FROM LEGAL BLOG WATCH

Scholars Debate: Is Law a Picnic?

Are lawyers unhappy? From a scholarly perspective, one might think the question is right up there with, "Do dogs bite?" and "Is grass green?" But thanks to Jeffrey M. Lipshaw at Legal Profession Blog, we learn that legal scholars are examining the evidence -- and coming to different conclusions.

One recent paper, Young Associates in Trouble, by David T. Zaring of Washington and Lee University School of Law and William D. Henderson of Indiana University School of Law at Bloomington, considers two recent novels about unhappy associates at large law firms in light of available data and empirical studies. They conclude that "firm life is no picnic, and that it can be even less picnic-like the more prestigious and profitable the outfit."

But compare that against the findings of an ongoing study being conducted by Harvard Law School professor David B. Wilkins and the HLS Center on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry. Called "After the JD," the study is tracking 4,000 lawyers in the first decade of their careers. As reported in the Harvard Law Bulletin, it is discovering that law can be picnic-like, at least in terms of career satisfaction.

"Job satisfaction is one aspect of the responses that Wilkins finds most interesting. According to the study, and contrary to what many believe, there is 'no evidence' of 'any pervasive unhappiness in the profession,' he says—at least not among those who began practicing in 2000. To the contrary, in that group, nearly three-quarters reported being 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with their jobs."

Lipshaw references several other sources who contribute further material to the debate, including his wife, an MPH, who advises him with regard to depression among lawyers, "[T]here's no way you can tell ... whether depression-inclined people self-select to be lawyers, or being a lawyer causes or exacerbates depression."

The bottom line, perhaps, is that the evidence as to lawyers' happiness vel non is inconclusive. Which leads Lipshaw to a conclusion of a different sort:

"[A]ll of this to say that we need to be very careful, particularly as law professors, in describing the world as we think it is, and in figuring out how our view of the 'ought' affects it, if that is at all possible."

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on March 2, 2007 at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

'Brewing' Trademark Battle on YouTube

What is corporate lawyer Robert Winter, a senior partner with Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C., doing in a YouTube video? His firm represents Ethiopia in applications for trademark protection. He is using this online video site as a forum in which to argue his case for international trademark protection for Ethiopian coffee.

But why YouTube? His video was posted Jan. 29 as a response to a Dec. 20 video, Starbucks talks about coffee farmers in Africa, in which Starbucks executive Dub Hay (described as head of its coffee team) explains why the company will not sign a trademark agreement with Ethiopia recognizing its rights in its geographic name. To do so, said Hay, would be against the law.

Not so, argues Winter in his video. "In fact, we think it's plain silly," he says. He goes on to explain the concept of a "geographical indication mark" as a trademark and to address the question of why this trademark protection is important to Ethiopia.

Apparently, someone watched. Beneath Winter's video appears a comment, identified as from Matt Murray, who is a communications specialist at Starbucks, which says, in part:

"Since our 1st video was posted, a lot has happened. When we posted that video we felt the information was correct & since we've learned a lot & realized the information about the legality of the trademark was not accurate. Dub & other Starbucks partners recently visited Africa & met with the Ethiopian Govt. We agreed not to oppose Ethiopia's efforts to obtain trademarks for its specialty coffees."

The pursuit of justice is sometimes a slow grind, but thanks to YouTube, Winters, it appears, scored a venti victory.

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on March 2, 2007 at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lawyers Doing Good: Helping AIDS Orphans

The story from the high school newspaper in Hampton, N.H., republished by The Hampton Union, starts out:

"After high school, most students don't imagine themselves trying to find a cure for AIDS, or sheltering orphans whose parents have died from the disease."

The subject is Hampton High alum Scott Fifer, founder and director of the TunaHAKI Foundation, an organization working to provide shelter, education and medical care to orphans and street children in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa. But you can rewrite that lead paragraph substituting "law school" for "high school," because Fifer is a lawyer as well -- or at least a recovering lawyer -- and a 1987 graduate of my law school, Boston College, which is how I heard about him. Fifer founded the foundation after volunteering in Tanzania in 2005. He tells Isabelle MacDonald, the high school newspaper reporter who interviewed him:

"Our immediate goal is to build a self-sustaining arts-based shelter for AIDS orphans and vulnerable street kids in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. The TunaHAKI kids are the most well-behaved and hardest-working kids I've ever met. They never dwell on their difficulties, most of which are greater then any you or I will ever know."

Not only is Fifer successful as a humanitarian, he is also achieving notoriety as a Hollywood screenwriter. After law school, he spent five years in New York City at the now-defunct law firm Lord Day & Lord before quitting and moving to Los Angeles. There, he won the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
and went on to write for TV and film. His screenplay, "Twice Upon a Time," was made into a film starring Molly Ringwald, and other scripts of his are in development.

"Now I am juggling two careers, writing for TV and film, and running a foundation to care for orphans in Africa. One career pays for the other," Fifer told the reporter. And he says high school helped him get where he is -- singling out his typing and nutrition classes. As for law school, he doesn't say what role it may have played.

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on March 2, 2007 at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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