To everyone who is done with the bar exam: CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Go get yourself a well-deserved drink -- or two, or three.

That's what we're going to do, and we didn't even take the bar. We're heading off now for drinks with some friends who just took -- and, hopefully, passed -- the bar.

Here's an open thread to look back upon the bar exam experience. In the comments, feel free to share funny anecdotes, horror stories, and other personal perspectives on the test.

You should probably avoid mentioning the substance of specific questions and answers from the MBE, which could get you in hot water. See here (via a commenter).

P.S. Speaking of anonymous posters on the internet getting unmasked through legal process, here's an update on the AutoAdmit lawsuit.

EarthLink Subpoenaed for Customer Records When Anonymous Web Posting Reveals Bar Questions [Fulton County Daily Report]
Yale Students' Lawsuit Unmasks Anonymous Trolls, Opens Pandora's Box [Wired]

Here's some news of a rather odd move, from the WSJ Law Blog:

Bruce McLean, the head of Akin Gump, sent an e-mail to all the attorneys at the firm informing them of a "substantial reshaping and enhancement of several practices," and a "change" in the firm's "geographical footprint."

That change involves "withdrawing from Taipei and Silicon Valley," and moving the lawyers in those offices to Alston & Bird, an Atlanta-based firm. "In addition," McClean writes, "some of our lawyers in Austin will join Greenberg and Traurig in the coming weeks . . . We are very pleased to report that we have secured a license to practice law in Abu Dhabi and are in the process of opening an office there to serve our clients in the Middle East."

We agree with the WSJ's Dan Slater: this "lawyer-swapping arrangement" is a bit... strange.

Akin to Shutter Offices in Taipei, Silicon Valley; Lawyers to Alston & Bird [WSJ Law Blog]

Nope, we're not done covering yesterday's bloodbath over at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. If the powers-that-be at CWT think they can lay off almost 100 lawyers and have everyone forget about in a day, they're sorely mistaken. We intend to stick with this story for quite some time (in part because you can't get enough of it, judging from our traffic logs, the robust commenting, and the continuing inflow of tips).

As many commenters have noted, memories are long when it comes to lawyer layoffs. Prospective recruits will hold this against Cadwalader five years from now -- assuming CWT is still around then -- just as people still remember which firms laid off lawyers in the last downturn, in the early 2000s.

We have some additional info to pass along, based on reports from summer and incoming associates. Yesterday afternoon, Cadwalader held a meeting for its summers, led by chairman Chris White and hiring committee chair Paul Mourning (yup, "Mourning"). Former chairman Bob Link attended, but had a non-speaking role.

White told the summer class essentially what he told the WSJ Law Blog (down to quoting the same numbers, and stressing that the layoffs were mostly in real estate finance and asset securitization). Mourning focused on issues particular to the summer class:

He didn't say what people wanted to hear (that everyone could still expect an offer). Instead, he said something like "the firm will continue to use the same evaluation criteria that it has used in the past" and that some people will get offers without knowing what exact practice group they will be in. The latter is likely a reference to people who chose corporate or capital markets as their top choice but will likely have to do litigation until the market picks up.

This is in contrast to Chris White explicitly saying in his opening day speech to the summers (after addressing the previous 35-lawyer layoff) that the firm expected to extend offers to all summer associates.

Paul also mentioned that the firm doesn't expect to rescind any offers to the incoming first-year class. Some summers found it unnerving that he even mentioned that.

Speaking of incoming first-years at CWT, one of them forwarded us the email the firm sent to the group -- check it out, after the jump -- along with this commentary:

Just wanted to send along the email I got yesterday. First thing I read when I got home from the NYS Bar Exam! I have to believe that they powers that be at CWT were completely clueless that yesterday was the NY Bar. Why not wait another week? What a drop-kick to the gut.

This individual asked for advice:

Should I start spamming the resume now, or wait until September when I start at CWT? (There's the old adage that it's easiest to find a job when you've already got one).

Should I contact Career Services, or is that window closed to me, now that I'm an alum?

Uncharted territory, for sure. I'd love to here from the peanut gallery.

So, commenters, whaddya think?

Our advice: start your job search as soon as reasonably practicable -- maybe after your bar trip, if you're taking one -- and continue it after you arrive at Cadwalader. Feel free to call upon Career Services; they're usually eager to help alums (although we understand that some law schools, at the height of fall recruiting, limit the services they provide to alumni).

Don't let yourself be buffeted by the winds of fate; take charge of your career and your life. Don't be a Pollyanna, thinking that things will probably get better. They probably won't -- at least not anytime soon.

Of the people who stuck around at CWT after the January layoffs, thinking they would just "ride it out," 96 of them are now headed for the unemployment line. They could perhaps be excused for buying the firm's reassurances back then, before the past few months of terrible economic news, especially with respect to the real estate and credit markets.

But you have no such excuse; the writing is on the proverbial wall. Remember the saying that George W. Bush famously mangled: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." Do yourself a favor -- as well as a favor to the firm, and to those who remain there -- and get the hell out, if you can. Voluntary departures will reduce the number of people to be laid off in round three.

Two memos -- the email message that CWT sent to its incoming associates, and the email message the firm sent to the career services offices of certain law schools -- are posted after the jump.

[Ed. note: This post is by EXLEY, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Exley's avatar (at right).]

As anyone remotely familiar with the law knows, the devil is in the details. Similarly, it's the little things that can sometimes make or break a long day at the office. A mouse with a trackball that refuses to roll in a particular direction, for example, or harsh bathroom lighting that gives everyone's reflection a sickly, ghoulish, glow can really mess a girl up. And a half-nod of recognition from a usually impassive lobby security guard can make a dude feel like the office is his second crib.

The dog days of summer present their own set of potential pet peeves.

The major complaint we've heard from female associates is that offices are too damn cold in the summer. Of course, offices are probably the same temperature year-round, but the coolness is more tolerable in the non-summer seasons when people wear warmer clothes. When it is as high as 90 degrees outside, however, it is impossible to commute to work in wool slacks and a sweater set without suffering heat stroke and/or being fingered as a crazy person (especially if wearing a pair of ostentatious cross trainers). Physical and mental health issues aside, it just feels good to be able to change it up sartorially once in a while.

Unfortunately, those who indulge in summer apparel sometimes need to store additional layers of clothing at work or snuggle under company-issued fleece at their desks. And forget about drinking an ice coffee or Jamba Juice inside! You'll need a parka and a hunting cap to be able to do that.

Is your law firm unbearably cold or hot this summer, and have you been able to do anything about it? We've heard suspicions that the thermostats in individual offices at Skadden's New York office don't really do anything at all, and that the office is kept cold "for the computers." Sounds ominous.

Any theories on why offices spend so much money blasting the AC in the summer and possibly lowering employee morale? (Perhaps it's a way to awaken associates from the depths of summer associate food coma, or to indirectly discourage skimpy clothing.)

Summer attire can also chafe against firm dress code policies. Despite the perennial push for "city shorts" by what seems like every single women's apparel retailer, are there any firms out there that actually allow employees to wear shorts to work?

Of course, even the uncontroversial short-sleeve dress shirt can raise issues if it reveals a tattoo, or three. A partner with such a predicament writes:

I'm a 50 year old lawyer in NY, a partner in a law firm. I have tattoos on my arms with images and the names of my two children and my wife.

Check out what happens when he rolls up his sleeves, and share your own summertime firm life experiences, after the jump.

[Ed. note: This post is by SOPHIST, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Sophist's avatar (at right).]

This is why people hate lawyers. This is why lawyers hate lawyers. Scrabulous was too much fun for lawyers to leave it alone.

Hasbro has a legitimate issue, because Scrabulous is clearly ripping them off. Facebook had no choice but to remove Scrabulous once Hasbro smacked them around with a DMCA notification.

But there are other legal issues that Hasbro would like you to ignore. There are split IP rights for the Scrabble franchise; Hasbro owns the North American rights (licensed to Electronic Arts for online play), Mattel owns the rights elsewhere.

Scrabulous' real sin is that it allows you to log on in New York and play someone living in York. Hasbro's and EA's exclusively North American products can't compete, and that puts panties in a bunch.

Aside from Facebook-stalking counsel from Hasbro and Mattel, what is the solution? Hasbro's open contempt for the consumer does nothing to change the fact that they have a solid case. They've even offered to pay Scrabulous' creators Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla handily just to go away. But as Real Networks CEO Robert Glaser points out, the real problem is that Hasbro and Mattel must merge their rights.

They'd better get on that soon or I'm going to have to go back to anime porn to pass the time.

(Photo credit: Flickr.)

Thanks to the Inspector General's report shedding full light on the DOJ's politicized hiring, Monica Goodling and company have become "stars" outside of the legal insider world. Welcome to Comedy Central, Monica Goodling! Jon Stewart sets his sights on the hiring scandal and ATL's favorite DOJ diva in this "news report:"

Click to the 2:50 mark for a classic Goodling moment.

The fact that the link was sent to us by a senior producer at Comedy Central, whose wife is an ATL fan, made us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. We're suckers for acceptance from the MSM-ish types.

Illegally Blonde [The Daily Show]

Earlier: Soon To Be Breaking: Inspector General's Monica Goodling Report

[Ed. note: This post is by FROLIC & DETOUR, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Frolic & Detour's avatar (at right).]

Sadly, some of the juiciest summer scandals in Biglaw history occurred prior to the advent of Above the Law. Though some of us at ATL may be loathe to admit it, many of them occurred when this year's 2Ls were still in high school. So far, this year's pink-cheeked and diligent class is failing in its duty to generate entertainment for the rest of us. So let's all step into the Wayback Machine and visit the glory days of summer scandal.

Picture it: summer, 2000. First-year salaries recently hit $125,000...the dot com boom is a boom, not a bubble...offers will follow summers as day follows night. And a Boston tech firm called Testa Hurwitz had not yet gone to the Great Courtroom in the Sky.

The marquee event of Testa's lavish summer program is a Duck Boat tour of Boston and the Charles River. Summers, associates, and partners alike enjoy some fine beverages and then set out for some amphibious sightseeing.

Under the influence of free champagne, a Harvard summer (naturally) decides that it would be hilarious to drop trou and moon his friend in the neighboring boat. Once his pants are down, however, he experiences some confusion about where he is, just as Nature begins to sing her siren song. Is that a life preserver in front of him, or a urinal? In front of the entire firm, the summer leans against the railing and takes a piss in the Charles.

It wasn't easy to do in those days, but... no offer.

[Ed. note: This post is by ALEX, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Alex's avatar (at right).]

Biglaw lawyers:

Every single one of your non-lawyer friends and family members think that you know "the law" because you're lawyers. You don't. You work in biglaw. Don't worry, ATL will give you some small-building law to use when the inevitable email arrives or you need some lawyerly advice yourself.

Today's topic: landlord-tenant law.

August is almost upon us. Lots of people are moving. Summers, law-school grads, Cadwalader attorneys. Maybe there's still time to knock some dollars off of your last rent check. I spoke to an attorney who handles landlord-tenant issues in New York. He works in a really small building and likes to golf on Thursday afternoons.

Nutshell after the jump.

[Ed. note: This post is by MARIN, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Marin's avatar (at right).]

Ever wonder what happened to Kory McFarren, the (literally) crappy boyfriend who stood by for a month while his girlfriend, Pam Babcock, grew overly attached to a toilet seat? The AP reported yesterday that McFarren was sentenced to six months probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor count of mistreatment of a dependent adult.

But don't break out the party hats just yet.

Also Tuesday, McFarren was sentenced to six months in jail for an unrelated charge of lewd and lascivious behavior for exposing himself to a teenage neighbor in March.

Apparently while Babcock convalesced in the hospital, McFarren sought solace by staring out his window. And masturbating.

"This has been going on for a long period of time," the neighbor said. "While we were using our pool or hot tub, he would stand in his window and watch and play with himself. It has become much worse lately."

The resourceful neighbors tried to block McFarren's view by piling logs in front of the pool. But "[a]s winter wore on, the wood pile shrank," presumably leading to the expansion of McFarren's own wood pile.

In a cruel twist of fate, he has ended up exactly where Babcock did -- in the can.

Boyfriend of woman stuck to toilet gets probation [AP]
Boyfriend arrested in new crime [The Hays Daily News]

Willie Gary is a high-profile Florida attorney who is fighting a sexual battery civil suit. Check out his inventive defense strategy, described by Legal Blog Watch:

Prominent Florida attorney Willie Gary has released two sex tapes that he says help disprove claims made in a sexual battery suit against him...

This week, in a bid to get the case thrown out, Gary's lawyers filed two videos with the court allegedly showing her having consensual sex with Gary's son Kenneth. The lawyers say the videos were made eight days after the alleged sexual assault and help disprove the woman's claims against Gary. "She claims she was assaulted by the father yet, a week later, she's making an amateur sex video with the son," said West Palm Beach lawyer Michael Pike.

As noted by both Legal Blog Watch and the WSJ Law Blog, Gary's website bio brags about his rise from migrant worker to multimillionaire attorney, with three "posh waterfront offices" and a custom designed Boeing 737, named "Wings of Justice II."

Despite all the bling, the welcome video on www.williegary.com is distinctly low-budget. Don't waste your time watching it -- it's a plea to clients to sign up for his law firm's newsletter. So that he can invite them to parties, and because he wants them "to hear about what's going on with the Gary family." Hmmm.... Would that include the news of Papa Gary and Baby Gary's apparent penchant for swapping sex partners?

The Willie Gary Sex Tapes [Legal Blog Watch / Law.com]

Setting aside the Sapphic Smooch, it's been a slow summer in terms of juicy summer-associate scandals. As a result, we're forced to bring you a story that may be apocryphal.

Here it is. It supposedly took place in the sleek-and-sexy offices of Skadden, housed in the celebrated Conde Nast Building at Four Times Square. Does being in close proximity to Vogue-visiting supermodels make people horny?

From a tipster (but not at Skadden; it came through the grapevine):

Does Skadden normally make its summers share office space with associates?

A Skadden associate walked into his office, which he shares with a summer associate, and caught the summer having sex with another summer. The associate was upset because he wanted to do work, and warned the summer to lock the door in the future. Both summers are not expected to be no-offered because of this.

Give a careful read to that last sentence, with all its double negatives. The upshot: nobody is getting in trouble over this. As a certain ATL commenter might say, "No big deal."

We did a bit of fact-checking. Sadly, the full-time and summer associates we contacted at SASMF said they hadn't heard anything about this. But they did confirm that regular / full-time associates share offices with summer associates. (The theory is that this arrangement helps to give summers a realistic sense of a regular associate's day-to-day work life.)

We're unsure about how true this story is. If you can confirm (or deny), feel free to email us.

Some of you will express annoyance at the possibly apocryphal nature of this story. To make it up to you, we're going to pass along a very similar summer-associate story, from our former firm, that IS true (albeit old).

Check back for it, later today, or tomorrow.

Update: That story is now posted here.

P.S. In case you're wondering, this is the story that we alluded to in the "Update" appended to this post. But we were amused by how many emails we received from people who thought we were talking about a different story. Apparently the Skadden summer retreat was one happening place....

Every now and then, we entertain requests for advice from our readers (even though, as we reminded you yesterday, we're not career counselors -- so take what we say with several grains of salt). Here's what we found in the mail bag today;

I'm a summer associate at a BigLaw firm in DC. Our exit interview questionnaire asks us whether we're 1) applying for a clerkship or 2) for personal reasons, seeking employment in another geographic region.

Saying you're applying for a clerkship is one thing, but given the economy, and the risk of not getting an offer in that other geographic region, should I really tell my firm that I might be looking elsewhere? Am I risking anything by being fully honest?

Our gut reaction is that the SA should not tell the firm that he or she might be looking elsewhere. Not only is there a risk of not getting an offer in the other geographic region, but the firm where this person summered might decide to no-offer -- or, more likely, give cold offers to -- summers who say they're exploring other opportunities.

We don't think this would be dishonest on the part of the SA. We don't have the exact wording of the question, but we read it as being aimed at people who are definitely going to a different city, "for personal reasons" -- e.g., family issues, like an ailing parent; a spouse who has to be somewhere else, for work or school; etc.

And, of course, there's the Bill Clinton line of argument: What business is this of the firm's? As long as the SA complies with the NALP rules in terms of responding in timely fashion to any offer of full-time employment from this firm, why is the SA obligated to tell the firm every last detail of his or her job-search thinking?

Okay, Randy Cohen might be horrified by our "advice." But in the world of Biglaw today, loyalty is dead. These days law firms are always looking out for number one, namely, themselves and their profits per partner. E.g., Cadwalader (laying off some 130+ lawyers in 2008 to date).

So shouldn't law students and young lawyers take the same approach? If you're not looking out for yourself and your own career, in the most clear-eyed and even calculating way, who will?

Sorry, enough ranting; back to the summer associate's question. How do you think this person should respond to the exit questionnaire? Feel free to opine, in the comments.

[Disclosure: This post is authored not by the Asia Corporate Lawyers, but by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting -- sponsor of the Asia Chronicles, and an ATL advertiser. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past two years. You can reach them by email at asia at kinneyrecruiting dot com.]

On Monday we discussed some positive trends in M&A in Asia, notwithstanding the turmoil in credit markets and overall economic downturn globally. Today, we discuss very briefly some of the lateral hiring trends we have been seeing in Asia recently and in '08 in general.

We have not seen an overall reduction in hiring of U.S. associates in Asia, but firms have been much more selective than in '07. This is for a variety of reasons. Some notable U.S. and British firms in Asia are hiring at a significantly slower clip than in '07, but this unfortunate trend is being balanced out by other peer firms hiring significantly more than in '07. There are a number of firms in heavy expansion mode, with several top U.S. firms in Hong Kong / China, for example, that will easily double the size of their offices in '08. Some U.S. firms in Asia have very aggressive medium-term (5-6 year) expansion plans to have 100+ attorney offices. Interestingly, and perhaps surprisingly to readers, some of the most urgent needs still happen to be for mid-level to senior U.S. securities associates, despite the slower pace of capital-markets deal flow coming in.

It is important to note that in '08, there are as much as three to four times as many U.S. associate candidates on the market for Asia positions, compared to '07. Firms can afford to be a lot more selective and also can take their time with hiring decisions, much more than was the case in the frenzied hiring environment in Asia in '07. While we are seeing the same pace of hiring in the Asia markets in '08 that we saw in '07, it has become a more difficult market to break into for some U.S. associates than was the case in '07.

Read more, after the jump.

To: Attorneys All
From: Marc Edelman
Re: A Hearty Farewell

Dear Friends:

Today marks the end of my six-month externship as sports editor at Above the Law. On Monday, August 18, I will begin the next stage of my career as a visiting assistant professor at Rutgers School of Law in Camden, NJ. I will also continue my current affiliation with the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School.

During my brief stint as your sports law blogger, I enjoyed the opportunity to interact with many readers. To those of you that have reached out, thanks. It has been a pleasure to exchange ideas and share advice on breaking into the sports industry.

To David Lat, thanks as well for taking a leap of faith and inviting me, as an academic, to guest blog on your self-described "tabloid." I know not all of our experiments worked perfectly (see, e.g., Monday Morning Quarterback); however, more often than not, the readership survived their traditional and sensationalist worlds colliding.

For those wishing to stay in touch, the best way to reach me is via email at either MarcEdel at camden dot rutgers dot edu or Marc at MarcEdelman dot com.

All the best,
M.E.

P.S. For one final time ... take it away, Statler and Waldorf.

* * * * *
Marc Edelman is an attorney, business consultant, published author and professor, whose focus is on the fields of sports business and law. You can read his full bio by clicking here.

* Will work for laid-off Cadwalader attorneys be hard to find? [Am Law Daily]

* Legislation allowing FDA to regulate tobacco moves through House, heading towards veto. [Washington Post]

* Turkish court allows president and PM to remain in politics. [CNN]

* Former Thai PM's wife found guilty of tax evasion, sentenced to three years. [New York Times]

* More litigation for Ed McMahon, this time $275K claimed by former counsel. [CNN]

Back to the big story of the day: the massive lawyer layoffs, almost in the triple digits, at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. We thought now might be a good time to put up a fresh post, since the prior thread is getting a bit unwieldy (with 200+ comments -- selected excerpts, after the jump).

So what's there to add to the story? Let's see.... Cadwalader issued a statement in response to our inquiries. It's not terribly exciting -- most of it repeats what CWT told the WSJ -- but you can check it out, if you're bored, after the jump.

We're not career counselors, but you don't need to be an expert to know that CWT is probably best avoided for the upcoming round of fall recruiting / on-campus interviewing. Generally you should run away from, not into, burning buildings (unless you're a firefighter).

If for some reason you are still interested in working at Cadwalader -- well, good luck with that. The firm is withdrawing from on-campus interviewing at a number of law schools. E.g., Rutgers - Newark (memo after the jump). The Rutgers memo states that CWT "will contact students independently to schedule interviews if they are selected." In other words, don't call them; they'll call you.

Cadwalader cutting back on OCI isn't terribly shocking. The firm has less manpower to cover fall recruiting, having laid off so many lawyers. It probably wants to reduce expenses related to fall recruiting (which can be a costly process for firms, especially if overnight travel is involved). And maybe the firm has concluded that the last thing it needs right now are more people on its payroll.

Finally, here's a little tidbit we received by email:

At CWT in Charlotte, the attorneys who were fired came in this morning to find envelopes on their chairs breaking the bad news. Dicey move.

Dicey? We're not so sure. The ginormous layoffs are already a PR disaster -- and Cadwalader arguably wants to make itself seem like a less appealing place to work, at least in the short term.

But classy? Not very.

**********************
Remember, there's more stuff after the jump: highlighted comments from the last thread, Cadwalader's official statement on the layoffs, and an example of a law school career services memo announcing CWT's withdrawal from on-campus interviewing.

Bloggers tend to be so hyper-connected that being away from Internet service for more than two hours can feel like an eternity. Due to the numerous e-mails flying around law firms, and the expectation of rapid response, lawyers tend to have a similar connectivity addiction. The Blackberry is the sweet, sweet drug that feeds the need.

We know how dedicated you all are to your Blackberries. What if you were forced to give it up in order to really go on vacation and get away from the firm?

UK-based Linklaters is doing just that, reports Law People.

Linklaters is reported having decreed, in a fit of concern for work/life balance, that lawyers leave their Blackberrys at home while on holiday (vacation to us).The order is designed to insulate associates, in particular, from the relentless rat race for a few sweet weeks a year, according to management. "Sometimes it's the small things that count," one partner averred. While another lawyer confessed that "I feel naked without my Blackberry and there are times when you just have to be reachable." Whether the firm is successful in enforcing this edict is not yet clear.

We think this will just result in compounding of guilt, as attorneys feel the shame of obsessively checking their Blackberries while "on holiday," and the need to hide the illicit Blackberry checking from the firm. What do you think about the policy?

Last month, an ATL / Lateral Link survey found that roughly 28% of associates were afraid that they could lose their jobs this year, up from just 10% of associates in December.

That number might be even higher today, given recent events.

But should 28% of associates be afraid? On the one hand, there are relatively few firms listed in Bruce MacEwen's layoffs table. On the other hand, that table doesn't track "stealth layoffs", and there are rumors of stealth layoffs at several firms around the country.

So, today's survey will try to add a little more granularity. Is there really bad news afoot at your firm?

Here's the second half of the "head-to-head" round of ATL Idol. If you're not up to speed on what's going on, background information is available in this prior post (or just scroll down the front page).

You can check out the second half of the head-to-head round, featuring the blogging of FROLIC AND DETOUR, SOPHIST, and MARIN, after the jump.

Welcome to the first half of what we're calling the "head-to-head" round of ATL Idol, the reality-TV-style talent search for Above the Law's new editor. The second half will published later this afternoon.

To refresh your recollection, here's how this round will work:

We'll publish the contestants' different takes on the same story (actually, a pair of comparable stories -- the contestants can choose). The head-to-head round is designed to show how the bloggers all tackle the same or similar stories, to eliminate any advantage one might derive from an extra-juicy set of facts.

This is also the round that will be reviewed by ATL's panel of celebrity judges: Ann Althouse, Tom Goldstein, and Dahlia Lithwick.

Check out the first half of the head-to-head round, in which ALEX and EXLEY write about the same story, after the jump.

Okay, this is not the most exciting layoff news ever. It pales in comparison to the massive bloodshed over at Cadwalader this morning, which forced us to break out the Drudge siren. It reminds us of those Kaye Scholer secretarial layoffs from May, just not as big.

But when it comes to law-firm layoff coverage, we try to be as thorough and as granular in detail as possible. If people click on the Layoffs tag here at ATL, they should be able to access, in one place, news of all acknowledged -- and some unacknowledged -- layoffs at Am Law 200 firms, covering both lawyers and staff.

So, with that said, check out the WSJ Law Blog, for news of staff cuts at Bingham McCutchen.

Bingham McCutchen Lays Off 10 Staff Members [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Nationwide Layoff Watch: Kaye Scholer Lays Off Five Secretaries

Paralegal-ing is a rough gig. Paralegals tend to get the legal drudgery similar to that done by first year associates, without the six-figure paycheck. And if you're a paralegal for Richard Laminack, a titan of the Texas plaintiffs' bar, you may also be asked to receive unwanted advances, fellate expert witnesses, and help defraud clients.

The American Lawyer reports on paralegal Angela Robinson's complaint (PDF), filed against Laminack and the two firms at which she worked for him. (We have to wonder why she followed him to the second firm despite the workplace horrors. Cf. Anita Hill.)

Here's a choice excerpt, available in full after the jump:

That is certainly above and beyond the paralegal call of duty.

The website of Laminack, Pirtle & Martines says that it's their "honor and priveledge [sic]" to represent clients. And defraud them? According to Robinson's complaint, Laminack "ordered checks on non-existent medical records for Fen-Phen clients and then docked the cost of the records checks from the clients' settlement shares."

(What is it with Fen-Phen lawyers and cheating clients? The WSJ Law Blog had extensive coverage of the Kentucky attorneys accused of bilking their Fen-Phen clients out of millions.)

Robinson put up with the sexual harassment for years; she alleges she was terminated when she confronted Laminack about the Fen-Phen scheme. She wants $55,000 for wrongful termination and back pay. A longer version of the salacious bits of her complaint, after the jump.

Just to close the loop on this prior report, the talks between Alston & Bird and Los Angeles-based Weston Benshoof have borne fruit. Alston's acquisition of Weston is official. From a firm-wide email just issued by A&B managing partner Richard Hays:

This morning, the partners voted overwhelmingly to expand the firm into California with the opening of two new offices. The Los Angeles-based Weston Benshoof firm and their 83 attorneys will become a part of Alston & Bird and, additionally, we will be opening an office in Silicon Valley with a group of eleven (11) intellectual property lawyers formerly with Akin Gump.

The complete memo appears after the jump. The official press release from Alston & Bird appears here (PDF).

Elsewhere on the A&B front, we've been hearing all sorts of rumors about goings-on over there -- some of them in comments, and some by email. There may be nothing to them; but if there's anything to report, you know where to reach us. Thanks.

Later today, and according to plan, we'll bring you the head-to-head match-ups in ATL Idol. This will give you, and our judges, the opportunity to see how different bloggers tackle the same story.

But when we do, you'll see just five write-ups. There is a long tradition in reality contests of competitors voluntarily departing, rather than being voted off -- e.g., Jack Mackenroth of Project Runway (Season 4). In that tradition, ATL Idol ARNIE BECKER has decided to call it quits.

We offered Arnie the chance to issue a farewell message, like many reality shows, but he demurred. So the precise reasons for his departure -- fear of the formidable competition? an inability to handle ATL's exceedingly candid commenters? -- will remain a mystery.

We wish Arnie the best of luck in his future endeavors. And now, back to the contest -- head-to-head posts will appear shortly.

History repeats itself. We quote from our post of January 10:

Just half an hour ago, based on information we gleaned from various sources, we asked: "Is today Layoff Day at Cadwalader?" The answer would appear to be: YES.

Earlier this morning, we once again posed the question: "Is today Layoff Day at Cadwalader?" And once again, the firm has confirmed -- this time to the WSJ Law Blog -- that it will be laying off 96 lawyers, from counsel on down to first-year associates. The intelligence in our post from earlier this morning, which estimated the carnage at "as many as 100 attorneys, ranging from special counsel down to the current first-year associate class," was essentially correct.

90 of the 96 cuts will come out of the real estate finance and securitization practices, said the firm's chairman, Chris White. Most of the affected lawyers, said White, are in the New York, Charlotte and London offices, with "one or two" in Washington. The 96 layoffs are in addition to the 35 lawyers the firm laid off in January.

Wow -- that's a ton of attorneys. Ninety-six lawyers would appear to be the biggest round of lawyer layoffs in the current economic cycle (see Bruce MacEwen's layoffs table). Congratulations, Cadwalader!

Cadwalader chairman Chris White gives the WSJ Law Blog a spiel about how the firm got caught up in the mania surrounding commercial mortgage-backed securities:

"There was a frothiness that occurred as a result of the Blackstones and the Apollos using mortgage-backed securities to fund their buyouts. It was a lot like junk bonds becoming the instrument of choice in the late 80's and early 90's."

White explained that, in 2004, there were only $98 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities issued. In 2008, he said, that number ballooned to $314 billion. "So we grew right along with client demand. And now that market has contracted severely. That $314 billion from last year will go to roughly $60 billion in 2008 -- an 80% contraction."

With his use of the passive -- "[t]here was a frothiness" -- and his "we grew right along with client demand" remark, White seems to be offering a "not our fault, everyone was doing it, nobody predicted this" sort of defense. But isn't it the job of firm management to make sure that a firm is well-diversified among practice areas and adequately protected against downside risk?

(Perhaps the WSJ Law Blog should have pressed White a bit harder on this. Maybe they could have gotten White to throw former chairman Bob Link under the bus, since the firm's disastrous overexpansion happened under Link's watch. Link is the leader featured in the firm's embarrassing-in-hindsight video advertisement.)

To be sure, other Biglaw shops have been hurt by the credit crunch and the economic downturn. But after this latest round of layoffs, involving close to 100 lawyers, it lies beyond dispute that no major firm has been hit as hard as Cadwalader. This obviously raises questions -- or should, in the mind of anyone looking to work for or retain CWT -- about whether the firm is well-managed.

As for offering the "affected" associates an opportunity to transfer into other groups, White said, "We can do that a little bit at the junior levels -- the first and second years -- but, at the third, fourth and fifth years, lawyers aren't fungible."...

Markel said that the 96 associates who are laid off will receive severance pay through the end of the year.

Five months' severance -- is this accurate? If so, it's definitely on the generous side. So look on the bright side, CWT associates: you're getting almost half a year of paid vacation.

We'll have more on the Cadwalader situation as it unfolds. If you have info to share, please email us. Thanks.

Update: More about the Cadwalader layoffs appears here.

Cadwalader to Cut 96 Lawyers [WSJ Law Blog]

If the title of this post sounds familiar to you, it should. We used it back in January, a few hours before major layoffs -- amounting to about 35 attorneys -- at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

In the months since then, we've heard all sorts of other rumors about Cadwalader. There have been whispers that the number of attorneys laid off last time may have been closer to 50 rather than 35. We've heard about possible staff layoffs. There has also been talk of quieter, smaller-scale reductions in attorney ranks at CWT -- "strategic firings," as one tipster put it. This source guessed that the firm has already shed around 100 attorneys since its peak.

But losing 100 lawyers, if true, may not have been enough. Word on the street is that Cadwalader is now bracing for another round of large-scale layoffs, which could be announced as early as today or tomorrow. In the words of one source, "Surprised you haven't posted anything on Cadwalader. Major s**t going down..."

Here's the most detailed account of several that we've received (after the jump):

* Martindale-Hubbell goes 21st century with LinkedIn partnership. [Am Law Daily]

* 82-year old Jerry Lewis cited for concealed firearm in an airport.
[CNN]

* Karadzic extradited to the Hague. [Washington Post]

* At U. Chicago, law professor Obama tested ideas in the classroom. [New York Times]

* Stevens indictment a set-back for GOP. [Washington Post; New York Times]

* Orrick reaches $2.8 million settlement with San Diego over pension fund shortfall. [Am Law Daily]

[Ed. note: This post is by EXLEY, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Exley's avatar (at right).]

We apologize for the delay in bringing it to you; we received it later than the other submissions. Alas, the demands of Biglaw are not very conducive to covert participation in a legal blogging deathmatch.]

I saw this rather striking ad at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank this morning (pre-quake):

The text on the right says: "Justice may be blind but she still sees it our way 92.3% of the time."

Call me a sick nut but at first I thought it was an ad for the United States of America, to make me feel good about all the rigmarole a person has to go through at airport security these days.

But it turns out that Lady Justice was posing for another almost-all-knowing entity.

Find out who it is after the jump.

Our apologies to those of you who sat for the bar exam today. We forgot to wish you good luck, unlike the QuizLaw kids:

It's a special day for the country's future lawyers -- over the next two to three days, thousands of recent law graduates will take the bar exam. Most will pass, some will not. Somewhere, in some state, at least one person will freak the fuck out during the exam. That person will then become part of bar exam lore, an anecdote passed down from bar taker to bar taker to make them feel better about their chances.

Could ATL's failure to wish you good luck be responsible for the earthquake that hit California in the middle of today's test? We hope not. Talk about "bar exam lore" -- an earthquake certainly qualifies.

Anyway, we won't make the same mistake twice. To everyone taking the bar exam this week, GOOD LUCK!!!

If you're one of the poor souls going through the ordeal of the bar exam, and checking ATL between day 1 and day 2 -- or maybe on the eve of day 1, for those of you in Wednesday - Thursday jurisdictions -- feel free to tell us how you're feeling, in the comments.

Earlier: Breaking: Earthquake Hits California on Day 1 of the Bar Exam!

[Ed. note: This post is by ARNIE BECKER, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Arnie Becker's avatar (at right).]

Fremont County judge Timothy O'Grady has been called on to determine the legal difference, in Iowa, between a strip club and a performing arts center. In Iowa strip clubs are illegal, however, there is a loophole which exempts performing art centers, theaters and concert halls from some state obscenity laws -- including nude dancing.

As reported by the Associated Press:

The case pending before a Fremont County judge effects only one business in Hamburg, but if he agrees with the prosecutor, it could eventually threaten the legal standing of nude dancing clubs across the state.

Clarence Judy, owner of the establishment Shotgun Geniez Plaza "Hamburg Theater for the Performing Arts" (WARNING, art aside, the site is NFWS), is facing three charges of public indecent exposure involving a minor.

The facts of the case, as reported in the Omaha World-Herald, are as follows:

The charges were brought in connection with a July 21, 2007, incident. A 17-year-old Hamburg girl, the niece of Fremont County Sheriff Steve MacDonald, danced nude onstage at the club.

It was a typical summer night, the Hamburg High School graduate testified Thursday. She and four girlfriends were drinking at a friend's house when they decided to meet up with three boys at Shotgun Geniez. She had already had six drinks when she got there. As the group of eight walked in, two of them proffered their driver's licenses, but Judy, who was working the door, did not ask for the identification of the underage girl, several people testified Thursday.

Once inside, the girl said she drank another beer - given to her by a "stripper" - and then lay down on the stage with a dollar in her bra. The dancer pulled the girl's shirt and her bra up, exposing her breasts, before taking the dollar.

Later, a dancer pulled the girl onstage, where she helped her disrobe. She danced to one song while fully nude.

She put her clothes back on and drank another beer given to her by a dancer, she said. Later, she took the stage and danced nude again.

Judy has argued that his establishment is not a strip club because it has posters and prints on the wall, offers its patrons sketch pads, and only charges for parking or entry onto the property.

Judge O'Grady is expected to make his ruling on the "sketch pad defense" sometime this week.

Now would probably be a good time for Mr. Judy to take his establishment's listing off of the Iowa Strip Clubs website (WARNING again, NFWS). Probably just an oversite - like letting a 17 year old inebriated girl walk into his "art center" on a typical summer night.

[Ed. note: This post is by FROLIC & DETOUR, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Frolic & Detour's avatar (at right).]

Why was ATL so fascinated by Shinyung Oh? Partly because it was juicy drama, and partly because she's practically the only lawyer who's given the world a straight story about a big-firm layoff. Partners and associates alike accept severance packages that keep them quiet, and while you can't blame them for taking the cash, no one else can learn from their experience. We all figure that firms' PR departments are feeding us BS when they claim that layoffs have always been part of the annual review process, but we haven't had any eyewitness testimony on that point.

Today, ATL breaks the silence with an exclusive insider's view of partner layoffs. Out of the dozens (hundreds?) of AmLaw 100 equity partners who've lost their jobs in this recession, we found a small number who were willing to talk to ATL about their experiences. According to their co-workers, our sources were well liked and doing good work when the axe dropped ... they just didn't have clients of their own. The picture they painted for ATL includes one piece of good news: well-informed young lawyers (i.e., ATL readers) have a pretty good understanding of how partners have become vulnerable to layoffs. On the other hand, it's no cause for celebration that we were right about how dismal the picture has become.

Read more, after the jump.

[Ed. note: This post is by ALEX, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Alex's avatar (at right).]

I heard once that people don't like lawyers. Upon honest reflection, I'm inclined to agree with them. Hell, some people might not like me, even though I'm pathologically nice, fun at parties, and a member of the ABA.

Of course, hating lawyers is never justification for killing lawyers. Shakespeare be damned.

Earlier this month, the wife of a Tennessee lawyer became the avatar of lawyer-hate, strangling her husband and hiding his body in the bedroom closet with, presumably, all of the other unmentionables.

So reports WATE News Channel 6:

Nashville police arrested the estranged wife of an attorney in his strangulation killing. A housekeeper found the body of 44-year-old James Cannon in a bedroom closet on June 23. Police said Cannon had custody of the couple's children, who are 9 years old, 7 years old and 18 months old. Cannon had filed for divorce from Kelly Cannon in February and obtained an order of protection to keep her away from him and the children.

Mrs. Cannon's story seems, um, airtight:

Police said Kelly Cannon told them she went to her husband's home the night of June 22, but said she couldn't find him.

You know, I would have never seen this coming from Mrs. Cannon. I've always trusted women with arty glasses. Never again.

It's a shame, though; there are much more entertaining and lawful ways to seek revenge on a lawyer, like deleting the serial commas throughout the final draft of a brief or replacing all of his two-button suits with three-button suits.

In any event, this woman is clearly a threat to our people and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Because the bar exam isn't scary enough without the occasional act of God. This just in, from tipsters:

"Earthquake just hit LA and the epicenter was just next to Ontario, CA, where the CA bar exam is being administered!"

"I hope you are going to open a thread about those poor people taking the CA bar exam when the earthquake hit today. I'm curious to know how things were handled and if there were proctor freak outs!"

Read more, after the jump.

[Ed. note: This post is by MARIN, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Marin's avatar (at right).]

If you've ever secretly read somebody else's email 537 times, turns out you're not alone. Larry Mendte, former CBS3 Philadelphia news anchor and Botox enthusiast, allegedly hacked into his former co-anchor Alycia Lane's personal email accounts 537 times since January 2008 and leaked the contents of some of those emails to the press, according to the criminal information filed last Monday. What makes this case interesting is not the charge itself (one felony count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authoriza