Corporate Governance

Radisson at LAX: best of times, worst of times (apologies to Dickens)

Posted on November 28, 2010
So I really like the California Star Ball--it's a fun competition with very generous scholarship money.  I also like the front desk staff of the Radisson @ LAX:  they're gracious and helpful, as is the bell desk and the BREAKFAST staff at the restaurant there...

A fresh take on voting on Dancing With The Stars

Posted on November 26, 2010
I love DWTS, and I always have.  (I was able to go to a semi-final one year, thanks to my buddy Arnold Peter, who represents BBC America, among other clients).  And thanks to my buddy Jack Ayer, I can forward to you this NYT essay on how the voting really works (see here)...

My newest guilty pleasure.

Posted on November 21, 2010
This blog:  here.

More evidence that law firms are looking at alternative ways of billing clients.

Posted on November 18, 2010
See here.

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Happy 235th birthday, Marines!

Posted on November 10, 2010
How many organizations do you know where you can count on the steadfastness of an entire group?  Where every member is trained to think of the honor of the members who came before him?  Where every member is trained to roll up his sleeves, "embrace the suck," and get the work done?I know of one...

Best insurance agent--ever.

Posted on November 10, 2010
Recently, I had to make an insurance claim, and our agent, Perry Olson, did an exceptional job of dealing with some sticky issues of customer service (problems with a third-party appraiser).  We've had some good insurance agents before, but I have never seen customer service like Perry's...

Rice University: still a bargain.

Posted on November 01, 2010
See here and here.

Stop it. Stop demonizing the other side.

Posted on October 31, 2010
It's a few days until Election Day, and I'm already cranky:  every time our home phone rings (a sure sign that the caller doesn't know us--our friends use our cell phone numbers to reach us), I've been answering it with "if this is a political call, please hang up now...

The New Yorker: GREAT magazine; HORRIBLE web customer service.

Posted on October 30, 2010
I keep trying to fix a login problem at The New Yorker's website.  The site now keeps putting me into infinite loop.  I love the articles in this magazine, but I cannot abide the lack of useful help that the website provides when there are login problems...

Brava, Michelle Rhee!

Posted on October 30, 2010
Still a fan.  See here.

Best disclaimer ever.

Posted on October 29, 2010
See here.  For the disclaimer that's a close second, see here.

Thanks, everyone!

Posted on October 27, 2010
I sure appreciate being in this group!

That McGowan-Burk article I mentioned is highlighted in the latest ABA Journal.

Posted on October 19, 2010
Just more proof that this article is both very good and very important.  See here for the ABA Journal link, and see here for my earlier post.

Michelle Rhee is my hero.

Posted on October 15, 2010
See here.

Thanks, Hank's!

Posted on October 14, 2010
We just got back home after a wonderful dinner at Hank's.  Delicious food, attentive staff, and a lovely surprise dessert.  All in all, a great evening.  Thanks, Hank's!

A great op-ed by Sharon Davies of Ohio State.

Posted on October 11, 2010
See here.  Brava, Sharon!

For those of you who like law review irony.

Posted on October 10, 2010
See here.  I especially liked the section on the right to bare claws, although the part about herd derivative suits was also classic.

Why our students at Boyd rock, part n.

Posted on October 05, 2010
See this post at the Law School Survival Manual blog (here).

New "good read" article.

Posted on October 02, 2010
My buddy Bernie Burk and his co-author, David McGowan, have just posted an article on SSRN (here):  Big But Brittle: Economic Perspectives on the Future of the Law Firm in the New Economy.  It's going to be published in the Columbia Business Law Review...

Another suggestion for dealing with the housing crisis.

Posted on September 19, 2010
See this New York Times op-ed (here).  We have to figure out some way to give banks an incentive to help the folks who can pay their mortgages but who are so underwater that they feel like shnooks for continuing to make payments.  Although I still favor the Van Niel proposal (see here), this one's not a bad start, either.

It's a good day at the Van Niel-Rapoport household.

Posted on September 16, 2010
See here.

Focus, shareholders. FOCUS.

Posted on September 16, 2010
Yesterday's New York Times story on directors who presided over corporate failures being snapped up as directors by other companies (see here) did exactly what the authors (Susanne Craig and Peter Lattman) intended.  It frustrated the heck out of me...

See? Clients want to push for fees calculated other than by the billable hour.

Posted on September 15, 2010
See here.  (Hat tip to my buddy Walter Effross.)  Law firms are thinking about how to stay profitable while figuring out new ways to value their services (good), but they may not have realized how much the legal landscape has changed (bad).We're talking about a paradigm shift...

Aspen will give you a taste of Law School Survival Manual by posting one free chapter.

Posted on September 15, 2010
And we think that the chapter's a doozy--it's on how to prepare for exams.  See here for the link to Aspen1L.

A nice feather in Boyd School of Law's cap.

Posted on September 13, 2010
One of the things I love about Boyd is how engaged our faculty is in research.  Now Brian Leiter has a post that recognizes how we're doing (see here).  It's also nice to see Ohio State in that list--not at all surprising, but nice nonetheless...

Another good column on the housing crisis.

Posted on September 12, 2010
I always look forward to the Sunday columns by Gretchen Morgenson (see the latest one here).

More shameless self-promotion.

Posted on September 10, 2010
Click here for a podcast that gives advice to law students, and click here for a post that links the podcast to our Law School Survival Manual.

Thank you, Faculty Lounge & Laura Appleman!

Posted on September 02, 2010
Woke up today to this review of the Law School Survival Manual over at The Faculty Lounge (here).   Thanks, Laura!  You made my day!

Another good column on Nevada's budget crisis.

Posted on September 01, 2010
I look forward to John L. Smith's columns in the Review-Journal, and today's column is no exception (see here).  Let's face it:  imposing taxes on tourists isn't working well for us, because there is a price point at which tourists will choose another vacation location, rather than paying through the nose for lodging...

Best explanation of what Nevada needs to do to turn the state's economy around--EVER.

Posted on August 31, 2010
See here.  The whole "we don't have to raise taxes to fix the state's economy" problem brings to mind my favorite speech that Michael Douglas gives as President Andrew Shepherd in The American President (see here):President Andrew Shepherd: For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about character, and although I have not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I've been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character...

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