November 2009

Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks, which has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker. It was pretty hard to miss this week’s big news: unemployment crashed through the 10% barrier, hitting 10.2% in October – the highest level since […]

* Congratulations to Marc Randazza, ATL’s counsel in Jones v. Minkin, on another successful representation. [The Legal Satyricon] * Speaking of free speech, is a college acting unconstitutionally by banning so-called “empty-holster protests”? [Courthouse News Service] * Maryland bar exam results are out. Congrats to all who passed! [Maryland State Board of Law Examiners] * […]

Associates at Cleary Gottlieb may not be starting their weekends on a happy note. But for legal secretary Kathy Henry, the weekend is off to a very good start. Judge vacates $1.26B ruling against PepsiCo[Associated Press] Earlier: Legal Secretary of the Day: Pepsi’s $1.26 Billion Mistake

We have confirmed the news of a Cravath bonus match with multiple sources at Cleary Gottlieb. One exchange went something like this: ATL: Any good news today? CGSH: No. Cravath news. Bonus FAIL. So the 2009 bonus market is probably going to coalesce around the Cravath-level bonuses — unless S&C shows up and trumps CSM. […]

As we mentioned earlier this week, Steve Sanders — a fourth-year associate at Mayer Brown, no relation to the 90210 character — argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. When we emailed him on Wednesday to set up an interview, we received this rather straightforward Out of Office message: I’ll be traveling on client […]

Damian Bonazzoli is a senior staff attorney for the Massachusetts Appeals Court. According to the ABA Journal, he likely makes a five-figure salary. Apparently that wasn’t enough money for him. His entrepreneurial side business got him caught up in a journalist’s term-paper-trafficking sting operation. Colman Herman wrote a piece for Commonwealth magazine exploring the “shadowy […]

As expected, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner easily won our October Couple of the Month poll. You can read all about Ivanka’s newlywed bliss here, here, and here (she’s already “gadding about the city ringless.”) Now we plummet back to earth to turn the LEWW spotlight on more ordinary folk. This week’s contestant-couples: 1. Lisa […]

We have reported on the proposed merger of Southern New England School of Law with the University of Massachusetts, which would bring the first public law school to the state. At the time, I wrote: I mean no offense by this, but isn’t the Southern New England School of Law not a very good law […]

The Houston Press has written an exposé on the kind of lawyer that makes drunk Texans proud. DWI specialist Tyler Flood is revealed in all his glory as the Press discusses why he is so skilled at helping drunk drivers in their time of need: “Listen, most of the people we get off are intoxicated. […]

When ex-associates sue their former firms, a fun time is had by all — with the possible exception of the litigants. Dirty laundry is aired, often for the amusement of onlookers. Here are some classics: Aaron Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell (gay associate who accused partner of directing him to “bend over”); Jennifer Braude v. […]

Back in July, Orrick told people exactly what it was going to do regarding recruiting for its 2010 summer program. Here is the crucial part of Orrick’s July announcement: [W]e believe it would be irresponsible to recruit a class for the summer of 2010 – a class that would normally join us in late 2011 […]

* Unemployment hits 10.2%. I think it’s time to start throwing rotten food around at somebody. [New York Times] * Does Bernard Kerik’s guilty plea end Rudy Giuliani’s nightmare? [Huffington Post] * Dallas = not racist. [Courthouse News Service] * Doesn’t anybody respect attorney-client privilege anymore? This isn’t ‘Nam. There are rules. [Am Law Daily] […]

The influx of law students into the profession — and the deflationary pressure they bring to legal salaries — just can’t be stopped. There are too many prospective law students. And they aren’t listening to reason. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes, drums… drums in the deep. […]

* Did I miss the part where beating your wife became a civil right? [Double X] * The Anonymous Lawyer opines on Biglaw bonuses. [WSJ Law Blog] * Justice Antonin Scalia will be speaking at Ohio State. Any chance he’s looking for clerks? [Moritz College of Law] * Stealing court documents in plain sight. [The […]

Today the winners of Lawyer of the Day honors are obvious. Congratulations to Arthur Cutillo, Michael Kimelman, and Jason Goldbfarb, three attorneys who stand accused of involvement in the infamous Galleon Group insider trading scheme. Both Cutillo and Kimelman have distinguished pedigrees, with ties to two top firms. Cutillo (left), a holder of an M.S. […]

Have you noticed that whenever there is a story about the long-term future of associate salaries, there is always a quote from somebody at Altman Weil, the law firm consultancy? And have you noticed that their quotes are often advocating deep cuts in associate pay? The latest example of this curious phenomenon appears in the […]

It’s been a tough day at Goodwin Procter. Multiple tipsters report that the firm is laying off both attorneys and staff today. One source reported on the human toll of losing your job: [L]awyers were just laid off this morning at Goodwin Procter in Boston. There are both men and women crying in the halls. […]

Congratulations to everyone who passed the New York bar exam. To those who did not pass, we wish you good luck if and when you take it again. As we noted last night, results were scheduled to be made available to exam takers today and to the general public tomorrow. But it seems that the […]

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. This column is a continuation from last week’s, which you […]

Lately, Big Law firms have been changing their salary structures more often than associates can keep up with. With an increasing number of firms abandoning lockstep compensation, associates have been left in the dark about what compensation levels actually are. This week, our ATL / Lateral Link survey asks for your help to track the […]