As you know, we recently did a series of open threads on law firms in different cities. But we realize that Biglaw isn't the only option out there.
We've been reminded of that by some recent emails. From one reader:
Not so much a tip as a request: How about an open thread for non-firm work -- U.S. Attorney's offices, for example? What are the pros and cons of leaving Biglaw for a few years to go there, and how do you do it?
And from a second:
This my fizzle in light of the prestige cult that ATL harbors, but I was curious if you would ever consider a look at federal government lawyers.
Not just at the Department of Justice:
The FBI, CIA, DoD, etc, all are staffed by tons of lawyers, not to mention the JAG branches of our Armed Forces. I'm obviously biased in light of my JAG affiliation, but I always enjoy reading up on the lives of non-BigLaw attorneys.
We're happy to accommodate these requests -- and note that working for the federal government, even if less lucrative than Biglaw, can be tremendously prestigious.
Please discuss legal employment opportunities with the federal government -- including U.S. Attorney's Offices, Main Justice, the JAG corps, and agencies -- in the comments. Thanks.
Of course we're not done with our series on the mishaps of summer associate. There's just too much material. If you have an anecdote to share, please review our submission guidelines, and then email us.
Here's our latest X-Summer. The good news is that this story is current, from this summer (although we gladly take old stories too). The bad news is that many details are missing -- but maybe you can help us out with that.
1. Superhero name: O'Melveny & Mystery Man
2. Special power: Ability to spawn a hundred stories about the true reasons for his departure.
3. Summered: O'Melveny & Myers, summer 2007 (southern California).
4. Claim to fame: According to allegations in circulation:
[O]ne of our summers got fired... Apparently, while he was on the Newport retreat, he did something offensive, and no one knows what, exactly. The most likely story is that he said something homophobic to a lesbian partner, but it's all speculation.
The rumors have gotten out of control, though. Apparently this story has reached New York, and has blossomed into one about two summers: one allegedly groped an associate, and the other supposedly exposed himself to a bunch of attorneys. It's amazing. Legal gossip is a nationwide network.
Remember Wisconsin state representative Frank Lasee? He came up with the brilliant idea of cutting off state funding for the University of Wisconsin Law School. The governor characterized the proposal as "ridiculous and bizarre"; Ann Althouse condemned the idea here.
Anyway, now we have a little more insight into his psyche. See here, here, and here.
Might this represent a new strategy for boosting profits per partner? Laying off associates (or de-equitizing less lucrative partners) generates so much bad publicity. Could knocking off a few lawyers be that much worse?
(If the victims were billing under 1950, that's manslaughter rather than murder, as a matter of law.)
We were all ready to pack it in. But then we received several requests for PHILADELPHIA.
So here's the Philly thread. Feel free to discuss (and complain) in the comments. Thanks.
Update: In light of the comments thus far, let's throw Wilmington into the mix. We encourage you to discuss Wilmington and the Delaware legal market in this thread too.
With the 2008 presidential campaign dominating the airwaves, despite being over a year away, everyone is talking about politics (and watching awesome, politically-themed musicvideos). Here's a question that a law student posed to us:
Are there differences between the politics of firms, roughly distinguishing between liberal and conservative, or are they all pretty much the same? How can a student figure out the political leanings of a particular firm?
The only source of information I've found so far is to research donations to presidential candidates.
Interesting. We'd say that many firms, especially in New York, are "pretty much the same" -- money knows no political distinctions. But here in D.C., it's more common for firms to lean one way or the other.
One way to figure out a firm's political valence is to look into the former government service of its lawyers (especially high-powered partners). This method would suggest to you that WilmerHale, home of the diva-licious Jamie Gorelick, is left of center, while Gibson Dunn, home of Ted Olson, is right of center.
As our correspondent notes, campaign contributions also shed light on the political leanings of a law firm. On that subject, Lindsay Fortado of Bloomberg News has this interesting article. Here's something that surprised us:
Lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm that's home to Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr and Bush administration official Jay Lefkowitz, have given more to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign than to all of the top Republican candidates combined.
Kirkland, based in Chicago, is one of several corporate law firms that traditionally backed Republicans where lawyers are turning to Democratic candidates....
With respect to K&E, though, we'd guess that this varies from office to office. The Washington outpost of Kirkland, which is stocked with tons of former Scalia and Thomas clerks, is probably not funneling massive cash to La Hillary.
Which way does your firm lean? Please discuss in the comments. Thanks.
Here are two updates about clerkship bonuses (a subject of interest to a limited group of readers -- but those who care REALLY care):
1. Willkie Farr & Gallagher: The rumor that Willkie pays a $50,000 clerkship bonus has been confirmed. We understand this applies to both New York and Washington.
2. Akin Gump: In New York, the firm pays a $50,000 clerkship bonus. (We don't know what they do in other offices.)
We recently posted about technical difficulties surrounding last week's administration of the New York bar exam. About ten minutes ago, candidates who sat for the exam received this email:
From: New York Bar Exam Administration Date: 30 Jul 2007 17:03:09 -0400 Subject: NYS Bar Exam Laptop Program
As you may know, some candidates taking last Tuesday's bar examination experienced technical problems with the Securexam software during the examination, and some also experienced problems after the examination when attempting to upload their work. The State Board of Law Examiners has been working with Software Secure to resolve the problems.
Our primary focus during these past few days has been collecting exam files from candidates' computers and confirming that we have all of the essay answers. Software Secure is in the process of sorting through and reviewing the thousands of files that were either uploaded or transferred to them through the utility that was described in an email sent by Software Secure on July 25, 2007.
For those of you who are interested, the rest of the message appears after the jump.
But we haven't covered TEXAS. That's what this here post is for.
Y'all know what to do, in the comments. Thanks.
Update: This just in, from the Texas Lawyer: Winstead Says Yes to Bonuses, No to Raises.
P.S. We realize that Texas has several major cities. E.g., Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio. But our (admittedly anecdotal) understanding is that many Texans are flexible with respect to which city they go to. So we've decided to have a consolidated, omnibus Texas thread.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts was hospitalized Monday after falling while on vacation in Maine, the Supreme Court told NBC News. Roberts, 52, fell at his summer home off Port Clyde [previously profiled in Lawyerly Lairs]. The court said he was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
The nation's top judge was fully awake and coherent both at his home and later at the hospital, the court said.
Lyle Denniston has a few more details over at SCOTUSblog.
The upshot: JGR is doing just fine. But it's a reminder that anything can happen -- that life is full of unpredictability.
Because if any member of the Supreme Court were to star in a Lifealert commercial -- and utter those famous words, "I've fallen, and I can't get up!" -- wouldn't it to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Or maybe John Paul Stevens, who bears a reasonably strong resemblance to the man who cries out, "I'm having chest pain!" If you disagree, refresh your recollection here:
As we mentioned last week, it's now our turn to host Blawg Review, the roving carnival of legal blogs. So welcome to Blawg Review #119 -- a most auspicious number.
Today, in case you hadn't noticed, is Monday. We're grumpy, and maybe you are too.
So the theme for this installment of Blawg Review is complaining. Whining, bitching, moaning -- which lawyers are very good at. Indeed, many attorneys are better at complaining than they are at doing their jobs. Especially summer associates.
The rest of this cheery Blawg Review -- a litany of laments, a pile of pet peeves -- appears after the jump.
We're guessing you've all seen this video of 1,500 Filipino prisoners dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." It has been discussed all over the blogosphere and MSM. E.g, Gawker; Concurring Opinions; Times of London.
(We're just surprised that sentencing guru Doug Berman -- who, by the way, moderated a great panel on the federal sentencing guidelines at the recent ACS convention we attended (and will write about later) -- hasn't weighed in on this innovative approach to criminal punishment.)
In case you haven't seen it, here's the clip:
Pretty cool, eh? Professor Charles Nesson of Harvard Law School quipped, "I want to meet the warden."
Well, Professor Nesson, we can help. As it turns out, Byron Garcia -- the prison official who came up with this idea, and uploaded the video clip to YouTube -- is our uncle!
You can read our correspondence with Tito Byron, after the jump.
We're guessing, from your presence on this site, that you enjoy legal blogs. And you probably like free stuff, too -- 'cause who doesn't?
With that in mind, we're pleased to join many otherfineblogs in announcing the arrival of BlawgWorld 2007 (PDF). This delightful, free eBook collects exemplary posts from 77 leading law-related blogs.
You can download a copy (as a PDF file) by clicking on the graphic or the link below. Enjoy!
So what do lawyers do when they leave the hallowed halls of Cravath, Swaine & Moore?
Some move on to smaller firms. Some, like former corporate partner Robert Kindler, go into investment banking (and make even more money).
But some take more surprising paths. From the current issue of the New Yorker:
A former associate at Cravath, Swain [sic] & Moore, [Roy Den Hollander] had moved to Russia to work as a private investigator. There he met a woman, with whom he returned to New York. They were married in March, 2000, and separated by December. In Den Hollander v. Flash Dancers Topless Club et al., Den Hollander sued his ex-wife and her employer under the auspices of a civil RICO statute. The suit was dismissed.
Did that romantic misadventure leave Hollander with hostility towards women? It might explain his latest legal quest, which is our Lawsuit of the Day:
In June, [Hollander] filed a federal lawsuit alleging that ladies’ nights constitute a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Citing invidious discrimination, he named as defendants the night clubs A.E.R., Lotus, Sol, China Club, and the Copacabana—which charged lower admission fees for women at, respectively, their Remix Thursdays, Velvet List Wednesdays, Models and Bottles Fridays, Metropolis Fridays, and College Party Thursdays.
What do other crusaders for gender equality make of the case? Karen DeCrow, vice-president of the Greater Syracuse chapter of the National Organization for Women, agreed with Hollander's legal theory -- even if, she noted, "it probably wouldn’t be very fun to go out to dinner with him."
Our series of posts on different cities, timed to coincide with fall recruiting season, rolls on. These open threads are designed to allow folks to compare notes about law firms in each market. The posts have a tendency to get fairly long fairly quickly, but you can just run searches on each page to find comments about a specific firm or issue.
Here are the prior installments in the series (which we encourage you to revisit, since most of them are still active):
This post, which some of you have been eagerly anticipating, is about WASHINGTON, DC. Please discuss the legal market in our nation's capital in the comments. Thanks.
Not much associate pay raise news right now. We have just two more announcements, neither of them super-exciting, both from firms with "Day" in their names:
1. Jones Day: The firm's Dallas and Houston offices now pay starting salaries of $160,000. We don't have a memo, but a tipster directed our attention to thesepages on the firm website (as well as this compensation overview).
2. Day Pitney: For those of you who follow the Connecticut market, Day Pitney will be raising first-year associate salaries to $120,000 -- but not until January 1, 2008. (At that time, starting salaries in the firm's Boston and New York offices will go up to $150,000.)
Apart from our three finalist couples, there isn't much to highlight for you this week: just some minor WGWAG action, and, in the Vows column, a nice shout-out to LEWW's temporary home city.
So without further ado, we bring you our fabulous finalists:
1. Superhero name: Crab Stabber AKA Senorita Foulmouth
2. Special power: Crazed Crustacean Impaling/ Spanish Profanity
3. Summered: King & Spalding, Houston, Summer 2004 or 2005 ("can't recall")
4. Claim to fame: The allegations, according to our tipster:
"K&S Houston used to have this boondoggle of a recruiting trip to the Four Seasons resort in Punta Mita Mexico for a weekend. Excellent way to get to know your summers, their spouses, and how they behave socially. And did I mention it is at a Four Seasons in Mexico?"
"Anyway, a group of people were sitting at a beach campfire, drinking some adult beverages and making smores and other goodies on the fire. Our heroine takes her skewer and proceeds to stab a crab, roughly 8 inches in diameter, that was trying to sneak by the people on the beach. Not a small crab. She then proceeds to roast it on the fire. There is a famous picture, which she more or less posed for, with her holding the crab on the skewer with a maniacal grin on her face. Let's just say some of the partners, spouses and others sitting around the campfire were a little shocked."
"At another point during that summer, our heroine was sitting in at the beginning of a lunch seminar with other summers, attorneys and paralegals. That summer, [a lot] of the SAs happened to be fluent in Spanish and would speak Spanish to each other in the halls, etc. Well, our heroine was talking to another summer in Spanish and apparently cursing like a Caracas sailor in mixed company, when a paralegal politely said: "You may want to be careful, other people speak Spanish here, too." To which our heroine shot back: "Are you an attorney?" Ummm... no, but let's just say that the paralegal knew a few.
5. What happened next: "Ummmm.... no offer."
The rules still apply. Don't be a d-bag and name the Crab Stabber or try to guess who she is. Thanks a bunch.
We haven't forgot about you, West Coast. We continue our open thread series on fall recruiting with a look at the legal market in the PACIFIC NORTHWEST. Here are the previous threads, which we still encourage you to revisit:
Albeit a ridiculous pro se one filed by a prisoner in South Carolina.
There's nothing like the free time that prison provides and obviously severe mental problems a vivid imagination as a recipe for hilarious, hand-written, pro se complaints. Exhibit A:
Where to begin? Well, first of all, as far as we know Vick is not a federal agent of any kind, so this can't possibly be an action filed pursuant to Bivens. But of all of the problems with this complaint, that may be the least. Continued discussion and the rest of the complaint after the jump.
Each week, we'll highlight an exciting job opportunity available through Lateral Link, ATL's career partner.
Here is this week's offering:
Morrison & Cohen LLP is looking for a corporate attorney to handle M&A and private equity transactions. With fewer than 100 attorneys, and a 1 to 1 partner to associate ratio, this full-service New York firm is known for its commitment to nurturing careers, and a firm culture that is focused on a good work/life balance. The firm serves clients throughout the United States and around the world, focusing on middle-market businesses, financial institutions, and high-net-worth individuals.
Three Positions, with 1-3, 4-6, and 7-10 Years of Experience Respectively.
As you will have also noted if you're a regular reader, we are from Georgia. As a native Georgian and an Atlanta Falcon fan, we therefore feel obligated to touch upon this whole Michael Vick thing.
Initially, we note that the media coverage of yesterday's arraignment was typically laughable. We must have received at least 25 separate headlines in our RSS feeder with some version of "Vick pleads not guilty to dogfighting charges." Yeah, no kidding. It's an arraignment, people! Everybody pleads not guilty at an arraignment, unless you have already worked out a plea agreement. It would have been news if he had NOT pled not guilty. But because of the 24-hour news cycle and/or a fundamental misunderstanding of legal proceedings on the part of the press, it's a story either way.
Why won't sharks attack lawyers? Professional courtesy.
*Rimshot*
Well, Harvey Miller, a Toledo, Ohio attorney, and a Hawaiian shark did their best to dispel that notion.
Miller, a 36-year-old attorney, was snorkeling off of Bellows Field Beach Park Thursday afternoon when a shark chomped on his leg.
"I punched it and I started to swim," he said. "And then, that's when I knew it wasn't good because I did not have use of my left lower extremity. I couldn't kick."
It wasn't good! No kidding! A shark just missed gnashing up your junk.
But it could have been much worse. Thankfully Miller managed to avoid any damage to his blood vessels, and suffered only broken bones and nerve damage. And he, is course, ALIVE, which is inherently in doubt when you have a face-to-face (or in this case face to leg, and then fist to face) with a shark while snorkling.
We'll also note that we find it a little amusing that he's quoted as saying he didn't have use of his "left lower extremity." We're not taking a deposition, doctor. Just tell us your leg wouldn't work.
Anyway, to the shark we say you should have known better than to mess with one of us. And don't look for any referrals anytime soon.
To celebrate fall recruiting season, we're doing a series of open threads, to allow people to compare notes about law firms in different cities. Think of them as chat rooms for legal scuttlebutt. (Some of the comment threads get really long, but if you're looking for information on a particular firm or issue, just run a search on the page.)*
Here are the earlier posts in the series (which we encourage you to revisit, even after they get bumped from the ATL front page):
This post, which some of you have been eagerly anticipating, is about LOS ANGELES. Please discuss the legal market in the City of Angels in the comments. Thanks.
* Yes, we're probably going to reintroduce the discussion forums that once existed on this site (but were never used). That may take a little while, though, so these open threads will have to do for now.
A source at the firm reports that the firm just raised associate salaries. An associates' meeting was held earlier today. We haven't seen the memo yet, but here are the numbers (emphasis added):
Old pay scale:
145/155/170/190/210/220/230/240
New pay scale (retroactive to 7/1):
160/170/190/210/230/250/265/280
Also, from a meeting earlier in the week, in which the upcoming recruiting season was discussed:
"The hiring partner made a comment about the bar chart posted on the web, mentioned that he was evaluating the situation, and mentioned AboveTheLaw by name. Then today we got the raise news."
Update: We now have the Baker & McKenzie - DC memo. We've posted it after the jump.
We're probably about to open a big ol' can of worms. We've been procrastinating on writing this up for a while. But what the heck -- opening up cans of worms is our job.
This past Sunday, the New York Times Magazine had a very interesting essay by celebrity law professor Noah Feldman. Here at ATL, he and his wife, fellow Harvard Law School prof Jeannie Suk, have reached a level of Brangelina celebrity that has entitled them to their own mono-moniker: Feldsuk (which you voted on, so you're estopped from complaining).
Here's the lede of Professor Feldman's piece:
A number of years ago, I went to my 10th high-school reunion, in the backyard of the one classmate whose parents had a pool. Lots of my classmates were there. Almost all were married, and many already had kids. This was not as unusual as it might seem, since I went to a yeshiva day school, and nearly everyone remained Orthodox. I brought my girlfriend. At the end, we all crowded into a big group photo, shot by the school photographer, who had taken our pictures from first grade through graduation. When the alumni newsletter came around a few months later, I happened to notice the photo. I looked, then looked again. My girlfriend and I were nowhere to be found.
I didn’t want to seem paranoid, especially in front of my girlfriend, to whom I was by that time engaged. So I called my oldest school friend, who appeared in the photo, and asked for her explanation. “You’re kidding, right?” she said. My fiancée was Korean-American. Her presence implied the prospect of something that from the standpoint of Orthodox Jewish law could not be recognized: marriage to someone who was not Jewish. That hint was reason enough to keep us out.
Not long after, I bumped into the photographer, in synagogue, on Yom Kippur. When I walked over to him, his pained expression told me what I already knew. “It wasn’t me,” he said. I believed him.
Since then I have occasionally been in contact with the school’s alumni director, who has known me since I was a child. I say “in contact,” but that implies mutuality where none exists. What I really mean is that in the nine years since the reunion I have sent him several updates about my life, for inclusion in the “Mazal Tov” section of the newsletter. I sent him news of my marriage. When our son was born, I asked him to report that happy event. The most recent news was the birth of our daughter this winter. Nothing doing. None of my reports made it into print.
Many readers emailed us about this piece. The reactions of three of them appear after the jump.
This Monday, ATL is hosting Blawg Review. If you're not familiar with this fine institution, check out their website:
Blawg Review is the blog carnival for everyone interested in law. A blog carnival is a traveling post about a topic or theme. For example, there's Carnival of the Capitalists, concerning business and economics, while Grand Rounds is about medicine and healthcare, and Blawg Review has topics discussed by lawyers, law students and law professors.
Each weekly issue of Blawg Review is made up of article submissions selected from the best recent law blog posts. The blogger that puts together the Blawg Review carnival each week is called the "host."
The host -- that's us, at least for the coming week.
If you'd like to submit a post of yours for consideration, please check out the submission guidelines (which provide the super-special email address for submissions -- not the usual ATL address). If you'd like to see an example of a Blawg Review, check out last week's edition, over at Blawgletter.
We've confirmed the news with two sources: an associate at the firm, and a law clerk with an outstanding offer. (We don't know what PH pays for two clerkships, though; if you have that info, please email us.)
Update: Confirmed. Paul Hastings also pays a $70,000 bonus for two years of clerking.
* Guess the New York Times folks missed Transformers. In this article, they identify Paul Hastings as a San Francisco law firm -- even though it's really a national firm, headquartered in Los Angeles (housed in an iconic tower that looms large over the L.A. skyline).
We've confirmed the news that Akin Gump has raised in Texas. Here's the message from Bruce McLean, the Akin Gump chairman:
We are pleased to announce that we will be increasing associate and counsel compensation effective August 1, 2007. For first and second years, compensation will increase to $160,000 and $170,000, respectively. For subsequent years, we intend to be competitive in the market. We are in the process of determining the contours of the compensation structure for our other associate classes consistent with our Firm culture and the evolving market.
We appreciate all that you do to make this a great Firm.
In other Biglaw Texas news, Hughes & Luce is in merger talks with K&L Gates.
(Some of you have worried about whether a tale might be "too old." You need not fret; oldies can be goodies. We're trying to compile a "greatest hits" list, so even hoary stories are okay. But please do indicate the summer in which the events occurred.)
Here's our latest X-Summer:
1. Superhero name: S&S Slur-Man
2. Special power: Ability to attack women and minorities from 50 feet.
3. Summered: Shearman & Sterling, summer 2005 (believed to be DC).
4. Claim to fame: Here are the allegations, from our tipster:
"Asked a female summer how she felt about the fact that since she was a woman, she'd always make less than him. Subsequently, got drunk at a firm social event and called a Hispanic summer from HLS a "wetback." Was directed to apologize by the firm... and did so in a half-assed, insincere manner. "
5. What happened next: "Slur-Man was fired (and obviously not given an offer). No knowledge of his eventual career."
(The usual rules apply. Please don't name the Slur-Man or speculate about his identity. Thanks.)
We have to step away for a bit, but we'll leave you with something that should hopefully keep you busy while we're gone. It's time for the mother of all open threads: New York, New York.
With fall recruiting season looming (or already here), we've launched a series of open threads, where people can compare notes about law firms in different cities. Here are the earlier posts in the series (which we encourage you to revisit, even after they get bumped from the ATL front page):
This post, though, is about New York. Please gossip away, responsibly, about all of Gotham's marquee names -- Cravath, Wachtell, S&C, etc. -- in the comments. Thanks.
About a month has passed since our last post about Supreme Court clerk hiring for October Term 2008 (not OT 2007, whose clerks started just this month, but the following one). We were reminded that we hadn't written about the subject in a while after we received this email:
"I heard that some dude from Calabresi just got hired on the court, then some other dude from Yale, but I can't remember who he clerked for."
Considering the frequency with which Guido-maniacs and Yalies troop off to One First Street, this is about as helpful as saying that "I heard someone with a law degree got hired to clerk for the Court."
Despite the vagueness of this information, we're sure we can get to the bottom of things -- with help from you, our loyal readers.
Please check out the latest version of our list of OT 2008 law clerks, which appears after the jump. If you have more SCOTUS clerk hiring news to add, or a correction to anything on the list, please email us (subject line: "Supreme Court clerk hiring").
We aren't expecting to get that much hiring news this time around, since the Supreme Court Term is now over, and the justices are all traipsing around Europe (or New Hampshire). But we're thinking we might hear about hires that were made some time ago but haven't hit the rumor mill yet. For example, who is the mysterious fourth Thomas clerk for OT 2008?
Just a quick follow-up to our recent post about Saira Rao and Chambermaid, her novel about a law clerk's challenging year clerking for a federal judicial diva. A tipster writes:
I just left a lunch where Saira Rao spoke to the South Asian Bar Association of Delaware, and she clarified something [from the recent Philadelphia Inquirer article].
I believe the article said something to the effect that she was pushed out of Cleary once people found out what her book was about. [Ed. note: Here's the quote from the Inquirer: "[Rao] left her New York law firm, Cleary Gottlieb, in November when the subject of her book became known, and, she said, the firm made her feel unwelcome."]
According to her, it appears the opposite was true. She mentioned that the firm was actually accommodating to her needs as a writer and essentially created a new position for her so that she could concentrate more on the book. She also said she received two months off to allow her to finish up some edits on the book as well. She actually said she loved the firm and had a wonderful experience.... [Ed. note: For more, see this comment.]
In addition, she also mentioned that the book was recently optioned to be turned into a television series, so be on the lookout. No word yet on how involved she will be beyond the title of "consultant".
With respect to the account of Rao's departure from Cleary, our understanding is that the "firm made her feel unwelcome" statement wasn't based directly on anything said by Rao herself, but reflected the article writer's interpretation of events.
We love to engage in juicy speculation about workplace departures as much as (if not more than) the next guy. But it's best when the scuttlebutt is actually accurate.
Update: We have an email in to Carlin Romano, the Philly Inquirer book critic who wrote the article. We'll let you now if and when we hear back from him.
* When it comes to the administrative state, you can run but you can't hide. [DealBreaker]
* The Elizabeth Halverson saga rolls on -- and social studies teachers are grateful for the judicial soap opera: “My high school students have never read
As you know, we recently did a series of open threads on law firms in different cities. But we realize that Biglaw isn't the only option out there.
(197) Comments
Of course we're not done with our series on the mishaps of 
[O]ne of our summers got fired... Apparently, while he was on the Newport retreat, he did something offensive, and no one knows what, exactly. The most likely story is that he said something homophobic to a lesbian partner, but it's all speculation.
Remember Wisconsin state representative 
For all of you greedy associates out there, here's a cautionary tale. From 
Our series of open threads on various U.S. legal markets is more or less done. Here are the cities or regions we've already covered:
With the 2008 presidential campaign dominating the airwaves, despite being over a year away, everyone is talking about politics (and watching awesome, politically-themed 
Here are two updates about clerkship bonuses (a subject of interest to a limited group of readers -- but those who care REALLY care):
We 
Our series of open threads on different legal markets around the country is winding down. We've already covered most of the biggies: 
Breaking news, from 
As we 
So what do lawyers do when they leave the hallowed halls of Cravath, Swaine & Moore?
Our series of posts on different cities, timed to coincide with fall recruiting season, rolls on. These open threads are designed to allow folks to compare notes about law firms in each market. The posts have a tendency to get fairly long fairly quickly, but you can just run searches on each page to find comments about a specific firm or issue.
* How to try and pull a fast one on the entire NBA. [
Not much associate pay raise news right now. We have just two more announcements, neither of them super-exciting, both from firms with "Day" in their names:
"Anyway, a group of people were sitting at a beach campfire, drinking some adult beverages and making smores and other goodies on the fire. Our heroine takes her skewer and proceeds to stab a crab, roughly 8 inches in diameter, that was trying to sneak by the people on the beach. Not a small crab. She then proceeds to roast it on the fire. There is a famous picture, which she more or less posed for, with her holding the crab on the skewer with a maniacal grin on her face. Let's just say some of the partners, spouses and others sitting around the campfire were a little shocked."
We haven't forgot about you, West Coast. We continue our open thread series on fall recruiting with a look at the legal market in the PACIFIC NORTHWEST. Here are the previous threads, which we still encourage you to revisit:
The open thread series in celebration of fall recruiting season continues. Here are the previous threads, which we encourage you to revisit:
To celebrate fall recruiting season, we're doing a series of open threads, to allow people to compare notes about law firms in different cities. Think of them as chat rooms for legal scuttlebutt. (Some of the comment threads get really long, but if you're looking for information on a particular firm or issue, just run a search on the page.)*
Remember that 
We're probably about to open a big ol' can of worms. We've been procrastinating on writing this up for a while. But what the heck -- opening up cans of worms is our job.
The 
We've confirmed the news that Akin Gump has raised in Texas. Here's the message from Bruce McLean, the Akin Gump chairman:
We have to step away for a bit, but we'll leave you with something that should hopefully keep you busy while we're gone. It's time for the mother of all open threads: New York, New York.
About a month has passed since our 
Just a quick follow-up to our 
* Can you invoke the Fifth Amendment if you're a juror being voir dired? [