Tuesday shorts 9/25/07

Anne Reed of Deliberations hosted this week’s Blawg Review #127.  It’s a cleverly arranged Blawg Review, using the “17 best tips for voir dire” as an organizing theme.  Reading this round will not only teach you about voir dire (with tips such as #4 watch for points of view, #8 watch for the quiet ones, and #17 remember the majesty) but also introduce you to a wide range of interesting and insightful posts for the week.  Nicely done!

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal featured an article titled Hard Case: Job Market Wanes for U.S. Lawyers, which describes the disconnect between the top law school graduates who secure jobs in large firms with starting salaries around $160K versus the rest of the graduates, some of whom may struggle to make it on $20-35 an hour document review positions while carrying as much as $100K in law school laws.  Although the article starts with the puzzling observation that “A law degree isn’t necessarily a license to print money these days,” (was it ever?) the situation described is familiar to many recent grads and those who work with them.  Don’t miss the charts that illustrate graphically just how the dollars are — and aren’t — moving.

And today’s inspirational moment comes courtesy of Good Morning America.  Last week, I happened to catch a part of a broadcast and saw Randy Pausch, a 46-year old professor at Carnegie Mellon who has terminal cancer and delivered his final lecture titled How to Live Your Childhood Dreams.  I listened with half an ear at first, but his comments grabbed me, particularly when I heard his tone — clear, funny, not a drop of self-pity.  I believe the interview wrapped up, as the website story does, with Dr. Pausch’s lesson:

You know, life is a gift,” Pausch told Sawyer. “Again, it sounds trite, but if you wait long enough, other people will show you their good side. If there’s anything I’ve [learned] that is absolutely true. Sometimes it takes a lot longer than you might like. But the onus is on you to keep the hope and keep waiting.

The full lecture is split into 4 parts.  Watch it.  You’ll be glad you did.