A blog on torts from a Tennessee trial lawyer

John Day, a Tennessee personal injury lawyer, has launched a blog focused on torts: Day on Torts. A partner with Branham & Day in Nashville, Day describes himself as a lawyer "who is fascinated by the law of torts." I share his interest, so I will look forward to reading his posts.

Footnote: This is another nicely designed blog from lexBlog.

File under: Can't make these things up

• Killer Nanny Quits Law to Dance

• National Firm Names Lawyer Accused of Sexual Harassment Chief Operating Partner

Casting call: The next great defense attorney

Are you a young lawyer or 3L who aspires to be the nation's next great defense attorney? If so, Stick Figure Productions wants you for a reality show it is developing for Court TV.

First case: Defending Stick Figure in a bias suit for discriminating against older lawyers.

Cornell Law Library posts rare look into Hitler's psyche

The Cornell Law Library has posted Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler, a rare 1943 psychological analysis of the personality of Adolph Hitler that predicted, among other things, his eventual suicide. This is the only copy of the report available to the public online.

The report was written by Harvard psychologist Henry A. Murray for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. The copyright to the original document -- number three of only 30 copies made -- was granted to the Law Library by Murray's widow.

Murray served during World War II in the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner to the Central Intelligence Agency. He was commissioned in 1943 to help the Allies understand Hitler's psychological makeup. The psychological profile he wrote was among the papers discovered in the Law Library's Donovan Nuremberg Trials Collection.

Murray concluded that Hitler held grudges, had a low tolerance for criticism, an excessive demand for attention and a tendency to belittle, bully or blame others and seek revenge.

Shouldn't it be 'Among Lawyers'?

Five legal bloggers known for their insights into legal technology have launched a group blog devoted to discussions of that very topic, which they call Between Lawyers. As contributor Denise Howell explains of the authors in an introductory note:

"They are all bloggers with a track record of being able to explain complex legal issues in ways that others can understand. They find their backchannel conversations about technology, the law, their profession, and society pretty interesting, and they hope that by having these discussions in public — and inviting your participation — everyone concerned can learn a thing or two more than they otherwise would."

In addition to Denise, the contributors are Dennis M. Kennedy, Tom Mighell, Marty Schwimmer and Ernest Svenson.

As for why they call it "Between Lawyers," the answer is here.

The great podcast debate

Be careful what you say about podcasting, if you're not prepared to defend your position. Several bloggers, myself included, found themselves embroiled in this great debate over the weekend. A recap is provided, courtesy of JurisPundit.

Heads up for Techshow

Next Thursday is the start of ABA TECHSHOW 2005, so if you have not yet made plans to attend, you'd better get started, because I expect to see you there.

And kicking things off Wednesday night is BlawgConnect.2005 -- the largest assembly of law bloggers ever (35, by my count).

I'll be at Techshow, speaking Thursday as part of a panel on "Cost-Effective Sleuthing on the Internet" and Friday (April Fool's Day) as part of the always-entertaining "60 Sites in 60 Minutes."

New site simplifies searching of government Web sites

Elegus Corporation announced yesterday the launch of Elegus.com, a subscription-based tool designed to provide one-stop, simplified searching of virtually any U.S. federal or state government Web site or group of sites.

Users select searches from a list of government sites that includes nearly every domain and sub-domain within the federal system, as well as all state government, judiciary and legislature sites. Elegus also offers searching of groups of sites, so users can search across multiple sites related to the same office, department, state or subject heading (such as "All Federal Courts") with a single search.

Elegus was built by Adam Piacente, who also created LegalTrek.com. He is a lawyer and legal-research expert who has written two books on computer-assisted legal research. In Elegus, he has built those research skills into a tool anyone can use.

The concept is simple. Based on the user's search parameters, Elegus formulates a query and sends it to Yahoo! Search. The Yahoo! results are displayed either in a viewing frame or in a separate window.

In theory, anyone with sophisticated searching skills could achieve the same results, but you'd have to be highly proficient as a searcher and have plenty of time on your hands. As Elegus explains it:

"Until now, site specific (or vertical) searching has been a very tedious process - especially for searching government websites. Users need to know all of the thousands of sites available, as well as the specific URL domain or even sub domain address of each and every website. Then, for every search, the user has to type BY HAND both the search terms AND the address of the website they want to search (and type it all correctly, of course). ...

"Searching across multiple websites is an even bigger problem, because each grouping depends on the domain and sub domain makeup of the websites themselves. There is no standard practice for grouping government websites. Some websites are sub domains that can be grouped within larger domains, while others are individual domains that need to be entered on their own.

"With Elegus, all of the legwork of finding and entering domain, sub domain, and group information is done for you. You simply enter your search terms once, and then click on any button to instantly search whichever website or group you like."

The cost of using Elegus is $14.95 a month or $149.50 a year. A seven-day free trial is offered, as well as a free demo. I have not fully tested the site, but I can see that it would be of value to legal professionals who perform extensive research using government Web sites.

Web site helps teach about landmark Supreme Court cases

If you are ever invited into a local classroom to speak about the Supreme Court's role in our nation's history, you may first want to visit Landmark Supreme Court Cases, a site developed to support educators in teaching about landmark Supreme Court cases. Focusing on cases such as Marbury v. Madison, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, and Miranda v. Arizona, the site suggests several strategies for teaching about them -- case studies, moot court activities, role plays and the like. For each case, it provides various resources and activities for teachers to use in conjunction with the various strategies. This is not high-level stuff, but useful for organizing lessons.

The site was developed by the Supreme Court Historical Society in collaboration with Street Law.

Blog tracks news of law-related podcasting

Kevin J. Heller and Evan Schaeffer team up to bring you BlawgCast.com, a blog in which they will cover "the legal podcasting universe."

If you don't know what a podcast is, read my Law Technology News article, Podcasting: CLE's New Wave?

New international journal on freedom of information

A new open-access e-journal, Open Government: A Journal on Freedom of Information, published its inaugural issue this week. Funded by the School of Business Information at Liverpool John Moores University, the journal aims to publish peer-reviewed articles related to freedom of information laws worldwide.

The inaugural issue contains articles on:

• The right to information in India
• The interaction between data protection and freedom of information
• Procurement and the UK Freedom of Information Act
• Coordination of FOIA requests
• The third annual Information Commissioner's conference

The journal, which will publish quarterly, is edited by Steve Wood, senior lecturer in information management at Liverpool University. The editorial board is composed of academics, lawyers, practitioners and journalists from Europe, the United States, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Did juror's blogging taint trial?

That's the question, as reported by New Hampshire's Laconia Citizen, which says that the defense attorney representing a convicted rapist is trying to convince the court that his client’s right to a fair trial was compromised by comments made by a jury member on a personal blog.

FTC site tells how to fight back against identity theft

The Federal Trade Commission has produced a Web page devoted to helping victims remedy the effects of identity theft. Called Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft, it describes immediate steps to take if one is a victim of identity theft, tells how to resolve specific types of identify theft, and outlines ways to avoid recurrences later on.

Web site lets employees convey their workplace concerns anonymously

Offering "communication without the risk," Anonymous Employee is a Web site created to provide employees with a way to convey their problems or concerns to their employers without revealing their identities. Employment lawyers and others might look to it as a form of informal dispute resolution for their clients.

The way it works, according to information on the site, is this: After completing the free registration, the employee writes a message describing the problem and proposing a solution, and specifies the company and company official to receive the message. AE contacts the company by phone or e-mail and explains the process. If the company agrees to participate, AE directs it to a secure log-in, where it can review the anonymous message and respond. The employee and employer can continue to send messages back and forth attempting to negotiate a solution, and can bring others into the exchange.

If this back-and-forth fails to resolve the problem, AE also offers users the option of requesting professional mediation or legal advice. The site provides no information on how or from where it draws mediators and lawyers.

Stateline.org revamps site, adds RSS feeds

beSpacific reports on the new design and new features of Stateline.org, the 50-state politics and policy news site. Notably, the site now offers RSS feeds: three for top news, 12 for news relating to specific issues, and individual feeds for each state.

Kentucky ethics blog includes full-text opinions

That most ethical of esq.'s, David Giacalone, provides a pointer to Lexington, Ky., attorney Ben Cowgill's newly hatched Legal Ethics Blog. Onetime Kentucky bar counsel, Cowgill now concentrates his practice in legal ethics, legal malpractice and the law governing lawyers.

He describes the project as a Web site and portal, as well as a blog. He explains:

"It contains a substantial quantity of reference material and many starting points to online research. I will be adding more content of that nature along the way, so you may want to return to the site from time to time even if you receive the blog posts by RSS or email. I will be sure to mention major additions to the static content in blog posts, as they occur."

Notably, the site includes the full text of all 423 ethics opinions and all 62 unauthorized practice opinions issued by the Kentucky Bar Association since 1962. This is the same collection that Cowgill previously published through a site called the Kentucky Legal Ethics Library.

Law librarian as lifesaver, and other stories

What might a law librarian achieve in a career? How about saving the life of someone who was suicidal and homeless? According to this Santa Cruz Sentinel profile, that is but one of Pat Pfremmer's accomplishments during her 25-year career as librarian for the Santa Cruz County Law Library. She retired last week, but not, it appears, before making a difference in the lives of lawyers and non-lawyers alike.

EPIC launches newsletter, gallery featuring FOIA documents

In recognition of Sunshine Week, the Electronic Privacy Information Center today launched a new online publication designed to help bring attention to secrecy in the federal government. Called EPIC FOIA Notes, it will highlight important documents EPIC obtains under the Freedom of Information Act.

The first edition features documents recently obtained from the FBI about the data broker Choicepoint. In a contract proposal to the FBI, Choicepoint assured the agency that it had the ability to determine legitimate businesses. The documents were released as two Congressional hearings examined the sale by Choicepoint of personal information on 145,000 Americans to identity thieves posing as legitimate businesses.

Also this week, EPIC unveiled its 2005 FOIA Gallery, highlighting scanned images of EPIC's most compelling FOIA disclosures from the past year. Featured documents include an e-mail EPIC obtained from NASA revealing that Northwest Airlines gave the FBI a year's worth of passenger data after 9/11, as well as documents showing that the Census Bureau gave the Department of Homeland Security census data on Arab Americans.

It's the law o' the Irish: a portal and blog

If St. Patrick's Day has you green with the urge to research Irish law, a good starting point is the aptly named site Irish Law and its companion blog Irish Law Updates. The main site, which is hosted by the law faculty at the University College, Cork, is a wide-ranging portal to Irish law, legislation, cases and resources. The blog, written by UCC faculty member Darius Whelan, covers updates to the site as well as updates to Irish and Northern Irish law in general. It includes Atom and RSS feeds.

Online dispute resolution is subject of free Web conference April 4-8

The Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts will present its seventh annual online dispute resolution Cyberweek April 4 to 8. This is an entirely Web-based conference with no fee for participation and registration. I have participated in this conference in prior years and can recommend it as worthwhile for anyone interested in ODR.

Events on tap for Cyberweek include:

• Release of new ODR library and database
• Discussions with leading practitioners and theorists about the present and future of ODR
• Report on the UN Forum on ODR 2004
• The 2005 International Competition on Online Dispute Resolution
• Seminar on the challenges in planning and implementing ODR efforts
• Panel discussion on teaching ODR
• Seminar on public sector ODR
• Demonstration of teaching and collaborating in groups with Moodle
• Simulated dispute resolution processes
• Demonstrations involving ConflictLab.com, SmartSettle.com, Info-Share.org and others

To participate, fill out and submit this registration form.

Temple Law starts trial advocacy blog

Temple University Law Library has recently started Trial Advocacy Blog, as a forum to provide information and discussion on trial advocacy. The blog is an adjunct to Temple's trial advocacy program.

LeapLaw unveils a different kind of blog devoted to corporate filings

LeapLaw has unveiled a blog devoted to state-specific corporate and UCC filing information that puts a new spin on blogging. Called the Secretary of State Blawg, it focuses on the practical aspects of doing business with the 50 secretaries of state.

Unlike blogs that are organized by date, LeapLaw's blog is organized first by state and then, within states, alphabetically by topic. Topics might be, for example, "Annual Reports and Due Dates," Dissolutions and Withdrawals" and "Limited Liability Company Summary."

Denise M. Annunciata, LeapLaw's CEO, explains, "We list the posts in alphabetical order rather than by date because our readers will want to know about fax filings for instance, and not necessarily the latest news on secretary of state technology."

New posts will be added whenever a state secretary revises its procedures, a state issues new laws affecting business entities, or for any other developments relating to doing business with the 50 secretaries of state, Annunciata said. Although there is not yet an RSS feed, one is in the works, she added.

I have previously written about LeapLaw here and here and in this article.

Clusty adds metasearching of government sites

I wrote in January (Bringing order to Web searching) about the search tool Clusty, noting its customizable tabs for searching news, images, shopping sites, blogs and other types of information. Now it has added a "Gov" tab, allowing users to search a number of special collections focused on U.S. government and politics. It combines a metasearch of FirstGov, MSN limited to the ".gov" domain, DefenseLink, political news from Reuters, AP and CNN, and a number of prominent American think tanks, including RAND, The Brookings Institution and The Cato Institute.

You can also use it to find senators and representatives. Type in a state name or postal abbreviation, and it will return the state's senators, with their photographs, voting record, biography and a form to e-mail them. Type in a ZIP code to find a U.S. representative.

Tracking weather as it was in the past

Say you represent the plaintiff in a motor vehicle negligence case and you need to pin down weather conditions at the time of the accident. Where would you turn? Here are three resources on the Web:

• The National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes itself as the world's largest archive of climate data. The site serves as umbrella to an array of weather-research products. Much of the data is available only by purchase, but the site includes a number of free data sources and reports as well.
• From this National Weather Service page, select the location nearest you. Then scroll down the left-hand column to "Climate-Historical" for various reports of historical climate data for that location.
• Compu-Weather is a meteorological forensics firm that provides past-weather analysis for the legal and insurance industries. Its Web site does not allow you to research weather data directly, but through the site you can submit a research request.

Blogshine Sunday: support access to government information

This Sunday, news organizations across America will participate in Sunshine Sunday -- kick off to Sunshine Week -- by running stories supporting access to government information. Not wanting bloggers to be excluded, FreeCulture.org is organizing Blogshine Sunday, to encourgage bloggers across the U.S. and beyond to write about the need for open government in the digital age.

You can join Blogshine Sunday by writing in your blog about open government and how it relates to you. The Blogshine Sunday blog will aggregate and link to the postings. (Go to the site for instructions on how to link your posting.)

NYU launches global-law webzine

The Hauser Global Law School Program at NYU School of Law recently launched GlobalLex, a Web-based legal publication dedicated to international and foreign law research.

Editor Mirela Roznovschi, reference librarian for international and foreign law at NYU, writes, "GlobaLex is committed to the dissemination of high-level international, foreign, and comparative law research tools in order to accommodate the needs of an increasingly global educational and practicing legal world."

The first issue, which was published February 16, features:

• Doing Legal Research in Brazil
• Georgia Legal Research
• Guide to Chinese Law
• German Business and Commercial Laws: Guide to Translations into English and Select Auxiliary Sources
• The Lithuanian Legal System
• Nigerian Legal Information
• Legal Research in Spain
• Finding the Law: the Micro-States and Small Jurisdictions of Europe
• Foreign Law: Subject Law Collections on the Web
• Guide on the Harmonization of International Commercial Law

Come one, come all: Chicago blawger meet

On March 30, the eve of ABA TechShow, legal bloggers are gathering to eat, drink and make merry, thanks to the organizing efforts of blawgers Tom Mighell and Dennis Kennedy. The evening promises, Dennis says, to be the largest gathering of legal bloggers ever brought together under one roof. (The question is, will they interact with one another, or sit at their laptops blogging the event.) Both legal and illegal bloggers are invited, but space is limited. Dennis has all the details.

The next new thing: Screencasting

At the IP blawg Phosita, contributor Douglas Sorocco offers a simple but compelling demonstration of screencasting. The technology combines audio -- a la podcasting -- with a recording of the broadcaster's computer screen. Sorocco uses a software program called Camtasia Studio, which is available for a free trial download or to purchase for $299.

What makes this so compelling is that the screen recording takes the premise of podcasting and raises it to a much broader array of applications. I've written before about podcasting as CLE, but with screencasting, you can easily produce and package a complete audiovisual presentation and easily make it available for broad distribution via the Web or on CD-ROM. Think of the applications in law: marketing and business development, CLE, online dispute resolution, settlement negotiations ... and on and on. Sorocco's small step into screencasting suggests greater strides to come.

Lawyer's sites confront depression, midlife

Most lawyers who suffer depression or go through midlife crises keep it close to the vest. Chicago lawyer Steve Imparl has taken a different tack.

Having dealt with depression of his own and having seen its impact on his personal and professional lives, Imparl in 2002 launched the Web site MaleDepression.com, with the goal of providing support to other men who suffer from the disease. Then, in 2003, on the occasion of his 40th birthday, Imparl launched his blog, Steve's Midlife Crisis.

Imparl, who is the subject of a story, Real Men Get Depressed, on the Web site Third Age, writes that he "has ambitious plans for MaleDepression.com, intending to make it the best men's health Web site in the world."

Mea culpa: More on doggie damages

Walter Olson at Overlawyered takes issue with my assertion that the family of the electrocuted dog would donate "most of" the money it sought to charity. Olson writes:

"I wonder how you reach the conclusion that the family 'would donate most of the $750,000' ($740,000 per the Globe) to animal charities. At the press conference, according to the Globe, attorney John G. Swomley -- who was at pains to portray the suit as not a money grab -- said the family plans on 'keeping $200,000, plus enough to pay for four years of college for Kyle and his brother Alec, 10'. At, say, Boston College (currently $37,413 room and board, and who knows how high the figure'll be by the time the boys are grown?) that amounts to roughly another $300,000 ($37K x four years x 2 boys), leaving $240,000 of the settlement. And assuming Swomley takes, say, 30% of the $740,000 = $220,000 for his fee, that would leave a grand total of $20,000 to go to the animal charities -- assuming there aren't expenses and that sort of thing to be charged against the remainder.

"You're probably right that I should have expanded my three-sentence summary of the case at Overlawyered to delve further into these matters, since they afford valuable insight into how lawyers can manage the p.r. aspects of their cases."

I suspect Olson and I are both off in the math. To cover college, the family most likely would set aside a sum in an annuity or similar investment. That sum would be less than the full cost of college but, given that one son is already 13, probably more than I had thought. What's worse, my comment failed to factor in attorney's fees. All tolled, Olson is correct that "most of" is probably wrong and the amount left for charity would most likely be significantly less.

Of doggie damages and companionship with sheep

Overlawyered has the story that has Massachusetts lawyers abuzz. As reported in today's Boston Globe, a family whose dog was killed by leaking electricity from an old NStar Electric lamppost site has turned down NStar's offer of $200,000 in "comfort money" and says it will sue unless it receives $740,000 from the utility -- an amount equal to the annual salary of NStar's CEO.

If you want to see what Mass. lawyers are saying about the story, you can find the discussion here. (Click "Read Messages," then scroll down to "Damages for death of dog."

Now here's what Overlawyered doesn't mention:

• There is actually relevant caselaw in Mass., Krasnecky v. Meffen, in which plaintiffs sought damages for emotional distress and loss of companionship following the killing of their sheep. They lost, in part because they did not actually witness the killings.
• In the case reported today, the dog's 13-year-old owner was present and witnessed the electrocution.
• This is the third dog death in Boston since 2000 caused by stray voltage. The next victim might not be a dog.
  
• The family would donate most of the $750,000 to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Animal Rescue League.

At first glance, this sounds like the kind of story that gives lawyers a bad name. But maybe, as the family's lawyer suggests, only a sufficiently harsh financial sanction will force the utility to resolve the problem and prevent further injuries.

Free audio seminars on e-discovery

Dennis Kennedy reports availability of the first two in a series of e-discovery webinars he is producing for the Merrill Corporation. The webinars run 10 to 15 minutes and cover specific areas of electronic discovery. Available so far are:

• "Computers and Copies - Is Every Step Traceable?"
• "The Mysterious World of Metadata"

Courtroom legends mentor young lawyers via the Web

Imagine if, at the click of a mouse, young lawyers could receive mentoring from some of the legal profession's most highly regarded practitioners. Now they can, thanks to Ten Minute Mentor, a free series of Web lectures launched March 1 by the Texas Young Lawyers Association, which describes them as "Concise. Practical. Free."

In cooperation with Texas Bar CLE, TYLA created a library of short video presentations by some of the state's best-known experts on key points of law, firm-building, tactics and personal development. Anyone -- no need to be from Texas to find value in this series -- can hear veteran trial lawyer Harry M. Reasoner of Vinson & Elkins tell how to structure a legal argument, "King of Torts" Joseph D. Jamail discuss the lawyer's role in society, and Haynes Boone co-founder Michael M. Boone tell how to build a law firm that will last.

TYLA produced the videos over the course of several months, sending a film crew to law firms throughout Texas to record the lectures. As of last week's launch, the site included nearly 100 videos on topics such as "Tips for Conducting an Effective Voir Dire," "10 Things to Know Before Appearing in Federal Court," and "What to Expect at Your First Criminal Plea."

Videos can be searched by keyword or browsed by speaker and category. Many of the presentations include exhibits that can be viewed as the speakers move through their talks.

New blog: Small-town lawyer who counsels small towns

Joel H. Seachrist, a partner with Beckman & Seachrist in Westfield, N.Y., has launched a blog he calls Small Town Lawyer. Here is why: "That name has a dual meaning in that, while I practice in a small town, the bulk of my practice is representing several small, mostly rural towns."

One intended audience of the new blog is town officials in New York. But Seachrist also plans to post on issues of interest to lawyers, particularly those in solo and smaller law offices and those who represent smaller muncipalities across New York state.

Tech columnist Bayer launches blog

Barry D. Bayer, a practicing lawyer in Chicago who has been writing prolifically and insightfully about technology for law offices since 1987, has launched a blog, Law Tech Review. His column, Law Office Technology Review, appears in a variety of legal periodicals throughout the United States.

Bayer will use the blog to supplement his column, as well as to touch on technology law, politics and other matters. But his primary goal, Bayer writes, "will be to supply solid information about technology that lawyers might be interested in using. I hope it will be useful and entertaining."

Google releases final version of Desktop Search

Google today announced the formal launch of Google Desktop Search, a free application that allows users to search for information on their own computers.

First offered last year in a beta version, today's version 1.0 release adds search over the full text of PDFs and the meta-information stored with music, image and video files. Additional enhancements include support for the Firefox and Netscape browsers and Thunderbird and Netscape e-mail clients. It already provided searching of Outlook, Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Internet Explorer files as well as AOL instant messages.

Google Desktop Search caches snapshots of each document and Web page so users can access information even when not online or when a document has been deleted.

Site offers guide to LL.M. programs worldwide

If you find yourself beset by the urge to return to law school, here is a site for you. LLM Guide is a database of master of laws programs worldwide. As the site explains:

"For lawyers, in some ways the LL.M. is the equivalent of what an MBA is for business people. Many law firms prefer candidates holding an LL.M. degree as it indicates that a lawyer has enjoyed advanced legal training and is able to work in a multinational legal environment."

The site allows you to browse through lists of programs arranged by location or search programs by keyword. A list of the most popular programs arranges them by how often they have been viewed. (The most popular is the University of London's External Programme.) The LLM Guide also features a discussion board, a personal watch list and a tool for requesting more information about a program.

Who does Google think you are?

What does Google "think" of you? Find out via Googlism, a fun tool that searches Google to arrive at a characterization of a person, place or thing.

Take me for instance. Googlism reports: "robert ambrogi is a prolific writer on internet legal issues who works in alternative dispute resolution in massachussetts." (OK, so Googlism doesn't know how to spell Massachusetts.)

What about some other members of the Law.com blog network? For some, Googlism is right on:

• eugene volokh is a professor at the ucla school of law
• carolyn elefant is principal attorney with the law offices of carolyn elefant
  

For others, it is more cryptic in its response:

• joy london is seated with her back to the camera

For several, it has not formed an opinion:

• Sorry, Google doesn't know enough about j. craig williams yet.
• Sorry, Google doesn't know enough about matthew homann yet.
• Sorry, Google doesn't know enough about bill heinze yet.
• Sorry, Google doesn't know enough about michael cernovich yet.
• Sorry, Google doesn't know enough about rees morrison yet.
• Sorry, Google doesn't know enough about monica bay yet.
  

While for Lisa Stone, it has way too much to say, although only one line is recognizable to me as being THE Lisa Stone:

• lisa stone is a well
• lisa stone is the creator and president of fit for 2
• lisa stone is exactly the kind of coach drake university wants
• lisa stone is confident that
• lisa stone is the founder and president of fit for 2
• lisa stone is ready to bring drake’s women’s basketball team to the next level of competition
• lisa stone is a 21st century woman who loves history but because of her mother’s illness the closest she comes to working in the profession is cleaning in a
• lisa stone is involved in the preservation
• lisa stone is an ace
• lisa stone is responsible for scheduling of tests and surgeries
• lisa stone is the founder of 'fit for 2'
• lisa stone is confident that swing player jayme anderson
• lisa stone is wrapping up her second season of production with sjmc and dtc
• lisa stone is a hard working young woman
• lisa stone is a certified fitness instructor through the american council on exercise
• lisa stone is in her first season as a division i head coach
• lisa stone is in her first season at the helm of the bulldogs and has a 277
• lisa stone is epregnancy's fitness expert
• lisa stone is a historian in chicago who has studied fraternal organizations
• lisa stone is the latest to try to devise a way to stop stiles and the high
• lisa stone is planning an exciting craft program
• lisa stone is our next recipient from baylor university
• lisa stone is a 2002 nieman fellow in journalism at harvard university
• lisa stone is in her 11th year with the blugolds and has a 264
• lisa stone is wearing an outdated remote control
• lisa stone is a force inside
  

As for Michael Fox, either he is a very busy and widely traveled man or there are many who bear his name. Googlism returned more than 80 statements about people named Michael Fox. Among them:

• michael fox is a sydney architect and access consultant
• michael fox is the catch of the century
• michael fox is a director of access australia
• michael fox is considered a leading expert in ecotourism and the travel and tourism industry
• michael fox is a person of great compassion and commitment to the welfare of all life
• michael fox is the town superintendent of highways in the town of carrollton highway department in carrollton town
• michael fox is a veterinarian who has worked extensively in animal reform
• michael fox is host of independent view
• michael fox is the president and ceo of aci ventures
• michael fox is president of me fox & company
• michael fox is a chicago native and corporate attorney
• michael fox is this years deputy lord mayor
• michael fox is the international bar association's representative for israel
• michael fox is a bay area journalist and critic who has written about film and the arts for more than 30 regional and national publications since
• michael fox is surely currently the chief sage amongst the modern interpreters of biblical wisdom literature
• michael fox is a partner in haynes and boone llp's austin office
• michael fox is staff engineer for sun microsystems
• michael fox is a dispatcher supervisor at san bernardino police department
• michael fox is the development lead for the express delivery toolset at computer associates and has been working with unicenter tng since its
• michael fox is chairman of the ri commission on technology and
• michael fox is a veterinarian and syndicated newspaper columnist with doctoral degrees in medical science and ethology/animal behavior
• michael fox is an environmental sciences and biology professor and roger jones
• michael fox is lucky
• michael fox is business development consultant focused on building valuation
• michael fox is billed as "coroner"
• michael fox is the managing director of national association of scuba diving
• michael fox is a wonderful guy
• michael fox is convinced serotek can do well by doing good
• michael fox is in the us air force and living in tampa
• michael fox is the artistic/technical director
• michael fox is a member of tassc's advisory board
• michael fox is vice president of farm animals and bioethics of the hsus
• michael fox is president of the aspen club & spa
• michael fox is the liaison between the ead working group and ica/cds
• michael fox is a former state assemblyman from ohio
• michael fox is the one brave enough to disobey orders and refuse to participate
• michael fox is not currently available
• michael fox is an interesting syndicated column
• michael fox is visibly furious at the fact that such an agreement was reached
• michael fox is a musician and entertainer and is the director and administrator of the allan vincent
• michael fox is chairman of the caribbean regional network

So who does Google think you are?

And now for something completely different

For "live, up-to-the minute coverage of the existential absurdity of human life," there may be no better source than The Harrison Report. It is not about law, per se, although lawyers and the law seem to find their way in, but it is written by someone familiar to the legal profession, Tom Harrison, the longtime editor and publisher of Lawyers Weekly USA and now a Lawyers Weekly vice president. (Tom and I were the original founding editors of LW USA.)

New search tool tracks biomedical research, spending

The Sunshine Project, an organization devoted to promoting transparency in research on biological and biochemical weapons, today released CRISP-ER, a new tool to search and organize research grant data from the National Institutes of Health.

The new tool searches the NIH's CRISP database -- Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects -- a searchable database of federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals, and other research institutions. It then joins the results with financial data from the NIH Office of Extramural Research, allowing a user to see amounts spent on specific projects and to track spending over periods of time.

For example, a sample search shows that, from 1999 to 2004, grants for research into bacterial agents such as anthrax and the plague increased 2,488 percent, while spending was reduced on research into HIV by 20 percent and hepatitis by 58 percent.

An announcement of the new service says:

"While CRISP-ER is optimized to research projects involving biological weapons agents, it can be used by anyone with an interest in National Institutes of Health research, for example, to research spending on biotechnology, biodiversity, specific diseases, or in specific locations."

Three academics launch legal ethics blog

Two professors and a lecturer in legal ethics have started a blog for discussion of legal ethics and the legal profession, Legal Ethics Forum. The three who contribute to the blog are:

• John Dzienkowski, the John S. Redditt professor of law at the University of Texas Law School.
• W. Bradley Wendel, associate professor of law at Cornell Law School.
• John J. Steele, ethics and conflicts director and special counsel for Fish & Richardson and lecturer in legal ethics at Boalt Hall School of Law, Unversity of California, Berkeley.

Podcasting as CLE: From theory to practice

In my recent article for Law Technology News, Podcasting: CLE's New Wave?, I predicted that podcasting may just be the next big thing in CLE. Little did I know, CLE podcasts were already in the works.

Yesterday, the Santa Clara County Bar Association launched a series of one-hour CLE podcasts dubbed CLE Programs To Go. It has even set up a “podcast recording studio” in the SCCBA offices. SCCBA Executive Director Christine Burdick writes that she first had the idea back in November, but it took a bit to get everything in place. "The easiest part," she says, "was recording the podcast."

An e-mail sent to SCCBA members yesterday announcing the new benefit quotes my article, wherein I write that lawyers "may someday soon get [CLE] through podcasting." To that, the e-mail adds, "CLE podcasts as 'someday soon' is NOW for SCCBA members."

Two new blogs on law department management

From Joy London comes word of two new blogs on legal department management:

• Law Department Management, written by Rees Morrison, a former practicing lawyer and senior director of Hildebrandt International in Somerset, N.J. (Looks like Rees is also the latest addition to the Law.com Blog Network.)
• Managing the Business of Law, written by Richard A. Hall, a lawyer who is chairman and CEO of Hall's Benchmarks and founder of LexTech, a consultancy that reviews legal bills and spending.
  

Blog tracks down cool stuff from the government

Time was, the only way to get cool stuff from the federal government was to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Pueblo, Colo. Now there is a better way: CoolGov, a blog whose raison d'être is finding cool stuff available from the feds. Here is how its authors describe it:

"The basic premise is this: the U.S. government provides lots of neat resources, more and more of which can be found on the internet. Basically, we’re just going to try and find the coolest stuff there is and post it here. After all, you paid for it… dammit, you better get some use out of it."

[Thanks to Tom Mighell for pointing this out.]

Lawyers and the Three Stooges

Judge (regarding Curly): "What's the matter with him?"
Moe: "He thinks he's a chicken."
Judge: "Why don't you put him in an institution?"
Larry: "We can't, we need the eggs."

Sometimes the planets line up just right. Sunday night, worn out from a day of skiing, my younger son and I put on an old Three Stooges video my wife had picked up earlier at a used book sale and watched "Disorder in the Court." The next night, finally finding time to read the Sunday Boston Globe I'd missed due to skiing, I was delighted to find in the Globe Magazine this article about the Stooges by Charles P. Pierce, Woiise Guys. In it, Pierce talks about the "academic forensics" the Stooges spawned, and he mentions his favorite, a law review article examining the portrayal of lawyers in Stooges films.

I wondered, Could this article be available on the Web? Sure enough, thanks to Tarlton Law Library's Law in Popular Culture Collection, there it is, Images of Lawyers & The Three Stooges, Randall Coyne's 1997 article originally published in the Oklahoma City University Law Review, Volume 22, Number 1. It includes the bit that starts this post, and other gems portraying "the Stooge version of law." The Three Stooges' frequent lampooning of lawyers was no coincidence, Coyne suggests, because their real lives were marked by frequent run-ins with lawyers and the legal system.

I hear lawyers everywhere proclaiming in defense, "We were victims of soicumstance! Nyuk, nyuk."