Holler: Our Favorite Posts From the Blawgosphere (Week of July 27)
Heh. Some people actually think "reading the law" instead of going to school is a plausible idea. It's not, and not just because you'll fail the bar exam. Speaking of bar exams, ExamSoft is refusing refunds for their failed bar exam software. Also, "It's murda. Murda." Which NRA leader was once convicted of murder before an appeals court tossed the confession and the evidence?
And on the only serious note: Congress sues Obama. Can they do that?
Get your popcorn ready...
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NY Times: Apprenticeships or Law School?
Reading the law. It's a sucker's bet, in my humble opinion. Sure, you get admission to the bar without $150,000 in debt, but you're also spending four years studying the law, with only a slim chance of passing the bar (if past test-takers are any indication), and then, will anyone actually hire you? (Hint: No -- at least not anyone you'd want to work for.)
The New York Times rounded up a bunch of bloggers, professors, and authors to debate the merits of apprenticeship, and it came down as you'd expect: Academics like academia, authors like the outside-the-box solution, and there's some wishy-washy "both sides have merit" mixed in as well.
Above the Law: ExamSoft Should Refund Students' Money
#Barmageddon was a hot topic this week, but even though the bar exam is finished, the discussion isn't.
Students, understandably irked by ExamSoft's miserable failure, started asking for refunds. The company responded with emails like this:
Thank you so much for your patience and we are very sorry for the difficulty you were experiencing Tuesday night when trying to upload your answer files. At this time we are [sic] do not plan on administering any refunds, for we have a very strict no refund policy. We understand this is a very stressful time at which we can assure you that this delay in uploading your answer files did not impact the answer file content.
Regards,
ExamSoft Team
Apparently, all your monies are belong to them. ATL's Elie Mystal argues for refunds and points out that there will almost certainly be a class of failed test-takers filing a class action lawsuit once results are in. As if we'd expect anything less from lawyers.
Mother Jones: NRA General Counsel Was Once Convicted of Murder
Talk about digging up dirt. (No pun with the buried pistol intended.)
Mother Jones revealed the past of the National Rifle Association's General Counsel Robert J. Dowlut. Shockingly, it included a confession to shooting a pawn store owner during a robbery, and later that same night, the murder of his girlfriend's mother. His conviction was overturned years later by the Indiana Supreme Court over the intense interrogation and "fruit of the poisonous tree," two years after Miranda v. Arizona.
The article not only recaps the murder mystery, but talks about Dowlut's career after getting out of prison: the Army, undergraduate and law studies, and most notable of all, one of the leaders of the NRA's legal strategy over the past few decades.
The Volokh Conspiracy: Arguments For and Against Suing the President
Finally, we haven't really talked about this yet, mostly because it doesn't fit neatly into any of our blog niches, and partially because I don't understand one bit of it. But Jonathan Adler at The Volokh Conspiracy presents a roundup of arguments for and against standing of the House of Representatives to bring a lawsuit against President Barack Obama over delaying the employer mandate provision of Obamacare.
As always, if you have a suggestion for next week's roundup, tweet me @PeacockEsq.
Related Resources:
- Ironic: Firm Handles FLSA Cases, Doesn't Pay Paralegals Overtime (FindLaw's Strategist)
- This is Not OK: Prosecutors Reading Inmates' Emails to Lawyers (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Holler: Our Favorite Posts From the Blawgosphere (Week of July 13) (FindLaw's Strategist)