Not much to say here. From time to time (hopefully once a week, but whenever I commit to anything like that I tend to fail utterly, so I shall promise nothing), I’ll post a collection of links to interesting articles I’ve read in the last 7 days. Links are not endorsements of the opinions/content unless expressly noted. In fact, I might well disagree with some editorials I link to. But I think they’re worth reading, because they’re about issues worth discussing.
Enjoy.
Fountain Pens
- Ink Nouveau: Apica Premium CD Notebooks: Brian Goulet over at The Goulet Pen Company/Ink Nouveau did a great in depth video/text review of the Apica Premium CD notebook line. If you’re at all into pens and paper, this one will be fun to watch. I always enjoy seeing the writing samples and ink tests in the notebooks they review.
- Fountain Pen Day Review: Mont Blanc 344: Great review and writing sample using this vintage Mont Blanc with a classic flexible gold nib. Watching things like this inspires me to improve my own handwriting by reminding me how mediocre it really is. 😉
Law Practice
- The Futility of Bar Ethics Opinions: Interesting editorial over at Avvo’s Lawyernomics discussing the usefulness (or lack thereof) in seeking state bar ethics opinions about new/cutting edge advertising initiatives that the existing ethics rules (and the bar’s conservative interpretation of them) don’t necessarily anticipate. I’m particularly interested in the interplay between the ethics rules and the advertising attorney’s First Amendment free speech rights, and would be interested in reading more on the subject. I haven’t had any real experience with law firm advertising yet, so I don’t have much to compare the author’s thesis to, but it’s a very interesting read, nonetheless.
- The Tyranny of the Billable Hour & Why the Billable Hour Endures: Whatever your feelings about the billable hour system for lawyer/law firm client billing, this New York Times opinion piece and followup provide an interesting, concise critique. Hourly billing vs. other models is a huge, ongoing debate in the legal profession right now, and if this is a topic you’re at all interested in these articles are a nice way to get an introduction to the debate.
Other
- Do it, Rockapella!: A short, entertaining, PGish post written by Shiwani Srivastava about her time as a contestant on PBS’ Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. I have fond memories of this show, so this was fun to read.
John's Blotting Paper Pad 