December 2009
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Email Scandals, Law Schools, Ridiculousness
Northwestern SBA Stays Silent, Others Plan Coup
On Friday, we told you that the Northwestern Law School Student Bar Association wanted people to watch their language come exam time. In a letter to all students, the SBA told the student body about the kind of language that would not be tolerated: Therefore, to be clear, saying things like “that’s so gay”, “that […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.07.09
* Hate blogger secures a mistrial. [ABA Journal] * I’ve always wondered what jobs, if any, narcoleptics are truly qualified for. I just can’t think of any job where it is okay to unexpectedly fall asleep. [Overlawyered] * More exam tips. [Underdog] * Sarbanes-Oxley had its day in court. [Going Concern] * Tiger Woods sets […] - Sponsored
Why Do AI And Legal Professionals Make The Perfect Partnership?
For many legal departments, generative AI is the technology they’ve been waiting for. -
Bar Exams, Legal Ethics, Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)
Another Round of MPRE Results
The latest Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) results are out. Here at Above the Law, I drew the short straw and have to write something about a test that is given roughly 8,000,000 times a year. What can one really say about a test that is a little easier than walking and chewing gum? Congratulations […]
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Asians, David Boies, Drinking, Gambling / Gaming, Marsha Berzon
Lawsuit of the Day: Watanabe v. Harrah's
We just returned from a very fun weekend in Las Vegas, where we watched a friend compete in the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon. Our friend was one of many lawyers in competition. He’s a prosecutor, but we also saw a public defender — her T-shirt said so — and possibly some lawyers from […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Litigators, My Job Is Murder
My Job Is Murder: Of Rooftops and Rumpuses
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. […] -
Lawsuit of the Day
If You Buy a Knock-Off Coach Bag, the Terrorists Win
Coach, which makes leatherware that I can’t afford, wants to make it harder for me to buy fake versions of their products. Apparently, when I purchase a fake bag, children die and the terrorists win. Our sister site Fashionista reports: According to the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, sales of fake goods cost retailers as much as […] -
Crime, Kids, Lawyer Advertising, Weirdness
Texas Criminal Defense Firm Can't Defend Its Photos
Right before the holidays, we wrote a heartwarming story about child porn and stumbled across the website of Lindeman, Alvarado & Frye, a Texas criminal defense firm with a variety of sexual crimes practice groups. We wrote an Adventures in Law Firm Advertising post about the firm because of its disturbing taste in stock photos. […] -
Federalist Society, Job Searches, Legal Ethics, Politics
Discriminating Against Conservatives in Law Firm Hiring:Is It Wrong?
That was the question posed in yesterday’s popular Ethicist column, in the New York Times. Here’s the question that a reader posed to columnist Randy Cohen: While interviewing law students for jobs as paid summer interns and full-time associates for my firm, I noticed several had résumés listing their activities in the Federalist Society. Some […] - Sponsored
AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
How solo lawyers, midsize firms, and global large law firms have an opportunity to adjust the way they work. -
Law Schools, Patriot Act, Politics
Brownie's New Heckuva Job
I always wondered where former FEMA director Michael Brown would end up. I imagined he would end up as a greeter at the Bush presidential library. You know, something that he is actually qualified to do. Instead, it appears the overmatched bureaucrat is taking his show to law school. No, not as a student, as […] -
Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Billing Rates Go Up, But Just Slightly
Associate salaries aren’t going up. If anything, we’re in a deflationary period regarding pay. But billing rates? Yeah, those are still going up. Just a little bit. The National Law Journal reports: Law firms increased their average annual firmwide billing rate by 2.5 percent over the last year, one of the lowest increases in recent […] -
Deferral Stipend, Start Dates
Mayer Brown Re-Deferment: A December Surprise
Last Thursday, we asked you if deferred incoming associates were all set to start working. With a lot of associates scheduled to start in January, firms that extend the deferment in December might need a visit from Christmas ghosts. Well, a few incoming associates received a large “bah, humbug” from Mayer Brown. The firm is […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 12.07.09
* At least one 1L at Los Angeles’ Southwestern Law School has found employment. Jerry O’Connell’s decision to go to law school pays off! [Hollywood Reporter] * Che peccato. Amanda Knox found guilty of murdering her British study abroad roommate in Italy. [CNN] * Montana Senator Max Baucus is being raked over the coals for […]
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Law Shucks, Layoffs
This Week in Layoffs: 12.05.09
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. Huzzah! Unemployment is down this week. OK, we’re not that excited. It’s not easy to get excited about the unemployment rate being "only" 10%. Week […]
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Diving Into Generative AI: A Practical Guide For Law Firms Starting From Scratch
NetDocuments’ Michelle Spencer on where to start, what to ask, and considerations for implementing generative AI tools in your organization.
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Law Firms Now Have A Choice In Their Document Comparison Software
Six months on since its launch, over 200 firms worldwide are now using Draftable Legal for accurate and reliable document comparison, including UK Top 50…
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AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
How solo lawyers, midsize firms, and global large law firms have an opportunity to adjust the way they work.
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Gain An Instant Understanding Of New Complaints With LexisNexis Snapshot
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Why Do AI And Legal Professionals Make The Perfect Partnership?
For many legal departments, generative AI is the technology they’ve been waiting for.
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Gay, Law Schools, Minority Issues, Politics, Rudeness, Women's Issues
The PC Police Ride Strong at Northwestern
It’s exam time. As we all know, stressed out law students tend to have colorful phrases about difficult exams. There’s a common, sometimes sexually charged vernacular. “That exam raped me,” or “I made property my bitch,” are things you’re likely to hear on campus around this time. Well, the Student Bar Association at Northwestern University […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.04.09
* Incentives to donate your hunted meat. [Tax Prof Blog] * Somebody is going to sue the Biggest Loser, right? [Legal Blog Watch] * Charlie Rangel is kind of a disaster. [Going Concern] * Is law still a “white man’s game”? [Law and More] * Denying cert. [Courtoons] * How many lawyers do you need […] -
Anthony Kennedy, Fantasy SCOTUS, SCOTUS
FantasySCOTUS.net Predictions of the 10th Justice: Forecasting the Swing Vote of Justice Kennedy.
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. Welcome to the second installment of Predictions of the 10th Justice, brought […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Crime, Litigators, My Job Is Murder
My Job Is Murder: Of Legends and Legerdemain
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. […] -
Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Salary Freeze
Open Thread: Salary Thaw? Anybody?
On Wednesday, we reported that Patton Boggs was keeping its salary freeze in place. In November, we told you that Covington & Burling was instituting a salary freeze, even though the firm didn’t do it last year. But the news coming out of D.C. isn’t putting a damper on the holiday hopefulness of some New […] -
Celebrities, Gay, Pornography, Sarah Palin
A Contracts Exam Hypothetical: Review Levi Johnston's Gay Porn Offer Letter
As tout le monde knows, Levi Johnston — the Alaskan hunk who fathered Sarah Palin’s grandchild, and who came thisclose to becoming the Republican VP nominee’s son-in-law — recently posed for Playgirl. To the disappointment of many, he refrained from full-frontal nudity (but did bare his bum for the cameras). To check out the pics, […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009
Associate Bonus Watch: Paul Weiss Follows SullCrom's Lead
Last year, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison based its bonuses on the Cravath scale. This year, it has decided to buck Cravath and “upsize” to the Sullivan & Cromwell scale. That means seventh year associates get $5,000 more in their stockings than those at Cravath-scale firms. Associates at Paul Weiss got the bonus news […]