* Drug case witness seduced and then killed, a practice happening with increasing frequency in the D.C. area. The killing that is, not the seducing. [Washington Post]
* Former Heller Ehrman partner denies allegations of $9 million in false profits. [Recorder]
* More ex-WolfBlockers find homes. [ABA Journal]
* ‘Biglaw will never be the same again.’ Yeah, yeah, yeah… so we hear. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
* Lat and Kash pair well in this way. But not in other important ways. [New York Times]
* Shocker! New docs show that senior Bush aides were involved in the U.S. attorney firings. [ABC News]
* We hope swine flu lawsuits aren’t contagious. [True/Slant]
Archive for August 2009
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Posted in:
Biglaw, Feminism, Gender, Pregnancy / Paternity, Women's Issues
No Shame On These Biglaw Firms XX: Working Mother’s 50 Best Law Firms for Women
By Elie Mystal
Working Mother magazine has released its annual review of law firms and named the 50 Best Law Firms for Women. No shame on these firms (unlike the one in our caption contest), at least when it comes to “flex-time, reduced-hour and other family-friendly policies”:
[O]ur winning firms have more lawyers working reduced hours (8 percent versus 5 percent nationwide) and also employ more female equity partners, who share in their firm’s profits (20 percent versus 16 percent nationwide)–and that’s just for starters. We salute these firms for recognizing that making the legal profession work for women is good business for everyone.
As pointed out by the ABA Journal:
A bad economy may be hurting law firms, but it’s opening up more flex-time opportunities for male as well as female lawyers.
Only one firm from the top five most prestigious — as ranked by Vault last year — made the cut.
Continue reading “No Shame On These Biglaw Firms XX: Working Mother’s 50 Best Law Firms for Women”
* More thoughts on Doogie Howser Esquires like Kate McLaughlin, from Anna Holmes of Jezebel. [Jezebel]
* What does a fancy car say about the psychology of the owner? [Dealbreaker]
* What the heck is a “violence specialist”? Professor Alice Ristroph explains. [Concurring Opinions]
* For the bankruptcy law groupies among you: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… BAPCPA Man! [BankruptcyBill.us]
* You had us at “Saint Hillary.” [Law and More]
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Posted in:
Bernie Madoff, Going Concern, White-Collar Crime
Another Conviction in the Madoff Mess
By Law Shucks
Frank DiPascali, the former CFO — chief fraudulent officer? — for Ponzi schemer extraordinaire Bernard Madoff, pleaded guilty today to a variety of charges, including securities fraud, falsifying records, and international money laundering.
Read more and comment over at Going Concern.
Guilty Madoff CFO Update [Going Concern]
In 2007, a Sacramento radio station held an ill-fated “Hold your Wee for a Wii” contest. Participants had to drink massive amounts of water and then hold it in to win the video game system. They were asked to drink eight 8-ounce bottles every 10 minutes, followed by 16-ounce bottles every 10 minutes, over a three-hour period. Jennifer Strange, 28, a mother of three, died as a result of the contest, of water intoxication.
Strange’s death has resulted in a waterfall of lawsuits. From the Sacramento Bee:
Since the contest, the radio station’s owners have fired 10 people, including the DJs involved; Strange’s fellow contestants developed what they say is an irrational fear of water and sued the broadcaster; Strange’s husband and children filed their own wrongful-death suit; and lawyers involved have submitted thousands of pages of claims and counterclaims.
Those suing say they have myriad problems: limited ability to drink water, trouble listening to the radio, sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, and the inability to ever play the Wii.
Even the winner of the Wii emerged a loser….
Continue reading “Lawsuit of the Day: ‘Hold Your Wee for a Wii’”
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Posted in:
Cold Offers, No Offers, Summer Associates
Summer Offer Rate Open Thread: Happy Happy Joy Joy!
By David Lat
This email messages from a reader is representative of many we’ve received, as well as many comments on recent posts:
As a Biglaw summer associate waiting to hear about my future, I’d really like the site to focus on and publicize firms that give offers to all or most of their summer classes. [Last week's] story entitled “Summer Offer Rate Open Thread” generated tons of discussion at my firm from associates and summers.
I know it will likely not control any hiring partner’s decisions, but you realize your site generates buzz and has some say in how students/other associates view firms. If you continue to publish summer offer rate stories, both good and bad, the site may be able to contribute to a higher summer offer percentage. Good job otherwise, I’ll keep reading.
You want to talk about summer associate offer rates? Fine, let’s talk about summer associate offer rates. Here’s the eagerly awaited follow-up to our earlier post on the subject. Have at it, in the comments.
We’ll kick off the discussion with some positive news. Negative news, at least under one of our bylines, will come later. Before we report out negative news, we need to talk to the firms in question first — you know, due process, journalism ethics, etc. That reporting will take time. We’re a small operation, and we’re short staffed this week, with Elie out on vacation. (If YOU want to share negative news on offer rates, of course, feel free to post in the comments.)
But who wants to hear negative news anyway? Get your fix of happily high offer rates, after the jump.
Continue reading “Summer Offer Rate Open Thread: Happy Happy Joy Joy!”
Are you a fan of the show Mad Men? We’ve only seen one episode, on an airplane, but we’ve heard great things. Television critics have praised it to the heavens. Our colleagues at Fashionista are also big fans.
So are many law students and lawyers. Meet Leo Mulvihill (below left), a law student at Drexel in Philadelphia, and Jon Rich (below right), a lawyer in New York:
Both have submitted their photos to the Mad Men casting call contest.
Find out how the contest works, after the jump.
Continue reading “Help put a lawyer and a law student on Mad Men!”
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Posted in:
Summer Associates
A Sure Way To Get No Offered: Spitting Blood on a Cop
But don’t tase him, bro!
By Kashmir Hill
This seems to be the summer of spitting-mad law school students. Perhaps economic pressures and Biglaw angst are to blame for flaring tempers.
In July, the UVA Law Student Spitter tangled with the police after a night of drinking. Now, a Stetson Law student working at a Tampa law firm has one-upped her.
From the St. Petersburg Times:
John H. Moran, 26, is charged with resisting an officer with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer, assault and battery and is being held at the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $10,400 bail.
Moran spit blood on police officer Daniel Godsall while he was restrained in the emergency room. Moran struck Godsall in the face while proclaiming that he had AIDS, HIV and hepatitis, police said.
Moran continued to kick at officers as he was doused with pepper spray and subdued with a Taser, police said.
Moron Moran had just started working for Keefe Law Group. How’d he get into this mess, and what’s his future with the firm?
Continue reading “A Sure Way To Get No Offered: Spitting Blood on a Cop
But don’t tase him, bro!“
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Posted in:
Blind Item, Law Shucks, Layoffs
Blind Item Follow-Up: A New York Firm That Fits The Bill?
By Kashmir Hill
Yesterday, we wrote about a Washington Post article profiling a layoff consultant who advises companies on conducting mass firings. The article caught our attention because one of those who called Kim Hall of the Five O’Clock Club during the course of the article was a “law firm in Manhattan,” planning a third round of layoffs in August with more to come in the fall.
We invited you to speculate as to the identity of the firm. Law Shucks (the layoff tracking blog with whom we frequently “team up“) compared the information in the article with data from the Layoff Tracker:
Here’s the list of law firms in Manhattan that have had two layoffs (we’re assuming layoffs of lawyers) reported this year:
* Dewey & LeBoeuf
* Fish & Richardson
* Loeb & Loeb
* Mayer Brown
* Morgan Lewis & Bockius
* Schulte Roth & Zabel
* White & Case
Further speculation and narrowing of the list over at Law Shucks.
Handicapping the Next Layoff [Law Shucks]
Earlier: Blind Item: Layoffs To Come At ‘A Law Firm in Manhattan’
The latest Biglaw trend, as the recession rolls on: canceling summer associate programs. Thus far, to the best of our knowledge, only a handful of firms have canceled their summer programs. But we believe that (1) additional firms have already done so but are keeping quiet about it, and (2) more firms will announce cancellations in the weeks ahead, as we approach fall recruiting season.
We’re aware of two new firms that have canceled their summer programs for 2010, in whole or in part. First, Dorsey & Whitney will not be hosting summer associate programs in cities other than Minneapolis. From a firm spokesperson:
Dorsey & Whitney has determined to suspend summer programs in our offices outside Minneapolis in 2010. This action is not an expense reduction measure. Rather, we plan to meet our clients’ needs through the services of our current associates, our new associates starting in the fall and future associates from our summer classes.
Second, Quarles & Brady isn’t having a summer program this coming year. From their website:
Thank you for your interest in Quarles & Brady LLP. At this time we are not currently accepting applications for the 2010 Summer Associate Program. Due to the changing economic environment, and our commitment to our 2009 entry-level associates who will be joining the firm in January 2010, the firm has decided to suspend the 2010 Summer Associate Program. Quarles & Brady remains committed to law school recruiting and entry-level hiring, and we hope you will consider applying in the future.
We wish you the very best this recruiting season!
Readers, what do you think of firms canceling summer programs? Let’s discuss.
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Posted in:
Heller Ehrman, Morning Docket, U.S. Attorneys Offices
Morning Docket 08.11.09
By Kashmir Hill
* There was serious shadiness at dissolved firm Heller Ehrman. Information coming to light during bankruptcy proceedings suggests that, in 2008, the firm distributed $9 million in profits that it did not have and then covered it up. [The Recorder]
* Paul Hastings nabs Central District of California U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien. [Associated Press]
* Canadian inmate wants cruel and unusual punishment. [Courthouse News Service]
* Kudos to Preet Bharara, the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Ashby Jones wonders whether he’ll “be able to play it straight as a prosecutor, and extricate himself from the muddy world of politics.” [New York Times via WSJ Law Blog]
* The system of justice in Myanmar lacks some justness. [CNN]
* Not so fast. Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York refuses to sign off on the Bank of America – SEC settlement. [Washington Post]
* Some tips on using a coffeehouse as your office. [My Shingle via ABA Journal]
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Posted in:
Contests, Law Schools, Student Loans, Videos
Why Did You Decide to Go to Law School?
By David LatMany of you are probably asking yourselves that very question. Especially if you are deeply in debt and/or without legal employment.
We decided to go to law school because, well, we didn’t have anything better to do. Law school has been described, quite accurately, as “the great American default option.”
If you’re in the same boat, or if you went to law school for some other less-than-inspiring reason (e.g., a desire for a six-figure salary), you may have a hard time relating to the clip below. It’s a promo for the “My Inspiration” video contest sponsored by Access Group, the non-profit student loan company, asking contestants to make videos explaining what inspired them to go to law school:
As was the case with last year’s video contest, the prize is a $10,000 scholarship to law school for the maker of the best video. In addition, five $1,500 honorable mention scholarships will be awarded.
Alas, if you were hoping to enter the contest yourself, sorry; the ten finalists have been chosen. Feel free to check out the finalists here, then cast your vote here. Enjoy.
Earlier: ‘What are your worries as a law student?’
Here’s a little layoff news to start your day. It’s a small round of layoffs, from a small firm, and it’s from several weeks ago (the end of June). But we do aim for completeness around here.
The litigation-focused firm of Gilbert Oshinsky, aka “the GO to firm,” laid off four attorneys, the legal recruiter, five senior secretaries, two administrative employees, and an IT person.
The firm confirmed the basic accuracy of this information and offered additional background. More after the jump.
Continue reading “Nationwide Layoff Watch: Gilbert Oshinsky”
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Posted in:
Kids, Law Schools, Northwestern University School of Law, Television
Teen Prodigy: Smart Enough to Go To Law School at 19, Dumb Enough to Go To Law School
By Kashmir Hill
Kate McLaughlin will be the youngest 1L at Northwestern Law School this fall, at just 19 years old, reports the Orange County Register.
McLaughlin, who graduated from high school at 12 and from UC San Diego at 17, rocked the LSAT (score: 174) and is going to law school because she wants to save the world:
McLaughlin is not sure yet what she wants to do with her law degree, but hopes it will help her to be more effective in lobbying for the social causes she feels passionately about – feminism, combatting racism, equal rights for gays and lesbians, and international humanitarianism.
“I’m an idealist; I want to change the world,” she said. “I bleed blue; I’m a Democrat. I’m an ardent feminist. I’m big on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights – Prop. 8 was a big issue for me.”
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog questions McLaughlin’s decision to go to law school:
[S]he says being a lawyer isn’t at the top of her to-do list. Rather, she wants to be a science fiction writer…
We’re all for law school — and who are we to say what McLaughlin should do? — but, frankly, we sort of share McLaughlin’s worry about not having time to do the things she’s interested in. How about making a run in the science-fiction world and then heading to law school a bit down the road?
McLaughlin’s not the first especially young one to head to law school. After the jump, we give you a round-up of other barely pubescent law school students and how they’ve fared. One of them has fared especially well — her life might be turned into a TV sitcom about life as an underage lawyer, starring Hilary Duff.
* Musical chairs: three litigation partners leave Skadden for Paul Hastings. [The BLT]
* Baby mama drama at today’s Michael Jackson court hearing. [Popsquire]
* Is it only a matter of time before establishments start hanging up “no tweeting, photo-taking, or Facebook tagging” signs? [True/Slant]
* Should corporate executives who receive bonus money for hitting a goal have to return some or all of the money if, due to cooking of the books, the goal wasn’t really met? [Conglomerate]
* Reading the unemployment tea leaves. [Instapundit]
* Blawg Review comes to mainstream media today, as BabyBarista hosts on the Times of London. [BabyBarista via Blawg Review]
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Posted in:
Blind Item, Layoffs
Blind Item: Layoffs To Come At ‘A Law Firm in Manhattan’
By Kashmir HillThe Washington Post had an article this weekend on Kim Hall of the Five O’Clock Club, who makes her living on layoffs. She advises companies on how to fire employees en masse and also offers guidance to the newly unemployed workers. At $2,000 per severanced head.
The article describes a “day in the life” of Kim Hall and discusses how her business is booming in the recession. Her company has doubled in size in the past two years. Scavenger, much?
The article caught our attention because during the day that the journalist trailed and interviewed Hall, she got a call from a Manhattan firm planning layoffs later this year.
Continue reading “Blind Item: Layoffs To Come At ‘A Law Firm in Manhattan’”
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Posted in:
Bankruptcy, Blank Rome, Insurance, Malpractice
Blank Rome’s Massive Malpractice Settlement
By David Lat
This year hasn’t been a fabulous one for Blank Rome. They’ve had to cut both salaries and headcount. The firm also pushed back start dates for first-year associates, until “at least” January 2010, and the 2009 summer program was a brief six weeks.
This latest news doesn’t improve matters. From the Legal Intelligencer, via Am Law Daily (and also a commenter):
Blank Rome has entered into a $20 million agreement with the trustee of a former client that is now in bankruptcy to settle a complaint that alleged breach of fiduciary duty, professional malpractice and breach of contract claims against the firm.
The settlement, reached in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court case Miller v. Blank Rome, was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath for the District of Delaware on July 28. Walrath is overseeing the bankruptcy of American Business Financial Services, which is involved in a string of litigation in both state and federal court stemming from its bankruptcy and business dealings.
Blank Rome does not admit any liability or wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement, according to the agreement.
Of course they don’t admit liability. Still, $20 million is a lot of dough. Who’s on the hook for that?
Continue reading “Blank Rome’s Massive Malpractice Settlement”
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Posted in:
Caption Contests, Contests, Labor / Employment, Pictures
ATL Caption Contest: Shame on You
By Kashmir Hill & David LatIt has been a long time since our last caption contest. In fact, we don’t believe we’ve done one since last year. So it’s time for a new one. The rules are the same as before:
[P]ost your caption entries in the comments. We’ll take our favorites, incorporate them into a poll, and allow you to vote for your favorite.
We present the picture below without comment or back story, so as not to limit your creativity. If you know the back story, please refrain from posting it.
We’ll tell everybody the real story behind the picture when the contest is over.
Please note that we have redacted the name of the firm in question, to prevent this thread from turning into a “Dump on Firm X” thread. So if you know the name of the firm, please don’t disclose it in the comments. When we inform you of the story behind the picture, we will inform you of the firm.
Here’s the photo. It’s a thumbnail, so feel free to click on it for a closer look.
Last month, we wrote about the questionable arrest of a gay Washington lawyer — a controversy we dubbed A Gay Gatesgate, referencing the furor over Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates’s arrest by Cambridge police. We expressed the view that the police sometimes abuse their authority in dealing with outspoken citizens (and it seems that many of you agree with us, based on the results of our opinion poll).
Yesterday the gay lawyer who was arrested in D.C., Pepin Tuma — a former associate at Milbank Tweed and Gibson Dunn, so he’s part of the Biglaw tribe — wrote about his arrest in the Washington Post. After describing the conduct that led to his arrest, which should be familiar to readers of our earlier post, Tuma writes:
I am in fact a gay man. And because I have been involved in civil rights work, I know my rights, and I calmly asserted them [to the arresting officer]. I asked why I was being detained. I explained that, as a lawyer, I knew it was not a crime to offer a public opinion about the police. But the troubling police conduct did not end there. Other officers have acted to bolster Culp’s fabricated version of the incident. One of his superiors attempted to induce witnesses to attest that I resisted arrest when I had not. Another superior falsely wrote to Internal Affairs that I confirmed that Culp had advised me to move along before arresting me; he did not. It appears that officers simply lied over and over to cover up an unconstitutional arrest.
Tuma builds his case, after the jump.
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Posted in:
Boutique Law Firms, Plaintiffs Firms, Pro Bono, Public Interest, Ted Frank
The Class Action Avenger: Ted Frank’s Cool New Job
By David Lat
Some class action settlements are highly questionable. Think of a case where, say, the victimized consumers get a stupid coupon, so they can purchase even more goods or services from the company that victimized them — while the lawyers representing the plaintiffs walk away with a big payday.
One man is out to change all that. Ted Frank — lawyer and blogger extraordinaire, from Overlawyered and Point of Law (and also Above the Law) — has left his perch as a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He’s starting a new public interest law firm that specializes in pro bono representation of consumers unhappy with class action settlements. Ted is already handling two class actions in California.
We caught up with Ted to discuss his new gig. Read more, after the jump.
Continue reading “The Class Action Avenger: Ted Frank’s Cool New Job”
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Posted in:
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, Sponsored Content, This Is an Ad
The BarMax Manifesto: “We Are Not Sheep”
By Above the Law
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.
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Posted in:
Advertising, Asia Chronicles, Shameless Plugs, Sponsored Content, This Is an Ad
The Asia Chronicles: In-House Openings at Hedge Funds In Hong Kong / State Of The Market / 7 New Kinney ’12 US Associate Placements In HK / China
By Kinney Recruiting
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.comHappy 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.
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Posted in:
Careers
