Forgottenprince |
Just how many of us Paizo fans are lawyers or law students? I'm currently a 2L in La (looking to go into tax law), and I never expected to meet anyone else who shared my favorite hobby.
Imagine my surprise to discover that there are a number of lawyers or fellow law students on these boards. Further imagine my surprise to discover one of my schools Con law/civ proc professors is also a D&D player. Im really beginning to wonder...
So if anyone is interested in sharing their legal background I'd be greatly interested.
Sebastian Bella Sara Charter Superscriber |
Sebastian Bella Sara Charter Superscriber |
Louisiana, my wife (who games with me) and I are are attending LSU. Not sure what happens after we graduate though, could end up anywhere in the USA.
For what it's worth, partnership tax is probably the most lucrative taxation area and generally under-served. All of the big hedge funds/private equity funds are built as partnerships, and the tax concerns drive a lot of their formation and activities.
Are you getting common law or civil law? (LA is the only civil law state, right?)
Forgottenprince |
~wicked grin~ that is because most of you all are also Rules Lawyers! ~grins~ Nope. I am not a Lawyer or Law student. Keep up the good work you all!
Funny thing is in the games I've played (as opposed to DM'd) I've been actively consulted on the rules. More like a D&D legal digest than and advocate. I've actually argued for the rules in a way where the just result was my character's death!
Forgottenprince |
For what it's worth, partnership tax is probably the most lucrative taxation area and generally under-served. All of the big hedge funds/private equity funds are built as partnerships, and the tax concerns drive a lot of their formation and activities.
Are you getting common law or civil law? (LA is the only civil law state, right?)
Partnership Tax is next semester, 4th class with the same professor. I was an accounting major in undergrad and I did well in this area, so I'm hoping next semester goes smoothly too.
La. is the only "civil law" state, btu we're really a mixed jurisdiction. Criminal code is more common law, civil code is more civiliian.
I'm getting a JD and BCL, LSU offers degrees in both but I pay for it 5 extra class hours and required civil law classes.
Fizzban |
Yup I'm in law school in TN. I think I'm going to focus on making deals for the devil to get mortals to sign over their souls, so I guess that makes it contractual law. Actually I'm want to focus on international law more than anything, but crimial, contractual, or real estate wouldn't be too bad if I decide to stay around TN. I haven't decided which why I want to go. I'm in the end of my first year.
Fizz
Sebastian Bella Sara Charter Superscriber |
Sebastian Bella Sara Charter Superscriber |
See down here, a transactional lawyer is one who never goes to court. Then again, we don't have "contracts" in Louisiana, we have "obligations".
Yup, that's us. Tax is (generally) a transactional practice as well. Still, transactional is the terminology used for someone who largely negotiates/drafts contracts (or obligations, you civil law freak). I've never heard the term contractual law (except maybe at the very bottom of the market, when you've got guys who do slip-and-fall, estate planning, and that type of thing. They might use it).
Sebastian Bella Sara Charter Superscriber |
Sebastian Bella Sara Charter Superscriber |
Torpedo |
I graduated from the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law last year. I take the Missouri bar exam this July. I'm currently working as a legal assistant for a small firm in KC. I'd like to do some intellectual property related stuff (copyright mostly, not patent) or perhaps sports law (which is a mishmash of other areas).
I try not to be a rules lawyer when playing, but I do enjoy playing by the rules if that makes any sense.
Adam Daigle Director of Game Development |
Kelvar Silvermace2 |
Just how many of us Paizo fans are lawyers or law students? I'm currently a 2L in La (looking to go into tax law), and I never expected to meet anyone else who shared my favorite hobby.
Imagine my surprise to discover that there are a number of lawyers or fellow law students on these boards. Further imagine my surprise to discover one of my schools Con law/civ proc professors is also a D&D player. Im really beginning to wonder...
So if anyone is interested in sharing their legal background I'd be greatly interested.
I'm a lawyer. I work in civil litigation. But I'm not a "rules lawyer" in the game. I figure Rule 0 is the most important rule. I'm not sure why anyone would be interested in tax law, but I'm glad you guys are out there. I didn't even study tax in law school other than estate and gift tax. *shrug*
But yeah, I'm a huge Paizo fan. Even more so in light of recent events.
Sebastian Bella Sara Charter Superscriber |
Fizzban |
Wow, I didn't realize there were so many of us bloodsuckers on the boards. Scary...
Edit: And how is it that you all are in the south? I swear, Ashenvale, I hate oozes and I are about the only yanks in the bunch.
I always have heard of the charming southern lawyer. Huh who knows I think it has more to do with politics than law in itself. I kind of see law as a gateway to political office. Can we say William Jefferson Clinton aka Slick Willie? Johnnie Cochran is also from the south. It's ok I'm sure ya'll Yankees are great lawyers, but our accent works wonders in a place of law and on women to.
Fizz
Oh and Sebastian I would let you be my lawyer any time even if your a Yankee
Sebastian Bella Sara Charter Superscriber |
I always have heard of the charming southern lawyer. Huh who knows I think it has more to do with politics than law in itself. I kind of see law as a gateway to political office. Can we say William Jefferson Clinton aka Slick Willie? Johnnie Cochran is also from the south. It's ok I'm sure ya'll Yankees are great lawyers, but our accent works wonders in a place of law and on women to.
I had a friend in law school with a smooth Texas drawl, not a twang. In mock trial events, he'd cozy right up to the jury and practically peel off the "I'm just a simple country fellow" from To Kill a Mockingbird. It was an amazing talent.
Oh and Sebastian I would let you be my lawyer any time even if your a Yankee
Thanks. I would say likewise, but it'd be a breach of ethics to hire someone that hasn't graduated law school yet or passed the bar. ;-)
Fizzban |
I had a friend in law school with a smooth Texas drawl, not a twang. In mock trial events, he'd cozy right up to the jury and practically peel off the "I'm just a simple country fellow" from To Kill a Mockingbird. It was an amazing talent.
Fizzban wrote:Oh and Sebastian I would let you be my lawyer any time even if your a YankeeThanks. I would say likewise, but it'd be a breach of ethics to hire someone that hasn't graduated law school yet or passed the bar. ;-)
Yeah I really do enjoy coming off as a simple young man who grew up on a cotton farm. I never appreciated being called a hick when I was younger, but it does have it’s pluses now that I'm older. People just assume I'm uneducated, they talk down to me, then they get blind sided.
I also have gotten into the habit of saying "that dog don't hunt" any time I'm explaining things. I think we are just good at jack tales.Actions are sometimes performed in a masterly and most cunning way (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Fizz
PulpCruciFiction |
I'm just finishing up my 3L year now up in Boston (I've had one professor here that I suspect has had some experience with gaming, but no proof of it). I'm originally from NJ, but I'll be transplanting down to the South with the rest of the Paizo legal community in the fall, working for the litigation department of a big firm in Atlanta.
I'm also actually not much of a rules-lawyer when gaming. It's partially because I subscribe to Rule Zero and think that things should serve the story, but it's also because I basically dropped out of gaming for four years just before 3e was released, so by the time I got back into it there were other people in the group more suited to rules-lawyering than myself.
Now that we're in a more appropriate forum, Sebastian, can I ask where you went to school and how long you've been with your firm? I'm also curious as to how the workload shifts over time - that seems like the kind of thing they keep under wraps while summer associates are around. Yikes, I hope these questions don't make me sound like a poster on the AutoAdmit boards.
Forgottenprince |
I'm not sure why anyone would be interested in tax law, but I'm glad you guys are out there. I didn't even study tax in law school other than estate and gift tax. *shrug*
Tax law isn't for everyone, especially with how bloated out Internal Revenue Code has gotten. But remember I was an accounting major so numbers can be fun for me. On the other hand, taxation touches on every single other aspect of society or your participation therein. From domestic and foreign policy, to encouraging or discouraging certain transactions/behaviour, tax law is one of the deadlier tools a government has. Even the first Chief Justice of the USSC stated "the power to tax is the power to destroy".
You name an event in a persons life and I guarantee I can find some aspect that tax law touches.
Forgottenprince |
I also have gotten into the habit of saying "that dog don't hunt" any time I'm explaining things.
You're kind of scaring me here Fizz, my 1st semester torts/3rd semester evidence professor uses that expression all the time. He currently holds the distinction of giving me the two lowest grades in lawschool so far (or ever for that matter). I thought it was just a Louisiana thing...
He's also fond of saying "If the law says that, then the law is an @**," but he can't remember where he got that one from. (Oliver Twist FYI).
Fizzban |
Fizzban wrote:I also have gotten into the habit of saying "that dog don't hunt" any time I'm explaining things.You're kind of scaring me here Fizz, my 1st semester torts/3rd semester evidence professor uses that expression all the time. He currently holds the distinction of giving me the two lowest grades in lawschool so far (or ever for that matter). I thought it was just a Louisiana thing...
He's also fond of saying "If the law says that, then the law is an @**," but he can't remember where he got that one from. (Oliver Twist FYI).
LOL a judge that's a friend of the family says it all the time. I stole it from him when I was a teenager. I knew there was a reason I liked Louisiana.
Fizz
The Eldritch Mr. Shiny |
The laws I dabble with are more those of Newton, Einstein, Pasteur, Dalton et al.
I prefer Murphy's.
Anyway, as a library assistant/part-time camp counselor, I come into contact with rules a lot (laws, too, but rules are cooler). My personal favorite:
The oft-cited, oft-broken Rule #6: DON'T BE STUPID.
texrangr35 |
Fizzban wrote:I also have gotten into the habit of saying "that dog don't hunt" any time I'm explaining things.You're kind of scaring me here Fizz, my 1st semester torts/3rd semester evidence professor uses that expression all the time. He currently holds the distinction of giving me the two lowest grades in lawschool so far (or ever for that matter). I thought it was just a Louisiana thing...
He's also fond of saying "If the law says that, then the law is an @**," but he can't remember where he got that one from. (Oliver Twist FYI).
Our ConLaw professor says that all the time as well - and has a good number of us following suit as a result of hearing it so much. He's from East Texas, which obviously is as close as you can get to Louisiana without actually living there.
texrangr35 |
I had a friend in law school with a smooth Texas drawl, not a twang. In mock trial events, he'd cozy right up to the jury and practically peel off the "I'm just a simple country fellow" from To Kill a Mockingbird. It was an amazing talent.
We had a two-hour session during mock trial practice explaining the difference between saying "evidence" and "evidance". In the end, our coach gave up and just smiled everytime he heard "evidance".
PulpCruciFiction |
He's also fond of saying "If the law says that, then the law is an @**," but he can't remember where he got that one from. (Oliver Twist FYI).
The English major in me is forced to point out that the actual line is "the law is a @$$," which I don't think gets quoted quite so much. I even got to play Mr. Bumble in our high school production of "Oliver!," but that line didn't make it into the play.
Forgottenprince |
The English major in me is forced to point out that the actual line is "the law is a @$$," which I don't think gets quoted quite so much. I even got to play Mr. Bumble in our high school production of "Oliver!," but that line didn't make it into the play.
I'm quoting my professor, who's misquoting the book. But if you're going to present the correct quote then lets proivde context. If I remember correctly, the lawyer had just finsihed explaining to Mr. Bumble that the law presumed his wife was completely under his control. To this insight into earlier english common law, Mrs Bumble responded "the law is a[n] @$$".