In Schools for Misrule, I had positive things to say about the “reading law” or apprenticeship alternative to law schools, and the New York Times “Room for Debate” feature now runs a roundtable on that question with contributors that include Brian Tamanaha, David Lat, and Erwin Chemerinsky. Much deeper disruption than that may lay ahead: “Within ten years, MOOCs [massive open online courses] could replace traditional law school classes altogether, except at a few elite law schools” [Philip Schrag via TaxProf] And are law schools pro-cyclical? The state of Florida saw a steeper boom and deeper bust in legal services than the rest of the country; it doesn’t seem to have helped that five new law schools have opened lately in the state, or that many Florida law schools succeed in placing fewer than half of their grads in paying positions for which bar passage is required. [TaxProf]
Archive for August, 2014
“Should You Need a License to Braid Hair?”
Cato podcast, description follows:
Occupational licensing boards demand that hair braiders either spend thousands of dollars and hours to become cosmetologists or be put out of business. Paul Avelar with the Institute for Justice is challenging those requirements.
“Wage Depression RICO Claims Getting Twiqbal’d”
Some lawyers have filed attempted mass suits (earlier here, here, etc. on Mohawk Industries case) claiming that by hiring undocumented workers employers have engaged in “racketeering” for which they should owe money under the RICO law to other workers, above and beyond whatever wages were agreed to at the time or prescribed by statute. It was always a strained theory, and now is said to be encountering tougher going because courts are being more particular about requiring that plaintiffs’ pleadings spell out plausible theories of proximate cause, injury and damages, under the Twombly/Iqbal standard by which the U.S. Supreme Court has toughened early scrutiny of lawsuits. If that’s so, chalk up one more Twiqbal victory for common sense and restraint in litigation. [Workplace Prof, from the Spring]
Update: FOIA requests at the EPA
Annals of costly historic preservation
It’s nice to know that in Manhattan’s super-expensive West Village there’s a transplanted farmhouse with a doggy chute opening in the door and a connection to the late Margaret Wise Brown, author of children’s classic Goodnight Moon. It’s less nice to know that New York City preservation law parlays this cute historic footnote into the potential imposition (if development is blocked) of an opportunity cost that the property owner thinks might be as high as $20 million [Scouting New York]
Medical roundup
- Doctor criticized on Science-Based Medicine blog proceeds to sue [Steve Novella, Orac]
- “Can you imagine Google becoming a health company?” Sergey Brin: doubt it, field’s “just so heavily regulated” [Michael Cannon/Cato, David Shaywitz]
- “One Box of Sudafed Over the Line: Florida Woman Arrested for Trying to Relieve Allergy Symptoms” [Jacob Sullum]
- MICRA battle: survey finds OB-GYNs in Los Angeles County pay average $49,804 a year for coverage, in Long Island where there’s unlimited liability it’s $196,111 [Legal NewsLine]
- Medical liability claims fall in Wisconsin [Althouse] And Pennsylvania [TortsProf]
- FDA wants to look over drugmakers’ shoulders when they communicate with consumers, not an easy formula for social media [Elizabeth Nolan Brown]
- “The reason that we are being required to measure BMI isn’t because a patient’s BMI has any meaningful clinical use … it’s that the BMI can be measured.” [White Coat]