Blawg Review

Blawg Review Is For You Too

2009-11-20T13:21:00.007-05:00

Blawg Review #239 at this blog about Human Rights in Ireland is sure to be as passionate as it is entertaining, and will include surprise performances by superstars born in the USA.

Go ahead. Make my day.

2009-11-17T13:41:00.003-05:00

The National Rifle Association of America, or NRA, is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization which lists as its goals the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and self-defense in the United States. It was established in 1871 on November 17th.

To celebrate this anniversary, and to commemorate the International Day for Tolerance yesterday, Blawg Review #238 is hosted by our favorite Jew with a gun, Joel Rosenberg.

We'll let Colin Samuels make Joel Rosenberg's introduction.

A Blawg Review Review

2009-11-11T11:50:00.004-05:00

by Charon QC

Blawg Review #237 – Christian Metcalfe of Property Law blog

“Today’s single most important political principle, the right to live in a participatory democracy, comes down to us not from the slave-owning societies of Athens and Rome, or from the pleasant estates in France where Rousseau and Montaigne envisioned the ‘general will’, but from buff-coated and blood-stained English soldiers and tradesmen.”

Christian has produced an excellent Blawg Review #237, embracing many of the posts on the legal blogosphere over the last week. A work of detail and themed beautifully….. do read it…. it will give you a good overview of legal thinking and the pre-occupations consuming law bloggers last week

Read Blawg Review #237 and post your own review, if you blog.

Bonfire Night @blawgreview

2009-11-05T11:31:00.006-05:00

Remember, remember the Fifth of November...

quoting Scott Leviant's Blawg Review #221

So I promised that I wouldn’t dwell on “that blawger,” the author of Charon QC and notorious host of several Blawg Reviews. But before I direct your attention to the best (or not necessarily so) of the blawgosphere over the last week, there is something I want to talk about first: Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night. It seems that some well-intentioned, but ever-so-slightly misguided gang of Catholics (including Guy Fawkes) planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London on November 5, 1605. They might have succeeded, too, if one of the conspirators hadn’t been so worried about the number of Catholics in line for collateral damage status that he sent a warning note to Lord Monteagle.

Why do I care about any of this, you ask? It has to do with the resulting holiday and an important lesson that we can draw from it. Until 1859, it was mandatory to celebrate the failed assassination attempt by lighting bonfires each November 5th. So, in England you need an official holiday and an order of the King to light a bonfire. Here, in America, all you need is for a professional sports team to win a championship. See, Man Charged for Arson in Lakers Melee. The child surpasses the parent. Keep your soccer hooligans, England. We have real idiots.

For example, this guy.

While our friends in the UK are celebrating Guy Fawkes, gunpowder plots and the like, we're still celebrating this week's Halloween edition, Blawg Review #236.

Halloween Blawg Review

2009-11-02T14:08:00.005-05:00

I don't know if Eric Turkewitz remembers me suggesting he use this one of Hugh MacLeod's Gaping Void cartoons on the back of a business card for his "blog card". This week, Eric tries to find happiness hosting his third Blawg Review, this time with a Halloween theme. I rest my case.

Flickr Tweet, Wascally Wabbit

2009-10-30T09:41:00.009-04:00

RT @infobunny Why does no one call me pumpkin?

Blawg Review #236, hosted by Eric Turkewitz, is a real treat. Note to @Geeklawyer and friends, who celebrated Halloween at the #brightonpissup4, "pissed" also means "angry" to a Yank.

Open Invitation, Niki Black

2009-10-25T13:43:00.006-04:00

Who is Nicole Black, what does she do, and why are we looking forward to her hosting Blawg Review? I met Niki Black recently in New York City, where we shared at table over lunch at a social media conference at the Harvard Club. If ever you get the chance to meet Niki Black in person, not just on Twitter @nikiblack, you'll be glad you did. Niki is one of the most caring, sharing, lawyers you'll ever have the pleasure to meet.

Nicole Black really has her stuff together; in a future law dictionary with the definition of "work-life balance" you might find her photo, with this pull-quote:

I find the balance between my various endeavors to be perfect. I no longer experience a sense of dread when I think about where my professional career is leading me. I feel passion every day for the issues that occupy my thoughts as a result of my chosen career path.

As I re-read the previous paragraph, I realize just how lucky I am. Each day is an adventure--and one that I welcome. You can't get much better than that now, can you?

Well, Niki, you have yet to host Blawg Review!

Blawg Review Hosts @Twitter

2009-10-23T16:52:00.040-04:00

You can follow many of the hosts of Blawg Review on Twitter.

Evan Schaeffer @eshaeff Ron Coleman @roncoleman Gordon Smith @gs_ Jeremy Richey @jeremyrichey Mike Cernovich @Cerno Evan Brown @internetcases Al Nye @AlanNye Kevin Heller @kevinhell George Lenard @employmentblawg Enrico Schaefer @Enrico1999 Monica Bay @commonscold Stephen Albainy-Jenei @patentbaristas Carolyn Elefant @carolynelefant Dave Gulbransen @dgulbran Tom Mighell @tommighell Craig Williams @jcraigwilliams Denise Howell @dhowell Andrew Raff @andrewraff Walter Olson @overlawyered Douglas Sorocco @douglassorocco Matt Buchanan @jmattbuchanan Steve Nipper @nipper Colin Samuels @colinsamuels John Wallbillich @wiredgc Bruce MacEwen @BruceMacEwen Anita Campbell @SmallBizTrends Kevin Thompson @cyberlaw Diane Levin @dianelevin Marty Schwimmer @mschwimmer Scott Greenfield @scottgreenfield Charlie Green @CharlesHGreen Adrian Dayton @adriandayton Tom Colson @tomcolson David Lat @davidlat Kevin O'Keefe @kevinokeefe Geeklawyer @Geeklawyer Rush Nigut @RushNigut CharonQC @Charonqc Kael Garvey @legallyunbound Vickie Pynchon @vpynchon Elie Mystal @ElieNYC Duncan Bucknell @DuncanBucknell Tim Kevan @babybarista David Harlow @healthblawg Dave Donoghue @rdd Anne Reed @annereed Dan Harris @danharris Ernest Svenson @ernieattorney Ray Ward @minorwisdom Cathy Gellis @CathyGellis Gideon @gideonstrumpet Susan Cartier Liebel @SCartierLiebel Popehat @Popehat Jeremy Blachman @jeremyblachman Sherrie Sisk @TheInspiredSolo Patrick Lamb @ValoremLamb Andrew Flusche @aflusche Brett Trout @BrettTrout Connie Crosby @conniecrosby Jamie Spencer @jamieinaustin Jillian Weiss @drjilliantweiss Arnie Herz @ArnieHerz Barry Barnett @blawgletter Daithí Mac Síthigh @macsithigh John Hochfelder @johnhochfelder Peter Black @PeterBlackQUT Brandy Karl @brandyk Omar Ha-Redeye @OmarHaRedeye Tamera Bennett @tamerabennett Michael Atkins @SeattleTMLawyer Scott Leviant @HScottLeviant Stephen Seckler @stephenseckler Eric Turkewitz @Turkewitz Bob Coffield @bobcoffield Christian Metcalfe @Cmetcalfe Joel Rosenberg @joelrosenberg

This list is a "work in progress" that will be updated on an ongoing basis.

If you're a host of Blawg Review who's using Twitter, please DM @blawgreview so we can add you to this list as soon as possible.

I Blame Drew's Cancer

2009-10-21T12:21:00.005-04:00

That's right, I blame Drew's cancer for too many tweets!

Oh, and one more thing, I blame Drew's cancer for this:

WTF? Are we behind the Great Firewall of China, or in Toronto for meshmarketing?

Vickie Pynchon Outdoes Herself

2009-10-19T11:57:00.007-04:00

Hosts of Blawg Review know how much Vickie Pynchon contributes to these presentations every week, as a "sherpa guide" helpfully providing recommendations of some of the best law blog posts.

This week, our Blawg Review Sherpa Victoria Pynchon really outdoes herself with Blawg Review #234, a detailed look at the "200 year present" that marks conflict resolution week. Her presentation this week provides not only an overview of the blawgosphere, but insight into who she is as a lawyer, mediator, and as a person--in her own words.

These are the words I leave with the readers of Blawg Review #234 because they are the ones that informed my personal and professional transformation from a legal career based on rights and remedies to one based upon interests and consensus.

Whatever my own personal 200-year present was, is and will be, it is pointed in the direction of peace with justice, with an enormous and probably unwarranted optimism best expressed by the man after whom my law school was named: the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with Vickie, whom I've known online for several years. That meetup, one of the highlights of my recent travels, gave me an up close and personal look at one of the superstars of the legal community. In real life, as they say, Vickie's as amazing as she is here in the blogosphere.

Emperor Norton

2009-10-12T00:57:00.009-04:00

"Everybody understands Mickey Mouse. Few understand Hermann Hesse. Hardly anybody understands Einstein. And nobody understands Emperor Norton." - Malaclypse the Younger, K.S.C.

Check out this week's Blawg Review #233 hosted by the anonymous bloggers at Popehat, who get it.

JetBlue All-You-Can-Jet

2009-10-08T23:53:00.016-04:00

Leaving Las Vegas, boarding my 22nd flight on JetBlue's All-You-Can-Jet Pass. If you're thinking that's a lot of domestic air miles traveled this past month, you're right.

Blawg Review's editor put this opportunity to good use, connecting with many hosts, some famous, some infamous, and one anonymous -- meetups and tweetups across the country. Thanks to everyone who took time to meet, Monica Bay, Bob Ambrogi, Niki Black, Tom Colson, Dave Donoghue, Jay Shepherd, Eric Goldman, Craig Wiliams, Ray Ward, David Harlow, Charlie Green, among others, many of whom extended extraordinary hospitality to an anonymous guest. ;-) Believe it or not, Ed finally finally got to meet for the first time two of our trusty sherpas, Diane Levin and Vickie Pynchon.

Included in our venues were three law conferences in such distant places as San Jose, Chicago, and New York City. And, of course, we took care of business in Las Vegas. Thanks, JetBlue, for making this adventure possible.

So, what does this digital nomad think of JetBlue? Amazing airline -- at every point of contact, the service was flawless. The best airport facility in the country has to be Terminal 5 at JFK. If you ever get a chance, check it out for yourself. You might find me living there!

Teach Your Children Well

2009-10-05T00:32:00.001-04:00

Blawg Review #232 is hosted by Susan Cartier Liebel at Solo Practice University on World Teachers' Day. Held annually on October 5th since 1994, World Teachers' Day commemorates teachers’ organisations worldwide. Its aim is to mobilise support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers.

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I'm in Las Vegas, Bitch

2009-09-28T06:03:00.010-04:00

Blawg Review #231 is Legally Unbound in Las Vegas, and the editor of Blawg Review is in town to find out what the hell is going on here!

Mmm, you're gonna look so cute
Sunglasses, bathing suit
Be the baby of my dreams
Like the ladies in the magazines
Yeah, we're gonna be so neat
Dance to the euro beat
Oh yeah, we're gonna be so cool
Twistin' by the pool

From Twitter: RT @legallyunbound: @blawgreview, Remember, "Dancing is considered an art," I hope you're enjoying the Las Vegas art scene while you are here.

Speaking of art, it's Tattoosday at Wet Republic, the MGM Grand's afternoon hot spot.

Is the editor of Blawg Review a legal rebel, or what?

Blawg Review Awards

2009-09-17T14:14:00.008-04:00

Colin Samuels was going to thank everyone for honoring him with another Blawg Review of the Year Award when someone grabbed the microphone... Hopefully, the ensuing controversy in the blogosphere and the twitterverse will be behind us by the time Colin and Mike take the stage for Blawg Review #230, a duet.

Digital Nomads Love ExOfficio

2009-09-08T20:47:00.010-04:00

Digital Nomads like the editor of Blawg Review travel will all the latest tech tools and toys, an iPhone 3G and a BlackBerry Bold, and a Netbook on steroids, the Acer Aspire 1410 running Windows Vista with 3 Gigs of Ram on an Intel Centrino chip. Tethering the Acer to the BlackBerry with virtually unlimited data plan liberates the Digital Nomad from wifi.

Digital Nomads may disagree on which computer or smartphone is the ultimate tool for the traveling executive. However, what separates the Digital Nomad from the novice business traveler is the high-tech adventure clothing that makes the trip a breeze.

On this current trip, billed as the Blawg Review Bucket List tour, your editor has packed 4 ExOfficio shirts and 4 pairs of his favorite ExOfficio underwear. Sorry, no pics, but you can visit the ExOfficio website and just imagine how comfortable this stuff is in the 105F heat in Las Vegas as this adventure takes me from JFK, where the ExOfficio store is conveniently located in Terminal 5 for JetBlue departures.

Speaking of JetBlue, did you see that it's the official airline sponsor of the New York Jets football team?

The camera-shy editor of Blawg Review was tempted to get his photo taken with these lovely women posing today at JFK to be sure we didn't miss this announcement.

The Adventure Begins Today

2009-09-05T23:30:00.011-04:00

Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way

Today marks the first day of the Blawg Review Bucket List tour, beginning with a meetup with Tom Colson, a patent attorney and CEO of IP.com Inc. and host of Blawg Review #217, a Father's Day presentation. Appropriately, it was a family get-together on a holiday weekend, with my son joining me to visit the Colsons in Buffalo.

Sunday morning, bright and early, I travel by Amtrak to Rhinecliff, NY to rendezvous with Monica Bay of the Common Scold, who's taking me to relax at her cottage and then to New York City on Monday to see her Yankees take on the Rays in a Labor Day double header.

Yankee fan Monica Swisher

Where the Editor of Blawg Review goes from there, who knows, but I hope the adventure includes a motorcycle ride in California with our friends Craig Williams of May It Please the Court and Norman Fernandes of the Biker Law Blog.

The adventure continues...

Sherpa Sabbatical

2009-09-03T22:05:00.003-04:00

Blawg Review Sherpa Colin Samuels has hung up his chuba.

I don't remember when, exactly, Colin took on the heavy lifting around here, guiding novice and expert blawg reviewers alike in their quests to reach new heights with each successsive presentation of the carnival of law blogs. It seems like he's always been the one without whom Blawg Review wouldn't be what it is. Those who've hosted during his tenure as a Blawg Review Sherpa know well his contributions above and beyond the call of duty.

As quietly as he's served, so also he departs. No fanfare, no parade. But not without these words of thanks on behalf of our hosts and our readers. Colin, you're the best. And I'm not just sayin' that because you've won the award for Blawg Review of the Year four times in four years! (See the sidebar at Infamy or Praise for links to some of the most amazing presentations of Blawg Review, ever.)

The reasons for Colin Samuels giving up his sherpa duties remain a mystery, although we suspect he's under a lot of pressure now, as the date for his annual Blawg Review at Infamy or Praise appears closer than we think. Not to mention, Colin is also co-hosting an upcoming Blawg Review at Unsilent Partners with CharonQC in just a few weeks. They don't throw these things together in a week, you know!

Colin Samuels, Sherpa Emeritus, will always be a key player in Blawg Review (he's got the login and password keys) so he remains, officially, the editor in waiting should I kick the bucket. Truth be told, Colin is more afraid of that eventuality than I am. Good luck to both of us.

Image Credit: copyright Ilan Adler

Simple is the New Complex

2009-09-03T04:07:00.002-04:00

by Colin Samuels, at Infamy or Praise

The theme of this week's Blawg Review #227 is themelessness. I know that it's all very meta, but Sheryl Sisk Schelin does us proud with this effort, hosted at her The Inspired Solo site. As the "next guy [who went] all Dante on you" referenced in the third paragraph, let me just say that I for one am appreciative that Shelin's arrested (at least temporarily) our Blawg Review theme arms race.

Her objective was to produce a simple Blawg Review which delivered "the good stuff from the blawgs" and she's succeeded. Highlights in this edition include resolving trust issues in deal-making, considering the impact of "Skanks" on anonymous internet speech, and lamenting (or not) the putative death of the billable hour. Is law still cool if the billable hour is no more? We'll find out next week when Law Is Cool hosts Blawg Review #228.

Bunny Sex & Pink Tape

2009-08-23T23:05:00.004-04:00

Blawg Review #226 is up at Pink Tape, a blog from the family bar in the UK. It's full of ribald British humour, talk of nudity and the escapades of Geeklawyer but, alas, no mention of Bunny, whose appearance in Blawg Review is long overdue.

Woodstock Remembered

2009-08-18T23:37:00.012-04:00

Blawg Review #225 reminds us that this week marks the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, which became synonymous with the name Woodstock, a music festival billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music", held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in the rural town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969.

The host of this week's Blawg Review, Seattle Trademark Lawyer, notes that another name in music history, Seattle's own Jimi Hendrix, emerged as one of the brightest young stars at Woodstock.

This "unorthodox" electric rendition of The Star Spangled Banner was seen by some as controversial at the time but has become an iconic and much-loved version of the American National Anthem.

Hendrix and his lasting contribution to music history is recorded and presented in a museum in Seattle, the Experience Music Project, which is marking the 40th anniversary of Woodstock with a special presentation for which Jimi Hendrix is expected to be a big attraction.

Less well-known, except perhaps to thousands of freedom loving people gathered this past weekend for Seattle's 18th annual Hempfest, is another band at Woodstock, Country Joe and The Fish. The Fish is not of Seattle's Pike Place Market but, rather, coming to Woodstock from Berkeley and the Monterey Pop, none other than Barry Melton, a criminal defense attorney for the past 20 years, who recently retired as the Public Defender of Yolo County, California.

We leave you with a little Rock and Soul Music and the thought-provoking question for many, "What were you doing 40 years ago?"

Thanks for the Fish

2009-08-17T03:07:00.004-04:00

Blawg Review #225 is presented by Seattle Trademark Lawyer Michael Atkins from the Pike Place Market on its 102nd anniversary.

We Will Rock You

2009-08-16T23:45:00.001-04:00

Blawg Review #145, The Super Bowl Edition.

VENI, VIDI, VICI. "I came, I saw, I conquered". Sounds pretty macho, huh? But there's a gentler side to it. First, as a Human Being, and a lawyer, are you prepared to meet the challenges before you? Second, can you think and develop a strategy to survive, prosper and get what you want in life and law? Do you have the right Tools? Third, can you Act? Do you have the sand, the spirit and the moxie for the Arena?

JD Hull, February 4, 2008, on What About Clients?

YouTube Credit: Beyonce, Pink, Britney and Enrique in a Super Bowl commercial for Pepsi, gladiator style.

What About Paris?

2009-08-16T22:29:00.004-04:00

Not this trip, but the editor of Blawg Review will visit friends in Europe (London for sure) and maybe Paris will be on the next tour.

Blawg Review Bucket List

2009-08-15T00:10:00.009-04:00

Think of it as Jack Nicholson in The Bucket List, or Easy Rider, meets Jack Kerouac, On the Road.

The editor of Blawg Review is going on a cross-country tour, a quest to discover himself and see America through the eyes of lawyers who blog, as many as possible, starting this September.

Longtime readers remember Blawg Review #89: The Mummer's Veil on New Years Day 2007 when the anonymous editor appeared as the lone mummer visiting legal webloggers far and near in the blogosphere.

Well, this time, it's for real.

If you'd like the editor of Blawg Review to visit you in weeks ahead, just email or tweet an invitation describing what we'd see and do in your city for an hour, a day, or two, who we'd meet there, and when might be convenient to stop by.

And then follow along here over the next several weeks and months as we update this post with stories and photos of this journey and links to all the law bloggers who make the Blawg Review Bucket List.

The adventure begins...