Pop Culture – NWSidebar

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A Star Wars Exploration of the Law of Armed Conflict—Part I

With dozens of large-scale armed conflicts going on in the world, in Ukraine and elsewhere, a prospective client is bound to walk through your door one day, accused of war crimes. Well, the chances are at least higher if you practice this area of law. Should you receive such a client, this article will prepare you for your first war crimes case by exploring the violations of the law of armed conflict (LOAC) committed by everyone’s favorite war criminal, Darth Vader.

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Gift Ideas for the Lawyer or Law Student in Your Life

Unfortunately, you probably can’t get lawyers and law students the gift they really want: eliminating their student loans. However, there’s still time to find a gift that will delight the legal wonk in your life. We can’t endorse specific products, but the WSBA ranks are chockfull of lawyers full of ideas. Here are a few WSBA-approved gift ideas for the lawyer or law student in your life.

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7 Creepy Crawly Court Cases Worthy of Halloween

There is rarely levity in the court record, much less something that one would associate with the so-called “spooky season.” Understandably, a deep dive into historic court files rarely turns up anything that could fit under the more lighthearted side of Halloween. Because when a matter ends up in court, there’s rarely anything lighthearted about it. Even a search for keywords like “haunted,” “zombie,” or “ghoulish”—though they have that Halloweeney vibe on their own—most often brings up tales of actual horror.

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10 Popular Legal Podcasts You Should Hear

From advice backed by research to engaging storytelling to, perhaps, a little humor here and there, legal podcasts run the gamut regarding style and content. From learning the basics to polishing your skills in the legal field, listeners will get a good dose of legal wisdom from experts in the profession and related industries. Here are 10 popular legal podcasts you can, and should, listen to right now:

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Core Secrets: One Attorney’s Involvement in Legal Representation Regarding UFOs

As someone with a fortuitous front-row-seat to what my client, UFO researcher Grant Cameron, has called the greatest UFO Super Bowl event of all time, my formal baptism-by-fire into the U.S. government disclosure of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)/Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) began in earnest on Jan. 2, 2019 at 2:37 p.m. PST. It was then, that I received a strange, encrypted text message that, little did I realize, would change my life and many others across the planet. Now that UFOs (and the non-zero possibility of their extraterrestrial origins) are being confirmed by the Pentagon, the Department of Defense, and U.S. military agencies, it would only be prudent to get my fellow legal colleagues up to speed on these (possibly other-worldly) issues.

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Our Pandemic Movie Picks for Lawyers

For cinephiles, the past year has been the aphoristic blessing and curse: watch brand new titles from home, but find yourself yearning for the sticky floors caked in overpriced movie-theater foodstuff. Oddly enough for legal professionals, the past year has resulted in a plethora of movies, series, and shows based on the law, the people who practice it, and the lives affected by it. Here are a few of the top recommended things to view, compiled by the WSBA’s resident silver-and small-screen buffs.

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Eviction Resolution Program Gears Up as Washington’s Eviction Moratorium Nears Expiration

There’s a phrase you’ll hear a lot when you talk to people involved with Washington’s new Eviction Resolution Program (ERP): it’s a win-win-win. It’s a win for landlords who can recoup lost earnings from renters. It’s a win for courts ill equipped to handle what is expected to be an unprecedented crush of unlawful detainer cases (evictions). More than anything, it’s a win for the public, giving vulnerable renters desperately needed support with some of their basic survival needs as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt daily life.

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Lessons From Earth to Outer Space: Space Law, Elon Musk, and the Future of Mars

The history of space law can be traced to competition among developed countries that demanded new ground for growing political pretensions.

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WSBA at the Movies: Just Mercy

The first in our new legal film review series, “Just Mercy” comes under examination by our esteemed reviewers Paris Eriksen and Julianne Unite.

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WSBA Goes to the Movies

NWSidebar is proud to announce our latest release, “WSBA at the Movies”: lawyer movie reviews from two people who know lawyers and movies. We’re keeping tabs on new releases that have a legal bent and bring you a unique-point-of-view after they hit the box office.

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The Best Depictions of Lawyers in Movies and TV

Few jobs are featured more prominently on big and small screens than that of the lawyer. So we reached out to WSBA members on Facebook to learn about the greatest fictional lawyerings.

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Washington Rules to Make You Scream This Halloween: Completely Bizarre, but Totally Real Laws, Legislation, and Legal References

For those brave enough to peer through state and local law, spine-chilling statutes lurk in within those dark, foreboding places far below the subsections, buried within the municipal code, and deep in the docket.

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Close Encounters: A Discussion on UFOs and the Law with The Paranormal Lawyer

Michael W. Hall has been a WSBA member since 1988, but his non-lawyering time is where things gets more interesting—literally out of this world—earning him the moniker “The Paranormal Lawyer.”

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From Printed Page to Silver Screen: A Legal Primer on Taking Comics to Hollywood in 2019

It’s no secret that comic books supply much of the underlying source material for today’s most popular movies and television programs. In 2018, superhero movies dominated the box office with Black Panther alone bringing in $200 million in its opening weekend and wrapping up the year with a gross of $1.35 billion worldwide. While movies […]

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Meet the New WSBA President in the Latest Issue of NWLawyer

What do you get when you combine the set for “Seussical the Musical,” 400 Olympia teenagers, and … small-claims hearings? Why it’s Court in the Classroom, of course. Noel Brady breaks down how Thurston County District Court is bringing real-life courtroom experiences to students. In the latest issue of NWLawyer, you’ll also formally meet the […]

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A Lawyer, a Movie, and 30 Years of Tag

Patrick Schultheis has been practicing law for 29 years—about as long as his group of friends has been playing the same game of tag. Their story was first picked up by The Wall Street Journal, and has been covered by CBS Sunday Morning and ESPN as well. Now, after nearly 30 years of tag, the […]