Attorneys’ career dissatisfaction in the new normal

The 2008 economic recession had a seismic impact on the legal market. In this article, we empirically assess whether the recession has made law an unsatisfying career. Relying on survey data from over 11,000 active members of the State Bar of Texas, we find that only 13.5 percent of all attorneys and 11.5 percent of full-time attorneys are dissatisfied with their careers. Newer attorneys report greater career dissatisfaction than more experienced attorneys, yet they too are largely satisfied. We also determine using logistic regression that three factors are highly predictive of lawyers’ career dissatisfaction: (1) comparatively low incomes; (2) working in private practice as opposed to in government or non-profit/public interest; and (3) law firm employment in a non-partnership role. Equally important, debt and lower class rank only slightly increase the odds of career dissatisfaction; and race, gender, years of practice experience, and firm size have no effect.     

Korruptionsstrafrecht und Dienstrecht

Mit dem am 1. September 2009 in Kraft getretenen Korruptionsstrafrechts?nderungsG 2009 wurden die Tatbest?nde des StGB zur Korruptionsbek?mpfung neuerlich ge?ndert. Die Vorl?uferregelung war in Wissenschaft und Praxis auf heftige Kritik gesto?en. Abgesehen von zahlreichen Unklarheiten hatte sie für ?ffentliche Bedienstete so strenge Regelungen geschaffen, dass sogar bisher erlaubte Verhaltensweisen kriminalisiert waren: insb die sog "orts- und landesüblichen Aufmerksamkeiten" und die Teilnahme an Repr?sentationsveranstaltungen. Demgegenüber trachtet die neue Regelung nun sorgf?ltig, Wertungswidersprüche im Verh?ltnis zum Dienstrecht zu vermeiden. Dazu wurde eine Verweistechnik gew?hlt: Einige der neuen Tatbest?nde verweisen nun geradezu pauschal auf die dienstrechtlichen Verbote und ausnahmsweise bestehenden Erlaubnisse. Um zu wissen, was strafbar ist, muss man also nun die Regelungen des Dienstrechts kennen. Der folgende Beitrag schildert die wichtigsten Probleme, die sich aus dieser Anknüpfung ergeben, und untersucht die Verfassungskonformit?t der neuen Regelungen.     

Pathogenesis of conjunctival petechiae

Conjunctival petechiae from 15 cases (cause of death: different natural and unnatural) were analysed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) in order to visualize the kind of the damage within the vessel wall (diapedesis versus rhexis). The pathomorphological findings with multiple ruptures of vessels appearing to be filled to bursting point define the conjunctival petechiae as a rhexis-haemorrhage.     

Welfare policies and migration of the poor in the United States: An empirical note

This paper has investigated the impact of geographic welfare benefit differentials upon migration in the United States. Unlike other related studies, which typically focus upon black migration (as a surrogate measure of migration of the poor), the present study focuses directly upon migration of the poor per se. A variety of reduced-form estimates are provided. The evidence strongly suggests that the net in-migration of the poor is positively and significantly influenced by higher nominal AFDC levels and by higher real AFDC levels. These findings support the welfare magnet hypothesis, which alleges that relatively high welfare levels act to attract poor migrants. Moreover, given that poor migrants are attracted non only by high nominal welfare levels but also by high real welfare levels, an argument can be made for establishing geographically uniform real welfare benefit levels in the United States. This uniformity presumably should act, over the long run, to eliminate the human resource distortions being caused by the currently prevailing welfare system.The authors are indebted to Michael Greenwood, Dick Muth, Jim Kau and Janet Pack. Naturally, the usual caveat applies.     

Collectivism or Isolation? Gender Relations in Urban La Paz,Bolivia

Latin American women's extensive collective action outside and inside the household has been paid much attention in the literature over the years. Only a handful of studies have challenged the arguments that Latin American women generally organise together and show solidarity with one another. This paper argues that women's collective action in contemporary urban Bolivia is relatively weak, both outside and within the household. The consequence is that women are isolated to a degree not hitherto recognised, an isolation women cope with in different ways.