VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY

Friday, 4 December 2009 

Volume 62, Number 14 

INSIDE 

Mind Your Manners Studying for Exams............................................ 2 

Take Your Tastebuds on an Eastern Carpet Ride…............................. 2 

Mr. Fox Steals More than your Attention…........................................ 3 

Giving Credit to the Importance of Credit.......................................... 3 

VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY 

The Newspaper of the University of Virginia School of Law Since 1948 

Another Season, Another Championship: 

GUS Captures Co-Rec Title 

Jessica Brown ’10 

Associate News Editor 

Andy Howlett ’10 

News Editor 

This season the hunt for the 

coveted NGSL title began with 36 

teams, including 14 first-year sections, 

transfer or LLM teams, nine 

journal or organization teams, 

seven unaffiliated teams, and six 

second- or third-year section teams. 

On Tuesday night, under the lights 

of Park, it ended as GUS soundly 

defeated Shaw-ty’s Little Law Review 

in the championship game. 

The action started on Tuesday 

with the semifinal match between 

Chalk and Shaw-ty’s Little, which 

was pushed to this week after rain 

delays prevented the game from 

being played before Thanksgiving 

break. While the game was close, 

critical errors in the field plagued 

the Chalk squad, who fell to their 

opponent 14-10. 

GUS, who had advanced to the 

finals with a victory 22-12 over 

the Cannibals, took the field immediately 

after the semifinal game 

concluded and the championship 

game commenced. Shaw-ty’s Little, 

who were defending the NGSL 

title they earned last season when 

they played as K-Lite, took up the 

bats first. However, the defending 

champions were unable to get any 

offense going in the first inning, despite 

a solid hit from first-year Allison 

Lansell. 

After blanking Shaw-ty’s Little in 

the top of the first inning, GUS posted 

its first run in the bottom of the 

inning, thanks to a solo shot from 

third-year Andrew Mellon. However, 

Shaw-ty’s Little was quick to 

answer back; they earned their first 

run of the game with an RBI from 

second-year Paul Feinstein in the 

top of the second and then retired 

three straight GUS batters. 

In the third, after GUS shortstop 

Mellen saved two runs with 

a throw to first base, GUS posted 

three more runs in the bottom of 

the inning thanks to RBIs from Mellen 

and second-year Stephen Crenshaw. 

Ending the top of the inning 

with his arm, Mellen ended the 

bottom with his feet when he was 

tagged for the third out at the plate 

after attempting to take home. 

In the top of the fourth, a hit from 

second-year Bryan Wright and a 

two run homer from second-year 

Tripp Parks tied the score 4-4, bringing 

up in the bottom of the inning. 

GUS third-year Nathan Wacker 

lead-off with a single and an extra 

base, and was followed by thirdyear 

Sarah Davis who had a single 

of her own. After third-year Doug 

Bouton hit an RBI single, third-year 

Stephen Wendell sent a ball off the 

arm of Shaw-ty’s Little pitcher Jen 

Nelson deep over the center-field 

fence, driving in three runs. Thanks 

to another RBI by second-year Chris 

Browne, GUS led Shaw-ty’s 9-4 by 

the end of the fourth. 

There would be no coming back 

from this deficit. Despite RBI’s 

from Shaw-ty’s Little players Feinstein 

and Brian Pishko in later innings, 

the squad was never able 

to close the deficit opened in the 

fourth inning. GUS defeated Shawty’s 

Little with a final score of 10-6, 

with GUS’s final run coming off of 

a home run by third-year Brendan 

photo by Andy Howlett ’10 

Sarah Davis ’10 waits at second base. A home run from Stephen Wendell 

’10 would send her home. 

Thomas. 

With solid playing in the field 

by both teams, the outcome of the 

game ultimately came down to 

hitting. While the North Grounds 

Bombers struggled early in the 

playoffs to put runs on the board, 

their performance in the semifinals 

and finals marked a return to form, 

harkening back the GUS teams of 

old. And with all members returning 

to the team for next year, GUS 

will be in good shape as it aims for 

its first fall-spring sweep since the 

’04-’05 campaigns. 

PILA Reports Decrease in Funding, Grant Amounts 

While the recession has led to 

a surge in interest in first- and 

second-year students who are 

seeking to work at public interest 

positions this summer, it has 

also affected the sources of funding 

available for students seeking 

such work. 

Last week, third-year Public 

Interest Law Association (PILA) 

President Susan Edwards sent an 

email to all of the organization’s 

members announcing that the 

amount the PILA grants was going 

to be decreased from what it 

had been in previous years. 

PILA grants have been the major 

source for students at the Law 

School who are seeking public 

interest funding. Last year, the 

Law Weekly reported 66 first-years 

and 15 second-years relied on 

PILA grants to fund their summer 

work. 

Edwards told the Law Weekly 

she did not know how many 

grants PILA would be able to 

fund this year under the reduced 

amounts. “Because PILA doesn’t 

have a clear financial picture yet, 

meaning we don’t know exactly 

how much money we will have 

to disburse, it is impossible to 

pinpoint a number of expected 

2L grants,” said Edwards, adding 

that PILA also does not know 

how many first-year students 

would apply for first-year grants, 

or what their qualifications would 

be, so it would be impossible 

to predict how many first-year 

grants PILA would be in place to 

offer as well. 

According to Edwards, two 

factors determined the amount 

of the decrease. First, she noted, 

the previous amounts in place 

were meant to secure $6,000 for 

second-years and $3,500 for firstyears 

after taxes, but PILA “determined 

that the vast majority of 

students should not have to pay 

taxes on PILA fellowships, and 

as a consequence, PILA has overpaid 

students above the intended 

amount of a fellowship the past 

two years.” 

The second factor, according 

to Edwards, is the anticipated 

decrease in funding PILA will be 

receiving this year. “PILA will 

likely have less funds overall to 

distribute this year,” Edwards 

said in her letter. Speaking to the 

Law Weekly, she elaborated: “PILA 

expects L-STAR [a program in 

which students going on callbacks 

stay with or get rides from 

friends, and the firm donates the 

money saved to PILA] will bring 

in about $8,000-$10,000 less than 

last year.” 

Direct donations from law firms 

were also down: “Last year, the 

Auction received approximately 

$7,000-$8,000 in donations from 

firms, which [itself] was a significant 

decrease from 2007. This 

year, the Auction only received 

$500 in donations from firms.” 

As a result of the decreased 

funding, PILA has also decreased 

the cap—the amount of total 

income a student is allowed to 

make while still receiving a grant, 

including the grant itself. If a student 

makes more than the cap 

amount, the excess will have to 

be returned to PILA. In previous 

years the number was $12,000 for 

first- and second-years; this year 

the number has been reduced to 

$8,000. 

These adjustments are also necessary, 

says Edwards, because 

PILA is anticipating an increase 

in applications in the down economy. 

As less students—especially 

second-year students—are able to 

obtain lucrative firm jobs during 

the summer, more turn to public 

interest. This year 42 students applied 

for second-year grants in the 

fall application round, up from 18 

last year. More are likely to apply 

in the spring. 

At least some second-years 

have already been informed of 

their application status. Jaque 

Leonard, who received a grant 

for work this summer with the 

Natural Resources Defense 

Council (NRDC) in New York, 

told the Law Weekly that she was 

very grateful to have received a 

grant, adding that, “I know that 

the PILA board was faced with a 

deluge of 2L applicants and had 

difficult decisions to make in a 

market flooded with people interested 

in working for nonprofits.” 

In light of the fact that a student 

may have an even more difficult 

time obtaining a PILA grant 

than in years’ past, Edwards encouraged 

students to seek alternative 

sources of funding, noting 

that a list of such sources is 

available from the Law School’s 

Public Service Center. She also 

thanked students and faculty for 

their continued support of PILA. 

around north 

grounds 

Thumbs down to 

professors who hold 

a democratic vote on 

the last day of class 

to determine the format of the 

final. ANG might not have 

tried so hard during the semester 

if ANG knew the exam 

would be take-home true-false 

questions to be completed in 

groups. 

Thumbs up to the 

firing of UVA football 

coach Al Groh. 

A hint for whomever 

replaces him next year: 

Don’t lose to William & Mary. 

Thumbs down 

to Charlottesville 

charging fees for 

those who need an 

ambulance. ANG’s post-exams 

celebration just got that 

much more difficult to budget. 

purpose. 

Thumbs up to those 

advancing in Moot 

Court. . . . at least, 

those who did so on 

Thumbs down to 

people who study at 

the gym. ANG recognizes 

that Thomas 

Jefferson recommended getting 

two hours of exercise every 

day, but it’s highly unlikely 

he meant to include reading 

a casebook on a treadmill 

moving at a speed that only 

under the most generous definitions 

qualifies as walking. 

Whatever gains in your health 

this activity might achieve will 

be lost when those patiently 

waiting for a machine beat you 

senselessly in the parking lot 

and heave your beaten, unconscious 

body into the dumpster 

behind North Grounds Gym. 

Thumbs up to 

Westlaw providing 

chocolate-covered 

pretzels and baked 

goods at the bookstore. Sweets 

are getting ANG through finals 

this year. Now, if only 

Westlaw could provide something 

to get ANG through 

Type II diabetes. 

Thumbs up to Prof. 

Nachbar checking 

out the Terracotta 

warriors at the National 

Geographic Museum. 

A bunch of similarly dressed 

stone-faced figures staring 

blankly ahead oblivious to the 

passage of time . . . couldn’t 

have been that different from 

teaching a class.

2 Reviews & Features 



Abundant Flavor from Morocco, Afghanistan 

Natasha Heidari ’10 

Reviewer 

Al Hamraa 

I love ethnic food and, surprisingly, 

Charlottesville is a great 

place to get it. Al Hamraa is one 

of the best Moroccan restaurants 

I’ve experienced. The location 

is rather unfortunate (in the Ix 

Building on 2nd St. SE in the 

middle of nowhere), but works 

with the elegant décor to create 

an exotic experience. The seating 

is comfortable, and the food is 

tapas-style and suitable for sharing. 

Now, the food. Of the five or six 

dishes that I sampled, everything 

was very flavorful and very delicious. 

But two in particular were 

absolutely incendiary. The first 

was the Meakouda, potato and 

cilantro cakes. I was skeptical at 

first because I’m not a cilantro fan. 

I really think that people overdo 

cilantro way too often. Nevertheless, 

I ordered the Meakouda and 

was pleasantly surprised: They 

were salty (but not too salty), had 

a great consistency, and were 

bursting with other flavors, not 

just cilantro. 

The second dish that inflamed 

my palate (in a good way) was 

the Tangine of the day. Tangine 

is a traditional dish (often a stew) 

cooked in a clay pot. I’m a sucker 

for lamb, especially when cooked 

the Moroccan way with caramelized 

fruit on top. This one in particular 

was a lamb dish with caramelized 

onions and pears. The 

lamb was perfectly tender and 

shredded, and the pear added the 

perfect mix of savory and sweet 

that I love. 

Being the near-germaphobe 

that I am, I love that, before and 

after the meal, your server brings 

out a hand-washing pitcher and 

bowl with warm water to wash 

your hands (Also, this way I 

know that the people I’m sharing 

my tapas with have adequately 

washed their hands prior to sticking 

them in my food). 

Go to Al Hamraa on a Friday 

or Saturday to experience their 

lovely belly dancer. Not only 

does she add to the exotic nature 

of your experience there, but belly 

dancing is really just fun to watch. 

While I haven’t been there for it, 

the restaurant has Latin Night on 

Tuesdays, where you drink and 

dance the night away to Latin 

music. 

Al Hamraa also has a liquor license, 

but I must admit that there 

was nothing special about the 

wine that I ordered there (though 

I didn’t go there for the wine). 

Nevertheless, Al Hamraa is the 

place to smoke hookah (from 10 

p.m.-1:30 a.m.). I can’t say anything 

about their hookah from 

experience except that their selection 

seemed quite extensive. 

Ariana Kabob 

As a Persian, I feel like I know 

good kabobs. Not just kabobs, but 

the side dishes, rice, bread, and 

salad that are supposed to accompany 

kabobs, too. So I hope you 

trust me when I say that Ariana 

Kabob is a place you should visit 

if you like kabobs. (I feel like when 

I write reviews of restaurants, every 

restaurant is “the best.” But it 

occurred to me that the reason for 

that is I only write reviews about 

restaurants I love. So it’s not like I 

love every restaurant in Charlottesville—quite 

the contrary, really. 

It’s only those restaurants that 

deserve my attention that I write 

to you about.) Ariana Kabob is located 

on West Main St. across from 

the Hampton Inn. 

Like Al Hamraa, Ariana Kabob 

is owned and operated by people 

who share the same ethnic background 

as the food they serve. In 

this case, the food is Afghani-style 

kabobs. I’ve tried several things at 

Ariana, and everything has independently 

blown my mind: from 

the (extremely) long-grain basmati 

rice to the perfectly juicy and tender 

meat they serve. The barbari 

flatbread that they serve with every 

kabob meal is made in-house. 

I must say that I have never had 

such delicious or such fresh bread 

since I last visited Iran with my 

family when I was 12. Eleven years 

later, I’m smitten with Ariana Kabob. 

The samosas that are served at 

Ariana Kabob are crunchy, savory, 

and spiced particularly well. While 

the samosas are my favorite appetizer 

here, I would recommend 

the Baudinjan Buranee (baudinjan 

means eggplant) because these are 

made particularly well. A small order 

would be more than enough to 

share between two or three people. 

The first time I went to Ariana 

Kabob, I ordered the Kofta-Kabob, 

a combination of ground meat, onion, 

and spices formed on a skewer. 

This type of kabob is my dad’s specialty, 

so I was curious to see how 

Ariana’s would hold up. While not 

photo courtesy of c-ville.com 

Al Hamraa might not be the place to go for wine, but doubles as a 

late-night hookah bar. 

as juicy as my dad’s, I was very impressed 

with their Kofta-Kabobs 

and am eager to take my parents 

there to try for themselves. The 

Kofta-Kabobs are incredibly flavorful 

and hands down the best I’ve 

had at a restaurant. 

If kabobs aren’t your thing, 

though, you should go to Ariana 

Kabob and order the Gyro Wrap 

or Platter. The meat and homemade 

yogurt sauce are all spiced 

wonderfully, and it is easily my 

favorite dish there. (I prefer the 

platter because it comes on a slab 

of barbari.) All in all, Ariana Kabob 

is worth a visit sometime 

soon. 

Smitha Dante 

Executive Editor 

Contributor: 

Columnist: 

Reviewer: 

Dan Rosenthal 

Benjamin Grosz 

Natasha Heidari 

Published weekly on Friday except during holiday and examination periods and serving the 

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EDITORIAL POLICY: The Virginia Law Weekly publishes letters and columns of interest to the Law 

School and the legal community at large. Views expressed in such submissions are those of the author(s) 

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over 700 words may not be accepted. The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit all submissions 

for length, grammar, and clarity. Although every effort is made to publish all materials meeting our 

guidelines, we regret that not all submissions received can be published. 

As finals loom, here are some reminders 

from past Law Weekly issues 

(with annotations from your friendly 

library staff in italics) to help make the 

end of the semester easier for everyone. 

Abuses of the (Currently Friendly) 

Food Policy: 

“Thumbs down to those 

who feel that the library 

is the perfect locale for 

your seven-course meal. 

The library staff reminds you that 

although vending machine snacks 

are allowed, meals are forbidden.” 

(In particular, please leave smelly, 

noisy, or messy foods at home. For 

your convenience, snacks are available 

from the recently installed MyLab 

vending machine, and keep an eye out 

for free finals candy, coffee, and tape 

flags from the Library!) 

Adverse Possession: 

“Thumbs down to people 

who spread their 

stuff out in the library, 

then leave it there all 

day, even when they leave to go to 

classes. To you offenders out there, 

think of the library as though it 

were the D3 lot: As much as you 

wish you could and think you’re 

entitled to, you can’t reserve a 

space for yourself. (Also, solostudiers, 

please allow study groups to 

use the seven designated group study 

spaces. To reserve a group study 

room, sign-up in the binders located 

outside the doors to the study rooms. 

If your studying involves multimedia, 

make use of our relocated media area 

at the back of the reserve room on the 

first floor.) 

Personal Hygiene: 

“Thumbs down to the 

person who sat at a table 

in the library and cut his 

fingernails, then didn’t 

UVA Law Library Code of Etiquette 

clean up the clippings. You, sir, 

are filthy, and make ANG wish 

that the admissions office had a 

policy of retro-rejecting students 

who were obvious mistakes.” 

Restricted Access Policy: 

“Thumbs up to students 

who, unable to find an 

available table, alert the 

library staff of non-law 

students using the library for nonlaw-related 

reasons. Remember, 

only you can prevent library usurpation.” 

(No vigilantes, please. The 

staff will help you. But if there are 

tables available and the interlopers are 

not loud or disruptive, then study and 

let study!) 

Noise: 

“Thumbs down to the 

lack of a sign in the library 

reading: ‘Guess 

what? You’re in the library, 

and everyone can hear you 

talking. And, if you didn’t know 

this, cell phone companies have 

this sweet invention called Voice 

Mail. It was created specifically 

so you don’t have to answer your 

phone—say, in the library, perhaps—and 

instead can wait, and 

call the person back. Kind of like 

what someone with an ounce of 

common sense would do.’” (If you 

do need to take that call right away, 

make use of MyLab, the designated 

cell-phones-allowed area.) 

“Thumbs down to people 

who talk in the library. 

Seriously, knock 

it the @#%$ off!” 

“Thumbs down to 1Ls 

in the gunner pit taking 

calls and speaking at full 

volume. Hiding behind 

a pillar does not mean that no one 

can hear you.” 

“Thumbs down to loud 

headphones in the library. 

ANG is going to 

have a hard enough time 

learning all of Corporations in 72 

hours without ‘Womanizer’ banging 

in ANG’s head.” 

PDA: 

“Thumbs down to students 

cuddling and 

Eskimo kissing in the 

library. Inappropriate 

and awkward public displays of 

affection: yet another reason why 

law school is like high school.” 

Common Sense: 

“Thumbs up to the library 

staff for responding 

to recent thefts by offering 

to hold students’ 

laptops at the circulation desk for 

short periods of time, but not taking 

any responsibility if they are 

stolen. Double thumbs up if the 

library employees turn out to be 

an underground ring of criminal 

masterminds.” (Keep in mind that 

leaving valuables unattended in public 

is not a great idea. You can check 

your laptop at the circulation desk 

if you don’t want to carry it around 

with you.) 

Power Play: 

Just a reminder: Power strips and extension 

cords are available for checkout 

at the circulation desk! We’re 

working on expanding the number of 

outlets on the library’s second floor, 

with new desktop lamps equipped 

with outlets at several of the tables 

next to the Spies Garden windows. 

Take a second while you’re studying 

and use the comment boxes next to the 

lamps to let us know what you think of 

this new addition!


Kara Allen ’10 

Reviews Editor 

Fantastic Mr. Fox: I Dare You to 

Look Away 

A school chum of mine (well, not 

so much ‘chum’ as ‘nemesis’) once 

remarked that I look as though a 

child dressed me. So perhaps it 

comes as no surprise that I have been 

more excited about the release of the 

children’s film Fantastic Mr. Fox than 

any other movie this year. The combination 

of director Wes Anderson, 

author Roald Dahl, and a stellar cast 

was sure to create a movie I’d find 

watchable. Plus, foxes are really cool. 

The movie was more than watchable—it 

renders its audience incapable 

of looking away. The opening 

scene shows Mr. Fox (voiced 

appropriately by George Clooney) 

on top of a hill, and I might have 

spent the rest of the movie thinking 

about how much I wanted to pet 

him if the scene had not quickly cut 

to a mesmerizing action sequence 

in which Fox and his wife Felicity 

(Meryl Streep) perform a series of 

couples’ acrobatics. The film uses the 

painstaking stop-action technique, 

and the precision required for that 

technique crosses over visually into 

every aspect of the film. The bulk of 

its entertainment value derives from 

aesthetics. The use of the animals’ 

eyes to portray various states was 

hilariously effective. 

While the visual aspect was by far 

the movie’s greatest strength, it was 

also a quality film in other respects. 

The plot was fairly fast-paced without 

being complicated. After Felicity 

tells him she is pregnant, Fox promises 

to ‘give up the business,’ which 

is, of course, stealing chickens and 

various other fowl from the local 

farmers. Years later, as an underread, 

underpaid columnist (not sure 

what that would be like), he decides 

to move his family to a tree. His new 

neighbors happen to be “three of the 

meanest, nastiest, ugliest” farmers 

around: Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. 

The three produce items so delectable, 

Fox soon contemplates a return 

to his former profession. Given that 

those items include the world’s most 

potent alcoholic cider, I could understand 

the temptation. 

The characters were well-developed 

by an excellent cast of voices. 

Fox is a slightly more nuanced variation 

of the same role George Clooney 

has been playing for the last few 

years. He has some great quirks such 

as his “trademark” and carrying 

around a Walkman he uses to accent 

any momentous occasion. He is also 

unusually fond of starting random 

celebratory group dances. While 

I’d like to think Wes Anderson understands 

the importance of spontaneous 

dance in everyday life, he 

probably just realized how visually 

appealing it is to watch stop-action 

woodland creatures dancing. 

There is also a strong supporting 

cast. As the best actor among them, 

it was unsurprising that Streep provided 

the most emotional moments. 

At one point she moves Fox to tears, 

and I might have gotten something 

in my eye at that same moment. Jason 

Schwartzman does a great job 

voicing the Foxes’ somewhat “different” 

son Ash, also because that character 

is very similar to characters he’s 

played for the past few years. Ash 

wants to be an athlete like his dad, 

VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY Columns & Reviews 3 

image courtesy of atomicpopcorn.net 

In England, animals wear suits during the work week. 

but his shortcomings become all 

the more apparent once his talented 

Cousin Kristofferson (Eric Anderson) 

moves in. The tension between 

them makes for an interesting and 

substantive subplot. Other notable 

characters include a spacey opossum 

sidekick (Wally Wolodarsky), 

his gruff lawyer, Badger (Bill Murray), 

and a scary French rat voiced 

by Willem Dafoe. 

The messages of the movie might 

have been accurate, but were maybe 

a little adult for a children’s film. 

There were two principle themes: 

one from the main plot, and one 

from the subplot. The subplot theme 

was a variation of “it’s okay to be 

different; everyone has their own 

strengths.” That was much better 

than the typical “it’s okay to be different; 

you can always have a montage 

makeover to become cool.” 

The main theme, however, was a 

little troubling. Fox’s chicanery inevitably 

leads to some dangerous consequences. 

He explains his actions as 

inevitable: He’s a wild animal who 

can’t control his nature. Though he 

apologizes for his actions, the movie 

never takes the theme beyond this 

idea. There is no lesson learned: Foxes 

will steal, and keep stealing, no 

matter how badly their consciences 

might twinge. While UVA students 

have already discovered that reality 

Financial Fiduciary* 

SBA Notebook: The Finals 

Countdown 

Dan Rosenthal ’10 

SBA President 

Thank you to everyone who filled 

out this year’s SBA Survey. We have 

gotten an excellent response rate 

and I think your responses will be 

very helpful in making sure that the 

SBA focuses on the issues you care 

about most the rest of the school 

year. I plan on detailing some of the 

highlights of the survey in a column 

early next semester. 

So I guess there is no denying it 

anymore: Finals are officially upon 

us. Although this is certainly not 

the most enjoyable time of the year 

for anyone, we at the SBA are firm 

believers in the healing powers of 

free coffee and pizza. With the help 

of BarBri, the SBA will be sponsoring 

periodic pizza and coffee breaks 

throughout the reading period and 

exam schedule. Keep an eye out for 

signs and emails to let you know 

when to emerge from your study 

hibernation for some much deserved 

sustenance. 

Need an outline to help you with 

your exam preparation? Have an 

outline that you believe is a work 

of art and should be admired by 

others? Visit the SBA Outline Bank 

at http://www.virginiasba.com/ 

Eservices_ol.aspx. Since the Outline 

Bank is only as useful as the outlines 

it contains, I encourage you to take 

the time to browse through the outlines 

that are currently offered and 

firsthand this semester, I’m not sure 

it’s wise to tell children that a person 

(or animal) is incapable of changing 

their destructive habits. That’s a lesson 

they can take years to learn later 

through a string of failed relationships. 

Then again, Fantastic Mr. Fox 

is in reality a children’s movie for 

adults. While the cute animals and 

the visual jokes might appeal to 

children, the dialogue and themes 

submit your own as well. Come on, 

a well-formatted outline is as close 

to an arts and crafts project as a law 

student gets; you know you want to 

share yours. 

Unfortunately we are still working 

out some technical glitches 

with the Outline Bank so it might 

be difficult to upload your outlines 

under the “Fall 2009” dropdown 

menu. If this is the case, I would 

urge you to please include the line 

“This is a Fall 2009 outline” in the 

field labeled “Extra Description of 

Outline.” I know this is a bit annoying 

so I really do apologize for that. 

Again, thanks to all of you who 

have taken the time to upload your 

outlines. 

You should have already 

seen “RESERVED” signs placed 

throughout the library, Scott Commons, 

the fishbowl, and the Slaughter 

Conference Rooms signaling 

that these areas are reserved for law 

students and legal research only 

during the exam period. The library 

will have extended hours during 

this time and will be open from 6 

a.m.–2 a.m. on November 30–December 

17. Beginning December 3, 

law students wishing to study outside 

of the library can use WB 152. 

Non-law students can be directed 

to WB 154. Please, don’t all scream 

for joy at once. 

Good luck to all of you on your 

upcoming exams. Thanks for reading 

and have a great Winter Break. 

are intended for an adult audience. 

The kids will be so distracted by the 

animals leaping around wearing 

tweed clothing, however, that they 

won’t mind that they don’t really get 

why you’re laughing. Now is probably 

the time for me to make some 

lame closing joke about how Fantastic 

Mr. Fox is indeed fantastic. But 

we’re all sophisticated, articulate law 

students—I’m sure you can think of 

one on your own. 

Building Good Credit Can Save You Money, Help You Get a Job 

What is credit and why does it 

matter? What should law students 

know and do to ensure that they 

Benjamin Grosz ’11 

Columnist 

have good credit 

that will serve 

them well in life? 

Good credit can 

enable you to buy a car or house; 

bad credit can prevent you from getting 

a job or renting an apartment. 

If you’ve never heard of “FICO” or 

checked your “bureau report,” this 

column will help you understand 

what I’m talking about and what 

you can do so that credit is on your 

side. 

(As credit cards are part of any 

discussion of credit, I should disclose 

that I spent five years before 

law school working for Capital One, 

a major credit card company.) 

As always, I aim to offer practical 

tips and advice that you can use to 

improve your financial situation. 

Why Your Credit Matters 

Credit enables people to buy 

things without paying for them up 

front. This can be convenient and 

incredibly useful. On a small scale, 

when a friend spots you a dollar to 

buy a soda from the vending machines, 

they are extending you credit. 

On a larger scale, most Americans 

would be unable to purchase homes 

without credit as very few people 

have hundreds of thousands of dollars 

in spare cash. Similarly, credit 

in the form of student loans enables 

many to attend college. 

Credit involves the ability to borrow 

money; if you lack good credit 

you may be unable to borrow money 

or else it can cost you more to do 

so. If you have good credit you will 

probably find it much easier to borrow 

money. 

How people use credit also indicates 

their responsibility and trustworthiness. 

Employers regularly 

check the credit of job applicants 

and you can lose a job offer for having 

bad credit. Many landlords will 

check your credit when you apply 

for an apartment. Law firms, businesses, 

and government agencies 

tend not to want employees with a 

documented history of irresponsible 

behavior or dishonesty. Likewise, 

landlords prefer tenants with a demonstrated 

history of responsible behavior 

and timely payments. 

Your credit will even affect how 

much you have to pay for insurance. 

Companies have found that people 

who use credit responsibly tend to 

behave more responsibly generally. 

Because you’re less likely to be in a 

car accident or have an accidental 

fire, you pay less for insurance. 

Credit Scores & Bureaus 

Your credit score or “FICO score” 

is simply a number that is used to 

measure your creditworthiness. 

These scores range between 300 

and 850 with a higher score being 

better. A score above 720 is typically 

considered pretty good; below 

660 is not so good. As lenders are 

tightening credit standards during 

the current recession, you may 

need a score as high as 780 to get the 

most favorable (i.e. least costly) loan 

terms. 

Credit bureaus are companies 

that collect credit-related records 

on individuals. They gather information 

such as how much money 

you have borrowed, whether you 

pay it back as promised, whether 

you make payments on time, and 

whether there are legal judgments 

against you. The three major U.S. 

credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, 

and TransUnion. Each has 

a massive database filled with information 

on you and every other 

American. 

Building Good Credit 

The best way to build good credit 

is to demonstrate that you use it responsibly. 

Pay your bills and loans 

on time. When you borrow money, 

pay it back as agreed. Avoid 

bankruptcy and default, as these 

can have a very negative impact 

on your credit. Most law students 

will have a credit history from their 

student loans. However, if you do 

not have any credit history, a credit 

card can be a good tool with which 

to build your history. I would recommend 

getting a no annual fee 

credit card to build credit, provided 

that you trust yourself not to go out 

and buy a bunch of things that you 

can’t afford. You don’t even need 

to use the card to build your credit 

history; you can keep it in a drawer. 

Check Your Credit Reports 

The best practice is to check 

your credit report from each major 

credit bureau once a year. There 

are three important reasons you 

should check your credit reports 

annually: (1) Credit bureaus make 

mistakes. You’re much better off 

finding (and correcting) any errors 

before they impact your ability to 

get a job, apartment, or loan, (2) 

Checking your credit reports can 

identify if you are ever a victim of 

identity theft, and (3) You can know 

the information that your prospective 

employer, landlord, or lender 

will see. 

The good news is that you can get 

your free credit reports annually at 

www.AnnualCreditReport.com. I 

would suggest that you either check 

all three reports at the same time 

once a year (simplest approach) or 

stagger them out and check a report 

from a different bureau every four 

months (to flag issues sooner). 

You should also be aware that 

many companies have set up websites 

that seem to offer “free” credit 

reports, but actually sign customers 

up for an expensive monthly credit 

service. Few people need these services. 

In fact, one particular website 

(freecreditreport.com) paid the FTC 

more than a million dollars to settle 

charges of deceiving consumers. 

To recap, credit really matters. 

You should use credit responsibly 

and monitor your credit reports annually. 

Starting these habits now 

can help you get a job, a cell phone, 

and an apartment. It can also save 

you thousands of dollars during the 

course of your life. 

email: blg3h@virginia.edu 

*Columnist’s Note: I strive to offer 

sincere, good faith advice in this 

column, although we do not legally 

enter into a fiduciary relationship 

when you read it. 

Benjamin Grosz ’11 is founder and 

principal of Grosz Financial Planning, 

LLC and is a candidate for CFP Board’s 

certification.

4 The Back Page 



Exams: It’s Not What You Know, It’s Where 

You Don’t Know It 

Upon being informed this 

is my last column of the semester, 

it occurred to me that, 

Chris Mincher ’11 

Columnist 

more than likely, 

exams would be 

starting soon. Admittedly, 

some 

might be more tuned in to the 

academic calendar, but that’s 

only because these people are 

totally freaking themselves out 

about studying. Me? Studying 

doesn’t stress me out. Why 

would it? It’s not like professors 

are critiquing how well or 

long I study—hell, no one really 

even knows whether I bother 

to study or not! So that part’s 

easy. The tests, on the other 

hand . . . those sometimes give 

me trouble. 

People talk of the intense 

exam atmosphere: the rapid 

clicking of laptop keys, the 

hastened shuffling through 

papers, the bursts of profanity, 

the choked-back sobs, the 

wrenching screams of those 

who choose to fail with honor 

by submitting a death poem in 

lieu of an exam and committing 

somewhat inefficient seppuku 

with their Hogan & Hartson 

promotional pens. But the feeling 

I derive from lecture halls is 

far from acute panic caused by 

the high-pressure environment. 

Instead, for whatever reason, 

being in a classroom tends to 

quickly lull me into a fanciful 

world of sleepy daydreams, 

one where I’m roused every 

five minutes to check my email. 

This may have helped make 

the semester go by quickly, 

but it is decidedly unhelpful 

during the few hours I have to 

complete a test. As such, I’ve 

had to search out new venues 

in which to take exams, considering 

the many, many factors 

(other than “lack of legal 

knowledge”) that I have cited 

frequently to employers in excusing 

away disturbingly poor 

performance. Here, I share 

with you some tips on prime 

test-taking locales that have 

been oddly underutilized by 

the student body so far. This is 

perhaps because they are not 

technically designated examtaking 

areas; but how can you 

tell what you’re doing is wrong 

if there’s no honor pledge in the 

vicinity to remind you of it? 

The first thing to consider 

in choosing an exam space is 

whether your surroundings 

will compel fast work. I’ve 

surveyed the law school, and, 

for me, pretty much the entire 

complex does not fulfill this requirement. 

On the other hand, 

some of the most rapid work 

I’ve ever done has been completed 

in the front seat of my 

car. Sitting there, parked directly 

outside whatever venue 

at which the work is overdue, 

has, through the years, inspired 

many different levels 

of creative efficiency. With a 

laptop crammed up against 

the steering wheel, my cup of 

coffee sloshing as I continually 

bump my knee up against 

it, and stacks of disorganized 

papers hastily shoved up on 

the dashboard, certain truisms 

take hold: 1) I’m out of time; 2) 

I need to hand over something, 

anything at all, really; and 3) 

if I fail miserably, I probably 

needed to adopt more modest 

life ambitions anyway. 

Whereas a little informed 

stream-of-consciousness can 

usually help pad out a finished 

product, law school exams 

require a lot more. These 

realizations help open the 

floodgates, turning a stream 

of consciousness into a full-on 

debris-flow-of-consciousness, 

carrying damaged remnants of 

mangled legal information that 

surges unceremoniously onto 

the page. Plus, taking a final in 

the front seat of my car means 

that, even if the test is really going 

poorly, I can at least enjoy 

blasting my Whitesnake best-of 

CD as loud as I want while applying 

for jobs at RadioShack. 

Of course, staying inside the 

Law School has the benefit of 

extra time for mindlessly typing 

whatever pops into your 

head. The downside, however, 

is that one then has to deal with 

other students taking their exams 

as well. Some prefer to 

take their exams in Slaughter 

Hall, because, they say, there 

are fewer people in the rooms. 

Of course there are: Walking 

to Slaughter can take as long 

as two minutes—90 seconds of 

which immediately become a 

time advantage to competitors 

who rush into the first Withers- 

Brown lecture hall they see. 

I prefer to one-up even these 

folks, by taking my exam directly 

at the foot of the exam 

distribution table. When they 

hand me the test, I plop down 

Indian-style right there on the 

 

 

ground and get to work, saving 

as much as 15 or 20 seconds 

that would otherwise be wasted 

finding a room. Not only that, 

but immediately beginning 

your exam from the spot they 

hand it to you provides a competitive 

advantage, as others 

sprinting off to get started may 

trip over you, causing them, at 

best, serious injury, or, barring 

that, at least 25 more seconds of 

lost time. Ha! Suckers. 

Yes, being underfoot in the 

middle of the exam line may be 

somewhat annoying to others. 

But there certainly are ways to 

be more obnoxious: Few things 

are more agitating during an 

exam than those who believe 

the primary purpose of the time 

is to indulge in a four-hour 

meal. I actually have a strategy 

for the ever-present potato-chip 

consumption, letting it set a 

cadence to my typing; bobbing 

my head and hitting the keys 

rhythmically to the beat of percussive 

chomping, chewing, 

and lip-smacking, I can usually 

groove my way to a high word 

count. But I have a harder time 

dealing with the sizzle of chicken 

breasts cooking on a portable 

George Foreman USB iGrill 

(yes, this exists: http://www. 

thinkgeek.com/stuff/looflirpa/igrill.shtml), 

or the overpowering 

smell of someone’s 

mother’s homemade chili simmering 

in a crockpot plugged in 

right next to their laptop. (Turn 

it on when the exam starts, and 

it’s ready to serve right around 

the fourth hour of the exam!) I 

don’t even know where to begin 

with that fellow who set up his 

own personal hot buffet. 

Even worse than the sounds 

and smells when students turn 

their exams into wild, outof-control, 

Roman-orgy-style 

photo by Allen Abrams ’10 

Good enough for reading the Law Weekly; good enough for an exam. 

binge-and-purge feasts is the 

inevitable hunger it causes in 

other test-takers. It can be a 

devastating distraction during 

the exam to realize that you’ve 

unwittingly crumpled up and 

eaten the essay questions before 

completing them. That’s 

why I suggest taking your exam 

crouched under the soup table 

in Sidley Austin Café. No matter 

where you go for your exam, 

someone’s going to be eating 

something, so you might as well 

just surround yourself with it. 

And when your stomach starts 

to growl, there’s always a ladlefull 

of piping hot clam chowder 

within arm’s reach. 

Of course, the aftereffects of 

all that exam-time dining need 

to be considered. Whether you 

simply drank too much coffee 

during the preceding allnighter 

or your self-packed 

smorgasbord has fueled an 

intense stress-related, bowelrelated 

emergency, nothing 

bleeds more time from your 

exam block than biology. Those 

shrewd students who don’t 

want to interrupt their exam to 

answer the call of nature may 

want to consider taking their 

test in a bathroom stall. Other 

benefits: somewhat more privacy, 

and an endless supply of 

notepaper. 

People may think these ideas 

are crazy. But you know what 

I think is crazy? Re-reading all 

those pages and pages of law 

books that you’ve already read 

before! Why not read something 

new? The new Stephen 

King novel got good reviews. 

This week, I’ll be relaxed and 

enjoying it, knowing that all 

these venues will once and for 

all solve all my exam-taking 

woes. 

email: cm7fa@virginia.edu 

faculty quotes 

F. Schauer: [A]nd thank you to 

whomever keeps quoting me in 

the Law Weekly. But the funniest 

quote of the semester has come 

from another professor, one who 

teaches another Evidence section 

and happens to be my partner/ 

girlfriend/whatever-you-callit-for-people-as-old-as-I-am. 

She said in her class, “Why is he 

quoted all the time and I am never 

quoted? I live with the guy; trust 

me, he’s not that funny.” 

J. Moore: I am, by the way, 

throwing out crazy options here 

of what might take place. I do not 

believe that last one will happen. 

Nor any of the others, for that matter. 

M. Collins: I am feeling much 

better, not that you care. I figured 

out what was wrong with me after 

a couple of quick tests. This is 

not a joke: I’m allergic to The New 

York Times . . . to the newsprint! 

Does anyone think this is actionable? 

I’m up for a lawsuit and I’ve 

always wanted to own a newspaper. 

D. Brown: Note to self: Don’t 

call the wife when you’re trying to 

call the mistress. 

M. Collins: If the park ranger 

comes along and kicks out your 

fire, that’s informal adjudication. 

M. Gilbert: As it turns out, for 

a lot of people, sex is a major life 

activity. 

K. Abrams: This is like a walk 

of shame. 

D. Brown: Just to cut down on 

the whispering and the IMing, 

yes, I am attempting to grow a 

mustache. It’s for a group called 

“Mustaches for Kids.” We’re on 

Facebook; it’s totally legitimate. I 

swear it’s not as pedophile-ish as 

it sounds. 

K. Abraham: Every once in a 

while, a bird flies over and poops 

on my head. 

Student: I can’t think of an example 

that wouldn’t be graphic . . . 

K. Abrams: How do you think 

I feel? 

D. Brown: Being dressed better 

than the professor—not a good 

way to win points with this socalled 

“blind grading” thing . . . 

J. Cannon: You’re bringing rich 

people here [to Charlottesville] 

and they’re going to need affordable 

housing people to make their 

lives good. 

J. Jeffries: (interrupted midclass 

by mechanical noises from 

an adjacent room) You’re not dean 

for a year—no place to park, and 

they shampoo your rugs when 

they damn well want to. 

Student: There are millions and 

millions of people not in western 

Europe or America that feel differently! 

A. Simmons: But they don’t 

write books in English. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J. Jeffries: No one would have 

thought [separate black and white 

schools] were equal! Helen Keller 

wouldn’t have thought they were 

equal! 

M. Collins: If I remember correctly—and 

I do . . .

VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY

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