Kaimi Wenger at PrawfsBlawg is doing a series on writing an article while practicing law, something about which he seems to have first-hand knowledge.  I do not.  When I was practicing, I could barely make time to write a check for my mortgage, much less an academic article.  Kaimi's first post covers a good threshold question:  What client is going to pay for that Lexis/Westlaw research?  How do you get one of those cool unlimited L/W passwords?

Kaimi has one great suggestion:  ask your alma mater.  Also, if you are teaching an adjunct course anywhere, you are eligible for a password, so ask for it.  I asked a Westlaw rep a school or so ago if my husband could use my password for purely educational purposes, and she said yes.  I don't know if that's the official line, though, or if she just liked me!  Either way, when you do get permission, just use it for educational purposes, which can be tricky if you save your password on your computer.

My husband is sending out an academic article this week that he wrote while practicing.  It' has definitely been a huge time commitment, and I know he could not have done it while he was a junior attorney.  I am always impressed when I see that candidates have published while practicing.  I know that some candidates have taken a high-risk approach of really giving their law firms short-shrift while focusing on getting published -- acting like "short-timers."  I've never been a bridge burner, so I would not recommend that road.  Kaimi is going to post on the ethics of writing while practicing later in the week, so he may touch on that as well.

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