FBA B SD FL BABC Awards!

Don't you hate lawyers who insist on lengthy, unwieldy acronyms to denote a party in a brief when it is abundantly obvious who is being referred to?

Last I checked, these acronyms (or initialisms?) are supposed to assist, ease or otherwise make the reading experience better for the reader, not clog up a brief with technically accurate yet preposterously long combinations of random initials that serve no purpose other than to make your sentences unreadable.

Alright, onto the FBA B SD FL BABC awards!

Best 70s building that was vaguely updated at some point in the late 80s:

Doral!

Yep, that hulking, aging colossus served us well and showed us that hairy old dogs can still teach us youngins a thing or two (no, I'm not referring to Bob Josefsberg).

Best meat market to pick up other lawyers or judges:

The "networking sessions" near the main ballroom!

It was hot, tight, and filled with lots of attractive people holding glasses filled with dark liquids. All we needed was a disco ball and some Kool and the Gang and those "sessions" could have taken on a whole new meaning.

Best no-show that made the event much much better:

This one's a no brainer --

We regret that scheduled keynote speaker Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has a Supreme Court conflict which will prevent his participation.

Sorry, swlip!

Actually, Judge Dubina was pretty interesting (if you could hear him above the din).

Hey schmuckies, when the Chief Judge of the 11th Circuit is addressing you, shut the hail up and eat your chow.

Best-run plenary session by a guy who actually dressed up nice and wore a suit and tie for the occasion:

Who else -- Scotty D!

Kudos to Brian Spector and Adam Rabin and all the organizers, judges and participants for making this the best FBA B SD FL BABC yet.

(Boy, that really rolls off the tongue.)

DC Circuit Not A OK W/ Acronyms

Just got this smart note from the DC Circuit:

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
District of Columbia Circuit

*****************************************************
NOTICE
*****************************************************

The D.C. Circuit Rules permit the use of abbreviations, including acronyms, in briefs, provided the brief contains a glossary defining the abbreviations, other than those that are part of common usage. D.C. Cir. Rule 28(a)(3). To enhance the clarity of the brief, the court strongly urges parties to limit the use of acronyms. While acronyms may be used for entities and statutes with widely recognized initials, such as FERC and FOIA, parties should avoid using acronyms that are not widely known.


MARK J. LANGER, Clerk of Court
E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001-2866
Telephone (202) 216-7000

I totally agree with this ("TAWT").

Nothing clutters a brief up more than excessive definitions and acronyms, especially for parties or entities that don't otherwise use the shortened definition regularly.