May 2009
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Morning Docket, Sonia Sotomayor
Morning Docket 05.28.09
* Musical Chairs: Kirkland & Ellis loses the majority of its West Coast bankruptcy and restructuring team to Jones Day. Six L.A. lawyers and one N.Y. associate are making the Jones Day jump. [American Lawyer] * A personal injury firm in Connecticut has sued Google for selling its name to a competing firm. Stratton Faxon […]
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Health Care / Medicine, Summer Associates, Swine Flu
Breaking: Swine Flu at Mayer Brown (Chicago)
At least one summer associate in the Chicago office of Mayer Brown appears to have contracted swine flu (aka the H1N1 virus), according to a firm memo that was circulated within the past hour. In addition, a second associate has been showing symptoms. Quipped one of the many tipsters who sent this our way: “As […] - Sponsored
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Sex, Sports, Weirdness
A Surprisingly Smutty Motion to Dismiss
“Not wanting to push her too fast, he rode her easy…. She got hot and wet, but too wet.” That sounds like something you’d find in the pages of a soft-core porn novel. But no, instead you’ll find it in the non-sexily titled “MarineMax’s Motion To Dismiss Count X of Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint,” filed […]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.27.09
* Latvian hookers are the “canary in the coal mine” of economic recovery. Hey, I’m ready to do my part to help end the recession. [Dealbreaker] * Chris Brown hates haters, blames them for roughing up Rihanna. Chris Brown definitely loves fishsticks. [Popsquire] * Every year someone tries to come up with an argument in […] -
Lawsuit of the Day, Pets
Lawsuit of the Day: Weil Gotshal Loves Puppies!
The recently released Michael Vick can expect no quarter from most animal lovers. I forget how long he was in jail, but if his sentence didn’t involve a dog biting him in the ass every day, then it wasn’t long enough. But Vick is (or was) merely a retailer in the world of inhumane treatment […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Music, Rap, Solo Practitioners
West Coast IP Lawyer Puts Out 'Exquisite' Rap Album
Yesterday, the Exquisite Rap Duo dropped a new album. What’s especially exquisite about the album is that it’s the work of Anthony McNamer, an IP attorney in Portland, Oregon. McNamer is a ’95 Stanford Law grad who has worked for Bingham McCutchen and for Davis Wright Tremaine, clerked in American Samoa, and founded his own […] -
SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court
The Sotomayor Nomination: A Reader Poll
Right now the news cycle is dominated by the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor (2d Cir.) to the U.S. Supreme Court. We’ve been following the story closely, of course, and we’ll have more later. In the meantime, check out Underneath Their Robes, where Clerquette has been blogging up a storm. Her latest posts appear here […] -
Gay, Gay Marriage
Gay Rights Make Strange Bedfellows
The California Supreme Court might have upheld Proposition 8, but those who are trying to use the courts to promulgate a notion of fundamental fairness for gays and lesbians are not done. In fact, the battle has just begun: In a bold move that takes a new approach to achieving marriage equality, two attorneys who […] - Sponsored
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Biglaw
Open Thread: Do Performance Reviews Turn Dubious in a Downturn?
Performance reviews have never been fun exactly. But these days, when firms are periodically going on “cleanses,” the review process is more nerve-wracking then ever. We are receiving anecdotal reports of associates who have always received good reviews suddenly being criticized for ridiculously trivial infractions — perhaps to lay the groundwork for a future performance-based […] -
Salary Freeze
Inside the Black Box: Jones Day Staff Salary Freeze
As many of you know, Jones Day guards its salary information as if the firm is protecting the Holy Grail. Compensation is kept confidential and talking about what you make, even to colleagues, is generally discouraged. But no firm is immune from the global economic crisis. Today, a piece of information leaked out of Jones […] -
Summer Associates
Wilmer Lunch Memo
Last month, we brought you a summer lunch memo featuring the comedic stylings of lawyers from Cleary Gottlieb. This week, a lunch memo is going around the offices of WilmerHale: Year in and year out, our Summer Associates tell us that what they remember most is the time they spent with the lawyers of WilmerHale. […] -
Bankruptcy, Morning Docket, Sonia Sotomayor
Morning Docket 05.27.09
* GM drove its Chevy to the bondholder levy but the levy was dry. Bankruptcy imminent. [Wall Street Journal] * Is your support for same-sex marriage and opposition to Prop 8 strong enough to risk a citation for jaywalking? [CNN] * … For more on yesterday’s California Supreme Court ruling letting Prop 8 and existing […]
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Federal Judges, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court, White House Counsel
The Sotomayor Nomination: A Bit of Backstory
This morning we covered the announcement by President Barack Obama of his intention to nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor, of the New York-based Second Circuit, to serve as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. This afternoon, we participated in a conference call between a senior Administration official and several reporters, to discuss the Sotomayor […]
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Drugs
Sidley Associate Writes Tell-All About Legal Life in the Forbidden City
If you like the fast life, look out for opportunities in your firm’s offices abroad. Judging from the Russian tales of Deidre Dare and the new memoir, China High, by the pseudonymous “ZZ,” life in Biglaw’s foreign offices is full of drugs, sex, and nonstop clubbing. Of course, these two are no longer with their […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.26.09
* Save the date. David Lat will be trying to help people restart their careers in a couple of weeks. [New York City Bar] * Many of you know that our own Kashmir Hill has been exploring privacy law over at True/Slant the past couple of months. I’m getting into the mix over there too, […] -
Salary Cuts
Allen Matkins: Salary Cuts Hit Paralegals Too
Back in March, we reported on salary cuts for associates at Allen Matkins. At the time, we reported: First year salary has been reduced from $160K to $145K. A number of other associates (excluding first years) were informed that their salary would be reduced by 15% or 30%. Those associates were told that they were […] -
Law Schools
Alms Fellowships for the Poor: Only Unemployed Columbia Law Grads Need Apply
We’ve been trying to stay on top of all the things law schools can do to help their students who have been crushed by the current economic environment. Although it’s a little bit late, it looks like Columbia Law School will be offering a helping hand for some of its recent graduates that haven’t been […] -
Biglaw, Partner Profits
First Quarter 2009: It Still Stinks
Just to be clear, the first quarter of 2009 was not the beginning of the great recovery everybody is hoping for. AmLaw Daily reports that Q1 revenue fell on average at 175 law firms: They were right to be concerned. Citi’s first-quarter 2009 Flash Report indicates that revenues at the 175 firms that provided data […] -
Gay, Gay Marriage
The Moment of Truth for Same-Sex Marriage in California
In about 15 minutes or so, the California Supreme Court will issue its decision in three cases challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in that state. The decision will be posted on the court’s website at 10 a.m. Pacific time (or 1 p.m. Eastern time). We’re putting up this post now, […] -
Education / Schools, Law Schools, Legal Ethics
Is there an Epidemic of Cheating At Law Schools?
Two weeks ago, we reported on Syracuse College of Law changing its exam guidelines in an attempt to thwart cheaters. Fordham Law School also had some academic dishonesty issues. Fortunately, this new cheating phenomenon is not limited to New York State. The National Law Journal reports: When a Florida Coastal School of Law student last […]