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January 29, 2014
Remsburg
Like many of my peers, I've been interested in politics--the "art of controlling your environment", as one Hunter Stockton Thompson used to define politics broadly--since I was 15. I lived on Capitol Hill for years, and worked there twice. At this point, I think can tell sincere versus feigned shows of partisanship or bipartisanship in politicians posturing/reacting to a question, to a speech or to an event. Even when "on duty", pols actually are human beings with their guards down from time to time. They are not all bluster, speciousness and lies 24/7. I keep watching for those rare moments of real. I think that anyone last night who watched the State of the Union address witnessed one of those moments in the prolonged applause and show of appreciation for wounded Sgt. First Class Cory Remburg. I expect more than a few members of Congress, journalists and watchers of the event around the world both cheered and teared up. See, e.g., NBC news: "Army Ranger Cory Remsburg honored as hero during State of the Union address."
Photo: Michael Reynolds/EPA
Posted by JD Hull at 01:27 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2014
At Cross-Culture: "How European are the Russians?"
Don't miss this article at Richard Lewis's consistently-excellent Cross-Culture: "Russia and the EU". Excerpt:
What is remarkable about Russians is that they seem to possess all the European characteristics, while many other Europeans seem to exhibit only some of them. The loquacious, emotional Italian is almost the opposite of the modest, humorous Englishman, but Russians seem to adapt well to either. It is a question of breadth of vision – itself a Russian trait. This is a basic Russian quality – one that they have possessed for hundreds of years. This breadth of vision is enhanced by one or two Asian traits – stoicism, self-sacrifice, adaptability, face protection.
If one had to sum up Russian psychology and abilities in one word, “versatility” would come to mind. Being a natural land bridge between East and West, they have a certain facility in dealing with neighbours from both sides. With land borders with 14 different countries, remoteness from other nationalities is never an option. Whether Russians like it or not, leadership beckons at all turns.
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Peter I of Russia, 1838, Paul Delaroche (1797-1856)
Posted by JD Hull at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2014
France's New First Girlfriend?
See "French President Francois Hollande Announces Breakup with First Lady Valerie Trierweiler" in The Daily Beast.
French Actress Julie Gayet, 41.
Posted by JD Hull at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2014
Defendant-Tweeter Courtney Love Prevails in First Twitter Libel Trial.
Chalk up a victory and some trail-blazing for rocker Courtney Love. On its unusual facts, and given somewhat implausible testimony on both sides, the first Twitter libel case to go to trial sounds like a poor test case. But "Twibel" of course is making lots of headlines anyway. See, e.g., the Los Angeles Times' coverage of yesterday's jury verdict for Love in a case brought by her ex-attorney Rhonda Holmes. It springs from Love's defamatory, evidently inaccurate and slightly cryptic June 2010 tweet that attorney Holmes had been "bought off". The Los Angeles jury found that Love did not know the defamatory tweet was false, and did not act recklessly. Excerpt from the Los Angeles Times piece:
Dubbed "Twibel," the civil suit seeking $8 million was filed by Rhonda Holmes, who had once acted as Love's fraud litigation attorney. The singer-actress filed her own complaint against Holmes, claiming legal malpractice.
Holmes had been hired in December 2008 to look into missing funds from the estate of Kurt Cobain, Love's late husband.
Holmes and Love parted ways after less than six months. The attorney alleged that the relationship had been contingent on Love refraining from substance abuse, a stipulation that eventually angered the singer. The attorney also said that Love became a difficult client and wouldn't return calls.
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Courtney Love performing at the Dream Downtown in Manhattan, New York, September 9th, 2013. (Source: Studio Havens/Marie Havens)
Posted by JD Hull at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2014
UPDATED: The Week in Wild West Shows: Free Speech, Dueling & Other Manly Arts.
The Wild West Show that is still the blogosphere can get ugly. There are some rough spots. Apart from law that governs our discourse on the Internet, we are still in the process of creating--and learning--the folkways of cyberspace. Most are unwritten common sense do's and dont's of how to behave as we sort things out in the ether. And there are lessons. Some of the lessons come with a short-term price. This week's lessons emerged from a week-long multi-participant brawl, triggered by a young lawyer's testosterone-drenched reaction to a post Scott Greenfield penned way back on December 2. Specifics and vigorous coverage are in the links below.
But let it be known here that Greenfield deftly moderated comments in a four-post (yes, he wrote four) round-the-clock discussion this past week. When Greenfield himself came under attack, he got an informed, elegant and King-Hell funny defense from Ken White at Popehat. Free speech was the overall topic. Subtopics: plagiarism, intellectual property, commercial speech, defamation, how to write, how to persuade, emotional intelligence, your online footprint, Internet culture clash and avoiding the appearance of a certain ethnocentrism. If you want lessons, there are scads in this story. So, for some teaching posts, see here, here, here and here by Greenfield at Simple Justice and this one by Ken White at Popehat. Thanks, you two. We learned something. And you got us all thinking about our new ditigal world.
UPDATE. There were other sage posts covering this week's Speechfest. In no particular order:
This Lawyer Just Failed Blogging and Social Media Basics by lawyer-journalist Bill Peacock at FindLaw's Strategist.
Bring a First Aid Kit: Online Damage Control for Lawyers by Mark Bennett at Defending People.
What Is The First Rule Of Holes? Bueller…Bueller? by Mike G at That Mr. G Guy's Blog.
12 Steps To Ruining Your Reputation by Keith Lee at his weekly Above The Law column.
Not every wrong act violates a black-letter ethics rule by fellow Maryland lawyer Bruce Godfrey.
Burr v. Hamilton, July 11, 1804, Weehawken, NJ (Wikipedia Commons)
Posted by JD Hull at 03:17 PM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2014
Got sand?
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2014
Regarding Nino: Dick-gate?
To bring us up to date on cumulative reaction to the now infamous page 4, lines 10-12 of the SCOTUS transcript in Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States (No. 12-1173), heard by the Supreme Court on the morning of January 14, five gentlemen and mainstay observers of the 225-year-old court--Josh Blackman, Lyle Denniston, Tony Mauro, ATL's Joe Patrice and Scott Greenfield--can be seen variously weighing in on "Dick-gate" if you visit yesterday's Simple Justice and read "No Podium For Weenies", including the links Greenfield provides. Our humble take? It's in the comments, you miserable rubes.
Above: Josh Blackman. Nino's "dick" move or enforcing SCOTUS rules?
Posted by JD Hull at 11:42 PM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2014
SLM: Witness Demeanor in International Disputes.
In international arbitration and mediation, first-language barriers can be the least of your client's difficulties. How does a mediator or arbitrator arrive at a true--and fair--consensus on the meaning of ordinary verbal and non-verbal conduct by a witness? What is the significance of the "delayed answer" to a question? In one culture, delay means hesitancy and evasiveness (e.g., to most Westerners). In another, delay may denote careful consideration of the question--and a sign of respect to the questioner.
Four years ago, GE's in-house counsel Mike McIlwrath interviewed Australian mediator Joanna Kalowski, who works out of both Australia and Paris. Kalowski discusses how she became a mediator and lessons that come directly from her work. She has also trained mediators in Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Italy, Thailand and Hong Kong. Their 25-minute discussion, "Public Consensus Across Cultures" (IDN No. 61), taped on February 13, 2009, is part of McIlwrath's highly regarded interview series on International Dispute Negotiation sponsored by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, or CPR Institute.
Posted by JD Hull at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2014
“We are on the hunt for others:” Nigeria's new law criminalizing homosexuality.
Nigeria, where sodomy has been illegal for decades, just raised the stakes. This week Africa's largest nation begins enforcement of a popular law which in effect outlaws most LGBT behavior and culture. Outbreaks of violence are especially feared in northern Nigeria, a majority-Muslim region administered in part under Islamic law. See in TIME Nate Rawlings' piece, "Anti-Gay Law Takes Effect in Africa’s Most Populous Country". Excerpts:
One day after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed legislation criminalizing homosexuality, police reportedly began rounding up gay men in Africa‘s most populous country.
Under the new law, same-sex “amorous relationships” are banned, as is membership in gay rights groups, prohibitions that have sparked both fear and defiance among Nigeria’s gay activists.
Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa outlaw homosexual acts. Efforts by Western nations to cut aid to countries like Uganda and Malawi have helped to bridle anti-gay legislation in those countries.
But Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer of oil with an output of 2.5 million barrels per day, is mostly impervious to that kind of economic pressure. As Africa’s most populous country, developments in Nigeria echo across the continent, and there appears little other countries can do except condemn the new legislation.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed the law on Monday (AP photo).
Posted by JD Hull at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)
January 15, 2014
Employee Reviews on CS Standards: How Do Your Firm's Dweebs Measure Up?
Are you serious about all that client service stuff on your website? Then talk about real customer service every single day, as if it were a substantive area of law practice. Make it a running conversation. If you are serious about building and keeping a "client service culture", you need to underscore it at every performance review. It's an idea that is here to stay in this, or any other economy.
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Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2014
Sensitive Litigation Moment: Walken v. Hopper.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:51 PM | Comments (0)
January 12, 2014
Los Angeles and the Music Business: "A cruel and shallow money trench."
The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.
There's also a negative side.
--HST
Posted by JD Hull at 12:01 AM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2014
How to Pick a Fight in a Global Recession.
There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.
--Henry Kissinger, quoted in The New York Times Magazine, June 1, 1969
Answer: You choose fights more carefully--and you go on the offensive only when you must. As Rome discovered too late, protecting every terrain and border is expensive and draining. As business and trial people learn young, butting heads with everyone who has ever done you a disservice, or fighting every point in an oral argument, or an evidentiary or discovery dispute, will not just be expensive and draining. It will defeat you. And it will make you go bonkers.
In an economic downturn, you have to be even more careful, and often plainly conservative, in reigning in your warrior ways. Put another way, and as a friend of mine likes to day, "allow yourself two or three creeps every day". Don't engage every jerk you meet. Don't right every wrong.
I've been told this my whole life. I hate it. It's a hard lesson--but merely part of the wages of being competitive and bellicose. For me, our old friend Henry, who turned 90 in 2013, said it in a way we can all remember it, and even plan a little.
No Worries, Bubala: Henry steps out in 2011.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)