0L Musings Forum

[Mr Hart]

A Nation in Decline

http://liberalretort.blogspot.com/

Bill O' Reilly's latest column, Here, takes the "bible of the American Left", the New York Times to task for opining that America is in a state of decline. Let's take a quick look at some of O' Reilly's points.

O' Reilly argues that America is hardly in decline by pointing out a few examples of other countries around the world, writing, "Overseas, the world is largely a mess. Africa remains a chaotic cauldron of corruption, China continues its authoritarian rule and there's no letup in the India-Pakistan hatred. Would you like to live in those countries?
Russia continues to lead the league in corruption, Mexico is fighting a brutal war against its own drug traffickers, and South America remains mired in poverty. Call me crazy, but I don't see many immigrants pounding on those doors."

While he has a valid point that we are not necessarily clamoring to move to the India-Pakistan border or to some lawless, drug-producing regions of Mexico, he somehow fails to ignore some 170+ of the other countries in the world. Would I mind living in Canada, England, Spain, or Italy, just to name a few? Not so much. Nor would a great number of Americans. Is it not true that immigrants are "pounding" down the doors in Spain, South Africa, and basically the vast majority of Western European nations? Apparently not in O' Reilly's world.

O' Reilly goes on to proclaim that "Against all odds, U.S. forces have almost single-handedly defeated Islamic fascism in Iraq, one of the most complicated battlefields in history." Um..do we even need to address this one? That's a pretty big "almost" there, Bill.

"In Afghanistan, U.S. and NATO troops continue to hammer the vicious Taliban on every front. The only reason those fascists are operating is that Pakistan protects them." Really? That's the onlyreason that the Taliban is surviving in Afghanistan? It has nothing to do with the local support? With the fact that, for all practical purposes, the Taliban controls large swaths of Afghanistan, and has for generations? Way to dig deep on that one, Bill.

Finally, O' Reilly ends by saying "So, it comes down to this: the committed left believes that America has been too aggressive fighting the war on terror and not aggressive enough when it comes to government mandated economic and social engineering. Thus, in their view, the country is in decline."

That's such a simplistic view of Liberal ideologies that it's hard to take his statements seriously. Nevermind that the Fed. Chief Bernanke has conceded that a recession is likely, saying "Our estimates are that we are slightly growing at the moment, but we think that there's a chance that for the first half as a whole, there might be a slight contraction."This is a man who cannot afford to be free and loose when discussing the economy, but rather a man whose every word can affect global markets instantaneously.

Is O' Reilly somehow going to paint Bernanke as a Socialist now? Actually, at this point I wouldn't be surprised...

[Mr Hart]

Normally I wouldn't promote this site.....

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...but there's actually a somewhat helpful discussion going on over at JDUnderground.
Here

Shocking, I know. It's titled "Does Persistence Pay Off in Law?" and I think that it can spark a serious and insightful discussion, provided people stay on track (not likely), but perhaps some of you readers will be able to take something out of it! Stay determined and focused, work hard, and persistence will pay off in pretty much every area of life.

[Mr Hart]

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I'm very interested in Immigration Law, so this recent article in the NY Times, Here , caught my attention. A certified Spanish-interpreter for the Federal courts brought up the issue that many of the 400 or so immigrants arrested in raids at a meatpacking plant in Iowa had little or no idea why they were actually being arrested or what charges they were actually facing. The government is trying to move along the cases so quickly that the accused don't actually have time to properly consult with interpreters and defense attorneys, but are rather being subjected to quick guilty pleas when they are not even sure what they are pleading guilty to. In a one-week period, over 260 of the immigrants plead guilty and received immediate jail sentences. There is no way that a small team of defense attorneys and interpreters were able to completely assist over 260 people in one week. To me, that is a fundamental failing of our justice system. Right to a fair trial and competent representation? Apparently that does not apply in all cases equally....

[Mr Hart]

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Free Advice to the Class of '11



I came across this list of advice for incoming students this Fall, from students who have been there before. Most of it seems to make sense, and it never hurts to hear from people who have came before you! I'm sure most of you can get something worthwhile out of the list, so enjoy!


Free Advice Here


One of the best, which I learned the hard way during undergrad and will not make the mistake of repeating again:

Don't get in a habit of eating the free pizza from meetings everytime you see it, unless you want to gain 20 lbs. over the next 3 yrs.

[Mr Hart]

There's an article in the Wall-Street Journal today about the declining value of a college degree. Read the full article Here

The main point of the article is that, for an increasing number of college graduates, earning a Bachelor's degree is not quite the leg-up on the competition that it used to be. This should be readily apparent for any recent graduates that have been attempting to enter the workforce within the past couple of years. Outside of a few fields that are still on the upswing, including engineering and healthcare, more graduates will have a more difficult time finding a job with only a Bachelor's degree.

The article also briefly mentions that even advanced degrees, JD's included, aren't exactly the ticket to a well-paying and secure job that they used to be. "But not all law graduates are so fortunate; many, especially those from less-prestigious schools, have far lower salaries and less job security."

What are prospective students supposed to do? All but shut out of any meaningful careers with just a Bachelor's degree, and facing increasing competition for jobs even with advanced degrees, the outlook isn't exactly rosy.

[Mr Hart]

Stay Away From These States


Interesting study Here that has a list of the areas with the highest per capita percentage of lawyers practicing there. In other words, stay away from D.C. and New York, and start your job search in North Dakota and Arkansas! The list is pretty much what one would expect, considering there are, how many law schools now in NY? It's getting dangerously close to a double digit number. And everyone that doesn't want to work in NYC seems to want to work in D.C. Meanwhile, I can't imagine too many people are clamoring to work in ND, what with it's vast network of high-paying corporate jobs and all....

Does this list make you think twice about future job prospects?

[Mr Hart]

Time for a purely aesthetic entry today: Which Briefcase to Buy?

Alright, thanks to a gift from my lovely Mother, I am in a position to buy a fancy schmancy briefcase, presumably for some distant day when I'm actually a practicing attorney. So I started to look at briefcases today and was completely overwhelmed by the sheer number and options provided to the briefcase-buying public. Who would've thought! All I can remember seeing growing up is people who just had a plain black one...oh the good 'ole days.

Anyways, for those of you who work in law firms or know attorneys, etc, what's the general idea?

Shoulder strap or handles only?
Black or Brown?
Soft shell or Hard Box shell?
Buckles or Zippers?
Leather or ....not leather?

Something like this: Here

Or something like this: Here

[Mr Hart]

http://0lmusings.blogspot.com/

For those of you looking to go into BigLaw, AboveTheLaw has leaked the new 2009 Vault rankings for the 50 best law firms to work for. Now you know who to get those mass mailings ready for!

Check out the list Here

[Mr Hart]

Most Useless Classes

Above The Law has a list of the most useless 1L classes Here . Topping the list? Property, Con Law, and Torts. And with 172 comments and counting, you're sure to gain some insight into what to expect when classes start in less than a month!

[Mr Hart]

Where to begin! It's been about 2 months since I last updated here, and about 6 weeks since I first started law school. Needless to say, school does not necessarily allow a lot of free time for leisure activities, such as maintaining this blog....but I will try!

First 6 weeks impression: Lots of reading, but not as scary as I had imagined. True, I got called out on the first day of Contracts (Apply some obscure section of the U.C.C. to the following fact pattern:....needless to say, as it was the first day, I failed mightily), but other than that, there haven't been too many traumatic experiences.

More so, it can be summed up by the following sentence that I just read in my Contracts book.
"There are, however, cases in which the doctrine of the enforcement of implied negative covenants has been carried far beyond the present state of the law in England, and beyond what seems to be the weight of the best considered authority here, but taking the law as we find it, it may safely be said that equity will not enforce a negative covenant, express or implied, in a contract which it can not specifically enforce, unless a breach of the negative covenant will cause loss to the promisee distinct from that resulting from the mere failure of the promisor to carry out his affirmative promise."

That was one sentence. There is no logical reason why a sentence such as that should ever, ever exist in the English language. Yet, that is about all I read these days, so if you find that enjoyable, then law school is the right path for you!

Midterms are coming up this week and we have our first memo due next week, so I'm sure things will stay consistently busy, but I will try to keep this updated; if nothing else, I'll pass along some humorous comments from my Crim law teacher, such as this gem: "How much would you require to have both your legs cut off right now? ... $20 Million? ... Really? I've got a guy..."