Don't believe everything you read in these pages. If a gossip site isn't flat-out wrong a sizable percentage of the time, it's not sufficiently gossipy.

But we were right about something being afoot at Dechert LLP. This morning we wrote:

We've been hearing vague rumblings of something about to go down over at Dechert LLP. Said rumblings are reminiscent of what we heard in the days and hours leading up to Cadwalader's Thursday Morning Massacre....

We hear that certain groups at Dechert are super-slow, and morale in some quarters is super-low. These are, of course, often harbingers of lawyer layoffs.

Now we learn this, from Gina Passarella in the Legal Intelligencer:

The slowing economy has hit home at Dechert which has just let go 13 associates strictly in its finance and real estate practice, according to a source inside the firm....

Dechert has given the 13 associates, who have worked in Dechert offices throughout the United States, until the close of business Tuesday to leave. No one was asked to leave Friday, the source said....

There were no additional layoffs prior to today, but some attorneys were shifted into other practice areas, the firm source said. The layoffs comprise less than 10 percent of the 167 attorneys listed in Dechert's finance and real estate practice, which includes mortgage finance, structured finance and securitization, investment, and mergers and acquisitions.

The attorneys who are leaving were offered three months severance, six months of paid medical benefits and transition placement support, the source said.

Three months seems to be "market" in terms of severance. There was some fear that laid-off Dechert associates were going to get less.

ATL gets a shout-out in the piece:

Legal blog Above The Law has reported extensively on associate and staff layoffs across the country. The reports included associate layoffs at Thacher Proffitt, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and Clifford Chance, mainly in the structured finance, real estate and capital markets practices of those firms.

Today, Above The Law posted a blog on rumors of low morale at Dechert, questioning whether layoffs were imminent.

The article closes with a helpful overview of the layoff landscape:

Dechert's news puts the U.S. legal scene over the 100-attorney mark in terms of attorney layoffs and offered buyouts this economic cycle. According to data collected by The American Lawyer, 35 attorneys were laid off at Cadwalader Wickersham; 24 Thacher Proffitt mid-levels were offered buyouts plus an additional five first-years took optional buyouts; six Clifford Chance associates were laid off and 23 associates at McKee Nelson took buyouts.

Check out the full article, which also discusses Dechert's record-setting year in 2007 -- $836 million in gross revenue, and more than $2.3 million in profits per equity partner -- by clicking here.

Update (5:15 PM): Okay, we're confused. We just received this email, sent out by firm chairman Barton Winokur, and forwarded to us by a Dechert source. Our source had heard that the 13 were being laid off. But this email implies otherwise:

From: Winokur, Barton
Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 4:37 PM
To: ALL Dechert Users
Subject:

Due to the major shift in market conditions affecting client demands in our Finance and Real Estate practice area, we currently do not have sufficient work for all the associates in FRE. As a consequence, we have told 13 associates in the U.S. FRE group that we see no demand for them in that group in the foreseeable future. However, due to increased and substantial demand in other practice areas, we will be offering those lawyers the opportunity to work in those other groups.

Barton J. Winokur
Dechert LLP

Update (5:40 PM): We have reached out to Barton Winokur for clarification. We will let you know if and when he gets back to us.

Update (6:20 PM): The Legal Intelligencer has revised its piece somewhat, in light of the Winokur email:

The slowing economy has hit home at Dechert which just issued layoff notices to 13 associates strictly in its finance and real estate practice, according to a source inside the firm.

Shortly after the firm confirmed the planned layoffs, the source said Chairman Barton J. Winokur issued a statement that the firm would then offer the 13 associates positions in other practice groups. [Reprints the email.]

There was no word as to whether those associates, who had been given severance packages, accepted the revised offer to switch practices.

Update (6:35 PM): We're hearing conflicting things about whether these 13 lawyers really are being given the opportunity to switch practice groups, or whether they're being laid off outright, with additional lawyers getting moved internally.

We will continue to monitor and report about what's going down at Dechert. If you can clarify this somewhat murky situation for us, please email us. Thanks.

Layoffs Hit Dechert Following Record Financial Year [Legal Intelligencer]

* Arnold Schwarzenegger gets his tank back, offers rides to children. [Houston Chronicle]

* The Morality of Trade: "Commerce is not a cuss word." [Commerce Law]

* Did anybody remember that it's a leap year? [PrawfsBlawg]

* Perhaps the shortest jury deliberation ever. [CNN]

* Virginia Supreme Court strikes down taxation without representation. So close, DC! [OpenMarket.org]

NYU School of Law announced today that it has hired Professor Kenji Yoshino as a tenured faculty member. He was a Visiting Professor at the school last year and again this Spring. Kenji graduated from Yale Law in 1996 and is influential in the fields of constitutional law, anti-discrimination law, and law and literature. It’s quite a score for NYU. Read the original email announcement after the jump.

Here's some happy news from Heller Ehrman. It appears they have heard the complaints, and they've done something about them. From one source:

Attached is the long awaited Heller Ehrman compensation memo, and at first glance, I'm pretty impressed. They seemed to have listened to associates' concerns and made some pretty significant changes. They reinstated the 2000 hour bonus and have decided to retroactively pay the 2000 hour bonus to all eligible associates for 2007. I'm happy about the compensation bump which brings us more in line with the market, but what I'm really excited about is that the firm has decreased the first year billable expectation to 1600 without decreasing salaries. With the launch of a new mentoring program and this announcement about 300 career development hours for first years, the firm is actually acting on its long-stated goal of promoting associate development.

Another tipster concurs, also zeroing in on the new program for first-year associates:

Attached is the Heller Ehrman 2008 Associates Compensation memo, which associates received this morning. I think the compensation memo demonstrates that the firm has responded to associates' concerns in a very positive way. The firm is reinstating the 2000-hour bonus for 2008, and making retroactive 2000-hour bonus payments for 2007.

Perhaps most positively, the firm is providing 300 hours of career development for first-year associates, so that first-years will now have only a 1600-hour billable requirement. I think law students and first-year associates will see this as a very positive development, which recognizes associates' desire for career development, but also gives the firm a way to recognize clients' staffing concerns.

After the bad press the firm has been getting in recent months, I think this memo is some good news, and I hope ATL will recognize it as such.

We do. Check out the memo, after the jump.

Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: A Heller Ehrman Update

Marc J. Randazza fills us in on the Texas sex toy ban, just struck down by the Fifth Circuit. According to Marc, the arguments for outlawing the sale of toys for your pleasure-parts are thus:

(1) If the Texas dildo law is invalidated as an improper encroachment upon personal liberty, this will open the floodgates, and laws on bigamy and incest will be struck down too.

(2) Striking down the law “impermissibly overrides state lawmakers’ settled ‘authority to regulate commercial activity they deem harmful to the public’” (naturally citing a dissenting opinion from the 11th Circuit).

Marc slams the arguments for his own well-articulated reasons at the link. To us, the first argument is a slippery (heh) slope argument, which is usually a weak logical tactic. The second argument is stronger, although we’d like to see a list of reasons why sex toys are so harmful.

It is still illegal to sell sex toys in Alabama. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an Alabama case in 2007 on the subject, so the lower court’s ruling (upholding the ban) remains intact. This quote, from Alabama store owner Sherri Williams (the store’s name is “Pleasures”) sums up the passion of people across the Southland who find the ban ridiculous:

“My motto has been they are going to have to pry this vibrator from my cold, dead hand. I refuse to give up,” she said.

You go, girl. By contrast, guns are perfectly legal in both states.
Texas -- Still Obsessed With Dildos [Legal Satyricon]

We greatly enjoyed our recent visit to the University of Chicago Law School. The U. Chicago students were very welcoming and made us feel right at home, even inviting us to their law school musical -- which, by the way, was delightful.

(We added many of them as friends on Facebook before we were mysteriously banned from the site, without notice or explanation. So if you no longer see us on FB, it's not because we "de-friended" you, but because our account was disabled.)

A few Chicago students, however, had a bone to pick with us. They objected to this ATL post, which cast the recently announced departure of Professor Cass Sunstein -- prominent scholar, beloved teacher, and possible Supreme Court nominee under President Obama -- as a hiring coup by Harvard Law School, a triumph by HLS over Chicago. They emphasized that Professor Sunstein's leaving the Windy City for Cambridge was prompted by personal rather than professional reasons.

Professor Sunstein said as much his farewell email (emphasis added; in fact, all emphases added throughout this post, unless otherwise indicated):

I'm writing to say that I've just accepted an appointment at Harvard Law School. It is an understatement to say that I don't take this step easily or lightly. As most of you know, I've been reflecting on this question for several years. I finally decided, for personal reasons, that I need a change.

Since he's a prominent Obama supporter -- as well an adviser to the campaign, but more on that later, since it ties into our tale -- it's not surprising that Professor Sunstein is All About Change.

The law school's popular leader, Dean Saul Levmore, also stressed the personal component to Professor Sunstein's move. As he told the University of Chicago's student newspaper, the Maroon:

“I’m sort of embarrassed that [the story] said that the University of Chicago couldn’t be reached for comment,” Levmore said. “It looks like we didn’t want to talk, but the truth is that this decision [to leave Chicago for Harvard] was based on personal reasons and I respect that privacy. The media will find out about them soon enough.”

With a comment like this, Dean Levmore was basically begging us to go digging. So dig we did.

Let's see, Cass Sunstein's "personal reasons" for leaving U. Chicago... hold on a sec. Isn't Professor Sunstein part of legal academia's most fabulous power couple, together with that renowned philosopher queen, Professor Martha Nussbaum? And didn't Professor Nussbaum just turn down a Harvard offer?

That was then; this is now. What we learned in our investigation is consistent with this ATL comment, as well as this (subsequently removed) Wikipedia edit.

It appears that Professor Sunstein may be part of a new "power couple" -- in the most literal sense. Rumor has it that he's romantically involved with Professor Samantha Power -- a beautiful, brainy professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, who is roughly 15 years his junior. She is a Pulitzer Prize winner who has also been profiled in Men's Vogue (see glamorous photo, at the top of this post). What's not to like?

Update: More about Samantha Power here (from a college classmate who tried to hit on her, without success, and just ended arguing politics with her).

Now, please don't give us full credit (or blame) for bringing to light the Sunstein-Power relationship. When we attended the Chicago Law School musical last weekend, Samantha Power got a shout-out near the end of the show, when the Cass Sunstein character announced his departure for Harvard. So the rumor of her romance with Professor Sunstein is already widely known throughout the U. Chicago community (and beyond); it's no state secret. It is already known to hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

We reached out to all three members of this Mensalicious love triangle, which seems to come straight out of a Saul Bellow novel. Find out what we learned -- two of them had no comment, but one of them did -- after the jump.

From one of our tipsters:

Richard Rosenbaum, president of Greenburg Traurig, made the following group email faux pas. He used the company listserv to send two emails soliciting contributions for the McCain campaign, proving that law students aren’t the only bumbling souls who screw up listserv etiquette. From Rosenbaum's first email:

“As we have said on a number of other occasions, our firm does not support any particular presidential candidates as a firm. We are a business catering to a wide range of clients and employing lawyers and staff with a wide variety of interests and preferences in the political arena…”

Blah blah blah, a bunch of politically correct qualifiers, then BANG! The money-grab:

“I have recently been named a National Co-Chair of Senator McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. As has previously been the case, over the next several months I will be working alongside several other leaders from the American business and legal communities to personally solicit contributions and other political support for Senator McCain's presidential campaign.”

Now, of course, Rosenbaum goes on to say that participation is voluntary, etc. But is it really appropriate for a firm President to use group email to solicit campaign funds?

More, after the jump.

We've been hearing vague rumblings of something about to go down over at Dechert LLP. Said rumblings are reminiscent of what we heard in the days and hours leading up to Cadwalader's Thursday Morning Massacre. Also note this comment on today's Morning Docket:

Not all Dechert associates have three days to enter their time. Some will need to enter it before they leave the building today.

We hear that certain groups at Dechert are super-slow, and morale in some quarters is super-low. These are, of course, often harbingers of lawyer layoffs.

We've put in an inquiry to the firm, but they haven't gotten back to us yet. We'll let you know if and when they do. In the meantime, feel free to dish in the comments, or email us. Thanks.

Update (4:40 PM): As reported by the Legal Intelligencer, Dechert just laid off 13 associates. We have a new post up on the subject over here.

The IRS is investigating the denomination Trinity United Church of Christ for hosting Barack Obama as a speaker in front of 10,000 people in June of 2007. Non-profit organizations are generally not allowed to endorse candidates, although politicos can speak at such organizations.

You can find the AP article here. More press and blog coverage is after the jump.

IRS Investigates Obama's Denomination [AP]

As we previously mentioned, Bankruptcy Judge Robert Somma announced his plan to resign from the bench, after he was arrested for DUI (while wearing women's clothing). We questioned Judge Somma's decision to step down:

Is this really that big a deal? When you strip away the women's clothing, colorful but irrelevant details, you're left with a DWI arrest -- which, while not exactly commendable conduct, is something other judges have survived.

And we're not alone. This message is making the rounds of the bankruptcy bar:

As I am sure most will agree, the news of Judge Somma's resignation was disheartening. We are hopeful that Judge Somma will reconsider his decision with the support and encouragement of a significant portion of the bankruptcy bar.

Attached is a letter which several of us intend to submit to Chief Judge Boudin of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, with a copy to Judge Somma. If you would like to join us, please advise us at your very earliest convenience, and we will add your name as a "signatory".

We intend to submit the letter to Chief Judge Boudin by the close of business tomorrow, Thursday, February 28, 2008. In the event that you cannot respond by then, but nonetheless are supportive, please so advise either of us by return email at your earliest convenience, and we will endeavor to supplement the list of supporters as may be appropriate. Otherwise, as no amount of support can be too great, if you wish to send your own personal letter of support, we also encourage you to do so as well.

Please feel free to circulate this email to those who may not be included in our list of email addresses and thank you for your assistance.

You're welcome!

Alas, it appears the submission deadline has passed (close of business yesterday). But if you'd like to submit your own letter of support, you can use the previously sent letter as a model. Check it out, after the jump.

Today we have another two-for-one Job of the Week -- a unique in-house litigation position and a corporate opportunity -- brought to you by ATL’s career partner, Lateral Link. This past week, Lateral Link helped its members obtain offers from D.E. Shaw (in-house) in NY, Quinn Emanuel in LA, Kirkland in Chicago, Akin Gump in NY, Patterson Belknap in NY, Miller & Chevalier in DC, Hogan & Hartson in Baltimore, and a clean energy company (in-house) in Boston.

Position: Associate Counsel – Litigation

Description: This major mutual fund management company is seeking a junior to mid-level litigator to serve as legal counsel. The position will involve setting litigation strategy, overseeing and advising on a wide array of litigation matters, preparing court filings, and appearing in court on behalf of the company. The company is seeking someone with litigation experience at a mid- to large-sized firm, a minimum of two to four years of litigation experience, or one year of experience plus at least one year in a federal court clerkship. (Job Code: 8135.)

Position: Associate Counsel – Corporate Services

Description: The company is also seeking a junior to mid-level corporate associate to join its Corporate Legal Services team and represent the Company and its subsidiaries on a variety of corporate and contract matters. The position will involve contract drafting and negotiation, advising senior management on matters of law, and setting company policy regarding contracts, corporate, and other legal matters. The company is seeking someone with 2-5 years corporate or transactional experience at a mid- to large-sized law firm, exceptional leadership, organizational and interpersonal skills, demonstrated persuasive and influencing capabilities, and the ability to work quickly and independently with attention to detail and sensitivity to deadlines. (Job Code: 7944.)

Company: This Company, located just outside of Philadelphia, offers individual and institutional investors a line of popular mutual funds and brokerage services. Claiming more than $1 trillion of assets under management, the firm is battling for the title of largest retail mutual fund manager on the planet. Their fund options include more than 180 stock, bond, mixed, and international offerings, as well as variable annuity portfolios. The company is known as much for its puritanical thriftiness and conservative investing as for its line of index funds, which track the performance of such groups of stock as the S&P 500.

You can learn more about these and other job opportunities by visiting Lateral Link.

Earlier: Prior Job of the Week listings (scroll down)

A candy company's been under some scrutiny lately about their new drink mix, which they innocently named “Blow.” It comes in little clear packets and supposedly gives you lots and lots of energy. Athough it probably doesn’t work as well as that Adderall you have in your desk, it is likely much cheaper.

In any event, get your Blow now if you want it. The FDA is mighty displeased, and they’ve threatened legal action if the company doesn’t “rehab” its image. Hmm, what other drug-related words can we pack into this story?

My name is Sharon Eliza Nichols, and I’ll be co-blogging with David today. First, though, I thought I’d introduce myself.

I'm a curious little blonde girl with poor impulse control. I’m also a 1L at the University of Alabama School of Law. It's my sincere desire to contribute to the world of legal sensationalism, and preferably not as the object of some politician's philandering. Writing for ATL lets me do that, and I’m thankful for the opportunity.

I'm currently in law school, but I've had some unusual experiences. My father is a Southern Baptist pastor, so you can imagine the tension caused by the good preacher’s daughter writing a semi-irreverent blog. I started the Facebook group "I judge you when you use poor grammar," which all of you should immediately join. Because the group became unexpectedly large, I've had some experience in entrepreneurship, charming the media, and writing for a large audience. I ruffle a separate set of feathers over at Thank You Ma’am.

I also love the beach, sun, bright colors, shiny objects and southern accents. Hate mail, grammatical corrections and marriage proposals should go to Ijudgeyouwhen at gmail dot com.

Let’s get it started in here, ATL-style. Cheers!

* Iraqi government OKs Chemical Ali execution. [CNN]

* Army revamping contract process in light of fraud allegations. [MSNBC]

* Obama supporter McCaskill introduces bill to officially approve birth citizenship in situations like McCain's. [New York Times]

* 1 in every 100 American adults imprisoned. [Washington Post]

* Bahraini Alba sues Alcoa, alleging corruption and foreign kick-backs. [WSJ Law Blog]

Our tipster quips, "This guy makes Ricky Gervais look like a saint." From the Salt Lake Tribune:

A supervisor at a motivational coaching business in Provo is accused of waterboarding an employee in front of his sales team to demonstrate that they should work as hard on sales as the employee had worked to breathe.

In a lawsuit filed last month, former Prosper, Inc. salesman Chad Hudgens alleges his managers also allowed the supervisor to draw mustaches on employees' faces, take away their chairs and beat on their desks with a wooden paddle "because it resulted in increased revenues for the company."

Sounds like the defendant would fit right in at Biglaw. Does your firm need a new Director of Paralegal Services? Drop him a line.

Employee's suit: Company used waterboarding to motivate workers [Salt Lake Tribune]

* Linda Greenhouse to $300K! [New York Observer via ABA Journal]

* Duties of a law school dean: attend parties, appear at conferences, talk to alums. And don't forget the herding of cats -- aka law professors. [TJ's Double Play]

* Even law review editors screw up sometimes. "Constructive acceptance"? [Concurring Opinions]

* Who'd have thunk it? Sometimes blogging can help people. And stuff. [Legal Blog Watch]

* Ethan Leib dresses up as a giant chicken to teach Contracts, thereby guaranteeing ABA accreditation. [PrawfsBlawg]

* Orin Kerr points out online interviews "with eight of the nine current Supreme Court Justices (all but Souter) about legal writing, advocacy, and the process of deciding cases and writing opinions." [Volokh Conspiracy]

* Ann Althouse on John McCain and being a "natural-born citizen." [Althouse]

* Hillary to Russert: You can't handle the truth! About my tax returns. [TaxProf Blog]

There's a new development in the well-publicized AutoAdmit lawsuit. The defendant known as "AK47" has filed a pseudonymous, pro se motion to quash the plaintiffs' subpeona. The memorandum in support of the motion appears here (PDF)

Over at the WSJ Law Blog, reporter Amir Efrati -- who first broke the news of this case's filing, and has done a great job covering it -- describes the motion as "well-composed.... which leads us to suspect that 'he' is an aspiring lawyer." He also notes that AK47 "shows he’s done some research, citing a host of Internet law precedents he says bolster his arguments."

But over at the Legal Satyricon, Professor Marc Randazza is less impressed: "My prediction — had Mr. AK47 written his motion a little more skillfully, he might have had a great chance. Unfortunately for him, the motion is so poorly drafted that it will take some charity on the Court’s part for it to fly."

We're not surprised that Professor Randazza applies a demanding standard. After all, he practices First Amendment law. He previously (and successfully) represented AutoAdmit exec Anthony Ciolli, who was dropped from the lawsuit back in November.

Feel free to share your thoughts on any of this in the comments.

AutoAdmit Case - Motion to Quash by “AK47″ [The Legal Satyricon / Marc Randazza]
AutoAdmit Suit Update: Defendant “AK47″ Responds [WSJ Law Blog]

Several tipsters wrote us about the upcoming firm retreat of Quinn Emanuel -- or the "2008 Firm Hike," as it's officially called. It's taking place from July 9–13, over in... SWITZERLAND!!!

From one incoming QE summer:

I'm summering at Quinn, and I just found out that the annual firm hike is going to be in Interlaken, Switzerland. It's a four-day trip, capped by a 25 km hike in the alps. Summer associate perk watch?

We asked this individual if they're excited about the hike:

Hell yes. Forget ballgames and cooking classes, this is a serious trip. I chose Quinn because of the work hard-play hard mentality and outdoors-y vibe, but this is taking it to another level. It is rough that it's such a short trip, but I'd guess that a bunch of full-time employees will extend it by a few days.

More discussion -- some pro- and anti-hike sentiment, from full-time QE lawyers, plus comment from John Quinn himself (in an email with capitalization!!!) -- after the jump.

We've been on the law school speaking circuit lately. At the start of this month, we served as keynote speaker of the Mid-Atlantic APALSA Conference, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (conference description here, photos here). Next month, we'll be speaking at Stanford Law School, about how the web is changing the legal profession.

Last week we were at the University of Chicago, for this event:

Richard Posner and David Lat: "Judges as Public Figures"

Last week, the University of Chicago's chapter of the Federalist Society hosted a panel discussion on "Judges as Public Figures" with Judge Richard Posner and David Lat, author of two popular legal blogs, Above the Law and Underneath Their Robes.

David Lat's relationship with Judge Posner began when he was the anonymous author of Underneath Their Robes, a blog supposedly written by a young and prestige-obsessed female lawyer. Judge Posner was the first to unmask "Article Three Groupie" (the anonymous author's pseudonym) as being male. The discussion was moderated by Professor Lior Strahilevitz, and a recording is available here (mp3).

It was an honor and a pleasure to serve on a panel with Judge Posner and Professor Strahilevitz. The standing-room-only crowd was engaged and enthusiastic -- and apparently entertained, based on the frequent outbursts of laughter.

You can access the podcast by clicking here (mp3). Thanks again to the University of Chicago Federalist Society for inviting us to participate in such a delightful event.

Podcast: Richard Posner and David Lat on "Judges as Public Figures" [University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog]
Emerging Asia: Shedding New Light on the Legal Landscape [University of Pennsylvania Law School]
How the Web Is Changing the Legal Profession [Stanford Law School]

Although many believe he was carried down to earth by a choir of angels, the taxalicious Barack Obama was actually born in Hawaii. So he doesn't face the same sticky question about presidential eligibility that John McCain confronts. From the New York Times:

The question has nagged at the parents of Americans born outside the continental United States for generations: Dare their children aspire to grow up and become president? In the case of Senator John McCain of Arizona, the issue is becoming more than a matter of parental daydreaming.

Mr. McCain’s likely nomination as the Republican candidate for president and the happenstance of his birth in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936 are reviving a musty debate that has surfaced periodically since the founders first set quill to parchment and declared that only a “natural-born citizen” can hold the nation’s highest office.

To address the question, the McCain camp hired the best legal talent money can buy:

But given mounting interest, the campaign recently asked Theodore B. Olson, a former solicitor general now advising Mr. McCain, to prepare a detailed legal analysis. “I don’t have much doubt about it,” said Mr. Olson, who added, though, that he still needed to finish his research.

So, what do you think? Take our reader poll. We realize you probably haven't researched the issue. But not having completed his research -- i.e., "my recent SCOTUS-clerk associate is still surfing Westlaw" -- didn't stop Ted Olson from having an opinion.

One ATL tipster had this quick take: "SCOTUS seems kinda gray, but going by the Insular Cases...it ain't lookin' good. Maybe an open thread for people to comment and discuss?"

McCain’s Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules Him Out [New York Times]
Does John McCain Have a Birthplace Problem? [WSJ Law Blog]

Make that a Post-script -- a shout-out in the Washington Post, for both the happy couple and ATL. From the WaPo's delicious Reliable Source column (which has new details about the Goodling/Krempasky engagement, including their ages and the story of their courtship):

Engaged: Monica Goodling, 34, the former Alberto Gonzales adviser, to Michael Krempasky, 33, a top PR guy at Edelman and founding blogger with RedState.com.

The betrothal of the Pennsylvania natives (first reported by the legal blog AboveTheLaw.com) proves that even a congressional subpoena can have a happy ending: The two dated just after college, then lost touch for a decade -- until he saw her name last spring in the front-page stories about the controversial firings of several U.S. attorneys, and called to wish her well. He surprised her with a Valentine's Day proposal at the same restaurant where they spent V-Day 12 years ago; no date set.

It's a quintessential D.C. romance: congressional testimony leading to a love connection!

Additional commentary appears at Wonkette, TPM Muckraker, and Jezebel (among others).

Love, Etc. [The Reliable Source / Washington Post]

Earlier: Breaking: Monica Goodling Is Engaged!

We don't think that we'll post every single announcement about new and improved parental leave policies, since Justin Bernold is already tracking them through this handy-dandy table. But we will let you know about the big ones.

Today's announcement qualifies. The latest firm to move to the new benchmark of 18 weeks paid maternity leave is one of the biggest of the big: Skadden. When all those Skadden hotties become Skadden mommies, they'll be able to enjoy 50 percent more time with their kids than before (the old policy was 12 weeks).

Announcement, after the jump.

We already discussed this news yesterday. But in our earlier post, we promised to let you know if and when Linda Greenhouse got back to us -- and she kindly did, sending the following message to ATL about her rumored departure as the New York Times's Supreme Court correspondent:

As you may know - the Times put a newsroom-wide buyout package on the table last week, in an effort to shrink the staff by 100. For someone of my seniority (40 years) the terms are very attractive, and I've told my bureau chief that I plan to take it. I was planning to retire in a few years, and giving up this package would have basically meant working for free - which seemed foolish, much as I love my job. I plan to keep writing about the court in various forums.

(I should note that this is not official, because the buyout window is open until March 5, after which the Times will respond to the individual volunteers - so my response to you is based on the assumption that my acceptance of their offer will in turn be accepted.)

Greenhouse also confirmed her move to the Associated Press (via WSJ Law Blog).

During her 30 years covering the Court for the Times, Linda Greenhouse has sometimes been controversial. See here, here, and here, for perhaps the most recent controversy.

It cannot be denied, however, that Greenhouse has tremendous knowledge of the Supreme Court's history and inner workings, as well as unparalleled access to the justices themselves. Few journalists are such superstars that their comings and goings are covered by the AP.

Greenhouse leaves big shoes to fill, and it will be interesting to see how her successor fares. How much of her clout was the institutional clout of the New York Times, and how much of it was Greenhouse qua Greenhouse? We'll find out soon enough.

Feel free to speculate about replacements for the legendary Linda Greenhouse, in the comments.

NYT's Greenhouse Takes Buyout Offer [Associated Press via WSJ Law Blog]
Public and Private Lives, Intersecting [New York Times]
Lay Off Linda [Slate]
Far From Sober [National Review Online]

Earlier: Is the Margo Channing of One First Street Taking Her Final Bow?

Last year, we asked you whether work was busy at your firms, and only about half of you said yes. Patent attorneys were particularly busy nationwide (and remain quite popular), while associates in real estate and structured finance were pretty slow in many markets.

In today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we dig a little deeper into which practice areas are hot (or not) at your firm.

* Relatives of murdered girls may sue D.C. [Washington Post]

* Humane Society files suit against USDA over recalled beef. [MSNBC]

* Pay raises hurting PPP? [WSJ Law Blog]

* Two hapless robbers walk into a biker bar... [CNN]

* ... while two crafty robbers rob a robber jeweler... [MSNBC]

* ... and a not-so-ambiguously-gay porn duo (pictured) gets arrested for rooftop burglaries. [Philadelphia Daily News]

Cynics might say the firm is rearranging the proverbial deck chairs, but these leadership changes strike us as prudent. From a report by Anthony Lin in the New York Law Journal:

As it wrestles with an ongoing slump in its core capital markets practice, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has shaken up its top management team.

The New York-based law firm announced today that Robert O. Link, its longtime chairman and managing partner, would relinquish the position of chairman to W. Christopher White, effective March 1. Mr. Link will continue to serve as Cadwalader's managing partner and remain a member of the firm's six-partner management committee.

The firm minimizes the import of the change:

[Management committee member (and Cameron Diaz pal) Gregory] Markel said the elevation of Mr. White was "not in any way a criticism of Bob." He said the firm would regard Messrs. White and Link as a team, with neither reporting to the other.

Additional discussion, which will probably interest only die-hard CWT groupies, after the jump.

* A link in honor of everyone taking the bar exam today: the true story of someone who was told he failed the New York bar exam, in the wake of Laptopgate, but appealed the failure and prevailed. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog]

* A "do-it-yourself" approach to filing dates? Nice try. [Utah District Court Electronic Filing System Blog (wow -- there truly are blogs about everything)]

* Whatever you do, stay out of that nasty basement. [Southern District of Florida Blog]

* Worst job ever? [QuizLaw]

* A neat little Democratic delegate calculator. It shows, for example, that even if Barack Obama wins all remaining contests with 60 percent of the vote, he would still need significant superdelegate support to win the nomination. [Slate]

Ed. note: Yesterday's guest post about how Barack Obama's tax plan might affect Biglaw associates, authored by Ted Frank, generated a record number of comments on ATL: 564 (and counting). It also generated lots of reaction throughout the blogosphere (links collected below). So we thought we'd invite Ted to do a follow-up.

Here it is. Ted wrote it in response to the following reader email, which makes many of the arguments that surfaced in the 564+ comments. From an Obama defender:

I'm sorry, but you are losing your credibility by posting this false propaganda on Obama. Look at Obama's website. It clearly states, "Asked About Raising the Cap, Obama said, 'You Might Have the Equivalent of a Doughnut Hole'--NOT That He Would Completely Remove the Cap." Obama "has stated in various venues that ‘his inclination... has been for a 'donut' where the uncapping would take place above some threshold income level -- probably around $200,000 or $250,000' his economic adviser Austan Goolsbee said in an email. A donut would protect a certain portion of income (e.g., between $100,000 and $200,000) from the payroll tax and could be phased in over decades."

In addition, that "$34,000 paycut" in the post title is misleading. Even if all your assumptions were correct (which they weren't), the after tax pay cut under Obama is < $20,000. I love your site, but please correct this ridiculous false article before you lose all credibility.

And now, without further ado, Ted Frank.

* * * * * * * * * *
First, as I show in the spreadsheet, a $20,000 tax increase is the equivalent of a $34,000 before-tax paycut for a New York City resident, which would have the same after-tax effect. The $34,000 figure is accurate: that's just math. The Obama tax plan would have the same effect on a NYC fifth-year associate being paid market as a $34,000 paycut.

Obama has never said he will have a doughnut-hole, only that his SS tax could include a doughnut-hole. When Hillary Clinton attacked Obama at the November 15 Nevada debate for wanting to eliminate the cap, Obama didn't say that the attack was incorrect; he defended the policy because eliminating the cap would only affect what he called the "upper class." The press has accurately reported that Obama has also proposed eliminating the cap; even Obama's own website links to a thinktank's analysis of the benefits of a cap elimination.

It would be really easy for Obama to promise to include a "doughnut-hole" or to not eliminate the SS-tax cap. He certainly hasn't been afraid to promise drastically expensive programs of new spending or even tax giveaways to large swaths of the population who aren't paying much tax now.

But when it comes to Social Security, Obama is suddenly vague; when he does discuss details, it is to cite examples (e.g., Warren Buffett) that could not be accomplished without eliminating the cap entirely. And the only reason a politician acts that way is because he supports the more drastic, politically unpopular plan, but doesn't want to get tagged with it before the election, and will say after the election "I only said I would 'consider' a doughnut-hole."

How Barack Obama's Tax Plan Will Affect You [Microsoft Excel file]

Additional discussion and links, after the jump.

Here's a photo of lawyers affected by the south Florida blackout, from the Miami Herald:

Here's the actual caption:

Lawyers, from the left, Alan Lash, Justin Fienberg, and Alex Mendez, not lawyer, working on a project at Greenberg Traurig, on 27th floor of 1221 Brickell, went to lunch and found the building out of power.

ATL readers, we think you can do better. We welcome your suggested alternative captions, in the comments. Assuming sufficient response, we'll take our favorites, incorporate them into a poll, and hold a caption contest. Thanks.

Update (2/29/08, 10 AM): New entries for the caption contest are no longer being accepted. We are reviewing the current submissions and will post a poll next week. Thanks.

Update (3/3/08): You can vote on the nominees over here.

This latest bit of associate pay raise news is not particularly new. It was conveyed last week, via hard copy letter (in envelopes marked "professional and confidential").

But we never met a pay raise announcement we didn't like, so we'll pass it along. Foley & Lardner -- which, by the way, recently announced its new partnership class -- has raised the salaries of its non-IP associates in the Milwaukee, Miami, and Detroit offices.

Numbers and tables, after the jump.

From an anxious first-year law student:

I saw this piece on Tax Prof Blog and thought your readers might have some interesting thoughts. NALP has decided next fall the 2Ls only get 45 days to hold an offer for a summer position. See here.

I have a job at a firm this summer that is part of NALP that I am happy about as a 1L but I definitely want to go through OCI. If I leave my job this year at the end of July, the firm will likely notify me by August 15th that I have an offer for the next summer. It would then expire by September 30th!

It seems possible that I could be in the middle of call-backs with other firms and have to decide whether to take a chance on getting a better offer or not. Yikes!

And what about firms that don't do OCI at my school? I doubt that they will go through submitted resumes, conduct interviews and make offers by then.

So, ATL readers -- any advice for our nervous 1L? Or any views on whether this rule change is a good or bad idea?

Update / Correction: According to the analysis of this commenter, the scenario outlined above would not come to pass. We've reviewed the NALP rules, which can be accessed in full over here, and we agree with the commenter. See Part V, Section C: "Employers offering positions for the following summer to candidates previously employed by them should leave those offers open until at least November 15."

2Ls Now Must Respond to Summer Job Offers Within 45 Days [TaxProf Blog]
Full Text of NALP Principles & Standards [NALP]

We didn't notice this, until a tipster just mentioned it to us: today is the February MBE day. So, to everyone taking the multistate bar examination right now, good luck!

From the same source:

I thought an open thread about the weirdest bar preparation might be entertaining. I immediately thought of you when I was told that the husband of an acquaintance, taking the bar for his second time, decided to "manage" his bathroom breaks by first doing a purge diet the week prior to the bar, and then taking Immodium each day during the exam.

Sorry for the crudeness, but I found this funny, as well as a bit extreme.

No worries. We have a reasonably high tolerance for crassness in these pages.

We also like this suggested topic of bar prep. The February administration of the bar exam is often more difficult to study for than the July administration, since those who sit for the bar in February are more likely to have to juggle their studies with other commitments (e.g., a day job). July exam takers, in contrast, are usually recent law school graduates who have taken the summer off to prepare full-time for the big test.

If you have any good stories about how you prepped for the bar, feel free to share them in the comments.

National Conference of Bar Examiners: MBE [official website]

So how much did Aaron Charney get in his settlement from Sullivan & Cromwell? There has been lots of speculation, but little evidence.

Here's one fact suggesting that he did pretty well: Aaron Charney just bought a $1.5 million Manhattan condo. As reported by Max Abelson in the New York Observer:

A deed filed in city records suggests that the Sullivan settlement wasn’t minor: Mr. Charney and a partner just paid $1.495 million for a penthouse at the newly converted condo at 93rd Street and Broadway.

According to the floor plan, they’ll have two bedrooms, a 17-foot-long living/dining room and an L-shaped terrace that stretches 50 feet on each wing....

The 987-square-foot terrace, nearly as big as the interior space, is edged by high walls, which means there’s privacy instead of views. “I would consider it extremely private, with an opportunity to take your inside living outdoors,” the broker said.

Sounds fabulous -- although quite different from his former home. Charney's new abode is in a prewar building (pictured), as opposed to the ultra-modern Orion, where he used to live. And it's in a more staid neighborhood: the Upper West Side, as opposed to the hip and gentrifying Hell's Kitchen.

But at $1.5 million, Charney's new home is 50 percent more expensive than his old one, which he sold last year for a little under a million ($150K more than what he paid). So Charney is definitely movin' on up.

More discussion, including speculation about Aaron Charney's finances and romances, after the jump.

Update: Since this post was originally published, we've appended multiple updates, which appear after the jump.

We received 826 responses to last Thursday's ATL / Lateral Link survey, which asked you what kind of benefits, leave or part-time policies you would most like your employers to offer.

Both men and women found a reduced-hours track with lower compensation a particularly appealing policy, with roughly a third of male respondents and a quarter of female respondents ranking it their top choice.

However, roughly the same number of female respondents ranked on-site childcare as their top choice, and almost twelve percent of male respondents agreed.

A telecommuting option was also appealing, with more than a quarter of male respondents ranking it as a first choice, and a fifth ranking it #2. Fewer women, 14.4%, ranked a telecommuting policy as the most appealing option a firm could provide, but roughly seventeen to eighteen percent of female respondents ranked telecommuting as their second, third, or fourth choice.

Less than ten percent of men and only 15.7% of women ranked a flex-time policy as their top choice, but it was actually the most popular second choice for respondents of each gender.

Both men and women also generally preferred the idea of a two-year part-time track, treated as one year for seniority purposes, to either longer parental leave or a six-month part-time option.

See charts of responses by both genders, after the jump.

We have previously compared Linda Greenhouse, the veteran Supreme Court correspondent of the New York Times, to Margo Channing, the great but aging diva of All About Eve. The comparison continues to hold.

Just as Margo Channing eventually leaves the thea-tuh, so too does Linda Greenhouse leave the SCOTUS. Ed Whelan, the former Scalia clerk with lots of Court connections, has this report over at Bench Memos:

According to a well-placed Supreme Court source, New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse is telling folks at the Court that she has accepted a Times buyout package and will be ending her coverage of the Court at the end of the current term.

So that's the word on One First Street. We have reached out to Linda Greenhouse for comment and will let you know if and when we hear back from her.

If this is true -- and we have no reason to doubt it, since it comes from the well-connected Whelan -- then Jan Crawford Greenburg is one step closer to being Queen Bee of the Supreme Court press corps. Nina Totenberg, watch your back!

Update: More from Ed Whelan at NRO Online: "On the same day that we learn of Linda Greenhouse’s imminent departure from the New York Times, Greenhouse provides further evidence of her bias...."

Greenhouse's Departure [Bench Memos / National Review Online]
Re: Breyer’s and Souter’s Drift to the Right? [Bench Memos / National Review Online]

Earlier: All About... Jan?

We're back with another installment of the Legal Eagle Wedding Watch, where we weigh the relative prestige and fabulosity of the newlywed lawyers who are brave enough to splash their happy news across the pages of the New York Times.

Here are the latest LEWW hopefuls:

1.) Mindy Jaffe and Per Chilstrom

2.) Jennifer Abrams and David Stier

3.) Christine Pelosi and Peter Kaufman

More about these couples, after the jump.