Bleak Indeed

Darn. Seems that lawyers do, in fact, have a long history of working late hours, going back to the mid-nineteenth century, (if not even further back). I was holding out hope that these long work days were a passing fad.

From Charles Dickens' Bleak House:

It is night in Lincoln's Inn - perplexed and troublous valley of the shadow of the law, where suitors generally find but little day ... In dirty upper casements, here and there, hazy little patches of candle-light reveal where some wise draughtsman and conveyancer yet toils for the entanglement of real estate in meshes of sheepskin, in the average ratio of about a dozen of sheep to an acre of land. Over which bee-like industry, these benefactors of the species linger yet, though office-hours be past: that they may give, for every day, some good account at last.

Two bloody thumbprints up

The other day I was chatting with a friend about favourite law school courses. I always go back to Evidence, because it represents the things I liked about law school in the first place (the procedure but also the gritty details), and it's also the place where law and order meet - another confluence unofficially explaining why I'm in law.

I think it also explains why I liked this Zodiac movie so much. While watching it last night, I thought it might have just as easily been called, Evidence: The Movie. Full of talk about circumstantial evidence, the inherent problems in photo lineups, the general unreliability of witness statements over time and more of the stuff that made up my 8:30 a.m. on Monday class (a time that almost relegated this course to least favourite).



It's also a pretty amazing-looking film, with some nifty shots of the Bay Area - directorial flourishes guaranteed not to disappoint Fight Club fans. And while I like Evidence a lot, don't get me confused with the guy in this headline:

Jurisprudence fetishist gets off on technicality.

Pow! Krak! Thud! Appeal Denied!

I've had a resurgence of nostalgia for my England days as of late. Four years ago, I was living at Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, living a rather carefree existence with a minimum of classes a week. Sort of like last semester of third year law.

That's why I found it such a strange and cool coincidence when I saw the following panel in a Hellboy comic:



This made me that much more a fan of Mike Mignola's woodcut-styled story. Part of the fun of Herstmonceux was walking about the grounds at night looking for evidence of these ghosts. Now while the ghost that HB describes is indeed one of the legends, people I went to the castle with would likely agree that the 9-foot tall headless drummer is the best ghost of all, specifically because he was the only one to leave a legacy of a pub named in his honour.

I almost never read comics unless it's an Alan Moore work or somehow related to one of the best books ever. But I've often thought that some case law might have been better represented in comic form. Certainly some of this snooze-inducing Admin Law could stand to use some action shots.

Ides who?

I'm not really sure what happened to February, but March is just one Admin Law class away. (At three hours on a Wednesday night, it's plodding length will make up for the lack of a leap year.) With no presentations or essays due in March, it's likely to be the least stressful month of all three years.

There are, of course, things to look forward to in March:

Law Revue: The show is always a blast. It's the first year I won't be directly involved, meaning I get to sit in the audience for once. Tradition dictates that out of the two nights of performances, one audience will truly respect all of the hard work and respond with applause and laughter - while the second audience will pour forth a torrent of heckling and general antipathy meant to remind performers that they are law students and not drama majors. I'll book the second night.

The Law School Trike Race: this event is my favourite of the year. It's often said that law school doesn't give you a lot of hands-on practical work, (apart from the awesome, average-boosting Appellate Advocacy course) but there's no better opportunity to parse the fine differences between assault and battery than the boozed-up tricycle race. Last year's race also produced this website's best photograph, and a video of said tortious conduct.

Grad Dinner & Dance: maybe the first dress-up affair for law students where landing an interview/career/future isn't on the line. It'll be one of the last big send-offs, so expect a "what happens in Vegas is protected by client-solicitor privilege" type of mentality.

More Villa-ny

After looking up Amalfi tags on Flickr I was able to find this picture, and fairly easily located our place for the summer trip. Awesome.



I really hope the tag system I've implemented on this site helps searchers with all their extensive Jack Bauer needs.

Villa-fied

E fatto! Più meno di cinque mesi!

To translate, I'm excited. We finalized plans and booked a villa right in the centre of Amalfi - and more imporantly - right near the beach. For a week in July, we have a great base to check out several towns along the Amalfi Coast or just relax. And if the relief work done by Google Earth map experts is correct, any sort of travel around these mountains calls for a lot of relaxation.



To be honest, the trip was partly inspired by an episode of Jamie Oliver's show I saw where he went to the Amalfi coast. I liked the idea of being in a villa where you could cook some of your own meals instead of depending on restaurants all the time.

Of course, the place does come stocked with a healthy supply of food: fresh fruit, olives, wine, prosciutto, among other things and my particular favourite - Nutella. European kids are raised on that stuff and it's an oversight in my opinion that the FDA/CFIA hasn't put the product on more breakfast tables in North America.

It wasn't a dealmaker in and of itself - that was left to the stunning views of the mountains and ocean - but it's nice to know you're taken care of. I was reminded of the various things to look for in signing a property agreement.



As if the next few months of law school weren't going to go by slow enough, now I have this on the horizon. And what a horizon it is!

Wishing "Reading Week" wasn't so literal

There's really no excuse for me not to have this Entertainment Law essay done by week's end, so at least I'm off to a good start. Maybe it was a combination of the double digit warm weather, my apartment patio and the London Fog from Starbucks, but I sat down and read one of the larger books I have for my research from start to finish.

I've only ever read one novel in one sitting, Graham Greene's Ministry of Fear, (to this day one of my favorite books) when I was living in England. Actually, the circumstances were much the same - an abundance of time from having only 3 days of classes a week - except I suppose the London fog was real.

This new book is The Screenwriter's Legal Guide, a book my moot partner introduced me to back in first year when he heard I was writing a script. Like most amateur writers, I ignored all external advice, so it wasn't until this essay that I got the book out from the library. Basically the book is gold for research purposes - ironic because the point that's driven home again and again throughout the book is how unprofitable the television sector of the entertainment industry is, and in particular how little money I could expect to make from selling a spec pilot script.

Scenes from "Lost: Canada"

I'm beginning to have a greater understanding of why this film production is taking place at my law school. We often get a lot of people in the building looking for free legal advice, so it's obvious that the characters in this Passengers movie leave the plane crash and think, maybe there's a tort in here somewhere.


I can see how a lawsuit might have come out of this.


Stranger still, all those people standing were in wheelchairs before the crash.


And in case you're wondering: yes, that is the film's star Anne Hathaway holding that 'Hearth Fire' box. Hollywood magic.

Howie Mandel must be estopped

In a few hours I'll begin reading week, likely the last time in my life someone will give me time off work to catch up on Hellboy comics. I won't be able to top last year's experience of visiting New York during the break, but I'm lucky enough to live in a city that has plenty of wonders of its own.

And who knows, I might do some work too. I've got the green light to write my Entertainment Law essay on how I would, hypothetically of course, sell my TV pilot to either Canadian or American broadcasters. I suppose I'm looking for legal obligations and creative considerations that would maybe make one route more attractive for Canadian screenwriters and possibly explain the dearth of original programming in this country. I refuse to count Deal or No Deal Canada on so many levels.

I'm not exactly sure where a lot of the research will come from on this one, but I've been told there are quite a few Entertainment Law journals out there - plus I've always got the "How To" screenwriting books I bought years ago, which up until now have only been of aid in the fraudulent advertising and misrepresentation sections of Contract Law.

Law-Law Land

Yesterday the law school received an email saying that a new film will be shooting inside the Curtis Building this month. It's an Anne Hathaway movie called Passengers, (not the more promising zombie movie I had hoped for) and apparently it's about the stories that follow a plane crash.

My first guess as to what the building would stand in for proved wrong, as apparently the plane wreckage sets are located down at Jericho Beach. Now, I can only surmise that the building is used for nightmarish dream sequences, to give the audiences a strong sense of claustrophobia.

But given the building's newfound appeal (definitely newfound), may I suggest other productions that could work in the law building?

The third season of Lost: the main complaint (not shared by myself) about this current season is that it's all about the Others and that it's all underground. Jack's already been forced to perform medical procedures, why not have him perform contract negotiations or mediate property disputes on behalf of his captors?



The sequel to The Departed: anyone who's seen this fantastic movie knows how insanely ludicrous the proposition of a follow-up is. So, given that a screenwriter could care less about storytelling, why not allow your production designer to pay as little notice to the sets and decoration.

24: I often feel a driving, subconscious countdown to leave the building, so I imagine this will translate well on film. All of President Palmer's scenes from this sixth season take place in his White House bunker - not a stretch for the ol' Curtis building. But producers need to hurry up, if last night's episode was any indication, we won't be needing this set for long.

Scarlett Johansson's Next Film: I could care less what it's about, so long as she's available to sign autographs after 3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.