Simply put, there’s such a huge number of new legal topics to pick from these days that it has become impossible to keep up. An embarrassment of riches.
It used to be that interesting legal issues, worthy of comment, came up in the news every week or so. IF we were lucky. Frequently they involved famous sports figures or celebrities behaving badly in unexpected ways.
Now? Celebs barely get the time of day. There is just so much insanity coming out of D.C. in the past year that that the misbehaving superstars get left in the dust.
Honestly, I was going to write a post last week about the unbelievable number of legal topics revealed every single day since 1.1.18. Porn Stars and Libel Lawsuits and dueling subpoenas, OH MY. There were so many of these new legal issues all over the news that I had to give up. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
But last week it was more personal. Thus, this blog.
One week ago today, exactly, I was sitting in a seminar. The topic of the seminar was Faculty Orientation for Volunteer Lawyers to Teach Trial Advocacy. In Africa. Countries like Uganda and Malawi and Botswana.
You know where this is going.
At precisely the same time, literally simultaneously while I was role-playing a law school teacher in Africa, trying to learn how to better help these nations improve their legal systems, avoid corruption, and adhere to a clear Rule of Law, Trump was moving his lips again.
You know something “unusual” is likely to come out of his mouth when those lips move. Like the old lawyer joke about lying witnesses: “How do you know they’re lying? Simple. Their lips are moving.”
Here, Trump was apparently referring to the very same countries we were learning to help as “shitholes”.
Don’t get me wrong. If these places did not have “Issues” they wouldn’t need volunteers coming over there to help. But there’s the rub, as they say. Instead of writing them off as lost causes, we were learning how to help.
That said, when I blasted an email out to the other volunteers, reflecting on the total irony of the entire situation, one of them replied with my own preferred approach to problems: Making lemons out of lemonade. They found the whole thing motivating and said that they are more determined than ever to try to work to improve the world, rather than trash talking.
Me too.
The other reason my blogging kinda disappeared is that I am a bit busy with actual cases right now. Which is why I am keeping this short. Gotta get back to actual legal work.
So, I’m back. Next time it might need to be about perjury and obstruction in the White House. Thanks, Donald, for motivating me. I’ll see if I can help…