September 2007

Biglaw

Forget About the Summer Associate Stories

Maybe we should feature stories about the full-time associates who mistreat summer associates. For one such story, involving a senior associate in New York who’s an a**hole of Ari Gold proportions, see here. Or maybe we should feature stories about partners who, despite being partners, comport themselves in a manner that would make Aquagirl blush. […]

Fabulosity

It’s Official: Nina Totenberg Is a Diva

Up until this point, we had perhaps shaky evidence that Nina Totenberg, legal affairs correspondent for NPR, is a diva. There was the (now closed) ATL reader poll, in which 30 percent of you declared La Totenberg to be a true diva. There were various stories of diva-like behavior. There was her recent, diva-licious appearance […]

Education / Schools

Best Law School Course Ever?

We’re not being sarcastic. This course, to be offered at Georgetown Law in spring 2008, sounds awesome. To the average law student, it’s probably way more interesting than securities regulation (or even ERISA — one of our favorite law school classes). [FN1] From the GULC course catalog: The Law of “24”Professor W. SharpLL.M Course 853 […]

Biglaw

Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: More News from Atlanta

The devoted readership of ATL down in ATL will appreciate this update. From an article by Meredith Hobbs in yesterday’s Fulton County Daily Report: More law firms have capitulated in Atlanta’s second round of pay raises this year. Jones Day will raise starting pay to $150,000, and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky […]

Biglaw

To Blackberry, or Not to Blackberry? That Is the Question

Recently submitted to Fortune magazine by “Bored in BlackBerryLand”: I am a recent law-school graduate and, though I’m not yet working at a law firm, I have friends who are. I understand that things in international firms happen 24/7, 365 days a year, and I want to be as supportive of my friends’ careers as […]

Celebrities

Morning Docket: 09.06.07

* Um, let me get this straight: a U.S. judge is holding a hearing about whether France will comply with the Geneva Conventions? [BBC] * Don’t be fooled by the arbitration award that she got; she’s still Jenny from the block. [AP via Fulton County Daily Report] * Haditha officers sanctioned, but not criminals. [CNN] […]

Harriet Miers

Harriet Miers: Who Deserves the Blame?

Sigh. Too much to write about, not enough time (or energy). We should have written about this on Tuesday. But since we didn’t, we now have the luxury of assembling a post by commenting on what other people have already written — and snarkily noting that they all say the same thing. It all started […]

Education / Schools

Non-Sequiturs: 09.05.07

* Sadly, the Nixon Peabody theme song didn’t make the cut. [TechnoLawyer] * “Sonnenschein sued for millions by former partner.” [Legal Times] * News you can use: “How much income can parents have before losing all financial aid for their kids’ college?” [TaxProf Blog] * We’re late in linking to this, but here’s Blawg Review […]

Clerkships

Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: OT 2008 (Update #5)

Not too long ago, we said we had a “gut feeling” that some Supreme Court clerk hiring was going on (despite the Court being in recess). We were right. Meet Porter Wilkinson. And don’t hate her because she’s beautiful. Or brilliant. Or rich. Or the daughter of a top feeder judge and frequent Supreme Court […]

Benchslaps

Judge of the Day: Herman Thomas

Mobile County Circuit Judge Herman Thomas is ATL’s Judge of the Day. He takes the prize for his innovative approach to sentencing. From the Mobile Press-Register: Authorities are investigating allegations that now-suspended Mobile County Circuit Judge Herman Thomas periodically removed prisoners from Mobile County Metro Jail and spanked them in a room at the courthouse, […]

Drinking

The Bruised Booze Cruiser: An Alternate Account

For those of you who might be interested, here’s another version of yesterday’s story about the Bruised Booze Cruiser — a Kirkland & Ellis summer associate who got slugged by a local lass in Chicago (after getting drunk on the firm-sponsored booze cruise and calling said woman a “fat bitch”). We actually received many accounts […]

Feminism

But What About the Dads?

A tipster drew our attention to this Craigslist posting, to which he appended a single line of commentary: “Discriminatory? Ha Ha.” It seems that only the title of the posting implicates motherhood. The main body of the listing refers to the candidate as “he or she,” and the job responsibilities do not require a maternal […]

Biglaw

Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 50 UK Law Firms

Lately we’ve been talking to a lot of 2Ls about the law firm recruiting process. From these conversations, we’ve learned that (1) a fair number are interested in working abroad, especially in the fabulous (and fabulously expensive) city of London, and (2) many law students treat the Vault law firm rankings as the Gospel. In […]

Biglaw

Skaddenfreude: Distribution of 2006 Starting Salaries for Lawyers

We’ve made this point before in these pages, and we’ll make it again: not every recent law school graduate is on the $160K (or even $145K) scale. Many newly minted lawyers are pulling down salaries that fall well short of the six-figure mark. Check out this interesting graphic, which shows the distribution of full-time salaries […]