November 2007
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Biglaw, Hotties, Layoffs, Pornography, Thacher Proffitt & Wood
Thacher Proffitt Hires Playboy Model!(So Who Cares If They're Doing Layoffs?)
If you go to Thacher Proffitt & Wood, you might get laid off. Or you might get…. oh, never mind. From Roll On Friday: In an exciting development for lonely male structured finance lawyers, US firm Thacher Proffitt has recruited a former Playboy model to join its structured finance group. The lawyer bared all back […] -
Blogging, Contests, Shameless Plugs
Vote for ATL in the ABA Journal's Blawg 100!
The ABA Journal just announced its Blawg 100: “the 100 best Web sites by lawyers, for lawyers, as chosen by the editors of the ABA Journal.” And we’re happy to report that Above the Law is among them. Very cool! The ABA Journal has divided the 100 legal blogs into different categories. Readers can vote […] - Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Cars, Drugs, Marijuana, State Judges
Dude, Where's My Pot?
With the police, who pulled you over for a traffic infraction. But the good news is that you’re getting it back. From CBS: Eight grams of medical marijuana seized from a Garden Grove man during a traffic stop must be returned to him, according to an appeals court ruling directing local law enforcement to uphold […]
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Crime, Guns / Firearms, Judge of the Day, Old People, State Judges, Violence
Judge of the Day: Ira Robinson
Compared to their colleagues in the trial court, appellate judges have a reputation for being delicate, academic creatures, with less in the way of “street smarts.” But don’t lump New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Ira Robinson in that group. From the Albuquerque Journal (subscription): New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Ira Robinson expected the […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2007, Biglaw, Bonuses, Contract Attorneys, Money, Paralegals, Skaddenfreude
Associate Staff Attorney Bonus Watch: Open Thread
In the absence of more associate bonus news — we’ve heard rumors of various committees at various firms meeting, but we have no new announcements — let’s move on to a related subject. What about bonuses for staff attorneys, the non-partnership-track lawyers employed by many large law firms? Here’s what one of them had to […] -
Gender, Jeffrey Epstein, Media and Journalism, Nude Dancing, Sex, Sex Scandals, Wall Street, Weirdness
Maximilia Cordero: Maybe Not a Man - and Ready To Prove It
The story of Cordero v. Epstein — the lawsuit filed by an aspiring model against prominent Wall Street financier Jeffrey Epstein, alleging that he took advantage of her when she was underage — gets weirder by the day. The New York Post reported that the model, Maximilia Cordero, was actually born a man — one […] -
Antonin Scalia, Books, Celebrities, Clarence Thomas, Eyes of the Law, Pictures
The Eyes of the Law: Justice Scalia at Georgetown
Our latest legal celebrity sighting: Justice Antonin Scalia, spotted at Georgetown University Law Center. He is believed to have been at GULC to speak to a con law class. Of the current justices on the Supreme Court, Justice Scalia clearly inspires the greatest amount of fanatical devotion. How many other justices have their own fansite? […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.29.07
* NWA has to pay pilots’ attorney’s fees. [AP via Yahoo! Finance] * Morrisey’s not only a miserable bastard, he’s a xenophobe too! (Don’t sue us, Morrisey; we’re just kidding.) [Contact Music] * Ford rolls over on Explorer suits. [AP via Atlanta Journal-Constitution] * HBO chickens out on trademark suit. [WSJ Law Blog] * Georgia […]
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AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
How solo lawyers, midsize firms, and global large law firms have an opportunity to adjust the way they work. -
Crime, Gay, Hurricane Katrina, Lawyer of the Day, Plaintiffs Firms, Politics, Richard Scruggs, Sex Scandals, White-Collar Crime
Lawyer of the Day: Dickie Scruggs
Yesterday the FBI executed a search warrant on the Scruggs Law Firm in Oxford, Mississippi — the shop of high-flying plaintiffs’ lawyer Dickie Scruggs. It wasn’t immediately clear what investigation the search was related to. Here’s some commentary on the situation that we enjoyed, from David Rossmiller (in brackets, following excerpt from news article): “This […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 11.28.07
* Hey look! Biglaw partners have an ATL of their own, and it’s called, appropriately enough, More Partner Income. Here’s a post about how to get associates to enter their hours in timely fashion — so partners can get themselves PAID, w00t. Helpful hint: Offer them CANDY! [MorePartnerIncome.com] * “JD, No Job, Debt – What […] -
Biglaw, Fabulosity, Feminism, Heller Ehrman, Hillary Clinton, Politics
Heller Ehrman (Los Angeles) Has a Diva-licious New Leader
Some of our prior coverage of Heller Ehrman has been a bit gloomy. We take it all back. Now that the firm’s Los Angeles office is under a magnificent new leader — Nancy Sher Cohen, whom we have previously praised in these pages — we see nothing but good things ahead. Legal Pad conducts a […] -
Headhunters / Recruiters
Headhunter Horror Stories: The Lunch from Hell
Ed. note: We have nothing against headhunters or legal recruiters. To the contrary, we’re generally big fans of them — especially the ones who advertise on ATL, making this website possible. But it can’t be denied that some of them can be real pains in the a**. If you have a headhunter horror story to […] -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Skaddenfreude, Thacher Proffitt & Wood
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Thacher Proffitt???
In the world of Biglaw, bad news and good news go hand in hand these days. Recall that Clifford Chance announced associate layoffs and generous bonuses in the same week. And now Thacher Proffitt & Wood, on the heels of yesterday’s news about likely future layoffs, is raising base salaries for its senior associates. We […]
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Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
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9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Fabulosity, Hotties
Congratulations to Incoming Chief Judge Kozinski!(And an ATL Request for a San Francisco Correspondent)
This Friday, at the Ninth Circuit courthouse in San Francisco, a ceremonial “passing of the gavel” will be held. The court’s outgoing chief judge, Mary M. Schroeder, will hand over the gavel to her successor, Alex Kozinski. Details about the ceremony appear in this press release (PDF). From How Appealing (additional links collected below): Judge […] -
Aaron Charney, Bar Exams, Eric Krautheimer, Gay
A Charney v. S&C Postscript: Congratulations to Eric Krautheimer!
Before Thanksgiving, we put up an open thread devoted to discussion of the California bar exam. We’re surprised that nobody mentioned this interesting tidbit of news (which we learned about from a tipster via email): High-powered Sullivan & Cromwell partner Eric Krautheimer, the alleged tormentor of gay associate Aaron Charney, took and passed the July […] -
Correspondence, Job Searches, Paralegals, Weirdness
How Not To Respond to an Ad for Temporary Paralegal Assistance
A legal staffing agency put up an advertisement soliciting applications for a temporary paralegal position. Cover letters and résumés started rolling in. Like this one: Hello there, I am not a paralegal. But, I type 85 WPM and used to be [an] executive assistant and have multiple skillsets, easy to train, that honestly set me […] -
Kids, Sentencing Law, Violence
Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child; Use the Rod, Break the Law?
Call us old-fashioned, barbaric, or unenlightened — but this strikes us as a bit ridiculous. From ABC News: Massachusetts lawmakers say a proposed measure that would ban parents from spanking their children, even in their own homes, is a way to protect kids from abuse. But many parents believe it’s an example of government run […] -
Bad Ideas, Drinking, Holidays and Seasons, Parties
Ring in the New Year... At Skadden!(But BYOB - In Your Stomach)
Wondering where to spend New Year’s Eve this year? Well, if you’re in New York City, do you have any friends over at Skadden? Surely you must. Considering that the firm recently passed the 2,000 attorney mark, everyone has friends at Skadden (if they don’t work there themselves). From an internal email by “New York […] -
Andrew Speaker, Fast Food, Intellectual Property, Morning Docket, Music, Pakistan, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 11.28.07
* Oral argument in New Jersey v. Delaware. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF) via How Appealing] * I’ll have a Joey Bag of Lawsuits. [AP via Atlanta Journal-Constitution] * TB Andy didn’t hurt anybody. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] * Grandpa got screwed over by a lawsuit … [AP via Reno Gazette-Journal] * Pakistan lets (almost) everyone go, but […]
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Cellphones, Contempt, Judge of the Day, Lunacy, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: Robert Restaino
This episode gives new meaning to the term “flip phone.” A cell phone that went off during court proceedings caused one judge to, well, flip out. From the NYT’s City Room blog: The next time you pass through the city court system in Niagara Falls, N.Y., remember to turn your cellphone off. Today, the Commission […]