Occasionally I invite our readers to post a few words about themselves. This time, I thought I’d break this into two posts, this one for lawyers, law students, and the like, and the other one for people in other fields. No need to identify yourself by name, if you’d rather not. [Post bumped up to the top of the page.]
Orin Kerr says:
I am a law professor at George Washington University. I hope you remember me, given that we just had dinner last week and all.
December 15, 2009, 12:47 amAndrew says:
I’m a patent attorney in Connecticut. I deliberately chose not to have an internet connection at home, due to quasi-addiction problems. Then, a week ago, I started picking up crystal clear free wireless network reception from a nearby hotspot. Ugh!
December 15, 2009, 12:54 amayzc says:
I am a part time attorney at a small firm (25 attorneys) and a full time rabbinical student.
December 15, 2009, 1:00 amDoug says:
I’m a disillusioned, jobless, and frustrated 3L at University of Chicago who is still able to at least enjoy thinking about issues when others do most of the legwork.
December 15, 2009, 1:02 amGo Horns! says:
law clerk
December 15, 2009, 1:11 amMatthew Bilinsky says:
I’m a recent UCLA Law grad (’06; unfortunately never a Volokh student) and was in-house with a major film producer/financier until the company went under in ’08. I’ve been able to build up a legitimate client base on my own (everything from commercial litigation to entertainment transactional), and do some part-time work for both a criminal lawyer and a real estate firm recently started by some of my buddies from UCLA.
Concurrently, I consult for a great new media start-up, Mobile Roadie (https://www.mobileroadie.com/). MoRo has leapt to the front of the market in developing iPhone Applications for media and celebrity brands. Company is growing rapidly and has the wind at its back, but things are still early.
Soon enough I’ll have to decide whether to pursue law or continue my deeper involvement in the Los Angeles tech community, but for now I’m just enjoying myself and counting my blessings as one of the few young lawyers victimized by the recession who is finding steady and substantive work.
December 15, 2009, 1:18 amBoalt says:
I am a 3L at Boalt that prefers getting his news filtered through the lens of lawyer minds and also enjoys hearing the conservative view point on things. To Doug in Chicago, hang in there and apply, apply, apply. Stay positive and something will turn up, seriously:)
December 15, 2009, 1:19 amCase3L says:
I am an aspiring patent attorney and currently a law student and clerk at a firm in Cleveland. I sometimes regret giving up my job working for an NGO in Iraq and Central Asia to come to law school, but am confident it will all work out for the best.
December 15, 2009, 1:41 amSean M. says:
I’m a 3L at William and Mary that enjoyed the incredible power of deciding the fate of scholarship of professors that have immeasurably more expertise and knowledge than him, but are somehow at his mercy for their academic futures. That is, I sit on the Articles Committee of Law Review.
December 15, 2009, 1:42 amDavid Mader says:
Litigation associate in New York; former circuit & district clerk; former law student; former college kid who stumbled across the Volokh Conspiracy – via Instapundit, I believe – somewhere back in the earlier years of the decade. I’m not sure VC inspired me to go to law school – I think I was already on track – but it has certainly guided my approach to law all the way through. So thanks!
December 15, 2009, 1:47 amBoalt #2 says:
I am also 3L at Boalt who prefers a conservative viewpoint.
I’ll be reading your First Amendment casebook in the spring, by the way. If it contains encoded messages, please put the key into the comments here. Thanks!
December 15, 2009, 1:47 amGCA says:
I am a 58 year old night law student in my third year of a four year program. I work full time during the day for a pair of attorneys with whom I started six years ago as a paralegal. They allow me to do a lot of writing – mostly plaintiff’s PI, med mal, and will/trust contest briefs/discovery/motions/replies. I guess I am a law clerk at this point – at least that is what my employers’ letterhead says I am. I just plunked down $125 on Amazon for Prof Kerr’s Crim Pro books and will be wading through them this spring. I guess I am doing what I would have been doing 30 years ago if I hadn’t been such a terrible hedonist for so long. In my past life I was a specialty contractor and construction worker. I plan to pass the California bar the first time when I take it in July, 2011 (and will put in the effort necessary to do so), and practice for as long as my health and brain hold up. I like living well and can’t afford to retire; interesting work with people one likes tends to benefit both one’s longevity and one’s enjoyment of life. My dad practiced architecture until he was 80 – he is now 85 and enjoying his retirement.
December 15, 2009, 2:37 amAnon21 says:
I’m a first-year law student at Yale. I’ve been interested in constitutional law for a relatively long time–originally First Amendment issues, in recent years more structural/theoretical concerns, and now potentially shading towards criminal procedure. Despite my liberal viewpoint, I come here because it features the most consistently engaging and interesting legal discussion and analysis on the Internet. Another excellent feature of VC which keeps me coming back here and not as much to other places is its liberal comment policy, and the fact that the Conspirators often engage in discussion with commenters.
December 15, 2009, 2:42 amDNJ says:
As another liberal, I entirely agree.
December 15, 2009, 2:44 amNermous says:
I’m an attorney who works in a technology transfer office for a Federal lab in the San Francisco bay area. I graduated from law school in ’06 and do a mix of IP transactions and schmoozing the private sector to pay for my scientists’ research.
December 15, 2009, 2:49 amjellis58 says:
Recent UCLAW grad, now a clerk for a state court trial judge in San Francisco. I have pretty libertarian views and had heard of this blog but didn’t start reading it regularly until I took Prof. Volokh’s First Amendment class my 2L year (one of my favorite classes in law school, of course. Thanks Professor!)
December 15, 2009, 3:01 amKirk Parker says:
Orin, that’s funny!!! :-)
December 15, 2009, 3:09 amHadur says:
Jobless 3L at a T14 law school. I’m no longer sure I want to practice law (not that they’ll have me), but I continue to read this blog because I have an intellectual mancrush on Orin Kerr.
December 15, 2009, 3:38 amHadur says:
More objective reasons to like VC:
(1) Conspirators are generally funny
(2) Conspirators tend to be very quirky, which leads to a great variety of subjects being discussed. This is ESPECIALLY true of Eugene. Sometimes he’ll have a week where he posts, say, 20 articles about the history of stun gun laws. Sometimes he’ll link to a fascinating post on a linguistics blog. etc.
(3) Quick updates. If you don’t like the top post on the VC, come back in half an hour and there will be a new one. This is unmatched by any of the other blogs I read.
December 15, 2009, 3:45 amBruce Hayden says:
I spent 15 years as a software engineer, followed by almost 20 as a patent attorney. I am now in a regional general practice law firm, working in northern Nevada. My practice these days involves primarily prep and prosecution of software and electronics patent applications, though I still dabble a bit in copyright, trademarks, and other parts of computer law.
I first met EV at some Computer Law conferences at U. Texas where he was a speaker maybe 15 years ago. I would wait around until after the speakers’ dinner, then tag along as some of the speakers would go slumming down on east 6th Street. This was a great way to get to know some of the most talented young law professors working in computer law. EV beat me up some one time on a listserve group (cyberia-l?) for incivility, and I followed his link back to this blog. It was my introduction to blogging. I have been reading this blog religiously since.
I think the highpoint so far for me were the discussions about terrorist surveillance program (TSP), FISA, PATRIOT Act, etc. But there is always plenty to entertain.
My one complaint is the apparent tendency of some of the co-conspirators to disable commenting. They do this on some of the most interesting subjects. While the blog entries are great, the comments in many cases are even better. That is the place where I really learn things.
Thanks to EV and all the conspirators.
December 15, 2009, 3:53 amgerbilsbite says:
2L at GULC who just finished Prof. Barnett’s ConLaw II course. I’m a board member of the Georgetown Innocence Project and a former one for NLG. I worked last summer and this semester doing research and databasing on-campus at the Supreme Court Institute, and I’ll be working next semester part-time at the Lawyers’ Committee on election law issues. Married, turning 27 next week, living in the Maryland suburbs.
December 15, 2009, 4:04 amgeorge weiss says:
another jobless 3L who likes to occasionally distract himself by looking into the ivory tower.
and i concur on liking it when the conspirators argue back.
December 15, 2009, 4:15 amMike Rudolph says:
Doug
I think you taught an LSAT class for me. 1L at Chicago-Kent, studying for a contracts exam and passing the time. I’ve been reading this blog for years.
December 15, 2009, 4:50 amLoki says:
Recently graduated from law school this past summer, studying for the February bar and crossing my fingers and knocking on wood.
December 15, 2009, 5:07 amMichael Stack says:
I’m a 1L at Pepperdine Law School.
December 15, 2009, 5:38 amMichael Stack says:
I’m a 1L at Pepperdine Law School.
December 15, 2009, 5:38 amW. A. Woodruff says:
I’m a retired Army JAG and current law professor teaching Evidence and Trial Advocacy.
December 15, 2009, 6:35 amJerod Tufte says:
I’m surprised by how many notes from patent attorneys so far. I am also a patent attorney, which I do along with some corporate counseling while serving as an elected prosecutor for a small North Dakota county. Yes, I prosecute both patents and criminals. I am currently on military leave for deployment as a US Army Judge Advocate working on international and operational law issues.
December 15, 2009, 6:36 amCraig says:
I earned my JD after retiring as a Marine Intelligence Officer. I have been working as an executive performance coach the past few years and this is very rewarding. Your blog keeps me in touch with the legal issues of the day and helps me to retain the vernacular since I don’t work as a lawyer (so I also posted this in your Non Lawyer section). However, in the executive arena, having a sound legal base of knowledge is critical to long term success. Thanks for your insight and thought provoking work.
I am located by W&M so would like to contact Sean M, if possible for a visit of W&M Law School if possible (and talk about some Law Review Articles):)
December 15, 2009, 6:49 amDaniel Charlies says:
Lawyer since ’05. UW grad. Specialize in Soc Sec disability hearings. Started off w/ non-profit, not impressed with the inside liberal leadership feeding off state dollars and the individuals they chose to represent. Prefer to represent, and reject upon initial evaluate, clients directly. Amazing how many disabled laborers in 50s, physically beat w/no other job training, are initially refused disability due to lack of medical treatment (evidence), while hand-selected (by non profits) “mentally disabled” (due to emotional not cognitive reasons) are able to access the system in their 30s, with children and routines at home, with a stack of mental health records and prescriptions from seeing the “right” doctors. In the right (wrong?) hands, it’s a system ripe for manipulation.
I oppose health care reform because I reject the huge transfer of power that will put more power into the hands of non-elected, mid-level bureaucrats who have no “check” power on them until cases appear before an ALJ years later.
Also, the uninsured, older but pre-62, now non-working disabled often qualify under state and local programs for medical services, and examinations. People often don’t know this, and on a county level, we (county social workers, local attorneys, voc rehab counselors) can educate them what they are eligible for (ie/charity care grants at hospitals, mental heath evaluation w/county psych worker, free dental clinic). We can work with these individuals, through SS or local resources, to get them evaluated with medical records, and recognized for their limitations past those who treat often, and with the doctors who routinely complete disability forms — more savvy to the system in urban areas downstate.
Minimal treaters with no insurance often qualify for SS disability, if they can file their claim in enough time after their work years end to access the money they paid into the system. Many just live off savings though, and when they apply, their covered period has elapsed. What I mean is, physically they are disabled but are not properly diagnosed or healing because they don’t visit doctors.
The career bureaucrats will be the “gatekeepers” for government healthcare insurance, and trust me people, I suspect the quality will be much like you see in public education where the decision-making power has been removed from local hands and is consolidated in the hands of bureaucrats, making decisions on behalf of us all. Plus, at the non-profit I worked for, the stories of their liberal excesses would make your head spin…
Leave the system alone, and if needed, pump more money into the states to distribute to their uninsureds under programs as the states see fit.
December 15, 2009, 6:53 amGilbert says:
Just graduated and passed the bar. Unemployed, looking for criminal law work in the Boston area.
December 15, 2009, 6:54 amDan says:
Not sure where I go, but I’m a lawyer, at least insofar as the State of New York is concerned. By day, though, I’m a new media strategist.
I started reading VC well before I went to law school, practiced for a few years, and worked for one of your mancrush organizations. :)
December 15, 2009, 7:00 amDaniel Charlies says:
Oh, the only conspirator I ever met was Randy Barnett, at one of those pre-law-school summer events, this one held in Illinois. We’re from nearby hometowns, and when I mentioned this, Barnett brought up an article he had read in that morning’s paper, about how our little town fire official was accused of molesting children. While that’s not how a town wants to be recognized, I was impressed that he read the paper and recalled the info.
Maybe because of his background, I think Barnett is a more realistic conspirator, than some who perhaps were raised in academic circles and address issues from a cleaner “theoretical” perspective, without taking into account the reality-based life, as it is out there.
I suspect if more people had the latter, they’d be reluctant to hand over any more rights to well meaning bureacrats who only want the best for the people, yet who have a miserable track record of delivering…
December 15, 2009, 7:07 amstash says:
I think I wrote one of these the last time VC asked for it. I am a 1981 grad of Columbia Law. I got my undergraduate degree in Economics. In the 80s I published 60 poems and essays in various places, but nowhere important–though I got a very encouraging personal rejection from the Paris Review. I burnt out on practicing law (litigation) after five years. From 87-97 I owned a coffeehouse and bookstore, and from 89-96 I published and edited a monthly literary journal. During those years, I also subbed teaching poetry at a local commuter college.
I started looking for a job in 96 because I was tired of being poor, and through a fluke was hired by a large firm where I stayed for 9 years before being recruited by a litigation boutique. Though I remain associated with them, my ties with the firm have loosened over the years and most of my work is for my own clients or as co-counsel.
I telecommute, keep bizarre hours and set my alarm clock only when necessary to make a morning commitment, which I do my best to make as rare as possible. I am a science fiction and fantasy geek and an accomplished Dungeon Master (but, except for my own tweaks and modifications, I refuse to accept any rule not published by Gary Gygax.) I love the common law and regret missing the time of writs and the excessive use of Latin phrases. I drink no less than 6 cups of coffee per day, often more, and expect its beneficent effects to result in me living forever. I have been reading VC since quite early on, and am pleased that there is at least one place on the internet where intellectual honesty is actually practiced and when not, at least aspired to and encouraged. That does not mean I agree with all the posts; much of the time, maybe even the majority of the time, I do not. But if I wanted to read what I think, I would write it myself–which I sometimes do on over-lengthy comments such as this one. My politics are center-left on economic issues, and strongly social libertarian.
December 15, 2009, 7:14 amDuke 3L says:
I’m a 3L at Duke, heading into a clerkship
December 15, 2009, 7:23 amenjointhis says:
I’m a reasonably well-pedigreed mid-career commercial litigator in New England. I was former big-firm associate until I (very narrowly) survived a catastrophic accident. After that experience, big-firm practice paled for me. So I opened up a solo practice principally focusing on creditors’ rights. It’s been quite successful, and that has allowed me to indulge my intellectual curiosity on a variety of topics. Regular reader, infrequent poster (principally because of lack of time). Politically neutral (though somewhat libertarian).
December 15, 2009, 7:24 amSilvio says:
I teach public law and regional law at the University of Rome Tor Vergata (2nd State-run university in Rome, we also have a 1st University, obviously, and a 3rd one…).
December 15, 2009, 7:25 amThis Conspiracy and Solum’s legal theory blog are my best sources for a bit of “internationalization”, so to say.
leo marvin says:
I’m a business lawyer in California. I had lunch with Eugene when Orin was still in college. I’ve pretty much coasted ever since. (No, Eugene, “Leo Marvin” shouldn’t ring a bell. After two identity thefts I hesitate to use my real name even in my own house.)
December 15, 2009, 7:29 amBABH says:
31 year-old 1L. I had been meaning to go to law school for years, but a stint in the Army and a series of interesting jobs got in the way. Volokh reader for over 5 years.
December 15, 2009, 7:30 amBoalt #3 says:
1L at Boalt, keeping my eyes and ears open.
December 15, 2009, 7:39 amCasey says:
Small town Texan, former federal law clerk, Iraq veteran, now agency counsel for one of our mega-bureaucracies in D.C.
Started with the Volokh Conspiracy in the very early days, fell by “the wayside” for a while, and am now back. Still a GREAT blog.
December 15, 2009, 7:45 amnathan says:
Emory 2L
December 15, 2009, 7:49 amPorkchop says:
I’ve spent my entire legal career practicing in DC. I went to law school after four years as a Naval officer. I graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1981. I worked with one of the large “real DC law firms” (as opposed to some firm’s DC branch office) for 9-1/2 years, then went to one of the banking agencies as an enforcement attorney for 17. I left the government last year to join a plaintiffs’-side ERISA class action practice founded by a friend of mine.
I also do defense work on banking enforcement matters, but there’s not much of that to be done these days, since my old colleagues don’t seem to be doing much enforcing — unless, of course, you count civil money penalties for violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act. Personally, I don’t look at lack of flood insurance as our biggest problem in the banking sector. I always took the view that we ought to go after the people who stole the big money, not just pick the low-hanging fruit – like defalcating tellers. Somehow, my views weren’t very popular in the front office, though.
December 15, 2009, 7:53 amJimR says:
1L at Wake Forest, been a Volokh reader for the past 3 years, recommended by my law instructor at FLETC.
December 15, 2009, 7:55 amDaniel Chapman says:
Criminal Defense attorney in Wisconsin, just a few years out of Marquette.
December 15, 2009, 7:56 amJobless 3L says:
A no-offered jobless 3L at GW. I’ve been applying, and applying, and applying. Kerr, help me. Oh, and I also like hearing a more conservative approach to news and legal issues, though I hardly consider myself as such.
December 15, 2009, 7:57 amThathuy says:
University of Chicago 2L. I like reading the blog so I can get ammo with which to annoy my liberal family members during holidays.
December 15, 2009, 7:58 amHugh says:
Tax attorney working for the State of Ohio since 2005. Very interesting career before that.
JD from the Ohio State University 1985; LLM from the University of Florida 1986.
Various odd jobs between 1986 and 1995 (tax associate at major accounting firm; associate at small law firm; hearing officer for county child support enforcement agency).
Assistant Attorney General (Tax) for the Virgin Islands Department of Justice 1995 to 1999. Government tax lawyer in paradise…but it was crazy down there and I left to preserve my sanity.
Assistant prosecuting attorney in Delaware County Ohio for a year. General Counsel for the Christian Coalition of America in Washington, DC for 2 years. A few more years of odd jobs. Then my current job since 2005.
December 15, 2009, 8:14 amTweets that mention The Volokh Conspiracy » Blog Archive » Who Are You (Lawyers, Law Students, and the Like)? -- Topsy.com says:
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by LosAngeles Attorneys, Eugene Volokh. Eugene Volokh said: Who Are You (Lawyers, Law Students, and the Like)?: Occasionally I invite our readers to post a few words about.. http://bit.ly/4CosrY [...]
December 15, 2009, 8:20 amMegan says:
Fully licensed and unemployed Indiana attorney, just graduated a 2nd Tier school in May. Now looking into getting a masters of library science to do law librarianship.
December 15, 2009, 8:22 amjpe says:
For the jobless 3Ls: I was one, too, and am now a non-practicing attorney working in income & estate tax (we play both kinds of music, country and bluegrass). And enjoying my quasi-legal job quite a bit, by the by.
December 15, 2009, 8:25 amJoseph Slater says:
I teach at the University of Toledo College of Law. I teach mostly labor and employment stuff; prior to that, I was a labor and employment law lawyer in DC for over a decade. I have a PhD in history from Georgetown.
December 15, 2009, 8:29 amegd says:
Just another patent attorney.
Graduated not-top of my class in law school. Didn’t go to a tier 1 law school. Didn’t get to be a law review board member. Didn’t clerk for a large law firm my 2nd year. Didn’t get any job offers my 3rd year. But I still have a great practice in a patent boutique where my work is interesting, challenging, and growing over the past year.
To all those aspiring and/or unemployed lawyers, don’t worry, just work hard at finding a good firm to work at and do the best job you can do. Everything else will follow.
December 15, 2009, 8:37 amSueSimp says:
Count me in as another member of the unemployed Volokh-reader club. Recently graduated from GW and admitted to the VA bar, still job hunting in DC.
I was interested to see that the non-lawyer thread is longer than this one, though. I would have guessed it would be the other way around.
December 15, 2009, 8:39 amUChicago 3L says:
3L at UChicago and soon-to-be law clerk (same judge as a couple Conspirators, in fact).
December 15, 2009, 8:40 amDirk D says:
Another patent geek here. I was a Microbiologist/Immunologist in my previous life.
December 15, 2009, 8:44 amBold says:
I am a tax attorney fresh out of law school and have frequented the VC for a couple of years. Learned about VC after reading Volokh’s legal writing book which helped me get on law review. I enjoy the VC even better now that I’m out of law school since it helps me stay current on legal issues, reenforces doctrine I would likely forget, and provides first-rate analysis much of the time.
December 15, 2009, 8:57 amDevin A says:
1L at GW.
December 15, 2009, 8:58 amDaniel Shinkle says:
I am an attorney with a small town general practice. Most of my caseload is Social Security Disability and Criminal Law. Graduated from Indiana University Law School 1987.
December 15, 2009, 8:59 amML says:
3L at a Chicago school. Working for a federal criminal defense firm.
December 15, 2009, 9:00 amjsimmons says:
Traditional 1L (that is to say, I went straight from undergrad into law school, which at this point I’m beginning to re-think) at GW with my Civ Pro final in five hours. Yippee.
December 15, 2009, 9:01 amSumBudy says:
I am a junior associate at a large firm in New York. Most of my work is in IP litigation, including patent litigation, but I have also worked on some cases involving corporate litigation. Prior to starting law school, I worked with computer technology.
December 15, 2009, 9:03 amSerendiptity says:
1L at Cornell who has a Contracts final in two hours, yikes! Worked as a litigation paralegal for the last two years, but think I might have started reading VC before that. Fairly liberal politically, but quite enjoy reading VC for the diverse comments. I’d also like to note how friendly the conspirators are. Orin Kerr actually helped me decide which personal statement I should submit for law school and I’m sure it’s part of the reason I’m here.
December 15, 2009, 9:09 amU of C 3L says:
Chicago 3L, clerking next year. VC reader for ~5 years.
December 15, 2009, 9:11 amMark Reitz says:
I’m the full-time, in-house city attorney for a small city in southern Wisconsin.
December 15, 2009, 9:12 amTafasVDudas says:
Jobless, frustrated ’08 law grad, passed NY and PTO bars. Followed VC for years before law school.
December 15, 2009, 9:16 amIdahonian says:
I’m a 3L at Notre Dame, headed to a federal clerkship and then back to my old stomping grounds….glad to see a shout out to my fellow freedom-loving Idahoans on today’s VC.
First started reading when I attended a talk given by Professor Volokh, read an article submitted by the same, and figured I had better keep up with current legal goings-on in preparation for clerkship interviews.
December 15, 2009, 9:18 amjackal says:
Active-duty judge advocate in the Army, year and a half out of law school.
December 15, 2009, 9:19 amSmooth, like a Rhapsody says:
Mid-career attorney for state agency.
December 15, 2009, 9:20 amI have had various small firm jobs; I have also been a prosecutor.
2nd-tier law school, with newly-minted delusions of grandeur.
No LR or clerk exp.
Thanks for this blog.
A.S. says:
Partner at AmLaw100 firm in NYC, practicing corporate and securities law. Currently bored.
December 15, 2009, 9:20 amLegalAidAttorney says:
Legal Aid attorney in Southern Ohio. 2006 graduate of Vanderbilt, where I started following this blog.
December 15, 2009, 9:27 amBK says:
I’m a 2L at George Mason. I just took Prof. Somin’s Con Law final (does He-Man have the right to bare arms?) and stumbled across this website while researching issues related to that class.
December 15, 2009, 9:30 amSteven Appelget says:
Solo “general practice” civil attorney. For a while I did a lot of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (junk fax) cases. Now I am doing a lot more shareholder disputes in small corporations.
Prior to law school, I worked as a computer operator on HP 3000 minis and was familiar with Euguene Volokh’s MPEX. I think I found the Conspiracy one night via a nostalgic Altavista search on his name to see what sort of entertaining pages I could find on those old machines.
December 15, 2009, 9:33 amgavitron says:
NYU 3L, former Army officer. Briefly met D. Bernstein at an NYU Fed Soc event HI DAVE
December 15, 2009, 9:34 amFantasiaWHT says:
I am a recent graduate of Marquette Law School clerking for a justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court
December 15, 2009, 9:34 amGino says:
12 yr lawyer. Corporate Counsel in Financial Services industry in Southeast. Focusing on consumer credit, debt collection and compliance. Politically, large-L Libertarian. I’ve been visiting the VC for years; at least 5 or 6 but probably more.
December 15, 2009, 9:35 amAndy L. says:
I manage litigation in-house for a national mortgage lender.
December 15, 2009, 9:35 amstashy says:
I’m four decades out of law school; have specialized in criminal appeals my entire career, including a SCOTUS winner way back; direct an appeals clinic in one school & teach appellate advocacy at another. Love the free and easy rhythm of my work life, which is, in essence, that of a writer . There’s no drop-in trade, as my clients are in prison, allowing me to work largely from home in shorts and bare feet, except for teaching days & oral arguments.
December 15, 2009, 9:35 amVC my favorite blog by far. Am a libertarian (lower-case “L”, non-doctrinaire variety), with little respect for liberals and other statists, whom I find gullible and feeble in their blind acceptance of the perfectability of mankind, and their corresponding readiness to surrender the accomplishments of centuries to trendy sentimental qualms of the moment.
N.B: I am not the “Stash” who posted earlier.
Isangeles says:
I’m an Assistant United States Attorney who has spent my entire career with the Department of Justice since entering via the Honor’s Program. Roughly eleven years ago I had the privilege of enjoying lunch with Eugene V. (along with some others). He liked my tie – it had the four “South Park” boys on it.
December 15, 2009, 9:36 amJ.M. says:
state Assistant AG, former state appellate clerk, and W & M grad
December 15, 2009, 9:37 amZiggy says:
I am 29 years old, fresh out of University of Florida law school, and a Federal law clerk. Prior to law school, I developed Playstation games and military simulations. My family immigrated to Taiwan, then to America, to escape communism; along with the insightful legal commentary, I enjoy when someone posts something that reminds me of my family’s experience. I did not expect Mr. Volokh to ever set foot in Gainesville, but I enjoyed hearing him speak at one of our Fed Soc meetings.
December 15, 2009, 9:38 amGrammer Guy says:
Unemployed local government lawyer with 24 years of experience. It is nearly impossible to find anything, even when you have had two cases before SCOTUS. Been reading this blog for several years now. Best legal blog on the block.
December 15, 2009, 9:39 amMartinned says:
Ph.D. Fellow in Law & Economics, writing about government intervention in the economy applying, inter alia, the work of this year’s Nobel laureate Oliver Williamson and of the other Volokh, Alexander. (Check out SSRN, he wrote a really cool paper about prisons.)
My background is in European Law, including a “stage” (= Brussels speak for internship/traineeship) at the Council of Ministers Legal Service, and in a variety of flavours of Economics (Finance and international trade & business, amongst them).
December 15, 2009, 9:42 amScotus_ant says:
I am a Case Analyst at a U.S. Court in Washington D.C. Used to be in charge of the “cert pool” if that helps to identify which one.
December 15, 2009, 9:42 amDom says:
I graduate from (a tier-4) law school in 5 weeks, where I was president of the Federalist Society. I’m getting ready to take the Michigan bar in February, and the Patent bar after that. I have a M.S. in Physics from Michigan State. I interned at OGC for one of the bailed-out auto manufacturers, and if I’m not hired, I’m going back to grad school for a MSEE or to a higher profile law school for an LLM in IP. I’ve been reading VC since I started law school.
December 15, 2009, 9:43 amAnonymous says:
Partner in a small firm in east Tennessee, general corporate practice (a lot of transactional/regulatory work for smaller healthcare entities). Generally liberal with libertarian sympathies, although as time passes, shifting to libertarian with liberal sympathies. I had Professor Adler for Con Law at CWRU. Enjoy the reasoned discourse on this blog.
December 15, 2009, 9:47 amGainesvilleGuest says:
I’m a 3L at the University of Florida. Served as both an Articles Editor and a Notes Editor on the Florida Law Review. I’m going to a mid-size firm (50 atty’s) in Tampa.
As someone mentioned above, I much enjoyed deciding the academic fates of law professors eminently more qualified than me to discuss the subject matter of their articles.
Learned about this blog as soon as I became involved in the Federalist Society 1L year – have been reading ever since.
I’ve noticed this comment thread is somewhat student/recent grad heavy – I think more so than the blog readership is likely to be. This tells me students/recent grads have more time/willingness to comment.
December 15, 2009, 9:50 amtroll_dc2 says:
Former editor of case services dealing with employment discrimination law and disability law. Although now retired, I still go to a big-city office to do my own thing. I dislike ideology and come here for the insights. On my wish list are (1) a requirement that all conspirators allow comment and (2) a private-message system to contact other commenters.
December 15, 2009, 9:54 amMike McDougal says:
Construction litigation lawyer in Phoenix.
December 15, 2009, 9:57 amto says:
I am Ted Olson.
December 15, 2009, 9:57 amPubliusFL says:
I’m an attorney for a federal agency in DC. Prior to that I worked in-house at a smallish corporation in California for a year and a half. Prior to that I was a judge advocate in the Air Force for a little over four years, where I posted my first VC comment while stationed in Florida (and haven’t updated my handle since).
December 15, 2009, 9:57 amJack says:
Current 2L at Tier 2 who moved into the law after receiving rabbinical ordination from Chabad. Perhaps as a result of my Talmudic educational background, I find the more theoretical law courses such as Torts, Conflicts and Con Law to be more engaging than Crim, Evidence, Tax and Corporations (but believe these to be essential if I ever want a career). This is also why I enjoy reading the legal analysis on Volokh Conspiracy.
I am still unsure about career goals. As you might have gathered, I don’t have a strong record for picking one thing and sticking to it.
December 15, 2009, 10:01 amMNA says:
0L. Former humanities Ph.D. candidate switching to law and an avid, though relatively new, reader.
December 15, 2009, 10:01 amFighting Patriot says:
I am a 2E at George Mason Law at night and a Federal Employee by day. I also took Prof. Somin’s Con Law final last night … still recovering.
December 15, 2009, 10:06 amJ.R. says:
I’m a tax lawyer in D.C. and a 2007 graduate of Georgetown Law. I have been a regularly reader of this blog since my first semester of law school back in 2004. Politically speaking, I am left-leaning with regard to certain social issues, but I have a libertarian streak with regard to most other areas (e.g., economics, free speech, etc.). It seems fair to attribute much of my libertarian streak to the wide-ranging discussions on this site.
December 15, 2009, 10:06 amHouston Lawyer says:
I’m a 1985 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, where I was a founding member of the local Federalist Society chapter. I do M&A and securities work for a large Texas-based firm. I enjoy the informed opinions of the commenters on this site and the level of discourse that is polite by internet standards.
December 15, 2009, 10:09 amJJ says:
Prosecutor in Utah, BYU law grad.
December 15, 2009, 10:09 amDotar Sojat says:
I’m of counsel to a 600+ atty Midwestern firm, and have been in practice for 25 years. I specialize in high end commercial real estate lending (a little slow right now), but do all areas of real estate law. I have a BA in Pol Sci and a MS in Systems Mgmt prior to the JD. I was a career Army officer for 11 years, spending time in Rangers, Armored Cavalry and worked as a Soviet order of battle analyst, before getting the bug to go to law school. I have a grown daughter and also two little ones, 10 and 11, who were adopted from Colombia (a wonderful country, by the way). I am a former marathoner (Boston twice)and triathlete, now just a jogger. I enjoy the VC as a welcome intelllectual diversion from being a one trick pony. Rock Chalk Jayhawk.
December 15, 2009, 10:10 amAdam Kamp says:
I’m in the third year of a 4-year weekend program at Hamline University (a tier 4 most days of the week). I started out with goals of teaching English, but got burned out after my Master’s, followed my wife’s career around for a few years, then got interested in ADR and settled on Hamline as a way to watch the children during the week, commute to school on the weekends, and get a top-notch ADR education, which I have. (I actually got into Georgetown as well, and ALMOST went, but Prof. Barnett scared me away. (I kid, I kid.))
I’m basically a communitarian with a heavy bias towards federalism, but have essentially progressive values. I came to this blog to keep myself from reading only blogs that agreed with me, but stuck with it because of the awesome legal discussion.
December 15, 2009, 10:11 amJohn says:
2nd year lawyer in a civil defense firm in Texas.
December 15, 2009, 10:14 amMike B. says:
University of Minnesota 2L. Currently working on Professor Carpenter’s First Amendment 8 hour take home.
Good times.
December 15, 2009, 10:21 amTM says:
I am an antitrust attorney in Philadelphia. I know Todd Zywicki from my undergraduate days at Dartmouth. I was then a legal assistant working with David Post in the late 80′s, and several years later was a summer associate with Orin Kerr. Eric Posner was my first year contracts professor, and I once had dinner with Sasha in Philadelphia (with Howard Bashman as well).
December 15, 2009, 10:22 amSoup says:
2L at Georgetown Law. Still no job this next summer. :(
December 15, 2009, 10:24 amarthur says:
Partner, 20 years out of law school, at a plaintiffs’litigation firm. My practice includes securities fraud, consumer fraud, and international human rights, all litigation and almost all contingency fee. About half of my time is on class actions. This firm has about 60 lawyers.
December 15, 2009, 10:25 amJohn R. Mayne says:
Northern California prosecutor, 43, married. I’ve also been a civil attorney and a newspaper reporter. I still make tens of dollars a year writing the occasional article on a subject of interest to me.
My politics are pretty close to Profs. Volokh and Kerr, and have nudged closer because of the arguments they make. I also very much enjoy the tone of this blog; most conspirators avoid political tribalism.
December 15, 2009, 10:27 amKristin C. says:
2007 grad of GW Law, licensed in PA. Currently working for the Department of Justice (as a non-lawyer) and getting a master’s in Library and Information Science.
December 15, 2009, 10:29 amToday's Tom Sawyer says:
I’m a 1L at GMU Law. Found this blog after meeting Professors Zywicki and Somin during Open House. Love the work you guys do, especially since I’m a hardcore libertarian trying to figure out how to navigate the legal world without selling my soul to statism. Every subject on this blog is covered with an indepth analysis, so any time I need something substantial to read, I come here.
December 15, 2009, 10:30 amTheBadness says:
Currently deferred by a large-ish firm, I currently strive to make work slightly more manageable for some attorneys at a state agency. (And I’m enjoying one last year in sweet home Chicago before employment becomes gainful, rather than fulfilling.)
I never have met a Conspirator, and doubt I’ll ever have the pleasure.
December 15, 2009, 10:39 amneurodoc says:
And you wear glasses, are married to a nurse, and rode a bike to school? (The Shadow knows.)
December 15, 2009, 10:44 amlarry says:
I’m a state and local tax lawyer, currently working in Detroit. I’m a soft-core libertarian. I found out about the Conspiracy from Instapundit’s blogroll, in late 2003 or early 2004 and it has been my favorite law blog ever since. I think it has helped improve my analytical skills. The posts are just the right depth and length for me to read.
December 15, 2009, 10:44 amvonneumann says:
1982 graduate of NYU Law, where I went to study under Ronald Dworkin. Realized there that I didn’t agree with him very much. Practicing lawyer and private equity investor practicing real estate law.
December 15, 2009, 10:45 ambriancrime says:
Legal research pro Straight Outta the L.B.C. ][ License to steal in Michigan ] … I believe in the Conspiracy,
December 15, 2009, 10:50 am– brian
Master Shake says:
3L from one of the Chicago Triplet schools (Loyola, DePaul, Kent) with an offer to join the AF JAG after the 2010 Bar. Been a reader of VC since my senior year of college (2006).
December 15, 2009, 10:52 amPaul G says:
Publisher/Business Manager for Journals, UT Law
December 15, 2009, 10:53 amsgerber says:
I’m a composer – http://www.stevengerber.com
December 15, 2009, 10:53 amJeff J says:
Assistant United States Attorney and ordained Southern Baptist minister. Graduate of Liberty University School of Law and former clerk to state and federal appeals judges.
December 15, 2009, 10:54 amOut of Iowa says:
I’m a 3L federalist society member and an incoming associate at a litigation firm.
December 15, 2009, 10:55 amArthurKirkland says:
One version: Back to practicing law and working on entrepreneurial projects; also was a journalist and president of a financial firm. Registered non-partisan for many years, until George W. Bush turned me into a very active Democrat. Handle ACLU cases, attend Federalist Society events and Democratic Committee meetings. Proud member of the liberal-libertarian alliance.
My work generates substantial volumes of free and fine beer, but my knowledge of the relevant law (and aversion to violating that law) has prevented me from shipping any of it to Prof. Kerr. If anyone shows up at a VC gathering with 10 cases of exceptional beer, my cover might be blown. If Prof. Volokh ever decides the Conspiracy requires a beer correspondent, I might be his huckleberry.
Another version (my pal Roger’s): here.
December 15, 2009, 10:56 amDan says:
I’m a 2009 JD graduate of NYU Law. Currently doing a short fellowship before starting with a law firm in January. I hope to eventually focus on US and EU antitrust/competition law and white-collar crime. I’m pretty left-wing and very involved with the American Constitution Society, but I appreciate the perspective of the VC.
December 15, 2009, 10:57 amRaven says:
I’m an oil and gas attorney in Oklahoma City. I particularly enjoy Ilya Somin’s contributions to the conspiracy because of their libertarian perspective. The comments here are also generally more informed and intelligent than on many other sites.
December 15, 2009, 10:58 amU.Va. Grad says:
Recent U.Va. Law grad, now a litigation associate at a large firm in Minneapolis. I’ve been reading VC since college.
December 15, 2009, 10:58 amCCTrojan says:
I’m a staff attorney at the Supreme Court of Nevada.
December 15, 2009, 10:59 amwws says:
full time attorney with a small East Texas patent law firm. (home of the rocket docket) Also with interest/experience in real estate and energy/oil & gas.
December 15, 2009, 10:59 amPubliusFL says:
Way to go! It’s a good gig. Sometimes wish I had stayed in.
December 15, 2009, 11:01 amMark Field says:
Maybe if you had bought him a beer…
December 15, 2009, 11:02 amDave N. says:
I am a 1991 graduate of the University of Utah College of Law, where I was the executive editor of the school’s secondary law reviews. I currently serve as a prosecutor for my state’s attorney general, which includes litigating federal habeas corpus (while not doing it full-time, I still am responsible for 6 death penalty cases) and prosecuting various miscreants in state court.
I have argued extensively in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and currently have a case where I co-authored the merits brief in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
For those law students who want to pursue a career in criminal law, I offer two very different suggestions, one of which is the career path I followed:
1) Go JAG Corps. All service branches need lawyers. The pay isn’t bad and you get to see the world on the government dime.
2) Explore the more rural prosecutor offices in your state. There is a relatively high turnover so rural prosecutors are always looking for eager young lawyers. This is the path I took, and I was in-court, prosecuting major cases, within a year of law school graduation.
I also had death penalty experience very early in my career — we had a police shot and killed in the line of duty by someone with a VERY bad prior record. Since it was a two-attorney office (the District Attorney and myself), I was much more deeply involved than if I worked for a large county doing nothing but DUIs and domestic batteries.
December 15, 2009, 11:02 amChuckTaylor says:
2L at top 25 law school, fortunate enough to have a summer job at a firm and about to head home for the holidays. Started reading VC sometime last year (probably during Con Law). Basically terrified that I gave up a well-paying job to go to law school after many years out and while I know how lucky to have a job this summer (and how work experience was probably a big reason why I have one), there is no relaxation or absence of fear. It could all fall apart tomorrow. Reading VC helps remind me why I came to law school – love the intellectual discourse.
December 15, 2009, 11:06 amjheath says:
I can post on both pages. I am a former law student, and published an LR article as an undergrad history student. I consider getting back to law school, but it is probably not financially possible. I am currently in Montreal as a rigging project manager for an entertainment company, and was probably the only circus rigger to see my original work briefed in _Heller_ by party and amici without citation.
December 15, 2009, 11:12 am1Ler says:
Now-3L at good school south of Mason-Dixon. Enjoying the climate, plan to keep enjoying it as a clerk and attorney at a firm.
December 15, 2009, 11:12 amThenandNow says:
Partner in AmLaw 100 in a major city doing commercial litigation. Shortly, moving in-house.
December 15, 2009, 11:12 amGo Blue says:
I’m a law clerk for a Sixth Circuit Judge.
December 15, 2009, 11:13 amtheobromophile says:
My totally logical, straightforward path: chemical engineering and classics degrees at a university near Boston; materials science after graduation; law school at one of the many law schools on I-64 in Virginia; detour out to SoCal for a year in litigation; back up to Massachusetts, where I’m dedicating my energy to the pro-life movement (with some miscellaneous public policy on the side).
Some day, I may joint he scores of Volokh-Conspiracy-reading patent attorneys.
December 15, 2009, 11:16 amEx parte McCardle says:
I was going to write something but my meager tale can’t possibly top jheath‘s last clause @ 11:12.
December 15, 2009, 11:16 amKestrel says:
Mid-career attorney for governmental agency doing civil rights defense litigation. Mostly vote D, but if completely disgusted will vote L over R.
December 15, 2009, 11:20 amBob White says:
Graduate mid-00′s of a T14 school mentioned several times upthread, where I had a Conspirator for two classes, currently working for a smaller firm doing corporate work.
December 15, 2009, 11:21 amCBB says:
I am a corporate attorney at a well known New York firm, though this time last year I was clerking on the Court of Appeals. I have been reading this blog since I was a junior in college. Back then, I probably learned more about critical thinking and I enjoyed the foundational discussions about government, rights, and the like. Now I enjoy the blog because it (or when it? Randy Barnett, Somin, and Bernstein go off topic too much for me) satiate my hunger for legal analysis. I don’t know if this is normal, and it is for reasons external to the blog, but I agreed with almost everything written here when I was a college student, and I agree with far less now. But Eugene, Orin, and Eric Posner remain my favorite bloggers because they are the most substantive.
December 15, 2009, 11:28 amPatHMV says:
I’m in the counsel’s office of a large state university system. Had a varied, 15-year career so far. Been an assistant D.A., general counsel to the state’s auditor, and 4 years in the governor’s office (followed by a frustrating solo practice for a year and a half until I wound up here).
I hang out around here hoping to meet cute, intelligent law-geek girls.
December 15, 2009, 11:30 amMAM says:
Partner at a transactional firm in the Southwest. Graduated from UVA Law in the early 90s. Started reading VC for its opinions regarding the terrorist surveillance program in order to get a clear right of center view. I am left of center with a libertarian streak. I also largely appreciate the discussions on race and grammar (I know it’s an odd mix).
Oh, I don’t quite understand the focus on gun rights. :)
December 15, 2009, 11:33 amJohn Schwartz says:
I am a newspaper reporter and a graduate of the University of Texas Law School. I never practiced, which is a lucky break for those who would have been my clients. I write about legal issues for the paper.
December 15, 2009, 11:40 amDjDiverDan says:
I’m a 55 year old lawyer who’s been practicing law for 27 years in Texas; I graduated near the top of my class from a top 20 law school, and spent 12+ years with a Biglaw Firm in Dallas until it blew itself up. I became VERY disillusioned about big law firms, and have since practiced only in small firms and as a solo, doing commercial real estate, commercial litigation (no PI work), and commercial bankruptcy – now primarily creditor work and bankruptcy litigation. I really enjoy the VC because of the generally high quality of its posts, the intellectual quality of most comments, and the occasional humorous slant. Also, I have a business & Econ background (with a strong libertarian bent), and I enjoy the frequent posts which address the economic effects of pending legislation and court decisions and the libertarian perspective. I’m also not above “ranting” occasionally, usually rationally, sometimes not so much, and this is a fun place to do that.
December 15, 2009, 11:41 amrarango says:
Wow–posted on the other thread re background–you guys and ladies are awfully good–may not agree with your political opinions, but have the utmost respect for your credentials, and your comments–Mark Field–have you ceased your boulevardier credential? inquiring minds want to know :)
December 15, 2009, 11:44 amBirdman says:
I’m a former Supreme Court law clerk and former big-firm litigation partner, now senior counsel, in Washinigton, D.C.
December 15, 2009, 11:45 amJay says:
David Mader interviewed me for a clerkship a few years back, and then I didn’t get hired. For that reason, I’m pretty sure he should no longer be allowed to read the Volokh Conspiracy. (Note: My interaction with Mr. Mader was actually quite pleasant, as I recall.)
I’m an ’08 law school grad with a federal gov’t job.
December 15, 2009, 11:51 amAmador Lu Lu says:
I’m a 1978 law grad, appellate lawyer, who since 1989 has worked inside the California appellate court system in San Francisco. Former democrat now leaning libertarian, I’ve been reading Volokh since it was a news letter.
December 15, 2009, 11:51 amJon Rowe says:
JD, MBA (in legal studies), LL.M. (in transnational law) from Temple U. Had David Post for an IP law course. Licensed in PA, recently gave up my NJ license because I really don’t practice but keep a license for 1) professional reasons, and 2) minor needs when I want to act as an attorney.
Full time community college professor. Just got promoted to Associate Professor. I teach Business Law I, II, Global Environment of Business, International Business Practice Firm, Law & Society and Constitutional Law. I tend to teach many overloads (18-21 credits a semester, plus in the summers).
Even though I blog about everything, I tend to focus on America’s Founders and how they understood religion in general and Christianity in particular.
If you want to know what, if anything can be proven, Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, etc. thought about the Trinity, Atonement, eternal damnation, infallibility of the Bible, reason v. revelation, I know as much as PhD/book author/scholar on the matter and have co-bloggers and readers who meticulously examine my claims (some of them quite contentious like Jefferson was neither a Deist nor an atheist nor a Christian and that whatever Jefferson was, J. Adams was as well) and hold my feet to the fire. Check out my blogs if interested.
December 15, 2009, 11:57 amKeri says:
2L at Santa Clara University. I want to be a professor, even though I know it’s going to be hard to get there. I currently work in human resources for a software company. (I spend all day hiring and firing people. Just call me Catbert.)
December 15, 2009, 12:02 pmepeeist says:
U.S. citizen living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I went to law school here and am admitted as a lawyer in Ontario (I am also admitted in New York, and as a patent attorney before the USPTO but haven’t practiced in the U.S.). I practiced IP litigation for a few years but am currently working for an engineering company in both a legal and engineering capacity (my first degree is in engineering, they do a lot of forensic engineering analysis and expert reports and testimony and so both my skill sets are useful).
December 15, 2009, 12:05 pmGopher says:
I’m a 2L at the University of Minnesota procrastinating in his finals preparation. I’m also one of about, I’d say, 5% of this student body who prefer the Conservative/Libertarian viewpoint.
December 15, 2009, 12:07 pmDaniel Charlies says:
I’m a housewife from LaRanchiendo, California who enjoys hiking, cooking, and reading the Volokh Conspiracy. I’ve got 2 grown kids, a wonderful husband, and one grandchild on the way… Let’s spin the wheel!
(not really.)
December 15, 2009, 12:07 pmtheobromophile says:
Given the confusion on the subject, I should probably also mention that I’m a woman. :)
If the VC ever needs a chocolate reviewer, I would be happy to volunteer for the job.
December 15, 2009, 12:07 pmDave Hardy says:
Attorney since 1975, loving appellate work. Now solo; before this was a bureaucrat at Solicitor’s Office, US Dept of the Interior, for ten years. Probably the only attorney in Tucson who has an SSRN page. Have dabbled a bit in producing documentaries, see http://www.secondamendmentdocumentary.com , and may produce more.
December 15, 2009, 12:12 pmpchuck says:
I’ve been an academic law librarian since the 104th Congress. I teach legal research and advanced legal research.
I’ve been reading the VC since almost the beginning. I got here via Instapundit.
This place has given me a lot of good ideas for legal research assignments through the years.
December 15, 2009, 12:15 pmNesterT says:
Land use and environmental attorney at 140-attorney firm in Sacramento. SoCal transplant. Have been reading the VC since law school and still check in here every day.
December 15, 2009, 12:16 pmtmiller says:
2L @ Liberty University School of Law. Law review candidate, part-time library-etiquette enforcer (I do this pro-bono), native Texan. A huge boxing fan that is tempted to use all his loan money to go to Vegas to watch Pacquiao v. Mayweather.
December 15, 2009, 12:17 pmyuval roitman says:
Hi. I’m HLS graduate (LL.M. program) and a senior deputy to the SG in Israel. I’m currently a PhD candidate in TAU Law School.
December 15, 2009, 12:21 pmBama 1L says:
I am actually now a 3L at Alabama. If you go there you certainly know who I am. I’m non-traditional in that I started law school 10 years after college (which was quite traditional). In the interim I became A.B.D. in history (Virginia), decided I did not want to do that for a living, and had some responsible jobs related to real estate.
I am a married man and have a three-year-old son, with another baby coming soon after grauation. My wife is a history professor.
I have no interest in becoming a professor; if I wanted to be a professor, I’d be one right now. Instead I took one of those biglaw jobs in a far-off city where I summered. It seemed like the easy thing to do . . . .
I am Catholic. Politically I call myself a “left conservative.” I vote Democratic, oppose abortion, and think both markets and government have their place. So I’m not at all libertarian but I find the posters and commenters on this blog very smart. I found it a good antidote to the lazy liberal milieu in which I found myself.
December 15, 2009, 12:22 pmMark Field says:
I’m unsure how I (of all people) acquired such a credential. Of the 7 billion people in the world, all of them, maybe more, would be more accurately described as a “boulevardier”.
December 15, 2009, 12:24 pmSeamus says:
I’m a partner at a mid-sized Cincinnati law firm, practicing primarily in the area of construction law. Some transactional but mostly a trial/arbitration practice. I represent developers, contractors and subs. Former large firm associate/partner. Found my way here via Instapundit.
December 15, 2009, 12:28 pmyankee says:
’08 grad from a USNWR top 10 school. Worked as a biglaw corporate lawyer for several months before being laid off, now clerking as a volunteer in a state trial court.
December 15, 2009, 12:29 pmArbMed says:
Coif graduate of a pretty good public university law school in the late 70′s, law clerk for a federal appeals court, then a big firm (ugh!) lawyer (partner) for several decades practicing labor & employment law. At 50, I decided I’d had enough and became an independent labor arbitrator and employment mediator. Couldn’t be happier professionally, and I even make a good living (although it took several years to build up the practice). I’ve been reading the Conspiracy religiously (in the metaphorical sense) for the last five years or so. I’m a true political independent, leaning “small c” conservative on fiscal and security matters, “small l” libertarian on social issues, but you can’t predict where I’ll come out on any specific issue by using a label. I love the intelligence of the commentary here, and I’ll add my voice to those who strongly prefer that all posts be open for comments. By the way, if my labor arbitrator colleagues knew how often I read this blog, I’d be drummed out of the profession, and I suspect there are many labor unions who’d never agree to let me hear a case of theirs again. So I remain anonymous, and when I post here, which is rare, I use a different screen name.
December 15, 2009, 12:30 pmMax says:
I’m a recent law grad (’08) (from a second-tier school) and tax LLM (’09), currently doing tax litigation in Colorado. Former Federalist Society chapter president. My law school grades were a bit mediocre, but I did make it onto the editorial board of the law review.
I’m right of center, but actually consider myself a market (“private-property”) anarchist. Meaning, I don’t believe the state has any moral legitimacy whatsoever.
December 15, 2009, 12:37 pmAlexander Wolfe says:
I’m an attorney who graduated from the Texas Wesleyan School of Law at the end of 2007, and who is now currently doing document review. I like to complain about that a lot, here and elsewhere. Also, I second this:
Or put into my own words, I think this is a great blog.
(Also, I usually post comments under a pseudonym, but this time I figure it’s more anonymous to actually use my own name.)
December 15, 2009, 12:37 pmHanah Volokh says:
I’m your sister-in-law.
I’m also a Visiting Assistant Professor at Emory Law School.
December 15, 2009, 12:38 pmMSZ says:
1999 escapee from Albemarle Community College School of Law, aka UVa. Never practiced, but spent five years as a Hillel professional and the past five years as a grants officer at the NIH. As a Jewish libertarian marksman, I’ve always thought that I would make an excellent Conspirator, but I’m glad to be outside the academy.
December 15, 2009, 12:42 pmSC Public Defender says:
Graduated in ’03. Clerked for a Trial Court judge and have been public defending ever since. Have been reading Volokh since my 1L year…used some old posts (pedophile blogger) in my trial prep of a stalking case just this weekend.
December 15, 2009, 12:46 pmCan't find a good name says:
I’m an associate at a small firm in Chicago, specializing in tax and business law. One of my professors in law school was co-Conspirator Jim Lindgren.
December 15, 2009, 12:47 pmCooley Howarth says:
I am a law professor at the University of Dayton.
December 15, 2009, 12:51 pmTom says:
I am an over 60 lawyer representing abused and neglected children in the Paciifc Northwest.
December 15, 2009, 12:53 pmguy in the veal calf office says:
I read In Search of Thomas Jefferson’s Moose, but have never met or conversed with David Post.
December 15, 2009, 12:55 pmShlomo Argamon says:
I’m a professor of computer science with a side interest in the law (partly via my professional interest in forensic linguistics) and well-thought-out (even if sometimes wrong) economic/political commentary. I do skip most of the more technical legal posts, though – so much to read, so little time!
December 15, 2009, 12:57 pmMichael Barclay says:
I am an intellecutal property litigation partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto. I graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1979.
December 15, 2009, 1:12 pmDave N. says:
I didn’t think your photograph was particularly confusing. ;-)
December 15, 2009, 1:12 pmlawdevil says:
01 law grad. AUSA for going on 2 years. A DOJ Honors attorney before that for 5 5 years and a law clerk before that.
December 15, 2009, 1:19 pmDiane says:
Chemical patent attorney in California
December 15, 2009, 1:20 pmDailyDeferred says:
I’m a big-law deferred 2009 law grad, using my six stipend-supported time months to do everything I’ve never had time to do.
December 15, 2009, 1:28 pmBleh says:
’09 UCLA grad. Just passed the bar. Jobless, but too lazy to worry about it.
December 15, 2009, 1:31 pmfrankcross says:
I’m Batman
December 15, 2009, 1:34 pmRyan says:
I am a Marine Corps 1st Lt. Right now I am a “student judge advocate” but at soon as I complete all of my basic training (6 months) and Naval Justice School (10 weeks), I’ll be a Judge Advocate. I graduated from law school in May, 2009 and took the Ohio Bar in July (and passed).
December 15, 2009, 1:39 pmLessinSF says:
I am LessinSF, one of the quasi-founders of Greedy Associates. I do carrier-side insurance coverage and bad-faith litigation in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I like pie. Also drugs and hookers.
December 15, 2009, 1:40 pmMark Field says:
I thought you were Spartacus.
December 15, 2009, 1:43 pmDakota Loomis says:
Recent NYU law grad who moved back to Kansas to run a campaign and am somehow now a prosecutor.
I also know that frankcross is in fact Batman.
December 15, 2009, 1:47 pmDavid Drake says:
Business lawyer in Atlanta. Enjoy the constitutional law and intellectual property discussions as well as the libertarian point of view.
December 15, 2009, 1:47 pmPatent Lawyer says:
Currently a junior associate in patent litigation at a major New York boutique firm, formerly of NYU Law and Princeton (MechE).
December 15, 2009, 1:57 pmTerry Hart says:
Hi Mike! 3L also from Kent. Been reading and enjoying VC since I was a 1L. Strongly interested in copyright law and the music industry.
December 15, 2009, 1:58 pmEdward M. "Ted" McClure says:
I’m the Faculty Services Law Librarian at Phoenix School of Law. Librarianship is my fifth career: (1) Army intelligence officer; (2) attorney in mom & pop law firm – general civil practice in North Carolina; (3) Army instructor and staff officer – six years in the Pentagon; (4) administrative, business, and real estate law in Virginia and DC; and (5) best of all, academic law librarian. Passed the Virginia bar exam 18 years after law school. I enjoy the intellectual honesty of the Conspirators.
December 15, 2009, 2:01 pmKM says:
I am a practicing attorney in NYC. Politically — squarely left of center but with libertarian leanings and some conservative sympathies. As for judicial philosophy — a minimalist with a healthy fear of dicta and a deep respect for the views of the founding fathers, but not a strict originalist. I read VC because even if I don’t agree with the philosophies, opinions, analyses, etc., expressed in every post, I still find them thought-provoking.
December 15, 2009, 2:04 pmBrad H. says:
’01 Law Grad. Former prosecutor. Current civil defense trial attorney – Alabama. FedSoc member. Lifelong member of the vast right wing conspiracy.
December 15, 2009, 2:06 pmPLR says:
Corporate transactional lawyer in Missouri, 1984 grad, leaning libertarian with a small l, non-aligned political realist, and a believer in the quaint Rule of Law, even the muddled version that exists between sovereign nations with constantly changing governments.
Have agreed with more than 95% of everything I’ve seen written on this forum by Dilan Esper. Almost never agree with Lindgren.
December 15, 2009, 2:17 pmHank says:
An aging computer geek with a plethora of interests, one being the law.
December 15, 2009, 2:20 pmRenvoi says:
Gov’t attorney in CA, JD 2008. Formerly liberal, formerly conservative, currently small l libertarian-ish. Have enjoyed reading VC since ’05, right before starting 1L.
December 15, 2009, 2:25 pmAnne Herzberg says:
Formerly, a litigation associate in NYC. Currently, the Legal Advisor for NGO Monitor in Jerusalem (www.ngo-monitor.org)
December 15, 2009, 2:36 pmMike McDougal says:
We construction lawyers need to band together.
December 15, 2009, 2:37 pmrdjc says:
University professor In South-america. University Of Zulia
December 15, 2009, 2:41 pmConstitutional law
Administrative Process and Judicial Review
Researcher and author of books
Born in Ann Arbor while my parents where studying law and political sciences there. They were majoring in Local Government Law
Classic Liberal
randomex says:
No-offered IP 3L with Computer Science background. I particularly enjoy Second and Fourth Amendment posts. Thanks for the blog!
December 15, 2009, 2:41 pmMuskrat says:
Research and Writing Atty for a Federal Defender office. Graduated in ’05.
December 15, 2009, 2:43 pmNR says:
I’m an education lawyer who teaches a legal writing class at a North Carolina law school. I’m also a devoted husband and the father of two absolutely incredible kids (ages 3 and 5). This is my favorite blog, largely because of the excellent comment threads. I’m not sure why, but I’m pretty sure I owe Orin Kerr a beer.
December 15, 2009, 2:51 pmScotty says:
I’m an in-house counsel at a large hi-tech company in the State of Washington. Also, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney (CHIPS) in Alexandria, Virginia. And, I don’t mind publicly admitting I’m a friend of both Orin and Paul Ohm.
[OK chimes in: Hi, Scott!]
December 15, 2009, 3:09 pmTammy Cravit says:
I’m a paralegal working in the juvenile dependency system, and (if all goes well) soon to be a law student as well. Prior to becoming a paralegal, I was a computer consultant and part-time freelance writer.
December 15, 2009, 3:15 pmAF says:
Litigation associate in large NY firm. Former 2d Cir. clerk and AAG in the NY AG’s office. Law school class of 2005.
December 15, 2009, 3:17 pmjosh says:
’02 U of C law grad and current associate at small firm in Chicago, after leaving BigLaw in early 2008 in order to see my wife and two daughters more than once a week.
Also, I’m a liberal, hippy, Commie, Pinko, Socialist, who enjoys being set straight by the intellectually honest posters (and commenters) at the VC.
Good Yontif!
December 15, 2009, 3:19 pmleo marvin says:
Family is too precious to annoy only at holidays.
December 15, 2009, 3:20 pmC. Thomas Kunz says:
Of Counsel to a major New York City based law firm. Retired as partner of that firm two years ago. Area of expertise: securities offerings.
December 15, 2009, 3:26 pmJohn Doe says:
I’m an unemployed 3L at BU Law
December 15, 2009, 3:32 pmRichard Gould-Saltman says:
California family law specialist, in a boutique firm with three other lawyers, (including my better-looking and more charming wife and partner). In practice 31 years, as of last month. My musical taste overlaps O.K.’s. Regular V.C. reader, and occasional annoying commenter, for last 3 or four years. Politically to the liberal side of most of the Conspirators, and certainly most of the commenters, but talking only with people who agree with you much of the time is neither informative, nor particularly entertaining…
December 15, 2009, 3:34 pmAdam J says:
NYC litigator in a smaller (25 attorney) firm, graduated from Brooklyn in ’07.
December 15, 2009, 3:37 pmRPT says:
UCLAW when Bill Warren, Susan Prager, Ken Karst and the “3 B’s” (Boland, Binder & Bergman) taught. Business & entertainment transactions and & litigation. A few clients over the years: Benny Hinn, Morris Cerullo, Sean Penn, Ozzie Osbourne, Mark Fuhrman, Carol Burnett.
December 15, 2009, 3:40 pmleo marvin says:
At least now I know you’re not Ted Olson.
December 15, 2009, 3:43 pmJ. Reif says:
I’m a second year student at the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama. My interests are business law, tax, and constitutional law. Somehow they all work together, I just haven’t figured it out yet.
December 15, 2009, 3:44 pmjpm69875 says:
I am a small town (150ish people) attorney in northeast Nebraska. I’m a Creighton Law graduate. Go Jesuits – er, I mean Go Jays!
I was second in the NCAA – Volokh Basketball tournament last year. I won more games in my bracket, but lost in a squeaker.
My only other claim to fame is that the complaining party in the Drahota case that Prof. Volokh argued was my political science professor at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
I’ve been reading this blog for years. Love it. Keep up the great work.
December 15, 2009, 3:44 pmGuest101 says:
Associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in NYC.
December 15, 2009, 3:53 pmGuest Again says:
I am in private practice in Detroit ‘burbs and in my decades as a lawyer have been spent as counsel to, and sometimes General Counsel to: manufacturing companies(there isn’t, or wasn’t, anything else in this auto town – your clients are known as either OEMs, or Tier 1s or Tier 2s); a general contractor (some of the best in the country are here); a tow truck manufacturer in Chattanooga -don’t ask how I got there; and a myriad collection of other businesses. M&A and all the clients’ usual run of biz issues have kept it interesting. It is currently very slow in this town and 2010 looms as probably the worst year in my lifetime.
I am a disinterested agnostic, politically. The VC is hands down my most enjoyable read on the net.
December 15, 2009, 3:56 pmMark Field says:
Imagine my relief!
December 15, 2009, 3:58 pmEC2 says:
law clerk to third circuit judge. worked in biglaw last year, and as law clerk to district judge the year before that. law school class of ’07.
December 15, 2009, 3:59 pmrjs says:
I’m a permanent federal judicial law clerk. I’ve been a Volokh fan for about 13 years (from Cyberia days).
December 15, 2009, 4:02 pmFlash Gordon says:
Semi-retired in Wyoming. I have a small case load these days and I like it that way. I write on a range of subjects at my Blog.
December 15, 2009, 4:03 pmVadim says:
I’m a 3L at Santa Clara University. I’ve been reading the blog for about three months, and don’t intend to stop anytime soon.
December 15, 2009, 4:04 pmMatt says:
I am a JD/MBA at Santa Clara University. Been reading this blog since I saw Professor Volokh on a panel at the Federalist Society’s national conventional last year.
December 15, 2009, 4:06 pmRoberto says:
Solo practitioner for 14 years in Nebraska. I practice exclusively in the area of immigration. As a long-time libertarian this fits well with my belief that noone has a right to dictate to (peaceful)others where they live, travel, or with whom they enter into mutual contracts.
December 15, 2009, 4:09 pmThe down-side is that is very low paying work and the immigration law is as complex as tax law. Plus plenty of tragedy, heartbreak and man’s inhumanity to man is thrown in.
To those still looking for work, just put up a shingle and start looking for clients. Usually plenty of court-appointed work available too.
benjamin canine says:
i’m a second year law student at william mitchell college of law in st. paul, mn. i work as a student extern for a federal district court judge here in minneapolis.
December 15, 2009, 4:10 pmCaleb says:
Longtime reader. Never commented because I was a fed. Now I’m a professor. I teach all things relating to perps, busting them, and putting them back on the street. I’ll second the others who say way to go, great blog, I check it out every day and I especially value seeing well-articulated viewpoints I don’t share (or hadn’t shared). I also like running down the comment threads, and I appreciate the non-lawyer perspectives.
December 15, 2009, 4:28 pmLeopold Stotch says:
Former Marine. Former Volokh student. December ’03 graduate of a bottom-of-the-top-tier law school, and former editor of a second-tier journal at that school. Now licensed in Virginia and working in house at a well known not-for-profit. Libertarian-leaning conservative, or maybe vice versa.
VC reader since at least May of ’02. Former daily reader who has cut back to a couple times a week. I think when I started reading it was just Eugene and Sasha, and maybe JNV. I remember when Michelle Boardman joined, and the fact that seemingly most of her oh-so-rare posts had to do with Eminem. How’s that for going way back?
Finally, I’m a former co-proprietor of a long defunct blog that occasionally garnered a link from the Conspiracy. (The blog is still listed in Glenn Reynolds’s blogroll, despite my repeated emails notifying him that I nuked it.) To say that I pimped the blog hard to Eugene doesn’t go nearly far enough. I can tell you with total certainty that the Conspirator-in-Chief has the patience of Job. Poor guy. Sorry about that, Eugene!
December 15, 2009, 4:29 pmjperkins says:
I am a 3L at Georgetown Law. No job as of yet. I took Professor Barnett’s Con Law II class this last semester and really enjoyed it. I am interested in criminal law and/or public interest law. I am currently enrolled in a Criminal Justice Clinic representing misdemeanor indigent defendants in DC Superior Court and indigent defendants in front of the US Parole Commission.
December 15, 2009, 4:32 pmroguestage says:
2009 Harvard Law grad, currently in a fellowship with an environmental nonprofit, clerking for a federal magistrate starting next fall. Was a semi-professional actor for about 7 years, which means that I did a little bit of everything – office work, taught Shakespeare and LSAT prep, did some theatre tech construction, sang for my supper, etc.
I’m an odd mix of political beliefs: economic ‘liberal’ as things are defined these days, social libertarian. I’m here because I like talking to smart people who disagree with me.
December 15, 2009, 4:51 pmdcperson says:
2009 grad, current clerk, and currently looking for post-clerking job.
December 15, 2009, 4:52 pmRichmondLawyer says:
Graduated from what used to be a top 20 law school in 2005.
December 15, 2009, 5:00 pmWorked for 2 years as legal counsel to a committee in the US House of Reps.
Now have a solo practice that is general, but focused on oil & gas law in a small town outside of Houston.
To Have and Have Not says:
I am now a government lawyer. In both private practice and for the government, I have engaged in civil appellate practice (federal and state) for virtually all of the 23 years since law school graduation.
I’m a libertarian at heart, but I’ve never voted for the LP candidate for President, for I prefer voting for someone who has a chance of winning the election (yeah, I know, so much for principles). By the way, I’m guessing you don’t have too many other readers who voted, as I did, for George McGovern in 1972 and for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
December 15, 2009, 5:10 pmRPT says:
I am also a former, albeit short-lived, law firm colleague of Mark Field. Five years after that experience I appeared on behalf of the law firm when it was named as a defendant in a securities case.
December 15, 2009, 5:13 pmRPT says:
What’s your opinion of David Barton? I have a client who produced programs for him.
December 15, 2009, 5:19 pmTLA says:
Recent, unlicensed law graduate (09). Also a non-traditional law student with an MPH and former research assistant to a Conspirator. Currently residing in Boston, volunteering at the DA’s office in the Roxbury Division, and looking for a job. Not sure about practicing law but considering criminal law or health law and policy work. First time commenter, but reading since 1L.
December 15, 2009, 5:20 pmMario says:
I am a 34 year old 1L at Quinnipiac University School of Law. I am changing careers and passionate about civil liberties.
December 15, 2009, 5:27 pmvon says:
Partner, Amlaw 200 firm, midwest, 10 years out of law school. I still have no idea what I’m doing.
December 15, 2009, 5:35 pmSuperSkeptic says:
Super skeptical, cynical, and realistic about the law, yet with an idealistic and philosophical bent. That is, I’m under 30. Very much appreciate the intellectual stimulation as well as the current events, so thanks. I aspire and one day hope to be non-anonymous.
December 15, 2009, 5:38 pmJohn M. Perkins says:
Reference Services Librarian, Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University
December 15, 2009, 5:44 pmCGG says:
I’m a ’06 GW law graduate (unfortunately, I never had prof. Kerr), and I just started following this blog a month or so ago. I knew about the Voloch Conspiracy for a long time (my non-lawyer engineer brother has followed it for years), but I always figured it was more IP-centric until recently. Too bad – its just what I’m interested in.
December 15, 2009, 5:51 pmLou Gots says:
Pennsylvania Lawyer. Marine Corps JAG, active and reserve. Presently Federal civilian retiree. Active in local Second Amendment issues, was on shooting teams in college and Marine Corps. Still doing a little pistol and Skeet competition.
Politically old-time movement conservative–Spirit of ’64. Anti-Communist, pro-life and, did I tell you, pro-gun.
I still follow the law fairly closely, mostly law blogs, current case law, Supreme Court briefs and arguements. I’ve done a fair amount of appellate practice over the years, both sides of the aisle, as they say. So it is that I still react to a juicy legal question like the old fire horse to a bell, for which pleasure I thank the proprietors of this site.
December 15, 2009, 6:00 pmhambone says:
soon to be unemployed 3L at T50.
December 15, 2009, 6:16 pmJeff Gamso says:
Criminal defense lawyer in Toledo, Ohio. Former Legal Director ACLU of Ohio (amicus counsel in State v. Smith, the cell phone case Orrin posted about earlier today). First career was English professor. Blogger (Gamso-FortheDefense).
December 15, 2009, 6:21 pmJon Rowe says:
RPT:
You asked the wrong guy. I’m kind of hard on Barton because I disagree with his “Christian America” thesis. Though I do have co-bloggers, like my friend Tom Van Dyke (who has won Ben Stein’s $$ and written for the American Spectator), who though not a Barton promoter is not as hard on him and is harder on the secularists. I’m not a secularist, but rather take a more middle ground approach as espoused by figures like Mark Noll and Stephen Waldman.
The bottom line (my problem with Barton) is evangelicals — his main target audience — have a minimalistic standard for what it means to be a “Christian” that’s fairly strict. But even if we draw the line at “orthodoxy” (less strict) instead of “born-again/regeneration” (the stricter evangelical test for “Christianity”) it’s not at all clear that many of the FFs he promotes as “Christian” were so. And I think he’s flat out wrong when he tries to credit the Bible for provisions in the US Constitution. The FFs who wrote the Constitution didn’t do this.
December 15, 2009, 6:25 pmNot My Leg says:
2L at the University of Washington. Currently procrastinating instead of writing my antitrust exam (24 hr take home).
December 15, 2009, 6:34 pmI comment here under a different pseudonym says:
5 year insurance defense associate in Phoenix.
December 15, 2009, 6:40 pmTim says:
Commonwealth’s Attorney (prosecutor) Former partner at large regional firm. Graduated University of Kentucky College of Law in 1990. I enjoy reading about topics concerning criminal prosecution as well those regarding non-criminal issues (one way I keep up with the outside world).
December 15, 2009, 6:44 pmMahan Atma says:
Criminal defense attorney in the SF Bay Area.
December 15, 2009, 6:54 pmKaren A. Wyle says:
I am a self-employed (or, as I sometimes put it, self-underemployed) appellate attorney in Indiana and a graduate of Harvard Law School, Class of 1980. I’m also a mother of two, author of (unpublished) children’s picture book manuscripts, photographer, and a few other things.
December 15, 2009, 6:57 pmJLR says:
Current district court law clerk, former BIGLAW slave. Looking to get into law teaching or open up a dog daycare facility/dog gym.
December 15, 2009, 7:00 pmGordo says:
Attorney for a legislative counsel’s office in a western state.
December 15, 2009, 7:01 pmAundria says:
UCLA grad, current C.D. Cal. clerk.
December 15, 2009, 7:23 pmSteve A. says:
District Attorney for a small county near Portland, Oregon.
December 15, 2009, 7:24 pmEric says:
I’m a 2L at Arizona State and am clerking with Institute for Justice.
December 15, 2009, 7:29 pmSherwin says:
I am a 2L at the University of Georgia. Thank you for excellent blog! I have been following it since last year.
My awesome Con Law professor mentioned your blawg in class and related it to our studies, something I particularly enjoyed!
December 15, 2009, 7:32 pmJeffH says:
2009 Phoenix School of Law grad. Currently working at a 501c3 public interest law practice in D.C. as part of the Koch Associate Program. Prior to law school I spent 6 years working in IT. The excellent academic law librarian at Phoenix School of Law (who posted above) first introduced me to this blog. I’m planning on taking the VA bar exam in February, and possibly the AZ bar exam in July.
December 15, 2009, 7:50 pmandy says:
I am a VAP at Arizona State. I read Volokh to keep up to date with and to learn about legal developments in areas unrelated to my research interests (tax law). However, I frequently find that many of the issues discussed here have a lot in common with various fundamental tax issues. Regardless, I generally think it’s good to know a little about a lot of different areas of law and this blog helps me with that goal.
I also like reading EV’s posts about good writing styles. I’ve always been bored by the Sunday Song Lyric, though.
I also enjoy the different perspective offered by this blog. I can’t remember when I started reading it — perhaps it was during the Roberts’ confirmation hearings, but I may have perused before then.
When I was in practice, perusing Volokh was a means of procrastination; now I consider it part of “work”!
December 15, 2009, 7:51 pmEvilShaq says:
2L at BU.
December 15, 2009, 7:55 pmPaul McKaskle says:
I’m a recently retired law prof at USF–most recently taught Civ Pro, Evidence and Comparative Civil Liberties (comparing US to Europe as to Freedom of Expression, Religion and Privacy–some pretty substantial differences). One time helicopter pilot in the US Navy and a Boalt grad in 1963. Did stints in a prosecutors office, private practice, and in a public interest law firm (with 2 of the 3 UCLA “B”s referred to above) before starting to teach in 1971.
VC is the first blog I open every day after checking email because of its high quality and diverse subject matter. (I also don’t like the word “blog” but I’ve gotten used to it.)
December 15, 2009, 7:59 pmKen says:
Attorney in NorCal. Graduate of GW. Former fed clerk and full time litigator.
December 15, 2009, 8:05 pmSimon Jester says:
i just read to scrawl graffiti on the virtual walls.
December 15, 2009, 8:12 pmAriel says:
3L at a top 20 school, with a Biglaw job looking to to get into technology licensing. I had lunch with Professor Volokh, as a consequence of leading my school’s Federalist Society. He was ready to leave for almost the whole lunch, looking forward to chatting with another Professor at our school. Ah well, can’t win them all.
I have a perfect litigation record: two for two. One case settled after we filed our brief (drafted by me), with the other side completely giving in. The other case was an unemployment appeal, where we had three alternative grounds to win on, and won before the hearing officer. Because I’m hoping to do licensing work, I might be able to keep my perfect litigation record.
I was a management consultant before law school, and a science and language major in undergrad. I was a lefty-socialist in undergrad, and gradually evolved to being a hard-core libertarian/conservative or conservative/libertarian. I read Volokh as an antidote to the subtle indoctrination at our school.
December 15, 2009, 8:28 pmBored Lawyer says:
I am a partner in a small New York intellectual property boutique. I specialize in trademark and copyright issues.
December 15, 2009, 8:33 pmMikhail Koulikov says:
For all this is worth, am a librarian at a membership-based (i.e., not open to the public) NYC law library. At this point, MLS only, no JD, and I’m still fairly undecided as to whether I want to go for one.
My academic interests are primarily in critical theory and social informatics, but the topic I am currently most interested in is the relationship between law/legal studies and other academic fields, as exemplified by things like the amount of citation to non-legal journals in law reviews, and the reverse.
December 15, 2009, 8:46 pmY says:
I am a very liberal, non-libertarian, in-house counsel working abroad.
Met you and your wife at a holiday party several years ago and was later informed by a friend that you are “famous” and have “a blog.” Started reading based on curiosity, kept reading because of the thought-provoking quality of the blog.
December 15, 2009, 9:02 pmGov98 says:
Deputy County Prosecutor in the State of California, been reading for years since law school days back when The Volokh Conspiracy was on blogspot. Pretty standard small government conservative.
December 15, 2009, 9:18 pmBenP says:
Associate at a Litigation centered firm in Arkansas. Been reading Volokh since college. Law school came after initial aspirations of being a history professor. Was top 10% and Law Review at a State Law School.
I call myself a moderate libertarian, despite the fact that I enjoy being a contrarian in comments I generally agree with most of the sentiments expressed by the Conspiracy members.
December 15, 2009, 9:39 pmDmow25 says:
1L at University of Washington
Army officer who was lucky enough to be able to trade several years of servitude in exchange for a free ride through law school.
Socially liberal, but with a strong libertarian streak.
December 15, 2009, 10:21 pmVC reader for several years, but enjoy it much more now.
TomD says:
Partner in the antitrust shop at a biglaw firm in DC, Tier 2 graduate 2002. Just finished an MA in history, working towards PhD focusing on legal history. Social liberal, fiscal conservative. Daily visitor to the blog.
December 15, 2009, 10:29 pmBlunt Instrument says:
Pennsylvania attorney, physicist, engineer. Regular reader and infrequent commenter since 2002 (can that be right?).
December 15, 2009, 10:34 pmDavid Post taught me Copyrights. Looking forward to more football (aka “soccer”) blogging from David in 2010!
Louis says:
3L in Chicago.
December 15, 2009, 11:04 pmHSofAUS says:
A legal practitioner and Judge’s Associate from South Australia.
December 15, 2009, 11:40 pmJack says:
I am a first year law student at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
December 15, 2009, 11:51 pmAndy Bolen says:
2L at UChicago (unemployed…). Started reading VolokhC a year or two before I started law school, and it got me all excited. Still the most-read blog in my feed.
December 16, 2009, 12:14 ammarksleen says:
I am a real estate and commercial litigation attorney based in Bellevue, Washington.
December 16, 2009, 12:21 amElliott says:
Previously a trial lawyer with nearly 200 jury verdicts under my belt, now I’m the publisher of a weekly trial practice tips newsletter and editor of Winning Trial Advocacy Tips blog.
December 16, 2009, 12:23 amMike McDougal says:
Who let the Southern Hemispherians in here?
December 16, 2009, 12:25 amRedlands says:
27+ years as a prosecutor, now a supervisor (20+ yrs) of hard core gang and career criminal prosecution. teach appellate ad & a seminar on capital punishment at local law school. i’m fairly busy.
December 16, 2009, 12:44 amTemple BLSA says:
I’m a 3L at Temple Law. Aspiring big-city prosecutor who hopes he will prove worthy enough to ascend to a gig as a federal prosecutor. Big fan of African-American legal history and VC! Part-time law clerk at a small litigation boutique and a research assistant for scholarly works re: the reconstruction amendments.
December 16, 2009, 12:52 amuberVU - social comments says:
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by VolokhConspirac: Who Are You (Lawyers, Law Students, and the Like)?: Occasionally I invite our readers to post a few words about.. http://bit.ly/4CosrY...
December 16, 2009, 1:24 amCJS says:
Sweater-clad* 2002 Vanderbilt Law grad, toiling away for the man (or, rather, the men and women who are the shareholders) at corporate HQ.
*We’re a frugal company, and it’s winter time. Perhaps Mr. Scrooge will allow me another piece of coal on the morrow.
December 16, 2009, 1:25 amrpt says:
I think I asked the right person. My thoughts re DB are pretty much the same as yours. But it would be fun to go on one of his Washington DC tours.
December 16, 2009, 2:12 amredc1c4 says:
i lurk more than i post: LA native, member of the Retired Reserve, recently completed an ABA paralegal program so i can move out of the health care field, now looking for employment. (this is not a bleg)
i like the wide range of issues, topics, opinions, and range of the discussions. i enjoy reading about things outside my comfort zone, either by topic or the technicalities thereof, as it helps keep me from being intellectually complacent.
all in all, i give this blog a solid “B+”. %-)
December 16, 2009, 3:04 amSLS Student says:
IL at Stanford Law (and just finished my first round of law school finals!). Strong libertarian leanings. Love the blog. Used to read it on occasion, now quite avidly.
And the VC isn’t just fun intellectual stimulation, but a useful resource as well! I relied on some of the points you made in your post on Good Samaritan laws, for example, in a class discussion on the topic in Criminal Law. Saw Kenneth Anderson when he did a talk here on robotics and war–fascinating stuff. Hope to see some more conspirators over the next couple years…
December 16, 2009, 4:39 amMichaelnotMike says:
Deputy general counsel overseeing federal litigation and privacy issues at my state’s Medicaid agency. Libertarian/conservative.
December 16, 2009, 8:11 amTweets that mention The Volokh Conspiracy » Blog Archive » Who Are You (Lawyers, Law Students, and the Like)? -- Topsy.com says:
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December 16, 2009, 8:50 amstrand says:
I’m a law professor who is (mostly) secretly conservative b/c I’m pre-tenured and behind enemy lines (and continually amazed at how biased the academy is – yes, I know it’s an old rant, but it is *very* true).
December 16, 2009, 9:23 amRon says:
I’m a divorce attorney in Florida, and read the VC daily for its discussion of cutting edge issues and great conspirators.
December 16, 2009, 9:40 amRyan says:
I’m a first year associate working out of New York in an insurance and reinsurance law firm. Specifically working on coverage dispute resolution and employment practices liability insurance.
December 16, 2009, 10:10 amMaryanna says:
Bachelor’s in Poli Sci from a suburban Georgia college. Masters in Economics from UGA. JD from Georgia State University.
I practiced on my own for 5 years until my student loans were paid off and my mortgage was under control, then went to work for the public defender’s office in a rural Georgia circuit. I love criminal law and I love not having to deal with the stress and hassle involved with running my own firm. And I especially love never having had to deal with the horrors of billable hour goals. *shudder*
December 16, 2009, 10:29 amJon Rowe says:
RPT:
I agree. Thanks.
December 16, 2009, 10:38 ammicdeniro says:
I’m a recovering stable isotopist (I joke that the Supreme Court made isotopy between consenting adults legal in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), but practicing isotopists don’t get it and no lawyer I ever said that to knew what Lawrence stands for), retired in July from 30 years as a professor in Earth Science Departments, first at UCLA, last at UC Santa Barbara.
I started law school at 54, and exactly 4 years (minus 150 minutes) later, I finished writing the last word on the second performance exam of the California Bar exam (February 2007), put down my pen and thought, “That’s it. If I didn’t pass, I’ll never pass because I can’t do better than that.”
Now I have a flat fee only practice that centers on education law and appeals of denials of government benefits, and pro bono inmate civil rights cases. I get all my paying clients through my website.
Three recommendations I have for young(er than me) lawyers.
Get on the pro bono panel for the US District Court where you practice. You’ll probably get assigned to an inmate civil rights case that a judge has deemed worthy of having a lawyer take over from the inmate who filed it. A case I just settled was filed by the inmate who previously prevailed in Johnson v. California (2005), in which the Supreme Court dumped judicial deference to prison officials deciding how to run prisons, and bumped the standard for review up to strict scrutiny. Not only will it pull you away from what you do for a living, you’ll help someone who deserves it (and all your costs are re-imbursed by the court).
Second, if you have some special expertise, think about going solo with a Web presence advertising your specialty. After 30 years as a professor, the one thing I knew was how universities stick it to students facing disciplinary hearings. Hell, I’d done some of the sticking. Once I got my Website up, I was inundated with inquiries from students at all levels, probably because they understood that having a former professor representing them makes more sense than having a former law student as their lawyer.
Last, if you go solo, go flat fee only. No tracking billable hours, no ethical problems such as stretching work out to meet this month’s mortgage. All I do after I get paid is do what I promised the client I’d do. And because I get my entire fee upfront, I never have to dun clients for money.
December 16, 2009, 11:05 amJRL says:
Appellate lawyer for the State of Arizona, doing criminal cases mostly in state court. Started reading VC in law school 7-8 years ago. One year at a State appeals court, a few months at a big firm before this. I read VC for the quick and cogent legal analysis and the highly entertaining miscellaneous posts.
December 16, 2009, 11:16 amAmador Lu Lu says:
Oh, and a shooter too.
December 16, 2009, 11:51 amDarin says:
I’m a lawyer in St. Louis and I met the Volokh brothers at a seminar sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies in 1999, and have been an occasional reader of VC for several years.
Shortly after meeting the Volokh brothers, I discovered Eugene’s article with Judge Kozinski “Lawsuit, Shmawsuit,” which is a great article–possibly the greatest law review article I’ve ever read.
December 16, 2009, 11:59 amBenjamin Davis says:
I teach at the University of Toledo College of Law in contracts, international law, and arbitration. Worked in international commercial arbitration for a number of years in Paris. Jd-MBA with an undergrad in Economics.
December 16, 2009, 12:26 pmBest,
Ben
Benjamin Wolf says:
I am a 4L in the part time evening at Hofstra Law. I have previously worked as a rabbi and in industrial real estate brokerage. After graduating in the spring, I plan/hope to join the Bankruptcy department at a firm in New York City.
December 16, 2009, 12:54 pmBest,
Benjamin Wolf
Kevin Higgins says:
Assistant Public Defender in Juneau, AK. 2007 graduate from Lewis & Clark Law School.
December 16, 2009, 1:08 pmLoren Tilley says:
Maui law clerk, currently seeking long-term employment after my term ends in August 2010.
December 16, 2009, 1:50 pmloki13 says:
1. I am not batman. I am not spartacus. I am not Orin Kerr. And I am not Loki (supra). Just wanted to get that straight.
2. I am, however, seriously busy right now.
3. Recent law school grad. Current associate at west-coast litigation firm.
4. To quote Bowie, I’ve been all over the world, I’ve left every place.
5. I’ve met two of the conspirators (EV and RB). They don’t know that they’ve met me. Very brief meetings from back in my law school days when they were barnstorming for the FedSoc.
6. Re: 2, back to work. Remember- if you can’t be part of the solution, be a part of the problem. :)
December 16, 2009, 1:50 pmRoscoe says:
Former Marine aviator (Roscoe was the call sign), former fed., and now a sole practitioner with a focus on ERISA (but I will handle anything but tax, patent and divorce cases under the right circumstances).
December 16, 2009, 2:04 pmCalderon says:
I’m an income partner/non-share partner/of counsel level attorney at a large firm, doing a combination of commercial litigation, class actions, and bankruptcy-related litigation.
My connections to the Conspirators are: (i) one Conspirator and I were both students in the same course in college; and (ii) I took a course in law school from another Conspirator.
December 16, 2009, 2:10 pmtheBruce says:
Prosecutor in San Diego. Lieutenant Colonel in the USMC Reserves (ground side, not a lawyer, which I add because of the surprising number of Marines who have already posted).
December 16, 2009, 2:13 pmAnonymousse says:
3L at Vanderbilt. Clerking for a federal district court judge next year and then going to work for BigLaw (while it still exists).
December 16, 2009, 2:47 pmJim Warner says:
I am an attorney retired from the legal office of the NRA. I am admitted to the patent bar but have only done copyright and trademark work in intellectual property. I wrote an amicus brief in the Heller case on behalf of disabled veterans and other disabled persons.
December 16, 2009, 2:51 pmAJB says:
1L at CWRU. Strongly libertarian. Disillusioned and angry much of the time. Have read this blog religiously since I decided to go to law school. Best law blog because of the variety of topics discussed and number of posts per day.
December 16, 2009, 3:06 pmGCA says:
Mcdeniro is inspiring – starting sole practice at 58 (my current age) after passing the Cal. bar on your first attempt. Kudos. I hope to (partially) follow in your footsteps – pass the bar on my first try at 60 but work either where I am (small general practice firm)or for another friend who does aviation defense. Not sure I agree with your politics, though, but then I don’t agree with my current employers’ politics, either, and we get along very well and actually like each other.
Wasting time right now before taking my Corporations midterm this evening… then alternately looking at old exams, issue spotting, reviewing my class outline, etc. Feel pretty good going in…
Been reading this blog for about two years, find it very informative, especially on constitional issues. I really enjoyed the recent threads re Climategate. I appreciate the breadth of knowledge, among the academics who start threads and the thread participants who bring many and varied perspectives (not just legal), and the generally civil tone of discussion. Someone above commented that sources such as this one are better than what is being published by the so-called “news” media because the discourse is among people who have knowledge of the topics under discussion rather than training concerning techniques for delivery of information. I wholeheatedly agree.
December 16, 2009, 3:06 pmDRR says:
I’m a staff attorney for an ACLU state affiliate office.
December 16, 2009, 3:38 pmSteve Z says:
I’m a Nigerian prince with a large amount of money locked up in a bank account. Unfortunately, I lack the money to pay the processing fee required to get it out. I have come here to ask if anybody would be willing to front me the fee. For $50 I could pay you several millions of America dollars.
December 16, 2009, 3:42 pmNickM says:
I used to do civil litigation in CA (first big-firm, then solo).
I’ve known Eugene and Sasha since law school (Eugene was a year ahead of me and Sasha was an undergrad at the time).
I walked away from all that (though not from warm weather) and now have far more fun on the other side of the country working for a sizable company doing “Acquisitions and Development”. Basically, I’m a buyer, and get to travel around the world for it.
The most important advice I can give someone starting out in practice is: Don’t give a client a second chance if he has wronged you or materially failed to comply with his duties. The odds are unacceptably high that he will do it again.
Nick
December 16, 2009, 3:59 pmScipio_79 says:
asst. AG in a southern state, judge advocate in Army National Guard, former state appellate court staff attorney, have enjoyed the conspirators since law school
December 16, 2009, 4:30 pmbpbatista says:
I am Time’s 2006 Person of the Year.
I also am in-house litigation counsel at a Fortune 500 company in Cleveland.
December 16, 2009, 5:09 pmseattle law student says:
3L at Seattle University in the gray (today) northwest. I am also the Undergraduate men’s Rugby Coach, though I also helped start the women’s rugby team two years ago. I have a master’s from Universitat Potsdam in Germany, and a BA from Cornell.
December 16, 2009, 5:20 pmWith Fond Memories of Eugene's Chicken Suit says:
I’m a former student of Eugene’s from when he was a visiting professor at GMU. Now work at the Korean version of biglaw in a country still closed to foreign law firms. Have read the Conspiracy since about 2002.
December 16, 2009, 5:31 pmBjartur says:
in-house tax counsel in Minnesota; libertarian
December 16, 2009, 5:46 pmDrew Cloutier says:
20+ year partner in a NM firm. Mainly natural resources practice. Jon Adler kicked my a** in the pb.com fanatasy football league in 2008. This year I am kicking his.
December 16, 2009, 6:12 pmUnemployed Lawyers are Still With Us. | PLBT says:
[...] Volokh, a West Coast law prof who writes a heavily-read blog called Volokh Conspiracy, recently asked his readers to say something about themselves. A surprising (surprising to me) [...]
December 16, 2009, 6:25 pmDr. Caligari says:
Graduated from a 4th Tier law school (I think it should be 3rd Tier) in the early 80s. Have spent almost all my career at a government agency (state, not federal, if that makes it less objectionable to any of you). Consider myself centrist to slightly left of center on economic issues, so in the minority here on that. I often find the posts and comments stimmulating even when I disagree. Usually just lurk, but occasionally post.
December 16, 2009, 6:26 pmDon de Drain says:
For almost 20 years have had my own firm specializing in civil and criminal tax controversies. Adjunct prof at Chapman Law School. Former gubernatorial candidate. Former AUSA and IRS attorney.
Whoever was looking for a career that combines tax, business and constitutional law, do what I’ve been doing for the last 19+ years.
December 16, 2009, 6:30 pmmiles massey says:
3L at UCLA, amazingly with a job offer. Just finished an externship with a rather conservative Fed. District Judge of the C.D.Cal. I have not had the opportunity to have a class with Prof. Volokh, though I’ve met him a number of times. In fact, he was one of the prime reasons I chose UCLA in the first place. Great blog – been reading since I started college 6-7 years ago.
December 16, 2009, 7:43 pmDavidwhitewolf says:
UCD Law ’96, dabbled in the dot-com world, then back to law, happy since 2004 as in-house counsel for a variety of nonprofits. Board member for my city’s Housing Authority. Active gunblogger and supporter of the Calguns Foundation. (Hi Gene!) I attend Boomershoot every year; I’m the fellow shooting boomers with the pistols.
December 16, 2009, 7:46 pmwm13 says:
Yale BA, Berkeley JD, 51 year old real estate partner at an Amlaw 100 firm in NYC.
December 16, 2009, 7:46 pm2 cents says:
Currently, a solo practitioner focusing on mainly military disability law. Admitted since 2001. I spent several years in the Army JAG Corps with my final assignment being to represent Soldiers at the military physical evaluation board for a determination of benefits. After I resigned my commission, I continued this work as a civilian but expanded my practice to all branches of the military.
In my free time, I blog on the website I set up to discuss military disability issues (www.pebforum.com).
December 16, 2009, 8:23 pmJedw says:
I’m currently studying for the English bar (we don’t call it that exactly, but that’s the nearest analogy), after which I will work (slave?) in the London office of a large NY firm. I hope to specialise in antitrust and European regulatory law. I got into this blog while studying political science and economics at Oxford, where I also had the pleasure of lunch with Antonin Scalia (we agreed that Britain needed a written constitution, but not on much else!) and a seminar with Sandra Day O’Connor. The blog was an invaluable companion to my study of American politics.
I’m pretty left wing – and in my country Barack Obama would make a pretty plausible leader of the Conservative Party – and disagree with many of the Conspirators on many questions. Nevertheless, I (usually) admire the quality of discussion and comments, and lament that there are so few decent British law ‘blawgs’ (I would recommend Charon QC, and BabyBarista for a lighter read).
December 16, 2009, 9:24 pmnone says:
unemployed ’09 graduate of a top-10 law school …
i come to VC for the kerr, stay for the volokh, and dislike everybody else
December 16, 2009, 10:15 pmThief says:
Third-Year (of four) evening student / office grunt for a law school in DC. Have been much too busy to comment (making law review and trying to find one job while holding down another does that to you) but still reading the site. Also, somewhat paranoid.
December 16, 2009, 10:26 pmtheculturedredneck says:
3L @ University of Oklahoma. Former AF officer and aspiring JAG in the first branch that’ll take me. Found this site while doing research for a law review article. Enjoy hearing thoughtful libertarian viewpoints as well as having a heads-up on technology-related legal happenings. Frequent lurker.
December 16, 2009, 11:09 pmJay the Yankee Conservative says:
I’m a 1L at a small Massachusetts law school who hopes to earn a PhD in political science and/or history after getting the JD, and teach at a university or state college somewhere in the northeast United States. My interests include constitutional law; federalism; political parties; and the Colonial, Federal and Antebellum eras of United States history. I found your blog one day while searching for legal research on the Second Amendment and have been a reader ever since.
December 16, 2009, 11:28 pmDesiderius says:
Mark Field,
“I thought you were Spartacus.”
And I thought that you would have provided an entry by now. Inquiring minds want to know…
If I’ve missed it, a link would be appreciated, as, like Loki13, I now lack the time I once had to haunt these hallowed comment sections.
Oh, and LM, any chance of getting JBG to chime in too?
December 16, 2009, 11:38 pmJC says:
I’m a 2L at Indiana University-Indianapolis. I worked this summer for four solo practice lawyers who share an office so I got to experience a little bit of everything. Next semester I have an externship with the NCAA which I’m very excited about.
December 17, 2009, 12:33 amMichael Korte says:
Army JAG Officer, currently a defense appellate attorney after being a trial defense attorney.
Working in D.C. area. Great work, great people, great legal issues.
December 17, 2009, 2:26 amEric says:
I’m an attorney for a human rights NGO. I generally disagree with this blog but often find it stimulating. That said, over the last couple years the posts have become more ideologically driven and less substantive, and I have read it less and less.
December 17, 2009, 3:27 amBenjamin P. Hayek says:
I’m a third-generation lawyer in an Iowa City firm established in 1926, where I practice municipal and family law. I recently defended on appeal a trial court’s ruling regarding the constitutionality of the City of Solon (pop. 1,400)’s fence ordinance (that’s supposed to be amusing), and am a recovering insurance defense litigator (so is that). I find VC’s content to be of the highest quality, sincerely do not consider myself and ideologue (just correct about pretty much everything), and respectfully disagree with Eric’s post.
December 17, 2009, 5:35 amMark Field says:
I comment often enough as it is. I took these threads as an opportunity for everyone else to have a chance.
December 17, 2009, 10:56 amDudeman says:
I’m an Attorney for a Northwoods Wisconsin County, having graduated six years ago from Marquette. Prior to my current gig, I practiced criminal defense. Before lawschool, I was a ski bum in Colorado.
December 17, 2009, 11:00 amOctavian says:
I am an attorney working for the Federal Government on terrorist financing and intelligence.
December 17, 2009, 11:18 amDisillusioned says:
I am in my fourth year after law school. My practice was mostly medical malpractice defense, corporate defense, and a little mixture of other insurance defense cases.
Job hopped for a bit looking for a firm that didn’t (a) overbill their clients for work that was performed, (b) bill for work that wasn’t done, (c) do unnecessary work to generate billable hours, and (d) generally have unethcial billing practices.
Three firms and four years later, I left the practice of law to teach. I took a $100k pay cut, but I’m richer now than I’ve been in years. I can fall asleep at night without feeling slimy, I see my wife and kids, and I don’t have to go to confession every week.
I’ve talked about this with other lawyers from my top-25 law school class and they all pretty much agree that my experience is the norm.
I couldn’t handle it. God bless the souls of those who can.
December 17, 2009, 11:29 amayzc says:
Correct. (Glad to know I’m that unique) Although I must admit, I have not been able to figure out who you are. (Of the two Docs in my class, I know one posts under a different name here, or at least used to). Can I get a hint?
December 17, 2009, 11:47 ameddy says:
Banking lawyer for ten years turned artifical intelligence designer for the past dozen years. U of Minnesota Law, libertarian, and civil rights inactivist. This blog helps keep my legal reasoning intact.
December 17, 2009, 12:50 pmRyan Caldwell says:
2L from Duke.
December 17, 2009, 1:48 pmMike says:
I am a 2L at Wisconsin.
December 17, 2009, 2:17 pmAir65Cav says:
Solo practice corporate tax attorney – international, federal & state. Adjunct professor for the past 11 years in a major MBA program. Focus is on what I was never taught in school, tempered by Dean’s admonishment not to be the “worst professor I had in law school.”
Retook bar in my nonreciprocity state exactly 30 years after graduating law school. Passed with help of a cram course. How hard is the bar when a non-genius who has practice only tax can pass it.
Several good friends who are lawyers but not a fan of the tribe in general.
December 17, 2009, 2:36 pmBruce Boyden says:
Law prof at Marquette.
December 17, 2009, 2:51 pmPennStateLawGrad says:
Recent Penn State Law grad. I was clerking in the L.A. District Attorney’s office until I stopped to study for this coming Feb CA bar exam.
December 17, 2009, 3:17 pmEdward A. Hoffman says:
I’m an appellate specialist with a solo practice in Los Angeles, where I handle both civil and criminal matters.
December 17, 2009, 4:18 pmRichard A. Arrett says:
I am a patent attorney working in a suburb of Minneapolis Minnesota. Our office enjoys discussing constitutional law issues during lunch.
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December 17, 2009, 6:37 pmAlanDownunder says:
Sydney, Australia. For over 20 years a solicitor in general suburban practice. Now full time employee of multinational legal publisher writing online editorial content. Amazed and appalled by crazy ideological slant of US in general and this blog in particular. You guys need to get out more.
December 17, 2009, 7:18 pmadam says:
A public defender in a small town below the Mason-Dixon line.
December 17, 2009, 8:20 pmRohan Kapur says:
Canberra, Australia. 4th year law student studying at the Australian National University.
December 17, 2009, 8:55 pmjared says:
Super-1L (i.e., joint-degree student) at William & Mary. Conservative on some things, not so much on others. Aiming at teaching sometime in the distant future…after a few more degrees. Thanks to VC for giving a look into profs’ minds when they’re not in front of a class.
December 17, 2009, 9:11 pmPeter K. says:
Libertarian middle-aged lawyer in Massachusetts, who gets by on court assignments, doing mental health law (opposing commitments, representing patients in guardianship cases) and criminal law appeals.
December 17, 2009, 10:55 pmMattB. says:
After a 10-year hiatus in journalism, I’m returning to law, and probably as a solo practicioner, in West Virginia. Age 47. Former assistant prosecutor and child advocate attorney. Law-WVU, B.A. College of Wooster.
December 17, 2009, 10:55 pmLiberally conservative, R.C. religious affilation.
Two boys, 14 and 16, the 16-year old is applying to several Ivy League Schools and is admitted to Tulane.
Randy says:
Graduated from a second tier law school in 1987. Worked for the US Dep’t of Labor for 12 years in a deadend position. Was elected union steward for many years there. Quit to start my own company providing global solutions for technology companies and advising regions and countries on how to develop innovation.
Also, I teach piano (three students), am active on about a dozen arts non-profits and professional organizations. I like going to the theater
I’m fairly liberal on most issues, but certainly not all. The discussions we have here I learn more than reading any newspaper or other blog, and the sophistication of argument makes other talking heads look like children. Most any regular commentator here could blow tv commentators out of the water.
December 18, 2009, 12:46 amRandy says:
Also, I have no idea why the new format picks up my photograph and put it right by my comment. Why doesn’t that happen to other people? If I looked like George Clooney, I’d have an excuse to show my face, but I assure you it’s not intentional.
December 18, 2009, 12:47 amlicrimlawyer says:
60 year old criminal defense lawyer on Long Island, NY. Georgetown undergrad degree and Fordham law. (I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Until I experience that epiphany, criminal law will do just fine.)
December 18, 2009, 1:05 amanon says:
Small cog in a big machine- patent litigation at large firm in NY. If I remember correctly I first came across this blog while I was a taking a law class as a CS grad student.
December 18, 2009, 1:47 amAKS says:
An associate at a leading Pakistani boutique IP firm based in Karachi, dealing mostly with trademark and patent litigation.
December 18, 2009, 8:37 amtheobromophile says:
Stop using your gmail address in the E-Mail box, silly.
December 18, 2009, 12:07 pmShebang says:
Non-trad 2L at UIUC.
December 18, 2009, 11:40 pmJohn says:
I left software engineering to attend law school where I decided to enter the Army JAG Corps. I’m currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and I’ve been a Trial Counsel (prosecutor) with the JAG Corps for two years. I’ve been reading VC since I was a 1L in 2003.
December 19, 2009, 9:44 amDesiderius says:
Mark Field (playing coy), says:
“I comment often enough as it is.”
This is only true in the sense that you should be posting instead.
Make it happen, EV!
December 19, 2009, 11:35 amMGoBlue says:
I just graduated from law school!
Clerking next year.
December 20, 2009, 2:26 pmKat says:
I’m a 4E at GMU (had Somin for Legislation and Zywicki for contracts); started reading the VC in 1L, wondering what I’d really gotten myself into. I focus on computer & internet law (and think EV, DP, and OK’s posts on the issues are some of the most thoughtful anywhere), IP, and law & econ. I suppose I’m a patent geek, having taken the Patent Bar, but I’ve talked several people out of getting patents and haven’t filed any, a trend I imagine will continue. I’m looking for a job that doesn’t involve actually practicing law. I’ve been a Wikimedia board member since 2006, but I cannot promise anything about anyone’s Wikipedia article. I’m a left-libertarian. I appreciate the quality of the posts I disagree with. And in my not very secret double life, I am a classical musician.
December 21, 2009, 12:30 amBracton says:
An appellate prosecutor (+25 years) in the AG’s office in a mid-Atlantic state.
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December 31, 2009, 7:54 ammake my business grow says:
I don�t usually reply to posts but I will in this case. Good Stuff – Nice Concept too:)
June 24, 2010, 8:46 am