Hey y'all -
This past Sunday, for the first time in 2009, the staff of the Res Gestae surfaced from our subterranean home in the bowels of Legal Research to a crisp spring day, bright, clear, and even relatively warm. We saw our shadows and thought, well, must be time for the last issue of the year.
It's the time of the semester when students are eager to start their finals preparation but instead find themselves up to their necks in footnotes, lengthy documents, and deadlines. No, we're not talking about journal assignments or note writing, we're talking about navigating the school's Priority Registration System. It's a journey we students take twice a year, and each time we do it we find we have more to learn.
Three of the closing paragraphs from a recent New York Times article on the craptastic legal market:
If the downturn is prolonged, law schools will need to keep tuition and other costs in check so students do not graduate with unmanageable debt. More schools may follow the lead of Northwestern, the first top-tier law school to offer a two-year program.
Someone's in my carrel all the damn time and what's worse, they keep leaving random stuff! I could handle the extra books and the scarf, but the snacks seem to be taking it a few steps too far - is there anyway to politely evict the asshole who's trying to adversely possess my study space?
Keeping it Real on Sub-2
Most of us have seen the old anti-drug commercial: "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs." Erin Opperman has actually operated on several brains on drugs, all of them belonging to furry little coke-fiends.
Picture this: It's Friday night, 8PM, and you're about to have a bunch of the coolest law students over for a little pre-game at your apartment. Suddenly you realize that you haven't visited the iTunes Music Store to make sure you have all the latest "cool kid" music, and quickly sign on to check out the scene. Uh oh, new Britney song, better have that on hand (obviously). "Buy Song" gets clicked, but then you notice...
The economy is depressing and the stress of finals growing every day. You need a break that won't break your budget. Save Yourself presents a selection of free activities to get you through the end of the semester.
Welcome everyone to the final issue of The Beer Guy this year. Thank you all for the questions, praise, and encouragement along the way. I've really enjoyed the opportunity to share with you a subject that I know and love. I know that some of you have already put my recommendations to good use, and I hope others continue to do the same.
The year 2009 will live in the memories of many as a bad, bad year. Banks, law firms, and businesses have collapsed around us like so many Soviet engineering mistakes. I will not even look at my stock portfolio statements anymore; I just don't want to know. And remember on-campus interviewing? Hopefully you don't. You're better off. Unfortunately, I am not the only entity suffering priceless losses; the University of Michigan is facing its own priceless loss with the retirement of Professor Tom Green at the end of this semester.
Here's a quick look at the Law School's early engagement with the Web, or the "WWW" as the author of this February 2, 1995, article in the RG put it. The description of hypertext is pretty sweet. If tragedy plus time equals comedy, then perhaps, fourteen years from now, editors of the RG can giggle when they come upon our articles about the consternation generated by MLaw Live.