August 2009
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Craigslist, Job Searches, Vault 100 Open Threads: 2010
Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 1-5 (2010)
Yesterday, the Vault rankings were released. It is time to dig into them. To refresh your memory here are the top five firms according to Vault: 1. Wachtell 2. Cravath 3. Skadden 4. Sullivan & Cromwell 5. Davis Polk As we noted yesterday, the only change in the top five is Skadden jumping over S&C. […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.19.09
* I wonder if Harvard understands that when it does things like open up its own disgustingly preppy clothing line, it makes it far more likely that random strangers will throw unpleasant inanimate objects at me and my friends? [The Faculty Lounge] * Is Biglaw turning into Bifurcated law? [Ideoblog] * Depositions 101 in the […] - 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. -
Facebook, Social Networking Websites
Are You Frightened By Facebook?
When a group of Facebook users sue Facebook for invasion of privacy, it really gives you hope that the legal profession will come out of this recession stronger than ever. The ability of Americans to turn fear and an incomplete understanding of what they signed up for into a full blown lawsuit is like renewable […]
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Lawyer of the Day
Lawyer of the Day: I Propose to Misappropriate City Resources
I was first introduced to Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) during day 3 of the Sotomayor confirmation hearings. I was unimpressed: 10:14: Who the hell is Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)? So far I’ve learned that he’s an Oriole fan, and Wikipedia tells me he beat now-Republican Chairman Michael Steele for Senate in 2006. I want Tommy Carcetti […] -
Advertising, This Is an Ad
Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
A quick word of thanks to this week’s advertisers on Above the Law: The New York Times Law.com University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Isenberg School of Management (read about JD/MBA programs HERE) Kinney Recruiting Lateral Link Mestel OCI Advantage If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or any other site in the Breaking Media […] -
Alan Dershowitz, Antonin Scalia, Death Penalty, Religion, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Professor Dershowitz's Challenge to Justice Scalia
On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered a federal trial judge to take a closer look at the murder case against Troy Anthony Davis, a Georgia death row inmate. The SCOTUS directed the district judge to “receive testimony and make findings of fact as to whether evidence that could have been obtained at the time of […] -
Education / Schools, Kids
Kids Are Refreshingly Naive About The Legal Profession
This past weekend we spent some time in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the houses are big (compared to Manhattan apartments), the downtown is small, and lawyers make time for inspirational lunches with school children. Or so we read in the Charlotte Observer: It’s not every day that an eighth-grader gets to sit down to lunch […] -
Going Concern
And Then They Came for the Accountants
Deloitte Settles American Homes Lawsuit [Going Concern] - 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… -
Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs: Gilbert Oshinsky Changes Name to 'Gilbert LLP'
Name partner Jerold Oshinsky is leaving Gilbert Oshinsky for Jenner & Block’s Los Angeles office. Gilbert Oshinsky will now be known as “Gilbert LLP.” According to the firm’s press release, long distance relationships aren’t easy for law firm partners either: Founding partner and chairman Scott Gilbert announced today that Jerold Oshinsky is leaving the partnership […] -
SCOTUS
'It is therefore the judgment of the Court that the death penalty is totally badass.'
On Monday, SCOTUS ordered a federal judge to consider an innocence claim by death row inmate Troy Davis. The case has sparked serious media coverage. It has also inspired some not-so serious media coverage. Were SCOTUS to take on the legality of the death penalty, the Onion News Network imagines how each Justice would approach […] -
Associate Advice, Layoffs, Notes from the Breadline
Notes from the Breadline: Happy
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. After months of ceaseless rain, August descends languidly. As it […] -
Bad Ideas, Job Searches, Lawyer Advertising, Minority Issues, Pictures, Racism, Weirdness
Do They Have Employment Non-Discrimination Laws in Iowa?
We all know that it is difficult to get a job in this legal market. But an advertisement posted on the Minnesota state bar website makes it look like we are just one step away from genetic testing for junior associates. At least in Iowa. The request for new talent starts off very earnestly: DECORAH, […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.19.09
* If you’re wondering how Ted Olson wound up representing the plaintiffs in a case challenging California’s ban on same-sex marriage, read this. [New York Times] * An Oklahoma judge strikes down, on state constitutional grounds, an Oklahoma law requiring ultrasounds before abortions. [Washington Post] * Microsoft seeks Federal Circuit permission to keep selling Word […]
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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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…
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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…
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.
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Contract Attorneys, Document Review
Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Contract Attorneys
The world of contract attorneys isn’t our primary focus around here. We make occasional forays into that territory, but for the most part we leave it to more specialized sites, like Temporary Attorney (aka Tom the Temp). If the temp-attorney world is your cup of tea, however, then check out this interesting new site, which […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.18.09
* Jenny from the block and Sonia from the block, breaking bread. [US Magazine] * A 6-2 decision in a death penalty case is a bit surprising for the Roberts Court. [True/Slant] * The pros of going to law school when you are 19. [Anonymous Lawyer] * Some people won’t give Bob Novak a break, […] -
Clarence Thomas, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Justice Sotomayor(Plus info about Justice Thomas for OT 2010.)
The complete, official list of Supreme Court clerks for October Term 2009 — i.e., the clerks who recently arrived at One First Street — will be released by the Public Information Office shortly, perhaps by the end of this week. We’ve previously listed many of the Court’s OT 2009 law clerks in these pages. But […] -
AutoAdmit / Xoxohth, Blogging, Defamation, Free Speech, Hotties, Lawsuit of the Day
Lawsuit of the Day: Sort of Like the AutoAdmit Case....
But with a hot blonde model as the plaintiff. From our sister site, Fashionista: Liskula Cohen’s modeled for Versace and Armani and landed international Vogue covers, but recently she’s made less fashionable headlines. Last year, a doorman smashed her over the head with a vodka bottle, and this year she’s sued Google to reveal the […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bankruptcy, Benchslaps, Biglaw, Harvey Miller, Intellectual Property, Legal Ethics, Litigators, Partner Issues, Screw-Ups
$40 Million Benchslap for Weil Gotshal
Don’t get too comfortable with that shiny new #6 Vault ranking, Weil Gotshal. The firm just got served, Texas-style. The ABA Journal reports: The Texas judge who ordered Microsoft to pay $290 million for infringing a patent included a $40 million enhancement that he said was partly justified because of alleged trial misconduct by a […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Lawyer of the Day, Sex
Lawyer of the Day: Gary Appelblatt
Gary Appelblatt, 58, a California divorce lawyer, was a bit too thorough in his interviews with his clients. From the Associated Press: Prosecutors say Appelblatt would tell clients that he had a pharmacy degree and touched them under the guise of performing medical procedures during divorce case consultations. Appelblatt has admitted to improperly touching five […] -
Start Dates, Summer Associates
Paul Hastings Correction: The Firm Will Defer Part of the Class of 2010 to 2011
Yesterday, we reported that Paul Hastings would be allowing its class of 2010 associates to start on time in the fall of 2010. We received this information directly from a Paul Hastings spokesperson. Sadly for future Paul Hastings associates, the spokesperson was in error. Here’s the new quote: Paul Hastings will have some of its […]