Caption This! (August 29, 2013)

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What in the Bitter Lawyer is going on here?

Put your lawyerly wisdom to the test and post a comment below or on Facebook with a witty, hilarious, or brilliant caption to this comic, courtesy of Shutterstock.com. And keep it clean(ish) and, y’know, respectful.

The editor’s pick will be announced next week, and then we’ll post the comic with the winning caption on Facebook.

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Caption This! Winner (8/29/2013)

New to Bitter Lawyer? Start here, or dig into the archives!

Think you’re funny? Send us your stuff, and maybe we’ll use it!

Dating Tips for the 1L

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So, you decided to go law school and you just happen to be single as well. You are excited for your first year. You are about to be thrown into a small community of really smart people just like yourself and you are confident that at least 1 or 10 of them will be really attractive! Also, you have an outfit for the first day of law school that you know looks absolutely amazing on you. You are ready to go, but before you jump head first into the cesspool that is the 1L dating scene, please let me impart some wisdom on you.

1. Do not do it.

Seriously, just don’t do it. You know how you shouldn’t date people you work with? Well it’s the same thing here, you are going to see these people every day and so you shouldn’t do it. But actually, it’s much much worse than that. I assume the average work place has an average number of self obsessed psychopaths, but in law school, your chances are 1 in 2 that the person’s face you are sucking has a mental disorder.

2. If you sleep with someone in your section, everyone in your section will know every last detail of your coitus.

“Oh, but we really care about each other! S/he wont share my deepest darkest bedroom secrets!” Are you serious? Have you ever even hung out with a lawyer, like ever? Obviously not, because if you had, you would know that the main thing those attorney types like to do is talk. They love to talk all day long. And usually they are going on and on about some boring separation of powers argument and no one cares.

But, when they get to talk about sex, everyone is (probably for the first time ever in their life) staring at them with rapt attention. “And then she said whaaaaat?!?!” Yeah, they aren’t just listening, the are asking questions! No budding 1L can withstand that sort of temptation to practice their public speaking skills.

“So, if I sleep with someone in a different section it will be alright?” Of course not! Nothing is going to be alright for you for a very long time! And you are already thinking about violating rule number one! Your one comfort will be though (if you only flirt with the other sections) that your lover from the other section will be spilling the beans about your sex life in a different room where you don’t have to be embarrassed and can deny the dirty deeds if need be outside their presence.

3. You get to make out with/sleep with/hold hands with one person from school per semester.

This isn’t some prude puritan thing. Sleep with a new person every night for all I care (although you should use protection). Just make sure only one of those people per semester is actually from your law school.

“Why?” you ask? Because, as I just explained to you, about half the people in your school have mental health disorders. Your chances are high that your new “friend” will be a pathological liar, an egotistical maniac, neurotic, manic depressive, or possibly a straight out psychopath incapable of empathy. You don’t want to play hot potato with a series of mentally ill suitors. (And to be clear, you are the potato in that analogy and you are being tossed around by very intelligent and very unstable lovers.)

Also, if you follow this rule, you might just be slightly more selective about who you make out with at the end of the night in a bar in front people who will be your colleagues for the rest of your life. No one is going to care ten years from now if you made out with the homeless guy (or 10 homeless guys) who sits in the corner of the bar. But if you just went home with your best friends man/girl, all of your colleagues will remember that for as long as they know you. They might stop saying things to you about it, but they wont forget.

4. Have Fun

Yeah, I told you not to do it, but if you were one to take advice, you probably wouldn’t be going to law school in the first place. So, have fun. The good thing about law school is no one is expecting you to get married right away and have 3920483 babies and so you can enjoy the pressure free dating scene for maybe the last time ever. Call your friends over to your place at 1 am because you just didn’t take their advice about some guy/girl and now you totally need some Ben and Jerry’s or beer or wine or all three . . . At least if you are spending all night regretting a bad decision with a lover, you aren’t spending it worrying about how you totally didn’t know any of the answers to any of the questions your professor asked about Pennoyer v. Neff. Sometimes, in law school, that’s a good thing.

(image: Young attractive couple having sex via SHUTTERSTOCK

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Miley Cyrus Considering a Legal Career?

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In what is perhaps a misguided attempt to restore respectability after her controversial performance at last weekend’s VMAs, Miley Cyrus is rumored to be considering shifting gears towards a legal career. Celebrity gossip mongers are torn between screaming “WTF?” and admitting this is probably a good strategy for the starlet, given the inevitability of sexual harassment lawsuits resulting from Ms. Cyrus twerking in close proximity to people’s faces without their consent.

“Miley would prefer to be the next Elizabeth Wurtzel rather than the next Amanda Bynes,” said an anonymous source close to the former Hannah Montana, “She has shown an interest in the law since her lawyers began drafting her prenup with Liam” (Hemsworth, her on-again off-again fiance).

“I think she’d fit right in, actually,” said Baylor 1L Nicole Cruz. “Every section has that person you’ll sign into class for and give your notes to because they’ll help you blow off some steam on the weekends.”

Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, who previously took on actress Natalie Portman as a research assistant, says “I would love to work with Miley. ‘Party in the U.S.A. is one of my favorite songs.”

An (unconfirmed) email supposedly from Miley’s father Billy Ray Cyrus states, “I know Miley says she ‘can’t be tamed’, but a legal education might be just the ticket. If she’s going to join a deplorable group of human beings, I’d rather it be lawyers than Hot Mess Former Disney Stars.”

Accredited law schools in the United States require an undergraduate degree, and Ms. Cyrus lacks both a Bachelor’s and a high school diploma/GED. Ms. Cyrus may be able to get around this rule because as her hit “We Can’t Stop” proclaims: “we run things things don’t run we.”

Our sources say Miley will most likely focus on entertainment law, although she has also shown a keen interest in the subterranean property rights relevant to the controversy over fracking.

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Ask the Expert: My Brother Received a Deed Processing Notice in the Mail- Is it Real or a Scam?

Q.  My 65-year old brother, Sam, recently transferred his residence to a Living Trust PlusTM.  Last week, he received a “Deed Processing Notice” in the mail that looks a lot like a bill from the U.S. government.  There was a date on it for a couple of weeks from now by which they are requiring him and his wife, Edna, to pay $83 for a copy of their deed and a “Property Profile.” He asked me what I thought and I told him I had never heard of this before. When I looked at the note, they seem to have the parcel number for his property (not sure if it is the right one), but there are statements that it is not a bill but a solicitation and that he can obtain a copy of his deed from the recorder in his county for “up to $83.00.” He lives in Fairfax County, VA.  Is this something he should pay attention to or is it a scam? I want to make sure that Sam and Edna are not missing something that is required of them.  I also want to make sure they don’t get duped.

In addition, Sam was raving about The Living Trust Plus. Is there a way I can find out more about it for my family?

A. Police officers and Better Business Bureaus around the country are warning property owners not to fall victim to an apparent new scam attempt being mailed these days. What you describe sounds exactly like the scam consumers (mostly seniors) are being warned about. Click on this link for an example of a deed processing scam.

The company, Deed Retrieval Department (which also does business as Deed Retrieval Services and Record Retrieval Department), has been sending homeowners letters that appear to be a bill for $83 from the U.S. government for a property deed. However, despite the fact that it looks official, it’s not a bill nor is it from the U.S. government. The letter says, “Why do we believe you need a copy of your current Grant Deed Property Profile?  State Record Regulation Department recommends that all U.S. homeowners obtain a copy of their current Grant Deed.”  At the bottom, the letter states that the “product or service is not endorsed by any government agency.” However, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) believes that consumers may overlook this fine print. Letters list an address, but when research was done, it was actually found to be a UPS Store.

“In most cases, homeowners don’t even need a copy of the deed to their home,” said BBB President and CEO Dana Badgerow. “And if you want a copy, we advise against paying $83 to this firm or any other when you can get one for a fraction of that price from your local County Clerk’s or Register of Deed’s office.”

Your deed is recorded at the Registry of Deeds or Land Court, and in the case of the Registry you are mailed the original one after it is recorded. You can always request a copy of your deed directly from your local Registry, for just a few dollars. Any company charging you $20+ dollars should be questioned, especially if you did not reach out to this company but received unsolicited mail from them.

In Fairfax County, to obtain a copy of your deed by mail, you can complete the Land Records Copy Request Form and follow the directions on the form.

A quick search online showed that other states were warning folks of these letters that make it sound like you need to buy a copy of the deed to your house.

If you have doubts about mail you receive asking you for money for something you didn’t request, think twice and ask someone else what they think. Consumers who receive questionable offers or have concerns about mailings that appear to be official or have governmental ties, are encouraged to contact the BBB at 1-800-646-6222, or to bring it to your local police station.

In your question, you also inquired about The Living Trust PlusTM. The Living Trust PlusTM is an irrevocable asset protection trust that you create while you are living, that allows you to receive all income from the trust assets, including the right to live in any trust-owned real estate, but you can not have direct access to principal.

The Living Trust PlusTM functions very similarly to a revocable living trust and maintains much of the flexibility of a revocable living trust, but protects your assets from the expenses and difficulties of probate PLUS the expenses of long-term care while you’re alive, PLUS lawsuits and a multitude of other financial risks during your lifetime. The Living Trust PlusTM Asset Protection Trust protects your assets from lawsuits, auto accidents, creditor attacks, medical expenses, and — most importantly for the 99% of Americans who are not among the ultra-wealthy — from the catastrophic expenses often incurred in connection with nursing home care.  For most Americans, the Living Trust PlusTM is the preferable form of asset protection trust because, for purposes of Medicaid eligibility, this type of trust is the only type of self-settled asset protection trust that allows a settlor to retain an interest in the trust while also protecting the assets from being counted by state Medicaid agencies.

I encourage you to read more about The Living Trust PlusTM on The Fairfax Medicaid Asset Protection Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. website or at http://www.livingtrustplus.com. You are also welcome to attend one of our no-cost monthly seminars. Please call us at 703-691-1888 to make an appointment for a complimentary consultation.

Part 1: Celebrities with Alzheimer’s Disease- Ronald Reagan

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurologic disorder of the brain leading to the irreversible loss of intellectual abilities, including memory and reasoning.  Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia.

Alzheimer’s was discovered by Dr. Aloysius Alzheimer, who was a German neuropathologist and psychiatrist. In 1901, while he worked at the city mental asylum in Germany, Dr. Alzheimer encountered a 51 year old patient named Mrs. Auguste Deter. The patient had distinct behavioral symptoms which did not fit any existing diagnoses, including rapidly failing memory, disorientation, confusion, and trouble expressing her thoughts. Her symptoms progressed relentlessly. This was the first published case of “presenile dementia” and in 1906, a colleague identified it as Alzheimer’s disease – naming it after Dr. Alzheimer.

According to the National Institute on Aging, there are estimated to be between 2.4 million and 4.5 million Americans who have Alzheimer’s. One third of all seniors in America die with Alzheimer’s or some other dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Deaths from Alzheimer’s have risen by 68% from 2000 to 2010.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that gets worse as it develops. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, although there are ways of slowing down its advance and helping patients with some of the symptoms. Alzheimer’s is also a terminal disease that is classified into several stages. A common framework includes 1. Pre-Dementia Stage. 2. Mild Alzheimer’s Stage. 3. Moderate Alzheimer’s Stage. 4. Severe Alzheimer’s Stage. Most patients take from 8 to 10 years to progress through all the stages. However, some may live for 20 years after neuron changes first occur. The main reason Alzheimer’s disease shortens people’s life expectancy is not usually the disease itself, but complications that result from it.

Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia strike all families — even those in the most glamorous corners of our world. In this series, we will look at the 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Lady Volunteers basketball coach Pat Summitt, and country singer Glenn Campbell and their fights with Alzheimer’s and awareness efforts.

Part 1: Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911, to Jack Reagan, a salesman, and Nelle (Wilson). Reagan had one sibling, his older brother, Neil (1908–1996), who became an advertising executive.

Reagan was educated at Eureka College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology. After graduating, he moved first to Iowa to work as a radio broadcaster and then, in 1937, to Los Angeles where he began a career as an actor, first in films and later in television. Some of his most notable films include Knute Rockne, All American (1940), Kings Row (1942), and Bedtime for Bonzo (1951). Reagan served as President of the Screen Actors Guild and later as a spokesman for General Electric (GE).

In 1938, Reagan co-starred in the film Brother Rat with actress Jane Wyman (1917–2007). They became engaged shortly after and got married on January 26, 1940. Together they had two biological children, Maureen (1941–2001) and Christine (who was born in 1947 but only lived one day), and adopted a third, Michael (born 1945). Following arguments about Reagan’s political ambitions, Wyman filed for divorce in 1948, citing a distraction due to her husband’s Screen Actors Guild union duties; the divorce was finalized in 1949. He is the only US president to have been divorced.

Reagan met actress Nancy Davis (born 1921) in 1949 after she contacted him in his capacity as president of the Screen Actors Guild to help her with issues regarding her name appearing on a communist blacklist in Hollywood (she had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis). She described their meeting by saying, “I don’t know if it was exactly love at first sight, but it was pretty close.” They were married on March 4, 1952. They had two children: Patti (born October 21, 1952) and Ron (born May 20, 1958).

Originally a member of the Democratic Party, his positions began shifting rightward in the 1950s, and he switched to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech entitled “A Time for Choosing,” in support of Barry Goldwater’s presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 and in 1976, but won both the nomination and general election in 1980, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.

As president, Reagan implemented new political and economic initiatives. His policies, dubbed “Reaganomics”, advocated reducing tax rates to spur economic growth, controlling the money supply to reduce inflation, deregulation of the economy, and reducing government spending. In his first term he survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line against labor unions, announced a new War on Drugs, and ordered an invasion of Grenada. He was re-elected in a landslide in 1984. His second term was primarily marked by foreign matters, such as the ending of the Cold War, the 1986 bombing of Libya, and the revelation of the Iran–Contra affair. He supported anti-communist movements worldwide. Reagan negotiated with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, culminating in the INF Treaty and the decrease of both countries’ nuclear arsenals.

Reagan left office in 1989. In August 1994, at the age of 83, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In November he informed the nation through a handwritten letter, writing in part:

I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease… At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done… I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you.

After his diagnosis, letters of support from well-wishers poured into his California home, but there was also speculation over how long Reagan had demonstrated symptoms of mental degeneration. In her memoirs, former CBS White House correspondent Lesley Stahl recounts her final meeting with the president, in 1986: “Reagan didn’t seem to know who I was” But then, at the end, he regained his alertness.” As she described it, “I had come close to reporting that Reagan was senile.” In another instance, while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, he repeatedly referred to Vice President Bush as “Prime Minister Bush.” Reagan’s doctors, however, note that he only began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992 or 1993, several years after he had left office. Other staff members, former aides, and friends said they saw no indication of Alzheimer’s while he was President.

In July 1989, Reagan suffered an episode of head trauma, five years prior to his diagnosis. After being thrown from a horse, a subdural hematoma was found and surgically treated later in the year. Nancy Reagan, citing what doctors told her, asserts that her husband’s 1989 fall hastened the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, although acute brain injury has not been conclusively proven to accelerate Alzheimer’s or dementia. Reagan’s one-time physician Dr. Daniel Ruge has said it is possible, but not certain, that the horse accident affected the course of Reagan’s memory.

As the years went on, the disease slowly destroyed Reagan’s mental capacity. He was only able to recognize a few people, including his wife, Nancy. He remained active, however; he took walks through parks near his home and on beaches, played golf regularly, and until 1999 he often went to his office in nearby Century City.

On January 13, 2001, Reagan suffered a fall at his Bel Air home resulting in a broken hip. The fracture was repaired the following day and the 89-year old Reagan returned home later that week, although he faced difficult physical therapy at home. On February 6, 2001, Reagan reached the age of 90, becoming the third former president to do so (the other two being John Adams and Herbert Hoover, with Gerald Ford later reaching 90). Reagan’s public appearances became much less frequent with the progression of the disease and, as a result, his family decided that he would live in quiet semi-isolation with his wife Nancy. Nancy Reagan told CNN’s Larry King in 2001 that very few visitors were allowed to see her husband because she felt that “Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was.”

On June 5, 2004, Ronald Reagan died of pneumonia, complicated by Alzheimer’s disease, at his home in Bel Air, California. A short time after his death, Nancy Reagan released a statement saying, “My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has died after 10 years of Alzheimer’s disease at 93 years of age.”

He was the first United States president to die in the 21st century, and his was the first state funeral in the United States since that of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973. His burial site is inscribed with the words he delivered at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: “I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and that there is purpose and worth to each and every life.”

Following her husband’s diagnosis and death, Nancy Reagan became a stem-cell research advocate, urging Congress and President George W. Bush to support federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, something Bush opposed. In 2009, she praised President Barack Obama for lifting restrictions on such research. Mrs. Reagan has said that she believes that it could lead to a cure for Alzheimer’s.

Although a great deal of research has been done and is currently being done on the possible causes of Alzheimer’s, experts are still not sure why the brain cells deteriorate. However, several factors including age, family history, gender (more women than men), head injuries, academic level, stress, chronic depression, obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol and poorly controlled diabetes are known to be linked to a higher risk of developing the disease. Read our Everything Elder Law blog, as we are always pleased to report any updates on new research, discoveries, and treatments for Alzheimer’s as we find out about them.

Do you have a loved one who is suffering from Alzheimer’s? Persons with Alzheimer’s and their families face special legal and financial needs. At The Fairfax Elder Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. we are dedicated to easing the financial and emotional burden on those suffering from dementia and their loved ones. If you have a loved one who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, we can help you prepare for your future financial and long-term care needs. We help protect the family’s hard-earned assets while maintaining your loved one’s comfort, dignity, and quality of life by ensuring eligibility for critical government benefits. Call us today at 703-691-1888 to make an appointment for a complimentary consultation.

I feel like a normal attorney, I recommended a Last Will and Testament

If you have heard me speak much or read much of my writings, you know I am very critical of using a Last Will and Testament as the primary estate planning tool.  Having a will makes you go through probate, which is court, which is very expensive, time consuming and not in anyone’s real best interest other than the attorney.  So, me recommending a Last Will and Testament is me eating crow.

However, I did actually recommend a Last Will and Testament yesterday but it’s still not their primary estate planning tool, it’s there just “in case”.  Normally I don’t even do a Last Will and Testament since we make sure all of the assets transfer on death to someone else immediately upon death or we make sure they don’t own anything at the time of their death by using a trust.

However, we had a interesting case yesterday that the only solution I could come up with was a will.  This couple has no children.  They have a number of nieces and nephews that would be the natural heirs of their estate if we did not do anything.  They want all of the assets to go to one nephew.  We did a type of deed on the house to make sure the house goes to this nephew upon death.  We have all the bank accounts go to the nephew upon death.  However, they own a type of investment that does not allow us to do the “payable on death” designation.  Therefore, if the couple does not liquidate this asset before death, it will go to probate.  We have to do the last will and testament to make sure this one asset is not divided between all the nieces and nephews and go to just who they want.  Our hope is that the one assets that can’t be paid on death will be liquidated but just in case the only way we could fix this was with a will.  So, yes, crow does taste OK in the right situation.

Todd Whatley is the founding partner of the Elder Law Practice of Whatley and Elrod, and the Managing Attorney of the Springdale, Arkansas offices, serving the legal needs of the elderly in Northwest Arkansas, including Springdale and Fayetteville.  Todd Whatley has been working in elder law field since 2000, and became Arkansas’ second certified Elder Law Attorney in 2006.  He is on the Board of Directors of the National Elder Law Foundation.  The Elder Law Practice of Whatley and Elrod is focused on the legal needs of the elderly and their families.  Todd Whatley is a regular speaker for Continuing Legal Education seminars teaching other attorneys about elder law.


About the Elder Law Practice of Whatley and Elrod:

Elder Law Practice of Whatley and Elrod is Arkansas’ largest Elder Law practice, with five locations through the state of Arkansas, in Bryant, Fort Smith, Springdale, and Bentonville and Hot Springs Village.  Todd Whatley and Justin Elrod, the managing partners at the Elder Law Practice, are committed to serving the legal needs of the elderly in Arkansas.  Their services include estate planning, creating wills, trusts, avoiding probate, special needs trusts, Medicare, Medicaid, and more.  The Elder Law Practice of Whatley and Elrod also focuses in VA benefits, assisting Arkansas veterans in getting the benefits and assistance that they have earned during their time spent serving our country.

Law Review Will Ruin Your Life

Law Review

If you’re headed toward your 2L year, you’re probably freaking out right now about your journal invitations (or lack thereof). But before you accept a position on law review (or smack your head repeatedly into the wall because you didn’t make law review), heed my warning: law review will ruin your life.

Sure, it’s a great line on your resume. Sure, it plants seeds for networking that will yield fruit for years to come. Sure, it’s something you can brag about when people laugh in your face for finding out that you were dumb enough to go to law school. But is it really worth all of THIS:

  • No one in the real world uses proper Blue Book format. (This is why journal staffs exist, to fix professor’s hopeless errors.) If you stay in the legal field, you will forever grit your teeth at briefs with lackadaisical case citations. Or worse yet, have your boss correct your proper citations with improperly abbreviated nonsense!
  • You’ll get so used to replacing “Commission” with “Comm’n” and “Railway” to “Ry.” and “Shareholder” to “S’holder” and so on that you will start abbreving ev’thng and no one will undstnd. you evr ‘gain.
  • You will learn the difference between an italicized period and a non-italicized period. Let’s put that in perspective: ..Yep. Those are different.
  • You will get pedantic about the differences between hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. Aside from drastically decreasing your chances of ever getting laid again, this will require much more extensive use of the “special characters” dialogue in word processing programs and irksome HTML when writing online. And – to add insult to injury – you’ll shudder every time you see someone set off part of a sentence the way I just did. I’m literally gagging right now.
  • You will jeopardize at least one personal relationship over debating the oxford comma.
  • You will have to live with the fact that a significant portion of your second year of law school—which should really be two semesters of un-clenching and following your actual legal interests—will be spent putting spaces between closed-up ellipses.
  • You will awkwardly insert asides into your writing just to demonstrate to uninterested internet readers the appropriate use of an em dash.
  • You will be horrifyingly embarrassed when you can’t remember what you wrote your Note about at a law school mixer two years after graduation.
  • You will realize that scholarly legal writing is a huge drag and your “fallback career path” of becoming a law school professor is not nearly as appealing as you thought it was.

Now I did make some of my best friends in law school through Law Review, and yes, I do really cherish being able to pull that out as a reason law school wasn’t entirely a mistake. But I left an italicized period somewhere it did not belong in this article and it’s going to keep me up tonight.

IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?

[Image: law books in a library on a shelf via Shutterstock]

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Poetic Justice: Law School Time Warp

Networking Law Job in Law School

This week we bring you another selection from the book Poetic Justice: Legal Humor in Verse by JD Dupuy and ML Philpott. This poem is for the new law students out there.

Time Warp

Gossip, insecurity, competition, cliques…
Wasn’t it a decade ago we outgrew all this?

Sorting out the pecking order like teenagers do,
Obsessed with rank, we watch our backs and watch each other, too.

We’ve got all kinds of females here, from prom queens to wallflowers,
Mean girls, dull ones, sporty types, and ones who don’t take showers.

The guys are represented too, from quarterbacks to nerds,
Jerkwads, class clowns, and the ones in love with their own words.

The romances are epic, and the breakups make the news,
There’s not a social situation we don’t see as win or lose.

Professors play supporting roles, engrossed in their subjects,
We ridicule them, roll our eyes, “lol” at them by text.

Ambitions worn on every sleeve, there’s much pontification.
We’re always preening for an audience, giving an oration.

Why did I think there would be no nonsense of this kind?
Clearly there’s a lot we grownup kids can’t leave behind.

They say, “Look left and then look right. One of you won’t make it.”
I think I may nominate myself. I’m not sure I can take it.

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Federal Appeals Court Grants Mandate, Orders Dismissal Of Health Care Act Cases

Ask Liza: Annual Gifts and Lifetime Gifts

Dear Liza, I would like to give my son $200k to upgrade homes. Can me and my wife each give $13,000 to my son, daughter in law, and two grand children? That would be $102,000, and then apply the remaining $98,000 to the unified tax credit. Can I write…

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