Welcome to Blawg Review #186. Blawg Review is a weekly roundup of the best posts from the world of legal blogging. Each week Blawg Review is hosted by a different blog, which gives Blawg Review a unique perspective each week. Today is International Students’ Day, and as a current third-year law student I’ve included posts written by and of special interest to law students.

Technology: The Twitter Wars

Twitter, a cross between “social networking, blogging, and texting,” took center stage this week as legal bloggers debated the usefulness of the new networking platform. For a run down and the new technology and reasons why some attorneys are not embracing it, check out David Giacalone’s post about Twitter at f/k/a. In response to Mr. Giacalone’s post, Kevin O’Keefe at Real Lawyers Have Blogs posted reasons why Twitter is a valuable tool for lawyers. Scott Greenfield at Simple Justice offers more insight into what Twitter is, and how it can be an effective tool for lawyers. Meanwhile, over at Health Care Law Blog, Bob Coffield discusses the legal implications of a surprising development: live tweeting from the operating room during a surgery.

Daniel Schwartz at the Connecticut Employment Law Blog takes a look at whether social networking sites should be off-limits to discovery in discrimination suits. Ron Coleman at Likelihood of Confusion discusses the expectations of privacy for content uploaded to personal or social networking websites.

The Greatest American Lawyer writes about how advances in technology make the legal field a better place to work in by creating new opportunities for lawyers to take their practices anywhere in the world.

Richard Georges at FutureLawyer directs readers’ attention to ten things to look forward to with the next iteration of Windows, currently known as Windows 7.

Blake Boyd, a guest blogger at The Mac Lawyer, discusses various approaches to using technology in trial.

Politics

David Giacalone at f/k/a reports the Obama administration questionnaire has job applicants searching through shoe boxes, diaries, and old emails. Eugene Volokh at the Volokh Conspiracy notes the hostility toward legal gun ownership in the Obama administration’s appointment questionnaire. More excerpts from the questionnaire are available at Dean Paul Caron’s post here.

Balkinization takes a look at whether the Supreme Court’s ruling in Thornton prevents states from prohibiting convicted felons from becoming Senators.

International News

Mark Edwards at Concurring Opinions writes that recently released NSA documents establish that Julius Rosenberg was a Soviet spy, but suggests his wife Ethel Rosenberg’s execution was due, in part, to her refusal to provide the Justice Department with information regarding the spy network.

Jon Katz discusses why attorneys need to take special care in explaining to courts the language limitations faced by their clients and by those law officers with whom the clients attempt to communicate.

Duncan Hollis at Opinio Juris covers the international law implications of the Maldives’ search for a homeland with higher ground.

The Paper Chase discusses the International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor’s attempt to obtain warrants on Darfur rebel leaders.

Scott Greenfield at Simple Justice points out that there is simply no place for Nazis in a lawyer’s elevator pitch.

News of Interest to Law Students

Brian Lauter at The Shark points out that government work is becoming the new BigLaw.

Jordan Furlong at Law21 discusses the pressures facing the venerable LSAT.

Michael Law at Law Vibe provides solid advice on how to pass the bar exam the first time you take it.

Law Ingenue points readers to an article that offers a valuable lesson to young lawyers on the importance of being humble and guarding their reputations.

Professor Wayne Schiess at LegalWriting covers situations in which passive voice can be used effectively.

Luke Gilman at The Blawgraphy links to a story covering an Arizona State University law student who fought off an intruder to protect his notebook containing all his notes from the semester. Luke points also highlights an application that automatically backs up files stored on a laptop in case some does happen to your laptop.

For a roundup of other great posts by law students, be sure to check out The Legal Underground.

Supreme Court News

Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog provides a summary of Supreme Court’s decision not to review the test for “victim impact videos.”

Jonathan Adler at Volokh Conspiracy discusses whether the Sixth Circuit is overruling the Miranda decision.

Local News

Justice Scalia will be visiting Texas Tech School of Law today for the Sandra Day O’Connor Distinguished Lecture Series. Justice Scalia spent the weekend hunting with Texas Tech Law alumni and benefactor Mark Lanier.

Above the Law reports University of Texas School of Law seeks to double the school’s endowment by 2014 under the leadership of Dean Lawrence Sager.

Luke at The Blawgraphy also points out that Baylor Law School recently bestowed an honorary degree on a canine.

Community News

The National Arbitration Forum Blog celebrates its 4th Birthday.

Dan Hull at What About Clients discusses whether the curse of large firms is the “aggregation of narrow views.”

Enrico Schaefer at The Greatest American Lawyer discusses why clients perceive greater value when they can see, follow, and actively track the attorney’s work process.

Intellectual Property News

At first glance, publishers of open source software seem to have little use for copyright. A newly-minted lawyer over at IP’s What’s Up takes a look the seemingly straightforward proposition and comes to a surprising conclusion.

Interested in filing a trademark? Traverse Legal presents a podcast interview with Bryan Hall on the topic of trademark registration, and whether a person can register a trademarks or brands without the help of an attorney.

Patent Baristas serves up a new argument against “product hopping,” the process in which companies make small changes to products in order to avoid antitrust litigation.

Jeremy Phillips at IPKat sorted through numerous submissions from his readers and published a list of great intellectual property advice.

Joe Mullin at The Prior Act reveals that Britannica has revived an infamous new media patent to leverage claims against GPS manufacturers.

Mark Herrmann at Drug and Device Law discusses the implications of a California appellate court ruling last week that held the manufacturer of a pioneer drug could be held liable for a patient who ingested not the pioneer product, but rather a generic equivalent manufactured by a different company.

Humor

Is a note left in a chair really the best way to fire a managing partner? Lowering the Bar takes a look at the question.

Kristen Osenga at Concurring Opinions discusses “reasonable men,” “persons having ordinary skill in the art,” unicorns, and other mythical creatures.

Judge Jerry Buchmeyer’s Say What?! blog features an excerpt from voir dire that is sure to make you laugh.

Professor Gerry Beyer at Wills, Trusts, and Estates Prof Blog has an interesting post about a dead husband killing his wife.

That’s what She Said provides legal analysis Andy and Oscar’s antics from the latest episode of The Office.

Thank you to everyone who submitted posts for inclusion in this week’s Blawg Review. This Blawg Review would not have been possible without your help. A Blawg Review hosting opportunity is coming up, check out the Editor’s post: “Who will host MLK Day?” If you run have a story that you would like to submit to Blawg Review, check out the submission guidelines and form here. LawyerCasting will be hosting next week. Blawg Review has information about next week’s host, and instructions how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.