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Writing About the Law: A Correction, and Photographs

NYLS 13 James Lindgren Jim Lindgren Randy Barnett Randy E Barnett Volokh Conspiracy Cameron Stracher Above the Law.JPG
A pair of Volokh Conspirators, Professors James Lindgren and Randy Barnett, at last week's NYLS conference on writing about the law. Inset: Professor Cameron Stracher, who organized the symposium.

In our write-up of the NYLS conference panel on law reviews, we offered the following fashion commentary:

Professors Barnett and Stracher are both rockin' the "downtown auteur" look: black or dark blue suit, dark collarless shirt, no tie. Not bad in a vacuum, but unfortunate that they're on the same panel with the same look (except as to the color of their shirts).

Professor Barnett has taken issue with our observations. He claims that he was wearing a crewneck shirt, while Professor Stracher was wearing a turtleneck -- and that "a world of difference" exists between the two.

We pulled out our photographs of Professors Barnett and Stracher. Professor Barnett is clearly wearing a crew neck -- the same crew neck he's wearing in his website photo, it seems. But we couldn't tell the type of Professor Stracher's collar (above inset).

So we looked up Professor Ann Althouse's more detailed photograph of Professor Stracher (together with yours truly). Yep, that's a turtleneck (although a relatively short one).

We apologize to Professor Barnett, and we regret the error.

In addition, Professor Lindgren wanted to clarify his choice of a button-down shirt (for which we criticized him). He explained that he has several levels of sartorial formality, and he deliberately chose a button-down because he viewed the NYLS conference as calling for a moderate rather than extreme level of formality. Given the fairly laid-back nature of the proceedings, we can see where he's coming from.

For true legal-media-and-academia groupies, additional pictures of top legal journalists and law professor bloggers appear after the jump.

NYLS 2 Randy Barnett Randy E Barnett Ann Althouse Above the Law.JPG
Professor Barnett discreetly flips us the bird, while Professor Althouse does her best Gary Coleman impression: "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Randy?"

NYLS 3 Jamie Heller Richard Sweren Above the Law.JPG
The rather attractive Jamie Heller, of the Wall Street Journal, reminds us of a certain actress (whose name we're blanking on right now).

Update: Heller looks like a brunette Cynthia Nixon.

Richard Sweren, a writer and co-executive producer of "Law & Order," sheepishly asks her out on a date. But Heller shoots him down. She works for the Wall Street Journal; she has interviewed billionaires. And she is unimpressed by mere Hollywood wealth.

Speaking of asking people out, have you ever seen a tax law professor bust a move?

NYLS 4 Paul Caron TaxProf Blog  Above the Law.JPG
Well, now you have.

NYLS 7 Oscar gift bag goodie bag goody bag tax taxable Above the Law.JPG
As a tax law professor, Paul Caron is well-aware of the tax consequences of receiving an Oscar gift bag. But what about the goodie bags given to presenters at NYLS's legal writing conference?

(We commend Professor Caron for the nice cap-toe shoes and handsome briefcase -- much better than the backpacks and CLE-freebie tote bags from the Aaron Charney v. S&C hearing.)

NYLS 5 Dahlia Lithwick Adam Cohen Above the Law.JPG
Dahlia Lithwick, Slate's lovely Supreme Court correspondent, strikes a pose. With better light, this would have looked like a Dante Gabriel Rossetti painting.

Meanwhile, her old-media colleague, Adam Cohen of the New York Times, works hard to look as nerdy as possible.

NYLS 6 Adam Cohen Jamie Heller Above the Law.JPG
Adam Cohen is VERY excited about his new Gandalf action figure. Jamie Heller wonders what to have for lunch.

As a "real journalist," a fully-credentialed member of the MSM, Heller is not allowed to accept free food and drink. But who would be hurt if she allowed Richard Sweren to take her to lunch at Nobu?

NYLS 8 Richard Matasar Richard A Matasar Brandt Goldstein Cameron Stracher.jpg
Richard Matasar, Dean of New York Law School, realizes that was a JALAPENO pepper. Brandt Goldstein tries his damnedest to dislodge a raspberry from in between his back teeth. At the podium: Professor Stracher, in his turtleneck.

NYLS 9 Ann Althouse Jim Lindgren James Lindgren Above the Law.jpg
A happy Professor Althouse, flanked by hotties from an unidentified law school.

NYLS 10 Rosa Brooks Bernard Hibbitts Above the Law.JPG
Professor Bernard Hibbitts outlines Jurist's plans for world domination. Rosa Brooks is skeptical (or daydreaming about being on the beach in Antigua, pina colada in hand).

NYLS 11 Arthur Leonard Arthur S Leonard Art Leonard Above the Law.jpg
Hey -- it's Professor Arthur Leonard! We got to chat with him at the lunch. He's fantastic!

NYLS 12 Lawrence Solum Laurence Solum Larry Solum Above the Law Legal Theory Blog Above the Law.JPG
The gangly Lawrence Solum perches on a classroom desk, swings his legs, and tries to imagine life as a short person. (Trust us, Larry -- it ain't easy!)


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Comments

Randy Barnett is one of the most insufferably arrogant professors I've ever encountered. I once went to a talk he gave and asked him a critical question afterwards. Instead of answering the question, he merely stated, "well, of course that's what you think, that's what your teachers have tought you." Incredible. He wasn't even correct in his assumption -- my question was critical from a conservative perspective while my con law professor was a self-avowed commie liberal.

On a more relevant note -- he was wearing the same exact costume, including that dumb kangol hat, when I saw him three years ago.

Button-down shirt or no, you're missing the bigher picture here, David, i.e., how GREAT Professor Lindgren looks these days. When I attended Northwestern, he was a large -- and I mean LARGE -- man. I am thrilled (a bit shocked, actually, but very pleasantly so) to see him looking healthy and in such fantastic shape. Good on ya' Professor Lindgren!

What *is* with the Kangol? "A hip hop the hibby the hibby, to the hip hip hop, you don't stop the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat..."

I think Randy is brilliant

This captions in this article would have been much more interesting without pictures.

Law professors sure are ugly.

Am I the only person that thinks Professor Hibbitts looks exactly like Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

12:40: Disagree. Hibbitts is HOT (although I do see the Cameron from Ferris Bueller resemblance). So is Brandt Goldstein. Ann Althouse is cute.

In biglaw everyone is as hot as Ann Althouse, Brandt Goldstein and Hibbits. Poor me and my ugly tier 2 friends.

In response to 10:15 AM, you are completely wrong re. your assessment of Randy Barnett. Did you ever have him as a professor, or just catch him at some conference when he was swarmed with admirers? I took one of his seminars while I was in law school and he was, hands down, the best professor I ever had.

Randy is the most arrogant, self-aggrandizing schmuck to ever violate the walls of a law school classroom. If you want a little context for that comment, my section also had Big Al Dershowitz that year. I really hope it was my 1L section that ensured Randy's pompous turtleneckin' latte-sipping tenure at HLS was limited to visiting.

5:21,

Is that you Randy? No, I did not have you as a professor. I went to your talk at GWU Law School in 2004. But, to answer your question, no, you were not surrounded by a bunch of admirers when I asked my question. If I remember correctly, there were about six of us from the Federalist Society who showed up to suffer through your speech.

GWU Law School . . . Is that that other law school in DC? I thought I heard somethiing about that somewhere.

I suspect that being dubbed a "hottie from an unidentified law school" is a dubious title... but really, it's just a honor to be nominated.

from barnett's bio page on the georgetown law school website:

"In 2007, he played an assistant prosecutor in the film InAlienable, which stars Richard Hatch, Courtney Peldon, Marina Sirtis, Erick Avari, and Walter Koenig."

richard hatch. mr. chekhov. faaaantastic.