that photo sucks. i had to mouse over it to tell what the hell it is.

We bottle poppin?

Boy. This week just highlights the fact that this blog is nothing without pay raise news/gossip/hype/hope/hysteria.

W&C is moving according to Law.com

The "Katrina thugs shooting at the National Guard" nonsense. Everytime I think you could not be any more of an idiot, you manage to rise to the occasion Merck.

10:39 - exactly.

"Moving" as in going up to $180K for starting salaries? That wouldn't surprise avid (or even casual) ATL readers.

10:39, whatever you say about Katrina, you cannot plausibly deny that there were instances of thugs shooting at NG and police. You can try and defend them but you can't really say it didn't happen.

Maybe do a post on why I Am Lawsuit Abuse.org (whatever the hell that means) is running ads on ATL.

Lat please automate the firing of Billy Merck. If you want, I can write you a few snippets of code. It's really super easy . . .

Guys in my high school used to write shitty posts all the time, 'twas no big deal.

P.S. YIPEE KA YE

Dear 10:26:

I disagree. This week proves that they can post ANYTHING on this site and ATL readers will visit, linger, and comment--even if the post is simply "happy hollidays".

10:31 - this was covered on ATL a couple of weeks ago. Get with the program.

what is the picture?? i moused over and still can't tell. it looks like the death star on top but something weird ont he bottom half.

The NRA's suit was to protect law abiding gun owners from having their only means of protection confiscated by the government when they need them the most, not to protect people who were shooting at the National Guard. Idiots.

didn't they rape babies at the superdome?

W&C better move. The NY office lobby looks like the corporate headquaters for 1980s era Miami drug lords.

"you cannot plausibly deny that there were instances of thugs shooting at NG and police."

Correct. You also cannot plausibly deny that there were more instances of looting and rioting unstopped by the police; more thugs with guns illegally than legally, which were the ones being improperly seized here; and more police wholly abandoning their role and engaging in the lawlessness on their own.

You cannot plausibly deny that pirates > ninjas.

pirates > ninjas, but

Jedis > pirates + ninjas X (chuck norris)^hobbit

12:07

the pic is a wicked close-up of the superdome's roof. terrible. i bet guys in frat stud's high school used google images to find better pics than that one all the time. and it probably wasn't even a big deal.

12:21,

You are largely correct. Many who were in NO at the time abandoned there humanity regardless of social post. I only care to point out that what happened does not fit some rigid, partisan dichotomy between the oppressed poor and their would-be better. An asshole is an asshole, regardless of color, creed or occupation.

Many reports of shots fired were people trying to signal their prescence to potential rescuers. A natural disaster is no excuse for confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens. If you think that's OK, why not "waive" the 4th & 5th Amendments, too, since you might reduce crime in the affected area, thereby speeding disaster recovery.

12:58: Someone who confuses "there" and "their" is painful, regardless of color, creed or occupation.

Dear 1:10,

Please re-read my sentence. You will notice that the plural noun "betters" is mis-spelled as the singular "better." You will also notice that "their" was correctly used. Now kindly shove your grammar policing up your non-comprehending ass.

"Many who were in NO at the time abandoned there humanity regardless of social post."

Well, now I am just an ass. Sincerest apologies.

No problem.

My apologies in advance for entering into the pretentious back and forth on grammar, but 12:58 and 1:10 might both be wrong. It shouldn't be "there" or "their." It should be a singular pronoun (e.g. its) because it replaces the singular "oppressed poor."

No, it replaces "many".

Ha. Tou-freaking-che.

"NRA defends the rights of hurricane victims to shoot at the National Guard"

Right. Because everyone with a gun wants to shoot at the government.

Sounds like that issue was framed by someone who used to be a government lawyer.

After actually reading the article, the guns that were "seized" were taken out of abandoned homes to prevent miscreants who were looting from taking the guns themselves. That's one reason why the NRA is having so much trouble finding plaintiffs to represent.

No one was taking guns out of peoples' hands or preventing those in lawful possession of guns from keeping them.

Another instance of a misleading headline leading to absurd 2nd amendment polemics.

White people are the devil. White man and his global warming got us in this mess! You ever hear of a black man making a gun? NOPE -- those are the white man's invention. But, the news story is how some black person tried to defend himself against the white oppressor! bah humbug

Some of the guns seized may have been from abandoned homes, but many were also seized from people who needed them to protect themselves and their families. The NRA isn't having trouble finding plaintiffs, they just want to find as many as possible so they can show the outrageousness of what happened. This has been one of the major victories the NRA has been able to tout over the past year or so.

There was another graphic that was posted here not too long ago that really showed how effective the NRA has been recently. It showed the proliferation of "shall issue" concealed carry laws they have been able to get passed in states across the country.

2:36--You're an idiot.

Well, clearly 2:38 has the best of that argument. Moot Court champ from American Justice School of Law?

"Maybe do a post on why I Am Lawsuit Abuse.org (whatever the hell that means) is running ads on ATL."

The answer is self evident. ALT prominently covered (and ridiculed) the primary example on the lawsuit abuse site of the need for reform (the $54M pants lawsuit) and recently featured another lawsuit (of the day) cited on the webpage (60 year old man vs. 8 year old skier), and has ridiculed other dumb lawsuits as the lawsuit of the day.

Therefore, Lawsuit Abuse dot org thinks they may have a sympathetic (Big Law) audience here. (Not an unreasonable assumption.)

The fallacy, of course, is that a dozen (nation wide) dumb lawsuits a year justify some federal limit on the ability to sue as a whole, instead of letting the existing procedures (summary judgment, sanctions, malicious prosecution suits) deal with the frivolous cases.

It should be born in mind that the $54M pants lawsuit not only failed, the poor little dry-cleaning defendants got their attorneys fees awarded, and the dumbbell ad law judge who filed the case lost his job.

Keep in mind that those people who didn't turn over their guns were in violation of an order to evacuate the city. The NRA can't find many people to complain about their guns being taken away because those people would have to admit that they were breaking the law.

Oh for god's sake, can't Lat just put a "Bonus Discussion" open thread on the fricking front page to throw us all a bone? Nobody give's a rat's ass about any of this other stuff and apparently spontaneous bonus discussion is not possible otherwise.

2:38: 1, 2:36: 0.

3:00-

My point exactly.

Re: 3:41:

Hmmmm--see essay, "Forget Gossip—Associate Compensation Issues Trump Blawg's Scandal Stories with Big Law Associate Readership Every Time" (Blogonaut).

3:46-

Exactly. Who gives a sh!t about any of the other stories, posts, threads, blah blah blah? No one! I don't just want what's mine- I want what's the other guy's (i.e. the NY associate).

Don't bring me into this.

You're an 3704558.

4:08 - that is tenuous at best. An "8" looks nothing like an "a."

"9" works better for a lower case "a."

"you cannot plausibly deny that there were instances of thugs shooting at NG and police."

I don't have to "plausibly deny" something that didn't occur--there were documented instances of people shooting to SIGNAL rescuers that they needed rescuing--the end.

If "thugs" were shooting at the NG and police, then where are the documented casualties? What was the purpose behind these alleged shootings?

4:44-

No. A "9" upside down looks like "6", which looks nothing like "a".

4:08 at 5:01 -

A "9" rotated 180 degrees looks like a "6," and a "9" flipped upside down looks like a lower case "a." I can't think of the words to describe the distinction because I don't care, but there is a distinction.

5:06-

The words are "mirror image"-- which doesn't apply. When you "turn" something upside down, you rotate it 180 degrees. Thanks for playing, 3704558.

Lat, you lazy fairy, get back to work. This is the United States, not the Philipinnes. We don't take off two weeks for Christmas.

"We don't take off two weeks for Christmas."

ALT is not BigLaw, buster.

(Besides, the sitedesign/servers are being revamped. Get with the program.)

PS: David Lat is from the United States, graduated from the #1 LS in the US (Yale), clerked for a 9th circuit judge, and is no "fairy". Please try to put your latent homosexuality aside when posting here.

Thank you.

7:50 - quit dick riding ya queer.

7:50/Lat -- Seriously. You have time to post anonymously to remind us how great US News thinks Yale is, but you can't give us a fricking bonus open thread so we can earn you more ad revenue with our ridiculous money obsession? Throw us a frickin bone, man!!

P.S. No, ALT is not BigLaw. It is a button on my fricking keyboard.

You have a dedicated "hotbutton" for ALT? Wow.

8:35 PM= TTT 1L with megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur.

Though I think 8:35 has issues, I must point out to to 10:07 that "ALT" (as in the keyboard button that 8:35 is referring to) does not equal "ATL" (as in "Above the Law"... the blog we are commenting on).

10:57, Whatever you say about cars, you cannot plausibly deny that there are instances of drunks driving cars into innocent people. You can try and defend them, but we all know we should ban cars.

12:47 . . .

I'll put this as nicely as possible, you are an idiot. Nobody in your hypo would want to "ban" "cars" (i.e. guns). We would want to REGULATE THEM!!! By the way, we already do this. Go check your state Admin Code and Statutes and tell me how many pages are dedicated to civil and criminal regulation of cars, drivers, insurance, etc.

Same thing for guns. Rational people just want to REGULATE them.

BTW - I know that you are a pirate. Only a pirate would make such a moronic comment. Lay off the grog.

PS - I'm a ninja.

Lat,

Do a thread on biglaw training, both formal and informal. My firm's formal training is pathetic at best (sit there and listen to some shmoe yack about this that and the other- big fuck!n' help, dude), and the macho-bravado "go learn it yourself" from partners is a poor cover-up of their pathetic management style.

I doubt other law firms are different, which is why I don't jump to another ship (learned helplessness), but I'd be curious to know if there actually exist good formal training programs and/or good "lawyers as managers".

Here you go the actual story of what went on in the Big Easy in the aftermath of Katrina.

http://www.neworleansgungrab.com/

anon at 2:55 --

You obviously know nothing about what the state and local govts can and can't do in this country. One thing that nobody can do is punish you for failing to evacuate from a hurricane zone. If you refuse to evacuate, the most that the authorities can do is politely suggest that you duct-tape some ID to your body so that your corpse can be easily identified.

2:33 = wrong at 2:36 -- I have a "shall issue" concealed carry permit. 'You gotta' problem with that?

All -- The story that looters in NOLA were shooting at Nat'l Guardsmen is an urban myth spawned by the negligent reporting of "journalists". Grow up, please.

anon at 2:55 --

You obviously know nothing about what the state and local govts can and can't do in this country. One thing that nobody can do is punish you for failing to evacuate from a hurricane zone. If you refuse to evacuate, the most that the authorities can do is politely suggest that you duct-tape some ID to your body so that your corpse can be easily identified.

2:33 = wrong at 2:36 -- I have a "shall issue" concealed carry permit. 'You gotta' problem with that?

All -- The story that looters in NOLA were shooting at Nat'l Guardsmen is an urban myth spawned by the negligent reporting of "journalists". Grow up, please.