Generation J.D.

Ah, Super Bowl Sunday. The fierce competition of rival athletes. The camaraderie of dedicated fans. The nail-biting, last minutes of a game where anything could happen. The off-hand comment, “So, who won?”

Yeah. That was my comment. I was working on the computer in the kitchen when my wife came down and said that it was over. It gets worse — she told me the answer, and my attitude was probably best described as indifferent. I am one of five brothers and the only one who has any consistent interest in sports is the oldest. The rest of us just didn’t get that gene. (My dad doesn’t have it, either, though I suppose he’s a carrier.)

I spent more time Sunday reading about football than actually watching it. I came across this article on CNN, “The president who saved football.” It seems whether you like football or hate it, you have Teddy Roosevelt to thank/blame.

Apparently, football was a very violent and unregulated sport back in Teddy’s day. In 1905, before the advent of the NFL and professional football, 18 amateur and college players died because of injuries associated with the game. Fans loved the sport with all of its raw brutality, but it had powerful detractors and was at risk of being banned.

Roosevelt called a beer summit (I can’t say that there was beer there, but one could easily imagine Teddy drinking a brew and bringing folks together) and helped influence changes to the sport that would save it while appeasing the more pacifistic opponents. No more gang tackles, 10 yards needed for a first down and the advent of the forward pass. It’s hard to believe that passing is such a relatively modern addition.

A bunch of grown men in costumes playing war games — it sounds like a Star Trek convention. Actually, how is fantasy football any different than Dungeons and Dragons? Maybe I should like it more than I do…

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Having trouble choosing gifts for that nerdy lawyer in your life?  Here are some possibilities

(Disclaimer:  I’m sure there are non-nerdy lawyers out there.  I don’t know what they want.  Maybe a baseball glove.)

• Typography for Lawyers:  I love everything about this. And, for the low price of $120, you can get Butterick’s hand-crafted Equity font for your own legal use. Yes, you’re paying $120 for a font. Don’t think about it too long, just do it.
• Bryan Garner (@BryanAGarner): The dude has written more about words that Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster put together. He has a lot of cool stuff that I would like to see in my stocking this year:
  1. Seminars — He teaches on Advanced Legal Writing and Making Your Case
  2. Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges (co-written with Justice Antonin Scalia)
  3. Garner’s Modern American Usage (now we’re getting really nerdy):  I’ve seen mention of this dictionary a number of times online and some people actually read it. Like a book! Cover to cover! (Are my exclamation marks increasing your excitement?  No?  Well, it must just be me.)
• PACER for the iPad/iPhone (actually, it’s free, so maybe you just want to give an iPhone or an iPad).
• Green Lawyer Lamp: These things are all over lawyers’ offices in television and movies. I’ve only actually seen one in a lawyer’s office in real life. Maybe life should imitate art?
• Blackacre:  I don’t remember much about property from law school, but I do remember Blackacre.
• A hippopotamus

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On slow news days (also known as “My weekend was way too busy, and I have so much work to do that breathing, eating and other life functions seem like luxuries”) I like to suggest other blogs and news stories. Maybe this will help ease you into your week:

• Jewish apple cake: My new favorite thing. We went to Weber’s Farm a few weeks ago and purchased a Jewish apple cake. I loudly proclaimed it to be my Very Favorite Thing, and I’ve been looking for recipes ever since. I’ve made two so far, one using the recipe stated by There’s A Dad In The Kitchen (I used Golden Delicious apples — not great for eating out of hand, in my opinion, but a decent apple for cooking). Try it out; a great fall treat.
• Acrobat for Legal Professionals: If you’re an Adobe Acrobat nerd, or want to be one, this site gives you advanced tips and tricks to help you explore Acrobat’s functionality in the law office (see this post on digital letterhead for law firms).
• MyShingle: Carolyn Elefant, the muse for solos and solo wannabes, has a new edition of her book out (Solo by Choice (2011-2012 Edition): How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be), and is celebrating with a launch on November 30 in Washington, D.C.
• The Art of Advocacy: We all know Paul Mark Sandler from his numerous writings. (That big red-and-gray book on your shelf about pleadings? That’s him). If you are a new lawyer and need help on persuasion, follow this blog. If you’re an old lawyer and think you know everything, follow this blog.
• XKCD: Just for fun.

Happy Monday!

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The Maryland Court of Appeals’ Ideals of Professionalism calls on attorneys to “willingly take on the responsibility of promoting the image of the legal profession by educating each client and the public regarding the principles underlying the justice system.”

On Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer puts this to practice in Baltimore by promoting his book, “Making Democracy Work: A Judge’s View,“ which seeks to explain the power of the court and why the public has and should accept the opinions of an unelected institution.

Justice Breyer believes that the more the public understands the court, the more it will accept its authority — even if it makes decisions that may be widely unpopular.

(Perhaps the justice’s book tour comes at a good time: a recent Gallup poll shows the Supreme Court’s approval rating at only 46 percent, near the all-time low of 42 percent in 2005.)

The book is born out of Breyer’s concern that too much cynicism about the court endangers our system of government because the public may not accept unpopular opinions. Therefore, he argues that for the court to be perceived as legitimate and earn the public’s confidence, we have to dispel that cynicism by educating the public about how the court works and the basis of its power.

Breyer further contends that the court should reject  originalism and view “the Constitution as containing unwavering values that must be applied flexibly to ever-changing circumstances” and that the court should “take account of the role of other governmental institutions and the relationships among them.”

I think the book is well worth the read for anyone interested in learning more about the court and those interested in Constitutional theory. However, I think it unfortunate that Breyer does not apply the pragmatic, progressive approach he has of the Constitution to the way in which the court goes about its work.

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After months of work, Baltimore finally hosted the Grand Prix. Those of us who live here have survived the road work and other preparations — minor inconveniences. The past few days, however, we faced the major inconveniences.

One of the legal listservs I subscribe to had a number of comments from Baltimore-based firms on Thursday, most of them following a simple formula: “It usually takes me X hours to get to work in the morning, and today it took me X+2 hours. We’ve closed the office for tomorrow.”

I live in Hampden and usually go through the city to get to my office in Columbia, but since Thursday I’ve taken back roads to get to I-70, then to Route 29. Out of my way, but better than dealing with traffic.

I hope Baltimore got a lot of money out of this deal, because there has certainly been a lot of lost income for businesses in the city. I’m sure we will come out ahead, especially with all the construction and the good advertising our city is getting.

I feel a little bad I wasn’t more interested in the Grand Prix. On Saturday, my family fled the Baltimore (by an alternate route, of course), and went to the D.C. zoo with a stop by the Bethesda-version of Georgetown Cupcakes (shorter lines and oh-so-worth-it). I caught the last 30 minutes of the qualification (or whatever they call it) on TV when we got home. Sunday, I spent an hour watching it, really trying to look for a reason to keep watching.

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Marylanders might want to check out the new Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Maryland, the second state to recognize King’s birthday, has an undeniably unique connection to the conception and creation of the memorial dedicated to the civil rights legend.

In January 1984, George Sealey and four other members of Dr. King’s Baltimore-based fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, met in Silver Spring to discuss Sealey’s idea of a national memorial to the civil rights leader and fellow Alpha. Their proposal for a memorial was later adopted as a resolution by the fraternity’s board of directors.

The push for the memorial then went through a long saga of legislation and regulatory approval, including, in 1996, congressional legislation proposing the establishment of the memorial in Washington and, subsequently, joint resolutions in both houses of Congress.

Memorials help us appreciate the struggle of those who paved the way for where we stand today and inspire us to continue the fight. In the case of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, the decades-long history of its completion is itself inspiring, and Maryland has a special place in that story. Make a point to stop by the memorial when you have time.

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Other select events of interest to young lawyers this month in Maryland and Washington include:

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