July 2009

* AIG to federal government: I can haz more bonus money? [Washington Post] * Remember the movie Traffic? Mexico is trying to reform law enforcement and its legal system in response to unprecedented narco-violence. [ABA Journal; ABA Journal (podcast)] * Sotomayor and the City — including some of Her Honor’s favorite restaurants. [New York Times] […]

Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton apparently likes the courts as much as the tabloid headlines. Try as she might, she can’t stay out of them. We previously covered her misadventures in the criminal justice system (culminating in her prison stay). This week she shows up on the civil side. From the AP: Paris Hilton hated her […]

[Ed. note: Please support our friends in the blogosphere and media worlds by clicking on the links we include every day in Non-Sequiturs and Morning Docket. Extra credit if you actually read them.] * Mad about Yoo: Should John Yoo & Other Bush Officials Be Prosecuted In Spain? [Halogen Life] * Lawyers and auto workers: […]

Check it out over at the Jack Higgins Gallery. Update: Yes, commenters, we know the cartoon is about U of I. Please resist the lawyerly impulse to take everything so literally. Thanks. Earlier: Dean Mark Sargent — You Can Call Him John Prior ATL coverage of the University of Illinois College of Law (scroll down)

Our colleagues over at sister site Fashionista aren’t alone. Lawyers also get worked up over shoes. Some, like former Enron prosecutor Kathryn Ruemmler, show up to court in four-inch pink stiletto spikes. Others hate on commuter shoes and Crocs. Attorneys have strong opinions about attire, and that extends to footwear. So we can’t say we’re […]

This year’s batch of summer associates are roughing it at Biglaw summer camp, with fewer meals out on the firm and less lavish events. To make matters worse, some summers are being told now that their future job will be deferred. Summer associates at Skadden and Ropes & Gray have been informed that they can’t […]

Time for a quick follow-up on Monday’s post about NYU Law School’s controversial decision to invite Dr. Li-ann Thio, an outspoken proponent of criminalizing gay sex, to teach a course on human rights in the fall. The post generated almost 300 comments, many of them quite thoughtful — like this one: I am a gay […]

The Career Center, brought to you by Above the Law and Lateral Link, continues to see tremendous traffic, with almost 200,000 pageviews in its first two months. Thanks to all of your feedback and tips, we are continually updating the firm snapshots with new information (some good, some not so good). Keep checking to see […]

James Colliton — the ex-Cravath tax lawyer who, in the words of the AP, “paid a woman so he could have sex with her two underage daughters” — has served his time, and is now living in a motel “on Route 9.” Apparently, he’s getting too many visits from town police officers who stop by […]

We know of quite a few lawyers who are trying to downsize their lifestyles, whether because of being laid off or opting for a sabbatical-sized salary. We thought you would appreciate this note and photo from an ATL reader: A lawyer in my building was having trouble selling an apartment and posted the attached sign […]

Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. ATL – As a rising 2L at a good school with semi-good grades preparing for OCI, I’m struggling to choose between firms. One of my many, many questions is this: Would you think it better to look to firms which are (thus […]

How are firms that have deferred incoming associates going to deal with different classes of associates all showing up to the firm at the same time? Most firms have been burying their heads in the sand, hoping that the green shoots will blossom into mature plantings of economic growth, obviating this problem. Things will go […]

The Nine are all divine — but not all Supreme Court justices are created equal. Some are smarter than others. If you quiz former Supreme Court clerks, as we have, you’ll find that the Elect have strong opinions about who the smartest and most capable members of the Court are. (Depressingly enough, even after you […]

* It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s fair-market value. [Los Angeles Times] * The continuing legal drama of D.C. Council Member Marion “Bad Boy” Barry. [Washington Post] * Take me out to the ballgame… but leave the gun at home? [True/Slant] * GM is exiting bankruptcy, but still carrying $48 billion in debt […]

Here’s a blast email that went out last night to journalists who regularly receive updates from the U.S. Department of Justice. This particular press release was issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana. Pay special attention to the subject line. Fifteen minutes later, a corrected version went out. It was […]

* The Mass. A.G. is challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Memo to Obama/Holder: If you don’t have anything nice to say, this would be a good opportunity to STFU. [Law Dork 2.0] * Would you rather blog or golf? The answer entirely depends on how much you need the money. Though, […]

It’s hard to overstate the love between Hunton & Williams and UVA Law School. The firm sponsors a number of pro-bono fellowships at UVA Law, they come together to offer pro-bono services in the Charlottesville community, and there’s even a UVA Law building — or at least a sizable part of one — named after […]

Judge Timothy Ellender may be a Louisianian but he lacks a certain sense of Southern charm or diplomacy. A few years back, he got in trouble for wearing blackface and a jail jumpsuit to a Halloween party. That earned the racially-insensitive judge a six-month suspension. It turns out the judge is also insensitive when it […]

There is an interesting employment discrimination complaint coming out of Connecticut today. A local news anchor claims that she was discriminated against due to her age and gender by Fox 61 (which is owned by the Tribune Company). The forty-year-old Shelly Sindland (pictured) claims that she was the most senior reporter at the local news […]

The federal government seems to think so, based on the sentence they’re seeking. We’re kind of proud that one of our own, a lawyer, can rank up there with one of the greatest swindlers of all time. And what does Marc Dreier think he deserves? No more than 12 1/2 years, according to his sentencing […]