Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Zanita E. Fenton to Join UM Law Faculty

Posted on March 8, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Prof. Zanita FentonI'm very pleased to announce that Zanita E. Fenton, currently an Associate Professor at Wayne State Law School, will be joining our faculty next year as a full Professor. Zanita visited here last year, and I'm looking forward to having her back permanently.

[Update: I have no idea why Zanita's picture won't show up in some versions of IE.]

[Update 2: I have no idea why adding

img{position:relative;}

to my stylesheet fixed the problem. But it seems that it did. Here's hoping it doesn't also introduce new ones….]

Posted in U.Miami | 3 Comments

Miami Herald On Wireless Use at UM Law.

Posted on March 8, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Today's Miami Herald runs an article, Wireless web treads fine line on campus (reg. req.), discussing the increased use of wireless computers at UM Law. The reporter who interviewed and quoted me seemed primarily interested in whether students are using the new tools to goof off in class, although that isn't the most interesting thing about wireless. But that's what the bulk of the article is about.

I actually think my students are taking notes on those things, but maybe I'm naive…

[UPDATE: Below I've added the stuff the Herald quoted me as saying for the benefit of those put off by the Herald's registration requirement.]

Continue reading →

Posted in U.Miami | 8 Comments

I Should Have Known

Posted on March 8, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

David Bernstein writes in Friends in High Places that

“A well known tactic in getting a good placement for a law review article is for the author to thank in the first footnote important friends and colleagues who read and commented on the piece.” The message to student editors is, “you may know who I am, or anything about the subject matter, but this article must be important or these important people would not have bothered to read it.”

I'm such a dope that this never even ocurred to me. Perhaps because when I was a student law review editor I couldn't have cared less who was in the starred footnote.

Oh. Wait.

Perhaps Heidi Bond has better advice.

Posted in Law School | 1 Comment

‘It Can’t Happen Here’ Is Online

Posted on March 7, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Sinclair Lewis's under-appreciated novel, It Can't Happen Here is online at Project Gutenberg! Slightly dated though it may be, I think it has something to say to us in an all-too-believable way about creeping home-grown fascism.

One day reading Godwin's Law, by Interent lawyer and provacteur Mike Godwin, and I've already learned something.

Posted in Readings | 2 Comments

Sorry to Ruin the Joke, But…

Posted on March 7, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

A chain of links led me to this funny site called Dumb Laws, where I found a number of really silly-sounding rules including the claim that in Florida,

If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

Well, I'm as willing to believe in the idiocy of the Florida Legislature as the next guy, but it made me a little suspicious that there was no citation to the source of this rule. Party-pooper that I am, I popped over to the Florida Statutes Annotated on Westlaw and searched for the words “elephant” and “elephants”. Not found.

Could it be the the “dumb” here is believing these are actual dumb laws?

(Hope these guys have done their research…)

Posted in Florida | 3 Comments

Visual Travel Records (2)

Posted on March 6, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

And also via Ed Bott, here's the world version via the visited countries project:


So much left to see…

PS. Several other cool-looking projects also from Douwe Osinga.

Posted in Personal | 1 Comment