Roger Williams University's latest study of faculty productivity outside the USNWR top "40"

See here for the whole study.  My favorite part is reproduced below (hat tip to Brian Leiter and to Paul Caron):
THE TOP 40 SCHOOLS [AFTER USNWR'S TOP 40] 
1. University of San Diego (13.85)
2. Florida State University (13.30)
3. University of Richmond (9.56)
4. University of Missouri - Columbia (8.82)
5. Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago-Kent) (8.71)
6. University of Nevada - Las Vegas (8.54)
    Case Western Reserve University (8.51)
8. University of Cincinnati (8.15)
9. Brooklyn Law School (8.00)
10. Pepperdine University (7.45)
11. Roger Williams University (6.76)
      University of Florida (6.73)
13. Hofstra University (6.56)
14. Arizona State University (6.44)
15. University of Pittsburgh (6.25)
16. Seattle University (6.10)
      Temple University (6.06)
18. Seton Hall University (5.92)
19. University of Houston (5.84)
      Loyola Law School - Los Angeles (5.82)
21. DePaul University (5.78)
      Rutgers (State University of New Jersey) - Newark (5.78)
23. University of Tennessee (5.47)
      University of Kentucky (5.42)
      University of Miami (5.41)
26. Villanova University (5.19)
      University of Louisville (5.14)
28. Rutgers (State University of New Jersey) - Camden (5.06)
29. Loyola University Chicago(4.97)
30. Capital University (4.61)
      Indiana University - Indianapolis (4.56)
32. Pennsylvania State University (4.52)
33. Willamette University (4.35)
      Wayne State University (4.33)
35. University of Connecticut (4.29)
36. Santa Clara University (4.14)
      University of Oregon (4.13)
      St. John’s University (4.13)
      Michigan State University (4.11)
40. Marquette University (4.00)

It's nice to see that folks recognize how prolific our faculty's scholarship has been.  Our faculty productivity is one of many reasons I love it here.

New fun blog: Mark Osler's blog

I was visiting w/Mark recently, and he reminded me about his blog (here), which I've been enjoying.

Liz Warren's coolest moment ever (and she's had a ton already)!

See Liz Warren on -- wait for it!--The Daily Show (here). Best explanation of what went wrong with our financial system and how to fix it.

I would be terribly jealous of her if I didn't like her so very much. BRAVA!!!!!

Hellooooooo, Disney Board--you need me!

This article in today's Wall Street Journal (here) proves it.

Richard Thaler's mortgage proposal--it makes sense!

Here's Richard Thaler's mortgage proposal in today's New York Times (here). Reminds me of another good mortgage proposal (here). Hmmmm....

Great law firm ads

Bravo to the law firm of Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman for these ads (here and here), which are funny as all get-out and ethical. Hat tip to Andrew Adam Newman of the New York Times for his article calling attention to these ads, here.

Rachel Anderson's post over at The Conglomerate on advice for newly hired beginning law professors....

Her very useful post is here. To her advice, I'd only add one thing: if salary's non-negotiable, often some other perks are (e.g., more research assistant money, different travel allotments), so be creative.

Meditation on the first day of spring semester classes--and an idea for our dysfunctional Congress

It's the first day of Spring Semester, and I'm going to meet my Contracts students for the first time this afternoon. Aside from the usual OMG moments (the bookstore ran out of our textbook, and I found out just this morning--thank goodness for Nettie, who PDF'd the first two assignments for us!), there's good excitement in the air.

I love the first day of classes. There's the adrenaline of preparing for class; the welcome sight of my colleagues coming back to school; and the sense of a fresh start for everyone.

Speaking of fresh starts (and no, not the one in the Bankruptcy Code), I was reading about Speaker Pelosi this morning and her comments about the Republicans stymieing health care. What tires me about all of Congress is this constant name-calling across party lines, which I find wholly unproductive.

There are two possibilities: (1) no matter to which party you belong, the other party is composed of demons; or (2) there are good and bad people in both parties. My guess is that the second possibility is more likely.

What Congress needs is a mental reset--a new semester of sorts. I don't see enough people in Congress saying, "Wait a minute! Maybe it's possible that people who are different from me politically have some good ideas--perhaps I should listen." And I certainly don't see anyone in Congress taking personal responsibility for the massive ill-will that exists now among its members.

This is where one of my favorite books comes in: Robert Kegan & Lisa Laskow Lahey, How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation (Jossey-Bass 2002).

That book forces people to see why they're afraid to change and how they've contributed to their own frustration. By presuming (correctly) that people complain only about that which matters to them, Kegan and Lahey give advice on how to deal with, e.g., long-term beliefs about others' reasons for behavior. It's a masterful book.

Grow up, Congress. We don't have time for your games any more. (And my contribution to the problem? Not voting out of office those folks who stick to the same-old, same-old behavior.) See? Kegan & Lahey's theory works!

My buddy Rachel Anderson's guest-blogging over at The Conglomerate!

See her first post here. Yay, Rachel!

Hat tip to my buddy Kathleen Lyon for finding this gem!

See here on writing. Thanks, KEL!

Sharon Davies has a great new book out (Oxford U. Press)!

One of the best things about the AALS Annual Meeting is getting to see old friends, and when I ran into Sharon Davies last week, her new book, Rising Road: A True Tale of Love, Race, and Religion in America (Oxford University Press 2010), was hot off the presses. I can't wait to get my own copy, and you can click on this link (here) if you want a copy. Brava, Sharon!

More foolishness coming about because of the USNWR rankings

This story's been brewing for a while now: the rankings are costing law students in terms of higher tuition. See this link from the TaxProf Blog here and Robert Morse's point of view here.

Great questions to ask the bankers

See Andrew Ross Sorkin's New York Times column, What the Financial Crisis Commission Should Ask, here.

Former UNLV-Boyd Prof gets national acclaim--BRAVO, PAVEL!

See the post on the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog here. Bravo, Pavel--now everyone can find out how great you are!

Andy Winchell wins PR link of the week!

Andy beat me to the punch by announcing our ABI Annual Spring Meeting panel on lawyering with the new social networking tools--see here. Thanks to the efforts of my co-chair, Ray Warner, and the amazing team of ABI Staffers (shout-out to Maggie Bradshaw), the panel features

• Andy Winchell, who writes the A Clean Slate Bankruptcy Blog;
• Steve Sather, who writes the A Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer's Blog; and
  
• Karim Guirguis, media and internet guru of the ABI.

It should be quite a fun panel--hope that some of you out there can make it!

My newest guilty pleasure: Female Science Professor Blog

See here. I stumbled upon this blog thanks to an article that Female Science Professor wrote for the Chronicle of Higher Education, here. And here's my favorite part of that article:

10. For students and postdocs: If you are paid a salary, you should do the work.

. . . .

12. For students visiting professors, even outside of office hours: If the professor is dining al desco, an activity typically done to save time on a busy day, don't ask, "Are you busy?" The answer is yes. Ask instead, "Do you have a few minutes to talk, or should I come back at a better time?"

As someone who almost always eats "al desco" (what a great phrase), I loved that last bit. Brava, Female Science Professor!