Archive for January 2009

Nationwide Layoff Watch: Baker & McKenzie Joins the List

By Elie Mystal

baker-logo.gifThe holidays are over. Now it’s time to get back to business, and in Biglaw these days that means getting back laying people off.

Multiple tipsters report that there were layoffs at Baker & McKenzie this morning. The firm just confirmed the news:

Therefore, consistent with our strategy and discipline, and in response to the economic conditions we are currently witnessing, we are taking proactive steps to ensure that we remain financially strong. In particular, we are proactively focusing on helping our clients manage through these turbulent times, and we are acting to reduce our own operating costs. These actions include, but are not limited to, slowing or deferring some long-term projects, travel and hiring restrictions, and some limited workforce reductions, including six associates in our New York office this week.

The laid off associates were given a 3 month severance package.

One tipster reports:

No one was safe from first years to senior associates to support staff which were terminated. … Those who are left are worried about more cuts.

Another tipster, who also claims that some first years were let go, adds this:

The reasons given were that not enough work was available.

Read Baker & McKenzie’s full statement after the jump.

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University of Chicago Law School Listserv: The Dean of Students Weighs In

By Elie Mystal

UofC Law School logo.JPGThings just seem to be getting more and more draconian over that the University of Chicago Law School. Yesterday we reminded you of the school’s attempts to shut down internet access in class. The day before that we mentioned that some student was calling for an end to video games on personal laptops during lectures.

Today, the UofC Dean of Students has piped up with thoughts about the appropriate use for a law school listserv:

It has come to my attention that there may be some confusion among our student body about the proper use of our student listservs, and now is an ideal time to clarify this information. For your review, I have attached the guidelines for the use of the LawAnnounce listserv. You will notice that the LawAnnounce listserv is meant for informal announcements that may be of general interest to the law school community, and serves as an electronic bulletin board of sorts. While the list is monitored by our administrative staff, the Law School generally does not restrict content on this site with few exceptions. For example, while students are not permitted to use the listserv for “political commentary,” students may be permitted to invite others to a political rally. (*See restrictions below.) The listserv is not meant to be a discussion board, however, on any political issue. Therefore, rebuttals or commentary about a posting should be directed to the poster and/or to the administration, but not to the listserv. This kind of back and forth discussion is more appropriate for a blog and not for this forum. Similarly, any offensive language, including the use of racial slurs, is strictly prohibited on LawAnnounce.

ATL would love to take credit for the “ideal” timing of this letter. But sadly, it appears that politics made this message necessary.

After the jump, more stern warnings from the Dean of Students that are promptly disregarded.

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Lawsuit of the Day: My Toxic Love

By Elie Mystal

kindey long island lawsuit.jpgGetting a divorce is never a quick fix, even for a surgeon. You have to divide up the money, the property, the kids, the kidneys.

A Long Island surgeon embroiled in a nearly four-year divorce proceeding wants his estranged wife to return the kidney he donated to her, although he says he’ll settle for $1.5 million in compensation.

If you grew up on Long Island, home of Lorena Bobbit, this story makes perfect sense.

If you grew up on Earth, it gets a little weird:

He said he gave his kidney to Dawnell Batista, now 44, in June 2001. She filed for divorce in July 2005, although he claims she began having an extramarital affair 18 months to two years after receiving the kidney transplant, his attorney, Dominick Barbara, said.

I’m not sure I agree with the good doctor’s tactic. See, if my wife had an affair, I’d want the other guy’s kidney … or liver. Or severed head on a pike that I’d display on my balcony.

But I guess I can understand the desire to send a (former) loved one into toxic shock and/or have $1.5 million.

Sadly, basic human decency the law is not on his side:

Manhattan attorney Susan Moss said, “The good doctor is out of luck and out a kidney. This is similar to cases where a husband wants to be repaid for the cost of breast implants and the such. Our judges are not willing to value such assets, so to speak.”

Good thing that kidneys are internal organs, because you know how they roll on “Strong Island.”

Surgeon Sues Estranged Wife for Return of Kidney [Law.com]

Nationwide Layoff Watch: Parker Poe ‘Separates’ 13 Attorneys and Additional Staff

By Elie Mystal

Parker Poe.jpgParker Poe, a Charlotte-based law firm, laid off 13 attorneys and an undisclosed number of support staffers yesterday.

A firm spokesperson confirmed the news last night:

Parker Poe did, today, separate 13 attorneys from our firm.

The attorneys had less-than-one to 3 years of experience with our firm.

Depending upon their years of service with the Firm they received up to 3 months severance.

At least they waited until after the holidays before they “separated” people from gainful employment.

Read what our tipsters are saying after the jump.

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Nationwide Layoff Watch: Dickstein Shapiro

By Kashmir Hill

Dickstein Shaprio still basically relevant logo.JPGDickstein Shapiro sent a memo around the firm yesterday that was the bearer of much bad news. Not only did it announce a salary freeze for 2009, it officially announced layoffs that were conducted on Tuesday. Full e-mail after the jump, but here’s an excerpt:

First, we have made a limited number of reductions in our associate/counsel ranks. Those affected by this decision were informed yesterday afternoon. These are purely economic decisions — this is a group of talented attorneys who have made valued contributions to our Firm.

Spokespeople at Dickstein have not yet confirmed the number laid off, but sources say it was 10 associates and counsel, all in the D.C. office. [Update:The firm now tells us the ten came from both the D.C. and New York offices.] One source says those laid off were told it was “economic-based” — as opposed to layoffs in 2008 that were ostensibly performance-based — but that the firm did take a look at their hours. The corporate group was hardest hit.

One source says Dickstein associates were “pissed.” The email went around at noon yesterday and “glibly” announced layoffs and the salary freeze. Associates would have preferred a firm-wide meeting to announce the news. They were also annoyed to get the news of the freeze 36 hours before their first 2009 paycheck was to arrive (at 12:01 a.m. tonight).

Additional news about Dickstein is pouring into our inbox. One tipster reports overhearing a partner voice concern about Bernard Madoff paying his legal fees and the firm’s ability to take on new associates in 2009.

More after the jump.

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Ask the Experts: For Fifth-Year Associates, It’s Decision Time

By Elie Mystal

Ask the Experts.jpg[This article was written by Tricia McGrath. Tricia is a Director in Lateral Link's New York office.]

Law firm economics have changed substantially over the past decade. Law firms are now run like “businesses,” in corporate America parlance. This year, many associates at top firms who had thought that they were “on track” for partnership were unexpectedly passed over. Unfortunately, market conditions suggest that many more will be passed over in future years.

As a recruiter, I frequently speak with senior associates who were on the wrong side of partnership decisions and, as a result, realized the “out” side of the firm’s up-and-out policy. Many of these overlooked associates are now wondering how the train went off the track so quickly. Don’t the years of solid billables and strong reviews account for anything? For most of these associates, their best-case scenarios are a new position at another big law firm with a three-year partner look–often going in to their new firm as a fifth- or sixth-year–or an in-house position at (in most cases) significantly less compensation. Often, neither of these options is particularly attractive.

How can you protect yourself from becoming a senior associate who has been passed over, has no business, and has limited job prospects? It is not difficult, but you should take action early. As a fifth-year associate, you should take critical stock of your career and your location on the partner track. Admittedly, there is a certain intangible required for making partner that is not easily explained. An honest assessment will help you handicap your chances at partnership more effectively. None of these factors is rocket science, but it is surprising how few fifth-year associates have thoughtfully analyzed them.

More after the jump.

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A Genius Like No Other

By Legal Tease

sweet hot justice logo.jpg[Ed. Note: The following piece was authored by "The Legal Tease" of Sweet Hot Justice fame. You can check out all of Legal Tease's other evocative musings from Sweet Hot Justice here.]

You know this guy, you do. Every Big Firm has at least one. You started hearing the lore about him your first week at the firm and you admit that you were part intrigued, part terrified. You’ve seen him in passing in the halls, usually after most of the firm has emptied out after dark. Perhaps you’ve even tried to speak to him, only to be met with a distinct lack of eye contact and a half-snort as he scuttled away. He’s more socially awkward than any mental patient, not fit for human–no less client–interaction. But, word on the street–and that word’s always mentioned in hushed, reverential tones–is that he’s brilllliant. Like, crazy genius smart. That’s why the firm keeps him around. The brilliance. He’s the resident Big Firm Savant. And I’m here to tell you first-hand, the whole “genius” thing is a complete and total fraud.

How do I know this? Because I’ve spent the last two weeks holed up on an idiot fire drill deal that’s never going to materialize with not one, but two of my firm’s rumored Big Firm Savants.

One, of course, is our old friend, Glenn, who has the twin distinctions of having billed more hours than any other associate four years running and not having made eye contact since 1993. The other is Russ. Russ, a corporate equity partner whose book of business is rivaled in magnitude only by his lack of a personality. Or emotional range. Or ability to speak in a voice that doesn’t sound like he was recently plugged back into the Matrix.

Still, when I found out I’d be working with Russ, I figured it wasn’t necessarily all bad. Sure, I’d have to spend part of the holidays working on a dead-end deal led by a robot with lip chap the size of glaciers and a leadership style that rivals Ted Kaczynski’s. But on the upside, I’d finally get an inside look at how true legal genius works. I’d be working side-by-side two infamous Big Firm Savants. I’d experience the brilliance.

And most intriguing of all, I’d witness firsthand the rumored way that Russ supposedly “comes alive” in front of clients–because that’s part of the legend of Russ, of all Big Firm Savants: They’re corporate mole people around the office, but stick ‘em in front of a client and bam, they “come alive.” They shed their awkwardness and stun anyone within billing distance with artfully delivered soliloquies of razor-sharp legal analysis worthy of the whitest shoe. They shine. They must, right?

Wrong.

Read more about Big Russ and Glen after the jump.

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Morning Docket 01.08.09

By Kashmir Hill

clifford_chance.gif* Global Layoff Watch: Clifford Chance to cut as many as 80 attorneys in its London office. [Bloomberg]

* Deloitte partner and tax attorney Steven Klig tried to blackmail the woman with whom he was having an affair. He wanted nude photos of her and threatened to send their sex videos to her family, blurring his own face, of course. She went to the FBI, and now he’s the one getting all the publicity, as well as being charged with extortion and harassment. [New York Post via Gothamist]

*What to do with Roland Burris? The Wall Street Journal’s political editors provide an excellent round-up of Burris options and the Senate Democrats’ missteps. [Political Perceptions/Wall Street Journal]

* Potential Lawsuit of the Day: A skier in Vail has quite a case based on these photos. [Smoking Gun]

* Courthouse News Service has Norm Coleman’s complaint [PDF] in the Minnesota Senate race against Al Franken. If Coleman wins by one vote, he can thank convicted felon Eric Willems. [Minnesota Star Tribune]

ATL Salary Freeze Round-up: The Firms on Ice

By Kashmir Hill

pay freeze salary freeze pay cut law firm.jpgThe new year is shaping up to be a cold one. As we noted in our 2008 Year in Review series, one of the biggest stories heading into 2009 has been that of the salary freeze. Rather than instituting lock-step raises for associates entering a new class year, a number of firms have informed associates that their salaries will remain at 2008 levels.

There have been two types of freezes: the “Solid Ice freeze”–with salaries frozen through all of 2009–and the “Slurpee freeze”–where firms are sticking with 2008 levels for now, but promise to revisit the decision later in the year.

Many an ATL reader has requested a round-up, and we aim to please. So find your pleasure, after the jump. Some of the firms have been reported on before, and some are new.

If you know of other frozen firms, send us an e-mail at tips@abovethelaw.com with the subject, “Salary Freeze: FIRM NAME.” Also, if your firm has raised salaries as expected, feel free to send us the news, with the subject “Salary Raise: FIRM NAME.” While freezes are news, raises as expected aren’t, so we will not be covering firm by firm, but we may do a round-up.

Find the list of the sixteen firms that have frozen, after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 01.07.09

By Elie Mystal

blawg100_2008_winner_news.JPG* Thanks to all the readers who chose Above the Law as their favorite law blawg for news & politics for the second year in a row! [ABA Journal]

* Let’s keep the good times rolling. It’s time to vote in the 2008 Weblog Awards. [Weblog Awards]

* It was only a matter of time before firms took freezing to the next level. [Litination]

* Career opportunities in media law and legal journalism. Trust me, it’s great work if you can get it. [Law & Journalism]

* Just to be clear, it is possible to be an attorney, a congressperson, and an African-American, all at the same time, without being appointed by Governor Helmet Hair. [On Being A Black Lawyer]

Nationwide Layoff Watch: Kirkland & Ellis Fires Non-Equity Partners

By David Lat

kirkland ellis logo.JPGKirkland & Ellis has asked a number of non-equity partners to leave, multiple sources report. The timing is unclear, but they may have up to six months to pack their things.

The number of laid-off non-equity partners — or “non-share partners,” in K&E parlance — is believed to hover somewhere between 15 and 25. Some are in litigation and some in corporate, but we understand that all of those let go are in Kirkland’s Chicago office.

A tipster points out:

All were told it’s because [of] performance, but most were considered fine lawyers and rated with or above their class each year.

Kirkland & Ellis spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment by the time of this posting.

It’s important to remember that Kirkland & Ellis has a fairly large class of non-equity or income partners. Kirkland uses the “non-share partner” classification liberally, and they tend to make more lawyers “partners,” at earlier stages in their careers. Some K&E “partners” would be senior associates at other firms.

Kirkland also paid out Cravath-level bonuses. When Kirkland announced their bonuses, many commenters opined that bonuses were better than layoffs and that K&E would not do layoffs.

But it looks like Kirkland has had to do some more belt-tightening as the economy continues to tumble. While laying off partners is unusual, it’s not unheard of; last fall, Jenner & Block axed 10 partners (both equity and non-equity).

Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: Kirkland & Ellis Pays Cravath Scale

Prior ATL coverage of layoffs

Clifford Chance to Partners: Brother, Can You Spare… £100,000?

By David Lat

Clifford Chance LLP Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgClifford Chance leadership to the rank-and-file partnership: “Partners, spread the wallets, so we can smell the juicy insides.”

Associates, we feel your pain: slashed bonuses and salary freezes are bad news. But things could be worse: imagine having to pay your firm for the privilege of working there:

[A]s a Christmas “bonus” this year, partners at Clifford Chance were each required to make a capital contribution of £100,000 (roughly $150,000). Ouch.

Through a spokesperson, Clifford Chance declined to comment. But, if true, the news would not be completely shocking. The firm has done at least two rounds of layoffs, and they paid bonuses that were down sharply from prior years (although, in fairness to CC, at market levels for 2008).

If true, Clifford wouldn’t be the only firm looking to its partners for financing. As previously discussed, because of super-tight credit markets and the high cost of borrowing, more firms are financing their operations by tapping partner wallets. See, e.g., DLA Piper (letting some income partners become equity partners, if they can cough up capital contributions of up to $150,000).

Associates: next time you complain about greedy partners slashing your pay, consider the possibility that they’re suffering too in this economy. They’re trying to safely navigate the recessionary shoals, just like the rest of us. Some of the measures they’ve been taking, like pay freezes and reduced bonuses, may just be prudent planning. Better to have a smaller paycheck than no paycheck at all.

Are you aware of other firms that are hitting up their partners for cash in these dire times? Drop us a line, by email (subject line: “[Firm Name]: Capital Contribution”). Thanks.

Earlier: Biglaw: Welcome to the Credit Crunch

Prior ATL coverage of Clifford Chance

War on Laptops

By Elie Mystal

laptops war class indiana.JPGA study conducted by Indiana University found that law students are more likely than other students to use their laptops in class. The study confirms our own internal data that shows that most law students enjoy having internet access on par with what can be achieved in Ghana.

The ABA Journal smartly put the study in the context of the University of Chicago Law School’s attempts to shut down internet access in most classes, a move no doubt applauded by this guy:

Distractions posed by laptops with Internet access have prompted some law professors to ban the computers and one law school–the University of Chicago–to shut down Internet access in most classrooms.

A very wise tenured professor once said to me:

The way I see it, if my presentations are not interesting enough to capture your attendance and attention to a lecture you’ve already paid for, the fault is on me.

Needless to say, his lectures were always well attended, and I know more about the English Revolution than I could possibly need. But I digress.

Other IU laptop nuggets after the jump.

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Pls Hndle Thx:
Thank You For Being A Firm

By Marin

pls hndle copy 2.jpg

Dear ATL,

I’m a 2L, and the firm I’m working for next summer sent me fairly nice and useful Christmas present. Should I write the recruiting team a thank-you note? I’m from the South, where we write thank you notes for anything and everything, but I don’t know what the New York/DC norm is and don’t want to look stupid. The firm is DC-based, and I’m splitting with their DC and NY offices.

Eternally Grateful

Dear Eternally Grateful,

Once upon a time, I was on the phone with my mom, sobbing uncontrollably over a guy who dumped me. My mother’s a no-nonsense lady, and while I blathered on and on about how I should just throw in the towel now and move to a nunnery because I’d never find anyone as amazing, she cut me off and told me, verbatim: “I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but remember how we got him that Tempur-Pedic pillow for his birthday? He never sent us a thank you card. Let that sink in.” Her words stung. What kind of person doesn’t send a thank you note to his girlfriend’s parents? A monster, that’s who.

The point is, there is a time and a place for thank you notes. If your significant other’s parents get you a birthday present, send one ASAP. But if your firm’s recruiting team sends you and everyone else in your summer class and/or firm engraved paperweights, you look ludicrous if you send a thank you back.

I’m not saying that thank you notes are never appropriate in the law firm context. On the contrary, if someone referred business to you, it’s entirely appropriate to break out the heavy stock paper with the understated paisley envelope and thank away. But cards that say “thanks for interviewing me” or a “thanks for sending me this tote bag which you sent to everybody else in the firm” is just too much thanks. Nobody should be that thankful for anything, ever.

No matter how insanely useful the stainless steel pen inscribed with the firm’s name, no matter how much you cherish that firm-emblazoned mug, you need to show yourself (and the firm) some respect by reeling in the gratitude, except when it’s appropriate.

Your friend,

Marin

Elie thanks his lucky stars after the jump.

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Thank You For Being A Firm”

  • 07 Jan 2009 at 12:31 PM
  • Politics

It Looks Like Burris Is Going To Be The Next Senator From ‘Blogojevich’

By Elie Mystal

Roland Burris ATL Lawyer of the Day.jpgThe New York Times is reporting that U.S. Senate Democrats will likely seat Roland Burris, Illinois Governer Rod Blagojevich’s pick to replace Barack Obama.

Changing course, Senate Democrats emerged from a meeting with Senate appointee Roland Burris on Wednesday and set forth the legal steps under which they’re willing to welcome him into the Senate in President-elect Barack Obama’s vacated spot.

Isn’t it great to live in a country of laws? A country where disgraced executives can openly flaunt the law yet still wield its power. This whole Senate drama has really been a great example of the power of law.

And hey, how ’bout those Democrats? They control the executive and both houses of Congress, but they sure aren’t letting “winning” go to their heads are they? No, no, no. Looks like the Invertebrate party hasn’t lost it’s talent for folding like a cheap accordion under the slightest bit of pressure:

The pleasantries and complaints were a far cry from the he-can’t-be-seated rhetoric that came from the Senate Democratic caucus a week ago when the governor shocked the party and nominated Burris, who would be the Senate’s only black member now that Obama has departed.

Neither Durbin nor Reid guaranteed Burris would be seated but the majority leader said there almost certainly would be a full Senate vote on it.

Sigh.

Reid Says Burris Might Ultimately Get Senate Seat [New York Times]

Earlier: Lawyer of the Day: Roland “Self-proclaimed Trail Blazer” Burris

James Sokolove Doesn’t Fix Problems, But He Knows People Who Can

By Elie Mystal

sokolove_james.jpgThere is a great profile in the Boston Magazine about attorney James Sokolove, a guy that advertises his legal services on T.V. so often I just assumed he didn’t actually exist.

Apparently, he does exist, but his legal services don’t, at least not in the traditional sense:

Despite his prodigious success and his omnipresent image as a bulldog attorney, Sokolove hasn’t seen the inside of a courtroom in nearly three decades. Truth be told, he’s argued only one case before a jury; it was back in the early 1970s, and he lost. It wasn’t tenacious lawyering that allowed Sokolove to build a legal empire, but rather his prowess as a businessman and an innovator. He and his staff of 80 don’t try cases; instead they connect prospective clients to other lawyers, who pay Sokolove a cut of their fees for ginning up business.

Sweet. The only thing better then an unabashed “ambulance chaser” is an unabashed ambulance chaser who doesn’t know where the courthouse is located.

But after the jump, what’s really fascinating is that this guy really does have a system.

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Top Biglaw Stories: #3 & #2 (Business)
Firms that Froze & Firms that Melted

By Elie Mystal

ATL 2008 in review.jpgBad things happened in the business of Biglaw in 2008. Some people are still so scarred by the experience that they’d just as soon pretend last year never happened.

But the events that transpired in 2008 could have ramifications for the legal industry for a long time.

Our third-place story is the Biglaw salary freeze. It could be the “Shock Doctrine” of the market meltdown. Slashing bonuses during a down year is one thing, but freezing pay (or cutting pay depending on your perspective) is downright deflationary.

We’ve given a lot of “credit” to Latham & Watkins for being the most prestigious firm (according to Vault) to freeze salaries, but as commenters have pointed out, Latham wasn’t the first.

That distinction goes to Squire Sanders. When they froze salaries back on December 15th, the news was so shocking people didn’t know what to make of it. Back then, we said:

The memo below was sent to us by a tipster, with this prefatory comment: “No one really knows what the f*** the second half of the first sentence of the memo means.”

Since then, the following firms have instituted some form of a salary freeze: Orrick, Dorsey & Whitney, Reed Smith, Venable, Sidley, DLA Piper, Arnold & Porter, Sheppard Mullin, and Sonnenschein.

And those are just the ones we know about.

But it’s also important to remember which firms are not on that list. Skadden and Cravath and countless others are going ahead with the expected pay raises for rising classes. Neither Squire Sanders nor Latham set the market for associate pay. They just gave firms another option in dealing with the financial crisis.

Firms need options because you don’t want to work for a firm that is part of our number two story of the year.

Second place melts away, after the jump.

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Firms that Froze & Firms that Melted”

Morning Docket 01.07.09

By Kashmir Hill

Roland Burris ATL Lawyer of the Day.jpg* Yesterday’s Lawyer of the Day was snubbed by the Senate. But Democrats may reconsider if Roland Burris agrees not to compete for the seat in 2010. [Washington Post]

* …UC Irvine School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky says they certainly should. [Los Angeles Times]

* Adam Liptak profiles Obama’s solicitor general nominee Elena Kagan. She may not have revealed her views on unilateral executive power, but she did manage to bring harmony to the “notoriously dysfunctional Harvard Law School.” [New York Times]

* More problems for U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent, the first federal judge to be charged with federal sex crimes. More sex crime charges! [Houston Chronicle]

* Judiciary Committee Republican Sen. Arlen Specter is going to the mat over the AG nomination of Eric Holder. He questions his character and his ability “to say no instead of to say yes.” [New York Times]

* Nationwide Government Layoff Watch: The Arizona Attorney General’s Office says goodbye to 20 people. [Phoenix Business Journal]

ATL Visits the West Coast

By David Lat

Alex Kozinski David Lat.jpgSometimes readers complain that Above the Law focuses too much on the East Coast. Since our headquarters is here in New York, and since we lived in Washington from 2006 to 2008, we may have an East Coast bias.

But we do try to run a national legal news site. Even if we’re physically located in New York, wherever two or more lawyers are gathered in our name, there we are.

In recent months, we’ve been making a conscious effort to do more for the West Coast. For example, we’ve started posting — later in the day, to account for the time difference — material aimed at a West Coast / California audience.

And next week we’ll be in L.A., to participate in three events (all kindly sponsored by the Federalist Society). One is with a leading light of the federal judiciary, and another is with a top law professor/blogger. Here are the details:

1. A Judge in Full: Personality and Jurisprudence

When: Tuesday, January 13, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Speakers: The Honorable Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge, Ninth Circuit; David Lat, Founder, Above the Law

Where: Omni Hotel, 251 South Olive Street, Los Angeles

MCLE Credit: One Hour

Cost: $38 if paid in advance; $40 if paid at the door. Public employees, students and law clerks may pay the discounted rate of $15.

2. Cocktail Reception with David Lat

When: Tuesday, January 13th, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Where: Bel Air Bar and Grill, 662 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles

MCLE Credit: No. This will not be educational in the least — just gossip and booze.

Cost: Cash bar. Heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. YUM.

3. How Bloggers Changed the Legal World

When: Wednesday, January 14, 12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Speakers: Professor Stephen Bainbridge, Warren Professor of Law, UCLA; David Lat, Founder, Above the Law

Where: UCLA Law School, Room 1357

Cost: Free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Please come to any or all of these events. We look forward to seeing you!

A Judge in Full: Personality and Jurisprudence [Federalist Society - Los Angeles Lawyers Chapter]

How Bloggers Have Changed the Legal World [Facebook]

Two Events / One Day with Chief Judge Kozinski and David Lat [Facebook]

Non-Sequiturs: 1.06.09

By Elie Mystal

foxwoods the place of dreams.JPG* At least one person got this right, Obama’s Kagan hire helps Yale. A bunch. [Holy Hullabaloos]

* Paul Michel, Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit, actually explains the law. He wants it to be better. [Intellectual Property Colloquium]

* The smell of marijuana is the smell of freedom from tyranny. Or it’s the smell of involuntary incarceration. It really depends on where you live. [Underdog]

* God, does anybody else remember when Wesley Snipes was kind of cool? “We should have gotten a live chicken.” “Jeffrey Dahmer? I love that guy!” “This thing is bigger than Nino Brown. This is big business. This is the American way.” [TaxProf Blog]

* I remember 3L year. I went to Foxwoods on my way from NYC back to Boston and won a ton of money at craps. I was in the Parody. And then my parents came to watch me graduate. I’m told other things happened as well. What a great year. [Ridiculum]