Before Lawyer Boy was Lawyer Boy, Lawyer Boy was Magic Boy.

To a large degree, I still am. I’ve been performing magic since I was three, and I still do it every day.

My favorite magician has always been David Copperfield. The man has been on the cutting edge of the art of magic for about three decades now. His TV specials are the best BY FAR, and he updates his live show WAY more frequently than any other magician. He’s got a few tricks that completely baffle me, and that’s more than I can say about any other magician. The man is a living legend.

And now, as you probably heard, some 21-year-old Washington State woman says Copperfield hit her, raped her, and then offered her $2,000,000 to keep quiet. And this PISSES ME OFF. Why? Because that stuff came out in the grand jury…and it’s supposed to stay there! What pisses me off is that the 21-year-old’s story was leaked by no fewer than THREE law enforcement officials. This sort of thing DESTROYS a jury pool and ruins a celebrity’s image. And no charges have even been filed! The man hasn’t even been formally accused, in other words.

The man has brought joy to millions, so let’s give him a little bit of due process, okay?

If I were Copperfield’s PR guy, I’d spin it like this, “While these allegations are defamatory and baseless, we hope they put to rest, once and for all, rumors of Copperfield’s homosexuality.”

Seriously, though, does this piss anybody else off?

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Whenever I find myself having an interesting conversation, I feel obligated to put the person I’m chatting with on notice:

“You should know that I’m a writer and that I’ll probably use the conversation we’re having right now in some magazine story or book a few months down the line. So don’t tell me anything you don’t want to see in print.”

I’m not joking around here; I really do say that to people, and I say it all the time. I find that most people take it as a cue to spill their guts. Most people LOVE the idea that their stories might one day appear in print.

But it’s not all fun and games…

As I explained in a previous post, the girlfriend character in my book is Eastern European. She moved to America with her parents when she was a kid, studied art at college in Chicago, and works at a gallery. This description was totally made up…but as luck would have it, it perfectly describes Polish Girl…

(Presumably thinking about me)

…who I met several months AFTER the Lawyer Boy manuscript was complete.

So it seems like it shouldn’t be an issue from a legal standpoint, right? Well…check out the Release and Permission Form the St. Martin’s Press attorney gave me to give to Polish Girl to sign:

RELEASE AND PERMISSION FORM

“I have read relevant portions of the manuscript of Lawyer Boy (the “Book”), by Rick Lax (the “Author”), and I acknowledge and agree that the Victoria character in the Book does not refer to or represent me (and is not “of and concerning” me), but is instead a composite character who does not correspond to a real individual.

“I hereby forever release and discharge Macmillan and its corporate affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agent, successors and assigns, and the Author, from any and all claims, demands or causes of action arising out of or in connection with publication of the Book, including, without limitation, any and all claims for defamation, invasion of privacy (including disclosure of private facts), false light, right of publicity, breach of contract, copyright infringement, and violations of the Lanham Act.

“I, the undersigned, have read the foregoing and fully and completely understand its contents.

“AGREED AND ACCEPTED:

_____________________

YEAH. THAT’s what you get for dating me.

The moral of the story: if you leave any really thoughtful, humorous comments on this blog entry—and you definitely should!—you might find a similar form in your e-mail box in the near future, courtesy of Lawyer Boy.

Technorati Tags: writing, magazine, book, books, newspaper, waiver, legal form, document, sign, signature, polish, girl, polish girl, lawyer boy, lawyer, newsstand, writer, writing, publishing, law, dating, friends, friendship

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I wish I could tell you what I was for Halloween…

…only that information is classified at the present juncture.

(Lawyer Boy as Secret Agent Man with Dancer Girl as Pirate Girl)

(Lawyer Boy as Secret Agent Man with English Student Girl as Librarian Girl [quite a stretch—eh?])

Technorati Tags: halloween, agent, secret, secret agent, sunglasses, pirate, girl, dance, dancing, glasses, library, english, skull and crossbones, black tie, suit, ear, halloween party, dress up, dress, costume

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After a week of three-hour conversations, I finally wrapped things up with the St. Martin’s Press lawyer. He’s making sure St. Martin’s can’t be sued for anything I say in my upcoming law school memoir, LAWYER BOY.

This lawyer had plenty of work to do because I do say a lot of things about a lot of people in the book. That’s why, names, characteristics, and details of most of my classmates and professors have been completely changed—to protect people’s identities.

But some characters have not been changed, like the character “Elliott,” who is modeled on my friend “Elliott.” (Clever character name—no?) So in Elliott’s case, the St. Martin’s lawyer wants me to get a signed statement from Elliott saying that he’s cool with the way he’s represented in the book.

Now here’s the strange thing… The girlfriend character in the book is Eastern European. She moved to America with her parents when she was a kid, studied art at college in Chicago, and works at a gallery. This description, coincidentally, perfectly describes Polish Girl, the girl I’m dating now…who I met several months AFTER the manuscript was complete.

(Polish Girl’s latest work)

So from a legal standpoint, you’d think this wouldn’t be an issue. Well that’s what I thought, at least. But the lawyer says I should get a signed statement from Polish girl nonetheless.

Go figure.

Technorati Tags: poland, polish, legal, issue, signed statement, signature, art, modern, elliott, iphone, unknown, memoir, writing, book, publishing, st. martin’s press, lawyer, phone, talking, waiver

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LAWYER BOY: A Case Study on Growing Up

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So I’m talking with the St. Martin’s Press attorney today, going through my upcoming book, LAWYER BOY—did I mention it comes out in July?—and trying to figure out what things we can change to make sure we don’t get sued.

I have a professor character in the book, based on one of my real professors, and she mispronounces the term “mens rea,” so I compare her to George Bush, who mispronounces the term “nuclear.”

Bush says “nucular.” I quote linguist Geoffrey Nunberg, who says that Bush makes a point of mispronouncing the word because, essentially he can—he’s the one with the finger on the button. I say that the professor, who’s worked as a State Attorney for many years, probably, at some point, made a conscious decision to mispronounce the word because, well, she can; she’s the professor. She’s the State Attorney.

Well, the lawyer suggested I make some changes to avoid a possible defamation claim…and I’m wondering, what has the world come to when somebody might get charged with defamation for comparing somebody to the President of the United States?

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Quick! Somebody come up with a subtitle for my book by 5pm today!

LAWYER BOY: ___________________
By Rick Lax

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I don’t know how many of you used to watch Night Court, but I sure did.

The show starred Harry Anderson.

On Night Court, Anderson played a young judge who did magic…and Anderson is magician in real life too. I’ve bought his magic books and performed his routines. He’s one of my childhood heroes. So that’s why I’m SO excited to tell you that he just gave my upcoming book, LAWYER BOY, the following blurb:

“A very entertaining work by a clever, hopeful and unavoidably unscrupulous guy. My kinda book.”

-Harry Anderson

So did you guys watch Night Court or what?

Technorati Tags: harry, anderson, harry anderson, night court, tv, show, prime time, trial, bull, harry the hat, magic, magician, nbc, judge, honor, judge stone, rick lax, lawyer boy

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Today I came across this gem of a sentence in my Business Organization casebook. A hearty congratulations to anybody who can explain, in 25 words or less, what the hell it means:

“However, rather than stating positively that exculpation can be granted to protect directors who only breach their duty of care, section 102(b)(7) is worded in the negative; exculpation is allowed for any breach of fiduciary duty other than ‘any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty [or] any acts or omissions to act not in good faith…’”

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Some law students drink to dull their defeats, others drink to celebrate their victories….and still others drink for breakfast.

The member of the Committee on Character and Fitness will be pleased to know that I fall into the middle category.

I began celebrating my HUGE TRIAL VICTORY (see previous post) on Friday evening with my friend Bryn.

(I’m not sure what Bryn and I were going for in this picture, but it looks pretty suspicious…so take note, members of the Committee on Character and Fitness.)

Bryn is a student in New York and the ex-girlfriend of my friend Joe from the band Tally Hall.

The trial celebration—did I mention I WON?!—continued until Sunday night, which I spent with Polish Girl.

(Polish Girl [pictured on the right] is an aspiring hand model. She’s having trouble finding work due to the wrist tattoo.)

Polish Girl and I weren’t just celebrating my trial victor, we were celebrating her new job at ad agency Leo Burnett. Polish Girl, you see, is somewhat of an artist. Well that’s an understatement. Here’s some of her work:

My favorite’s the last one. What do YOU think of her work? Any art critics out there?

Technorati Tags: art, artist, polish, girl, painting, drinking, drinks, bryn, celebrate, trial, victory, law, rick lax, Brooklyn, tally hall, joe hawley, fauvism, cooking, canvas, ad, leo burnett, new job, job

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