Corporate Governance

Update on my Gonzaga piece on law schools, lying, and Enron.

Posted on May 15, 2013
After I published this piece, Robert K. Vischer, the dean of the University of St. Thomas Law School (Minnesota), gently suggested that I might want to clarify St. Thomas's restatement of its employment data:  [Y]ou refer to St. Thomas Law School as having done ?the right thing and ?fessed up when it discovered that it had been misrepresenting its placement data...

It's official--the new bankruptcy fee guidelines are rolling out on July 1.

Posted on May 13, 2013

How to make a teacher feel wonderful.

Posted on May 07, 2013
See here.  Thanks, Tori (and Jennifer)!(And yes, my post-deanship portraits are better....)

When I've had a tough day (and no, today wasn't tough), I read this blog.

Posted on May 07, 2013
Here.  I also read my friends' blogs, too....

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Thanks, Wall Street Journal Law Blog!

Posted on April 26, 2013
Nice to be in the spotlight (here).

Paul Horwitz on the legal education crisis.

Posted on April 18, 2013
His article (here) is a good read.

For my law faculty colleagues--something free.

Posted on April 17, 2013
Jennifer Robbennolt & Jean Sternlight's book, Psychology for Lawyers, is a marvelous way to introduce students to the way that people (yes, including lawyers) perceive the world.  It's useful for students who plan to be litigators and for students who want to do deals...

Fascinating video on the changes in legal practice.

Posted on April 17, 2013
Here.  Hat tip to The Legal Whiteboard.

I am so proud of my dad!

Posted on April 03, 2013
See here.  I'm proud of Dad for about a million reasons:  his career as a talented chemist; his wonderful parenting skills (he and Mom were amazing); his love of current events and of the written word; his sense of humor; his ability to try new things and get out of his comfort level...

A "user manual" for a person is a great idea. Here's a first draft of mine.

Posted on April 03, 2013
This piece in Sunday's NYT (here) got me thinking:  most people are mysteries to each other, except maybe to their loved ones (and, even then, there's still some mystery left).  So here are some random thoughts about my working style, and my friends and colleagues are more than welcome to tell me that my opinions of my working style bear very little resemblance to reality...

I so wish this were an April Fool's Day story.

Posted on April 01, 2013
Last week, I received a notice from SiriusXM radio saying that I owed $4.52.  Given that I thought that I was paid up, I checked my account.  Yep--my account showed a zero balance.  So I thought that I'd scan the dunning letter with a note saying that my online account said that I was paid up, send that letter to customer service, and be done with the issue...

It's more telling when someone who's been a partner at a major law firm complains about the billable hour than when an academic does it.

Posted on March 30, 2013
In yesterday's New York Times, Steven Harper made some very good points about billable hours (here) in light of the DLA Piper fee litigation (here and here).  I write about fees a lot (see here and here, and I have another piece coming out in a symposium issue of the Akron L...

Bad customer service at Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria.

Posted on March 24, 2013
I stayed at the Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria this weekend, and let's just say that I'm more than disappointed.  I can live w/refurbishing that closes down all but one elevator for two days (hey, exercise!); I can live with a "print your boarding pass" area that doesn't print; I can live w/a hotel restaurant that only opens at 7 a...

Best diagram ever, when it comes to law school administrations.

Posted on March 15, 2013
See here.  Well done, Jeffrey Harrison!

Oh, come on.

Posted on March 14, 2013
The students at the law schools that are calling for their deans to get fired due to changes in their USNWR ranks (see here) are exhibiting misplaced anger.  Most of the variables that go into the rankings are out of a school's control.  It's the faculty, not the dean, that will affect the reputational ranking, but the reputational score is based on such a flawed process (and small n) that it's ludicrous to blame the faculty for any reputational ranking problems, either...

All is right with the world this morning.

Posted on March 13, 2013
I'm going to get my Twinkies back.  See here.

A template for law schools' press releases, now that the USNWR rankings are in.

Posted on March 12, 2013
Well, the rankings are out, and the annual "let's figure out what to say in our press release" dilemma begins.  Here's a template for some law schools to consider.Dear [stakeholder or possible donor]:We are pleased to tell you that our law school ranking [increased more than we expected] [increased a negligible amount, but we're going to tout the change as if it were huge] [went down far enough that we've called in sick for the foreseeable future] [went down a negligible amount that will provide us with a disproportionate amount of grief for far too long] [stayed the same]...

Darn it! I missed National Grammar Day.

Posted on March 05, 2013
Yep:  apparently March 4 is National Grammar Day.  I missed it, but I sure love these two posts:  here and here.  I am someone who surreptitiously erases the mistaken apostrophe from chalk menu listings.  I'm even someone who's been known to write to major newspapers to chide them for bad writing (and bad proofreading)...

My home town is being threatened by some wrong-headed people.

Posted on February 19, 2013
See here.  I'm not saying that Orange was Nirvana when I was growing up.  After all, it's located near Vidor, a hamlet that held its share of Klan rallies.  Vidor was so bad that, if one of us had a car that broke down there, we'd just walk away from the car, out of the city limits...

Rutgers-Newark's law dean is right.

Posted on February 18, 2013
Dean John Farmer came up with a nifty idea that he puts forth in today's New York Times (here):  have new law grads become apprentices for a couple of years, a la medical school residents.  His idea isn't new--others have proposed it as well--but he makes a good case for marrying the need to serve the middle class with the need to provide job training for law grads.

Yeah, thanks a lot, Dallas Morning News.

Posted on February 07, 2013
The Dallas Morning News's article this morning about SMU Law Dean John Attanasio contains at least one whopper:  "In 2006, University of Houston Law Center Dean Nancy Rapaport was forced to resign when her law school plummeted in the U.S. News rankings...

Newsflash: A Disney fanatic can detest the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland.

Posted on February 05, 2013
We had some serious problems with the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland, and we wrote to Disney's Customer Service Department on Sunday.  Today's Wednesday.  I'm still waiting for Disney's response.  If you know me, you know that I buy into the whole Disney experience...

Dinosaur or phoenix?

Posted on January 30, 2013
There have been numerous stories about outsourcing in law practice (for example, here), and lately, I've been reading about outsourcing for other reasons outside law practice (see here for a serious proposal and here for Lucy Kellaway's more tongue-in-cheek one)...

Happy Twinkie news....

Posted on January 30, 2013
See here and here.  I'm looking forward to being reunited with my favorite guilty pleasure.

Rats. I hate reading about stupid Marines.

Posted on January 24, 2013
I love my Marine Corps.  (And I love my hubby, brother-in-law, father-in-law, and friends who have served.)  So it bothers me when I read op-ed pieces, like this one in today's Wall Street Journal written by a former Marine, that argue that women shouldn't be in combat...

One of my former Contracts students found this great link.

Posted on January 20, 2013
If you've missed it, enjoy the contract interpretation of Bilbo's contract here.

Let's take this two-year, three-year law school proposal a step further.

Posted on January 18, 2013
Today's New York Times has an op-ed by Dan Rodriguez and Samuel Estreicher suggesting that the third year of law school could be optional and used for specialization (here).I'm not opposed to the idea, and others have suggested it (or things like it) before...

Congrats to Sherri Wattenbarger!

Posted on January 13, 2013
Sherri, who is a trial attorney for the USTP in Kansas City, MO, received the U.S. Attorney General?s Community Service Award at a ceremony in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Main Justice Building in Washington, D.C.  Each year, the Attorney General selects two to four individuals to honor with the Community Service Award from nominations among more than 100,000 Department of Justice employees nationwide...

You can only call it a "genius bar" if the people doing repairs are actually thinking.

Posted on January 06, 2013
Normally, I love Apple Computers.  Love the products.  Love the service.  But not this time.1/2/13:  Brought in my MacBook Pro to the Apple Store at Town Square because I was having a problem with the computer's sleep function.  The person at the Genius Bar (James) told me that he'd look it over but that we might have to replace the hard drive...

Dear Godiva Chocolates: No, you're actually not passionate about customer service.

Posted on December 14, 2012
Dear Godiva:Here's what your website says about customer service: Customer Assistance We are as passionate about customer satisfaction as we are about making chocolate. We hold ourselves to the highest standards?so you can, too. Your order is guaranteed to arrive in perfect condition, no matter the weather, containing the elegant packaging and quality chocolate customers expect from Godiva...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.