Las Vegas Blawg

Rosenberg: Spend Some Time in Jail

The New York Times reported recently that Jerry Rosenberg, perhaps the most famous “jailhouse lawyer” of our time, died Monday at age 72.  A “jailhouse lawyer” in prison slang, is an inmate who advises other inmates on their legal rights. 

Sometimes, the jailhouse lawyer was in fact at one time a lawyer.  In other cases, the jailhouse lawyer has studied law or been through the system so many times, he or she just knows more than the rest.  The jailhouse lawyer can be fairly intelligent and has virtually all the time in the world to commit to studying a legal issue.  If properly educated and given adequate resources, a jailhouse lawyer might give you a real run for your money, or at least ask you questions you can’t answer right away.

The New York Times quotes Mr. Rosenberg as saying something to the effect of, “Anyone who wants to become a lawyer, should spend some time in jail.”

It’s an interesting thought, that could mean a variety of things.

Does it mean that jail is like a law school?

Or, does it mean that you aren’t really qualified to practice law until you’ve walked a mile in a prisoner’s shoes?

How literal is the comment—spend a night in jail or spend more time working with prisoners at a jail?

Why does it strike me with such curiousity?

Perhaps because I have actually toured detention centers and been so curious about what it must feel like to be caged…to know what life in there is really like…

Or perhaps I just question whether people working in the legal field and the courts can really understand what prison is like, when most have spent hardly any time in our detention facilities.  I mean, it’s not exactly part of the on-the-job training, and it certainly is not a part of law school or most other formal education.  I understand that some criminal justice education involves tours of prisons.

What do Mr. Rosenberg’s words mean to you?

Paper-cut Prone

Lawyers need secretarial staff for many reasons, but lawyers in Las Vegas can add one more reason to the list:   AVOIDING PAPER CUTS.

Las Vegas is a horrendously dry place.  It’s oft-compared to being baked alive in a convection oven, at least when summer rolls around.  This unique environment leads to dry skin.  Skin so dry you can’t keep it moist, even with a generous slathering of lotion every few hours.

Lawyers work with a lot of paper.  It’s the nature of the job.  Reading, drafting, pushing papers around your desk like George Constanza, it just comes with the territory.  Unless you’re one of those paperless firms, straining its worker bees’ compound eyes staring at computer screens all day.  Your eyes strain from the effort at focusing, because a computer screen is just a flashing light and one shouldn’t stare into flashing lights for long periods of time, but I digress….

The dry skin, the large volumes of paper, the need to do things fast, it’s the trifecta for paper cuts.  Paper cuts in awkward places, impossible to place a bandaid on without retarding your efficiency, leaving little blood streaks on your work, justifying the use of cliches like “my BLOOD, sweat and tears” in open court.

How can a lawyer avoid these damned papercuts in Las Vegas?  That’s where secretarial staff comes in.  Offload the paper to the secretary.  Stuffing envelopes creases your fingers? Why, that’s perfect secretarial work.

So the next time you run into your staff, thank them.  They’re your first line of defense against paper cuts.  Oh, and don’t forget to add bandaids to the supply order.

You know you’ll need them.     

Bar Review: Ba Ba Reeba

Ba Ba Reeba was highly recommended by attorneys as a place for after-work drinks with colleagues and friends.  In light of all the praise, LasVegasBlawg thought it would throw in its two cents.

Ba Ba Reeba has both a bar and restaurant component offering tapas and a full range of beer, wine and liquor.  It is located on the Strip in the Fashion Show Mall, close to the newest casinos– Wynn, Encore, Palazzo– and many others still under construction.

Pros:

Indoor and outdoor seating available

Patio extends out to the Strip and offers high visibility (if you’re waiting for someone for example) with low interference (if you don’t want exhaust fumes or pandering with your drinks)

Sangria by the pitcher that tastes like they care

Small portions

Not very noisy

Trendy, clean design

Cons:

Pricey (think at least $25 a person for drinks and appetizers)

Parking hassles (Best parking is reached through the Mall, which closes long before the restaurant, and can be hard to come by)

Where’s the valet?

Cell phone dead zone

Little or no entertainment

Overall Recommendation:  Just a plain old, “Recommended”