Thanks Christina.

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DETAILS
Each August, the Military and Veterans Benefits Scholarship Program awards three $2,000 scholarships to 2L or 3L law school students. Qualifying applicants include any student accepted to an accredited law school program, full-time for the associated Fall semester. Students must also have served in a branch of the Armed Forces, or be concurrently involved with a branch of the Armed Forces. These may include: Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Reserve, Marines and ancillary departments and programs.

Where: Yale Law School, New Haven, CT.

When: Friday, February 20–Sunday, February 22, 2009 Cost: Standard registration is $30. (Registration is free for members of the Yale, UConn, New Haven, and Quinnipiac communities)

Go to www.law.yale.edu/reblaw to register. Also check out our schedule, information, and links, including the Reblawg, updated frequently with rebellious tidbits. Housing & Registration rebellious.law.housing@gmail.com.

William A. Chamberlain
The National Law Journal
January 06, 2009

"We often start off the New Year with a host of resolutions which, though well-intentioned, in practice, may hardly outlast the winter snows. This year, however, the economic news has given both job seekers and the nervous employed added incentive. Like Clarence in "It's a Wonderful Life" or one of Dickens' ghosts, the news has led us to contemplate the future -- and it is a scary sight. The economic picture has never looked so dreary for those of us in the current working-age population. Layoffs continue apace, some law firms appear shaky and even the most profitable are looking to freeze salaries and trim bonuses.

Despite this glum news, there is much that job seekers can do. New Year's paired symbols of Father Time and the New Year's baby remind us of the swift passage of time. We must slough off the lethargy of too much holiday cheer and get moving. Here are 10 New Year's resolutions to get you started whether you are in the market or want to be prepared for an uncertain economic future."

For the entire article, click the title above.

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Click here for the January calendar.

New Year's Work Resolutions for Junior Associates

Kathryn C. Newman
Special to Law.com
January 05, 2009

"Most of us begin the New Year with a handful of resolutions. Doesn't your career deserve the same attention as your waistline?

This January, I recommend that you spend a few hours setting resolutions and goals for your own professional development. Associates who commit to reflecting on their careers, skills and needs, to writing these goals down, and tracking their progress, are far more likely to achieve these goals, and have higher job satisfaction."

Click the title above for the entire article.

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"Next year may well come to be remembered as the year of the lawyer. That's because contracts inked years ago will be reviewed with a fine-tooth comb as lenders look for ways to reopen deals so that they can call in outstanding loans or hike interest rates. Assume that almost anything that can be contested will be."

1. You get no work You have heretofore received substantive projects. Now you are being asked to write CLE materials and to do 50-state surveys. It is imperative that you check your status with your supervisors.

a. This could have nothing to do with the quality of your work: it may be that there is no work, but the partners value you and want to keep you employed until business picks up.

b. It could have everything to do with the perceived quality of your work, and the firm is getting ready to fire you. There may be “blind' ads for your job in local legal publications right now.

c. Check in with the CPDC with a specific description of what you perceive is going on at work. We can help you decode, decipher, and, if necessary, design a useful departure strategy.

2. You get feedback and you ignore it The best way to annoy your employer is to ignore constructive feedback on your projects. This is a precursor to #1(b).

a. The most consistent criticism from law clerks and new lawyers is “We get no feedback." If you expect a 10-minute sit-down with a fully-marked-up document for each assignment that you turn in while working in a busy public or private law office, you will be disappointed. Over and over again.

b. During the Summers of 2006 and 2007, employers reported an increasing number of students who ignored specific criticism of their work and who declined to make the changes suggested by their supervisors. Both Law School and Employer professionals note that except for Incidents Involving Alcohol, that this is the fastest way to get from “New Summer Associate" to “Not Getting An Offer." Perhaps as the economy was beginning to turn, ignoring constructive criticism was no a highly-reported problem in 2008.

c. Employers point out that (1) Often, you know that you are doing “ok" at work if no one is yelling at you; (2) “Attaboy" and “Attagirl" are often the most feedback that you can expect from busy lawyers; (3) Conversations in the hallway that mention your good work are precious currency in busy law offices.

d. Employers are designing well-crafted and expensive Professional Development Programs and your enthusiastic participation is a key to your future. At one firm where the PD work isn’t “mandatory," but invitations come from Very Senior Partners, lack of participation has consequences. Fourth year associates were complaining that they didn’t get to take depositions. The PD Partner pointed out that more junior associates who had taken deposition training, were, indeed, getting to take depositions. “Why," she asked, “would we tap you for a deposition, when you’d shown no interest?"

3. You are asked to do the same thing several times When you are asked to turn down your music or to stop drinking more than once, you are marked for life, and not in a good way. This produces the same result as 2(b).

4. You are asked to do something that you believe to be unethical or illegal You should document the request and send a clarifying (not attacking) memo to the person who asked to you do the task. If you have misunderstood the assignment, you will then be on the correct path. If you are correct, then you have choices and none of them are easy: contact the employer’s “ethics partner" or “ethics attorney," contact the Bar Association Ethics Hotline, contact a law professor or the CPDC, and/or quit. If (when) you quit, make sure that your memo is in your employee file and that you have retained a copy.

THE OFFICE

5. Partners whose doors have always been open, now work behind closed doors This could be a sign of new and very confidential work, or it could be a sign that the partners are working on a deal to merge with another firm or to leave the firm altogether. [Reality check: One, but not all, might be working out the confidential details of his or her divorce.]

6. Partners whose out-of-office activities have been public (or at least not “secret") are “sneaking" out to meetings. Same as #5.

7. Your employer's 800 pound gorilla client or industry (more than 5% of the revenue) has had public reversals which will lead to dissolution, indictment or other distress guaranteed to disrupt or destroy the revenue stream.

8. The plant watering person has been fired. This is sign that the firm is about to close its doors.

The New York State Board of Law Examiners recently revised certain rules, policies, and deadlines that are effective immediately and will impact graduates planning to take the February or July 2009 New York State Bar Examination.

Go here to view the new rules.

Thanks to our friends at Touro Law School.

**You MUST register by the deadline, no late applications will be accepted!!

Ryan Mathre, University News Service, (612) 625-0552, mathre@umn.edu

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 12/12/2008 ) -- A new feature-length documentary exploring the life and legacy of former Vice President Walter Mondale (University of Minnesota Law School Class of 1956) will have its broadcast premiere on Twin Cities Public Television (tpt), at 7 p.m, on Dec. 17.

"FRITZ: The Walter Mondale Story" documents Mr. Mondale's genuine concern for helping people and his life as a true public servant. In addition to vice president, he served as a U.S. senator, an ambassador to Japan and a dedicated advocate for civil rights, workers' rights and environmental issues.

"This film is telling a story for years to come about why you should stand up for your ideals. While it might take 20, 30, or 40 years to come to fruition, it's important to do, and it's important to dedicate your life to public service," said Ted Mondale, Walter's oldest son."