December 2007
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.20.07
* Associates, rejoice. Congress passes AMT legislation. [New York Times] * Guitar Hero injunction denied. [Detroit Free Press] * White separatist group sues over Jena march. [MSNBC] * U.S. executions on the decline. [Washington Post] * New Holloway evidence to be revealed. [CNN]
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Associate Bonus Watch 2007, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Skaddenfreude
Associate Bonus Watch: Kirkland & Ellis's Generous Bonuses
Information is now trickling in about bonuses at Kirkland & Ellis. Last week we had heard — through the grapevine, from a social acquaintance of a K&E share partner — that they would be good. It appears that the scuttlebutt was correct. A K&E source in Chicago, class of 2006, reports hours of 2050 and […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.19.07
* If you want to run a “pump and dump” scheme, this is how you do it. [DealBreaker] * She was only carrying the knife to defend herself — from the bullies who would beat her up for having a brown bag lunch containing steak. [Overlawyered] * If you ditch the law for the lucrative […]
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Job Survey
Featured Job Survey Results: Bonuses (Washington, DC)
Monday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey, which is still open, asks you how big your bonus was (or is going to be). We’re still accepting responses to the survey — to participate, click here — and now we’re at around 1,100 participants. So we’ve made slight updates to the New York numbers to reflect fresh […] -
Advertising, Biglaw, Holidays and Seasons, Technology, Videos
A Few Law Firm Holiday Cards
We see that the WSJ Law Blog has beaten us to this subject. We’ve had this post ready for a while; unfortunately, technical difficulties have prevented us from posting for the past hour. The WSJ folks have already presented some of the cards that we were going to cover. But here are a few firm […] -
Job Survey
Partnership Prospects: Open Thread and Featured Job Survey
It’s the end of the year, and the partnership announcements are trickling in. Some are being made externally, on law firm websites. Others are being made internally, with external announcements to follow in January. Although many of them are sent to us, a specific firm’s partnership announcement isn’t typically of interest to us (unless there’s […] -
Law Schools, Media and Journalism, Pakistan, WSJ Law Blog
Congratulations to Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and... Loyola 2L!
Last week, the ABA Journal named former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales its 2007 Lawyer Legal Newsmaker of the Year. Now we bring you news of two more Lawyers of the Year. The National Law Journal went highbrow and international. The NLJ selected Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, as its Lawyer of […] -
Holidays and Seasons, Perverts, Sexual Harassment, Weirdness
Accused Groper to Santa Claus: You Wish
Okay, she didn’t quite say that. But, for the record, the woman accused of groping Santa Clause denies the allegations, claiming that she never ever sat on his lap: “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know if he was confused, it was a false report,” Sandrama Lamy, 33, said this morning. Lamy said […] - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Advertising, Boutique Law Firms, Job Searches
Definitely Not the Job of the Week
Every now and then, we like to highlight super-crappy especially unappealing job opportunities. See, e.g., this one (perfect for those of you who think sleep is overrated). A reader at the University of Texas Law School recently sent a great job posting our way. A teaser: Where to begin? First, what the heck is “Associate […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.19.07
* White House lawyers discussed destroyed CIA tapes. Harriet, holla. [New York Times] * Meanwhile, Judge orders hearing on the destroyed tapes. [CNN] * Defense contractor KBR employee alleges rape, testifies before House Judiciary Committee. [ABC Local] * Teen convicted of murder when he was 12, who unsuccessfully invoked Zoloft defense, seeks cert. [MSNBC] * […]
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Associate Bonus Watch 2007, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Skaddenfreude
Associate Bonus Watch: O'Melveny & Myers (CA and DC)
O’Melveny & Myers just announced associate bonuses for its offices in California and Washington, DC. One of the tipsters who sent us the memo is not pleased: Attached is the memo that O’Melveny & Myers associates just received. The figures for the “class bonus” appear to be far below the standard bonus at other comparable […] -
Judge of the Day, Sex, Sex Scandals, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: Grafton Biddle
Colorado judge Grafton M. Biddle has been the subject of a prior ATL shout-out. But he has never been officially named a Judge of the Day. We think it’s about time. From the Rocky Mountain News: A former Douglas County judge who had an affair with a prosecutor that included a rendezvous in his chambers […] -
Holidays and Seasons, Perverts, Sexual Harassment, Weirdness
I Saw Mommy Groping Santa Claus
What kind of sick society do we live in? From the Danbury News-Times (via Drudge): A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall. Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, is charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, according to Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas […]
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Biglaw, Bonuses, Job Survey, Money, Skaddenfreude
Featured Job Survey Results: Bonuses
So far, we’ve received about 1,000 responses to yesterday’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on bonuses. So far, we’ve discovered that around 40% of associates receiving bonuses think their bonus is too low, which is just slightly higher than the percentage of associates who think their hourly rates are too high. Coincidence? Since over a […] -
Lawyer of the Day
Lawyer of the Day: Joseph Collins
Many of our Lawyers of the Day tend to be solo or small-firm practitioners from non-major cities. Not so with today’s honoree, Joseph Collins. He’s a partner at Mayer Brown, one of the country’s biggest and most prestigious law firms, and he maintains offices in Chicago and New York. From an article by Nathan Koppel […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2007, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Skaddenfreude
Associate Bonus Watch: Open Thread for Firms That Have Nixed Special Bonuses
We’ve heard complaints from numerous associates claiming that their law firms are using vague bonus policies to lowball them on bonuses. While we understand why these associates are upset, we can’t say we’re surprised. The whole point of a bonus policy that contains an element of discretion is the ability to pay some associates less […] -
Ave Maria School of Law, Fast Food, Food, Law Schools, Money, Religion
Does Domino's Dough Not Go Far Enough?
We thought the whole point of Ave Maria Law School, founded by Domino’s pizza founder Thomas Monaghan, was that with enough money, you can do whatever you want. E.g., establish a very conservative, Catholic law school, and not care if the liberal legal academy raises its eyebrows — ’cause you could buy and sell them, […] -
Federal Government, Joseph Russoniello, Money, U.S. Attorneys Offices
Joe Russoniello to... $245K?
Veteran litigator Joseph Russoniello, recently nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, previously served as senior counsel in the San Francisco office of Cooley Godward Kronish. If he’s confirmed, which is looking likely, one would expect him to take a big pay cut as he moves from private practice to […] -
Bar Exams, Screw-Ups
Laptopgate: The Saga Drags On
Leave it to lawyers to complicate everything they touch. Over at New York Personal Injury Law Blog, Eric Turkewitz has this update on the New York bar exam fiasco: The New York State Board of Law Examiners has confirmed to me that they will hear appeals regarding the July 2007 exam. That exam was plagued […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.18.07
* Arbitration rising in the workplace. [WSJ via Law Blog] * Judge orders disclosure of White House visitor logs. [CNN] * It’s official: NJ bans death penalty. [New York Times] * FCC to vote on rule allowing greater consolidation of local media ownership in big cities. [Washington Post] * Wealthy couple busted for forcing labor, […]