Morning Docket 06.10.09
* Does SCOTUS need some affirmative action for non-Ivy League grads? [New York Times]
* White & Case partner Tom Lauria, who got SCOTUS to issue a stay in the Chrysler-Fiat deal, is pissing people off and “enjoying the heck out of it.” He may take on GM next. [Wall Street Journal]
* SCOTUS decided yesterday to lift the Chrysler-Fiat stay, so that sale can move forward. [Washington Post]
* Sonnenschein hit with a $30 million poaching suit. [American Lawyer]
* Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is threatening to sue HarperCollins if they defame him while publicizing a book on September 11. [Chicago Sun-Times]
* The Northern District of California courthouse sounds like a wild place. [Courthouse News Service]




Comments
Ivy itself isn't a requirement, but I think a top 20 law school probably is, coupled with elite undergrad credentials.
Louis Zaccareli is elite.
This story about Ms. Anal Sheikh is priceless.
http://www.loweringthebar.net/2009/06/lawyer-charged-with-billing-during-sex.html
Why should coming from a top 20 school or having elite undergrad credentials be a "requirement" for a Supreme Court nominee ?
No wonder why all the Ivy fat cats couldn't save the economy or stop the demise of BigLaw. They're too busy worrying about prestige than real talent. "Yale" or "Harvard" should not be a proxy for talent.
In all my years in practice and government (and yes, I graduated from Yale), I have never seen any correlation between an Ivy education and legal ability. In fact, top students from lower ranked schools often outshine their Ivy peers because they didn't have everything handed to them on a silver platter.
With the demise of BigLaw, don't be surprised if the Ivy giants fall from grace too. It just takes a little common sense.
Latham NY laid off every first year who failed the bar except for a partner's son.
Dave Gordon, explain yourself.
3 -- I bet she pronounces her name "Ah-Nol"
4 - that's probably because they are talking about Ivy Law School matriculation not undergraduate, which I assume you would have made clear in your comment. (and yes, I graduated from Yale)
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If Above the Law commenters were on the SCOTUS, there is no doubt that Justice Stevens would be referred to as JusTTTice STTTevens.
First!
7, read the article instead of assuming:
"In the history of the court, half of the 110 justices were undergraduates, graduate students or law students in the Ivy League; since 1950, the percentage is 70."
Tom Lauria is my hero. I hope he wins what will now be a case for damages -- the disregard of the rule of law by this administration is quite stunning. Where are all the people who have condemned the Bush administration (rightly, at least in some cases) for its transgressions against the rule of law?!
Is that a photo of YLS?
I think it's a picture from Princeton somewhere... Dickinson Hall? (History Dept.)
Regarding the N.D. Ca story: Can someone explain the purpose of using soap-in-a-towel to beat someone? Exactly what is the benefit? I've heard that it avoids bruising, but is that really true?