Tired of explaining the federal court system?

You're an appellate person, so inevitably you'll be asked a cocktail party by a non-lawyer to explain the Supreme Court, federal courts in general, etc. Next time this happens, just refer the curious to this short video by Bowdoin College professor at Here’s everything you need to know about how the Constitution created the judicial branch, in a 15-minute video (hat tip to the WaPo's Monkey Cage). Ok, maybe the video won't get you off the hook entirely. But it may buy enough time for another drink... Ok, given the uptick in "lawyers with substance abuse problems" recently (NYT), we'll move along...

Speaking of the High Court, earlier this month the DJ profiled Stris & Maher LLP "a national appellate boutique [based in DTLA], [which] has found great success in arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and federal appeals courts." The article ran July 3, so may have gotten lost in the holiday shuffle. Close-knit boutique takes on major Supreme Court cases, details how Peter Stris founded his firm, touches on some big appeals, and notes how the firm is set to argue two cases at SCOTUS during the 2017 term. Wonderful proof that you can do SCOTUS work from SoCal!