the archives of f/k/a . . .

yabut?

In his short run as Editor at this website, our skeptical, curmudgeonly alter ego “Prof. Yabut” was fairly prolific. Below are links to his Favorite Postings while Editor, to his more-recent emeritus offerings, and to other f/k/a pieces from 2003 through 2009 that he liked the most, in reverse chronological order.  [It's the closest we have to a Best of f/k/a List] Clearly, Yabut’s a “Yea, but” Man, not a Yes Man.

“understanding and reducing legal fees” (Feb. 28, 2009

“foxes guarding the golden eggs” (Feb. 24, 2009) (self-regulation fails clients; with links to our final week’s “ALF” American Legal Fees series)

“a sparkingly Savage year” (December 30, 2008); & “wendy savage wendy savage” (October 23, 2008)

“smart clients care about bonuses and marketplace ‘value‘” (Nov. 25, 2008)

“they’re all atwitter (we’re not)” (Nov. 15, 2008)

“apply for this!” (Nov. 13, 2008) (the Obama Administration job application)

“too many men are killing babies” (October 20, 2008)

“a melancholy spoof of Frank Duci’s will” (Oct. 13, 2008) [grocery-list will]

“words to use besides ‘battleground‘” (Oct. 11, 2008)

“who are you calling ‘dearie’?” (October 7, 2008) (Elder-Speak)

“arnold kills the lapdog driving ban” (September 30, 2008)

“EnvyEsq works too much” (September 4, 2009)

“did Harvard Law kill parody, satire & humor?” (Aug. 27, 2008)

“living legend law blogging (and the cult of Gerry Spence)” (Aug. 1, 2008)

“email etiquette: use Bcc for groups, please” (July 26, 2008)

“doubts over debt negotiation fees” (July 22, 2008)

“the New Yorker cover: Obama, satire, and the PC Police” (July 15, 2008)

“lets celebrate kissing and chocolate” (July 5, 2008 – re Kissing Day and Chocolate Day)

“speed limit politics (Obama disappoints)” (July 4, 2008)

“California’s make-believe car phone safety law” (June 30, 2008) (hands-free cellphones are not safer)

“Chautauqua grand slam” (June 28, 2008; baseball haiku roundtable)

“joe cocker: mondegreen maven” (June 16, 2008) [misheard lyrics]

“HALT focuses on Fed Rodell — you should, too” [Father of Plain English and demystifying lawyers] (June 4, 2008)

“consumer beware the ’standard’ deal” (May 30, 2008) (e.g., Used Car Warranties)

“trumping reality with the sexism card” (May 20, 2008)

“what brings you to a joint like this?” (May 14, 2008; our search engine friends)

“Schenectady ponders 18 months without our Central Library” (May 6, 2008)

“at least they’re upscale nudists” (April 27, 2008)

“post-Earth Day pledge: speed limits and efficient driving” (April 23, 2008)

“Washington (Ave.) cherry blossoms – Schenectady, NY” (April 21, 2008)

“‘toilet paper check’ story ignored by blawgisphere” (March 29, 2008)

“lawrence and the pink flamingos – a Stockade Valentine mystery” (Feb. 15, 2008)

unconscionable silence over Graubard’s $42 million contingency fee (December 11, 2007) (lawyer code of silence)

“pity the baby-boomer raconteur” (November 23, 2007) (losing those memory synapses)

“let’s gossip about Solove’s The Future of Reputation” (Nov. 8, 2007)

“good gossip bad gossip (good goombah bad goombah)” (Nov. 7, 2007)

first let’s compare all the lawyers: Pakistani and American (Nov. 6, 2007)

“The End of Lawyers? or The Cartel’s Last Stand?” (October 28, 2007) [re Richard Susskind's book]

“simply the best” blawgs? (October 5, 2007)

more lawyers should “think like lawyers” (September 30, 2007)

contingency fees and the clueless fiduciary Sept.4, 2007

not quite ready for Love Lawyers Day Sept. 2, 2007

after Cahill v. Alexander: where does NYSBA stand on lawyer advertising? Aug. 13, 2007

broadening the billable hour debate (Aug. 18, 2007)

presumed ignorant: Scott Turow on the Billable Hour July 26, 2007

“Schenectady’s PanderPols vote to evict sex offenders“  (June 13, 2007)

“too many “tell-ems”: psyku lower haiku quality” (June 3, 2007) [show'em/don't tell 'em]

“dancin’ on thin ice“  (April 22, 2007) [Jesse Winchester etc.]

the bar’s self-importance is undignified March 31, 2007

“the Graying of the Bar: let’s not forget the ethics” (March 20, 2007)

Lawyers & Sutton’s No A$$hole Rule Feb. 19, 2007

Lawyers Appreciate good haiku Dec. 29, 2006

“Exile: facts & fiction, Israel & Palestine” (December 14, 2006)

lawyers sentenced to haiku purgatory without appeal Dec. 2, 2006

puritans, prudes & professional picklepusses Nov. 25, 2006

“nysba disses lawyer advertising” (October 17, 2006)

bainbridge speeds past the working poor (April 17, 2006)

ghosts of tax days past (Scrooge was surely a tax-whiner) April 15, 2006

Blawg Review #52 (April 10, 2006; hosted by f/k/a)

“goomba goombah gumba gumbah” (April 1, 2006)

“Catholic conservatives ignore Pope Benedict on political ‘caritas’” (April 19, 2006)

“contingency fees (part 4 of 4): ethical duties” (4-part essay on issues raised by the use of standard contingency fees; April 7, 2006)

wordless italian with Nino Scalia (with uppa dates) March 27, 2006

the value-billing babysitter (March 23, 2006) (revolt against hourly pay)

wedgie opportunity: poor advice for associates from Juris’ CEO (March 2, 2006)

• “thanks a lot (for all this pressure)” [f/k/a called "Most Creative Law Blog"] Dec. 27, 2005
• “St. Nicholas v. Santa Claus“ (December 14, 2005)
• “lawyer entitlement and the cost of legal services” (Nov. 30, 2005)
  
• “fla. high court puts down Pape & Chandler’s Pit Bull” (Nov. 17, 2005)[1-800-PITBULL]

• agita & Attention Deficit Disorder (Oct. 28, 2005)
• auto-judgment and self-esteem (Oct. 26, 2005) (are you what you drive?)
  
• multi-non-tasking (Oct. 14, 2005) (inefficient multi-tasking)
• “The LIFE of IVAN ILLY, Esq” (October 4, 2005)
• Missouri newsflash: legal consumers are really stupid (Sept. 26, 2005)
• the road to “L” is paved with inattention (Sept. 4, 2005) (lawyers by default)
  
• 1L of a decision (Aug. 16, 2005) (law student know thyself)
• seminal cases can shape a lawyer’s psyche (June 25, 2005)
• political maturation after age 30 (June 22, 2005) [Churchill, over/under 30]
• peridementia and our aging knowledge workers (June 16, 2005)
• let’s talk about restroom equity (June 14, 2005)
• “is it or ain’t it haiku?” (May 31, 2005)
• “bar & guild” (April 26, 2005) [bar associations acting like guilds]
  
• ATLA Condemns Standard Contingency Fee (April 1, 2005; April Fool!!)
  
• Injured Consumers’ Bill of Rights for Contingency Fees (April 1, 2005)
• “podriahs — blissfully outside the pod-caste system” (March 25, 2005) (no podcasts for us)
  
• “blame bar counsel for the Capoccia Scandal” (March 8, 2005)
• “just mad about saffron“  (March 4, 2005) (The Gates, Central Park, NY)
  
• “schmittle italy” [build it and they might come] (Feb. 28, 2005)
• “fedLabs 101: local schmocal” (January 28, 2005)
  
• chronomentrophobia (Jan. 7, 2005) (irrational fear of clocks)
  

• inflected reiteration (and ad ads) (Jan. 16, 2005)

• “they seek him there” (January 13, 2005) (Scarlet Pimpernel etc.]
  
• “implied disclaimers made explicit” (January 12, 2005)
• dui cherry cordials (Jan. 8, 2005)
• “the word “blog”: our language legacy” (Nov. 30, 2004)
• issue-spotting for faith-based law schools (Nov. 24, 2004)

• “in re: Religious Law Schools” (Nov. 27, 2004) (they offer no salvation)

• towards a “democratic morality” and majority (Nov. 3, 2004)

Poetry Not Punditry (May 26, 2004; the torch passed to haikuEsq and f/k/a)

Aging Up: False IDs for the AARP Crowd (May 25, 2004; seniors making believe they’re older)

Putting the (Political) Arm on Associates (May 24, 2004)

the ethics of the Whatever Generations (your cheating hearts) (April 30, 2004)

1-800-CENSURED (May 22, 2004; Wilens and Baker publically censured)

“The Lowered Expectation Game: Lawyers as Tin Men” (December 7, 2003)

Sue-Dough-Logic (May 20, 2004; disagreeing with Walter Olson on Client Protection Funds)

Another Silly One-Day Gas Boycott (May 18, 2004)

Brown: Good Decision Meets Bad Karma (May 17, 2004; school desegregation and white flight)

Law School Deprivation Syndrome in North Carolina (too few law schools?)

A Good Judge of Greed and Overreaching (Microsoft on Class Action Lawyers’ Fees)

Mother’s (Moving) Day (May 8, 2004; child custody relocation)

Should Law Schools Be More LIke Business Schools?

Suspended Hammer (May 4, 2004; paper lion lawyer suspended for hyperbolic claims)

Frivolous and Bollixed (July 24, 2004, at Legal Underground)

“Please End the Massachusetts Bar Advocate Boycott“ (August 12, 2004)

scandal-ridden cops more popular than lawyers in Schenectady

why prof. yabut can’t retire (yabut vs. ellipses; May 11, 2004)

Law Day, Not Lawyers’ Day (May 1, 2004)

our kinda law book (April 30, 2004; Law & Order coloring book)

“earth to Yabut” (April 22, 2004) (almost forgot Earth Day)

ethicalEsq Sells Out (Yabut takes over) (April 1, 2004)

“Yes, Lawyers and Haiku” (December 7, 2003)

• “formative moments — legal ethos and ethics” (Sept. 23, 2003)
• “Can Cyber Shame Tame Frivolous Lawsuits?” (September 8, 2003)
• “Diligent Defender” Standards Should Apply to All Law Firms (July 19, 2003)
• “Disclosure of Malpractice Insurance Should Be Mandatory” (July 18, 2003)
• IL & Md Lawyer Groups Win First “Judee” [Judas Esqariot] Awards (July 13, 2003)
• “Sustained Objection: Lawyer discipline still inadequate” (May 29, 2003)
• “Shakespeare and Lawyers: the Bar’s propaganda” (March 1, 2003)