Richie Ramone, one of the drummers for The Ramones, lost his fight to get paid for 6 songs he wrote because a judge said that digital files are not “manufactured or sold” but are instead transmitted and licensed.

Wha? So when I pay someone (e.g., Apple) to “buy” a song, and I download the song and do whatever I want with it (listen to it, share it, give it someone as a gift, etc.), I did not “buy” it? Apple did not “sell” the digital file to me? Sure, music from iTunes and other online music retailers has restrictions, but they are easy to circumvent and hardly change the fact that the digital file is “sold” in an online music transaction. Except, apparently, according to this judge, that’s not true.

See why I don’t practice copyright law?

Big firm associates are apparently “lost” and “unhappy.” Don’t you feel sorry for them? Things sort of sound especially bad at Jenner & Block, which does make me sad, actually.¹ All of us unhappy lawyers could become teachers, concrete artists, or rappers. Concrete really does offer endless possibilities.

Tip: Don’t lie to judges.

Tip2: Macs are so much better than PCs it’s amazing people even have to keep asking this silly question. Macs can even let you take law school exams these days!

Don’t you think a lot can be explained by the fact that there are drugs in our water?

1. Apologies to my friends at big firms; I know it sucks. Might I suggest a career in public interest law? No money, but lots more satisfaction! Maybe…↩

I’ve been reading the daily humor at The Disassociate for some time now, but in the busyness of recent weeks I’d fallen a little behind. Now, better late than never, I was delighted to find The Disassociate has moved into a brand new home with a stellar redesign and a store where you can buy greeting cards featuring some of The Disassociate’s greatest hits. I’m particularly fond of “pose,” “grad,” and “lexis,” but they’re all excellent, depending on your audience. Definitely check them out.

Also, if you’ve got what it takes to make a short video, The Disassociate has a challenge for you:

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! THE DISASSOCIATE IS STARTING A VIDEO SERIES ON FRIDAYS WITH THE FIRST ONE ON OCTOBER 13TH. WE WILL PAY $50 for the best (as determined by us) 1 minute (or so) short and post it in lieu of a comic on Friday. You keep all rights, Yada-yada. The only requirements - it cannot be offensive and it must involve The Bluebook.

Here’s hoping we finally get to see a few examples of what the bluebook is really good for! [tags]humor[/tags]

Boyd v. U.S., 116 U.S. 616, 635 (1886):

Illegitimate and unconstitutional practices get their first footing . . . by silent approaches and slight deviations from legal modes of procedure. This can only be obviated by adhering to the rule that constitutional provisions for the security of person and property should be liberally construed. A close and literal construction deprives them of half their efficacy, and leads to gradual depreciation of the right, as if it consisted more in sound than in substance. It is the duty of courts to be watchful for the constitutional rights of the citizen, and against any stealthy encroachments thereon. Their motto should be obsta principiis. We have no doubt that the legislative body is actuated by the same motives; but the vast accumulation of public business brought before it sometimes prevents it, on a first presentation, from noticing objections which become developed by time and the practical application of the objectionable law.

I stumbled upon this while reading Courtroom 302 by Steve Bogira. I found it sort of reassuring in light of recent news. Sort of.

For some reason, no one ever wonders “what if” they don’t pursue a career at a big law firm.

That’s just one of the many little observations made by the title character of Jeremy Blachman’s debut novel, Anonymous Lawyer. And like much of the rest of the novel, it rings with a simple truth that will draw you into this novel and even—shock!—make you care about the fate of an archetypically ruthless hiring partner at a big law firm. Coming as it does from a reader predisposed to loath all things Biglaw, that’s saying something!

In a nutshell: This book is simply great. If you have any interest at all in the law as a profession, this book will be one of the best “light” reads of your summer. As all the reviews point out, it’s so funny you’ll laugh out loud. And of course it is! What else would we expect from the genius behind the blog from which the book developed? On top of that, it’s one of the first books written almost completely in blog posts¹ and its ending is likely to surprise you. But if you pick up this book only expecting some great laughs, be warned: Serious commentary on the state of the legal profession lurks just behind every outrageous thought, statement, and action of the Anonymous Lawyer. That’s what makes this book truly great: like all great satire, even as it’s making you fall out of your chair with laughter, it’s also commenting seriously on the characters and themes it constantly mocks. Ostensibly the book is about the Anonymous Lawyer’s (the AL) struggle to become chairman of his firm. But buried in the jokes is the story of why no one should want to be any part of that firm in the first place, let alone its chairman. It’s funny, but it will probably make you think, too.
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1. Have there been others?↩