October 9th, 2009

* One (wacko) lawyer thinks Congress must pass a special act to allow Obama to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Anyone ever hear of Teddy Roosevelt or Woodrow Wilson? [True/Slant] * Career alternatives: driving Catharine MacKinnon’s pick-up truck from Cambridge to Ann Arbor. [Harvard Law School] * Do you have a copy of the Constitution […]

Commenters often complain that we feature too many Biglaw associates in this space — uninspiring young people who’ve drifted through college and law school and are now drones at soulless firms. We’re delighted that this week, Biglaw associates make up only one-third of our couples. Rounding out the field are a soulless-drone partner and a […]

Back in February, Nixon Peabody laid off 56 employees. The firm was public about its decision to lay off people at the time. But sources report that over the past few months Nixon has been conducting additional layoffs — only this time the firm is being very stealthy about the departures. Multiple sources state that […]

Last year, discussing the surprising success of clothing consultants in the recession, we wrote: “When the going gets tough, the tough get new wardrobes.” Maybe we should amend that statement: “When the going gets tough, the tough ditch their wardrobes.” Faced with the dismal legal job market, yet another law student has decided to earn […]

We’re getting multiple reports that Foley & Lardner is laying off 39 people today. Our sources report that associates are being told right now. If you work at Foley, I hope your phone is not ringing. One tipster tells us that the IP group could be the hardest hit: Foley announced associate/senior counsel/etc. layoffs today. […]

On Monday there will be an “all associates” meeting at Winston & Strawn. Any guesses as to what it might be about? Bonuses for this year? A move away from lockstep? Candid acknowledgement of recent stealth layoffs? Feel free to offer us your guesses, by email or in the comments. UPDATE (10/12/09): We are gathering […]

According to CNN Money, being a lawyer is one of the Best Jobs in America. Attorneys rank eighteenth on CNN’s list, just behind IT business analysts, and just ahead of doctors. Congratulations? If you look at the list, you can make a very cogent argument that lawyers should have ranked much higher. Some of the […]

On Wednesday, we reported that Fenwick & West paid $60,000 in “go away” money money to some members of its incoming associate class. Today, we have news about Fenwick’s 2009 summer program, i.e., the most recent summer program, and the firm’s offer rate. Fenwick took on 36 2Ls and 3Ls this past summer. But the […]

* President Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. I think anything that associates America with “peace” has to be a good thing. [Associated Press] * The Astor trial highlights elder abuse in our society. [ABC] * It turns out that Kwame Kilpatrick was outed by a plaintiff’s lawyer. [ABA Journal] * The allegations […]