July 2009

* Okay, I’ve accepted the fact that state officials in Alabama don’t have ready access to the Constitution. But thanks to advancements in technology, surely we can now print the thing on the back of a beer can so it magically appears when their beer achieves maximum freshness. Maybe we can print the Bill of […]

The newest member of the Breaking Media family, the accounting-focused Going Concern, seems to be venturing onto ATL turf today. Multiple stories on the Going Concern front page are law-related. These are just excerpts or summaries; click on the links to read more (and comment). 1. UK Court Decides it Will Leave the Major Lawsuits […]

Earlier this week, a Michigan Law alumnus complained to the ABA about the school’s Wolverine Scholars Program. Well, last night the Michigan Dean of Admissions emailed the students about the complaint and a popular legal blog that she “doesn’t read.” Here’s the email from Sarah Zearfoss, Director of Admissions at Michigan Law: Hello all! Hope […]

Now that Gatesgate is behind us, capped off by a beer summit at the White House yesterday, what can we get riled up about now? Well, there’s always something going on with the police. From Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post: A lawyer who moments earlier had been complaining to friends about police overreaction in […]

This couple definitely merits an honorable mention this week. They met a year ago in Vegas and turned a 24-hour hookup into a NYT wedding announcement featuring seersucker, a 6-year age difference, and a JD from Widener. It’s certainly one of the more colorful lawyer wedding announcements we’ve seen in a while (although we concede […]

Proskauer Rose has joined the growing list of firms to defer current summer associates to 2011. But unlike other firms on that list, the Proskauer deferral pushes the 2010 class to “fall” 2011. Other firms have at least told their summer associates that they could start in January 2011. Proskauer has already deferred its incoming […]

Maybe the cratering legal economy has made one Ohio State Moritz College of Law student turn to a life of crime: Edgartown Police are searching for a man who smashed the back door of the Dairy Queen ice cream shop on Upper Main Street early Saturday and tried to help himself to a pre-dawn snack…. […]

Here’s a quick afterword on the story of Elizabeth Wurtzel, the critically acclaimed, bestselling author who — for rather mysterious reasons (9/11 was somehow involved) — traded in a life of six-figure book advances, glamorous parties, and relationships with other celebrity writers… for a law degree. In a prior post, we wondered whether Wurtzel, who […]

Many regular Above the Law readers will remember that Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft laid off nearly 100 attorneys, back before laying off attorneys became cool. More recently, the firm put 34 associates on an involuntary sabbatical. Cadwalader is still willing to give jobs to the 34 people let go earlier this month. Contract jobs. Multiple […]

Remember James Ferraro, aka the Runaway Groom? He’s the multimillionaire trial lawyer who, back in January 2008, left his wife — Patricia Delinois, a well-known real estate broker — standing at the altar. Their story ended happily: Ferraro and Delinois reconciled and eventually did get married, a few weeks later. And Mrs. Ferraro is probably […]

Yesterday, American Lawyer released the results of its annual survey of midlevel associates. Morale is about what you would expect from postal workers applying for a gun permit, not upwardly mobile white collar workers. But the results should surprise no one: Associate morale plummeted to the lowest level in five years (since we started asking […]

* Arturo Gatti’s death has been ruled a suicide, and Brazilian authorities have freed his widow. [BBC] * David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez tested positive for steroids in 2003. D’uh. But the media learned about the positive results from blabber mouth lawyers. Do court orders mean nothing these days? [New York Times] * Investigators are […]

If you just finished your state bar exam today, Above the Law is here for you. If you finished the bar yesterday, immediately went to a purveyor of alcohol, and are just waking up now with a midget stripper in your bed, welcome back. No matter how badly you think you did on your bar […]

* The Ticketmaster / Live Nation merger reminds me that Robin Williams is a poor replacement for Teddy Roosevelt. [Miss Trials] * Who voluntarily dismisses a complaint against Pfizer for $50,000? It’s a plaintiff’s goldmine if you can force a settlement. Silly non-lawyers. [Drug and Device Law] * European clients don’t like American civil litigation. […]

You’ve heard horror stories about messy divorces where people litigate over the family pet. Traditionally, pets are regarded as just another piece of property to be divided up among the former spouses. But that could be about to change. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: [A] second trial on the custody of the nearly six-year-old brown pooch […]

Earlier this week, we reported that the Troutman Sanders pay cut applied to associates’ entire 2009 salary. We were wrong about that. A Troutman Sanders spokesperson explained to us that the pay cut will only apply to associate compensation from August 1, 2009 through the end of the year. Why the confusion? Let’s go back […]

With more summer programs getting the axe (including even non-firm summer programs), we want to remember what the summer of 2009 was like, so we can pass on the advice to the summer associate class of 2012 (or whenever they decide to have summer programs again). So please take a minute and tell us what […]

Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. ATL, What is current law firm protocol with respect to affairs between partners and associates? The head of one the practice groups at my firm is having an affair with an associate in another group. It has been going on for awhile […]

What is it about high-powered lawyers and underage girls? Remember James Colliton, the ex-Cravath tax lawyer who had his way with two teenage girls — after paying their mother for the privilege? It seems Colliton may have company. Todd Genger — a (somewhat cute) 33-year-old lawyer at Goldman Sachs, and a father of three — […]

Earlier this week, we wrote about a serious drafting mistake by Stroock & Stroock & Lavan — maybe a typo, maybe not — that could cost Stroock’s client millions. Could Stroock look to its malpractice insurer for help? Maybe not, according to the New York Post: The gaffe exposes Stroock to the real possibility of […]