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Hi everyone, There was some question as to what the deadline for term-papers was. I initially thought the end of exams was Friday the 13th. It is – but it is not the end of the “exam period” which extends into the next day. So long story short…Papers are due by 5 PM, Saturday December 14, 2019. That said the TRU Law office will be closed so the only way to get me your paper on that Saturday will be by email. Accordingly, please make sure you receive a receipt from me if you send me your paper on the Saturday (I try to get those done within 24 hours I.E. by Sunday night). I believe the TRU office closes on Friday Dec. 13 at 4 PM. Trust this makes sense and is clear. Regards, Jon |
Group presentation on “Scandals in the Auto Industry”
Class 3 Fall 2019 Slides
Jon
Unbearable weirdness: The portrayal of In-House Counsel in “Pretty Woman”
“Pretty Woman” (1990) is an awful movie, especially when watched from the vantage point of 2019. Leaving aside the myriad blatant instances of sexism and stereotypes, let’s focus instead on the considerable irregularities of Philip Stuckey Esq. (played by Jason Alexander) and his totally odd relationship to corporate takeover maven Edward Lewis (played by Richard Gere).
So what’s weird? Let us count the ways:
- In the opening scene of the movie Edward is super-demeaning to his counsel, saying “Phil is just my lawyer”. Have to admit I’ve never seen that or anything close to it – seriously, joking, or otherwise. There are lots of things in-house counsel don’t get, but disrespected publically is rarely one of those things.
- Edward’s corporate base is Los Angeles. Phillip is in New York. Huh? Non-sense. Top counsel and CEO are rarely if ever based in different offices. Don’t even know why the writer’s wanted to do this as nothing plot-wise seemed to hang on it.
- Have you ever seen corporate signage that names the in-house lawyer? Who came up with this stuff?
- The most unrealistic scene has to be when Phillip the lawyer gets upset with his CEO, Edward for taking a day off. Seriously? Never happens. Never will.
There is so much else that is ridiculous about Phillip as screen-written. He is an awful human, a boorish, pathetic, churlish lawyer who never overtly does anything resembling the practice of law. He gives lawyers a bad name. Fortunately he makes so little sense as a character that I doubt anyone who is not a lawyer would even identify him as an in-house counsel. Simply, this is a fictional movie whose fictions are pretty well complete. Reality need not apply.
Jon
Class 9 Slides
Jon
Boeing’s In-House Legal Department
By: Paul Beckmann
I wanted to share an article concerning the role of Boeing’s in-house legal department in the wake of the terrible 737 Max aircraft accidents.
With respect to what the in-house lawyers can do “to stem the grounding fallout”, the article states that “Boeing’s in-house lawyers can help minimize the fallout by taking the lead on figuring out what happened, preparing for potential litigation, and reviewing internal and external communications.”