Archive for August 2009

Law Library Staffer of the Year Averts Disaster at Brandeis School of Law.

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louisville cardinals.jpgWhat could have been a tragic story looks to have been resolved in a peaceful manner.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports:

A former University of Louisville student and contract employee was apprehended by University of Louisville Police Friday morning after a law library staff member recognized that he was barred from campus.
According to police, Thomas H. Irwin entered the law library at about 8:30 a.m. with two handguns and ammunition. A library employee called U of L Police, who escorted Irwin from the premises without incident.

According to an email sent to the student body, the former University of Louisville student “had been declared persona non grata by the university in December 2008.”
Way to watch over your library like a hawk, not a cardinal, unknown super-staffer. We gotta get you into the TSA.
Statement from the university, after the jump.

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Job of the Week: An Ocean of Opportunity

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Job of the Week Lateral Link ATL logo.gifThere are opportunities in England for those willing to brave the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. This week’s Job of the Week, brought to you by Lateral Link, indicates a bit of recovery in the international markets. Although candidates for this position cannot have been laid off, we are currently working with a number of corporate in-house clients, both domestically and internationally, who are considering applicants who have been deferred or subject to a reduction in force. Email bridgeyear@laterallink.com for more information. Now, to the position…
Position: Mid – Senior Corporate Associate
Location: London, UK
Description: The London office of a top US firm is seeking a mid to senior level UK-qualified corporate associate. Candidates should have 2-6 years’ corporate transactional experience with a top-level US or Magic Circle firm in London and must be currently employed with a top firm or investment bank. Must be UK-qualified. The firm is an international powerhouse, and is busy with high level public and private M&A transactions from the addition of a partner from another well known international firm.
For more information on this position or to apply, please see position 5244 on Lateral Link, or contact Justin Flowers at jflowers@laterallink.com / 646.257.4886. Membership in Lateral Link is free and you can apply at www.laterallink.com.

UC Irvine Law Doesn’t Need U.S. News To Get Prestige

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New UCI School of Law logo.JPGIn a world where there are already too many law degrees flooding the market and allowing firms to handle their associates like fungible assets, the new law school at UC Irvine continues to rake in positive press. We’ve previously noted that the new law school is already one of the most selective in the country. Today, the L.A. Times positively gushes about the new public law school:

In a challenging fundraising climate, the first new public law school in California in more than a generation begins classes Monday at UC Irvine with 61 top-flight students, a highly regarded faculty and the goal of becoming a model for an innovative legal education emphasizing hands-on experience and public service.

It appears prestige isn’t just conferred by a magazine.

Brian Leiter, a University of Chicago law professor and author of an influential blog on legal education, said that, based on the quality of its faculty and the entrance exam scores of its first class, UCI should be ranked among the nation’s top 20 law schools, status that typically takes a new school decades to achieve.
“It’s quite unusual. But this is an unusual situation,” Leiter said. “This is the University of California, after all, which is a big selling point. They’ve recruited the right kind of people from the right kind of places. And the fact that someone of Erwin [Chemerinsky]‘s stature is the dean obviously helps.”

The school touts a commitment to public service that you don’t often hear from law schools. It also touts free tuition, which sounds like the Gods are having an orgasm to law students hoping to keep their debts under control.
After the jump we ask if UCI Law can keep it up. And an update on potential future tuition decisions.

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JD Withheld From Alleged Rapist at University of San Diego

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university san diego law.jpgUPDATE (3/12/11): Douglas Wacker was acquitted of the charges discussed below — please see the update at the end of this post.

One University of San Diego Law School student isn’t worrying about deferrals. He’s worrying about defense strategies. From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

A 30-year-old Marine Corps captain will face a court-martial Feb. 8 on rape and other charges involving three University of San Diego students in April 2007, a judge ruled today.

At the time of the alleged crimes, Capt. Douglas S. Wacker was on unpaid leave from the military to pursue a law degree at the university and on a spring break trip to New Orleans with the three alleged victims.

So not a very fun spring break trip for those San Diego law students.

According to the Union-Tribune, the New Orleans D.A. and a USD administrative board both looked into the allegations and decided not to pursue them, even though, in the opinion of one USD student, Wacker’s a “creeper”:

This guy was a 3L last year and was on the moot court board. A lot of people thought he was a real creeper.

Wacker might well be a “creeper,” whatever that means, but whether he’s a rapist is yet to be determined. The University of San Diego won’t be giving him a degree until that’s sorted out though. The University’s message to students, AND an update (analysis from a lawyer and former Marine as to Wacker’s fate), after the jump.

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Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: The Official List

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Supreme Court hallway Above the Law Above the Law Above the Law.JPGWe’ve previously reported on the hiring of Supreme Court law clerks for October Term 2009. Their names appear here (everyone but Justice Sotomayor’s clerks) and here (Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s clerks).
As we mentioned, we weren’t 100 percent certain on the Sotomayor clerks. Happily, as it turns out, our intelligence was correct. Thanks to everyone who shared information with us; we can’t accurately track Supreme Court clerk hiring without your help.
The Public Information Office of the Supreme Court has released the official list of October Term 2009 law clerks, and it matches up with what we’ve reported in these pages. For a copy of the official list, click here to download (as a Word document). (Note that it doesn’t include law school and prior clerkship information, which usually comes in a second, more detailed list.)
Not counting the law clerks’ middle initials, the official list doesn’t contain much information that hasn’t already appeared on ATL — with one exception. We now know that retired Justice David H. Souter’s clerk will be Thomas Pulham, formerly of the D.C. office of Jenner & Block (which has sent a number of its associates into SCOTUS clerkships).
Based on the official list, we’ve made some small tweaks to our list (e.g., changed some maiden names to married names). Check out the final list, a mash-up of the official list with the law school and prior clerkship information that we’ve gathered on our own, after the jump.

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Canceled Summer Program Watch: Howard Rice & Eckert Seamans Join the Party

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cancel cancels canceled cancelled summer programs.jpgThe firms might not be particularly well known, but every time a firm cancels its summer associate program, a 2L angel loses his wings.
Tipsters report that the Pittsburgh-based firm Eckert Seamans let people know it was canceling its 2010 summer program on its website:

The firm is not actively recruiting law students at this time.

The firm did not respond to our request for immediate comment. But sources report that interested 2Ls shouldn’t waste the time sending in a resume.
After the jump, let’s check in with Howard Rice.

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Pls Hndle Thx: Poker Face

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Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com.

pls hndle copy 2.jpgATL-
I have been invited to a poker party a junior partner’s house. I am very good at poker, and I assume the partner is not as good as I. Should I play to win so I look impressive and intelligent? Or should I throw the game, so I don’t look uppity or risk offending the partner’s ego?
Sir Gaga

Dear Sir Gaga,
A junior partner who invites an associate to poker at his place is the sort of person who lives in a Scarsdale McMansion decorated in fauxTuscany-style, sits around the poker table and yells for his Juicy Couture velour sweatsuit-clad wife to quit yapping on the phone and deliver the goddamn Doritos and Lipton Onion Dip to the guests, chomps on cigars while talking about Per Se, Vegas, and golf, swills Johnny Walker Black from his Wiliams-Sonoma highball glass which was the one item he lobbied hard for on the wedding registry, mentions his humidor, claims his bachelor party was the best one he had ever been to, has a Golden Retriever named Phoenix, says “work hard, play hard” is his personal motto, indiscreetly bangs two associates on the side, once snorted coke off a hooker in Amsterdam, sends purposely nonresponsive emails to a dweeb first year just to be a bully, DVRs SportsCenter, wears French cuffs to partner meetings, plays X-Box and ignores his wife while guzzling Coke from a 7-11 Slurpee cup, farts and doesn’t apologize, wears Prada loafers without socks on the weekend, drives a Jeep Grand Cherokee for alleged “off-roading” that no one has ever seen him do, “lives for the deal” but hates his life, so you should feel free to roll up this partner’s plywood palace with your Full Tilt hoodie, hologram sunglasses and Marlboro Miles visor and take this chump for everything he’s got.
Your friend,
Marin
Elie’s homage to Rounders, after the jump.

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Morning Docket: 08.21.09

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Football Delaware Hank Williams.jpg* Terminally ill Lockerbie Bomber was released from a Scottish prison yesterday, on grounds of compassion. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton aren’t feeling it. [CNN]
* Attorneys at the Office of Special Investigations begin to prosecute a new generation of war criminals. [Washington Post]
* I suppose that I should know the answer to this question, but is your school accredited…? [Courthouse News]
* “Obviously, any witnesses you can eliminate is a good thing.” New York Special Assistant Attorney General prosecuted for (ahem) tampering with witnesses. [Bloomberg]
* Skank fight! [New York Post]
* Are you ready for some football? All my rowdy friends will be at an emergency injunction hearing in Delaware, Monday Night! [The Legal Intelligencer]

Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 6-10 (2010)

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comparing.jpgMoving right along with our Vault open threads, it’s time to take a look at the firms ranked #6 – #10.

6. Weil Gotshal
7. Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett
8. Cleary
9. Covington & Burling
10. Kirkland & Ellis

Weil’s strong move up the Vault charts — the firm was ranked #9 last year — shows the power of high profile work. The Lehman bankruptcy and the General Motors restructuring were just two of the many recognizable matters Weil has had its hands on in the past 12 months.
But Weil also seems to have timed the Vault rankings quite well. The firm didn’t start deferring incoming first years until March, didn’t start laying off staff until May, and didn’t start laying off associates closing offices until the end of June.
Regardless of whether or not those moves catch up with Weil next year, right now is Weil’s time to shine in the warm recruiting light of sixth place. Congrats.
Let’s look at the other firms after the jump.

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An ATL Event: Rooftop Gathering with Applied Discovery

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If you’ll be in New York on Monday, August 24, you might be interested in this event, brought to you by Above the Law and our friends at Applied Discovery:
Applied Discovery kickoff Empire Hotel rooftop roof party.jpg
SPACE IS LIMITED. To request an invitation, please email InviteRequest@breakingmedia.com. Please include your name, employer, and job title in your response. If we can accommodate you, we will send you a confirmation by email.
Thanks! We hope to see you on the 24th.

Non-Sequiturs 08.20.09

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Mad Men season 3.JPG* Would the Mad Men working environment be illegal today? [Miss Trials]
* There are so many ways for the current administration to help students tackle their debt that one of them will eventually catch on. [The Stimulist]
* We’re getting to the point in the recession where tips for laid off lawyers need to include instructions on how to build your own shanty and strategy tips for Madden 2010. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog]
* Making associates work more, not bill more. [The Client Revolution]
* I think Harriet Miers could do more good on Facebook than arguing in front of the Supreme Court. Look how well it is working out for Sarah Palin. [BLT: The Blog of the Legal Times]
* Maybe email isn’t safe for attorney-client communication. From now on, all client contact should be done in person. Let’s see how important that 4:30 p.m. Friday email is now. [Legal Blog Watch]

Hal Turner: Did He Threaten Federal Judges?

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Hal Turner Harold Turner blogger radio host.jpgWe’ve written before about Hal Turner, the infamous internet radio host who has been charged with threatening three federal judges. This week brings new information about him, from Wired:

A notorious New Jersey hate blogger charged in June with threatening to kill judges and lawmakers was secretly an FBI “agent provocateur” paid to disseminate right-wing rhetoric, his attorney said Wednesday.

Hal Turner, the blogger and radio personality, remains jailed pending charges over his recent online rants, which prosecutors claim amounted to an invitation for someone to kill Connecticut lawmakers and Chicago federal appeals court judges.

But behind the scenes the reformed white supremacist was holding clandestine meetings with FBI agents who taught him how to spew hate “without crossing the line,” according to his lawyer, Michael Orozco.

Unfortunately for him, Turner can’t blame the FBI for the comments that got him in trouble with the law. His claimed involvement with the Bureau ended in 2007, and his alleged threats against the Seventh Circuit judges were made in 2009.
More discussion about Turner’s case — plus comment from one of the threatened jurists, Judge Richard Posner — after the jump.

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