I want to start where the previous host of the Blawg Review left off. In an inspired post, Cearta.ie told us about Bloomsday, the centerpiece of a weeklong festival in Dublin celebrating the day in 1904 on which the events of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses unfold. In a “tour de force”, he managed to intermingle legal blog items with the story lines of James Joyce’s Ulysses and of Homer’s Odyssey (Latinized into Ulysses).

As it happens, France also has its own version of Ulysses. It is not as famous as the Irish masterpiece, but has had a lasting impact on a generation of children growing up in the 1980s. The Franco-Japanese animation series “Ulysses 31” sets the classic storyline in the future, the 31st century to be precise. In this version: “The Gods of Olympus are angered when Ulysses, commander of the spaceship Odyssey, kills the giant Cyclops to save a group of enslaved children, including his son, Telemachus. Zeus sentences Ulysses to travel the universe with his crew frozen until he finds the Kingdom of Hades, at which point his crew will be revived and he will be able to return to Earth. Along the way they encounter numerous other famous figures from Greek mythology given a futuristic twist.” You can watch the opening title (English version) by clicking on the frame below:

"Ulysses 31" (1981) Opening title in English French Version Here

As Ulysses wanders through space, the various challenges that the Gods throw at him test his courage and his determination to return to Planet Earth. To prepare this Blawg Review, I had to wander through cyberspace, trying to make sense of the challenges that were thrown at me. The biggest one was to find a uniting theme behind apparently unrelated stories. Ultimately, they seemed all to be related to our identity: who we are (1) and what we do (2).

1. Who we are

Country of origin

The country in which you are born and brought up plays an important part in your identity, especially as it generally determines your mother tongue. Being born in France, I speak French. I could also have been fluent in one of France’s many local languages (Basque, Breton, Corse…) which do not yet enjoy constitutional protection. Instead, my parents encouraged me to learn English. Consequently, I can now make spelling mistakes in two languages instead of one. But at least I hope that my level of English is good enough to avoid such unfortunate misunderstanding as the one induced by the getting “sucked off” warning sign at the Penrith (English Lake District) railway station.

Education

We owe everything to our parents. Unlike those poor ‘orphan works’ which the law struggles to deal with, we know who they are and we are grateful to them. We hope they are as proud of us as an author would be of his work.

A good way of making them proud is to show our good manners. One can for instance refrain from using his or her phone in public places such as the movie theater or the Opera. Unfortunately, many find this rule hard to respect. Contemplating this problem, some wonder why fines against such (mis)behavior are not more plentiful and more readily used.

As technology evolves, parents struggle to keep up with what their kids are ought to know and do. In Canada, stricter rules about copyright law might mean that Canadian parents will have to educate their kids about what they can or cannot download from the internet, for fear of seeing copyright lawyers knocking at the door. However, they are, at the same time, required not to be too harsh in punishing their children for their online mischief. This is a tough balancing act.

Race

In an ideal world, race should not matter. In the real world is still does, though thankfully less than it used to:

A white guy can make a more than decent attempt at singing the blues in French:

Extract from “Armstrong” by Claude Nougaro (c. 1965). Watch the full, unauthorized, copy of the live version of the song with its lyrics here.

And Barack Obama may become the next US president.

The issue of race is still so sensitive that US courts might sometimes be tempted to address it behind closed doors. The all important question here is to know whether race will play an important part in the choice of the next US President.

It has been argued that if employment law did apply to the Presidential campaign, Americans deciding not to “hire” Obama because of his color would violate the law. This is a moot point of course, but it will be interesting to see how the campaign will unfold. Comments made by the entourage of Obama have sparked many controversies. Interestingly, Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s President also has had to deal with controversial remarks, albeit of a different nature (about drugs) and in a different forum (a pop album), made by his wife Carla Bruni. And one can venture in comparing the controversial opinions expressed by Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and how they were received by the American and French public.

Apart from that, the Obama campaign has, so far, been very impressive, especially in its ability to gather speed on the Internet and to benefit from the “small donor effect.” However, it has been argued that this success cannot hide the fact that the system of public funding for presidential campaigns needs to be reformed by whoever wins the presidency.

Unsurprisingly, Obama is, in France, far more popular than John McCain. So much so that his name has been trademarked and a song has been dedicated to him:

"O Barack" by "La Chanson du Dimanche" (2008)

Whether you support McCain or Obama, Ségo or Sarko, believe in God or are a God-phobic academic, beware of voicing your opinions via bumper stickers. Not only do they increase the risks of you having an accident, they might also disqualify you as a juror.

Where we come from, how we were brought up or what we believe in are all important components of our identity. What we do is more important still.

2. What we do

Most of us won’t become President of the US but will still enjoy a successful career in law where we are expected to:

Work hard

Whether you are an overworked lawyer working for one of the much-criticized big law firms, an arbitrator fearing the lengthening of the dispute resolution mechanism or an upbeat paralegal, chances are you can use those useful tips on avoiding documents blunders. However, you might be more reluctant to get involved in the politics of trying to put your firm’s contract drafting on a more rational footing. Technology might help you solve your problems but not necessarily.

On the contrary, technology might make your work harder as is argued by two defense attorneys who fret about the likelihood that improvements in document-searching technology will disproportionately favor plaintiffs in product liability litigation, because of the different information that plaintiffs and defendants seek in discovery.

If you are a Judge, you might be confronted with the “CSI effect” or how the trust in technology and in particular in forensics, which has been built by popular TV shows, affects both sides of the courtroom.

You might also have to face a “Lawyer Who Wouldn't Stop Talking” and have him suspended. It is no coincidence that lawyers used to be referred to as “les bavards” or “les baveux” (the goby ones) in old French slang.

But whatever your plight is, it will never be as sinister as what anarchist songwriter and death penalty opponent Georges Brassens had in store for judges adept of the guillotine:

"Gare au Gorille" by George Brassens (1952) - with ENGLISH Subtitles. !Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics

This song from Brassens was very controversial, not least to his parents. Its inclusion in this Blawg Review was the result of a dare which I was foolish enough to take. As Michel Audiard put it in the classic “Les Tontons Flingueurs”:

Lino Ventura and Francis Blanche in "Les Tontons Flingueurs" (1963) dialogue by Michel Audiard

This weakness of character might ultimately be my downfall, especially career-wise. For those of you who are more level-headed, and who have no plans of imitating those famous US grandees who compromised their jobs over a sex scandal, here are a few tips on how to get a better job by blogging.

But enough about work! What you do outside work also defines who you are. And even if you can’t leave law in the office, try to party anyway.

Play hard (but not too hard)

You can do it to the tune of the top ten law songs.

Or dance to the electro-disco beat of French group Justice:

But if you have a drink, do so responsibly or you might be asked by the Police to "Walk the Line", imaginary or not, and might ultimately be sent to jail, where, in all likelihood, you won’t receive the Johnny Cash treatment.

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