September 2006
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Andrew Fastow, Deaths, Drinking, Enron, Eugene Volokh, Jeffrey Skilling, Morning Docket, War on Terror
Morning Docket: 09.21.06
(Yeah, we know, today’s “Morning Docket” is coming in just in time for lunch. Sorry, we overslept…) * Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling is facing 20 to 30 years in prison when he’s sentenced next month — but he can still get himself into even more trouble. Impressive. [Houston Chronicle via WSJ Law Blog] * […]
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Alex Kozinski, Celebrities, Clerkships, Fabulosity, Federal Judges, Kim McLane Wardlaw, Maryanne Trump Barry, Paris Hilton, Richard Posner, Shira Scheindlin
ATL Reader Poll: The Paris Hilton of the Federal Bench
Today is the first day for judicial clerkship interviews under the official Law Clerk Hiring Plan (which some judges follow, and some judges don’t). We’re going to celebrate the occasion with a judge-related poll. Here at Above the Law, we love ourselves some Paris Hilton. She’s beautiful, blonde, and rich. She’s fabulous and glamorous. She’s […] - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Interview Stories
Interview Horror Stories: "Who Am I? Why Am I Here?"
Those big law firms — they’re all the same, right? Yeah, pretty much. But let’s keep that as our little secret. Here’s our next amusing interview story.* A law school classmate had been on what seemed like a zillion second-year callbacks and was having trouble keeping all the interviews straight in his head. At a […]
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Ann Althouse, Bill Clinton, Blog Wars, Blogging, Fashion, Feminism, Gender, HP, Non-Sequiturs, Shoes, Shopping
Non-Sequiturs: 09.20.06
* We’re several days late on this; but it’s just as well. We’re not touching this controversy (see photo below) with the proverbial 10-foot pole. [Althouse; Feministing; Althouse; Feministing] But just out of curiosity, ATL readers, what’s your first reaction to this photo of Bill Clinton and a group of bloggers? Please place your responses […] -
Biglaw, Deaths, Food, Interview Stories
Interview Horror Stories: It's a Job Interview, Not Stand-Up Comedy
Obviously we have no aversion around here to humor (or attempts at it). But lawyers and law students on job interviews should be very careful when cracking jokes. Engage in some amount of cost-benefit analysis: Does the good that this joke might do outweigh the risk that it will fall flat? Could the joke be […] -
Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs: 09.20.06
On the Way Out: * Myron Olesnyckyj, general counsel of Monster Worldwide (parent of Monster.com), has been suspended “effectively immediately, pending the results of the ongoing review of the Company’s historical stock option grant practices.” Lateral Moves: * M&A lawyer John Graham, to Clifford Chance (NY), from King & Spalding (NY), where he was co-head […] -
Gay, Lawsuit of the Day, Lunacy, Rank Stupidity
This Little Piggee Went to Market -- And Came Home With Anti-Gay Propaganda
In yesterday’s Lawsuit of the Day post, we wondered where on earth Martha Louise Piggee, former part-time instructor of cosmetology at Carl Sandburg College, dug up the anti-gay comics she foisted on her gay students. One of you enlightened us: These are the cartoon “tracts” of Jack Chick. He has them all online, in case […] -
Biglaw, Litigators, Philosophy
A Little Fun With Philosophy
A lot of our humor is kinda juvenile. So now we’ll throw some erudition into the mix. Recently we learned of this fun fact: A partner at a big New York law firm, a litigator, has the following quote from Ludwig Wittgenstein on his wall. “The world is all that is the case.” Those of […] - Sponsored
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Clerkships, Interview Stories, Rank Stupidity
Interview Horror Stories: The Clerkship-Seeking Clotheshorse
Tomorrow is the first day for clerkship interviews under the official Law Clerk Hiring Plan (which some judges follow, and some judges don’t). So it’s fitting and proper that our next interview anecdote relates to a clerkship interview with a federal judge: I clerked for a federal court of appeals judge. The judge’s chambers were […] -
Juris Kupris, New York Times, Weddings
Juris Kupris: The Mystery Is Solved
Yesterday we wondered aloud about how the wedding announcement of Chandra Collier and Juris Kupris made it into the New York Times (which is notoriously picky about which announcements it runs). This reader email expressed our sentiments exactly: Check out the Chandra Collier/Juris Kupris wedding announcement. It seems completely out of place. Neither family is […] -
SCOTUS Clerks Are Fair Game, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Supreme Court Clerks Are Fair Game: Part 5
Usually we respond to reader comments — which we always welcome, whether good, bad, or indifferent — in the comments. But some comments merit fuller treatment, like this one: I still find it hard to fathom how gossip about these clerks adds to the public discourse. Given that the clerks are not going to be […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Interview Stories, Job Searches
Interview Horror Stories: Sports Night
Our series of interview anecdotes, which we kicked off yesterday, continues. And today’s tale illustrates that sometimes the rudeness comes not from the interview candidate, but from her hosts: As a law student applying for summer associate jobs, I had a post-interview lunch at [a large New York law firm] with a young male associate. […] -
Alice Fisher, Confirmations, Department of Justice, Jack Abramoff, Litigatrix, Michael Chertoff, Paul Clement, White-Collar Crime
Congratulations to Alice Fisher!
ATL extends its warmest congratulations to Alice S. Fisher, who was just confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division — one of the most important and high-ranking posts at the Department of Justice. The vote was 61-35, with 7 Democrats crossing the aisle to support her.* The Senate sure took […]
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9th Circuit, Akin Gump, Ann Baskins, Federal Judges, HP, Judicial Conference, Larry Sonsini, Manuel Real, Morning Docket, Stephen Breyer, War on Terror
Morning Docket: 09.20.06
* The Judicial Conference of the United States, the policy-making body for the federal judiciary (but not the SCOTUS), has announced measures to improve the judiciary’s self-policing and public accountability. They include required installation of “conflict checking” software — get with it, Your Honors, that’s long overdue — and enhanced disclosure concerning judicial junkets. [New […]
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Judge of the Day, Manuel Real, R. Fred Lewis, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: Richard Albritton Jr.
As we noted yesterday, federal judge Manuel Real (C.D. Cal.) is facing an impeachment inquiry (more details here). But when it comes to egregious judicial misconduct, state court judges win handily over their federal counterparts. Check out this AP report about a recent disciplinary hearing for a Florida state judge: A judge who admitted to […] -
Antonin Scalia, Blog Wars, Blogging, Clarence Thomas, Federal Judges, Hotties, Non-Sequiturs, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Non-Sequiturs: 09.19.06
* We haven’t bothered to mix it up with our various critics, mostly out of sheer laziness. You don’t read us, we don’t read you; it’s a fair trade. But the description of the fracas in Blawg Review #75 makes launching a “blog war” sound kinda fun. [Concurring Opinions] * Now we know why bankers […] -
Juris Kupris, Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: September 17, 2006
After two consecutive weeks of relatively slim pickings, lawyer weddings in the New York Times came roaring back with a vengeance. Picking out just three to write about was quite a challenge. Near misses: Nina Fletcher and Christopher McIntyre; Jennifer Yen and J. Peyton Worley; and Abigail Greene and Jeff Goldman.* Here are the three […] -
7th Circuit, Diane Wood, Gay, Lawsuit of the Day, Rank Stupidity, Sexual Harassment
Lawsuit of the Day: What Kind of Noodles Were They?
Via How Appealing, we learn of the Seventh Circuit’s opinion in Piggee v. Carl Sandburg College (pdf). The opinion, authored by liberal judicial hottie Diane P. Wood, begins as follows: In September 2002, Martha Louise Piggee, who was then a part-time instructor of cosmetology at Carl Sandburg College, gave a gay student two religious pamphlets […] -
Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, David Souter, John Roberts, Lawyerly Lairs
Lawyerly Lairs: Chief Justice Roberts's Island Hideaway
When the Supreme Court isn’t in session, many of the justices — such as Justice Scalia and Justice Kennedy — traipse off to Europe. But Chief Justice John G. Roberts, showing his diligence, sticks around town (at least more than his colleagues). He was recently spotted at work on a Sunday. When he does travel, […] -
Celebrities, Divorce Train Wrecks, Hersh Mannis & Bogen, Judy Bogen
Gee, Alec, Tell Us How You Really Feel
In a forthcoming interview in GQ, actor Alec Baldwin lashes out at his ex-wife, Kim Basinger. According to Page Six, “Baldwin claims she told such horrible lies about him that he wanted to die.” But Baldwin saves some of his harshest words for Basinger’s lawyers at the Beverly Hills firm of Hersh, Mannis & Bogen. […]