Archive for February 2007

John Osborn to Scott Turow: “Game On, Bitch”

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John Osborn John Jay Osborn John Osborne Paper Chase Above the Law.jpgWe just got back from a most engaging luncheon talk at the NYLS legal writing conference by John Jay Osborn, a law professor at the University of San Francisco and author of the 1973 novel, The Paper Chase (which led to a movie and television series).
Here’s the Westlaw headnotes version of John Osborn’s talk:

Law students, you need to rediscover and take back your narratives. Law school is all about forcing you to give up your narrative and play by someone else’s rules. Don’t let them do that to you.

Osborn covered a number of topics during the course of his remarks — legal education, law and literature (especially Bleak House), the trajectory of legal careers, the genesis and evolution of The Paper Chase. Great stuff.
Here are a few money quotes. On Scott Turow’s One L, which someone raised in Q-and-A:

“One L is competent,” he sniffed. “But it doesn’t have a HEART.”

Osborn, a former associate at Patterson Belknap, left the legal world for a year to write. He encourages lawyers not to be afraid of trying new things or stepping off the treadmill:

“The nice thing about the law is you can go away and come back… Don’t be afraid to go off and do different things. They’ll ALWAYS take you back. They ALWAYS need associates.”

Finally, Osborn shared with us a great quote from John Houseman, the actor and producer who won an Oscar for his work in The Paper Chase.
Some folks wanted Houseman to perform a scene in The Paper Chase that he didn’t like. He refused, declaring: “I’m too old and too rich to put up with this bulls**t.”
Author of The Paper Chase Joins USF School of Law [USF School of Law]

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Alexandra D. Korry: A Comments Compendium

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Alexandra Korry Alexandra D Korry Alex Korry Sullivan Cromwell Above the Law Above the Law Aaron Charney ATL.jpgWe are huge fans of the delicious Alexandra Korry, the high-powered Sullivan & Cromwell partner who figures prominently in Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell, the lawsuit brought by gay lawyer Aaron Charney against his former employer.
In the course of our writing about this case, numerous comments have been made about Korry, a mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer renowned for her brilliance and her toughness. Here’s what the S&C website has to say about this magnficent M&A diva:

Alexandra Korry joined Sullivan & Cromwell in 1986 having done stints in journalism and commercial banking. She was elected a partner in 1993.

Interesting! We’re guessing Korry gets her (alleged) pirate’s mouth from her time in journalism, and her business acumen and shrewdness from her time in banking. Back to the S&C site:

Ms. Korry has extensive experience in representing U.S. and non-U.S. clients in a wide variety of mergers and acquisitions transactions, focusing on strategic investments, negotiated acquisitions and dispositions and joint ventures. Among her representations are Microsoft, UBS, Adelphia Communications Corporation, Eastman Kodak, Koninklijke Philips Electronics and Siderca.

Ms. Korry is active in a variety of community organizations, including the Harlem Educational Activities Fund, and is a retired member of the Board of Visitors of Duke Law School.

In light of her involvement with all of these charities and non-profit groups, we’re guessing the answer is yes to this commenter’s question about the Dalton School. Perhaps her kids are or were students there?
Okay, we’ve heard the official law firm take on Alexandra Korry. Now, let’s hear from ATL commenters.
Check out their collected remarks, after the jump.

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Lost in Translation? Writing About the Law for a Non-Legal Audience

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Writing About the Law New York Law School NYLS Above the Law.jpgWe’re at the next panel of the day at the New York Law School conference on legal writing.
Morning Panel #2 (11:00–12:15): Lost in Translation? Writing About the Law for a Non-Legal Audience
“Writing about law for a lay audience poses its own unique challenges. What is lost and what is gained by having to translate complex legal concepts into concise news reporting, incisive commentary or compelling drama?”
Panelists and Moderator:
* Adam Cohen, editorial board member, The New York Times.
* Jamie Heller, Deputy Managing Editor, The Wall Street Journal Online.
* Richard Sweren, writer and co-executive producer, Law & Order.
* Dahlia Lithwick, Supreme Court reporter, Slate.
* Brandt Goldstein (Moderator), Visiting Associate Professor of Law, New York Law School.
Discussion after the jump.

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Just Cite It! The Traditional Law Review Structure

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Writing About the Law New York Law School NYLS Above the Law.jpgRight now we’re in the audience for this panel at the NYLS conference on writing about the law:
Morning Panel #1 (9:30-10:45): Just Cite It! The Traditional Law Review Structure
Law reviews have been attacked as irrelevant and their student editors criticized as incompetent, yet legal scholars still need to publish in law reviews to get and keep their jobs. What role does the traditional law review play, what role should it play, and should it be continued?
Panelists and Moderator:
* James Lindgren, Professor, Northwestern University School of Law and Cofounder of the section on Scholarship of the Association of American Law Schools.
* Randy E. Barnett, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center and senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the Goldwater Institute.
* Ann Althouse, Professor, University of Wisconsin School of Law and author and blogger.
* Paul Caron, Professor, University of Cincinnati School of Law and Publisher and Editor of TaxProf Blog
* Cameron Stracher (Moderator), Codirector, Program in Law & Journalism and Publisher, New York Law School Law Review.
Commentary after the jump.

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Skaddenfreude: What About the Senior Associates?

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100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGHere’s the morning thread for discussion about associate compensation. We’d like to launch the discussion by quoting from a great reader email we recently received:

I am writing this (from an anonymous account of course) to plead and beg for you guys to give us some senior associate love. All these threads about compensation and raises seem to be mostly geared to and contributed to by juniors (or, gasp, law students). Meanwhile, we 5th, 6th+ year associates sweat and slave away silently… taking on massive amounts of responsibility, ruining our personal lives, and, of course, doing the firm’s job by providing essentially ALL of the training to completely clueless juniors…. And what do we get for it, NADA!

To get to the point, I would LOVE YOU GUYS if you could start a new Skaddenfreude thread devoted to how SCREWED seniors (and ok, mid-levels I suppose) are w/r/t compensation at Biglaw. As I’m sure you know, the “compression” that happens at the higher levels is just plain ridiculous. Why on earth am I getting paid only 50K more than a kid straight out of law school!?!? And bonuses are compressed too!?! The value difference should be pretty obvious — but that doesn’t seem to matter to firms because all they care about is recruiting first years out of law school! And then they scratch their heads, totally confused about why the seniors are leaving in DROVES.

Well said. And there’s more, after the jump.

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Programming Note: Legal Writing Navel-Gazing Fiesta!

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We’re up in New York right now for a symposium on legal writing at New York Law School. Topics to be covered include both legal academic writing, for student-run law reviews, as well as writing about legal affairs for a lay audience (e.g., through legal journalism and blogging).
The comfortable, well-lit classroom that we’re in right now has excellent wireless internet access. So we will be blogging, both about the conference and non-conference subjects, throughout the day.
P.S. We think this conference will be very worthwhile. We’re only applying the “Dubious Conferences” tag because we’re quite proud of it, and don’t get to use it enough.
Writing About the Law: From Bluebook to Blogs and Beyond [New York Law School]

Morning Docket: 02.16.07

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MySpace myspace Facebook Friendster Above the Law Above the Law.jpg* MySpace suit dismissed in Texas. [AP via How Appealing]
* War powers battle heating up between Articles I and II. [CNN]
* WSJ Law Blog: Pay the judges? [WSJ Law Blog]
* 26 Americans indicted in Italy CIA rendition case. [CNN]
* A tongue-in-cheek wrap-up of Libby trial highlights. (Warning: not real news!) [The Onion]

Non-Sequiturs: 02.15.07

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* My issue with this decision is, what can’t be used as a sex toy? [Dorf on Law]
* We’ll give the FDA tobacco if they leave love alone. (They can keep the Viagra though). [MSNBC]
* Can your Valentine’s Day top this? [East Valley Tribune via Quizlaw]
* Autobiographies don’t always lead to redemption. But they may lead to movie options. [Los Angeles Times]

Skaddenfreude: DLA Piper, and Thursday Open Thread

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100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGWe have to step away from the computer for a bit. We’re about to miss the Chinatown bus up to New York, our oh-so-glamorous mode of travel.
But we’re leaving this open thread about salaries to keep you entertained in the meantime. And content will be posted at ATL in our absence, so do check back soon.
To kick start the compensation conversation, here’s some scuttlebutt about DLA Piper. Check it out, after the jump.

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Brokeback Lawfirm: A Runway Report (Part 2)

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Charney S&C 028B New York Supreme Charney Aaron Charney Sullivan Cromwell Above the Law.JPG
This is a continuation of our earlier post evaluating the fashions on display last week, at the New York Supreme Court hearing in the litigation between gay lawyer Aaron Charney and his former employer, Sullivan & Cromwell.
We gave out the big awards — e.g., Best-Dressed Lawyer — yesterday. But there are still a few style prizes that have not yet been announced.
Discussion and photographs, after the jump.

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Skaddenfreude: Baker Botts, Munger Tolles

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Two quick pieces of news. First, multiple sources at Baker Botts in New York confirm that “Baker Botts NY has gone to market — retroactive to January 1.”
Second, we have some information about Munger, Tolles & Olson — the super-prestigious L.A. firm with a knack for scooping up SCOTUS clerks. We reprint the info after the jump.

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ATL Reader Poll: What Should Aaron Charney Do Next?

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Aaron Charney solo firm headshot Aaron B Charney Aaron Brett Charney Above the Law ATL.JPGIn response to yesterday’s post about Aaron Charney’s fabulous new apartment, two comments were made that caught our eye:

“Looks like Charney is going to default both on his complaint and his mortgage. Plus there’s no way he gets $820k for his condo in this market when he has to sell it. I’d say poor kid, but he brought it on himself.”

“Maybe Charney can sell the movie rights to his story or something now, since a multimillion dollar settlement ain’t happening. Alas, that movie has already been done (‘Philadelphia’). Oh well, there’s always Playgirl magazine, I’m sure they’d be happy to have him pose.”

This got us thinking: What should Aaron Charney do next?
Time for an ATL reader poll:


We’ve left an “Other” option in case any of you have suggestions for Aaron Charney’s future. Please place them in the comments. Depending upon the vote tallies, we may then hold a run-off, between the most popular of the existing options and/or the best new options that you suggest. Thanks!
Update: We dislike the idea of dignifying this with a response, but we assure you: We are NOT Loyola 2L.