What? In recent days, I’ve come across not one but two online features that celebrate contemporary Pittsburgh for its economic and cultural sexiness. Largely because of the regional tech economy, the millennials and GenXers who dominate it, and the insistence of Pittsburgh’s Old Guard that what you see today was always the plan for economic recovery after the collapse of steel in the early 1980s, Pittsburgh is back, baby! If…
Read MoreThe Future of Law Teaching
The faculty of the St. Louis University School of Law invited me to deliver the 2017 Vincent C. Immel Lecture on Teaching Law on April 20, 2017. The lecture was and is not designed for journal publication, but I thought that some (including the audience at SLU) might be interested in what I said. Some of my themes recapitulate things that I’ve written about before, on this blog, on other…
Read MoreWhat I Didn’t Know About Pittsburgh, #1
Carrie Furnace and the Oakmont Country Club. George Westinghouse and the Pittsburgh Opera. These things go in pairs – Pittsburgh’s industrial history and its contemporary arts and cultural resources. Having written about Pittsburgh for close to 15 years, I’ve learned about a lot of those pairings. What’s good for the bank account often turns out to be good for the spirit. The old Civic Arena (a/k/a Civic Auditorium), later the…
Read MoreTwo Cheers for Copyright
Some people are cheering and some people are shrugging in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands.[1] The Court held that designs for Varsity Brands’ cheerleading uniforms may be protected as copyrighted works against unauthorized copying by its upstart rival, Star Athletica. Cheering, because the decision appears to put wind in the sails of those who would like to see expanded IP…
Read MoreReading List: Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Law and entrepreneurship? Law and innovation? Read these three pieces in a single sitting: Startups and Unmet Legal Needs (Alice Armitage, Evan Frondorf, Christopher Williams, and Robin Feldman) Abstract: To foster innovation, we must find solutions to provide effective, affordable legal services on a large scale to early-stage companies from all backgrounds, while ensuring that companies have the opportunity to receive individualized and accurate advice. Otherwise, legal issues will continue…
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