Archive for April 2009

Sacha Baron Cohen Uses Outsourcing For The Win

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outsourcing biglaw aba tsunami.gifWhenever we talk about outsourcing, a number of commenters disparage the quality of work provided by less expensive, foreign lawyers. But jingoistic rhetoric isn’t going to do anything to stop the movement of legal work offshore. Indian lawyers scored a major victory yesterday, as a suit against Sacha Baron Cohen was tossed out of L.A. Superior Court.

The suit alleged that Cohen (performing as Ali G) suggested he had sex with a woman (who is referred to as “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit) during an “interview” with Gore Vidal. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Friedman threw out the suit. He ruled:

No reasonable person could consider the statements made by Ali G on the program to be factual. To the contrary, it is obvious that the Ali G character is absurd, and all his statements are gibberish and intended as comedy. The actor, Sacha Baron Cohen, never strays from the Ali G character, who is dressed in a ridiculous outfit and speaks in the exaggerated manner of a rap artist. Ali G’s statements are similarly absurd. For example, prior to the reference to Plaintiff, while ‘interviewing’ the author Gore Vidal, Ali G refers to the Constitution of the United States as having been written on two tablets, clearly intended to confuse the Constitution with the Ten Commandments. Altogether, the program is obviously a spoof of a serious interview program. No reasonable person could think otherwise.

It’s an important victory for comedy performers. But who did the lion’s share of the legal grunt work on the case? That would be an Indian law firm under the supervision of SmithDehn.

More details after the jump.

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U.S. News 2010 Law School Rankings

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US News logo.JPGThe 2010 U.S. News law school rankings leaked over the weekend were not fake. Bob Morse — the rankings guru — essentially confirmed the results to the Wall Street Journal today, ahead of the magazine’s official release tomorrow.

Here’s the official list of the top 20 law schools:

1. Yale
2. Harvard
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. NYU
6. (Tie) Berkeley, University of Chicago
8. Penn
9. Michigan
10. (Tie) Duke, Northwestern, UVA
13. Cornell
14. Georgetown
15. (Tie) UCLA, Texas
17. Vanderbilt
18. USC
19. Wash U
20. (Tie) Boston University, Emory, Minnesota

As many of you have already pointed out, one school in particular experienced a precipitous drop out of the top 20. George Washington’s surprising fall, after the jump.

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(Laid-Off) Lawyer of the Day: National Monopoly Champ Richard Marinaccio

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monopoly above the law.jpgRichard Marinaccio was laid off from midsize firm Hodgson Russ LLP in Buffalo, New York, in January. While he was job searching, he may have spent his time constructively polishing his resume. And he may have spent some time playing board games. Both activities paid off.

In March, he both found a new job and casually surfed over to Hasbro’s website and took a quiz on his Monopoly strategy. He did well on the quiz, moving to the next round, which involved writing essays on his strategy. He did well again, and qualified for an online game-playing session with 80 other players. He scored at the top and was one of 28 people to participate in Monopoly’s national championships in Washington, D.C., last week.

He told us it was his first time participating in competitive Monopoly, though it’s always been his favorite game to play with his family. The family game-playing sessions prepared him well and Monopoly money is turning into real money for the 26-year-old attorney. He won the championship, taking home a purse equivalent to a Monopoly bank: $20,580. Marinaccio will also go on to represent the U.S. in the Monopoly world championship in Las Vegas in October.

And he’s not even a real estate attorney. He recently got a new job working as in-house counsel at a health care company.

He wasn’t the only attorney trying to force people into bankruptcy. Ellis Baggs of Hunton & Williams also qualified for the national competition, though he was eliminated before having the chance to square off with Marinaccio.

Advance to Go. Collect $20,580. Congratulations on the new job, the Monopoly skills, and a place in the ATL Lawyer of the Day annals, Mr. Marinaccio.

Earlier: (Laid-Off) Lawyer of the Day: Hudson River Plane Crash Passenger Frank Scudere

Buffalo Resident Crowned U.S. Monopoly National Champion [Business Wire]

Monopoly pays off big in competition [Washington Times]

Henricoan wins 1st round in national Monopoly championship [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

Mommy Lawyer of the Day: Kaye Scholer Partner Leaves Bickering Kids

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Madlyn Primoff Kaye Scholer mugshot.jpgMadlyn Primoff, a partner in the bankruptcy and business reorganization group at Kaye Scholer, left her two daughters by the side of the road in White Plains. According to the New York Daily News:

A prominent Park Avenue lawyer was arrested after cops said she got so angry at her young daughters that she kicked them out of her car – and drove off.

Madlyn Primoff apparently couldn’t bear any more squabbling between her 10- and 12-year-old daughters Sunday and booted them out of the car in White Plains, Westchester County, authorities said.

A threat doesn’t carry much weight if you’re not willing to back it up, right? A tipster quips:

So maybe I won’t apply to Kaye Scholer … if their partners are this crazy.

But the 12-year-old demonstrated the dedication required of a future Kaye Scholer associate. She ran after her mother’s car, caught up to it, and got back in. You can’t stealth layoff that kid!

Unfortunately, the 10-year-old went to pieces:

The younger daughter wandered around the corner to Mamaroneck Ave., where a good Samaritan spotted her in tears about 7:30 p.m., bought her ice cream and then approached a cop in a patrol car.

The officer described the girl as “very upset” and “emotional” in the police report.

More discussion — including information about Madlyn Primoff’s $2 million home in Scarsdale, and a reader poll — after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 04.21.09

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BBLP new book.JPG* Justice Breyer: boxers or briefs? If the other kids like to “stick things in [your] underwear,” it’s only because they want you to sit on the Supreme Court someday. [Washington Briefs (hehe) via UTR]

* ATL’s Elie Mystal will be participating in a panel discussion on the internet as a new business networking tool, at the ABA Taxation Section meeting next month in D.C.[American Bar Association (PDF)]

* Some additional thoughts on Building A Better Legal Profession (BBLP), from Professor Jim Maule of Villanova Law. [Mauled Again]

* “Which is more nerve-wracking: Final Jeopardy!, or facing the Socratic Method at the University of Chicago Law School?” [University of Chicago Magazine]

* The 10 most hilarious crimes in celebrity history. [e-Justice blog]

* Congratulations to Judge Marsha Berzon (9th Cir.), whose daughter Alexandra Berzon — familiar to ATL readers as the ill-fated coffee carrier — just won a Pulitzer Prize! [Underneath Their Robes]

UC Irvine School of Law Claims ‘Most Selective’ Status

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UC Irvine logo.JPGIn October, we reported that the new law school at UC Irvine would be offering a full scholarship to students who enrolled for the fall 2009 semester. It looks like the strategy paid off. The school received 2,741 applications for 68 positions. According to the school’s press release, that makes UC Irvine School of Law the most selective law school in the country:

The University of California, Irvine School of Law has chosen its inaugural class by accepting only 4% of its applicants, making it the most selective of any law school in the nation.

UC Irvine accepted only 110 of a total of 2,741 applicants to fill its 68 first-year positions, for an acceptance rate of 4%. By comparison, Yale Law School at 7%, and Stanford Law School at 9%, are the only other law schools with single-digit acceptance rates, according to the most recent data available from the American Bar Association (2007).

With all the kerfuffle about the U.S. News rankings, it’s a good time to point out that people like getting into “selective” law schools. UC Irvine also reports that its yield rate on its offers is 62%, third behind Harvard and Yale.

Offering free tuition in a down market is nothing to laugh at:

UC Irvine’s founding dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, attributes the high number of applications per position and the high quality of the incoming class to the strength and support of the University of California, Irvine, to the high quality of the founding faculty, and to the three-year, full-tuition scholarship offered to each member of the first-year class.

“We are extremely pleased to have fielded such a high-caliber inaugural class,” said Chemerinsky. “Along with a faculty that was ranked in the top 10 in the nation in a recent study, this will allow us to be considered among the best law schools in the country from the very start,” he said. “Our goal and the university’s goal was to be a top 20 law school from the moment we open our doors in August.”

Good luck Irvine. We might not need more law schools, but you have to hope this “free” thing catches on.

Read the full press release after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 04.20.09

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UCLA School of Law logo.JPG* The new UCLA LL.M. program could make heads explode. [The Legal Satyricon]

* Two-thirds of Americans support federal legal aid for poor people. If this catches on, the new fourth year of law school (between graduation and being allowed to start at your Biglaw firm) might net some extra money. And there’s something in it for poor people too. [ABA Journal]

* Is Obama derangement syndrome a real thing now? [What About Clients?]

* The Britney Spears stalker might not be a stalker. [Popsquire]

* Wow. It’s been at least ten years since I heard the name “Rico Sauve.” But he might have made a good lawyer. [Courtoons]

* Here’s an environmentally friendly Blawg Review. [Green Patent Blog via Blawg Review]

Salary Cut Watch: Baker McKenzie Brings Salary Cuts into the Vault Top 50

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Salary Cuts.jpgSo far, salary cuts have been localized to mid-sized and regional firms. But it appears Baker & McKenzie has become the first national firm to slash associate salaries. A tipster reports that associate salaries have been cut between 10% and 25% for some associates at the firm.

As we understand it, associates are receiving individualized memos about their salary reductions. Salary cut decisions are being made on a case-by-case basis and it is difficult for associates to know what is going on with colleagues down the hall.

Baker McKenzie has been making all sorts of news lately. Two weeks ago, the firm laid off 124 people. Then the firm pushed back start dates until January 2010. But it is surprising to see the firm get out in front on cutting salaries while its peer firms are resisting salary cuts.

Is this another nail in the lockstep coffin? Additional details after the jump.

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The Perils of ‘Reply All’
Villanova Law Dean: ‘The internet really is a type of hell!’

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Villanova law school seal.jpgLast week, we wrote about Villanova University School of Law running out of work-study funds. Over the weekend, we received several copies of an interesting follow-up email — one that went to every 1L and 2L at Villanova, as well as every dean.

Some background, from a tipster:

This email is sent as-is, with typos and random, misplaced sentence pieces intact (“ing we put on email . . .” ?).

Dean Sargent gives ATL a shout-out and echoes Professor-Blogger Jim Maule’s excitement as well.

And the email:

From: Mark Sargent
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 3:01 PM
To: Wendy Barron; 2010dist; 2011dist
Cc: William James; Doris Brogan; Felicia Hamilton; Lori Bogish; Jennifer Nguyen; Christine Stango
Subject: RE: Work-Study funds for summer 2009

Wendy, we need to be careful with this kind of mass communication, helpful as it is. As I am sure you saw, this ended up on Above the Law. I did not get nearly as excited about it as Maule, and I know other schools will have the same problem, but readers naturally (albeit idiotically) put a bas [sic] spin on it for us.

This is what we get for being transparent and helpful! The internet really is a type of hell!
________________________________
ing we put on email or elsewhere can go viral almost instantly.

Mark A. Sargent
Dean and Professor of Law
Villanova University School of Law

From a second tipster:

I had to forward this. It is the email equivalent of the scene in Billy Madison where Chris Farley gets on the school bus and yells, “NO YELLING ON THE BUS!”

Our observations:

1. Thanks for the shout-out, Dean Sargent! We’re glad to have you as a reader.

2. You’re right — other law schools are having the same problem. For example, there’s no more work-study money at Rutgers – Camden (email after the jump).

3. “[R]eaders naturally (albeit idiotically) put a bas [sic] spin on it for us.” Oh, Dean Sargent, don’t read the comments — they will only cause you grief. We’ve helpfully hidden them, so they don’t display by default; you have to affirmatively seek them out.

peanut Mr Peanut warning contains peanuts you will die Above the Law blog.jpgFinally, this is not the first time Dean Sargent has had problems with that pesky “reply all” button. Remember the saga of Peanut Girl? Back in the fall of 2007, Dean Sargent complained about having to deal with a student with a very severe peanut allergy — in an email he sent to the deans of all ABA-accredited law schools. In a subsequent apology to the listserv, he described his gaffe as “the oldest mistake in the history of email.”

We reached out to Dean Sargent for comment on his latest email error. Read more, after the jump.

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Villanova Law Dean: ‘The internet really is a type of hell!’“

Letter from London: Skadden Takes Sidebar to London

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Letter from London Queen.JPGEd. note: The legal world is much bigger than New York, or Washington, or even the United States. Welcome to Letter from London, a weekly dispatch from the other side of the pond. Our U.K. correspondent, Isaac Smith, will expose ATL readers to the latest goings-on in the London legal world. You can reach Isaac by email, at isaacsmithlondon@googlemail.com.

Hey, we love the Skadden “Sidebar” programme – which, like a year-old Hollywood movie, washed up belatedly on these shores last week. A third of your massive salary to do whatever you want, no strings attached – plus you’re exempt from any redundancy rounds while you’re away! And the reassuringly accomplished Sidebar branding means you really believe them when they say that.

The bitter irony is, of course, that this thing is being wasted on lawyers. “So what would you do if you had a whole year to do anything you fancied and still get paid?” I asked a group of London Big Law associate friends over some drinks in the pub last week.

“I’m fascinated by different cultures, so I’d go skiing,” said one.

“I’d have my bathroom refitted – you get a much higher standard of finish when you’re there to monitor the work yourself,” contributed another.

“A combination of the two would afford a sensible balance,” added a third.

After the jump, is expansion the answer?

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New Management at Mayer Brown Delays Start Dates, Changes Bonus Threshold

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mayer brown logo.JPGWe’ve already reported that Mayer Brown pushed back its start date for incoming first year associates to January 19, 2010.

But today, we’ve learned that Mayer Brown is also giving people the option of deferring for an entire year. A Mayer Brown spokesperson confirmed that the voluntary deferral will include a stipend of $5,000 per month:

[A]nyone in that class who voluntarily chooses to extend their deferral for any reason may do so, up to October 2010. Those who choose to take advantage of this option will receive a $5,000 monthly stipend.

The deferral option is being communicated to incoming first year associates over the phone, just in time for final exams.

Pushing back start dates is just one of many things going on a Mayer Brown right now. We have some new management details after the jump.

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  • 20 Apr 2009 at 1:01 PM
  • Bar Exams

What’s Up with the Flori-duh February Bar Exam?

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florida.jpgThe Florida Bar Exam results are out, and they’re not pretty for some of the top Flori-duh law schools. [FN1]

Law School Headlines asks “What happened on the February 2009 Florida Bar?” noting the abysmal performance by graduates of University of Florida, FSU, and University of Miami. Their passage rates dropped from percentages in the high 80s and 90s on the July exam to 64.9%, 65.0% and 61.1%, respectively. Here’s the press release [PDF].

Did exam takers spend too much time on the beach, and not enough time at BarBri classes?

A representative from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners wouldn’t comment on the problems the graduates of these schools had. She did note though that the rate of passage for first-time test takers is consistent with years past (around seventy percent), and that February exam takers (as opposed to July testers) are a “different group of people.” They tend to be non-traditional students, who didn’t do the whole “enroll in the fall, graduate in three years, take the bar exam in July…”-and-then-pass thing.

But FSU had the highest passage rate among Florida schools on last year’s February exam, as well the July 2007 and July 2006 exams. FSU College of Law Dean Donald Weidner told Tallahassee.com, “It’s disappointing and puzzling.”

It’s also unusual. See passage rates from previous years, after the jump.

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