October 2008

We’ve spent the day collecting our Thelen rumors. This morning The Recorder reported that Thelen chairman Stephen O’Neal has been in talks to move to the D.C. firm Howrey. Apparently, he’s poised to take 30 attorneys with him. The firm is set to hold an all partner meeting on Tuesday to discuss their options: A […]

* Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Patterson, NJ apparently told his flock not to vote for Obama. If a priest speaks to Northeastern Catholics, and it is neither Christmas nor Easter, does he make a sound? [TaxProf Blog] * New York City raised the fine on people who refuse to pick up after their dog […]

Breaking from CNBC, CNN, and NYT, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty on all seven counts of making false statements on Senate disclosure forms. More to come. Update (4:24): The jury started to deliberate Wednesday. On Monday jurors noted a discrepancy between the indictment and the evidence. According to CNN: The indictment accuses […]

Something is going on over at Thacher Proffitt & Wood. This summer, the firm had to deny a rumor of possible dissolution. The word is that the firm took an especially tough beating when the bottom fell out of the housing and credit markets. In September, just a week after Lehman Brothers collapsed, we reported […]

The Texas based law firm of Haynes and Boone moved their Dallas operations into a new “green” office today. Despite the laudable initiative, some lawyers and many support staffers have complained about the new “confines.” Apparently, personal space is at a premium in the new space. Administrative assistants are particularly annoyed, as they will be […]

Does the legal academy suffer from a dearth of ideological diversity? It’s a question raised by the defection of prominent conservative law professors — including Doug Kmiec and now Charles Fried (pictured), who both held top positions in the Justice Department under Ronald Reagan — to the candidacy of Barack Obama. From a post on […]

Earlier this month, an ATL / Lateral Link survey found that 86% of you were talking about politics in the workplace. And 18% of you reported that a fellow associate had tried to convince you to vote for their favorite candidate. But are politics just seeping into your workplace, or will you be taking your […]

The University of Chicago Law School is ranked as the seventh best law school in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report. As we have extensively reported, the top-six schools (Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Berkeley) have all moved away from letter grading towards a modified pass/fail system, or are contemplating such a […]

In a National Law Journal piece published today, Senator John McCain wrote at length about the law. McCain said he was committed to three priorities: I want to concentrate on what would be three important priorities in a McCain administration: keeping the Department of Justice politically neutral, focusing law enforcement programs on addressing important issues […]

The MacArthur Foundation is known for its genius grants– a.k.a. “Out of the blue–$500,000– no strings attached”– that are given to 20 to 40 individuals each year in recognition of incredible creativity and originality. Last year, the Foundation started giving out a new award: the international justice award for individuals and organizations that have “been […]

* Juror dismissed in the trial of Senator Ted Stevens. We hope she was the violent one. [New York Times] * Yet another strip club lawsuit, but this time there are strips clubs on both sides. Déjà Vu and Little Darlings claim that competitors urged cabbies to divert potential clients by telling them the two […]

So far we have received letters from the following law schools urging students to accept their offers prior to the NALP deadline: Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, UPenn, UT, Michigan, and even Hofstra. The message from career services departments all across the nation is that firms are oversubscribed, and that some firms are rescinding offers. Sit on […]

It’s not too late to get a date for the weekend instead of sitting at home and playing Rock Band 2. Not too late at all, if you don’t mind putting up with a lawyer. From Craigslist: Older Attorney Seeks Younger Girlfriend – 39 Call it a mid-life crisis, but I want a younger girlfriend. […]

* David Duchovny believes the Daily Mail got it wrong when they accused him of having sex with his tennis instructor. That’s really the only excuse I need to post this picture of Adriana La Cerva sharing a moment with her tennis instructor. [Popsquire] * It turns out a crazy man cannot evict George W. […]

We have a soft spot for Columbia Law School, especially after our excellent visit there on Wednesday (“our” = Lat + Kash). Thanks to the CLS Federalist Society, the sponsor of our talk, for the warm welcome. We also have a soft spot for celebrity professors. Meet Columbia law prof Philip Bobbitt — no relation […]

Given the list of associate “perks” firms could be cutting back on during these tough economic times, the latest news from Fried Frank seems very reasonable. Associates at Fried Frank were told today: Dear All, In light of continued turmoil in the financial markets and the wider economy, and the effect it is having on […]

We’ve said in the past that most law firm websites are fairly dry, and named the split personality website of North Carolina’s Van Winkle Law Firm as an exception. Well, another experimental law firm website has crossed our desk, er, computer screen. It belongs to James Hugh Potts II’s Atlanta-based firm: JHPII.com. The firm “helps […]

Today’s installment of our ongoing series about law students who are determined to screw around comes with information about Proskauer Rose’s summer program. According to multiple tipsters, Proskauer is not directly rescinding offers (like Akin Gump did), but they are encouraging students who have received offers to consider other options for the summer. We’re pretty […]

Whenever there is a layoff announcement, some readers point out that lawyers are not particularly good business people. Even lawyers that leave Biglaw for big business have their acumen called into question. The latest evidence comes from a conference call held between IDT (International Discount Telecommunications) and their investors. Jim Courter, CEO of IDT, held […]

Just a reminder from the Judicial Code of Conduct: “a judge should refrain from political activity.” And clerks too. Duh, right? Well, Utah’s chief federal judge seems to have “forgotten” about canon 7 in her excitement about Obama. From the Salt Lake Tribune: Judge Tena Campbell, a President Clinton appointee, donated $100 to the Democratic […]