Lawyers Fighting for Children

Kids often need lawyers, too. A new book from the ABA shows the ways that lawyers make a difference. Changing Lives: Lawyers Fighting for Children (Lourdes M. Rosado ed., 2014) has chapters by lawyers from around the country about representing children in different contexts—the child welfare system, school disciplinary actions, immigration proceedings, and so on.

Each chapter portrays a real-life case of a child in crisis and describes in detail the lawyering that was brought to bear to achieve the best outcome for that child. In describing these cases, the authors also offer practice pointers. The book is in the Classified Stacks (KF337.5 .J88R67 2014).

Chapter 6, A Matter of Survival: Representing Runaway and Homeless Youth, is by Casey Trupin, UW Law grad, Columbia Legal Services attorney, one of the founders of SYLAW (Street Youth Legal Advocates of Washington), and long-time lecturer in UW Law's Legislative Advocacy Clinic. You can follow the work of the Columbia Legal Services Children & Youth Project on Twitter @columbialgl_cyp.

Add Some Drama to Your Life--Outside Law School!

The UW School of Drama trains actors, directors, set designers, and others, and it offers high-quality entertainment right here on campus at bargain rates. This quarter, you could see any of these plays:

Yellow Face, by David Henry Hwang Jan. 22 to Feb. 1 (Undergraduate Theater Society)
Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare Jan. 28 to Feb. 8
The Hostage, by Brendan Behan March 4 to March 15
Cabaret, by Joe Masteroff, music and lyrics by Kander & Ebb Feb. 26 to March 8 (Undergraduate Theater  Society)

Your Inventive Neighbors

Corporate Counsel reports that Big Blue, Not Apple, Not Google, Got the Most Patents in 2014 (Jan. 12). So IBM ("Big Blue"), founded in 1911, is still very active in the invention biz. The story drew upon a study by IFI Claims Patent Services that looked at all the thousands of utility patents last year. (The study excludes design patents and plant patents. The types are defined here.)

Three companies in the top 50 are close to Seattle, including:
#5 Microsoft (2,829 patents)
#40 Boeing (901 patents)
#50 Amazon (750 patents) 

You can search the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database to find patents from other companies. For instance, in "advanced search," AN/Starbucks retrieves patents assigned to Starbucks. Take a look at, say, Patent 20110088560, "Machine for Brewing a Beverage Such as Coffee and Related Method."

Diagram of coffee maker from Patent 20110088560

To find patents from other local innovators. I used "advanced search" again:

Law Students: Compete to Get Published in a BNA Law Report!

The University of Washington School of Law is one of 20 law schools in the U.S. to be selected to compete in a student writing competition. 

 

Between January 7th and February 25th, 2015, current law students (including LL.M.s and Ph.D.s) can register to participate. After registration, participants will be asked to submit an original article between 1,000 and 1,600 words to one of five Bloomberg BNA Law Reports: 

• Corporate Law & Accountability Report
• Employment Discrimination Report
• Health Law Reporter
• Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal
• U.S. Law Week

Submissions are due no later than March 11, 2015. 

Students with winning articles will work directly with the Executive Editors of each Law Report to get the article ready for publishing and it will be included in the first edition of that Law Report in May 2015. To top it off, each winning student will receive $5000!

For more information and to register for the competition, go here.