August 2008
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Advertising, Job of the Week
Job of the Week: If you hate the big firm grind...
Are you tired of big firm life — doc review, due diligence, 9 p.m. dinners at your desk? Do you still hope that you can enjoy practicing law in a law firm setting? This week’s Job of the Week may be the answer for you. As always, the Job of the Week is brought to […] -
Dubious Defenses
From the Department of Dubious Defenses: Small Is Beautiful
A growing trend in criminal defense: invoking your modest endowment as exculpatory evidence. Back in March, we wrote about this case, in which a Florida defendant argued that his penis was too small to inflict the injuries sustained by a rape victim. Now we hear about a more extreme version of the “size matters” defense, […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Barack Obama, Harvard Law Review
Barack Obama's Secret Case Comment, Revealed
If you were skeptical of the notion that Barack Obama never published anything as a member of the Harvard Law Review, your skepticism was justified. From Ben Smith and Jeffrey Ressner, over at Politico: [A]n unsigned — and previously unattributed — 1990 article unearthed by Politico offers a glimpse at Obama’s views on abortion policy […]
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Akin Gump, Allen & Overy, Vault 100 open threads - 2009, Willkie Farr
Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 31-40 (2009)
Welcome to another post in the 2009 Vault 100 open thread series. You all seem to like having the law firms listed in groups of ten, so we’ll keep it up. Here are the thirty-something firms from the Vault 100, with prestige scores in parentheses: 31. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP (6.461) 32. […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.22.08
* Federal judge grants stay of execution in Texas because the condemned man may be insane. Judge Orlando Luis Garcia chastised the state courts for refusing to hire mental health experts to assess the man’s sanity. [New York Times] * Bush administration will implement a regulation to protect anti-abortion health workers. [Washington Post] * Three […]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.21.08
* More advice for young lawyers from the good professor. [Punditry – Stephen Bainbridge] * Consistent with that advice, when it comes to email, “think before you write” — or risk losing the protection of attorney-client privilege. [Business West] * Think juries suck? You’re right. [Swordplay] * A shout-out to ATL Idol, from the ABA […] -
Heller Ehrman, Start Dates
Nationwide Start Date Watch: Heller Ehrman(And OCI withdrawals, too.)
We recently heard the following about Heller Ehrman: 1. Start dates for incoming associates have been pushed back to January 19, 2009. Associates are being offered a $10,000 stipend. 2. The firm has pulled out of on-campus interviewing (OCI) at several law schools, including UVA and UC-Davis. We contacted the firm for comment. Spokesman Patrick […] -
Intellectual Property, Layoffs, Morgan & Finnegan
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Morgan & Finnegan
A recent article in IP Law & Business suggested that rumors of the demise of IP specialty law firms have been greatly exaggerated. According to the piece, intellectual property boutiques continue to survive, despite encroachment on their turf by general-practice firms. This is not to say, however, that everything is peachy in IP land. The […] - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Lawyer of the Day, Sports
Lawyers of the Day: Lithuanian Pentathletes
The Olympics draw to a close this weekend, and soon we shall all forget how excited we were about weird sporting events like the hammer throw, the trampoline, and synchronized swimming. Two lawyers made a good showing today in one-of-those-sports-we-barely-knew-existed-but-now-we’re-really-excited-about: the men’s Modern Pentathlon! Lithuanian attorneys Andrejus Zadneprovskis and Edvinas Krungolcas won the silver and […] -
Defamation, Judge of the Day, Lunacy, Media and Journalism, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: Ernest B. Murphy
Back in 2007, Judge Ernest B. Murphy won his libel case case against the Boston Herald. The Herald had reported that Murphy was soft on crime and, well, nobody puts Baby in the corner. But winning just wasn’t enough for Judge Murphy. After he won he sent two threatening letters to Patrick Purcell, publisher of […] -
7th Circuit, New York Times, State Judges Are Clowns, US Weekly, Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 8.10: Hotness Disparity Edition
As some of you have noticed, we tend not to remark negatively on the innate physical attributes of our Legal Eagle contestants. There are several reasons for our reticence, but the most basic one is simply this: LEWW believes that prestige is beautiful. LEWW believes that every bride can look gorgeous on her special day […] -
Layoffs, Money, Partner Profits, Skaddenfreude
Open Thread: Blame The Associates
Earlier today, the American Lawyer published a report detailing declining profit margins in the legal industry. It is nice to see that somebody commissioned an entire report to figure out obvious facts like “the first half of 2008 looks very different from the previous six years” and “[t]he slowdown is hitting the most profitable firms […] -
Drinking, Email Scandals, Kids, Sex, Sex Scandals, Summer Associates
Summer Associate of Yesterday: Another Take on the Cradle Robber
One of our favorite law professor bloggers, Stephen Bainbridge, chimes in on yesterday’s summer associate scandal story. His commentary appears here. Our general view of the matter was summed up by a commenter: “Guys from my high school used to seal the deal with girls from college all the time. It was no big deal.” […]
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
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Advertising, Boutique Law Firms, Divorce Train Wrecks, Family Law
Adventures in Law Advertising: Monster-in-Law
This advertisement, from tiny divorce and bankruptcy firm Davis and Millard, appeared in an Atlanta magazine in June: We get confusing messages. With the curly font and all the pink, it seems like it should be an ad for lip gloss for teens. But the menacing way the woman grips that rolling pin puts fear […] -
Duane Morris, Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Duane Morris Trims Marketing and Business Development
Late last night, a tipster told us of “a big round of administrative staff cuts” at Duane Morris. They were centered on the Philadelphia mothership, but also included other offices. As for the extent of the layoffs, “no good sense of how many, but big enough that the local managing partner fired off an email […] -
Hogan & Hartson, Vault 100 open threads - 2009
Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 21-30 (2009)
In connection with on-campus interviewing season, we’re giving you a chance to assess the firms that made this year’s Vault 100 list of most prestigious law firms. The previous open threads listed firms in groups of five, but to up the pace, we’ll list them by ten from here on out. Here’s the next group, […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.21.08
* It looks like 2008 will be the worst year for law firms since 2001. The American Lawyer says the “silver lining” is that firms can “winnow out unproductive lawyers and apply greater discipline to expense control.” In other words: more layoffs, fewer perks. [American Lawyer] * Law firms aren’t the only ones suffering. Florida […]
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Fabulosity, Lawyer of the Day, Lawyerly Lairs, Layoffs, Real Estate, Robert Link
Lawyerly Lairs: Robert Link's $6 Million Hamptons House(Or, Lawsuit of the Day: Bob Link Duels With Developers)
Here’s an idea for how Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft — America’s Firingest Law Firm™, which laid off 35 lawyers in January, and then 96 more last month — can keep its surviving attorneys (plus all those incoming first-years) gainfully employed. Have them work on the litigation over managing partner Robert Link’s Hamptons house. Cadwalader Managing […] -
Drinking, Email Scandals, Kids, Sex, Sex Scandals, Summer Associates
Summer Associate of the Day: The Cradle Robber
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my law firm. My sin, my soul, my summer intern. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.” Now that summer associate programs are over, and most summers have offers safely […] -
Arnold & Porter, Vault 100 open threads - 2009, White & Case
Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 16-20 (2009)
Reasons for reading ATL vary from person to person. But we have been told by some people that one of the greatest benefits of following the site is gaining familiarity with law firms and the differences between them. In that vein, we shall continue on with our series of open threads on the Vault 100. […]