{"id":7424,"date":"2007-03-28T21:01:24","date_gmt":"2007-03-29T02:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2007\/03\/28\/remember-redo-renew-redux\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:53:51","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:53:51","slug":"remember-redo-renew-redux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2007\/03\/28\/remember-redo-renew-redux\/","title":{"rendered":"remember, redo, renew, redux"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One under-appreciated advantage of having a poor memory (of course, husbands know many others) is the pleasing rediscovery of one’s prior workproduct.\u00a0 That’s especially true for the f\/k\/a<\/em> Gang, when\u00a0the piece\u00a0seems interesting, informative, irreverent,\u00a0or in-sync with a hot current topic.\u00a0\u00a0Indeed, for\u00a0a weblog editor,\u00a0such rediscovery can mean avoiding the creation of a brand new post by republishing or reworking the resurfaced gem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"arrow\u00a0\u00a0 Recent visitors know that the topic of lawyer competence (and what bar leaders are doing about it) has been on my mind a lot lately (e.g<\/em>. here<\/a>\u00a0and there<\/a>).\u00a0 My curiosity was picqued, therefore, when I noticed on the SlimStat page for this weblog, that someone had visited an f\/k\/a<\/em> post this afternoon titled\u00a0\u00a0“an appearance of incompetence<\/a>” (Dec. 12, 2005).\u00a0 Honestly, I had no idea<\/em> what that posting might be about.\u00a0 However, so charmed and re-enlightened was I by it, that I am reproducing most of\u00a0the piece\u00a0below for your edification and entertainment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0In addition, if your memory synapses are firing well, you may recall that I promised<\/a> a couple days ago to bring our visitors previews of the poems found in Baseball Haiku<\/em><\/a> (Cor van den Heuvel and Nanae Tamura, eds; to be released April 1, 2007, by W.W. Norton; prior post<\/a>)\u00a0 As baseball is a theme often connected with memory (or vice versa),<\/em> you’ll also find selections by three of our Honored Guest Poets from Baseball Haiku<\/em> throughout this posting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

winter reverie
\nthe faint scent of bubblegum
\non an old baseball card<\/p>\n

\u00a0……………………. by\u00a0ed markowski<\/font><\/a>\u00a0 \"infielderG\"\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My visit back to this “appearance” posting reminded me of my first experience with “Main Street Lawyers” filling out forms.\u00a0 After a dozen years as a government\u00a0antitrust lawyer and manager, I had started on a new career path and found myself serving as a temporary law clerk in Family Court.\u00a0 Part of\u00a0my job was reviewing the adoption applications, which were made on a standardized form.\u00a0I quickly learned that the work of one\u00a0elderly lawyer — who everyone was always saying was “brilliant as a young man” — needed especially close scrutiny.\u00a0 One question on the adoption form,\u00a0in the section collecting data on the birth mother, was “Age at Birth.”\u00a0\u00a0 Apparently thinking the question wanted the child’s age at its birth, the elderly lawyer wrote in “zero.”\u00a0\u00a0 If done intentionally as a bit of humor, the answer was certainly witty.\u00a0 However, the adoption process was slowed down for his client, as the form had to be returned to his office for correction.\u00a0 I wonder if arrows would have helped him.\u00a0 Anyway, reprised herewith is\u00a0the meat\u00a0of this newly-rediscovered\u00a0f\/k\/a<\/em> posting:<\/p>\n

“an appearance of incompetence<\/a>” (orig. pub. Dec. 12, 2005)\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yesterday evening, I filled out my biennial New York State Attorney Registration form<\/a>.\u00a0. .\u00a0.\u00a0. Clearly, one never had to be a rocket scientist to fill out the old<\/em> Attorney Registration form.\u00a0 In fact, even though some lawyers can be less than\u00a0fully competent and \u2014 more often \u2014 less than fully diligent, we would have thought that being a member of the NYS bar might have been sufficient preparation to fill out the Form.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\n\"erasingS\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/font>It was quite surprising, therefore, to find the following greeting, from the NYS OCA Attorney [Office of Court Administration] Registration Unit, accompanying the Form:<\/p>\n

Dear New York State Attorney,
\n\u00a0
\n\"NYAttyRegG\"<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0 We are pleased to provide you with this redesigned Attorney Registration form, which includes, for the first time, graphically-enhanced, step-by-step instructions on how to complete the form . . . .\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s right: \u201cgraphically-enhanced, step-by-step instructions<\/em>\u201d!\u00a0 To be more precise: in the lefthand margin of the Instruction Page, you will find tiny reproductions of the two-page Registration Form, with \u2014 hold on! \u2014 arrows<\/em> pointing from each Section\u00a0of the Form\u00a0(you know, A, B, C, D) to the related Instructions (again, A, B, C, D).<\/p>\n

\u201ceasy to assemble\u201d
\nI put it back and
\ngrab a teddybear<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 …………………………………… by dagosan
\n<\/em>\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nAm I being too negative?\u00a0 Well, go here<\/a> to see just how helpful this graphic enhancement can be for the poor lawyer facing the task of filling out his or her Registration Form.\u00a0 Remember, the attorney gets only two months<\/em> to perform this task.<\/p>\n

\u00a0We have at times accused<\/a> bar regulators of treating both clients and lawyers as if they are simpleminded\u00a0 This little graphic instruction boost seems to suggest a new level of disdain for lawyer intelligence and attention to detail.\u00a0 Just who needs these arrows?\u00a0\u00a0 What kind of mistakes were being made on prior forms?\u00a0 And, how much did OCA pay for the assistance of form-filling and graphic design experts?\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"NYAttyRegN\"\u00a0 <\/font>Maybe we should show these Registration forms to pro se<\/em> litigants, as they struggle to fill out court filings and pleadings.\u00a0 It might make not having a lawyer seem a lot less worrisome.\u00a0 In fact, each pro se<\/em> party might start hoping the opposing side hires one of them lawyers who needs them there arrows.
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

in the shoe box\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nattic light from one window
\nand the creased Willie Mays<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

full moon just rising\u00a0\u00a0 \"baseballDiamond\"\u00a0
\nwe recount the best plays
\non the drive home<\/p>\n

………………………… by Tom Clausen – Baseball Haiku<\/em> (2007)
\n“in the shoe box” – orig. pub. Bases Loaded<\/em>, a renga chapbook
\n\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

73 dingers?
\neverytime i see his smile
\non the Wheaties box<\/p>\n

hot stove league . . .\u00a0 \"BaseballHaikuCoverN\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\ndid ryan’s fastball
\ncast a shadow?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

……………………. by ed markowski – Baseball Haiku<\/em> (2007)
\n“winter reverie” – orig. pub. bottle rockets<\/em>, vol, 7, no. 1 (2005)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

empty baseball field
\na dandelion seed floats through
\nthe strike zone<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

village ball game
\nthrough knotholes in the old fence
\nevening sunbeams<\/p>\n

…………………… by George Swede<\/a> – Baseball Haiku<\/em> (2007)
\n“empty baseball field” – orig. pub. Almost Unseen<\/em> (2000)
\n“village ball game” – orig. pub. As Far As the Sea Can Eye<\/em> (1979)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One under-appreciated advantage of having a poor memory (of course, husbands know many others) is the pleasing rediscovery of one’s prior workproduct.\u00a0 That’s especially true for the f\/k\/a Gang, when\u00a0the piece\u00a0seems interesting, informative, irreverent,\u00a0or in-sync with a hot current topic.\u00a0\u00a0Indeed, for\u00a0a weblog editor,\u00a0such rediscovery can mean avoiding the creation of a brand new post […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[555,900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-haiku-or-senryu","category-viewpoint"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-1VK","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7424"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12581,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7424\/revisions\/12581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}