July 2009
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Layoffs, Staff Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: DLA Piper Cuts 120 121
Earlier today, we told you that some DLA Piper incoming first years were worried about their standing with the firm. We’re now going to clear some runway space for that worry to take off into a full panic. Sources report that DLA Piper has laid off 120 people today. DLA would not confirm our reports, […] -
Job Searches, Layoffs, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Notes from the Breadline
Notes from the Breadline: Fear of Falling
Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of “Notes from the Breadline,” a column by a laid-off lawyer in New York. Prior columns are collected here. You can reach Roxana St. Thomas by email (at roxanastthomas@gmail.com), follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook. At the Big Law Firm where we used to work, […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Start Dates
Mixed Messages From DLA Piper to Incoming First Years?
Incoming DLA Piper associates have to feel a little queasy about the state of the firm. DLA has already laid off 180 U.S. employees (and 140 people in the U.K.). And the firm has pushed back start dates to January 2010 for some associates, while encouraging incoming first year associates to use its Public Interest […]
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Biglaw, Fabulosity, Hotties, Technology
Davis Polk's Website Makeover: Now With 100 Percent Way More Hotties!
Back in March, we reported on stealth layoffs at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Stealth layoffs are usually seen as an effort to maintain high attorney utilization rates — and high partner profits. But at genteel, WASPy DPW, long known for its passive-aggressive kinder and gentler firm culture, profits come second to pulchritude. Everything is beautiful […] -
Alberto Gonzales, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Morning Docket
Morning Docket 07.08.09
* Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales finally found a job! He’s going to terrorize the students at Texas Tech. [Houston Chronicle] * Dewey & LeBoeuf snags three top tech lawyers from Cooley Godward. The three dealmakers wanted to make a splash with their switch, giving the Times DealBook juicy quotes like, “[W]e’re M.&A. lawyers, and […]
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Law Reviews, Law Schools, Lunacy, Violence
Best Excuse for an Extension, Ever
Who hasn’t “killed off a grandparent” in order to obtain an extension on a paper? I had a friend who went through six grandmothers in four years of college. But one University of Connecticut law student is not joking around. As we understand it, an editor of the Connecticut Law Review received an email this […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.07.09
* Student loans could be paid based on discretionary income, instead of fixed rates. Or, you know, laid off or jobless students could just not pay them at all :). [The Stimulist] * What do the Vatican and Villanova have in common? Well, they both need better press operations. [Law and More] * Look, I […] -
Crime, Law Schools, Lawsuit of the Day, Murder
Lawsuit of the Day: Can I Take Back That One Million Dollar Challenge?
When Dustin Kolodziej was a student at the South Texas College of Law, he decided to take law school lessons outside of the classroom. While classmates were poring over contract law outlines, Kolodziej was watching Dateline and taking on million dollar challenges. Well, at least one such challenge — and now the recent graduate has […] - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Summer Associates
Baker Botts Summer's Curious George Act Doesn't Go Over Well
When you are a kid, curiosity is a positive thing. Even as adults, we expect effective people to exhibit at least a modicum of intellectual curiosity. But you shouldn’t confuse your legal employer for the man in the yellow hat. Not unless you want this to happen to you. A few weeks ago, a summer […] -
Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Cadwalader offers 'sabbaticals' to 34 lawyers
Last week, Dan Slater, formerly of the WSJ Law Blog, wrote a piece for Dealbook entitled In Praise of Law Firm Layoffs. His poster child for laudatory layoffs? One of the first firms to make significant cuts to its ranks, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. It seems that Cadwalader really likes layoffs. As you can see […] -
Rankings, U.S. News
U.S. News to Rank Law Firms: Will Give Legal Prestige Whores 'Cradle-to-Grave' Service
If you enjoyed making crucial decisions on where to receive your undergraduate and post graduate education based on a list in a magazine, you are going to love what is coming next. The WSJ Law Blog reports that U.S. News & World Report will be getting into the business of ranking law firms. US News […] -
Copyright, Intellectual Property, Kiwi Camara, Music
Kiwi Camara Fights the RIAA One More Time
You learn a few things when you survive a major outbreak of alleged racism before you even graduate from law school. One thing you learn is that you don’t have to step aside quietly when million-dollar judgments go against your client. Last month, we reported that Jammie Thomas-Rasset — who is represented by K.A.D. Camara […] -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Partner Issues, Salary Cuts
Law Firm Billing Rates
We’ve been extensively chronicling salary cuts for associates. One consistent firm rationale for cutting salaries is that firm clients are no longer willing to pay for junior associates. The consistent counter-argument is that clients don’t care what associates get paid, clients care about what clients are charged. Unfortunately, there has been precious little information about […]
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
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Law Professors, Law School Deans, Media and Journalism
University of Illinois Faculty Strike Back
The University of Illinois College of Law is embroiled in a scandal over admitting politically connected students under government pressure. But the school’s faculty is done taking it on the chin from the Chicago Tribune. At the end of June, the Tribune posted emails from a former College of Law Dean, Heidi Hurd. The emails […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 07.07.09
* The mystery of Sotomayor & Associates. [New York Times] * Florida Supreme Court rules that judicial appointment list need not be ‘colorful.’ Gov. Charlie Crist can’t reject a list of judges based on a lack of minority candidates. [Courthouse News Service] * Tony La Russa swings and misses in his lawsuit against Twitter. [Legal […]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.06.09
* The move to have a gentleman’s agreement against anonymous internet commenting seems to be gaining steam. Thoughts? We encourage people who want to share their opinions to use avatars of respected character actors or former NBA players. [What About Clients?] * Senator John Cornyn is getting ready for the Sotomayor confirmation hearings next week. […] -
Anal Sex / Butt Sex, Free Speech, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Professors, Li-ann Thio, Reader Polls
NYU Professor of Human Rights: Not a Fan of Gay Rights?Also: Is anal sex like 'shoving a straw up your nose to drink'?
Academic freedom is a beautiful thing, essential to our nation’s celebrated system of higher education. And, to borrow the words of Dick Cheney on gay marriage, “freedom means freedom for everyone” — including people whose ideas we might not like, or even find repugnant. How far should academic freedom extend? That’s an issue being faced […] -
Biglaw
The Rise of Midlaw
The Wall Street Journal (subscription) has an article that doesn’t go so far as to proclaim the end of Biglaw, but does speak to the rise of midsize firms. The less-than-200-attorney firms are getting a little recession boom as clients seek out lower rates: A survey of 550 large companies by BTI Consulting Group found […] -
SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: A Look at OT 2010
Welcome to July, a month of transitions at the U.S. Supreme Court. The law clerks for October Term 2009 will be starting up at One First Street this month. The OT 2008 clerks are riding off into the sunset — and six-figure signing bonuses. [FN1] So OT 2009 clerk hiring is pretty much done — […]