October 2007

* Thomas, J., dissenting. [CNN] * Arbitrator awards Atlanta Falcons $20m Vick bonus. [Yahoo Sports] * The case of the missing mayor comes before a court. [MSNBC] * Kiefer Sutherland, tortured into confession for DUI, gets 48 seasons in jail. [MSNBC] * Michigan Dems and DNC clash as candidates pull out of unsanctioned primary. [CNN]

Attention, ATL readers — your wit and wisdom are needed. From Cal Law (via Blogonaut): Boalt Hall School of Law has hired San Francisco brand consulting firm Marshall Strategy Inc. to poll students, faculty, alumni and others in aid of devising a “single brand” name for the school, a Boalt spokeswoman said. San Francisco Bay […]

Back in June, we predicted that veteran litigator Joseph Russoniello, of Cooley Godward Kronish in San Francisco, would be nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District. Months later, no nominee has been named. As the folks over at Legal Pad noted last month, it’s a bit strange — especially since Ruossoniello’s background […]

An attorney sent this office-wide email to the entire Washington office of Arnold & Porter: To: [D.C. office of Arnold & Porter]Subject: Did you leave your tie on my chair? I know this may sound ridiculous, however, I’m not sure how to handle this unusual situation. I don’t know where it came from, but this […]

Here’s our latest legal celebrity sighting, for our occasional Eyes of the Law feature: I’ve seen Alberto Gonzales walking the streets near Metro Center three times in the last month. Today he was walking with a blonde woman who was keeping a comfortable distance and not saying much. She looked like someone I should recognize, […]

From a Philadelphia tipster: “Since you posted the Blank Rome raise, you might as well post this raise regarding Ballard Spahr as well.” Ballard Spahr is an Am Law 100 firm. So sure, we’re happy to post their associate pay raise memo. Check it out, after the jump.

Of course it does. Check out this post, with a handy chart, over at Empirical Legal Studies. Here’s an excerpt from Professor Bill Henderson’s excellent analysis: The median salary spread for a 1st year associate at a 2 -25 lawyer firm versus a 500+ firm is $77,000. When the reference group is a 51-100 lawyer […]

Law firms love free publicity. Especially law firms that have been in the news for having to pay $27.5 million to settle age discrimination claims by former partners. Or maybe not: David Otunga, a 2006 graduate of Harvard Law School and former associate at Sidley Austin, appeared in the first episode of I Love New […]

Think of law firm recruiting as a war. America’s top law firms are engaged in a battle to the death, vying for the best young legal minds in the country. And in this war, Sullivan & Cromwell is bringing out the heavy artillery. Sources report that S&C is sending its offerees… BONSAI TREES!!! We asked […]

* Oregon teacher sues for right to bring gun to school. [MSNBC] * Banks scarier than criminals? [Red Tape Chronicles] * Marion Jones returns gold medals. [ESPN] * Hillary spars with questioner over interpretation of Senate’s Iran resolution language. [CNN PoliTic]

In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t publishing today (even though many of you, except for the government workers among you, are probably at work). For more explanation, see this post, over at our big sibling site. Happy Columbus Day! We’ll see you tomorrow. Happy Columbus Day! [DealBreaker]

* Where’s tort reform when you need it? [KMBC-TV] * Duke players sue. [New York Times] * Record companies 1, Illegal downloaders 0 (and by 1 we mean $220,000) [Jurist] * Saudis embrace the idea of judicial activism the rule of law. [BBC] * Hey PETA: Leave Michael Vick alone! [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] * Prosecutors don’t […]

Warmest congratulations to our friends Junko Ozao and Jason Choy, whose lovely wedding was written up in this week’s Vows column. Jason is an associate at Kirkland & Ellis, but Junko is a normal person, and that shortcoming cost them a spot in this week’s Legal Eagle Wedding Watch. The news will likely ruin their […]

Ok, here’s the final non-top-tier law graduate of the day: Name: Leon Panetta Law School: Santa Clara University Current Position: Co-Director of The Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute of Public Policy, and frequent talking head Why He’s Our Winner: Former Congressman and White House Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton And this winner reminds us […]

Here is the latest Job of the Week, courtesy of ATL’s career partner, Lateral Link. To refresh your recollection: “Because Lateral Link does no cold-calling and is more efficient than traditional recruiting firms, successful candidates receive $10,000 upon placement.” Company: Fortune 500 Tech Company Title: Corporate Counsel, Real Estate Location: Mountain View, CA Description: This […]

Calvin Broadus, a/k/a Snoop Dogg. Because the caption of the case lacked that all-important a/k/a, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Helen I. Bendix didn’t realize with whom she was dealing: A judge hearing a lawsuit brought by Snoop Dogg against his former record label said Thursday she didn’t realize it involved the famous rapper because […]

Ok, so strictly speaking it’s not a lawsuit. It’s an arbitration hearing before a special master pursuant to the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Falcons are seeking to recoup $22 million already paid to Vick in signing bonuses. The Falcons claim that, since Vick knew at the time that he signed the contract and received […]

We received the following suggestion: You’ve been profiling a lot of these grads who go into Mega-Corporate Law- how about something different, like, say Government Service? Great idea! We even like your two candidates, so we’re going to give the award to one of them right now, and then there will be a co-winner this […]

A standoff between police and a gunman holed up in an Alexandria, Louisiana law office ended this morning with the police shooting and killing the man. During the standoff he shot five people, two of which died. From the New York Times: Roy identified one of the dead as Joey Giordano, son of attorney Camille […]

Not exactly. We’ve been receiving a multitude of tips indicating that that was exactly what Bingham intended to do. So we did some asking around, and here is Bingham’s official comment on the situation: Our hours policy reflects a balance between understanding that billable work is critical to Bingham’s success and that non-billable contributions to […]