Feminism v. Blogging in Drag
David Lat made a name for himself by pretending to be a woman and writing about topics such as "superhotties of the federal judiciary." Now that he has fessed up to his gender, he has turned his attention to more urgent topics, to wit: finding the hottest ERISA lawyer in America. Funny stuff, huh? Well, Ann Bartow doesn't think so. An associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and contributor to Feminist Law Professors, she says Lat's kind of satire often isn't funny: "Possibly Lat doesn't understand that being celebrated for her looks is not known for being a ticket to career success in the legal world for a female attorney." For women bloggers, Bartow's post points to an even-broader issue, suggests "Epistolary Geek" at Law and Letters. For her, Lat, together with the former "libertarian girl," represents a phenomenon -- the "male blogger in stiletto drag" -- that degrades the image of legitimate women bloggers. She writes: "All of this blogging-in-drag is bewildering and appalling. I just don't understand the prurient interest some have in watching an otherwise impressively credentialed or politically opinionated 'woman' degrade 'herself' by trivializing her politics or profession. Is this the appeal of watching Ann Coulter in her mini-shorts? "Speaking as a female blogger, who writes a 'blawggish' blog at that, I am personally offended. I think these poseurs, cheeky and satiric as they intend to be, bring down the image of serious female bloggers everywhere." These two posts make for a double-Lat slam, but Ann Althouse questions whether they are fair. Noting that when Lat was pretending to be Article III groupie, he considered the "hotness" of males along with females, she writes: "[W]hat really irks me is going on and on about Lat without showing familiarity with his judicial hotties contest, the way Article III groupie specially focused on the hotness of males, and how Judge Kozinski offered himself up as the hottest judge." Althouse quotes The New Yorker piece, which observed that Article III groupie was "keen on the new Chief Justice" and considered Justice Alito's 19-year-old son "a hottie." She continues: "This refocus of the hotness question onto males was a much better strategy for smashing sex stereotypes than insisting on being taken seriously and trying to deny the visual aspect of life." As for Lat's contest, it continues, with male nominees outweighing females. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 5, 2006 at 12:44 PM | Permalink> $18M Verdict Could Cripple Firm
As one observer put it, the legal-malpractice verdict made for a "seriously bad day" for the Indianapolis law firm Fillenwarth, Dennerline, Groth & Towe. After a six-day trial, the state-court jury found the labor-law firm liable for $18 million for failing to notify a health plan's trustees of the plan's growing financial losses. As the Indianapolis Star reports, the verdict covers unpaid medical claims faced by the now-defunct plan's 8,200 members. The verdict "amounts to a potentially crippling financial blow for the 43-year-old Eastside firm," Star reporter Jeff Swiatek writes. Worse yet, the verdict could have been avoided. Star columnist John Ketzenberger reports that partner Frederick Dennerline III urged the firm's malpractice insurer to settle the matter for $1 million, but the insurer, ProNational Insurance Co., refused and took the case to trial. Others within the Indianapolis legal community were dumbstruck by the verdict. "There but for the grace of God go I," one lawyer told the Star, while another said, "It's the worst, most god-awful thing I've ever seen." Even Irwin Levin, managing partner of the firm that represented the state Department of Insurance in bringing the suit, said in a press release: "I am sad to have to bring a legal malpractice claim against ICIT's former counsel, but I am sadder still for the thousands of Hoosiers who are struggling to pay health care bills as a result of such negligence." Marcia Oddi's The Indiana Law Blog has followed the case here and here. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 5, 2006 at 12:43 PM | Permalink A Supreme Millionaire's Club
Just two of the nine Supreme Court justices, Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy, list their assets as worth less than $1 million, while the court's only woman and only bachelor are its wealthiest members. Legal Times' reporter Tony Mauro has reviewed the justices' 2005 financial disclosure forms and found A Millionaire Club of High Court Justices. The forms require reporting only within ranges of value, making precise totals impossible to calculate, Mauro writes, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg appears to be the wealthiest, reporting assets of between $6.4 million and $28 million. Justice David Souter is close behind her, with assets of between $5.6 million and $26.3 million. Kennedy is the "poorest" of the lot, with assets valued at between $65,005 and $195,000. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 5, 2006 at 12:29 PM | Permalink Podcasters Discuss Legal Podcasting
It's our pod-iversary! The weekly legal-affairs podcast Coast to Coast, which J. Craig Williams and I co-host, turned one last week. To mark the occasion, we recorded a unique Coast to Coast anniversary show in which we turned the mikes on ourselves, along with three special guests, to discuss the lessons we've learned so far about podcasting. Joining us for this program are two pioneers of legal podcasting: Evan Schaeffer of Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground and the Legal Underground podcast, and Denise Howell of Bag and Baggage and multiple podcaster at the Bag and Baggage podcast, Sound Policy and the soon-to-debut This Week in Law. Also joining us is someone who is behind the scenes of every episode of Coast to Coast, Lu Ann Reeb, co-founder of the Legal Talk Network and an Em my-winning producer with more than two decades of experience in TV news. You can listen to or download our anniversary show here. Keep up with future shows by subscribing to our podcast feed or by subscribing via iTunes. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 5, 2006 at 12:28 PM | Permalink Shlepping Towards Self-Help Justice
Since June, blogger David Giacalone has been on a hiatus from punditry, but that did not keep him from the Labor Day launch -- actually, pre-launch -- of a new blog, Shlep: the Self-Help Law ExPress, devoted to news and views on self-help law and pro se litigation. Why such a blog? Giacalone explains: "Self-Help Law deserves its own weblog. It is too important a right for consumers, a vital movement, and a growing virtual and realworld reality, to be outside the spotlight of the blogosphere and the weblogger community. ... Indeed, if weblogs are even half as important in the world of legal services as everybody says, it may be malpractice for consumer advocates, proponents of universal access to justice, law-and-technology gurus, or law firm management mavens to start the day without seeking a weblog dose of pro se and self-help news and punditry." OK, but why the name? To "shlep," Giacalone says, is to "drag, carry or haul, particularly unnecessary things, parcels or baggage." He continues: "For more than two centuries, American consumers have been shlepping toward justice -- they've been manacled to an expensive lawyer in order to solve a legal problem, or protect, assert or defend their rights. Our courts have become costly, complicated, lawyer-centered bureaucracies, rather than the accessible, client-centered dispute resolution centers they should be." Giacalone's goal in launching -- whoops, pre-launching -- the blog is to keep readers informed of self-help news and resources. But here's the rub. All those references to "pre-launch"? They are because he acknowledges that he can't do it alone. He is seeking co-editors to contribute regularly to the blog's content and help guide its construction and evolution. No law degree is required, but the position does require a commitment to achieving access to justice for all, along with "good writing, good manners and good sense." And, I might add, an aversion to shlepping. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 5, 2006 at 12:24 PM | Permalink |
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