown of Rogan's YouTube video documenting his claims.

At the Fraser Gallery, Doug Sanford is exhibiting photographs of his exgirlfriend's emails to him. She wrote them after she learned of his infidelities and ended her relationship with him. Transcending Gender reported that the exgirlfriend threatened legal action against Sanford and the gallery for copyright infringement; she claimed the words of the email were her property.

The fight over Pooh Bear heats up. The Likelihood of Confusion tried to make this legal fight a little less confusing. But since I am not an IP lawyer, I remain confused.....

GI protection and how it can be accomplished is discussed at IP Notions.


The Net

Depending on how you handle hanging chads, Al Gore could have been president of the US. Because of his contribution in inventing the Internet, this section is dedicated to Albert.

Over at Concurring Opinions, you'll find a nice list of the best and worst of Internet laws.

Eric Turkewitz reported that the FDA is becoming concerned about drugs many Americans are buying over the internet. Many folks, it seems, are getting sick.


Law Firm Life

This category is dedicated to "His Rotundity" John Adams--the first lawyer to serve as POTUS.

Anonymous Lawyer knows the deal on life at a big law firm. I tell all students who ask me about law school to read his book and his blog. This week it appears AL was stabbed by an aggrieved associate . . . again. It seems AL ruined the man's life or something. A partner ruining an associate's life?? Come on--get real.

Speaking of being an arse, lawyers can behave like kids in a deposition, and Stephen Bainbridge discussed the latest case of misbehavior.

The formerly anonymous (and still great) Enrico Schafer mused that lawyers can be the most unreasonable people on Earth and that this profession can cost you a lot, including your personality.

Money Money Money. Associate salaries are in the news. David Lat at Abovethelaw noted that some have finally put the associate salary rise in proper perspective by divvying up the increase on a per-partner basis and calculating the number of bespoke suits each partner will have to forgo to pay for their greedy associates.

If you want to avoid big firms issues, should you consider hanging out a shingle right out of school? Susan Liebel discusses the risks and rewards.

Are there more jerks in law than in other occupations? Chuck Newton considers the issues.

Is it enough to be a "good lawyer" if you want to have those great cases?? Legal Marketing Blog discusses how to get work through the doors.

Many female lawyers are opting out of big firm life. I always knew women were smarter than men. Legal Profession Blog has the scoop.

Charles Green answers the old client question "why should we choose you?"

Honest Abe wanted to discourage litigation? So reported this post at Overlawyered.

Want to use a nickname or moniker in advertising in NY? Well, you better read this post from Sui Generis before you begin.

Ever wondered how a law firm should be designed to properly impress the clients? Starslate gives us the details with this post.

This post from veryLegal is worth a block quote. Preach it!

Now we will take a closer look and find out what lawyers say about their jobs. Lawyers complain of a lack of control, being sandwiched between judges and clients. They complain about the increasing hostility between fellow lawyers, a lack of loyalty between partners, and a diminishing public image(all those lawyer jokes don’t help). But paramount to all these, they complain about the torturous hours.

Lets get straight to the crux then, the hours. Lawyers nowadays just do not have enough time for their families and themselves at all. They complain of being sacrificed to the company instead of dedicating themselves to it. Whats the normal working hours like for a big firm associate? Think at least 12 hours, six days a week. Now we are beginning to understand a little of the problem.

International Issues

This category is dedicated to Woodrow Wilson and his legacy of international intervention.

Roger Alford tells us about a habeas case which prevented the transfer of an American citizen to the jurisdiction of the Iraqi courts.

Peter Spiro over at Opinio Juris attempted to determine, despite a thin Senatorial record, where President Obama might stand on international law; his hiring choices thus far and his stance on the Darfur genocide might offer some insights.

Torture ought not even be debated, but in Dubya's war on terror it unfortunately is. Peggy McGuinness discussed how the "ticking time bomb" myth shapes our perceptions about the acceptability and utility of torture.

Geeklawyer, the IP Barrister, is putting together a conference for Brit bloggers in May--he's been working really hard on it. I wouldn't mind having a pint or two and discussing blogging with that distinguished line up.

So you want to break into international law or China law? China Law Blog has some tips.


History

I dedicate this section to Mr. Jefferson--my favorite president in US History.

Eric Muller posted a "cool" letter he found relating to the Gibbons v. Ogden decision and noted the over-the-top oration employed during the hearing. Ann Althouse found that those involved didn't shy away from the double entendres she's noted in teaching the decision.

Should the Framers have ditched the Vice Presidency? Sandy Levinson, in considering a hypothetical redesign of the Constitution, wondered what value (if any) the vice-presidency has.

Mary Dudziak at Legal History Blog discussed the recently-discovered unsuccessful efforts of Otto Frank to gain entry into the US for Anne and the rest of the Frank family. Eric Muller of Is that legal? related his ancestor's similar story during the Holocaust and lamented "the sadness of failed rescue."


Legal Writing

This section is dedicated to Andrew Johnson, who taught himself to read and never spent one day in formal education.

For an interesting take on how court rules hamper the efforts of strong legal writers, see Attorney Mark Herrmann's recent blog post. Herrmann refers specifically to the work of two talented writers on the Seventh Circuit's bench, writers who know when to break the rules.

Lawrence Solum blogged the "Writing About the Law" conference at New York Law School, a conference attended by fellow bloggers Randy Barnett (of Volokh Conspiracy) and Ann Althouse.


Employment

This section is dedicated to FDR who was very successful at keeping himself employed.

Michael Fitzgibbon highlighted several key elements regarding the tort of negligent hiring. This tort is based upon the theory that an employer has a duty to protect its employees and customers from other employees that the employer has reason to believe, or should have reason to believe, pose a threat to others.

Overlawyered reported that things don't work out to well when government prohibits employers from checking into an applicants background.

Ted Frank informed us that a case involving death of a policeman sickened after working "fourteen hour days in the smoldering pit" at the World Trade Center site took a strange turn as it was revealed that the man only worked a few shifts for overtime pay and only months after 9/11 when the "smoldering pit" was no longer smoldering.

Miscellaneous

We are wrapping up fast here and that's a good feeling. So let's dedicate this final section to the Era of Good Feeling and James Monroe.

Unintended consequences of Sarbanes-Oxley--The law designed to increase transparency has resulted in companies keeping secrets from investors by selling bonds, or debt securities, that aren't registered with the Securities and Exchange. Leon Gettler tells us all about it.

Hanno Kaiser at the Antitrust Review criticizes Louis Kaplow and Carl Shapiro's paper "Antitrust" for failing to pay attention to "the ideological underpinnings of antitrust and the normative distributive commitments that are part and parcel of economic theory. "

MLB and the beer advertisements: They say their players should not sell suds, but Bud Selig has no issues with Miller Lite advertising during baseball games. Sports Law Blog has a good post on this and related issues.

Congress considers permitting federal reimbursement for midwife services. The Mommy Blog tells us about the proposed legislation here.


Blawg Review has information about next week's host, and instructions how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.