My Dream Diet

I envy the working mothers who are able to balance work and household demands with their personal needs, because, a working mother myself, I could not for the life of me achieve such balance. The demands of both the household and the office often take precedence over my health and concerns of vanity. My busy schedule along with my healthy appetite and sporadic attacks of laziness make it very difficult to exert that extra effort to exercise and prepare healthy meals.  The decrease in my metabolism as I age do not help any.

The Roll Call : 1.26.11

*Reforms in the 2011 Philippine Bar Examinations via Scribd

*Essay-type questions still significant in the Bar Exams  via Inquirer

*Ireland's leading newspaper hails Philippines as 'country to explore" in 2011 via Manila Bulletin

*A look at Obama's State of the Union via New York Times

*Continuing coverage of the January 25 EDSA bus blast via Philippine Star

Getting Things Done, in the Office and at Home

Everyone is pressed for time, but probably none more so than lawyers. There are are always deadlines to beat and chargeable hours to meet,  and if one doesn't know how to manage time, it's safe to say one is never going to make it to the top of the profession.

The Roll Call : 1.23.11

*Supreme Court humor as a subject of scholarly study via Wall Street Journal

*DOJ to file criminal charges against PIATCO and Fraport via GMANews.TV

*Chief Justice Corona laments 'propaganda war' against the SC via Philippine Star

To wear or not to wear....

Remember that scene in Sex and the City with Samantha dressed to the nines in a beautiful fur coat and somebody throws a can of red paint on her?  If I recall correctly, she took it all in stride. If it was to happen it real life (and I’ve heard it has happened to some hapless woman in Sweden), I’m not sure the person wearing the coat would have been as sanguine as Samantha. It could easily turn into a lawsuit with claims for damages.  I’m equally sure that the fur activist would have not lack for her own supporters.

The Roll Call : 1.18.11

*Philippine Bar Exam moved to November; UST is new venue via GMANews.TV

*Philippine Supreme Court denies Vizconde's appeal via GMANews.TV

*Lawyer, doctors, managers as 'rock stars' via Inquirer

*Election lawyer Sixto Brillantes named Commission on Elections chairman via Inquirer

*GlaxoSmithKline faces $3.4 Billion liability charge over its diabetes drug Avandia via NY Times

*David E. Kelley's new legal comedy 'Harry's Law' debuts; stars Kathy Bates via International Business Times

What's Your Porn?

While waiting for my daughter at the dentist’s office this morning, I started leafing through a recent issue of O Magazine. My mind was on something else the whole time and for the life of me, I cannot now remember any of the articles in the magazine, save for one. This particular article was entitled “What’s Your Porn?” and while I admit not really reading beyond the provocative title, that question gave me something to think about during the wait.

La Dolce Vita

One of the things I always look forward to when reading Vanity Fair is the Proust Questionnaire.   The people interviewed always have interesting answers. My favorite question is “If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be?”  Harrison Ford in December said that he would like to come back as a blade of grass. Mario Batali in January wants to come back as an eagle.   I’m not sure I would choose to be a lawyer again, but lately I’ve been thinking that it wouldn’t be too bad to be Italian.

The Roll Call : 1.13.11

*Yale law professor Amy Chua (now more popularly known as the Tiger Mother) responds to readers and critics of her controversial article, "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" via Wall Street Journal; for more on The Tiger Mother, see The Roll Call : 1.12.11

*Philippine President P-noy urged not to appoint high-profile election lawyers to the Commission on Elections via GMANews.TV

*$10-million class action suit filed against Denny's restaurant chain in BC, Canada in behalf of more than 50 Filipino workers via The Province

*Inquirer Editorial "Let the debate begin" on current efforts and urgency to revive Charter change talks via Inquirer

*Philippine anti-graft court ruled against Marcoses' motion re: Malacanang's jewelry collection; Presidential Commission on Good Government can pursue case via GMANews.TV

*US President Barack Obama delivers memorial speech for shooting victims in Arizona via The Guardian and The New York Review; full speech transcript via The New York Times

*Copyright infringement claim by Associated Press against Obama "HOPE" artist settled via Associated Press

 *Pop artist Jeff Koons and the continuing story of his copyright claims on the balloon dog via Boing Boing

*Diary of a New York Lawyer via The New York Times

The Roll Call : 1.12.11

*Yale Law School Professor Amy Chua's book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" is getting the world talking (everybody surely has an opinion about this), and whether you are a parent or not, you cannot afford to miss her recently published controversial essay (excerpted from the book) entitled, "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" via Wall Street Journal

*University of the Philippines College of Law set to open a satellite campus at The Fort via Manila Standard Today

*Former Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Puno declares it is the right time to talk about Charter change...again via Inquirer Politics

*Philippine government sees no need for talks on Charter change via GMANews.TV

*Philippine Justice Secretary Leila De Lima affirms proposal to abolish the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) via Inquirer

*US Supreme Court declares that medical residents are not students and for payroll purposes are deemed employees in Mayo Foundation v. United States via Inside Higher Ed

*New US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan delivers her first written opinion at the US Supreme Court in a bankruptcy case; rules that a debtor who fails to make loan payments cannot claim car ownership deduction via Reuters

*Filipino lawyer's bakeshop gets raves for its Spanish bread via Inquirer

The Roll Call : 1.11.11

*Philippine Supreme Court denies Lauro Vizconde's request for oral argument on his motion for reconsideration of the high court's acquittal of Webb, et al., via Manila Bulletin 


*Columnist Conrado de Quiros weighs in on Teofisto Guingona's motion for leave to intervene in Vizconde's plea before the Supreme Court to reverse Webb's acquittal via Inquirer


*Philippine Supreme Court rules for the constitutionality of the Human Security Act of 2007, or Republic Act No. 9372 via Manila Bulletin 

*Philippine Supreme Court resumes full-court session after holiday recess via Philippine Star 

*US Supreme Court dismisses Obama citizenship case via AFP      

*US Supreme Court upholds federal law ban on criminals from owning bullet proof vest or body armor in Alderman v. United States via Bloomberg

*University of the Philippines College of Law celebrates its centennial anniversary via GMANews.TV

*Philippine law student who lost her legs in the September 2010 Bar Exam blast recognized among the 14 'People of the Year' awardees via Philippine Star

*Philippine Civil Service Commission finds Public Attorney's Office Chief and deputies qualified without need to seek eligibility from the Career Executive Service Office via Manila Bulletin

*Given the current high cost of a law education and the diminishing career prospects of attorneys, writer David Segal ponders on a critical question: "Is Law School a Losing Game?" via The New York Times

In Our Sights: The Lincoln Lawyer

I imagined the Lincoln Lawyer looking a lot older. But come to think of it, Matthew McConaughey is a sensible choice. He was convincing in A Time To Kill.

View the trailer here.

[by KSP]

Cool Lawyers

We've all heard that oft-repeated notion that lawyers are boring. I hear it all the time and am always bothered because in my experience, nothing could be farther from the truth. Lawyers work a lot, true. But that does not automatically mean they have no lives. 

Among my small group of Facebook lawyer-friends, there are a lot of supremely talented, multidimensional characters who have other passions aside from the law. I know some who teach, garden, sail, write for national periodicals, collect art, run successful businesses or run marathons. 

Here on Class Act alone, we have lawyers who excel in photography, creative writing, theater, music, fashion and the culinary arts. 

Lest you think my claim is too self-serving and insufficient to outweigh evidence to the contrary, kindly refer to Defense Exhibit A: this podcast from the LegalTalkNetwork. 

In the podcast, we are acquainted with surfer-lawyers and litigator-musicians, among other interesting attorneys. I'm sure some future readers will be able to point out other fine examples. 

But if you remain unconvinced and still believe that lawyers are unbearably boring, stick around and get to know the lawyer-bloggers of A Class Act. I am certain the succeeding posts  by my esteemed colleagues on things as varied and interesting as diets, travel, fur coats, developments in law, George Clooney and (gasp!)  porn, will change your mind forever. 

[by KSP]