Benjamin Cohen’s essay is aptly titled: the balance occurs intellectually and stylistically as he methodically and dispassionately reviews the history of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998. The topic, like “Violent Media and the First Amendment,” which also appears in this issue, is of immediate relevance to students, but the essays display the differing ways students bring individual style and voice to their work. Cohen’s essay builds on a well-judged use of summary and paraphrase, with infrequent quotation added for emphasis or to give voice to important players in the debate. In his re-casting of the history of the implementation and implications of the DMCA, Cohen echoes the importance of structure and use of precedent in legal argument; thus, the essay demonstrates how a personal voice may be joined to disciplinary styles in academic conversation. The strength of Cohen’s essay lies in his ability to wield the intricacy of legal argument within a broader contextual view that inexorably leads to the author’s concluding commentary on this important act.