September 2009
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Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Kirkland & Ellis Chicago
Last week, news broke about layoffs at Kirkland & Ellis. The firm has not released an official statement about the layoffs. A Kirkland source says that associates not on track to make partner were let go. Since the firm won’t say, we’ve been trying to cobble together the full extent of Kirkland’s layoffs. We’ve already […] -
9th Circuit, Free Speech, Hillary Clinton, John Ashcroft, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket 09.08.09
* Free speech goes head to head with campaign finance laws at the Supreme Court today. [Washington Independent] * The 9th Circuit ruled that John Ashcroft can be sued by a Muslim man who suffered under the former AG’s anti-terrorism strategies. [Washington Post] * An Ohio judge makes his scarlet letter neon yellow. [New York […]
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Admin, Blogging, Holidays and Seasons
Above the Law - Off the Record: 09.07.09
Happy Labor Day! Hopefully you are enjoying a well-deserved day off. But to those of you who are at work, or who aren’t at work but still checking Above the Law today, welcome to Off the Record — our look back on the week that was.
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Douchiest Law School Contest, Law Schools
The Douchiest Law School: Harvard vs. Duke
This is it. The final round of ATL Douche Madness. Harvard Law School and Duke Law School have risen through the U.S. News ranks to fight for the Douchiest Law School crown. There can be only one. (See their respective paths to the top, and vote, after the jump. Polls close Tuesday at midnight.) -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 09.04.09
* If you’ve had your Biglaw dream deferred, dream bigger. [Legal Blog Watch] * I would have thought specific intent to escape from prison would be implied in any prison escapee situation. But I would have been wrong. I wonder if resisting arrest requires specific intent to not go to prison, or if I could […] -
2nd Circuit, Douchiest Law School Contest, Guido Calabresi, New York Times, Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 8.30: The Usual
This week’s Vows column is a jaw-dropper. Twelve-year-old girl has crush on doorman (“‘He looked like the guy from Tiger Beat,’ she recalled”), stalks doorman for over a decade, and finally marries him. And he’s still the doorman! Also, don’t miss this Skadden associate’s unorthodox proposal: He had his girlfriend served with a “complaint” while […] -
Department of Justice, Federal Government, Job Searches
Reminder: DOJ Honors Program Applications Are Almost Due
This morning, we reminded you about judicial clerkships as one career option to explore. Now we’d like to remind you of another: the Attorney General’s Honors Program, at the U.S. Department of Justice. The application deadline is this coming Tuesday, September 8. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the DOJ Honors Program, here’s […] -
Incisive Media, Media and Journalism, Money, Private Equity
In(de)cisive Media? ALM Reclaims Its Name(Or: Which industry is more troubled, law or media?)
Gawker reports that Incisive Media — the legal media giant behind the American Lawyer magazine, Law.com, and many other excellent and influential print and online publications — is taking back its old name: American Lawyer Media (ALM). ALM adopted the Incisive moniker back in 2007, after being acquired by Incisive Media for $630 million. Incisive […] - Sponsored
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Judge of the Day
Judge of the Day: Stephen Belden
Let’s be honest. Whether it was that gunner in your 1L section, some douche from UVA Law, or Elie in his True/Slant race rants, we have all wanted to bind and gag someone at some point. But most of us understand that this practice is best left to consenting adults. In the bedroom. With a […] -
Clerkships, Federal Judges, Feeder Judges, Job Searches, Law Schools, UVA Law
Clerkship Application Season: Open Thread
Once everyone gets back from Labor Day weekend, the craziness known as the clerkship application process will begin. This coming Tuesday is the first date when applications may be received, according to the 2009 Law Clerk Hiring Plan (followed by many but not all federal judges). It’s become pretty standard to advise law students and […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.04.09
* NALP is forming a commission to review law firm hiring practices, including the current timetable for 2L OCI recruiting. [Am Law Daily] * Bankruptcy judges are chastising mortgage servicers for their sloppy business practices and their poor communications. [New York Times] * Associates who went to lower-ranked law schools tend to be happier and […]
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Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Partner Profits
Partner Emeritus, Meet Biff--You Could Learn Something
Finally, we have a law firm partner who has looked in the face of the so-called “hybrid tough love” strategy, and found it wanting. His name is Byrd “Biff” Marshall Jr., and he is the president of GrayRobinson — an Am Law 200 firm that is giving associate raises in the middle of the recession. […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 09.03.09
* I know it’s hard to close down a law school. But as Che once sang: “If normal methods of persuasion fail to win them applause, there are other ways of establishing authority.” [Professor Bainbridge] * You know, I also miss the heady days of last August. [Adam Smith Esq.] * More pee stories. [Anonymous […]
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Adam Liptak, Clerkships, John Paul Stevens, New York Times, Old People, SCOTUS, Shameless Plugs, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Supreme Court Retirement Watch: More on Justice Stevens
Just a quick follow-up to yesterday’s discussion of whether Justice John Paul Stevens’s failure to hire a full complement of law clerks for October Term 2010 might shed light upon his retirement plans. In today’s New York Times, Adam Liptak has an excellent article on the subject. It begins: A Supreme Court clerkship is a […] -
pls hndle thx, Weddings
Pls Hndle Thx: The Wedding Braggers
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. ATL – My fiancée submitted our upcoming wedding announcement to the NY Times. I’m an attorney, she’s not. In your opinion, what makes a good wedding announcement? How can we improve our chances of appearing in LEWW [Legal Eagle Wedding Watch]? NY […] -
Deferral Stipend, Money, Start Dates, Trendspotting
Bryan Cave Offers Incoming Associates 'Go Away' Money
My friends, we have a trend. Bryan Cave has become the third firm we know of to offer its incoming associates money to simply go away instead of starting at the firm. Tipsters report that the firm is offering some associates $70,000 to “walk away” instead of showing up for work. That’s the carrot. This […] -
Nauseating Things, Rudeness, Sheppard Mullin
Sheppard Mullin Potty Puddle Watch: Make sure to wipe the seat, ladies.
The executive director of Sheppard Mullin sent out an email to the Los Angeles office yesterday with the following subject: “Copycat Urinater.” Here’s an excerpt: A few weeks ago, someone urinated on the floor and two of the toilet seats in women’s room on the 43rd Floor. I reviewed the security tapes and interviewed those […] -
Education / Schools, Public Interest, Rankings
'Contributions to Society' University Rankings
Does your alma mater contribute to the social good? Or is it just another soul-sucking institution, hell-bent on training young people to do evil things like “make money” or become lawyers? Well, Washington Monthly has released its annual rankings of colleges and universities. But the magazine ranks the schools by their “contributions to society.” Here […] -
Layoffs, Notes from the Breadline, Old People
Notes from the Breadline: We're All in this Thing Together (Walking the Line Between Faith and Fear) (Part I)
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. One evening after work, or at least the hours during […] -
Canada, Deaths, Lawyer of the Day, Violence
Road Raging Lawyer of the Week: Former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant
Documentarian Michael Moore would have us believe that everyone in the Great White North is friendly and loving, leave their doors unlocked, and have no need for guns. Well, there are definitely some crazy, violent types residing in Canada. Like the Greyhound bus killer. And Ontario’s former attorney general. Michael Bryant, a Harvard LLM graduate […]