Construction Law in Virginia at Posterous

It’s My Birthday Today AND Build a Solo Practice turns 3. So, I’m Giving A Gift!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:51:49 -0800

It’s stunning to me that I’ve been authoring this blog for three years this November 14th. How the internet has transformed practices, careers, people’s lives is at times incomprehensible. But then, most of you can relate. I thought it would be fun for those who only recently started reading Build A Solo Practice to read my very first post, November 14, 2006. It also reflects my never-ending mission:

“An Independent Spirit” is the title of The Connecticut Law Tribune column I have (had)been writing almost weekly since June 2005. It is an appropriate column title because it reflects the maverick in me, the one who defies the norm, defends common sense and practicality, believes in braving frontiers and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in all of us. Especially the entrepreneurial spirit of lawyers who wish to dispell the notion that in order to be successful in the legal profession one must first work for a large firm. There will be more to follow on this topic. I promise.

At the risk of being immodest, I think I’ve been fulfilling my promise with education, inspiration and direction. Nearly eight months ago Solo Practice University opened its doors and this week we will pass 500 users! And like my blog three years ago, SPU has only just begun :-)

So, today I have a gift for one newly graduated and ‘just passed the bar’ lawyer who wishes to go solo. If you genuinely want to go solo and would like a free one year scholarship to Solo Practice University ( a $595 value) to help you get started in the right direction, here is your chance.

Starting today, any newly minted lawyer who has just passed the bar exam can make their case as to why they should receive this valuable gift. I won’t be deciding. My readers will be deciding. Here are the rules:

In the comment section of this blog post, tell us your story and why Solo Practice University will help you to achieve your goals of creating a solo practice.

Comment may not be longer than 500 words.

You must have just passed the July bar exam

You do not have to give your name in the comment for privacy reasons if you prefer not to…HOWEVER;

All entrants must send me a follow-up e-mail with their full name, address, dates of graduation, state bar exam taken and when, and valid e-mail address and letting me know which entrant you are.

There is only one vote per ISP/e-mail address.

Inability to follow these simple rules will sadly be a basis for disqualification. Multiple entries under different names are not permitted and will also be a basis for disqualification.

Comments are open and you can enter until midnight November 18th. Poll will be inserted in post and voting will begin November 19th and close at midnight, November 30th. Make sure to come back and vote! The lucky winner will be announced on December 1st.

If you are unsure about entering and haven’t read how important Solo Practice University has become to those who are enrolled, you can read more here and here.

via buildasolopractice.solopracticeuniversity.com

A great post from a good friend.

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Build2Sustain - Blog - Join The Team

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:56:35 -0800

Join The Team

Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 07:30PM

If you've been following our twitter account, you already know that we're moving beyond theory and becoming a business. It's time to take our concepts out of the lab, so to speak, and bring them to our pilot project. One step...to build our roster of design/build professionals.

via build2sustain.com

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Contractually Mandated Mediation: Good or Bad?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:51:00 -0800

via valanduseconstructionlaw.com

This is a great post, and thought provoking as well. Please check out the link to get the full scoop! (click on the link or picture)

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Law Career Services Cartoon

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:35:00 -0800

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5 Great Legal Twitter Lists - JD Scoop

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:44:25 -0800

Among other things, Twitter's new #LISTS functionality is a terrific way to further expand your connections on the popular communications platform. I've been surfing friends' lists - something akin to falling down a Twitter-fueled rabbit hole, finding interesting people to follow along the way

via scoop.jdsupra.com

For the rest, click the link above.

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Why Lawyers Make Bad Thugs

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:15:49 -0700

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Build2Sustain - Elaine Hsieh Joins the Advisory Board

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:46:02 -0700

We are proud to announce that Elaine Hsieh is the newest member of the Build2Sustain advisory board. We look forward to all the knowledge and experience Elaine will share and know that she will be a vital asset to the team. Please visit the B2S Team page to learn more about Elaine, and join me in giving her a big welcome!

via build2sustain.com

This is a great addition to the B2S board!

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Build2Sustain - Guarantees Lead to Legal Queasiness

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:01:31 -0700

Advisory Board member, Chris Hill, brings up the legal complications of guarantees in this week's post. To find out more about Chris, visit the B2S team page.

As I was following some of the posts by friends on Twitter, I came across a post by a consultant that guarantees LEED Certification. This got me thinking about the myriad issues relating to the third party certification aspect of adding such certification to construction contracts and the relationship of consultants to this process.

Much has already been said, particularly at the Green Building Law Update, a great blog by my friend Chris Cheatham, relating to the queasiness that overcomes a construction attorney at such guarantees. Many aspects of any "guarantee" need to be clarified. What about the energy reporting requirements that USGBC has imposed? Will this, and the seemingly unlimited time horizon of such reporting, be included? Does any guarantee only kick in at the initial stage and the consultant then is no longer "on the hook?" What about continued commissioning and the vagaries of later behavior by facilities managers?

Also, the use of third parties as opposed to just USGBC or GBCI "officials" adds to this uneasy feeling I get when looking at this guarantee. Third party certification adds a new layer to the guarantee.

The issues with this guarantee are much like those that face LEED and other rating systems from both a regulatory and contractual standpoint. The time horizons and human interaction with a “green” space are risk issues that need to be dealt with before the mindset of the masses can be changed.

Build2Sustain seeks to change the landscape and debate about green building from one of a “movement” to a practical business directive. Hopefully this change will encompass a response to these issues.

The energy reporting issues have been discussed at length at Musings and elsewhere, I recommend that you check out that discussion for further thoughts on this issue.

Please share your thoughts on this debate with a comment below.

via build2sustain.com

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Legal Antics: Who are you, Nicole Black (aka @nikiblack), and what do you do?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:12:18 -0700

(Note--this was cross-posted at Sui Generis-a New York Law Blog as well).
Some of you may wonder just that--who is Nicole Black? However, more likely than not, most of you probably don't care. I realize that--and answering that question really isn't my goal here, so please excuse what appears to be a rather extreme case navel gazing.

The primary purpose of this post is to clarify, for search engine purposes, who I am, what I do and why.

This is my strongest domain name in terms of SEO which is why I'm posting this here. I'll be linking to it on my other blogs and if you have a blog, I would be ever so grateful if you would link to it as well (even if it consists of just a single word in an unrelated post that links back to this post-I'm just hoping for inbound links).
That will help push this post up in search engine rankings so that when people search for my name or my Twitter ID this is where they'll end up and they'll be sure receive accurate, truthful information about me.

I am 39 years old, have been married for 11 years and have 2 children. I have lived in Rochester, NY for most of my adult life.

I graduated from Albany Law School in 1995 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1996.

I interned in the Monroe County Public Defender's Office appeals bureau from 1995-1996. During that time, I accomplished one of the most significant wins of my legal career: I was successful in overturning a murder conviction in the matter of People v. Sierra, 231 A.D.2d 907, 647 N.Y.S.2d 891 (4th Dep't 1996).

Shortly after I argued that appeal, I was hired as an Assistant Public Defender and worked there for nearly 4 years, handling over 3000 criminal cases during that time frame. I conducted countless hearings and trials, including a number of jury trials.

In 1999 I left the Public Defender's Office and was hired as an associate at Trevett, Cristo, Salzer & Andolina. I continued to handle criminal defense matters. I handled assigned counsel matters, had my own retained criminal defense matters and worked with some of the partners at the firm, widely held to be some of the best criminal defense attorneys in town, on their cases. I also handled all types of civil litigation matters, ranging from personal injury litigation (plaintiff and defense), commercial litigation and built up my own employment discrimination book of practice.

In 2002 my first child was born. Later that year, I was told that I was on partnership track and would likely make partner the following year. My internal reaction to the knowledge--dread--caused me to take a deep look inward. I realized that I wasn't happy. I knew that I wasn't where I wanted to be in life and if I stayed on that track, I'd most likely be stuck for good.

I loved the firm and the people in it. That's not what was making me unhappy. I wasn't sure what was, but I knew that I felt like a part of me was dying--and I needed a change.

So, I took a self imposed hiatus from the law in 2003 and had my second child. I returned to the law in 2005, opening up shop as a contract attorney and started my first blog--this blog.

From there, things fell into place for me. As I blogged, business found me. Lawyers hired me to do work for them, and at the same time, writing and speaking opportunities were offered to me.

I began to write a weekly column for the Daily Record and was offered the opportunity to co-author the West Thomson treatise Criminal Law in New York.

And, in early 2007, Ed Fiandach approached me to do work for his office, a well-recognized DWI defense firm. After I'd handled a few projects for him, he asked if I would consider becoming of counsel with the firm and handle appeals (including appellate arguments) and memos to the court for their office.
I happily agreed, with the understanding that I could continue my writing and blogging. I wanted to be able to continue to express myself without reservation.

Ed agreed and also advised me that if I ever wanted to make court appearances, including hearings and trials, that option was available to me as well. I declined, since I knew that if I did so, I would lose the flexibility for which I had worked so hard.

I continue handle projects for the firm. The demand for my assistance with projects varies to this day, depending on any number of factors: the economy, demand within the office, the number of appeals filed by the DA's office, and my own schedule. Just last month I declined a few projects due to a number of writing deadlines that I was facing.

While criminal defense has always been one of my primary passions, I've found another since re-entering the legal field in 2005: a fascination with the intersection of law and technology.

I regularly write, blog and speak about this topic. Earlier this year, I founded lawtecthTalk, which is the vehicle through which I seek to empower and encourage lawyers to accept change and technological advancement by bringing them the most up-to-date information through personal consultations, speaking engagements, and online presentations.
I continue to speak regularly about the intersection of law and technology and am in the process of writing a book about social media for lawyers, which I am so fortunate to be co-authoring with Carolyn Elefant.
I find the balance between my various endeavors to be perfect. I no longer experience a sense of dread when I think about where my professional career is leading me. I feel passion every day for the issues that occupy my thoughts as a result of my chosen career path.
As I re-read the previous paragraph, I realize just how lucky I am. Each day is an adventure--and one that I welcome. You can't get much better than that now, can you?

via nylawblog.typepad.com

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Latest Musings as a Wordle

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:06:48 -0700

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The Dangers of Higher Pleading Requirements

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:41:42 -0700

Via Courtoons!

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So You Want to Go Solo? You Sure?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:30:34 -0700

Bo Fishback
Photo by Steve Puppe

As of 2005, some 62 percent of attorneys in private practice work as solo or small-firm practitioners, according to the most recent data available from the American Bar Association. Those numbers likely have swelled and will continue to do so as law firms reorganize and re-evaluate their professional staffing needs.

What was once a calculated career decision has become a matter of survival for many. But whether a lawyer can cut it as a solo is not necessarily a sure thing, experts say. Not all lawyers have what it takes.

There is no magic formula for building a successful solo practice. It takes planning, persistence, long hours, sweat equity and personal sacrifice.

So whether you’re in for the long haul or just staving off the bill collectors, here are some useful tips from experts and newly minted solos to help ease the transition.

via abajournal.com

A great article featuring my friends Craig Niedenthal, Carolyn Elefant and Susan Cartier Liebel

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Avoid Logic in Your Proposals

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:34:53 -0700

via helpeverybodyeveryday.com

A great post and link from Matt Handal at Help Everybody Everyday. And, as an added bonus, we have a penguin.

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10 Tips for Safe Social Networking

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:14:00 -0700

10 Safe Social Networking Tips For Attorneys

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Table of Contents
10. Be professional – always
9. Be thoughtful about
who you connect with
8. Don't fall victim to
the myth of anonymity
7. Watch the line between
networking and soliciting
6. Exercise editorial discretion
– over yourself and others
5. Know your state's advertising rules
4. Avoid unauthorized practice
3. Don't give legal advice
2. Don't talk about your
clients or their cases
1. Use common sense

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by Robert Ambrogi
BullsEye: October 2009
IMS ExpertServices™ is the legal industry's premier full-service expert witness provider.

LinkedIn. Facebook. Twitter. Blogs. Some say these social media sites offer legal professionals brave new worlds of opportunity, marketing and collaboration. Others assert they are minefields full of danger for the unwary or unwitting.

Which is correct? Both, of course. Yes, these various forms of social media present powerful opportunities. Yes, they also pose significant dangers.

BullsEye reported last month on how litigants, lawyers, witnesses, jurors and even judges are seeing their online activities come back to haunt them in court and elsewhere. We promised to return this month with advice on how to avoid trouble online.

So how can legal professionals practice "safe social networking?" In the spirit of the topic, we turned to social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook to put that question to a variety of lawyers and consultants.

From the feedback we received, we distilled their advice down to these top 10 tips.

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10. Be professional – always
Remember that you are an attorney 24/7. Behave like one and always be professional in whatever you do online.

That means, above all, be truthful in what you say about yourself, your abilities and your practice. Be particularly careful in the bio you post on your website or blog and in the profiles you create for Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites. Do not portray yourself to be something you are not.

Being professional also means not calling others names online. In particular, do not call judges names. As comical as it seems to say that, a Florida lawyer was not laughing after he was disciplined and fined recently for writing on his blog that a judge was an "evil, unfair witch."

In whatever you post online, pay attention to protecting your own "brand" and your own professional reputation. "Participate – be part of the conversation," advises Mark Beese, president of the consulting firm Leadership for Lawyers in Denver. "But don't do anything that might diminish your reputation. Think."

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9. Be thoughtful about who you connect with
One simple way to protect yourself in social networks is to be careful who you connect with. Our story last month gave an obvious example of this in the tale of the judge who "friended" a lawyer on Facebook when that lawyer was representing a party in a trial before the judge. Not surprisingly, the judge was reprimanded and the losing party got a new trial.

Another connection to avoid is one made for a dishonest purpose. An ethics panel has said, for example, that it is inappropriate for a lawyer to friend someone in order to investigate the person or to gain access to restricted information in connection with a legal action.

Also be careful to avoid connecting with others who may have their own ulterior motives in connecting with you. And consider whether a connection or an endorsement could someday come back to haunt you as evidence of a conflict of interest.

"While social media offers everyone literally thousands of connection opportunities, size of connections matters much less than quality of interaction," says Vanessa DiMauro, founder of the Boston social-media consulting firm Leader Networks. "Be intentional, make great impressions, and offer value to those who you connect or interact with."

A common practice among legal professionals is to segregate professional and personal contacts in different networks. "I still treat Facebook and LinkedIn separately," says Reid Trautz, director of the Practice and Professionalism Center at the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington, D.C. "Facebook is for personal use including family, friends, and professional friends; LinkedIn is strictly for professional connections and professional friends."

Joshua Masur, a partner with the law firm Turner Boyd in San Francisco, does the same, using LinkedIn professionally but restricting his Facebook connections to friends and close colleagues. "Of course, this means that you have to be willing to draw lines," he says, "which means being willing to say no when people ask to connect in a network that you've restricted."

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8. Don't fall victim to the myth of anonymity
"I would never delude myself that socializing 'anonymously' on any of these platforms is truly anonymous, including commenting on blogs," cautions Susan Cartier Liebel, the Connecticut-based founder of Solo Practice University.

The recent history of the Web is replete with stories of the unmasking of legal professionals who thought they were posting anonymously. There was the assistant U.S. attorney who was exposed by a major magazine as author of an anonymous blog about judges. There was the in-house lawyer at Cisco whose identity was revealed after a lawyer he wrote about as a patent troll offered a reward for his unmasking.

These examples show that a lawyer should not feel safe to say anonymously what the lawyer would not feel free to say with attribution.

Another dimension to this involves Facebook, where lawyers can create restricted groups and therefore feel safer to speak their minds. If you are considering this option, make sure you educate yourself thoroughly on how to do it properly, advises Courtney Kennaday, practice management advisor for the South Carolina Bar.

Even then, she adds, "There's a strong caveat: don't count on Facebook's restricted groups to restrict everything. It is very difficult to know what types of items will slip through and be viewed by everyone."

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7. Watch the line between networking and soliciting
Lawyers sometimes walk a fine line between speaking their minds and soliciting clients. They have every right to do the former and a professional responsibility not to do the latter.

One ethics opinion found that a lawyer engaged in inappropriate solicitation when he posted comments in a chat room for mass-disaster victims. It is easy to imagine how a lawyer could get into similar trouble on Twitter.

Several states have either ethics rules or ethics opinions that specifically address the issue of solicitation in electronic communications. Protect yourself by knowing the rules and exercising common sense.

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6. Exercise editorial discretion – over yourself and others
Say nothing online that you would not want attributed to yourself on the front page of the New York Times. Do not assume that no one will read your blog or see your tweet. Once it is online, it is online forever and it can and will be found.

That does not mean that you cannot show personality or creativity, says Matthias Jung, director of Legal One Marketing in Houston. "It is good to let your personality shine through to your audience, but it is important to do so as if your mother or daughter were sitting there beside you."

However, that does mean to remember that clients and colleagues will read what you say. Lawyers sometimes seem to forget that their clients are following them online. If you would not say it to a client's face, do not say it online.

Not only are clients reading what you say, but they are judging what you say. Apart from the danger of saying something stupid, this raises another possible concern for lawyers whose clients are reading them online, says Eric Turkewitz, a trial attorney and blogger in New York City. "If you are frequently off-topic during working hours, they will wonder why you aren't working on their case."

If it is important to censor yourself, it is also important to censor others. "If you have a blog, make sure you approve all comments before they are posted," advises Lorraine Fleck, a trademark attorney and bloger in Toronto. "That was a great tip I got from a veteran legal blogger, which has prevented my blog from becoming a haven for those advertising fake Viagra."

Blogger and intellectual property lawyer Ronald Coleman sums it up this way: "Above all, accountability is key. Don't say it if you're not prepared to live it, or live with it. And if it's not something you can back up -- whether as a legal proposition or a factual assertion -- well, why would you want to say it in the first place?"

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5. Know your state's advertising rules
Every state has its own unique version of the rules governing lawyer advertising and solicitation. Some require that copies of ads be retained, including copies of Web pages. Others require specific disclaimers on ads.

Be sure you understand the rules in the state in which you are licensed and in every state in which your law firm has an office. Keep up with ethics opinions interpreting the rules.

[back to top]

4. Avoid unauthorized practice
Avoid being charged with unauthorized practice by being clear about the geographic limits of your own license and about the geographic location of others with whom you communicate online.

"Protection against UPL ought to include disclaimers in online communications as to one's licensure and geographic limitation on practice," says James S. Bolan, a Boston-area lawyer who concentrates in professional-responsibility law. "Do not take on a relationship in a jurisdiction where one is not admitted."

Keep in mind that unauthorized practice can lead not only to ethics charges but also to loss of any legal fees billed for the work.

Avoiding unauthorized practice is often tricky but perhaps nowhere more so than in a virtual reality environment such as Second Life. If your avatar gives advice to another avatar, then in what jurisdiction are you practicing? Are you giving advice to the avatar or to the person behind it? In what jurisdiction is that person located?

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3. Don't give legal advice
A significant danger online is the unintended creation of an attorney-client relationship. Web sites such as LinkedIn or Avvo allow users to post questions and others to post answers. Simply by answering a question, a lawyer may be giving legal advice and creating an attorney-client relationship.

This can happen even through a simple exchange of e-mails. A Massachusetts ethics ruling said that a lawyer who received an unsolicited query from a prospective client through an e-mail link on a Web site was required to maintain the confidentiality of the information even though the lawyer declined the representation.

The best way to keep this from happening is to avoid saying anything online that might be construed as providing specific legal advice. If you do answer a question online, include a disclaimer saying that you are not providing advice.

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2. Don't talk about your clients or their cases
Consider the example of Kristine Ann Peshek. On her blog chronicling her work as a public defender in Illinois, she sometimes wrote about clients and cases. Although she never used a client's last name, she now faces disciplinary charges because authorities say her posts revealed enough information about her clients that others could identify them.

Peshek provided details about cases that some would say made her an extreme example. But even seemingly innocuous posts can get a lawyer in hot water. A simple status update on Twitter or Facebook could reveal your next move in a case to your opponent. Your tweet, "Drafting motion for summary judgment in federal court case I'm handling," could be all the warning the other side needs.

For anyone other than a sole practitioner, this may require running a conflict check before posting. You want to avoid writing about not only your own clients, but also about any of your firm's clients.

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1. Use common sense
It sometimes seems to be in short supply these days, but common sense is the best way to stay out of trouble. Apply it to everything you do online and you can probably forget all the other rules.

"While I'm a fan of policies," says consultant Mark Beese, "I tend to stick to a single maxim: Don't do anything stupid."

Common sense pretty much covers all the bases. It keeps you from saying something you'll later regret. It keeps you from crossing a line you shouldn't. It keeps you from getting into trouble in court, with a client or with the bar.

As Ron Friedmann, a lawyer, blogger and frequent speaker on issues pertaining to law practice management and technology, summed it up: "Lawyers should think before they hit enter."

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via ims-expertservices.com

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How a Legal “Blawg” Kicks Butt

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:57:00 -0700

When I started Construction Law Musings back in December of 2008, I
did so on a whim. I had heard that a blog was a good way to get ideas out there
and that I could get some benefit, so I dove right in and charged ahead.

Before I started the blog, I had profiles in what I thought were all the
“right” places, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, JDSupra, etc. but did not see much of a payoff.

via blogforprofit.com

Thanks to Grant Griffiths for the opportunity.

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Why Litigators shouldn't marry (via Courtoons)

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:51:00 -0700

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Twitter Wordle!

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:16:37 -0700

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Build2Sustain -The Revolution? #1

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:29:00 -0700

The Revolution? #1

I follow lots of green and sustainable folks on twitter. I read lots of blogs and I check in on linkedin groups and attend conferences. I feel like I'm pretty well versed in the green building space and something keeps coming to me over and over again when I think about our culture and the "green" movement. As a whole we're not undergoing a revolution and we probably never will. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, a paradigm shift in thinking often doesn't lead to a revolution that can be televised. This is the first of a multi-part series of posts here at build2sustain, designed to outline our thinking on the culture of sustainability and how is folds neatly (and sometimes not so neatly) into American values and what we can do in the building and real estate development industries to make sustainable design and building part of our culture. Much of what you are about to read is an amalgamation of thoughts combined in my brain over the past few years of following the sustainable design movement. These thoughts owe as much to Jim Collins, Malcolm Gladwell and Andrew Bacevich as they do to William McDonough, Michael Braungart, and Janine Benyus. I don't think I've quoted any of them directly here, if I have, my sincere apologies. This isn't meant to be a book, a thesis or even a white paper. This is still our blog and discussion is always encouraged.

via build2sustain.com

A great start to a series by James Bedell of Build2Sustain.

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Kaplan University Presentation on Green Building and Law

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:59:00 -0700

Here is the PowerPoint of my summer presentation at Kaplan University. Yet another opportunity I would not have gotten without Web 2.0 and the great folks I've met.

Kaplan Presentation.ppt (1053 KB)
View this on posterous

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Can Church-and-State Issues Be Funny? Hell, Yes - Lowering the Bar

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:09:22 -0700

I am way overdue in suggesting that you buy a copy of Jay Wexler's book, Holy Hullaballoos: A Road Trip to the Battlegrounds of the Church/State Wars.

At the outset, given that the FTC is now regulating blog endorsements, I guess I need to disclose that Jay sent me a free copy of his book, which, unless he goes around giving out free things for no reason to people he's never actually met, I assume he did in the belief that I would write a positive review of it if I liked it. So, please be advised that the author of this review has received what might be considered an in-kind exchange currently valued at approximately $13.60 from the author of the product he is reviewing, and incorporate that into your decision-making process accordingly.

While I'm on that topic, I noticed that the FTC's website says it has its own blog, which I immediately planned to mock on the assumption I could catch it making an implied endorsement of something or other (most likely, the FTC). But if you go to the "FTC Blogs" page, what you find is not a blog but rather a link to what appears to be a PDF of a printout of a blog that the FTC once started but apparently lost interest in after about a week.

I would be more comfortable with having the FTC regulate blogs if it had stuck with its own for more than five posts.

Anyway, back to the book, which is a great read. Jay Wexler is a professor at Boston University School of Law who has also written very funny stuff that has appeared in Spy Magazine, McSweeney's, and many other places. You may remember "Laugh Track," in which he determined who was the funniest justice by means of counting up the references to "(laughter)" after each justice's name in argument transcripts. (Hint: it wasn't Justice Thomas.) This analysis, for which I congratulate him although I am frankly pissed that I didn't think of it first, was reported in the New York Times and on Nightline. So he has a record of good comedy writing, although, as he would probably admit, he is a crappy painter.

The new book is also very funny as well as educational, and taking a humorous approach to this particular subject is all too rare. The book is a "road trip" story similar to Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation, in which the author travels to places where famous events took place and uses that as a framework to discuss the issues involved. The book begins at a bar called "Grendel's Den" that once had its liquor license vetoed (temporarily) by a church, moves on through Amish school districts, Santeria ceremonies in Florida, and (possibly strangest of all) a high-school football game in eastern Texas. When you actually travel to these places, you get access to unique experiences, like this one involving an interview with a Santeria practitioner:

[H]e was telling me about a memorable encounter with an anthropologist in the 1970s, when suddenly from the back room came a burst of chanting and banging and other sounds of worship. Pichardo stood up and motioned for me to do the same. Pichardo's wife came into the living room, put some chalk on both of our foreheads, and then returned to the back room. We sat down a minute later when the chanting stopped and continued our discussion as if nothing had happened. Stuff like this happened all afternoon.

The book also contains the sentence, "What are you, the Amish police?" which by itself would probably have been enough for me to buy the book, had I not already gotten it for free as clearly disclosed above.

You, too, should either start a blog that might eventually convince Jay to send you a free book in hopes of having you review it, or -- and believe me this is a much easier route -- buy yourself a copy, which you can do here directly from Amazon via the author's website.

Link: Holy Hullaballoos - the Book
Link: Holy Hullaballoos - the Blog

via loweringthebar.net

This one was too funny just to post at Twitter! Thanks for the great post at Lowering The Bar.

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