The coronavirus has disrupted the lives of almost everyone on earth. People are stopping much of our daily routines and canceling travel plans, large and small. Practically every sector of society is adjusting, with many canceling activities. As people’s time opens up, our options for spending time are drying up. March Madness and other sporting … Continue reading Dear Committee Members
I recently wrote a post about the film, Marriage Story, which depicts a somewhat bad divorce. That story fit into very common negative narratives about bad divorces and divorce lawyers. Of course, there are bad divorces and divorce lawyers – though probably not as many as suggested in popular culture. Indeed, to reflect some balance, … Continue reading A Story of a Good Divorce
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The law can be a very dangerous thing. Although the legal system inevitably is imperfect, it sometimes provides important benefits such as helping people solve difficult problems, making institutions function properly, and promoting justice. Unfortunately, the litigation process needed to achieve these goals often is extremely … Continue reading The Law Can Be Dangerous to Lawyers’ Mental Health
According to a news report last week, “President Trump brought his trademark disruptive approach to the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, telling attendees of a gathering meant to promote reconciliation, unity and prayer that his political opponents are ‘dishonest and corrupt people’ and that God is on the side of his supporters. “The president’s speech … Continue reading We Should Try to Understand and Respect, if Not Love, Our “Enemies”
There’s a very common myth that all divorces are bitter cat-and-dog struggles like the movie, The War of the Roses. (Of course, many cats and dogs get along just fine, like mine do.) This myth just ain’t so. Although the couple in Marriage Story had some angry fights, they retained a reservoir of love and … Continue reading It’s Not All the War of the Roses
The very touching Netflix movie, Marriage Story, provides an unusually realistic depiction of divorce dynamics. I particularly appreciate the portrayals of the spouses and their eight year-old son, reflecting the complexity of their conflicts and their ambivalences. Both spouses are decent people – and both have their foibles. They struggle with the tension between caring … Continue reading Somewhere Between Reasonable and Crazy
The Washington Post published an account of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s career as a law professor, Elizabeth Warren Faced Sexism, Shed a Husband and Found Her Voice Teaching Law in Houston, which you might find interesting regardless of your views about her politics. The article described her academic career starting in the late 1970s. She faced … Continue reading History of a Young Female Law Professor
I assume that you spend a lot of time reading and maybe a lot of time writing too. As someone who has done a lot of both, I have become sensitized to what I think is better or worse writing. I think it’s fair to say that there is much room for improvement. I notice … Continue reading Suggestions for Good Writing
BuzzFeed published a long article detailing Donald Trump’s long history of using arbitration clauses to keep his disputes secret. Not surprising. Of course, he’s not alone. [Click the title of this post to get the link to the article.]
I was going to post the piece below riffing on Arthur C. Brooks’s column about de-polarizing political biases. And then came the Democratic presidential debates this week, which provided a glaring example of how political biases often are generated and spread. This post uses these debates as an illustration of the process and then discusses … Continue reading Political De-Biasing
