-- or even without food. One of the things that I find most rewarding is helping draft legislation, especially in areas I know a good deal about. Naturally, I'd love it if I can persuade the people I'm talking to (generally legislative staff) about some broad policy points. But often I realize that this is impossible; their bosses, or the legislative majority, is wedded to a particular result.

No problem; I've often found that I can offer pretty good technocratic advice that people can agree on regardless of their bottom line: How to make the text clearer (I realize that sometimes the text is deliberately left vague, but often the vagueness is accidental), how to avoid unintended consequences, how to make the proposal comply with the relevant constitutional rules, and so on. Some legislative staff are specialists, but many are generalists, and don't have much experience with, say, First Amendment law (the area in which I can probably contribute the most). A specialist academic's eye can often help, regardless of where you are politically.

I've done this quite a bit in past years, and I'd love to do more. My question, for those who are familiar with the way legislative drafting works: How could I -- and my blogging colleagues -- get more calls like this?