July 2009
-
Job Searches, Summer Associates
Paul Weiss Pulls Out Of Boston
Maybe the recruiting people at Paul Weiss read all of the comments from Massholes about Massholes on Thursday’s Suffolk Law thread, and decided to change their recruiting strategy? Or maybe the legal economy really isn’t getting any better? Despite the firm’s generally strong showing during the recession, Paul Weiss has decided to pull out of […] -
Biglaw, Twittering
Did Biglaw Get Twitterjacked?
Can social networking benefit Biglaw firms? On the one hand, any way for firms to directly reach prospective clients and new hires sounds like something that should garner Biglaw interest. On the other hand, sites like Twitter have yet to prove themselves as a business generation tool. But regardless of whether you think Biglaw firms […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Salary Cuts
Nationwide Salary Cut Watch: Foley & Lardner Goes Down 10%
While firms seem to be focused on dealing with their summer associates and future summer associates over the past couple of weeks, there are still regular full time associates working at Biglaw firms. They’re not extinct. And they still get paid. It’s just that they are getting paid less. Foley & Lardner has become the […]
-
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 07.20.09
* A look at the Dreier detective work performed by Mark F. Pomerantz of Paul Weiss (with a little human resources consulting thrown in). [New York Times] * Neil Armstrong Dial dreamed of going to space, but instead he went to Foster Pepper in Seattle. [Seattle Times] * Ex-SEC head Christopher Cox is heading to […]
-
Floyd Abrams, Wall Street
Floyd Abrams, Standard & Poor's, and the First Amendment Defense of Rating Agencies
Could the credit rating agencies who are now being sued for their alleged role in the financial meltdown have a valid First Amendment defense? Floyd Abrams, god of First Amendment law and longtime partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, thinks so. Abrams is the subject of a lengthy, interesting article in Sunday’s New York Times, […] -
Non-Sequiturs, Sonia Sotomayor
Weekend Non-Sequiturs: Sonia Sotomayor Edition
The confirmation hearings of Judge Sonia Sotomayor (2d Cir.) took place this past week. Here’s a special weekend linkwrap dedicated to the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. * “Wise Latina Woman. Bronx Housing Project. Wise Latina Woman. We’re counting cards. Counting cards. Gotta watch Jeopardy at five!” [Underneath Their Robes] * […] -
Law Shucks, Layoffs
This Week in Layoffs: 07.18.09
[Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks. Law Shucks has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.] Fortunately, this week’s law-firm layoffs didn’t follow last week’s surprise return to March form. In fact, there were fewer layoffs this week than any […] -
Summer Associates
Victory for Fish & Richardson in ATL's Summer Associate Event Contest (and the Mark Cuban Insider Trading Case)
The Dallas office of Fish & Richardson has won the contest for best summer associate event of 2009, capturing almost two-thirds of the 1757 votes in the runoff with the Carlton Fields fishing trip. Fish & Richardson’s winning event was called “Harpdygal IV.” It is part of a series of “Biglaw counter-culture” events started four […] - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.17.09
* Ramadan may be coming to America — and we’re not talking about the holiday. The Second Circuit just reversed a trial court ruling that barred a prominent Muslim scholar, Tariq Ramadan (pictured), from entering the United States. [City Room] * Is work-life balance “still a dumb-ass issue”? Especially given the economic climate, in which […] -
Summer Associates, White & Case
Deferral Friday Rolls On: Next Stop White & Case
There are times when Biglaw seems to speak with one voice. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them This week appears to be one of those times. Current summer associates all across the land are learning that any cherished […] -
7th Circuit, 9th Circuit, Antonin Scalia, Department of Justice, Diarmuid O'Scannlain, Harvard, Richard Posner, Supreme Court Clerks, Weddings, Willkie Farr
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 7.12: French Kissing
Rejoice, wedding fans! We have some compelling mid-summer material for you this week: Wachtell, SCOTUS, lesbians, French nobility — read on for the details on all of that and more, as reported in the New York Times and filtered by us. Our finalist couples: 1. Rebecca Gutner and Rodman Forter Jr. 2. Laura Hammond and […] -
Duke Law's Notification Process for Journal Acceptance Is A Total Train Wreck
If you are a current Duke Law student who applied to one of the school’s journals, you have probably emailed Above the Law in the past two hours. You can stop now, we’ve heard you, please step back from the ledge. The system for notifying students of whether they had been accepted to journals was […] -
Mark Cuban, Securities and Exchange Commission
Mark Cuban 1, SEC 0
We previously covered the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Mark Cuban. Today brings some good news on that front for the billionaire businessman. From Mark Cuban’s brother, lawyer / blogger Brian Cuban: Chief Judge Sidney Fitzwater said in a 35-page ruling released Friday that the SEC had failed to prove that Cuban, who owns […]
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
-
Gender, Layoffs, Women's Issues
Did Gender Play A Role In Layoffs At Squire Sanders?
Since the recession began hitting the legal industry, we at Above the Law have received various reports alleging gender or racial discrimination when it comes time for firms to fire associates. Some of our sources have claimed that the rounds of layoffs have disproportionately affect women or racial minorities. Usually, these sources have sparse statistical […] -
Deferral Stipend, Start Dates, Summer Associates
Weil Gotshal Defers Current Summer Associates to 2011 or 2012
Big news from Weil Gotshal today. The firm previously deferred its incoming associates to January 2010, with the option of deferring until January 2011 (with a $75,000 stipend). In recognition of the fact that it will have some of the class of 2009 starting in January 2011, the firm is offering current summers — i.e., […] -
Summer Associates
Covington & Burling Owns the Summer
We have chronicled Biglaw firms that are taking drastic measures to reduce the money they spend on summer associates and recruiting. This spring, McDermott Will & Emery cut salaries of its summer associates. This week, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius canceled its entire 2010 summer program. And, in between, current summer associates and future summer associates […] -
Guantanamo Bay, Pro Bono, Public Interest
Much Better Than Document Review: Bingham Associate Testifies Before Congress
We like to highlight examples of Biglaw associates who get to do especially interesting or high-profile work. E.g., Lindsay Harrison, the Jenner & Block associate who argued a case — and won — before the U.S. Supreme Court. Most lawyers tuned in to Congress yesterday were listening to Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings (even if […] -
Anal Sex / Butt Sex, Asians, Feminism, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Professors, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Li-ann Thio
Dr. Li-Ann Thio: All About Her Mother
We sometimes like to think of the figures we write about in these pages as characters in a novel. Viewed in this way, Dr. Li-ann Thio, the visiting NYU law professor who apparently isn’t a fan of gay rights, is one of the most compelling we’ve come across recently. We have a weakness for strong, […] -
Education / Schools, Student Loans
Bankruptcy Won't Discharge $350,000 of Student Loan Debt for Law Graduate
Maybe the student loan bailout movement just received its first martyr. While people in the industry have long known that student loans cannot easily be discharged through bankruptcy, maybe a high profile case will clue the general public in on this needlessly unfair burden for those who seek post-graduate degrees. Mark Jesperson had $350,000 in […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 07.17.09
* New York teenager Cheyenne Cherry pleaded guilty to baking a kitten in an oven, but she obviously feels no remorse. [Gothamist] * Musical Chairs: Kirkland & Ellis invests in its finance practice by withdrawing debt specialist Jay Ptashek from Simpson Thacher Bartlett, where he had been for 17 years. [Kirkland & Ellis press release] […]