October 2007
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.05.07
* It just got harder to be a police officer in Canada. [Jurist] * Really? Cause we’ve got caps in Georgia too, and we still are short on doctors, especially in rural areas. Also, heath care costs have gone up. I’m just saying; maybe there are other factors. [New York Times] * Georgia planning executions […]
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Crime, Gay, Howard Bashman, Jack Thompson, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Pornography, SCOTUS, Sex, Sports, Supreme Court
Non-Sequiturs: 10.04.07
* He likes ’em young. [WNBC] * WSJ Law Blog follows SCOTUS comedy. [WSJ Law Blog] * More Jack Thompson chicanery. [GamePolitics] * In keeping with the non-top-tier theme, here’s a Tier 4 that’s moving. [WRAL] * Sorry, Howard Bashman. [Yahoo!] - Sponsored
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar on April 10th, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs: Alston & Bird Gets Megapoached By DLA Piper
Alston & Bird lost four partners from its Washington office to DLA Piper on Tuesday, according to this report from The Lawyer: Alston & Bird’s Washington office was rocked yesterday (Tuesday 2 October) by the exit of four partners to DLA Piper, including DC co-managing partner and chair of the firm’s executive committee, Frank Rusty […]
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Clarence Thomas, Law Schools, Supreme Court Clerks
Co-Non-Top-Tier Law Graduate of the Day
We have another recipient of this week’s award, a graduate of Tier 3 Creighton: Name: Patrick Strawbridge Law School: Creighton University Current Position: Associate, Preti Flaherty Why He’s Our Winner: Will clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas in OT 2008. Our tipster had this to say about Strawbridge: Your next non-top-tier law grad story should be […] -
Bonuses
Year-End Bonus Watch: Miami / Florida
After a somewhat slow start, our open threads on year-end bonuses are showing signs of life. So we’ll do a few more. We’ve received several requests, in comments and by email, for a MIAMI / FLORIDA thread. So here you go. Please discuss the Sunshine State bonus situation — in terms of bonus policies, billable-hour […] -
Crime, Larry Craig, Politics, Sex Scandals
Breaking But Not Surprising News: Judge Refuses To Let Craig Unplea
CNN is reporting that the Minnesota judge presiding over Larry Craig’s case has refused to let him undo his guilty plea stemming from his “wide stance” episode in a Minneapolis airport bathroom. The judge said that the plea was “knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.” We question the intelligent part, but we know what he means. So […] -
Insurance, State Judges, Weirdness
Did A Texas Supreme Court Justice Burn Down His Own House?
The home of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina was destroyed by a fire on June 28. Officials investigating the fire are now saying that the fire appears to have been intentionally set: Investigators said they considered the fire as incendiary after ruling out all other accidental causes, such as an electrical short, that could […] -
Law Schools
Non-Top-Tier Law School Graduate of the Day: Philip J. Boeckman
Here’s our latest Non-Top-Tier Law School Graduate of the Day, a graduate of Tier 2 Missouri. Name: Philip J. Boeckman Law School: University of Missouri-Columbia Current Position: Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore Why He’s Our Winner: Making it from a Tier 2 to become partner at Cravath. Boeckman is not known for a famous client […] - Sponsored
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Learn how emerging tools will likely change and enhance the work of lawyers for years to come in this new report. -
Biglaw, Blank Rome, Money, Skaddenfreude
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Blank Rome Raises
Yesterday Blank Rome announced associate pay raises, of varying sizes, that will take effect in 2008. The firm will move to a starting salary of $160,000 in New York, but not in Washington. In the Philadelphia mother ship, starting pay will be $145,000. The billable minimum at Blank Rome is 2000 hours. Here’s the memo: […] -
Biglaw, Lawyer Advertising, Litigators, Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi
Or Like Lawyers Who Blog For A Living
Hi all, this is Billy Merck once again (for those regulars out there who already hate know me, check out the link anyway, ’cause the site’s been revamped), mostly filling in for today and tomorrow, though Lat is probably going to poke his head in a time or two. We’re going to be continuing Non-Top-Tier […] -
ACLU, Michael Vick, Morning Docket, Pro Bono, Pro Se Litigants, Torture, War on Terror
Morning Docket: 10.04.07
* Does a federal district court have to recruit pro bono counsel for a pro se litigant? [Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals via How Appealing] * DOJ cool with torture tough interrogation techniques. [New York Times] * Bush doesn’t care about poor kids. [AP via Athens Banner-Herald] * The ACLU doesn’t want to let Bush […]
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Biglaw, Howrey LLP, Money, Skaddenfreude, Weirdness
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Howrey Postpones Weirdness
As you may recall from our prior coverage, in posts titled Howrey Is Planning Something Weird and More About the Howrey Weirdness, the law firm of Howrey LLP was planning to ditch lockstep compensation for its associates — in favor of something weird (or innovative, or both). Starting in 2008, Howrey was going to employ […] -
Mergers and Acquisitions, New York Times, Shameless Plugs
Attention Young Legal Deal Makers: Did You Make the Cut?
The excellent DealBook Special Section, in today’s New York Times, has a piece by Andrew Ross Sorkin that the New York deal lawyers among you will love. It’s entitled The Facebook of Wall Street’s Future: Here is a snapshot of more than 100 people who make up the next generation of deal makers, everyone 40 […]
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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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…
Sponsored
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Learn how emerging tools will likely change and enhance the work of lawyers for years to come in this new report.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar on April 10th, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
This AI-Powered Document Tool Will Meet You Where You Are
Lexis Create provides simple access to internal and external knowledge — directly within Microsoft Word.
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Holy Crap, Vermin / Rodents / Pests
Breaking: The Cadwalader Bed Bugs Are Baaack!
Sources in the New York office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft have informed us that a bed bug has been found on the 20th floor. It is believed that said bedbug infiltrated the premises through a delivery or box shipment. Perhaps it was hidden in a document production from opposing counsel? Attorneys were notified of […] -
Fashion, Guantanamo Bay, Perks / Fringe Benefits, Prisons, War on Terror
Guantanamo Bay Perk Watch: Under Armor Briefs!
Life for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, while difficult, isn’t 100 percent grim. From yesterday’s Washington Post: Undergarments from Under Armour, the sports apparel line, offer “all-day performance, delivered in a lightweight compression fit,” at least according to the company’ s promotional material. While “unprecedented” in its ability to deliver comfort, Under Armour underwear is not […] -
Email Scandals, Job Searches, Law Schools, Rudeness
Non-Top-Tier Law School Week: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Dianna Abdala?
In case you’ve forgotten, this week is still Non-Top-Tier Law School Week at ATL. It has been a big hit, as reflected in both site traffic and the number of reader comments on posts. If you don’t like this theme — if, for example, you see it as patronizing or degrading (which is not our […] -
Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Fashion, Gay, Patton Boggs, Racism, Summer Associates
Patton Boggs: Confederate Flags and Disparaging F*gs Gays
Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures we’ll be seeing here in D.C. later this week, summer is over. But that doesn’t mean our inbox is closed to stories of summer associate scandal. Check out this great pair of controversies, from the summer program of Washington powerhouse Patton Boggs: There have been rumors flying around Patton Boggs […] -
Biglaw, Hedge Funds / Private Equity, Media and Journalism, Mergers and Acquisitions, Money, New York Times, Private Equity, Shameless Plugs, Wall Street
For M&A Lawyers, Is the Premium Party Over?
As some of you have noticed, we have an article in today’s New York Times, in the DealBook Special Section. It’s about fee arrangements in the (highly lucrative) context of mergers-and-acquisitions work. Here’s a teaser: For some firms, billable hours are just the beginning. As the boom rolled on, law firms specializing in mergers and […] -
Biglaw, Cheapness, Money
What's Up at WilmerHale? The Baltimore Office
Toe up, that is. After our recent post about WilmerHale having “issues,” multiple sources wrote in to tell us that the firm’s Baltimore office is closing, effective January 1, 2008. Once again, the firm ignored us did not respond to our request for comment (which we, like Robert Novak, don’t like very much). If you […] -
Fabulosity, Law Professors, Law Schools, Lawyerly Lairs, Money, Real Estate
Lawyerly Lairs: Columbia Law Professor Now Wants $30 Million for His Mansion
One year ago, we wrote about how Columbia law professor Hans Smit was trying to unload his 12,000 square foot home — the only freestanding single-family mansion in Manhattan — for a cool $29 million. One year later, the good professor’s home is still on the market. Its white-marble-clad facade greeted us when we visited […]