Earlier this month, we wrote about Duke 2L Andrew Blumberg. He scored an appearance on the Food Network Challenge because he is a “Simpsons superfan.”
He was teamed up with a professional cake designer to advise her on making a Bart Simpson cake that was faithful to the original character. Blumberg was an excellent cake consigliere; his partner won the challenge. (We now have photos of their winning creation, after the jump.)
According to Duke Law News, Blumberg’s superfandom is rooted in more than just watching tons of Simpsons episodes. He also worked on a project incorporating Simpsons clips into a lesson on contracts law.
We’ve found out that Blumberg’s Simpsons obsession goes even further. Guess which firm he’s summering with? Punchline, after the jump.
Continue reading “Guess Which Firm ‘Simpsons Superfan’ Andrew Blumberg Is Going To?”
Ed. note: Welcome to ATL’s first foray into serial fiction. “My Job Is Murder,” a mystery set in a D.C. appellate boutique, will appear one chapter at a time, M-W-F, over the next few weeks. Prior installments appear here; please read them first.
Susanna Dokupil can be reached by email at sdokupil@sbcglobal.net or on Facebook.
Back at the office, Tyler said goodnight to Katarina and returned to his desk. He checked his e-mail while he ate his sashimi. CLE presentation on electronic discovery. Maintenance on the air conditioners tonight. Recruiting event next week at Carol’s house. He marked his quest calendar accordingly. Post-lunch summer associate evaluation form from Mark. Tyler completed it perfunctorily.
Firmwide announcement regarding the death of Ken Thrax. Standard Corporatica chronicling his achievements, condolences to the family. Information on funeral services to be announced as it became available. No mention of cause of death
Tyler looked at the clock. 8:30 p.m. He sighed, pulled out his pile of cases on parol evidence, opened his document, and got to work.
Continue reading “My Job Is Murder: Of Partners and Parol Evidence”
Here we have another lawsuit that is based on Nintendo’s Wii, the wildly popular gaming system for children that adults are strangely not embarrassed to love.
Sadly, this lawsuit doesn’t involve a grown woman making herself sick by refusing to urinate. Instead, we have a guy who needs to play as a space traveling princess in order to enjoy himself. Game Spot has the report (gavel bang: Overlawyered):
In the suit, the San Jose, California, gamer takes exception to a recent Nintendo Wii system update that disables access to unauthorized third-party programs like the Homebrew Channel. Specifically, the plaintiff is upset about losing the ability to use a program that would unlock the character Rosalina in Mario Kart Wii. Ordinarily, a player would need to have a Super Mario Galaxy save file on the system in order to unlock that character.
Cause of action? The gamer — and I use that term very generously, considering we’re talking about somebody who loves the Wii — says that Nintendo is ruining his pursuit of happiness.
Details after the jump.
Continue reading “Lawsuit of the Day: Friendless Man Sues Nintendo”
Haynes and Boone deferred its incoming first-year associates to November 30. First-years at the firm will be happy to know that the firm is keeping its promise and they will be starting just after Thanksgiving.
But they won’t be starting at full salary. Incoming associates got the news on Friday. An angry tipster let us know the news:
I’m an incoming first -ear at Haynes and Boone in Texas. We start on the 30th and just got an email saying our salaries will be $145k. This is the first time any of us even knew the firm was considering cutting salaries, and they did it with a bull**** email. So much for being committed to competing with other Texas firms.
But there is a chance that incoming first-years will be paid on a $145K scale for only a month. Above the Law reached out to spokespeople for Haynes and Boone, and they told us that the salary scale for 2010 has not yet been set.
So salaries could be going back up, if that’s where the Texas market settles.
There are actually a couple of interesting things Haynes is doing with its incoming class for their first month on the job.
Continue reading “Nationwide (Possibly Temporary) Salary Cut Watch: Haynes and Boone”
Ed. Note: This is actually a list on out-of-state enrollment at public universities. It’s not law school specific (as I had initially thought). I still think it’s interesting to look at which schools have more out of state pull, so I’m leaving it up.
We’ve been documenting the struggles at the University of California system as it tried to push through tuition hikes. I’ve argued that out-of-state students should think twice before crossing state lines to go to law school in California.
But it looks like they don’t need my advice. Tax Prof Blog reports:
U.S. News & World Report has published a ranking of the public universities in its 2010 ranking of the Best National Universities by the percentage of out-of-state students in the freshman class that entered in Fall 2008.
The list of public schools with less than ten percent out-of-state students is full of U.C. Schools.
After the jump, it’s time for a chart.
Continue reading “The State Schools That Make Out-of-State Students Stay Away”
When talking about instances of normal people exhibiting superhuman strength and bravery, the most common example is the mother who lifts a car when her child is trapped beneath it, thanks to an adrenaline rush. It seems that law school students are similarly inspired by threats to their laptops.
Thomas M. Cooley 3L Shady Yassin was studying at a coffee shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan last week. A would-be robber walked in with a hunting rifle, according to the Grand Rapid Press, and demanded that all the patrons give him their laptops and valuables.
That’s when Yassin morphed into a coffeehouse superhero. Like a former Law Student of the Day, Arizona State’s Alex Botsios, Yassin decided to fight off the laptop-stealing villain.
Continue reading “Law Student of the Day: Shady Yassin”
The New York Law Journal is reporting that 2009 revenue numbers are going to be ugly.
New York law firms experienced a 9 percent drop in revenue through the third quarter, according to a new survey.
The data, gathered by the Wachovia Legal Specialty Group, also showed that net income at law firms based in New York was down 4.9 percent through September, compared to the same period a year ago.
Do these numbers help explain the 50% drop in associate bonuses?
Firms might be making less money, but at least lawyers are working fewer hours.
Continue reading “Reading the Revenue Writing on the Wall”
* New law prohibits genetic discrimination. [Los Angeles Times]
* Paralyzed UC Davis law grad Sara Granda, who fought to take the California bar exam, among those who passed on Friday. [Associated Press]
* The problem of monitoring sex offenders. [Washington Post]
* The path is cleared for the health care debate to make its way into the Senate. [New York Times]
* Is marijuana legalization a possibility in the not-so distant future? [Washington Post]
We received this info last night, from several readers in attendance. One of them wrote:
For the patent nerds out there, including me, Chief Judge Paul R. Michel of the Federal Circuit is retiring effective May 31, 2010. Just personally announced it at the FCBA annual dinner. Sent his resignation letter to Obama this morning.
Why is Chief Judge Michel stepping down? Is it due to inadequate judicial pay?
Apparently not, according to our source:
[H]e said he’s motivated to retire instead of moving to senior judge status because he hates the muzzle that comes with being an Article III judge. He wants to lobby. He feels pretty strongly that certain parts of the pending patent reform act are outrageous.
Read more at Patently-O and the BLT (links below).
Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul Michel Announces that he is Leaving the Bench [Patently-O]
Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul Michel Announces Retirement [The BLT: Blog of the Legal Times]
Yesterday I had the quintessential New York City moment. At the bodega around the corner from Breaking Media’s lavish Nolita office, the bodega’s proprietor engaged me and two other people in a conversation involving three languages. I was speaking English, another guy was speaking Spanish, and I believe the third woman was speaking Portuguese, and the bodega owner was talking to all of us and translating where necessary.
I love this town!
I would have loved this conversation if we had been talking about dog poop. But instead the four of us were talking about a lawsuit that New Yorkers have been buzzing about all day. The cover story in yesterday’s Daily News involves a pretty lady (pictured) suing her co-op board:
Christina Ambers, once dubbed the “Heidi Klum of foot models,” says a romance with her porter-turned-husband, Angel Rotger, turned her into a pariah among workers at 340 E. 74th St., who made her hail taxis and retrieve packages on her own.
“I hope that people can understand how awful it is to come home and to then be treated with hostility in a building where I have paid a lot of money to live,” Ambers told the Daily News. “Nobody should have to live this way.”
Oh, to live on the Upper East Side — as I do — is to know the true definition of pettiness.
At the bodega, I made the mistake of telling my interlocutors that I “write a legal blog.” At that point, the bodega owner, the construction worker who speaks Spanish, and the Brazilian nanny had all kinds of legal questions.
Details about the suit and the street-level reaction, after the jump.
Continue reading “Lawsuit of the Day: Hand Model Sues Meanies on Co-Op Board”
Californian bar takers are hoping to have something to be thankful for next Thursday. They get their bar exam results today at 6 p.m. PST.
Results are available to bar takers tonight and to the general public on Sunday at 6 a.m. PST.
Says one tipster who is not too confident:
California Bar Results come out at 6:00 pm pst today… counting down the hours until I found out I failed….
Releasing results on a Friday is a great idea. It means that the successful can live it up and the not-so-successful can drink themselves into a sad stupor. And everyone can sleep it off on Saturday morning.
Here’s an open thread for those who want a place to comment while chugging.
July 2009 California Bar Examination Pass List [State Bar of California]
* Tom Daschle is going to DLA as an advisor, not for help with his taxes. [USA Today]
* Deloitte pays to make Parmalat go away. [Going Concern]
* Indiana Law Professor proposes shipping at-risk kids back to Africa. Oh, where to begin? [True/Slant]
* Is perfectionism a blessing or a curse? [What About Clients?]
* If it’s good enough for Yale Law, then it should be good enough for New York Law School. [Adjunct Law Prof Blog]
* It’s holiday sale time in Biglaw. [Young Lawyers Blog]
* Brick Breaker prowess doesn’t always translate into firm success. But when it does, it is awesome. [Litination]
* The ATL running group will be meeting tomorrow (Saturday) at 10 a.m., at the East River 6th Street track. All are welcome. [Above the Law]
Ed. note: Welcome to ATL’s first foray into serial fiction. “My Job Is Murder,” a mystery set in a D.C. appellate boutique, will appear one chapter at a time, M-W-F, over the next few weeks. Prior installments appear here; please read them first.
Susanna Dokupil can be reached by email at sdokupil@sbcglobal.net or on Facebook.
Katarina grabbed her oversized purse and tossed a long red scarf around her neck. Tyler noticed a copy of Atlas Shrugged peeking out of it. Alignment: Libertarian. And geeky. Only true bookworms manage to slog through all 1000+-pages of Ayn Rand’s magnum opus.
“So what kind of law do you want to practice?” Tyler asked as they walked. He groaned inwardly for asking such a stock question.
“Litigation, probably appellate,” she replied. “I’m especially interested in constitutional questions.”
Tyler sensed a liberal arts background and good grades in law school. “And what was your college major?”
“Archaeology. I have my master’s degree in Near Eastern Art and Archaeology from the University of Chicago.”
Precisely, thought Tyler.
Continue reading “My Job Is Murder: Of Sushi and Succubi”
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com.
ATL,
“I’m a law student with a record. Larceny by trick, we’ll call it. It happened a while ago. I have reasonable assurances from bar members in my state and my law school that if I disclose and explain (and obviously, don’t mess up again) that I will pass the character & fitness exam.
But does it matter? When I got to law school, I thought I’d be able to get a job. Almost three years later, there are no jobs. Is there any point for a guy in my position to even apply to Biglaw firms? My grades are good enough to get Biglaw, but will they just ignore me because of my past?”
Been Caught Stealing
Dear Been Caught Stealing,
I always wondered what became of the cool rich kids from my high school who smashed in people’s mailboxes and raced away in their Jettas to funnel beer in their parents’ basements. If Facebook is to be believed, they’ve traded in terrorizing friendless ninth grade transfer students with clear braces and an unfortunate Sun-In situation for wildly successful careers and loving relationships. And evidently, some of them become lawyers.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: the market for lawyers is a piece of garbage. But as long as you pass character and fitness, you’re in the same position as hordes of other unemployed recent grads. People usually don’t list “criminal” under their resume work experience; they wait until they’re filling out forms at the interview or they’re accepting the job to reveal their checkered past. It’s called “bait and switch,” which you’re probably familiar with. Because you’re a criminal. And that’s how you roll.
I think the world of Biglaw is closed to you for the moment. There is no reason that a swank firm would take someone with a record when they can easily get 300 other people without one to fill the spot. You’ll have better luck in smaller firms where the people are kinder and went to worse schools. Or try PI, where you’ll work amongst your brethren.
I hope this helps.
Your friend,
Marin
Continue reading “Pls Hndle Thx: To Catch a Thief”
The bonus news is coming fast and furious today. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is trying to nail down the market at the Cravath level. Multiple tipsters sent in the STB bonus announcement and the firm is following Cravath at all class levels.
Regular Above the Law readers will note that there is absolutely no surprise about Simpson’s bonus. Last year at around this time — when there was still a clear separation between Skadden’s bonus and Cravath’s bonus — Simpson rushed in to follow Cravath.
Given that history, we don’t know a lot of people that expected Simpson to do anything other than follow Cravath. Long gone are the days when Simpson led the charge to $160K.
But don’t forget about Sullivan & Cromwell. The firm’s had a good year, and with all of its competitors falling in line behind Cravath, they could get some real market separation here with a bonus that is still smaller than what they paid out last year.
What a fun Friday. I wonder if anybody else will rush out a bonus announcement before five o’clock? I’m going to need another Red Bull.
Read the STB bonus memo, after the jump.
Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Falls in Line”
Seyfarth Shaw is set to become the latest firm to flip its incoming associates the Bird. A very angry tipster reports:
[Seyfarth] just deferred all incoming associates to October 2010 with only $2000/month as a stipend beginning on our former start date of January 19, 2010! It’s a joke … we know for a fact that they were busy and could have afforded us. It is a firm managed by horrible, greedy, selfish individuals … This is amusing, in light of the fact that the firm turned a profit last year …
We would like to warn anyone considering accepting an offer from the firm to STAY AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is particularly disconcerting for those of us who turned down offers from Biglaw in favor of a firm that apparently “cared soooo much” about us. Go Vault or go home.
Whoa, tell us what you really think. You have to wonder if these deferred incoming associates will come up with any fun banners about their would-be employer.
As angry as the deferred incoming associates appear to be, it is not at all clear that Seyfarth could have afforded to bring on a new class of people at this time. In addition to telling the incoming associates to wait for almost another year, today the firm announced that it was cutting first year associate salaries.
Details and a statement from Seyfarth, after the jump.
Continue reading “Seyfarth Shaw: Salary Cuts and Deferral Extensions, Oh My”
Earlier this month, we asked you if holiday parties were still on this year. Many people said that they were, albeit more subdued than the halcyon days of yore.
But one deferred associate had this question:
Aside from the question of which firms may be abandoning their holiday parties this year, it would be interesting to see which firms are inviting their deferred associates. As of now I don’t think the firm that deferred me is …
You know, it never occurred to me that firms would invite deferred associates the holiday party. At first blush, the idea sounds ludicrous. Why would they invite people who are not employees to the employee party?
I’m willing to bet that it never occurred to most firms either. But remember, deferring incoming associates is a completely new thing. There are no rules for this stuff; the legal industry is making it up as it goes along.
So, as long as we are setting new standards here, why shouldn’t a firm invite deferred associates to the party?
A discussion and a reader poll after the jump.
Continue reading “Holiday Party Invites: Are Deferred Associates on the List?”
Bonus season is now in full swing. Sources report that Willkie Farr has announced bonuses that match the Cravath scale.
Here’s the breakdown:
From: The Executive Committee
To: ASSOCIATES – NY; ASSOCIATES – DC
Cc: PARTNERS – FIRMWIDE
Sent: Fri Nov 20 11:11:01 2009
Subject: 2009 Associate Bonuses
The Executive Committee is pleased to announce the following year-end bonuses for associates:
Class of 2008: $7,500
Class of 2007: $10,000
Class of 2006: $15,000
Class of 2005: $20,000
Class of 2004: $25,000
Class of 2003: $30,000
Class of 2002 and senior: $30,000
Bonuses will be paid on December 18, 2009, consistent with our customary practices. The Firm greatly appreciates the efforts of our associates over the course of the year.
Don’t feel bad, guys; there are a lot of great things you can do with $7,500.
More on Willkie’s bonuses after the jump.
Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Willkie Matches Cravath and Full-Cravath”
Ed. note: ATL has teamed up with FantasySCOTUS, the premier Supreme Court fantasy league. (For more background, check out this WSJ Law Blog post.) On Fridays, the 10th Justice will analyze league voting to predict how the Supreme Court may decide upcoming cases. This is the 10th Justice’s first post on ATL.
Welcome to the first installment of Predictions of the 10th Justice, brought to you by FantasySCOTUS.net. The league has over 1,300 members, who have made predictions on all cases currently pending before the Supreme Court. In this feature, we analyze these predictions, and try to explain how the Supreme Court will resolve top cases.
The first case we’ll look at is Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, commonly known as the Hillary Movie case. This case is a showdown between free speech and campaign finance laws.
Continue reading “Fantasy SCOTUS: Predictions for Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission“
