The LACBA Student Lounge Blog

Circuit Court Rejects Muslim Cop's Request to Wear Religious Scarf

A Philadelphia police officer recently lost her bid to wear a religious head scarf at work. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that forcing the police department to accommodate this cop's request would make it difficult for the police department to maintain "religious neutrality" within the police force.

According to a recent Law.com article, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Anthony J. Scirica wrote in the opinion that without strict enforcement of a dress code, "the essential values of impartiality, religious neutrality, uniformity, and the subordination of personal preference would be severely damaged to the detriment of the proper functioning of the police department."

YouTube Video for Lawyers and Law Students

Is YouTube a valuable tool for lawyers? Are lawyers using YouTube? Is the site valuable to law students:

Some results for recent YouTube searches:

Lawyers: 24,800 results
Los Angeles lawyer: 3, 140 results
California lawyer: 9,370
Corporate lawyer: 2,030
Personal injury lawyer": 7,000
Criminal defense attorney: 5,420
Divorce lawyer: 6,170
Employment lawyer: 2,030
California law student: 11,700
California bar exam: 8,45

Laptop Tip: Need a Lift?

Laptop Lifts may be a good solution if your laptop tends to run on the hot side. Essentially, these are rubber pieces that can be attached to the underside of your laptop. They'll raise your laptop slightly for some added ventilation, keep your laptop from slipping and could protect it when the coffee you managed to get into the law library takes a spill.

More information here.

Minority Women in the Law Panel: Loyola Law School (02/24/09)

Presented by the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California and other bar associations the Minority Women in the Law Panel will take place on February 24, 2009 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Burns Student Lounge, Loyola Law School.

The Minority Women in the Law panel will serve as an opportunity for distinguished diverse female attorneys to provide practical strategies for success and share various ways they have negotiated the work/life balance in their lives.

PANELISTS :
Elena Baca
Managing Partner of the Los Angeles Office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Honorable Audrey Collins
Chief Judge of the Central District of California
Joann Lee
Director Attorney, Asian Pacific Islander Services, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Judge Elaine Lu
Judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court and former Assistant U.S. Attorney
Nita Parikh
Partner at Jackson Lewis LLP
Alka Sagar
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California
Moderated by:
Holly Fujie
State Bar of California President

For details, contact Hema Patel: (213) 736-1000.

CALI Launches Legal Education Commons for Law Profs

The Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) recently launched a new service called the Legal Education Commons.

What is it? For professors, it will be a resource to share teaching materials. Here, law profs from CALI member schools can upload and share the materials they use to teach, including all types of course materials, illustrations and court opinions. A type of crude web 2.0, visitors can also access the materials that professors upload to the site.

For law students, it may be source to strike it rich if your professor happens to participate. Otherwise, you can take a look at course outlines and other materials (like you really need another torts outline).

Learn to Litigate Before Becoming an Attorney

Guess what some of the biggest and most high-paying law firms do when they hire new associates? They send them to LACBA’s annual Basic Litigation Skills program, the very best kept secret for new attorneys. Now, imagine this: you send your resume to a law firm after graduation and it says you’ve already been through LACBA’s three-day Basic Litigation Skills program. Nothing says you’re an overachieving, out-of-the-gate-faster and better candidate than this. Oh, by the way, you also learn the nuts and bolts of litigation.

LACBA’s Basic Litigation Skills program is a three-day conference designed to give you the tools and skills you need to be an effective litigator in the state and federal courts in Los Angeles. This hands-on annual conference focuses on the typical stages of a case and features as speakers some of the very best lawyers, professors and judges in our community.

Reduced cost for law students: $175.

January 22, 23 & 24.

More information here.

Law Student Clobbers Would-Be Robber Over Laptop

Arizona State University law student, Alex Botsios, said he had no problem giving the would-be robber his wallet or other valuables, but drew the line at his laptop. "I was like, 'Dude, no -- please, no!" Botsios said. "I have all my case notes…that's four months of work!"

According to a KPHO article:

Police said Gabriel Saucedo entered Botsios' apartment through an open window early Thursday morning. When Botsios woke up, Saucedo threatened him with a baseball bat, police said.

Botsios effectively wrestled the baseball bat away from Saucedo and began punching. Saucedo was taken to the hospital for stitches before he was arrested and charged with armed robbery and kidnapping. Botsios on the other hand suffered a brusied knucke and a few minor scratches.

Chemerinsky to Judge Jacobs: Bring it On!

Okay, perhaps some readers will think this blog is obsessed with the Chem-ster. But, you just can't beat the legal news that surrounds the UCI law school dean. The dean has now chellenged a US Court of Appeals judge to a debate.

In recent weeks, Judge Dennis Jacobs, 2d US Court of Appeals, has made some rather indelicate remarks on the nature of pro bono legal service. His statement was one of those tell-us-what-you-really-think-Judge-Jacobs statements. Essentially, he concludes that attorneys who serve underprivileged clients bro bono are only doing so to improve their personal status, to improve the status of their law firms and that these attorneys and law firms are just self-serving and anti-social.

The events wen't kinda like this: 1. Jacobs releases racy statement, 2. Chemerinsky issues spirited public response disagreeing with Jacobs, 3. Jacobs clarifies with the WSJ law blog and, 4. Chemerinksy challenges Jacobs to a debate.

That's right, Chemerinsky, faster than a speeding con law genius, able to dean law schools in a single bound, is now an outspoken pro bono advocate.

If the debate does take place, the Federalist Society and the American Constitutional Society may co-sponsor the debate. Judge Jacobs is now in the interesting place of taking the challenge and defending a difficult position or ignoring the debate and essentially conceding.

More at the ABA Journal.

March of the Suits: Southwestern Symposium

The global warming crisis isn’t “breaking news” these days, but the land issues it raises are—in particular, the territorial claims some countries are asserting over newly exposed tracts of arctic land. Canada, Russia, and the United States have already begun to discuss issues of sovereignty over (and even stake claims to) areas of the North Pole.

An unforeseen fallout of global warming, this new land-grab could prove as heated as the old Alaskan Gold Rush. Many Arctic resources, such as the Northwest Passage, may soon become available due to the ongoing loss of northern ice. Southwestern University School of Law hosts a day-long symposium October 3, 2008, to discuss the social and economic ramifications of the global environmental issues affecting this area. Prominent legal scholars will examine how this particular global warming issue could heat things up for Canada and the U.S.

California Law Students Receive LACBA Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Awards

The Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association announced annual law student award recipients. Ten California law students will be recognized at the fifth annual law student excellence awards on September 10, 2008.

Presenting the awards and a legislative update on pending or recent enactments will be Hon. Barry Russell and Steve O. Weise.

And the award recipients are:

Jeffrey S. Turner Outstanding Commercial Law Student Award Recipients:
John C. Russell Jr., Loyola Law School
Travis McDermott, Pepperdine University School of Law
Tracy D. Hughes, Southwestern University School of Law
Michael Titera, UCLA School of Law
Peter N. Steinwachs, USC School of Law

Outstanding Bankruptcy Law Student Award Recipients:
Amanda Main, Pepperdine University School of Law
Chien-Yu Wang, Southwestern University School of Law
Amir Gamliel, UCLA School of Law
Gregory Strausberg, Loyola Law School
Brandon Dorsky, USC School of Law

The awards luncheon will take place at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel.