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August 23, 2008
Legal OnRamp: Worth Watching?
WAC? and Hull McGuire PC are "old school" and get cranky or bored when being sold the next cool tech thing. Generally social networking tools don't excite us. However, here's an exception we've followed off-and-on since January 2007, and we'll write about it more next week. In the meantime, see Robert Ambrogi's piece earlier this month about Legal OnRamp in Legal Blog Watch.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
"Think Like A GC--Help Control Costs."
Imagine lawyers in a church basement in Foggy Bottom for a noon meeting: I'm Wendell S., Georgetown '85, and I'm clueless about clients... This post's title is Rule 8 in our 12-step program for service-challenged corporate lawyers. Note: We are updating our 12 CS Rules, completed on 4/3/06, and will post "improved" rules soon. In the meantime, should you feel cluelessness coming on, call your sponsor.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2008
"Veep Watch Drags On"; Obama's dreary schmaltz-fest.
See today's Boston Globe. Three days after our Biden prediction, sober TV heads keep saying Biden Biden Biden. WAC? was right about something? Another gratuitous prediction: in November, Hillary Clinton supporters vote for John McCain in nightmarish droves, often voting "R" for first and last time in their lives. Finally, Obama bores WAC? silly with the wimpified Kennedy-lite stuff. Real boomers are appalled: the hope, the dream, change, good crops, motherhood, justice for all, Sunday drives do not equal a platform. Months of nothing. Dude, we love your resume and work ethic, but just what are you saying?
AP file photo: Sen. Obama with Chairman Biden in 2007
Posted by JD Hull at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2008
China post-games economic hangover?
The "perfect storm"? See Ian Williams' Beijing column at NBC's World Blog, "Hangover After China's Party?"
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2008
Our Obama VP pick: Joe Biden
We don't love Obama--but we have some advice for him: Joe Biden.
At 65, Biden seems younger than his years--and at times more youthful than the candidate. Biden has been in the U.S. Senate more than half of his life (since he was 30), and knows his way around D.C. But he's still a stone natural campaigner and a skillful "people" guy--and good with the blue collar folks all over the U.S. Obama has trouble with now and will, in our view, continue to alienate. He's Roman Catholic, Irish, and, well, way more fun than Obama. Biden's a pol and lawyer--but never a Weenie. He's a survivor of great personal tragedy at a relatively early age and stage in his career, which we admire. In the past few years Biden has picked up big foreign policy credentials, which elude Obama. Cons: he's got some personal baggage, and sometimes he just talks too much.
Biden's only serious competition for the VP job is either unknown or lackluster. Note: We do like Hoosier Senator Evan Bayh, too--but we liked Evan's charismatic and inspirational dad, Birch, a lot better. We would love to see Evan "get more like Birch" as he matures. Evan Bayh is still young. Biden has Birch Bayh's gift for connecting with people now. Like 80-year-old Birch, Joe Biden can still whip up a crowd over 40 that didn't attend Harvard, Williams or Duke, or doesn't know which fork to use at the Cosmos Club.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (2)
Sailing in Qingdao
Only at China Law Blog. Harris & Moure's Steve Dickinson is in Qingdao, an ancient but ultra-modern city in the Shandong province with over 7 million people living in the metro area:
...Qingdao has worked hard to ensure that the entire coastline within the city is open to the public. The Olympic Sailing Center opens up the last closed stretch of waterfront, which will greatly benefit the public....the intense fear of foreigners and the problems they might bring has resulted in a lack of foreign visitors to Qingdao in connection with the event. Spectators for the events seem to be almost exclusively from within China....the heightened security has made it even more difficult to get around town than usual. For the foreigners who actually made it to Qingdao, who would want to return to a place where your dancing companion in the local night club is a 50 year old policeman?
Posted by JD Hull at 01:39 AM | Comments (0)
All this law business: Foonberg, Cartier-Liebel & Greenfield
Two must-read and related posts, triggered by Beverly Hills lawyer Jay Foonberg, who literally wrote the books on building practices and getting/keeping good clients: "My Unexpected Phone Call with Jay Foonberg" by Susan Cartier Liebel and "The Professional Business of Law" by our buddy-for-life Scott Greenfield.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:46 AM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2008
Trout fishing in America.
Here and here, for the last eleven years. Throw in silvers, bears, lost seals, a consistent grandeur, "micro-climates", your real boss Nature and a special mix of humans and good friends from Europe, the Middle East, NYC and Midwestern America, along with the bows. A "bad day" at some spots is just eight Cohos or ten 19" rainbows. Mutant big Arctic Graylings or crazed-aggressive Dolly Varden Char on a fly rod will have to do. Six days which begin at 6:00 AM and often earlier at this established fly-out lodge. "So, how did you all do today?"
Posted by JD Hull at 06:23 PM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2008
Action, speed, color, violence: Gen Y discussion has legs.
Maynard G. Krebs (circa 1962), Hero of The Slackoeisie.
Re: Hi, I'm Justin, and am very happy going through life as a turd--which, by the way, is your fault. Speaking of inspiration, it's August 18, and our May 20 post Who cares what makes Gen Y tick? keeps delivering strong comments, some remarkably angry, on both sides of the issue. Some of the language is eerily reminiscent of Bob Dylan's soul-sick closing lines of his song "Masters of War".* Our take is still: Gen Y gets points for turning unhappiness into a philosophy, we like your moxie, maybe it's our fault--but we're burning daylight here. Do something. You have formidable energies--if not a wit of discipline. Write a novel, maybe? (Nah, too hard.)
Hey, don't quit before the miracle happens.
*And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead.
Dang.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)
Blawg Review #173: World Record Swimming
Blawg Review is hosted this week by R. David Donoghue at Chicago IP Litigation Blog. No. 173 applies the principles for setting world swimming records to the blawgosphere.
Posted by Brooke Powell at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)