October 2008

* O’Melveny & Myers has added a new securitization partner. Funny, I thought those guys were all dead. [The BLT: Blog of the Legal Times] * Is going to law school better than working? In this economy? I have to think that cash money is better than debt. [The Shark] * If you’re in need […]

[Ed. note: Once again, we apologize for our technical difficulties.] As everybody is starting to realize, fall recruiting is not going as well as it has in the past. In Part I of our recruiting roundup, we told you which markets are making it tough on summer associate applicants. Today, we’ll talk about law schools. […]

Bloomberg News is reporting that the train wreck formerly known as Lehman Brothers filed an application to pay Weil Gotshal attorneys a whole boatload of cash: The investment bank asked for court approval to pay $650 to $950 an hour for partners and counsel, $355 to $595 for associates and $155 to $295 for paraprofessionals. […]

When Heller Ehrman dissolved in late September, associates and employees were informed via a firm-wide email. Since then, Heller management has had email communication with employees, but (to our knowledge) they have not revealed their official dissolution plan. We got our hands on the 43-page operating document. In addition to a detailed discussion of the […]

We’ve discussed the terrible market for 3Ls, but one D.C.-area law student is taking matters into her own hands. From the source of all that is wonderful, the Craigslist personals: Are you a lonely lawyer? – 24 Maybe we can do something about that. I’m an ambitious 3L at a good school, and I’d really […]

Many people have interviewing horror stories. But few people actually bother to send a letter to the offending firm. One Georgetown University Law Center student did just that. After her interview with Harris Beach, the student sent a letter to James Spitz, CEO of Harris Beach: I was looking forward to the interview until Mr. […]

[Ed. Note: We apologize for the late start to the day. Obviously, we were suffering from some technical difficulties. However the “blackout” conditions gave us an opportunity to reflect on the strength and support of our readers. We appreciate all of the support and encourage you to keep pushing us to stay on top of […]

If you are looking for a good reason for Stanford and Harvard to stay away from a modified pass/fail grading system like they have at Berkeley and Yale, here you go: Yes, you are seeing that video correctly. That there was a self-styled Boalt student rapping the Rules of Civil Procedure, replete with dance interludes. […]

* Nebraska, Arizona, and Arizona State law schools have been accused of discriminating against white applicants, as do many white women at those schools. [TaxProf Blog] * If you still need a job, we suggest taking all the interview help you can get. [Lateral Link] * A firm offering the “best representation on Earth” apparently […]

If any Heller Ehrman attorneys were hoping that a major firm would sweep in and hire a whole bunch of Hellerites, the Dissolution Committee is warning you not to hold your breath. The Recorder reports: On Tuesday, Peter Benvenutti, the chairman of the dissolution committee now controlling the firm, confirmed whispers that Baker & McKenzie […]

Charlotte Feeney sued L’Oreal Inc. because she accidentally dyed her hair dark-brown instead of blonde. She claims that L’Oreal mislabeled the box of hair-dye, while L’Oreal presumably used the “she’s an idiot” defense. Freeney claimed to have suffered real damages. She said that being a brunette ruined her social life: She says she suffered headaches […]

Jerry Seinfeld is stuck in a bit of a legal mess (and it’s not the first time). He and his wife have been sued by cookbook author Missy Chase Lapine, who claims that Jessica Seinfeld plagiarized her recipes for the best-selling Deceptively Delicious Cookbook. Deceptive, indeed. Then Jerry went on David Letterman and made jokes […]

When a law school dean threatens a massive invasion of privacy, something stinks. The Assistant Dean of Students at University of Minnesota Law School is Erin Keyes. You might remember her for her 3rd place performance in our Law School Dean Hotties Contest. But having a pretty face doesn’t prevent Keyes from getting dirty when […]

Back in February, our ATL / Lateral Link survey on politics in the workplace found that 74% of you were discussing politics in the workplace, but less than 3% of you felt any need to conform to a particular political view. At the time, 20% of respondents said that their fellow associates had tried to […]

[Ed Note: Do you have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com] Dear ATL — I work for two partners at my firm – a senior one and a junior one. The senior partner routinely assigns me less urgent work, but he expects his projects to be handled immediately. The junior partner […]

David Kernell, the now infamous 20-year-old hacker who got access into Sarah Palin’s private email account, has been indicted by a federal grand jury. Kernell is the son of the Democratic chairperson of Tennessee’s House Government Operations Committee. The A.P. reports: Kernell, an economics major at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, faces a maximum […]

Pundits and news junkies aren’t the only people talking about presidential politics these days. Some attorneys want to add their two cents as well. We saw earlier what happened when Orrick attorneys used the firm-wide email list to espouse political views. But Jack Levin, a partner at K&E Chicago, apparently felt that he had learned […]

* One of the first big decisions to result from the Supreme Court’s Boumediene ruling. Judge Ricardo M. Urbina orders that 17 Uighur detainees be released by next week. [New York Times] * California has had a Gold Ring Rush. Over 11,000 couples have married since the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in May, […]

The case of the hurtful homosexuals v. SDFD ended yesterday in mistrial. The jury could not decide if four firefighters were victims of sexual harassment. The men were “forced” to march in a San Diego gay pride parade and also taunted during the march: The firefighters claimed they were humiliated by taunts and sexual gestures […]