And the Winner of the Debt Ceiling Nonsense Is? … Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party

Long-time readers may know that I spent a good chunk of the 2000s in Japan, the longest stretch being a two-year stint teaching at a top tier public high school northwest of Tokyo during the dark days of the Iraq invasion. That experience, combined with graduate-level courses on East Asia gives me some perspective on [...]

Quick Link: In Japan, Blame for Widespread Bar Exam Failure Placed on Exam, Not Scores of “La Vernes”

Before reading Miki Tanikawa’s New York Times piece, “A Japanese Legal Exam That Sets the Bar High,” you should read Takahiro Saito’s law review article, aptly titled, “The Tragedy of Japanese Legal Education: ‘American’ Law Schools,” in the Wisconsin International Law Journal (2006ish). Saito writes: In 1985, about five hundred candidates, out of twenty-five thousand, [...]

Why Are There No Puerto Rican Scamblogs?

Probably because students are still too busy protesting an $800 fee hike from earlier this year (Tamar Lewin, “In Puerto Rico, Protests End Short Peace at University,” in The New York Times). The university chose to compensate a $200 million budget cut with the new fee rather than a tuition hike, which led the students [...]

Magical Mystery Links—ABA-Accredited Schools in China, Reasons for Law Practice Reform, & More on Tenure

(1)  Edward A. Adams, “Harvard Prof Sees Legal Profession in Turmoil”. Mr. Adams proves I’m clairvoyant.  I published this a few days ago, “[A law school is] really something a community can only build when it is surging with growth.  Like China or India surging.  Not U.S.A. deflating.”  Here, Harvard Professor David B. Wilkins says: [...]

How Law Schools Behave Like States in International Relations Theory

Prepare to pay the price for reading a blog written by an international affairs graduate (with thanks to JETs with J.D.s for linking me to a post at Adam Smith, Esq. that briefly touches on the concepts). If you studied international politics in college (and certainly beyond) and do not know realism kindly return your [...]