January 2009
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Associate Bonus Watch 2008
Associate Bonus Watch: Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins might be leading the charge for salary freezes, but that’s not going to stop the firm from paying out associate bonuses. Right? Latham is not a lockstep bonus firm. As a tipster explains it: Our bonuses are not lock-step- so those people working their tails off usually do end up doing better […] -
Biglaw, Job Searches, Law Schools
University of Chicago Law School The Latest to Change Fall OCI
Thus far, the University of Chicago Law School has been immune to the fever of grade reform. While other law schools bend over backwards to make the same level of education look better on a transcript, Chicago has held the line. But it’s not like U of C Law is just ignoring the economic realities […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Perks / Fringe Benefits, Rankings
Perkins Coie's Vegas Vacation
Yesterday, I mentioned that Fortune released a list of the Top 100 places to work. In that post I failed to note that Perkins Coie was ranked 82nd on that list. According to Fortune: A support staffer gave this impressive list of her benefits: $2,000 in technology flex plan allowance, $80 for wellness program participation, […]
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Allen & Overy, Layoffs
Magic Circle Meltdown: Layoffs at Allen & Overy, Linklaters, and Clifford Chance
The London-based “Magic Circle” firms may have had a strong presence on the 2008 global law firm rankings, but a few of them are off to a rough start in 2009. Earlier this month, we reported, “having already laid off 20 New York litigators, Clifford Chance today let go of 70 – 80 London lawyers.” […] -
Abortion, Barack Obama, Morning Docket, Supreme Court
Morning Docket 1.23.09
* Governor Patterson has chosen Kirsten Gillibrand, a 42-year-old New York congresswoman, to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. [Reuters] * On the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade protestors gather for the annual March for Life on the National Mall. [The Los Angeles Times] * The Senate has confirmed six members of Obama’s cabinet […]
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Bail, Dreier, White-Collar Crime
Poor Marc Dreier
Quips a tipster: “Dreier gets $20 million bond — but he didn’t steal enough to pay. This guy is no Madoff.” Dreier Gets $20 Million Bond [Bloomberg] Dreier to Remain in Jail [Am Law Daily] Judge Says No to Bail Request; Dreier to Stay Behind Bars [WSJ Law Blog] Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Marc […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 01.22.09
* Well, surely this will be the most disturbing image anyone sees today. [Quiz Law] * Orin Kerr defends the third-party doctrine, which holds that “a person cannot have a reasonable expectation of privacy in information disclosed to a third party.” We like the sound of that. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Traffic stats on popular professorial […] -
Politics
Are We Ready For What Harvard Law School Is Selling?
America, welcome to your new national nightmare: a country run on the thinking instilled by Harvard Law School. Noam Scheiber’s brilliant article in the New Republic takes the first stab at capturing what this turn of events could mean for the direction of the country. After pointing out some obvious differences between the Bush 41-Clinton […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Minority Issues
Racist Tulane Law School Party? Ironic Tulane Law School Party? You Decide
Tulane Law School finished third in our post about the Top Law Schools of the Year. Apparently, they took that as a challenge. Some of the law students there decided to throw a little party. From Guanabee: It’s racist party pics of a bunch of white law students at Tulane University dressing up like Mexican […] -
Money, Screw-Ups
K&L Gates to Associates: 'That was not your bonus'
K&L Gates associates have not heard about their 2008 bonus or their 2009 raises yet. Bonus news is historically late at the firm, and raise news should come in March. In the meantime, associates got an unexpected bonus along with their second paycheck of the year. This is an excerpt from the e-mail associates received […] -
Alston & Bird, Arnold & Porter, Biglaw, Rankings
Fortune Lists Top 100 Companies to Work For
Fortune has released its annual list of the top 100 companies to work for. Despite the general feeling of malaise in the legal industry, a few law firms made the cut. The highest ranked law firm (number 21 overall) is Arnold & Porter. Fortune reports: Law firm offers world-class benefits to staff and attorneys: 18 […] -
Salary Freeze
Nationwide Pay Freeze Watch: Mayer Brown You Heard It Here First
A couple of weeks ago we reported that Mayer Brown’s failure to reflect a salary increase in associates’ initial January paycheck could be an indication of a coming salary freeze. A tipster told us: Today was the first pay day in 2009 for Mayer Brown NY. In the past, our first pay check of the […] -
Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Cadwalader Releases Nine Additional Attorneys
Honestly, we’re not trying to pile on Cadwalader, but they just keep making news. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog is reporting today that the firm has fired nine associates: three in New York and six in Charlotte: “Cadwalader confirms limited terminations of a few associates in the Charlotte and New York offices; and adjustments […]
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Sweet Hot Justice
Sex, Drugs, And Billable Hours!
[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 musings from Sweet Hot Justice here.] My first intervention went down pretty much exactly like the ones you see on TV. Well, except that there were no cameras. Or tears. […] -
Banking Law, Barack Obama, Guantanamo Bay, Morning Docket, Pornography, SCOTUS, Sexual Harassment
Morning Docket 1.22.09
* Obama made the order to close Guantanamo within a year and former U.S. attorney David Iglesias has been hired to prosecute suspected terrorists held at the prison. [The Associated Press] * Caroline Kennedy withdrew her Senate bid, so all that press was much ado about nothing. [The New York Times] * The Chinese court […]
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Barack Obama, Constitutional Law, John Roberts, Screw-Ups
Obama's Oath of Office, Take Two
The second time was a charm. Constitutional crisis averted. Okay, it was hardly a “constitutional crisis.” But it was probably wise to take a mulligan on the oath, to avoid crackpot claims of illegitimacy. In the words of law professor Jonathan Turley, who recommended retaking the oath: He should probably go ahead and take the […] -
Job Searches, Law Schools, Technology
Santa Clara Law School Gets Creative
Are you familiar with Second Life? It’s a virtual world where real people can interact and do business with other real people, without the pesky interference of “the mortal coil.” Santa Clara Law has decided to take this phenomenon to what I suppose is its logical conclusion. Competing to attract the best students, Santa Clara […] -
9th Circuit, Admin, Alex Kozinski, Announcements, Federal Judges, Federalist Society, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Kozinski & Lat Take Manhattan
If you missed our recent event with Chief Judge Alex Kozinski (9th Cir.) in Los Angeles, and if you’re here in New York, feel free to swing by Columbia Law School at around noon tomorrow: A Judge in Full: Personality and Jurisprudence When: Thursday, January 22, at 12:10 PMSpeakers: The Honorable Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge, […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 01.21.09
* Scientific research is now available about people who post “first” in the comments. [Graph Jam] * Given my flare flair for misspellings and grammatical train wrecks, I’ve got a lot of sympathy for President Obama and Chief Justice Roberts. Don’t let the commenters get you down, guys! [Language Log] * Litigation is up in […] -
Law Schools
Update: Cooley's Layoffs Were Worse Than We Thought
We reported earlier today that Cooley Godward laid off a number of attorneys and staff. The firm just sent out its official press release, and it turns out the cuts run even deeper than we previously reported. According to the firm, 52 attorneys and 62 staff were let go today: Given the continued slowdown we […]