March 2008
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Eliot Spitzer, Holy Crap, Jeffrey Toobin, Politics, Prostitution, Sex, Sex Scandals
Breaking: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer Involved With Prostitution Ring!!!
Guess we picked our Lawyer of the Day too soon. Update (2:30 PM): Press conference scheduled for 2:15 p.m., but Governor Spitzer is running 15 minutes late. “I don’t blame him,” said Ben Smith of the Politico, interviewed just now on CNN. Update (2:35 PM): Jeffrey Toobin, who was an HLS classmate of Eliot Spitzer, […] -
Law Schools
Ranking Secrets Revealed! U.S. News Responds
Last week, we linked to Professor Dan Solove’s spoof of the U.S. News law school rankings. For the record, the magazine has responded (as noted in updates at TaxProf Blog and Concurring Opinions, but not yet in these pages). Robert Morse, director of data research for U.S. News & World Report, emailed us: “We do […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Lawyer of the Day
Lawyer of the Day: Arelia Margarita Taveras
Today’s Lawyer of the Day is, in blackjack parlance, “a natural” — utterly unbeatable. From the New York Post: A crooked Queens lawyer who bottomed out at the blackjack tables to the tune of $1 million is trying to recoup her losses and then some with a $20 million lawsuit blaming seven casinos for her […]
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Religion
A Canon Law Digression: Sins 2.0?
Palm Sunday is this coming weekend, and Easter isn’t far away. So please indulge us as we go on a little religious digression. The Vatican just rolled out seven new deadly sins. From the Telegraph: Failing to recycle plastic bags could find you spending eternity in Hell, the Vatican said after drawing up a list […] -
Crime, Dubious Defenses, Rape, Sex, Weirdness
From the Department of Dubious Defenses: If the Trojan Mangum Don't Fit, You Must Acquit
Check out this rather odd appeal from Florida, arising out of a prosecution for sexual assault charges. The defendant was originally charged with three counts of sexual battery, but was convicted on lesser included charges of misdemeanor battery. One of the issues was whether the trial court should have granted a continuance based on the […] -
Job Survey
Featured Job Survey: Have Resume, Will Travel?
In last week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey results, we explored which practice areas are hottest and slowest in various markets. With real estate and transactional work slowing in many markets, but heating up in Dubai, and some firms expanding into Houston (McDermott), Charlotte (McGuireWoods), Boston (Locke Lord) and the Bay Area (just about everybody) […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bar Exams, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)
So What Did You Think of the MPRE? Open Thread
Some of you took the MPRE recently — and we’re gathering, from your comments, that you’d like a place to talk about it. Here is an open thread. To be totally honest, we’re not really sure how much there is to say about the MPRE. It’s not a super-difficult test, and it hasn’t exactly achieved […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.10.08
* Possible Spygate whistleblower nears deal with NFL. [ESPN] * Pres. Bush flexes executive biceps on CIA interrogation bill. [New York Times] * Kevin Costner settles lawsuit regarding unfinished masterpiece. [Los Angeles Times] * Law Blog on changes in frequency of white-collar prosecutions. [WSJ Law Blog] * It’s illegal to French kiss a child younger […]
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Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar on April 10th, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.07.08
* Status of the Roger Clemens steroid investigation. Just in case you didn’t already know he’s guilty. [ESPN] * Forget about lead-tainted toys and pet food. Charges were filed yesterday in LA against four American executives who imported toothpaste that contained antifreeze. [WSJ Law Blog] * “The weirdest legal pleading ever” included a “children’s book […] -
English Grammar and Usage, Law Professors, Weirdness
Frivolous Friday Pronunciation Dispute
Is it SUBstantive or subSTANtive? Our dictionary tells us to emphasize the first syllable. A lovely Canadian professor at our law school emphasizes the second syllable, and although our affection for him is great, every time he says “subSTANtive” we take away ten points on our completely subjective professor-grading scale. How about THAT, professor? Students […] -
Technology
Crackberry v. iPhone: Smackdown Part I
Apple wants to put its iPhones in the workplace, which may mean that your firm Crackberry could be replaced by an equally addictive (but much more hip) iPhone. We think, however, that there should be a screening process for determining who gets the iPhones. There’s a certain degree of unaffected coolness, a hipster air, that […] -
Barack Obama, Cass Sunstein, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Samantha Power
Update: Cass Sunstein's 'Power' Resigns
We updated our original post from this morning about Samantha Power calling Hillary Clinton a “monster,” but it’s a big enough development to cover in a separate post. So here we go. Professor Power, rumored love interest of Cass Sunstein, resigned from the Obama campaign because of her tawdry remarks about Hillary Clinton in an […] -
Guns / Firearms
Law Students with Guns: Bad Idea, or Worst Idea Ever?
There’s a national movement pushing for law students to have the right to carry guns on campus. They’ve even got an official acronym: SCCC (Students for Concealed Carry on Campus). The group formed in response to the VA Tech shootings last year, and currently claims to have more than 16,000 members. They argue that when […]
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Biglaw, Weirdness
Update: Do the Cadwalader Shuffle
Here’s the most comprehensive bit we’ve heard from a tipster: [N]o longer at CWT anymore (thankfully), but I did hear that Chris White (the Partner who deposed Link) is attempting a major realignment of practice groups. Apparently he wants to move the Corporate department into the Real Estate and somehow make it a sub group. […] -
Job of the Week
Job(s) of the Week
Today’s JOW offering is a selection of IP opportunities at a Fortune 500 technology company, brought to you by ATL’s career partner, Lateral Link. In the last month, over 300 Lateral Link members referred friends who’ve joined the network, giving these members the opportunity to earn up to $5000 in referral bonuses. Positions: Patent Counsel […] -
Book Deals, Books, Julie Buxbaum
Lawyerly Chick Lit (?)
Julie Buxbaum is a Harvard alumna and lawyer turned novelist. Her first book, The Opposite of Love, is getting favorable reviews. As we’ve written about before, she’s signed a deal for two books, so it’s a good sign that the first is being well-received. For the lawyers who want to be writers: her advance was […] -
Biglaw
What's going on at Cadwalader?
We’re getting tips about something big going down at Cadwalader today, but no specifics yet. If you have information, be sure to let us know: tips AT abovethelaw DOT com. Hopefully this is as exciting as their bed-bug infestation of ’07. -
Tobacco / Smoking
Smoking Hot
If you live in NYC, you’re used to smoking being banned in almost every place of business; your law dates back to 2003. DC caught up in January of 2007. However, the pro-health laws have had a harder time down south where people get all hot and bothered when the government tries to tell ’em […] -
Health Care / Medicine, Kids, Washington Post
"Special Courts," Vaccines, and Autism
The government acknowledged that a link exists between autism and the routine vaccines which one girl from Georgia was given as a child: The cases are before a special “vaccine court” that doles out cash from a fund Congress set up to pay people injured by vaccines and to protect makers from damages as a […] -
Barack Obama, Cass Sunstein, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Rudeness, Samantha Power, Screw-Ups
'Hillary Clinton's a monster.'
That statement was made by Samantha Power, a top foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama and new-ish love interest of Professor Cass Sunstein. Sunstein recently accepted a position at Harvard Law, leaving behind in Chicago his ex, philosopher Martha Nussbaum. Bossman David Lat posted all the gossip about the academic love triangle here. Power, pictured, […]