August 2007

It’s the Friday afternoon before Labor Day, and we’re ready to pack it in. We might put up another post or two — e.g., Legal Eagle Wedding Watch — but basically we are done for the day. (Our colleagues over at DealBreaker checked out hours ago.) Before we sign off, we’d like to point out […]

Yesterday we were away from the blogosphere. We had several meetings to attend in the morning. Then, in the afternoon, we did a webcast for ABC News. We spoke with Mary Fulginiti, the former AUSA who now covers legal affairs for ABC News, about L’Affaire Nixon Peabody: (The last time we did a webcast for […]

Good stuff. Check it out here (article) and here (chart). The Paycheck Report [The American Lawyer] Associates Salary Survey [The American Lawyer]

Position: Fund Formation Partner Employer: A rapidly growing general corporate law firm (New York) Description: A senior-level attorney to build the firm’s fund formation practice. Although portable business is not required, the successful candidate must be willing to work very hard to get the practice started. The firm will provide access to major hedge fund […]

What? You’re still here? Shouldn’t you be at the beach right now, enjoying what remains of the summer? Or maybe at a barbecue (goat head sold separately)? For those of you who are still stuck in front of computers, let’s face it: you’re not getting any work done today. So you might as well sit […]

* Sen. Craig may resign today. [CNN] * NBA refs lawyer up. [CBS Sportsline] * Iowa court approves same-sex marriages. [CNN] * Foreign-born widows face deportation. [MSNBC] * Litigation from Exxon’s 1989 spill continues… all over a measly $5 billion. [Yahoo News]

* Nifong pleads not guilty to contempt. [CNN] * Debarge beats his woman to the Rhythm of the Night. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] * Texas just keeps on killing people didn’t kill this one (our bad; we saw Texas and execution and assumed). [New York Times] * Can’t get enough funny Larry Craig stuff? Here you go! […]

The Associated Press (via the Washington Post) reported Tuesday that the short list to replace Alberto Gonzales as AG is the following five names: Ted Olson George J. Terwilliger, III Sen. Orrin Hatch Larry D. Thompson Paul D. Clement Ted Olson seems like a solid, non-controversial choice. Terwilliger would definitely be the most fun name […]

Last week we wondered whether conditions in the stock and credit markets might lead to layoffs or affect bonuses. The situation has continued to deteriorate, particularly in the credit market. Now others are starting to join us in the rampant speculation about layoffs. From the NYT’s DealBook: The current turmoil in the credit market has […]

We’re into the high eighties of the Vault 100 law firms. But even if there may be 85 firms ranked ahead of these next five firms, don’t forget that they are still incredibly prestigious and profitable places to work. Here are the firms to chat about this afternoon: 86. Arent Fox PLLC (4.813)87. Katten Muchin […]

From the National Examiner: The American Tort Reform Association has posted Weird Al’s “I’ll Sue Ya” on its Web site, suggesting that the tune be “adopted as a theme song by America’s personal injury lawyers.” “It’s been awhile since I’ve personally kept up with Weird Al’s work, but it’s nice to know he hasn’t lost […]

The Phil Spector trial is almost at its end, but Spector has nevertheless just added a lawyer to his legal team: San Francisco attorney Dennis Riordan. Riordan comes on as Bruce Cutler departs, though presiding Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler took pains to clarify that Riordan is not replacing Cutler as lead counsel for […]

This week marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The news has been full of reports about the status of the affected areas, particularly New Orleans, two years later. Most of them have not been good; here are a few examples: “Bitterness lingers 2 years after Katrina” [AP via Yahoo!] “Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast Struggling 2 […]

In the earliest version of yesterday’s open thread dedicated to discussing Vault 100 law firms, we put up the wrong firms at first. Sorry about that. So now is the time to talk about Howrey (which was the subject of some brief discussion yesterday, before we corrected the post). Here are this morning’s five firms […]

* Probably no AG nominee for a couple weeks. [CNN] * Clinton donor under cloud in fraud case. [NY Times] * Falcons seek $20m in contract money from Vick. [ESPN] * How you dooin? [CNN]

It’s Billy Merck again, your favorite person to shoot spitballs at fill-in for Lat, who’s got a full day away from the blogosphere today. We start today with some stray Larry Craig news. First, we certainly don’t mean to imply anything about the deceased chief justice, but there is a creepy resemblance here. Next, Craig […]

* Some of you have asked for more Larry Craig coverage. Here you go. [Blogonaut] * The latest developments in the bizarre Gene Plotkin insider trading case. You remember — the one involving “a Merrill Lynch junior analyst, a 63-year old retired Croatian underwear seamstress, an exotic dancer, and two former employees from the Wisconsin […]

We realize that it’s still summer. Many of the justices are still traipsing around Europe (or hanging out in the Hampshire, as in the case of Justice David Souter). It’s also the last week of August, leading into the Labor Day holiday weekend – traditionally one of the slowest, most dead weeks of the year. […]

What’s up with all these federal judges seeking to leave their life-tenured quarters? We understand that the pay’s not great (which is why we urge them to marry rich). But being an Article III judge is still nice work if you can get it. Despite the power and prestige, two federal judges are moving on […]

Our series of open threads on Vault 100 law firms is nearing its conclusion. Here are this afternoon’s firms (with Vault prestige scores in parentheses): 76. Bryan Cave LLP (5.095)77. Schulte Roth & Zabel (5.080)78. Perkins Coie (5.058)79. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan (5.022)80. Patton Boggs LLP (5.015) Collectively these firms have made several appearances […]