August 2008

As reported last week, the Vault 2009 law firm rankings are out. You can find Vault’s ranking of the top 100 most prestigious firms here. As observed by one astute commenter, “the prestige rankings will tell you nothing about the quality of your work experience.” In order to address this, we are relaunching a popular […]

One of the more contentious issues in the legal profession this year is whether firms are conducting “stealth” layoffs, or simply culling non-performing associates after bad reviews. Even among firms doling out these bad reviews, many say that performance standards have gotten tougher during the down market. Other firms, however, claim that their firms’ standards […]

The embarrassing Google hit is one of the great new fears of the modern age. If the number-one Google hit for your name is your work bio, Corporate Challenge race-time results, or nothing at all, consider yourself lucky. You could have something worse, like, “Kashmir Hill. Is that her real name or her porn screen […]

* A California trial starting this week marks the first time the obscure Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act is used to prosecute a former soldier for actions taken during combat. Former Marine Sgt. Jose Nazario will be tried as a civilian for voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of four Iraqi prisoners. [ San Francisco Chronicle] * […]

If you’re in New York today (Sunday) and looking for something to do in the afternoon, consider checking out Thurgood. It’s a one-man show about the life of Justice Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), starring Laurence Fishburne (best known as Morpheus of The Matrix, but with a long list of other film and theater credits). It’s an […]

In this video clip, Stephen Colbert observes that “you can’t blame all the problems of the past seven years on Monica Goodling.” But that won’t stop some people from trying. To be sure, Monica Goodling has made mistakes — and she’s the first to admit them. She forthrightly acknowledged, when testifying before Congress, that she […]

In the immortal words of Roxette, “It must have been love; but it’s over now.” Last month, we marveled at all the law firm merger rumors making the rounds. These days, however, merger talks are falling apart, left and right. As we first reported, the contemplated merger between Heller Ehrman and Baker & McKenzie is […]

Alabama state court judges: they love themselves some Ten Commandments. Just like Roy Moore, former chief justice of Alabama, Judge Ashley McKathan thinks the “higher law” has a place in the courtroom. Four years ago, the county circuit court judge had the Ten Commandments embroidered on his judicial robe. Presumably it’s a silent reminder, to […]

As expected, bankruptcy attorneys are once again in demand. So we’re highlighting an opportunity for junior associates in this week’s Job of the Week, brought to you by Lateral Link. This position qualifies for Lateral Link’s $10,000 signing bonus. (Lateral Link has paid out over $200,000 in signing bonuses this summer.) Lateral Link has junior […]

The three weeks of guest blogging by the talented contestants of ATL Idol have all come down to this: a final showdown between SOPHIST and FROLIC AND DETOUR. The winner will become the next editor of Above the Law. In case you’re curious, the ATL Idol contest has been awesome for ATL. July, the month […]

With the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions not far off, people’s minds are returning to politics. A few New York lawyers we’ve talked to are thinking about moving down to Washington, to serve in the next presidential administration. They might like our latest piece for the New York Observer: a pseudo-sociological comparison of New York […]

ATL Idol, the “reality blogging” competition in which you will select the next editor of Above the Law, is nearing its end. The original six contestants have been winnowed down to two finalists: FROLIC AND DETOUR and SOPHIST. We’ll open the polls later today. But first, let’s hear from your celebrity judges: Ann Althouse, Robert […]

* “Cinderella, Snow White, Tinkerbell and other fictional fixtures of modern-day childhood were handcuffed, frisked and loaded into police vans Thursday.” [CNN] * More on lawyers’ roles in the Edwards scandal. [New York Times] * Apple’s former general counsel, Nancy Heinen, will pay pay $2.2 million to settle SEC stock-option suit. Steve Jobs owes her […]

[Disclosure: This post is authored by the Asia Recruiting Team at 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 […]

* Forbes’s foray into the college rankings game. Could law schools be next? Watch out, U.S. News. [Althouse] * D.C. gets its guns. [Wonkette] * Lawyer of the Day? Or, why you shouldn’t try to sell stolen property back to the rightful owner. [UPI] * Judge of the Day: Asian edition. But what’s so wrong […]

Where is the Institute for Justice when you need it? Or maybe the Pacific Legal Foundation? A libertarian public interest organization needs to defend two victims of intrusive government regulation. From the Seattle Times: Regan “Draco” Lane-Smith and “Naughty” Nonah Elliston outfitted their six-bedroom rental house with 15 mattresses, bondage crosses and sex swings. They […]

* The John Edwards sex scandal: the plot thickens. Ted Frank has unearthed some nice nuggets about mysterious real estate dealings involving the supposed father of Rielle Hunter’s baby. [Overlawyered] * Is Kathy Rentas an Obama supporter? [New York Magazine] * A new reason to avoid law school: “the quality of the Latin used in […]

Here is a short Intelligencer item we just wrote for New York Magazine, about the two years that Mikheil Saakashvili, president of Georgia, spent in New York. It begins: Fifteen years before his country was invaded — or, perhaps, reinvaded — by Russia, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili was learning about the American system of law […]

Lately we’ve been hearing various rumors about Shearman & Sterling. Some appear to be true, and some not. Here are the rumors, followed by the firm’s responses, in blockquotes. 1. Have start dates for incoming first-year associates been pushed back? Start dates for incoming first-year associates for fall 2008 are October 6, 20, 27 and […]

Update / Clarification: Some commenters have complained about a formatting problem in an earlier version of this post. If you encountered this formatting problem, it’s time for you to enter the 21st century, ditch Internet Explorer, and adopt a better browser, like Firefox (download it here). Or get a Mac. But just for the record, […]