Watching: Minami-ke ~Okawari #5-6; Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law Seasons 1-4
Ah . . . so let's see. It's been more than six months since my last post; eight months since I promised to end my dereliction of duty in the blogging arena. Admittedly a lot has passed since then, but in a way, that leaves me even less of an excuse for the long, languishing drought between posts.
Maybe baby steps are in order: one post per week. Here's this week's:
*
This semester at law school is the dreaded "second-year" paper semester, where every 2L has to come up with a topic for and write a lengthy scholarly article. Law reviewers have an advantage here, as they are in the scholarly mode of writing due to their casenotes the previous semester. My topic? As you can infer from my reading list, it has to do with intellectual property: doujinshi, fansubs, and a fan-based commons expansion of the fair use doctrine.
What, you say? Do I dare combine my legal interests (IP) with my philosophical interests (e.g., Lockean property theory) with my personal interests (anime and manga--what else?) into some crazed amalgam of scholarship and obsession? Do I stake a 4-unit grade and publication opportunities on a niche subject that most people at the law school probably haven't given so much as a passing thought.
You're damn right I do.
First of all, if I were obsessed with nothing more than acing the class (maybe getting the top grade, etc.) and getting a publication credit out of the exchange, this semester would probably be one of the most miserable ones in my entire law school career. I was loathe to do the same with my casenote topic last semester, which is why I went with a patent law issue that had as much of a chance of being selected for publication on the law review as a shoreline access case would have in the law review of a land-locked state. The result? Yes, the casenote wasn't selected, but I actually enjoyed writing it. If I'm married to a 40-page scholarly composition for the better part of four months, it'd better be about something 1) that I care about, and 2) really needs some scholarly work to be done on the subject matter. Both criteria are implicated here.
1) is a given, but as for 2), there is a lot at stake in the issue. I've been a beneficiary of fansubber support for nearly ten years now, and I've seen firsthand the good and bad sides to the practice. It's my contention that the good far outweighs the bad, and for specific reasons that not only make sense in the light of the rationale behind copyright protection, but that point toward a specific change in copyright law that, at this point in my inquiry, appears to be a significant step in the right direction.
More details as I finish up my research and begin drafting the paper this weekend.
What, you say? Do I dare combine my legal interests (IP) with my philosophical interests (e.g., Lockean property theory) with my personal interests (anime and manga--what else?) into some crazed amalgam of scholarship and obsession? Do I stake a 4-unit grade and publication opportunities on a niche subject that most people at the law school probably haven't given so much as a passing thought.
You're damn right I do.
First of all, if I were obsessed with nothing more than acing the class (maybe getting the top grade, etc.) and getting a publication credit out of the exchange, this semester would probably be one of the most miserable ones in my entire law school career. I was loathe to do the same with my casenote topic last semester, which is why I went with a patent law issue that had as much of a chance of being selected for publication on the law review as a shoreline access case would have in the law review of a land-locked state. The result? Yes, the casenote wasn't selected, but I actually enjoyed writing it. If I'm married to a 40-page scholarly composition for the better part of four months, it'd better be about something 1) that I care about, and 2) really needs some scholarly work to be done on the subject matter. Both criteria are implicated here.
1) is a given, but as for 2), there is a lot at stake in the issue. I've been a beneficiary of fansubber support for nearly ten years now, and I've seen firsthand the good and bad sides to the practice. It's my contention that the good far outweighs the bad, and for specific reasons that not only make sense in the light of the rationale behind copyright protection, but that point toward a specific change in copyright law that, at this point in my inquiry, appears to be a significant step in the right direction.
More details as I finish up my research and begin drafting the paper this weekend.
*
The research paper class is the only one I'm taking this semester for a grade; the other courses are the requisite professional responsibility course (ABA required), and two clinical courses: Environmental Law and Small Business Clinics. Those clinic courses are basically opportunities for law students to try their hand at actually practicing law--a concept that might seem novel, at first, but really isn't. After all, before the first law school even came into existence, people became lawyers by an apprenticeship system--in essence, learning to become a lawyer by doing the things that a lawyer does. The same principle applies to the clinic course.
Even though I've begun to question whether the partner-track lifestyle of a large firm--or even law practice in general--is the right place for me, I jumped at the opportunity to get some real-world practice experience, and I've yet to regret that decision. The Environmental Law Clinic's first client is a group of Moloka`i residents who are opposed to the development of 200 luxury homes along the pristine southwestern coast of the island. I've never done any work with Environmental Impact Statements or water use issues before, but the more I've researched the development, the more I realize how important a cause those residents are fighting for. Meanwhile, in the Small Business Clinic, I'm getting a crash course in the various types of business entities, as well as the pros and cons of choosing one entity over another, especially from a small business perspective. Moreover, one of the instructors is something of a revolutionary as far as his views go on how a law firm should be run--in fact, his views led him to leave his post as a senior partner at the firm which topped my list of potential employers (topped, not because I no longer hold them in high regard, but because my goals have shifted)--and the benefit of his insights is more than enough payment for the lengthy hours that the client work will exact.
Even though I've begun to question whether the partner-track lifestyle of a large firm--or even law practice in general--is the right place for me, I jumped at the opportunity to get some real-world practice experience, and I've yet to regret that decision. The Environmental Law Clinic's first client is a group of Moloka`i residents who are opposed to the development of 200 luxury homes along the pristine southwestern coast of the island. I've never done any work with Environmental Impact Statements or water use issues before, but the more I've researched the development, the more I realize how important a cause those residents are fighting for. Meanwhile, in the Small Business Clinic, I'm getting a crash course in the various types of business entities, as well as the pros and cons of choosing one entity over another, especially from a small business perspective. Moreover, one of the instructors is something of a revolutionary as far as his views go on how a law firm should be run--in fact, his views led him to leave his post as a senior partner at the firm which topped my list of potential employers (topped, not because I no longer hold them in high regard, but because my goals have shifted)--and the benefit of his insights is more than enough payment for the lengthy hours that the client work will exact.
*
Finally, a short mention of Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Leiton Kyouji to Fushigi na Mura, I think, in Japanese). While some gamers may have a slightly different response to the puzzle-laden format:
From Penny Arcade, at http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic.
For me, it's a delightful throwback to the hours I used to spend reading logician's puzzles at the back of the high school library. Moreover, to sate the storyteller in me, the overarching mystery surrounding the town that the titular character visits only adds to the interest. Highly recommended.
From Penny Arcade, at http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic.
For me, it's a delightful throwback to the hours I used to spend reading logician's puzzles at the back of the high school library. Moreover, to sate the storyteller in me, the overarching mystery surrounding the town that the titular character visits only adds to the interest. Highly recommended.
