Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 3L Dave Johnston recently made a good showing on the online game show, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”
He’s not a millionaire, but thanks to his performance, and a little help from TruTV (formerly Court TV) anchor, Ashleigh Banfield, he is $50,000 richer. She was the celeb expert the show offered him for his “ask the expert” lifeline. He used it when he didn’t know the answer to “‘One woman writes a novel, another reads it, and the third lives it’ is the premise of what movie?”
His answer options were “A: Cold Mountain, B: The Hours, C: Memoirs of a Geisha, D: Atonement.” From the New York Post:
Banfield correctly told Johnston it was “The Hours,” which won him $16,000. He went on to win $50,000 and promised to take Banfield to lunch. Banfield told us, “He took me to Gus’ Place in the Village today and brought along friends from the office where he’s a summer intern. But since he’s using his winnings to pay the nearly $40,000 tuition for next semester, I picked up the check.”
We’re not impressed by Johnston’s lack of familiarity with chick flicks, but we are impressed by his finagling a celebrity lunch out of the experience. The moment was captured by his BlackBerry in the photo at right.
Johnston notes that Banfield was slightly off. His 3L tuition will be $44,000, not “nearly $40,000.” So he appreciated the free lunch even more. He tells us about it, after the jump.
Since we saw a surge of interest in response to last week’s post, here is a Southern trifecta for you, given the long three-day weekend. Remember, Lateral Link pays its members $500 for a successful referral, i.e., it sometimes pays to have friends.
1. Position(s): Mid to Senior Level Litigation associate (2002 – 2005 grads) Location: North Carolina Description: This Southeastern based firm seeks a business litigation associate with at least 4 years of experience to handle a variety of complex litigation matters. Candidates must have outstanding brief writing experience at the appellate and trial levels. Exceptional oral communication skills, excellent academic credentials and prior affiliation with a substantial litigation practice are essential for this position. Candidates should also be licensed in North Carolina or be willing to take first available bar exam. Federal clerkship experience is preferred.
Information about how to apply for this job, plus two more positions in the south, after the jump.
Yesterday, we reported that Orrick has decided to end lockstep compensation in 2010. Today, the Orrick effect claims its first soul. Above the Law has learned that Squire Sanders & Dempsey also intends to do away with lockstep compensation in 2010. They just aren’t quite sure what they will replace it with.
But why let the details of the new system stay the execution of the old system? Yesterday, SSD associates received this email from the firm:
As you will recall, when we addressed the issue of associate compensation adjustments earlier this year, we indicated that a re-thinking of our approach, generally, to associate compensation would also be in order and that we would focus more broadly on supportive associate growth and development underlying compensation decisions. We are pleased to report to you that efforts in this direction are well underway.
To provide an overview of this important initiative, we are sharing with you the enclosed memorandum summarizing our efforts to date and projected next steps. In doing so, we would appreciate your respecting the confidential nature of this internal memorandum. As emphasized in the memorandum, this initiative will be, and needs to be, a collaborative effort. We welcome your comments and suggestions, and your participation as we move forward.
Above the Law has also obtained the “enclosed memorandum.” It’s heavy on the ills of lockstep, light on the benefits of the new compensation regime.
More details after the jump.
The New York Times has a fascinating story about Robert Bowman. Bowman took the bar exam four times and racked up $400,000 in student debt on his quest towards becoming an attorney, only to be denied admittance to the bar based on character and fitness. He sounds like a cross between Don Quixote and Jimmy Berluti.
He put himself through community college, worked and borrowed heavily to help pay for college, graduate school and even law school. He took the New York bar examination not once, not twice, not three times, but four, passing it last year. Finally, he seemed to be on his way.
In January, the committee of New York lawyers that reviews applications for admission to the bar interviewed Mr. Bowman, studied his history and the debt he had amassed, and called his persistence remarkable. It recommended his approval.
But a group of five state appellate judges decided this spring that his student loans were too big and his efforts to repay them too meager for him to be a lawyer.
The thing is, the appellate panel didn’t really explain why Bowman’s debt load made him unfit to be a lawyer:
“Applicant has not made any substantial payments on the loans,” the judges wrote in a terse decision and an unusual rejection of the committee’s recommendation. “Applicant has not presently established the character and general fitness requisite for an attorney and counselor-at-law.”
Mr. Bowman, 47, appears to have crossed some unspoken line with his $400,000 in student debt and penalties, accumulated over many years.
Is $400,000 simply too much debt for a lawyer to carry? More details after the jump.
In this rapidly changing economy, almost all Americans and a good part of the globe are now in a career transition of some sort. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has given up attempting to estimate the number of times people change careers, since it is almost impossible to quantify. The statistic was for 1982, when it was estimated that 36% of all Americans were in the midst of a career transition of some sort and that between the ages of 18 and 38 people would hold an average of 10 jobs.
The current wisdom of employment experts is that almost all Americans are experiencing a career transition now because of the rapidly changing global economy and institutional reforms being put in place. Change is not only the only constant, it is a way of life, and I believe the more adaptable and accepting we are of this, the more enjoyment we will get in our lives and careers.
I know many of you have recently lost a job that in some ways may have defined you. While you are job searching, it also may be a good time to do some soul searching about what kind of work may suit you even more than what you did in the past. So here are some questions to ask yourself as you explore this possibility:
When did I enjoy most about my old job?
What were the most difficult parts of my old job?
Did I use and develop my talents at my old job?
What am I passionate about?
Based on this inquiry, what would be the elements of my dream job?
Asking yourself these questions is a good way to have a fresh outlook on your career transition. Try our Career Change Assessment. This assessment is used by our coaches to assess our clients and now it’s available to everyone.
The New World Institute helps professionals and executives realign their careers. It’s never too late to change, so call us for a free consultation: 347 445 5763.
Laurel Donnellan is the President and Co-Founder of The New World Institute. www.thenewworldinstitute.com
Someone’s July 4th weekend is off to a good start. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, has been cleared of misconduct by the panel of Third Circuit judges that was tasked with investigating him. As you may recall, Chief Judge Kozinski called for an investigation of himself, after it was revealed that he had a “website” — which wasn’t really a website, for reasons previously explained by the judge’s wife, Marcy Tiffany — containing some sexually explicit material.
The Third Circuit Judicial Council’s unanimous opinion, authored by Chief Judge Anthony Scirica, is available here (PDF). It was actually filed on June 5, but only made public today. It’s thorough and lengthy, weighing in at 38 pages, and describes in detail the extensive investigation conducted by the council (with the assistance of outside lawyers, from Dechert and Morgan Lewis, and a technology consultant).
To those with a deeper familiarity with the facts of the case, as opposed to just the headlines, Chief Judge Kozinski’s vindication is not surprising. The judge violated no law; rather, the “website” — actually just a private family file server, although imperfectly secured for a period of time, as explained in the opinion — was a personal matter unrelated to his judicial duties. To the extent that the (overblown) public controversy created a problem in an obscenity trial that Judge Kozinski was presiding over at the time, any problem was obviated when the judge recused himself. And let’s not forget that the whole controversy was originally kicked up by a disgruntled litigant, Cyrus Sanai, who tried peddling the story for months before someone finally bit — and who “has been targeting Kozinski for years,” as noted by Ted Frank.
So congratulations, Judge Kozinski, on putting this matter behind you. We look forward to catching up with you at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference later this month.
* Earlier this week, Leah Ward Sears stepped down as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. She penned this piece for CNN about her brother’s suicide, the problems with no-fault divorce, and where she’s going next. [CNN]
* Former Latham & Watkins partner Samuel Fishman sentenced to 15 months in prison for bilking the firm and clients out of several hundred thousands of dollars. [Dow Jones Newswires]
* J.D. Salinger wins his copyright suit. Judge rules that ‘J.D. California’s’ spin on Catcher in the Rye is not transformative enough, and cannot be sold in the U.S. [Associated Press]
* Skadden Arps takes the top-billing throne. [ABA Journal]
* SEC lawyer Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot tried to warn superiors about Bernie Madoff back in 2004. [Washington Post]
* Time for a new edition of the Kama Sutra. Indian court makes gay sex legal. [New York Times]
It’s almost Independence Day! And the invisible hand that guides our robust, capitalistic system continues to exert significant downward pressure on the salaries of law firm associates. The crushing economic logic opined by some Brit — who would have gotten his butt whupped at Yorktown with all the rest of them — named Adam Smith inexorably leads to today’s announcement by Blank Rome:
The legal industry continues to evolve in the midst of challenging economic conditions. As we work to continue to position Blank Rome strongly for the future, we have reviewed and decided to reset compensation for our associates, with particular emphasis on the first few classes.
Uh oh. I think the redcoats are coming:
Effective July 17, 2009, pay will reflect a starting salary for new associates being reduced from $160,000 to $145,000 in New York; from $145,000 to $130,000 in Philadelphia and Princeton; and from $150,000 to $135,000 in Washington, DC and Wilmington.
This news annoyed our Washington D.C. tipsters most. Back in 2007, we reported that Blank Rome did not raise Washington D.C. associates to $160K. But the firm is scaling D.C. down today. A D.C. tipster tells us:
Wait. The firm didn’t raise us up during the good times, but is all too eager to push us down in the bad times. I’m so outraged I will …
Whatever, what I am going to do?
Come on, what would the founders say to that? You could at least dump some firm stationery into the Potomac.
After the jump, Blank Rome explains that that it was just following what the market would bear.
* Sonia Sotomayor has no patience when it comes to knockoff fashion accessories. None. [Fashionista]
* Obama is using signing statements? You know, reasonable people were able to wrap their minds around voting for Barack Hussein Obama. I don’t think he wants to have to ask people to vote for Barack Hypocrite Obama. [Volokh Conspiracy]
* I’ll grant that layoffs are a good thing if you didn’t like your job. But they are a really bad thing if you did like sleeping indoors. [Dealbook]
* The Michael Jackson last will and testament. [The Smoking Gun]
* Like everybody else, I simply don’t know what to say about this. [Legal Antics via QuizLaw]
* One year and counting for our friends at Underdog. If you can weather this recession you can make it through anything. [Underdog]
Jesus tells us that there is nothing worse than a false prophet. But that’s probably because he never met someone who was offering a fake job in the middle of a global economic recession.
If you’ve been laid off for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve seen these scam artists who offer great job leads, for a small fee. Some people have been willing to pay, only to find out that they might as well have sent their money to Nigeria to aid a distressed prince.
I don’t know what kind of depraved individual preys on people that have recently lost their job, but that’s just evil. That’s like telling somebody they can afford to own a home with no money down and giving them an interest rate that balloons in the out-years. Who does that?
Thankfully, the Federal Trade Commission is stepping in to try to stop this madness. Here’s its plan:
Today’s troubled economic waters are infested with a voracious school of sharks — con artists who are promising people a lifeline through jobs, recession-proof income, and access to free government grant money. They are bleeding money from individuals, and from the economy as a whole.
That’s why the Federal Trade Commission and its partners are moving aggressively through enforcement and education. On the education front, the nation’s consumer protection agency has produced a new video to help people learn how to spot a scam. It’s available at www.ftc.gov. The video features a former telemarketer of fraudulent business opportunities who explains exactly how he got people to part with their money, and two of his victims, as well.
I hope the FTC is able to help get these scam artists off the (virtual) street. Then I hope criminals receive 150 years in prison where they are attacked daily by Michael Vick’s dogs. Don’t tell young professionals like lawyers that they can get a job when everybody already knows that they can’t. Bastards.
Check out the video, after the jump.
Times are tough for the paper that gives us all the news that’s fit to print, so we almost feel badly about calling the old girl out on this. But it is the New York Times after all.
The paper recently mentioned NYLS-grad-turned-cupcake-entrepreneur Lev Ekster, who’s gotten lots of attention from us, as well as from other media outlets. But this recent article on the vendor truck turf wars incorrectly states that Lev is an NYU Law grad. Here’s a screenshot:
The NYT is not the first to make this mistake. When Thrillist first broke the cupcake story in mid-May, it made the same mistake, since corrected. We all make mistakes, but we’d like to try to prevent the MSM making this one in the future. Here’s our memo (with love):
To: The New York Times and other media outlets
From: Above The Law
Re: New York Law School vs. New York University Law School
Biglaw firms have been talking about moving away from lockstep since the start of the recession. Orrick’s Managing Partner, Ralph Baxter, has been talking about it since before the recession.
Next year, Orrick will be doing it. Instead of a lockstep system, the firm will introduce three different levels for associates. Here is the how the firm describes the change in its official press release:
Orrick will replace the automatic lockstep advancement model for its partner track associates with a model that allows associates to advance at a pace that reflects their developing skill set.
The firm will have three levels of associates – Associate, Managing Associate, and Senior Associate – with well-defined performance criteria for advancement from one level to the next and with corresponding compensation levels. To implement this program, the firm is enhancing its associate training, mentoring, and feedback systems.
“The traditional associate lockstep staffing and compensation model is based upon out-dated assumptions,” said Laura Saklad, Orrick’s Chief Lawyer Development Officer. “Our new Talent Model recognizes that not all associates advance at the same pace, tenure is not a proxy for advancing skill, and clients should not bear the cost of training associates. In the end, our goal is to deploy the right lawyer or professional for the right task at the right cost. ”
The three classes apply only to “partner track” associates. What are non-partner track associates going to get? More details and an opportunity to provide some instant feedback via a reader poll, after the jump.
You almost have to respect the extent to which some firms will torture the plain meaning of things to make bad news seem like no big deal. On that scale, Alston & Bird is one of the masters.
Alston & Bird associates were informed today that the firm is cutting salaries by $5,000 for all associates. But A&B wants you to know that it is a “temporary” salary decrease! It only applies through the end of 2009. Isn’t that nice?
Do you think salaries will automatically rebound at the start of 2010? If so, you haven’t been following along with Alston & Bird.
Let’s check out some recent history after the jump.
Swine flu has struck firms. It has struck a district attorney’s office. Even though it’s summer, the nasty virus has now invaded at least one law school.
This year, a few Duke University Law School students are summer camp counselors instead of summer associates. Spending the summer with little kids instead of the BigLaw boys, and raking in four figures instead of five, must hurt a little. On top of that, these legal Blue Devils now have to deal with swine flu. From the Charlotte Observer:
There are 14 confirmed flu cases among campers and camp counselors at Duke University, campus officials say. Those 14 cases are probably the H1N1, or swine flu virus, officials said. More than a dozen other people have cases that are not yet confirmed.
It looks like a Duke Law student might be to blame for the outbreak. From a tipster:
A number of law students that are RAing for professors over the summer are working as supervisors of the [Talent Identification Program] and also teaching classes on the criminal justice system to the TIP students.
We received this email today:
“Dear All,
I write to inform you that a Law School student was seen by Duke Student Health Services this morning with symptoms that closely match those experienced by individuals with H1N1 Flu. An actual diagnosis will not be available until Monday, at the earliest. The student is at home recuperating from his symptoms and following recommended isolation procedures for those with H1N1-like symptoms.
We have contacted all individuals who were in a class with this student to alert them to a possible H1N1 exposure…”
Read the full e-mail after the jump. And an UPDATE (12:25 p.m.) on patient zero.
The University of Georgia School of Law is about to get a new law student that will surely raise the humidity level in Athens. The recently crowned Miss Georgia, Emily Cook, will use her beauty contest winnings to go to UGA Law.
Ms. Cook assumed the crown after middle school teacher, Kristina Higgins, turned down the prize hours after winning it.
What the hell kind of state is Georgia where beauty pageant winners are teaching middle school and going to law school? Thank God I grew up on Long Island, it makes it much easier to concentrate. Look Listen to Emily Cook explain the beauty craziness in her own words:
In the interview, she explains that she’ll have to put off law school for a year — because being Miss Georgia is a full time job! But after that, she’s interested in business and corporate litigation. Apparently, she’s been able to pay for two years of law school with her earnings from being pretty.
Congratulations, Emily Cook. And congratulations to the future UGA Law class of 2013. There are worse reasons to show up for torts class. New Miss Ga. bows out, Miss Cobb gets crown [AJC.com] Miss Georgia Interview [WRBL News 3]
The University of Miami Law School of Law has decided to give their admitted students a preview of what it’s really like to be a lawyer in today’s market. Dean Patricia White sent around this letter to the school’s admitted students:
Every year our Admissions Office uses our past experience with acceptance rates to decide how many students to admit. In these economically troubled times past experience has turned out to be a poor guide. An unprecedented percentage of applicants admitted to the University of Miami Law School have accepted our offer. This will give us a larger than optimal first-year class. Accordingly we are offering an incentive to defer admission until Fall 2010. If you wish to take advantage of this offer you must notify us by e-mail [Redacted] or facsimile [Redacted] by July 10, 2009.
Don’t get too down about the recession. We still have enough time to build an immense fallout shelter in the soft limestone cliffs of Missouri. Of course, they’ll have to be some sort of lottery.
After the jump, the UM Law School dean is pretty honest about what is going on with its new admits.
* Happy Canada Day to our readers from the Great White North. You can enjoy the celebration of your day of union, but you can’t yet celebrate a resolution of your lawsuit against river-stealing North Dakota. [Associated Press]
* The Michael Jackson autopsy report may have been fake, but his will is real. [New York Times]
* No more driving while under the influence of a BlackBerry in Virginia. [Washington Post]
* SCOTUS puts its right foot in and shakes it all about. [Washington Post via ABA Journal]
* Another case of online dating site customers getting screwed. And not in the good way. [Courthouse News Service]
In 2009, a small group of Harvard Law School students noticed an absurd monopoly in the bar prep space, held by an unchallenged leader with a non-evolving product. In response, these students teamed up with Harvard Law alumni to launch BarMax on January 14, 2010.
The mission: democratize bar prep by embracing new technologies to provide the very best bar exam review courses at a fraction of the cost normally associated with these courses.
Since then, with the encouragement of thousands of students and an unwavering commitment to their success, BarMax has established itself as a comprehensive alternative to the stagnant, over-priced status quo.
As we continue to expand, we do not want to lose sight of the basic premises that led us to create BarMax in the first place. If you are a law student who believes that there is something fundamentally wrong with being forced to take out yet another loan to pay for a $4,000 bar exam prep course, you are not alone.
Ed. note: This post is authored by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, sponsor of the Asia Chronicles. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past five years. You can reach them by email: asia@kinneyrecruiting.com
Happy Chinese New Year! We were extremely busy the past few months, including most of our US based team working from our Hong Kong offices during November and December.
As a follow up from our recent post, which listed our 62 US associate and counsel placements in Asia last year (vast majority in HK / China), please note that thus far in January ’12, we have already made seven US associate and counsel placements in Asia. This is an especially impressive number, considering the biglaw lateral hiring market in Asia is down right now (see state of the market brief overview below). These new placements are of new hires in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, who were interviewing with their new firm for a month or more and they are spread out among different practice areas, including project finance, litigation, fund formation, M&A and cap markets. We are close on four additional new associate placements, in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, that we expect to close soon. We do not discuss partner placements in these articles, but the pace of partner recruitment in Asia (a large part of our business) has continued.
Hedge Fund In-House Openings in Hong Kong
We are seeing a small run of new in-house openings in Hong Kong at hedge funds. We are currently filling three different in-house positions at three different hedge funds in Hong Kong, two of these searches we are handling on an exclusive basis. All three will most likely be filled by a US associate, with about 4 to 6 years of experience. Mandarin not required. Candidates from NYC and London will be considered, but at one of these funds the new hire will likely come from Hong Kong / China or Singapore (with HK being the strong preference).
Please feel free to reach out to us at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com if you are interested in these hedge fund openings. As you probably would expect, the competition for these spots will be fierce and the funds will be very selective when choosing which candidates to interview.
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 3L Dave Johnston recently made a good showing on the online game show, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”
Continue reading “Law Student of the Day: Dave Johnston”
Someone’s July 4th weekend is off to a good start. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, has been cleared of misconduct by the panel of Third Circuit judges that was tasked with 
