May 2007
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Alberto Gonzales, Death Penalty, Fast Food, Iraq, Morning Docket, Prisons, Torture, U.S. Attorneys Offices, War on Terror
Morning Docket: 05.10.07
* Inmate’s last request: pizza for homeless. [CNN] * Iraqi death row inmate claims innocence, confession by torture.[CNN] * Brit convicted for leaking secret Bush-Blair memo. [AP] * AG Gonzales feels he has weathered the Attorneygate storm… [New York Times] * … Meanwhile, another US Attorney firing is revealed. [Washington Post]
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Asians, Blogging, Defamation, Goldman Sachs, Insider Trading, Vicious Infighting, Wall Street, White-Collar Crime
Legal Week at DealBreaker
Law-related stories are proliferating over at our big sibling site, DealBreaker. Here are three from yesterday afternoon alone: 1. Goldman Sachs Acquitted of All Charges. It’s good to be Goldman: “In an effort to uphold the rule that the Masters of the Universe can pretty much get away with anything simply because they’re the Masters […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Advertising, Disability Law, Divorce Train Wrecks, Education / Schools, Kids, Non-Sequiturs, Sports, Television
Non-Sequiturs: 05.09.07
* Like an aging babyboomer, L&O might be spending its golden years with its progeny… at TNT. Loyal fans, you will always find L&O-related news here. (And when I say “here”, I mean in Non-Sequiturs, because Lat does what he wants.) [Los Angeles Times] * Oops, they f**ked up. (And when I say “they”, I […]
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Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Email Scandals, Legal Ethics, Lunacy, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Weirdness
What the Stroock Is Going On?
Apparently something weird is going on over in the New York office of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. Something really weird. A source at another firm advised us: Something has happened at Stroock. Rumors floating around that an associate flipped his s**t and emailed all personnel with something odd. I can’t find out more than […] -
Celebrities, Crime, DUI / DWI, Fabulosity, Paris Hilton, Politics, Prisons, You Go Girl
Paris Hilton: She Begs Your Pardon
Or Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s, actually. From the Los Angeles Times: Don’t get that jail cell ready for Paris Hilton just yet. Hilton’s defense team has launched a last-ditch effort to keep her out of jail after a Los Angeles traffic court judge made international headlines by sentencing the socialite to 45 days in county jail […] -
Aaron Charney, Biglaw, Bonuses, Clerkships, Money, Skaddenfreude
Clerkship Bonus Watch: Sullivan & Cromwell Joins the $70K Club
Some of you have asked us for a new thread to discuss clerkship bonuses. Your wish is granted.* We’ll kick off this clerkship bonus discussion with some good news. It concerns Sullivan & Cromwell, which first got the ball rolling on clerkship bonuses, by raising to $50K in the wake of the Brokeback Lawfirm scandal. […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Money, Skaddenfreude, Susman Godfrey
Susman & Godfrey Wins Prize for Most Self-Aggrandizing Pay Raise Announcement
The litigation boutique of Susman Godfrey is prestigious. And it is well-paying, especially around bonus time. It’s also not shy about honking its own horn (which shouldn’t be surprising, given its Texas roots). In fact, Susman Godfrey just issued a press release about its pay raises that might make Gallion & Spielvogel blush. Here are […] -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude, Summer Associates
Skaddenfreude: And What About the Summers?
In some of the comment threads to our pay raise coverage, questions have been raised with respect to summer associates. For the firms that have recently raised associate salaries, people are wondering: Will summer associates be in on the fun? Our take: Of course they will. Summer associates are traditionally paid at the rate of […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Benchslaps, Blogging, Defamation, Free Speech, Media and Journalism, Shameless Plugs, State Judges
Murphy v. Boston Herald: Some Beantown Benchslappery
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… an ATL post not related to law firm pay raises! The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently issued a somewhat saucy opinion in a libel case brought by a state court judge, Ernest B. Murphy, against a New England tabloid, the Boston Herald. No, we don’t know who is […] -
Biglaw, Hogan & Hartson, Money, Skaddenfreude
West Coast Washington D.C. Pay Raise Watch: Hogan & Hartson Goes to $160K
There is no longer any doubt: the nation’s capital is on the so-called “$160K scale.” Say good-bye (or good riddance) to the salary differential between (1) Washington-based firms, and (2) the D.C. offices of New York or California firms. Why? The homegrown firm of Hogan & Hartson just raised associate base salaries, matching the $160K […] -
Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs: Cravath Snags Lateral from Skadden
Cravath isn’t big on lateral hiring. When they hired tax lawyer Andrew Needham away from Willkie Farr & Gallagher in 2005, he was their first lateral partner in more than six decades (per Wikipedia). Nor has Cravath been into bankruptcy work. Even though many other white-shoe firms have entered that historically “icky” practice area, CSM […] -
Celebrities, Department of Justice, Disability Law, Drinking, Family Law, Kids, Morning Docket, Politics, Sports, Videos, White-Collar Crime
Morning Docket: 05.09.07
* $3.19 a gallon for this? [CNN] * Hasselhoff videotape (no, not the German music video) leads to loss of custody rights. [CNN] * Bat-ban Begins — groups sue to overturn NYC ordinance.[SI] * Senators expand Attorneygate probe. [MSNBC] * Ethics of “pillow angel” surgery called unlawful. [CNN]
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Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude
West Coast Pay Raise Watch: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Yes, we have seen the comments stating that Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has raised associate base salaries for its non-New York offices. We have no reason to doubt this tip, or to question the authenticity of this memo. But we still want to dot our i’s and cross our t’s. We’re in the process of […]
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so…
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Crime, Education / Schools, Fat People, Kids, Non-Sequiturs, Parties, Racism, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 05.08.07
* It’s prom season, when schools discriminate against singles (and misguided girls hope that a “prom baby” will save them from the trials and tribulations of college). [Boston.com] * Decent folks (and despite all my hating, that’s most of us) have a visceral reaction to hate crimes — but out on the horizon also loom […] -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Clerkships, Money, Skaddenfreude
Skaddenfreude: Paul Hastings; Late Afternoon Open Thread
We have to step away from our computer for a bit. So here’s an open thread for discussion of either (1) more West Coast pay raises or (2) more increases in clerkship bonuses. Also, the rumor from the comments that Paul Hastings has raised is confirmed. The verified memo appears after the jump. -
Department of Justice, Politics, Shanetta Cutlar, Ty Clevenger
Ty Clevenger Blows the Whistle Once Again
We are favorably disposed towards former Justice Department lawyer Ty Clevenger. We owe him a debt of gratitude, since he’s the person who first told us about Shanetta Cutlar — the crazy-ass colorful chief of the DOJ’s Special Litigation Section, and one of our favorite people to write about here at ATL. Now Ty Clevenger […] -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude
West Coast Pay Raise Watch: Latham Succumbs to 'Hysteria'
The word on the street was that Latham & Watkins was planning to match the recent West Coast pay raise, but would take its sweet time to announce it. Well, it appears that Latham has been shamed into giving into the “hysteria” surrounding associate comp. Earlier this afternoon, various commenters reported that the firm has […] -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude
West Coast Pay Raise Watch: Here's the MoFo Memo
As we reported on Friday, Morrison & Foerster recently announced a firm-wide increase in associate base salaries. But the MoFo raise came with a catch: a modification to the firm’s bonus structure (for associates outside New York). Here’s the relevant language from the MoFo memo, which we recently got our grubby little hands on: This […] -
Lawsuit of the Day, Pets, Trusts and Estates, Vicious Infighting
Lawsuit of the Day: You Can Keep the Dog, We'll Take the $2 Million
We’re not really big on pets. Taking care of them is a lot of work, and we can barely keep our houseplant alive. So stories like this one strike us as almost insane: A man who had not written a will left a $2 million estate, but the most hotly contested item in court has […] -
Alberto Gonzales, Breasts, Department of Justice, John Ashcroft, Monica Goodling
Monica Goodling: The Cover-Up Queen
Even those of you who are sick and tired of our Monica Goodling coverage will enjoy this little tidbit. It has been mentioned by a few commenters, and we’ve also received a bunch of emails about it. From the National Journal (via TPMmuckraker): Psst! Sources tell us that none other than Monica Goodling, former aide […]