September 2009

Don’t forget that this coming Tuesday is primary day in New York City. In New York county (“Manhattan” for the uninitiated) the race is to replace Robert M. Morgenthau, the venerable Manhattan district attorney. There are three people running to be the new district attorney for the borough. But just because Morgenthau is on his […]

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey has already canceled its 2010 summer program. We received information that Squire Sanders decided not to extend offers to anybody in its 2009 class. A tipster reports: SSD no-offered EVERYONE this year. This isn’t that surprising given that they’ve deferred this year’s class, canceled their 2Ls who were supposed to return […]

The Harvard Law Record reports that HLS will be cutting back on perks: On September 4, an email by Dean of Students Ellen Cosgrove detailed the reduction in perks students would begin to notice at HLS, where, under the tenure of former Dean (and now Solicitor General) Elena Kagan ’86, free food for events and […]

A couple of days ago, we heralded the start of clerkship application season. Given the weakness in the legal economy, there should be a lot of people trying to snag a clerkship offer this year. Today is the day that judges can start calling around and setting up interviews. A tipster reports: Per the hiring […]

In her excellent interview with Chief Judge Alex Kozinski at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, Solicitor General Elena Kagan poked gentle fun at the controversy surrounding what she should wear while arguing before the Supreme Court, as the first female Solicitor General. She quipped: “That this is the big question of the Washington Supreme Court […]

* It is time for our annual remembrance of 9/11. And the slow progress that is being made at Ground Zero. [New York Times] * Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook isn’t plagiarized, and it’s fantastic. [New York Post] * California Assemblyman Michael Duvall says that his open mic sex talk was “just storytelling.” And he says that […]

Time for an Eyes of the Law celebrity sighting. On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden visited Syracuse University. From the Syracuse Post-Standard: Vice President Joe Biden talked with Syracuse students, teachers and parents Wednesday about his mission to strengthen the middle class. Then, he rode in a limousine to a ballroom where people had paid […]

* Sunstein. Confirmed! Finally. [Law Dork 2.0] * Ben Roethlisberger is ready for the season opener tonight. His attorneys are pursuing all avenues against the woman who accused him of sexual misconduct. [Pro Football Talk] * Yes, we read the Fail Blog. But we also read the WSJ Law Blog. [Fail Blog] * Beatles Rock […]

We continue our slog push through the nation’s 100 top law firms, as ranked by our friends over at Vault. Here are the next ten firms, to be discussed in the comments to this post: 71. Reed Smith72. Bryan Cave73. Perkins Coie74. Hunton & Williams75. Patton Boggs76. Arent Fox77. Schulte Roth & Zabel78. Howrey79. Chadbourne […]

Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. ATL, I just started law school. I won’t say which one because your readers will call me “TTT.” I’ve read about how terrible the 2L job market is, about the non-existent 3L job market, and about the awful legal economy. But I’m […]

A few months ago, we reported on the saga of Mark Hardman. He was an attorney for the commonwealth in Portsmouth, VA. But he was fired after only five months on the job. He claims that his termination stemmed from his decision to run for public office, against his boss. Back in March, we noted: […]

The comments on last month’s post about small law firms were uncommonly good. Readers shared valuable insights and information about life beyond Biglaw, including discussion of the pluses and minuses of working at a small — or smaller (size is relative) — law firm. One commenter — after pointing out that non-Biglaw firms come in […]

LexisNexis has a rewards program that allows loyal users to accumulate points for certain research activities and then to use them to “shop from millions of items.” One of the items makes us want to give LexisNexis an “ex” rating. An ATL reader and loyal Lexis-Nexis user pointed the item out to us, writing: Search […]

I’m sure you all remember the Stepford Secretary. She is the secretary that praised lawyers at her firm for their CHARACTER. She was fired, and then she lawyered up. But the President’s speech on health care last night inspired her. Well, at least it inspired her to email Above the Law: In his speech tonight […]

A quick word of thanks to this week’s advertisers on Above the Law: Harvard Business School – Business Strategy for Partners in Law Firms Kinney Recruiting Lateral Link Lawyers.com Quimbee: The case brief database If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or any other site in the Breaking Media network, download our media […]

Is there any failure where attention deficit disorder isn’t the appropriate excuse? A Hamline law professor allegedly committed tax evasion, and she claims it was due to ADD. According to the ABA Journal: Prosecutors claim law professor Robin Magee, an expert in criminal law, didn’t file her state tax returns for 2004 through 2006 until […]

* Earlier this month, we reported that Sonnenschein had made cuts. Of the 30 let go, 10 were income partners. [National Law Journal] * Republican Congressman Joe Wilson may be the most hated lawyer in the U.S. today after heckling President Obama during his healthcare reform speech. [CNN] * The income gap is narrowing thanks […]

We have devoted a lot of coverage to the new law school at UC-Irvine. It’s hard not to stare at a law school that offer it’s inaugural class free tuition — even if subsequent classes will enjoy the experience of paying through the nose for a public education. We assume they’ve noticed our coverage. Evidently, […]

* Do good litigators help their clients stay out of future lawsuits? [What About Clients?] * E-discover this. [Technolawyer] * Speculation continues about what effect Bob Bennett’s departure will have on Skadden. [Am Law Daily] * Lobbyist, we know who you are. At least we want to. [The Volokh Conspiracy] * A California assemblyman resigned […]

Last month, I roundly criticized a receptionist for peeing on herself. She claimed that her employer wouldn’t allow her to take bathroom breaks. I argued that personal hygiene and basic self respect demanded that she use the bathroom and worry about suing the firm if they actually fired her for it. A woman in Ohio […]