The Benchslap Dispatches: Posner v. Scalia — Is It Personal?
Is the sniping back and forth between Justice Scalia and Judge Posner personal? We reached out to both jurists for comment.
Quote of the Day: What Do Liz Wurtzel and Justice Scalia Share in Common?
If you think that the liberal writer and the conservative justice have nothing in common, think again....
The Not-So-Young and the Restless: Drama at One First Street?
Are Justice Scalia and Chief Justice Roberts on the outs over Obamacare? And how has public opinion of the Supreme Court shifted in the wake of the Affordable Care Act decision?
Morning Docket: 07.19.12
* How many of Above the Law’s Scalia groupies tuned in to watch the opinionated Supreme Court justice on Piers Morgan last night? Now we all know what Justice Scalia’s favorite pasta dish is! [CNN] * In other news, the Supreme Court’s approval rating has dropped even lower in the wake of the Affordable Care Act decision — just 41% of Americans are satisfied with SCOTUS. [New York Times] * Dewey know if D&L is going to be able to pay out bonuses and retention fees? Not if the U.S. Trustee can help it. They’re not “cost effective or economically feasible” — go figure. [Bloomberg] * City records for Boaz Weinstein’s and Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s $25.5M lawyerly lair have officially hit the books. Not too shabby for a federal prosecutor. [New York Observer] * “I am not a racist. I am not a murderer.” George Zimmerman sat down for an interview with Sean Hannity to tell his side of the story. Prosecutors must be thanking Zimmerman’s attorney for this gift. [Orlando Sentinel] * Duncan Law is appealing its accreditation appeal before the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. This must be the three strikes approach to accreditation. [ABA Journal] * Give this undocumented immigrant one of the documents he’s earned. Immigration law professors are lining up to support Sergio Garcia’s attempt to win admission to the California bar. [National Law Journal] * California’s foie gras ban will remain in effect due to the lack of a “satisfactory explanation” as to why a TRO should be granted. Sorry, but wanting to eat classy French food isn’t a good enough reason. [Businessweek]
Justice Scalia and Bryan Garner on the Interpretation of Legal Texts
Justice Scalia and legal writing guru Bryan Garner have written a new book. What's it all about?
Grammer Pole of the Weak: For ‘Who’ the Bell Tolls?
Welcome to the latest edition of Above the Law’s Grammer Pole of the Weak, a column where we turn questions of legal writing and English grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and debate. Last week, we learned that 59% of our readers would never use “their” in the place of “his or […]
Free Attorney Time Tracking Template For Smarter Billing
Tired of messy time logs? This free attorney time tracking template helps you bill with confidence and accuracy. Learn more in the full article.
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Ending Sentences With Prepositions
In last week’s Grammer Pole, you voted to overwhelmingly approve the use of split infinitives. Fifty-three percent of Above the Law readers said that splitting infinitives is acceptable, even if it should be done sparingly. An additional forty percent said, “Yes. It’s great to liberally split infinitives!” This suggests to me that ATL readers are […]
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Split Infinitives
In an event Lat did a few years ago at the University of Chicago with Judge Richard Posner, Judge Posner tossed out a delicious little blind item. He mentioned a federal judge in Chicago who would fire law clerks for what she viewed as a very grave offense: splitting infinitives in written work product. But is splitting infinitives really such a crime?
Grammer Pole of the Weak: The Case of That v. Which
In last week's edition of Grammer Pole of the Weak, we turned to an issue of grammar with some stylistic flair that was brought to our attention by another member of SCOTUS, Chief Justice John Roberts. Roberts isn't a fan of the word "which" when used in legal writing. He much prefers use of the word "that"....
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Substantive Footnotes
In Grammer Pole of the Weak — yes, “Grammer” is intentionally misspelled, as are “Pole” and “Weak” — we consider questions of English grammar and usage. Last week, for example, we looked at a fun an interesting topic: the adjectival use of “fun” (which over 85 percent of you support, even if traditionalists frown upon […]
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Grammer Pole of the Weak: Got Any Fun Weekend Plans?
Everybody’s working for the weekend. But for now, while you’re still stuck at work, you should take a look at our latest Grammer Pole of the Weak, a column where we turn questions of English grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and debate. Last week, we found out that even federal judges […]
Grammer Pole of the Weak: ‘I Respectfully Dissental’
Above the Law readers are traditionalists in matters of grammar, usage, and writing style. How do y'all feel about neologisms? Let's look at two new words, coined by none other than the newly svelte Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit....
Grammer Pole of the Weak: Gender-Neutral Language and You
Happy Friday, and welcome to the latest edition of Above the Law’s Grammer Pole of the Weak, a column where we turn questions of English grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and debate. Last week, we discovered that 82% of our readers are willing to strangle, maim, and kill over the use […]
Grammer Pole of the Weak: It’s All Right?
Here at Above the Law, we've been discussing English grammar and usage forever -- well, at least since 2006. We've now decided to formalize the discussion. Every Friday we will raise an issue of grammar, spelling, or style, in our newest ATL feature: Grammer Pole of the Weak. Today's topic: "all right" versus "alright." Let's discuss....
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: A Period Piece
My overlords here at ATL thought it would be fun to run a poll about whether there should be one space or two after a period. As if these things are decided by popularity, rather than by rules. This is strange, really, because just about all of you reading this are lawyers or studying to […]