Brian T. Fobi

Brian Tangang Fobi is one of Duke East's most recognizable instructors. He originaly taught Sports Law and Constitutional Law, but has since transitioned to Criminal Trial Advocacy (CTA). Arguably the greatest person ever birthed, Brian Fobi enjoys cheering for the Oregon Ducks and Michigan Wolverines and makes documentaries and CD's in his spare time. He is currently working on a film in South Africa and at the same time studying at Yale for a PhD in American History (don't doubt Brian T. Fobi). Fobi practiced law in South Africa, helping erase the overtures of aparteid. He will go down in the annals of history next to Nelson Mandela for his legal work in the struggling nation. Fobi actually has a photo with Mandela, but due to one of his friend's incompetency with his camera, it's extremely blurry. Fobi only lost one case in Africa, due to the idiocy of his client. He could quite possibly have become one of the greatest litigators of our era. Upon leaving Africa, Fobi had a marble bust constructed of him and gave it to his maid as a gift. He later commissioned one for his mom. Brian enjoys surfing and chillin' on the beach because he's got it made. Although he's absolutely ripped and loves working out, Fobi doesn't like to squat too much. He thinks that it becomes of questionable sexual orientation when a spotter is involved. He likes to make boring TIP classes interesting through his use of expressions and stories including the immortal: "Step up yo game, JR!" and "This is the most difficult test of your life. If you fail, you will die alone and depressed." Although a world class athlete, Brian refuses to play in the staff student ultimate game. Fearing injury due to the deadly field conditions, Fobi is holding out until he is properly compensated. Just being himself, though, he would probably be the greatest ultimate player Duke TIP has ever seen. In CTA, Fobi rewrote history in his mock trials by tweaking such events as the Michael Vick trial and by compounding the situations of some "Old Skool Mc's" into the "Thug Sizzle" compilation. In his final term, the "dream team" of Mehul Mehta, Danny Richey, Jon Drawdy, and Patrick Russell were lights out and went an undefeated 4-0 in these hotly contested trials. He was known to have an affinity for the California Youth Authority, OJ Simpson and bootlegged TV shows (especially Law and Order and Seinfeld). In the classroom, he also made himself the king of Fobitopia. Fobi is a deity. No other instructor, TA or student will ever approach him. Long live King Brian T. Fobi (peace and blessings be upon him).

Fobi Quotes:

"What are you doing?? I called the Zone Blitz!"

"Caution, Enter at Your Own Risk: If you get lost, rescue workers will not attempt to save you."

"You're about to take the Pain Train to Miseryville."

"An ash tray??? What's this weak sauce?? STEP UP YO GAME, JR.!!!"

"Let's say for example that Banu is the courier. I shoot her. No biggie, she's replaceable. And then I kill Patrick, Jon, Danny and Cat. DON'T RAT!" (approximation)

"Keep the change, Peace Out!!!!"

"Ballin Lawyer"

And so many more...

Brian T. Fobi did not return to Duke TIP in 2009, for the first time in years.

Note from Arielle: I was in his last CTA class of Term 1. That year, CTA and Fobi were kind of a really big deal because we were just all around awesome. A good number of CTA that year came from The Muffins, and i won't deny that CTA helped create most of their awesomeness. But the most important part of that year was that Fobi created a charity organization named The Audiemur Project, or TAP. Lead by Fobi, TAP members met online- and still meet online- regularly to work on the organization. it was in this group that we learned why Fobi did not return to TIP. For the summer of 2009, Fobi asked the TIP authorities if he could teach Sports Law instead of CTA. He was turned down. Fobi then threatened the TIP board and said, "Either i teach Sports Law or i don't teach at all." The 2009 terms offered Criminal Trial Advocacy taught by another professor.

"Ballin' Lawyer"

A huge amount of controversy arose with this phrase in the Term 1, 2008 class. With Maggie Scarborough as TA, the class set out to make their term t-shirts. That year, CTA had only three Fourth Years: Arielle, Zain Gillani and Courtney Kuhn. As such, the three commandeered their rightful places and designed a Ballin' Lawyer shirt with class-wise support and enthusiasm. A few days later, Maddie returned dismayed, announcing that TIP overruled the shirt and proclaimed it offensive and provocative. Once more, the three sat down to plan again, but there was much enthusiasm lacking in the classroom. The shirt design stalled for upwards of one weeks. During the dejected time, Fobi spouted off many of his famous quotes. Following the introduction of Ballin' Lawyer to the class, and Arielle's inability to go one day without saying an inTIPropriate word, Fobi would simple state, "That's a legal term," after every "foul" statement. He then introduced the Shazam! as an expression of, well, Shazam! When he and Arielle rattled off the true meaning of Shazam! to the class simultaneously, they knew a golden word had entered the classroom. At the end of the week, the shirt design came calling, lest the class find themselves shirtless for the term. It was then that Arielle created the "Shazam! That's a Legal Term" shirt, once again to the wide-spread enjoyment of the entire class. This is probably one of the few TIP shirts that can actually be worn outside of TIP without the fear of tirelessly explaining its origins, and it looks really cool to boot.