December 2008

While woutheastern United States Senators are busy making the world safe for Toyota, southeastern law firms are busy just trying to survive. The latest bad news comes the 132-year-old law firm Womble Carlyle. The North Carolina-based firm has decided to freeze salary increases for all attorneys through the first half of 2009 at least: In […]

Duquesne Law Students are still waiting for a satisfactory reason for the dismissal of (former) Duquesne law dean Don Guter. We reported yesterday that the Dean was given 24 hours to resign, without explanation. While there has been much speculation about why Guter was asked to leave, none of the rumors have been confirmed. But […]

With all of the carnage in the legal community, unemployed attorneys might have to look outside the box to find jobs right now. We suggest an “all of the above” strategy. Headhunters, personal connections, career counselors, or even Craigslist could produce the job you need to satisfy your landlord. An interesting little ad appeared on […]

* Legal Talk of the Town: A Virginia couple has sued the New Yorker and Greenberg Traurig for an illegal search and seizure of their home. They are represented by Ken Cuccinelli, who hopes to be Virginia’s next attorney general. [Courthouse News Service] * Under this new Justice Department rule, Rod Blagojevich will have to […]

So should Weil Gotshal associates be rooting against a government bailout of GM and the other big automakers? GM bankruptcy –> more fees for Weil –> bigger bonuses (which WGM has not yet announced)? UPDATE (1:00 AM): As of now, it looks like the auto industry bailout talks have failed. This makes a GM bankruptcy […]

* The fertile octogenarian: could legal fiction become reality? [Concurring Opinions] * The twenty most popular law reviews to submit to via ExpressO. A quirky list, to say the least. [The Conglomerate] * Has Kentucky engaged in “celestial outsourcing” of its homeland security needs? [Supreme Dicta] * Want to teach case law to patent examiners? […]

Some have wondered: Where was star litigator Dan Webb at Governor Rod Blagojevich’s bond hearing? High-powered Winston & Strawn litigators Dan Webb and Bradley Lerman were not at Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s side when he appeared at a bond hearing on Tuesday. Blagojevich instead tapped Sheldon Sorosky, a lawyer from two-partner Chicago litigation shop Kaplan […]

Talks between Thacher Proffitt and King & Spalding, a story we broke here, remain ongoing. From the Legal Times: Atlanta-based King & Spalding is in talks to acquire most, but not all of Thacher Proffitt & Wood’s lawyers, say two sources aware of the discussions. In order to avoid dissolution, New York-based Thacher hopes to […]

A tipster asked us: “Did you catch this week’s Law & Order – SVU? The judge had to recuse himself because they found porn on his computer during the course of a porn-addiction case.” Sound familiar? It may remind you of this recent case (although the L&O episode involved dolphins rather than donkeys). More after […]

More bad news for Marc Dreier, the formerly high-flying, Maxim model-dating litigator. From Bloomberg News: Marc Dreier, the jailed New York law firm founder, must remain in prison while he fights charges that he swindled hedge funds, a federal judge ruled after a prosecutor accused the lawyer of stealing $380 million. “The evidence does appear […]

Last year, we reported on a nice perk for Cravath associates abroad: a hefty cost of living allowance, which had junior associates in London making over $300,000. It looks like the half-Skadden mentality has made its way across the Atlantic. From a tipster: Cravath Swaine & Moore cuts its COLA in the London office from […]

It’s December, and the bills are due. But many firms are finding clients reluctant to pay up. The American Lawyer reports that firms are having a tough time recovering any money from the graveyard of busted 2008 deals: Firms that were working on one of the many deals or financings that have been postponed or […]

In September, we reported that the average pay of in-house attorneys was on the rise. At the time, we said: Mock in-house counsel if you want to (and apparently many of you “want to”), but those jobs still pay great money. A new study says that the average pay for in-house attorneys is $236,000. Yesterday, […]

Pop quiz hotshot. You’re a law school dean who has been given 24 hours to resign or you’ll be removed. What do you do? What. Do. You. Do? … This was the ultimatum given to (former) Duquesne Law School Dean Don Guter. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Guter was more than surprised by the move: […]

* The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy is on the rise, but keeping in mind lessons learned from Bush and the Federalist Society. [New York Times] * If your firm is still holding a holiday party, folks will likely be drinking hard. Recessions tend to have that effect. Here are some tips on […]

It’s final exam time again and the ATL community is always happy to help. Now more than ever, good grades are essential to getting the Biglaw job of your dreams. If you are a future SCOTUS clerk, getting good grades is simple. You’ve already read everything and know everything and sacrificed all manner of human […]

* A behind the scenes look at the love story of “sex blogger” Jessica Cutler and Milbank associate Charles Rubio. The story claims she “went from slut to housewife in eight months.” The line on number of jokes from Rubio’s male friends directed at Mr. Rubio has just been taken off the board in Vegas. […]

When you have a chance to hire a high profile U.S. attorney from the Southern District, it’s a move you almost have to make. Kirkland & Ellis snapped up U.S. attorney Michael Garcia, who is best known for his role in hounding “Client #9” out of town. Garcia could make between $3 million and $4 […]

The ATL inbox has been buzzing with layoff news about Howrey. Could it be that another firm that recently picked up a bunch of partners from a dissolved firm could be laying people off? Would former-Thelen chief Stephen O’Neal’s new firm cut associates so soon after his arrival? Today, a firm spokesperson told us: As […]

Apologies, readers. Although we broke the story of high-profile lawyer Marc Dreier’s arrest in Canada, we’ve fallen behind in covering the latest developments in the Dreier saga (of which there have been many). Fortunately, our friends over at Am Law Daily and the WSJ Law Blog have been following the story quite closely. We’ve collected […]