March 2008

* “Are we headed for another Great Depression?” [McClatchy] * Quelle surprise: Bear Stearns shareholder lawsuit (filed in S.D.N.Y. by Coughlin Stoia). [Bloomberg; WSJ Law Blog (PDF of complaint)] * Speaking of Bear Stearns, here are some law firms losing out on BSC business. [WSJ Law Blog] * Tenth Circuit reverses convictions of former Qwest […]

We probably won’t cover judicial clerkship bonuses quite as closely as we used to, now that Justin Bernold has put together this handy table of clerkship bonus info. But we did want to bring your attention to one development, since several of you emailed us about it. This message is representative: Just to let you […]

* News you can use: when your economic stimulus rebate check — $600 (single) or $1,200 (married), plus $300 per child under age 17 — will be in the proverbial mail. [TaxProf Blog] * Will London overtake New York as a global financial capital? What are the prospects for a major US/UK law firm merger? […]

We just got back from visiting the Supreme Court, where we hung out with the (sizable and growing) crowd of people camped out at One First Street, so they can get seats in the courtroom for tomorrow’s argument in the D.C. gun control case, District of Columbia v. Heller (previously discussed here). We’ll have more […]

We have confirmed the rumor of layoffs last week at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge. Here is what we know: 1. Layoffs did take place at EAPD last week. The number of associates who were laid off was “less than ten,” according to management. 2. Management gave assurances that there will be no more terminations […]

Under the leadership of the beloved Elena Kagan, Harvard Law School continues to raid other schools for law professor talent. Word on the street is that another big hire is in the works. This past weekend, Dean Kagan crowed about her coup before a group of admitted students, saying it would be announced later this […]

In last week’s ATL / Lateral Link surveys, we asked you whether you would want to work in a different city, whether, knowing what you know now, you would still want to work where you do, and where, if you could go to any other firm, you would choose to go. We received 1,189 responses […]

The Supreme Court gets to enjoy the media spotlight this week as it dives into the always contentious Second Amendment. An article in Sunday’s Washington Post has a good breakdown of the issues at stake: The nine justices, none of whom has ever ruled directly on the amendment’s meaning, will consider a part of the […]

Hiring partners and recruiting coordinators at Wachtell and S&C, it’s time to break out the champagne: CRAVATH HAS BEDBUGS!!! Yes, that’s right. The Worldwide Plaza headquarters of Cravath, Swaine & Moore — perhaps the country’s most prestigious law firm, and one of its most profitable — has some unwelcome visitors. And no, 2L interview season […]

We have another Lawsuit of the Day involving the perils of sleeping, from the Star-Telegram’s airline blog. A 21-year-old Harris County woman filed a $200,000 lawsuit against American Airlines alleging employees on a flight to Los Angeles from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport failed to protect her while she slept from another passenger who masturbated to her […]

* Stocks plummet around the world, in wake of deal by JP Morgan Chase to buy Bear Stearns on the cheap. [New York Times] Update: If you’re interested in learning which lawyers and law firms slaved away over the weekend on the Bear Stearns deal, see here. * Fed takes action to fight crisis, but […]

[Ed. note: This post is by Friday’s guest blogger, Kashmir Hill, who will be writing more for these pages going forward.] We are starting off the week reverential when it comes to Judge of the Day. Virginia Circuit Court Judge Gary Hicks is dedicated to cracking down on crime in and out of the courtroom. […]

* Could Eliot Spitzer lose his law license? “Legal experts say such an outcome is unlikely, but not inconceivable.” [City Room / New York Times] * Meanwhile, for New York state law geeks, a question: In the event of a tie in the state senate, will Joseph L. Bruno — as Republican majority leader, and […]

Ladies, if you want to make partner, consider Dorsey & Whitney. The Project for Attorney Retention has just released a report (PDF) on the number of women among this year’s new partners at 77 firms. Props to Dorsey & Whitney and Ropes and Gray. Here’s why: At a dozen firms, 50% or more of the […]

Thanks to everyone who responded to our open call for Supreme Court clerk hiring news. We now know the identities of Justice David H. Souter’s four law clerks for October Term 2008: 1. Erin Delaney (NYU 2007 / Guido-maniac)2. Michael Gerber (Yale 2005 / Leval)3. Warren Postman, (Harvard 2007 / W. Fletcher)4. Noah Purcell (Harvard […]

A tipster sent us word of this ridiculous lawsuit from Connecticut. When we used to sleep in class, we did so sitting up. Laying your head on the desk invites trouble: Danbury officials have been notified they are being sued by a student who was awakened in class by a teacher who made a loud […]

If the economy keeps getting worse — check out today’s stock market meltdown and Bear Stearns debacle, discussed over at Dealbreaker — law firms will need to replace the dried-up revenue streams from transactional practice. And this time around, it looks like the usual countercyclical practices — e.g., litigation, bankruptcy — aren’t picking up the […]

Apparently, being the district attorney for the smallest county in Texas leaves one with a lot of free time. This Texan lawyer is on trial for building a tricked-out server using government funds. From The Dallas Morning News: A computer that Rockwall County District Attorney Ray Sumrow says he built as a backup server for […]

This just in, from the AP: Powerful plaintiffs attorney Richard ”Dickie” Scruggs and a co-defendant pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to bribe a judge for a favorable ruling in a case involving legal fees from a post-Hurricane Katrina lawsuit. The surprise plea came Friday during a hearing in Oxford, Miss. on pretrial matters, court officials […]

Thanks to a Kansan sheriff, this great story now has the legal twist we hoped for. A 35-year-old woman sat on her boyfriend’s toilet long enough to become stuck to it. Criminal charges against her boyfriend are now in the works, according to the Kansas City Star: Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said Thursday he […]