Academic

More Thoughts on the Lateral Market

Posted on July 07, 2009
As many of us Loungers have remarked before, the lateral market is a strange beast with less clearly defined rules/norms than the entry level market. So to add to the mix, here's a bunch of issues to ponder about lateral...

The Secondary Market In California IOUs

Posted on July 06, 2009
I suppose it shouldn?t be surprising that a secondary market has already emerged in California IOUs. A Craigslist search, for example, turns up a number of bidders looking to buy some of the $53m of registered warrants the state issued...

President Taps Law Professor To Be Ambassador

Posted on July 06, 2009
Last week, President Obama nominated Pepperdine law professor Doug Kmiec as ambassador to Malta. The White House press release is here. Kmiec (pictured), a well-known constitutional law scholar, is a devout Catholic who angered some members of his faith with...

Twittering in the Jury Room ... A Comparative Perspective

Posted on July 06, 2009
It appears that the United States is not the only country in which concerns are being raised about jurors twittering on a case in progress. My old colleague from down under, Sharon Rodrick, here muses on the application of Australian...

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Next-to-Final Visitor List 2009-2010

Posted on July 06, 2009
Thanks to those who submitted names. There are some schools that are notably missing. Any help in filling in those blanks should be directed to thefacultylounge.org, or added to the comments below. Image courtesy of "The Visitor," starring Richard Jenkins...

Visiting Assistant Professor List, 2009-2010, Version 2.0

Posted on July 06, 2009
This year's VAP list is rather short. Many thank yous to those who have submitted names. Still missing news of large VAP programs. Any news of Climenko (Harvard), Bigelow (Chicago), or others? Email thefacultylounge@gmail.com Names of next year's VAPs after...

The Longest List Of Great Kids' Books Ever. And Why Jim Dale Rocks.

Posted on July 06, 2009
Nicholas Kristol has posted his list of the best kids books in Sunday's Times here. But he's also opened up his blog to comments - which is to say, 1600 other folks' lists of the best kids books ever (so...

Let's Clog Some Bases!

Posted on July 06, 2009
I suppose I should follow Al's lead and post something on a serious topic. However, now that the baseball All-Star break is nearly upon us, I thought I'd first pause to remember the late, much-lamented (by me, anyway) baseball blog...

The University and the University Press

Posted on July 06, 2009
The July 4th holiday is over and this is the heart of the scholarship-production season, so perhaps it's time for a serious post. Ok--look--the news is really starting to trouble me. We've spoken already this spring about University of Michigan...

American Sex Scandals Are Boring

Posted on July 05, 2009
Unless they involve a law school dean, of course. But Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's diplomacy efforts in anticipation of the G8 summit to be held July 8-10 in the Italian city of L'Aquila have caused me to question whether,...

Global Free Speech Update Ethiopia:

Posted on July 05, 2009
Global Free Speech Update Ethiopia: Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew expressed concern to Prime Minister Meles during a trip to Ethiopia about a proposed anti-terrorism law that reportedly would define criticism of the government as a "terrorist act...

Disappearing Indian Mound In Alabama

Posted on July 05, 2009
From this morning's Mongtomery Advertiser comes this sad story. A development in Oxford, Alabama for a new Sam's Club is going to use earth from a Native American mound, constructed perhaps 1500 years ago, for fill. Dan Whisenhunt's article (longer...

Rogue Broker Causes Oil Price Spike

Posted on July 04, 2009
The Financial Times is reporting that Tuesday?s spike in oil prices to their highest level this year was caused by a rogue broker who placed a large bet in the Brent oil market, triggering almost $10m (?7m) of losses for...

The Landlord Game: Or, Who Owns American Folk Culture? Parker Brothers, Apparently

Posted on July 04, 2009
Well, it's our nation's birthday and that means it's time for some celebration -- and some fun. Because I'm in the midst of edits on Integrating Spaces, I'm going to have to recycle a July Fourth post from a few...

Luckiest Man

Posted on July 03, 2009
Readers may recall this post during my stint in March as a guest blogger, when I discussed Michael Goldsmith (one of my BYU law profs, and pictured), his battle with ALS, and his Newsweek editorial that prompted (at least in...

Slavery Apologies in the UK

Posted on July 02, 2009
Fast on the heels of the United States Senate's apology for slavery and Jim Crow comes news that two firms in the United Kingdom (Rothschild, the merchant bank and the Freshfields law firm) have expressed great regret for their connections...

Lawrence Goes To India Perhaps

Posted on July 02, 2009
A New Delhi court ruled that a statute criminalizing gay sex was a violation of fundamental rights under India's constitution. Section 337 imposed a 10 year jail sentence for "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." The law's a remnant...

"We All Contribute In Our Own Ways" Is Not A Valid Institutional Goal (or, My Tenure?s For Sale: The Final Installment)

Posted on July 02, 2009
In this four part series on law school culture, incentives, and dysfunction, I reviewed some of the arguments in favor of and against the tenure system and maintained that moving away from the tenure system is unlikely to be the...

From Tax Professor to State House? Hamill Announces Bid for Legislature

Posted on July 02, 2009
This morning's Tusacloosa News brings news that my former colleague and friend Susan Pace Hamill, a law professor at the University of Alabama, is running for the Alabama state legislature. Hamill's scholarship on tax equity. She received national attention --...

The Power of Nickelodian Abroad

Posted on July 01, 2009
Posted by D. Daniel Sokol This month, we are going to Chile, where I will be teaching at the Catholic University of Chile (mostly in Spanish) and giving working paper presentations. Given the hot and muggy summer weather of Gainesville,...

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Contract Terms

Posted on July 01, 2009
Thanks to Dan, Al, and the folks at The Faculty Lounge for letting me spend some time with them. I?m looking forward to hanging out here for a bit. One of the areas I teach and write in is contracts,...

Religious Universities In the News

Posted on July 01, 2009
BYU: revises university's internet network block of Youtube website. Story here. Liberty University: issues new policy to regulate on-campus political clubs. Story here.

"Don't you know that it's different for girls...?"

Posted on July 01, 2009
I just started reading The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, and was struck by the second paragraph of the acknowledgments. Anderson expresses tremendous appreciation for the support of his family during the writing process (see below). I wondered while reading...

The Nine

Posted on July 01, 2009
I'm way behind on my pleasure reading, so it?s only been in recent weeks that I have read Jeffrey Toobin?s book, ?The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.? The book is written in a manner that will...

University of Miami Law School To Defer 1L Admittees

Posted on July 01, 2009
The weak economy seems to be yielding exceptionally positive admission results for one law school. According to ATL, The University of Miami School of Law has sent a letter to its newly admitted 1L students inviting them to defer the...

The White Firefighters Case -- How Accurate Is the Test?

Posted on July 01, 2009
I know much has been written about the Ricci v. DeStafano case, both pro and con. In this post, though, I want to focus on the test. Full disclosure: I'm a test skeptic. I think test results are overvalued for...

The Thick Skins of Bloggers . . . And Academics

Posted on July 01, 2009
From Felix Salmon: The Cajun Boy hits the nail on the head when he describes one of the biggest upsides to opening oneself up to the crazies of the internet by blogging: After a while, writing on the internet thickens...

More Live Sperm, Dead Donor

Posted on June 30, 2009
Last week, I blogged about the Ninth Circuit decision in Vernoff v. Astrue, which upheld the Social Security Administration?s (SSA) denial of child survivor benefits to Brandalynn Vernoff, a 10-year-old Los Angeles girl conceived from the frozen sperm of a...

Weidemaier Blogging With Us

Posted on June 30, 2009
It's my great pleasure to welcome my colleague Mark Weidemaier into the faculty lounge. Mark's going to be sitting with us for a spell. Mark writes on a bunch of things, including sovereign debt and arbitration. He usually uses numbers...

Signing off as a guest blogger (and reprise of U of Edinburgh's conference)

Posted on June 30, 2009
I've really enjoyed posting this past month (thanks again, Dan et al.!), and as I sign off, I wanted to spend just a bit of time talking about my impressions of the Beyond Text conference (to which I've already referred...

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