Archive for January 2010

This Week in Layoffs: 01.30.10

By Law Shucks

pink slip layoff notice Above the Law blog.jpgEd. 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.
We’re coming down to the wire on the Law Shucks Lateral Tracker launch promotion iPhone 3GS giveaway. Read the announcement and the rules, then get those submissions in by midnight January 31 for your chance to win the phone or the other prizes.
Initial jobless claims dropped slightly last week, to 470,000, which was slightly better than the previous week, but once again not in line with the expected 450,000. That actually caused the four-week moving average of initial claims to increase slightly, which isn’t usually a good sign.

But there may now be cause for guarded optimism. The US economy grew by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in six years. That spending was in infrastructure, not directly in jobs, but it could presage increased staffing. President Obama is hoping to spur that along with a one-year, $33 billion tax credit for small-business new hires and a payroll-tax reduction.

On the whole, though, the week in law-firm economic news was relatively good. Details after the jump.

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Justice Ginsburg’s Dozing During SOTU

By David Lat

Ruth Bader Ginsburg cancer surgery.jpgHere’s one talk that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg didn’t fall asleep during: her own, a conversation with Nina Totenberg at the 92nd Street Y on Thursday night.
We took note of the fact that RBG dozed off a bit during President Obama’s State of the Union address. As it turns out, Justice Ginsburg has an explanation.

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Morrison & Foerster: 50 Take Early Retirement Option

By Elie Mystal

Morrison Foerster MoFo Above the Law AboveTheLaw blog.jpgOccasionally we report about firms offering voluntary early retirement / buyout packages to their staff. For the most part, the programs haven’t been popular. It seems like staffers would just as soon take their chances at layoff roulette instead of voluntarily falling on their swords and slinking away into the night.
So a tipster’s report this morning really caught our eye:

50 employees at MOFO (don’t know the offices) just took an early retirement package.

Fifty? That doesn’t sound like an early retirement offer, it sounds like a Great Escape.
And it’s a true story. We have a statement from Morrison & Foerster after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 01.29.10

By Elie Mystal

Robert Joffe Bob Joffe Cravath Swaine Moore presiding partner.jpg* Robert Joffe (pictured), former presiding partner of Cravath, RIP. [WSJ Law Blog]
* You have to wonder if Justice Alito and the rest of the majority from Citizens United will get back at President Obama. If they want revenge, listening to Orly Taitz would be a good start. [The BLT: Blog of the Legal Times]
* But maybe the President should diffuse any lingering animosity between his office and the court with a “wine summit”? [Double X]
* Or the President could invite Alito to the Georgetown – Duke basketball game. [The Washington Scene]
* In other State of the Union news, did everybody notice that the President is on the student loan bailout bangwagon? [True/Slant]
* We know a thing or two about creepy law firm websites. But we’re always on the lookout for more. [Cracked]
* Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi’s baby daddy is said to be Adam Dell — a UT Law graduate and adjunct professor, and brother of billionaire Michael Dell. [New York Post]

  • 29 Jan 2010 at 4:52 PM
  • Gender

Lady Justice Does Not Have Enough Female Friends

By Kashmir Hill

more lady judges needed.jpgThe Center for Women in Government & Civil Society recently released a study [PDF] about female judges. Their main finding: there are not very many of them. (Duh.)

Looking at judgeships on both the federal and state level, women account for just 26% of all seats (5,015 seats), while men occupy 74%, or 14,335 seats.

The Center points out that the problem is not that there aren’t enough female lawyers: “Women make up 48% of law school graduates and 45% of law firm associates.” Update: As commenters point out, this doesn’t take into account the question of age. Perhaps “with time, this too will pass”?

Obviously, the answer is that men have the power and men suck. Or, as the Center more delicately puts it: “The gender gap cannot be attributed to the lack of women who are qualified to serve on the bench, but to the lack of opportunity and access afforded to women.”

The men in New Hampshire and Montana suck the most. And despite what Jersey Shore would lead you to believe, the men in New Jersey suck the least….

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FantasySCOTUS Predictions of the 10th Justice: How wise are the crowds?

By The 10th Justice

The Tenth Justice Fantasy SCOTUS League.jpgEd. note: ATL has teamed up with the 10th Justice to predict how the Supreme Court may decide upcoming cases. CNN has called FantasySCOTUS the “hottest new fantasy-league game.”
How many SCOTUS watchers does it take to accurately predict the outcome of a case? How large of a crowd do we need before the crowd becomes “wise”? The wisdom of the crowds considers the accuracy of the collective opinion of a group, which in many cases may be more reliable than the opinion of experts. In this column, the 10th Justice tests the theory of the wisdom of the crowds. Based on the accuracy of our predictions in Citizens United v. FEC, the landmark campaign finance reform case, we will develop levels of confidence to determine how reliable our predictions are for four of the most significant cases this term.

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Is Vinny of ‘The Jersey Shore’ Smarter Than You Are?

By David Lat

Vinny Guadagnino Vinnie Guadagnino law student law school lawyer.jpgAre you one of the 21 percent of law school students who, due to the changing legal job market, regret going to law school? If going to law school was a stupid decision decision for you, then congratulations — Vinny Guadagnino, the “self-confessed mama’s boy” of Jersey Shore fame, is smarter than you are.

We mentioned his recent interview with Us Magazine before, but in case you missed it — and, judging from all the emails we’ve been getting about it, it seems many of you did — let’s go over the highlights.

Like his undergraduate GPA — which is probably higher than yours….

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What Can You Do With a J.D.?

By Elie Mystal

There is an excellent new product on the market. A tipster reports:

A machine that turns your JD into something useful. Or, what to do with all those resumes “on file”. Or, the next cost cutting measure. So many possibilities…


Remember when K&L Gates decided to go with cheap toilet paper in their office bathrooms? Well, this seems like an elegant solution.
But I’m not sure that we’ll be seeing this device at Legal Tech next week.
Earlier: K&L Gates to Nickels and Dimes

Vinson & Elkins Raises & Bonuses: New York Happy, Texas Sad

By Elie Mystal

2009 Associate bonus watch above the law.JPGWe’ve got a tale of two states when it comes to the Vinson & Elkins bonus. The firm made true-up raises, putting their associates back at the top of the market for associate salaries. But the firm didn’t give out make-whole bonuses. For many associates, the money lost from a year of salary stasis is gone forever.
The surprising thing is that V&E New York associates seem to be much happier with the news than V&E Houston associates. Here’s what our New York sources tell us:

Vinson froze salaries at 2008 levels in May. But compensation memos were distributed this morning and salaries have been completely unfrozen. True-up, as you say. Added to that, we’re getting Cravath level bonuses.

Spokespeople for Vinson & Elkins confirmed the news: double-bump raises with Cravath bonuses.
But in Houston, that same story is playing out differently.

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Quote of the Day: One First (Time?) Street

By Kashmir Hill

The Roberts court has lost its virginity.


– Linda Greenhouse

WilmerHale’s Warm Welcome — for Conservatives

By David Lat

WilmerHale Wilmer Hale Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale Dorr AboveTheLaw Above the Law blog.jpgThis week brought good news from WilmerHale. The firm’s profits per partner climbed by approximately 7 percent last year, from $1.08 million in 2008 to $1.16 million in 2009, according to the National Law Journal.

The increase in PPP was driven, in part, by a dip in partner headcount (from about 330 in 2008 to 318 in 2009). Sometimes a decline in the number of partners is a bad thing, but not for WilmerHale. As co-managing partner William Perlstein explained to the NLJ, it was due in part to “at least a dozen” partners being recruited away by the Obama administration — a testament to the talents and connectedness of Wilmer lawyers.

WilmerHale has a long and distinguished history of sending its lawyers to top government jobs and then taking them back afterward, so the firm’s clients can benefit from expertise and connections developed while in the public sector. The firm boasts such all-stars as former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick and former Solicitor General Seth Waxman, who served in the Clinton Administration.

Due in large part to folks like Gorelick and Waxman, WilmerHale has long been recognized as a liberal legal powerhouse. This reputation was further burnished when numerous Wilmer lawyers took prominent positions in the White House Counsel’s office and the Department of Justice last January, after Barack Obama took office.

Despite its reputation as a left-leaning law firm, WilmerHale has also been assembling an impressive team of conservative legal talent, including notable alums of the Bush Administration. Some of these hires are quite recent. They include Carl Nichols, who joined the firm earlier this month after serving in high-ranking Justice Department positions, and Dan Gallagher, a former aide to Chris Cox at the SEC.

That’s right — conservative (or libertarian) lawyers, located squarely to the right of center, many of them card-carrying members of the Federalist Society and/or the Republican Party. At WilmerHale. We kid you not.

We name names, and interview WilmerHale partner Reginald Brown, after the jump.

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Job of the Week: Head South for the Winter (and Stay There)

By Above the Law

Thumbnail image for Job of the Week Lateral Link ATL logo.gifIf you’re in the northeast and not enjoying today’s frigid temperatures, consider the latest Job of the Week. It’s a position for someone who wants to head to Florida and help structure the estates of all those other people heading to Florida (aka the T&E jackpot). With fine white sand beaches, beautiful sunsets and pina coladas, who could ask for anything more?
Position: Trusts and Estates Attorney
Location: Sarasota, FL
Description: A prestigious Florida firm is looking for a Trusts and Estates attorney with 3-5 years experience drafting estate plans in Florida. Interested candidates must be a member of the Florida Bar, and must have an LL.M. in Tax or Estate Planning. Experience with Form 706 Estate Tax returns is required, and the ability to handle probate administration is also a plus. This firm is looking for someone who is community oriented, a team player and a good personality fit for the firm’s sophisticated Estate Planning practice group.
If you are interested in this position, please contact Scott Hodes, the newest member of the Lateral Link team, at shodes@laterallink.com. Scott handles attorney placement for the Florida market.
Lateral Link is actively hiring additional attorney recruiters with prior recruiting experience. If you are qualified and interested, please contact Michael Allen at mallen@laterallink.com.
Earlier: Prior Job of the Week listings

Hard-Hitting Term Paper Exposé Costs Appellate Law Clerk His Job

By Kashmir Hill

Damian Bonazzoli.JPGIn November, we told you about Damian Bonazzoli, who was — at that time — a senior staff attorney for the Massachusetts Appeals Court. He decided to make some money on the side by responding to a Craigslist ad seeking someone to write a term paper.
The Boston College law grad sent along his résumé and said he was willing to write a paper on physician-assisted suicide for $300. The Craigslist poster though was not a lazy Harvard freshman. It was an investigative journalist for Commonwealth magazine, who wanted to expose the “shadowy underworld” of college papers for purchase.
When the journalist confronted him, Bonazzoli was surely embarrassed but said:

“I am aware of no state or federal statute that prohibits such a practice. This is not the equivalent of, say, lying on a federal employment or tax form,” he said. “Could your school take disciplinary action? Of course. But that’s quite different from a criminal prosecution.”

Bonazzoli should have done some research before making that statement, as there is such a statute, passed in 1972.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court was none too pleased to have one of its staff attorneys on the wrong side of the law…

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Winstead: Rescinds Offers to Two Incoming Associates Just Days Before Their Start Date

By Elie Mystal

Winstead logo.JPGWe have a Nixon Peabody situation, deep in the heart of Texas. Winstead has decided to rescind offers to two of their incoming associates who were set to start on Monday.
It just goes to show, you don’t have a job until you are actually sitting at a desk, performing work. Paycheck or it didn’t happen.
Above the Law received the following statement from Winstead management:

Winstead hired 9 of the 11 law students that were deferred. A portion of the group started last September and the remainder start with the Firm on February 1, 2010. The facts and circumstances relating to the 2 deferred law students that are not starting with the Firm are confidential employment matters and it is not appropriate for us to discuss the details.

We were shocked when Nixon Peabody re-deferred incoming associates 20 days before they were scheduled to start. I don’t even know what to say about having your offer pulled two business days before you’re supposed to start working.

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Morning Docket: 01.29.10

By Elie Mystal

Khalid Sheik above the law.jpg* The Department of Justice is looking for places outside New York City to hold the Khalid Shaikh Mohammed terror circus/trial. Mayor Michael Bloomberg allowed facts to change his mind; that’s how we roll in the 2-1-2. [Newark Star Ledger]
* Kelley Drye allegedly hates old people. [New York Law Journal]
* Dear Toyota, you are so about to get sued. [ABA Journal]
* New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, is getting a lot of support from the real estate industry for his run for Governor. [New York Times]
* Eliot Spitzer talks about love. You should read it, it’s what happens when irony takes performance enhancing drugs. [New York Post]
* It’s Elie, it’s Morning Docket, it’s Friday. You know what that means? Let me express through music what I’d like to happen now that Ben Bernanke has secured a second term. [Wall Street Journal]

The Prop 8 Trial: A Recap

By David Lat

gay marriage grooms two men on wedding cake.jpgYesterday marked the end, at least for now, of the trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the high-profile case challenging Proposition 8′s ban on same-sex marriage in California. The trial unfolded over the past two and a half weeks in the San Francisco courtroom of Chief Judge Vaughn Walker (N.D. Cal.), who is hearing the case (without a jury).
How did it go? Who obtained the upper hand? Who will prevail when Judge Walker, after hearing closing statements in a few weeks, issues his ruling?
You tell us. Vote in our predictive poll. Let’s see what kind of wisdom can be found in crowds.
Some trial highlights and additional links, also after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 01.28.10

By Elie Mystal

NAMBLA Men should be castrated.JPG* The IRS claims that an organization devoted to changing the laws pertaining to sex with children can’t be called a “charity.” I wonder if this mean I can get an exemption for my counter organization, the Foundation United for the Castration of Kiddie-rapists. [Going Concern]
* Has the ABA helped the cause of legal education since the 1996 DOJ consent decree ABA President Carolyn Lamm mentioned yesterday? [Marquette Law School Faculty Blog]
* The iPad might have some IP problems. But not from Kotex. [WSJ Law Blog]
* The right makeup for the killer interview. [Corporette]
* Friends don’t let friends go to law school. [Law.com]
* Minority enrollment in law schools is down, even though the test scores for minority applicants are up. Actually, I think this might be a good thing and not racist at all. No, really. [Legal Broadcast Network]
* Bob Ambrogi has decided to hang up his blogging boots. Good luck, Bob. Your writing style and excellent judgment on story selection will be missed. [Legal Blog Watch]
* The Law Shucks “Lateral Tracker” contest is almost over. [Law Shucks]

  • 28 Jan 2010 at 4:42 PM
  • K&L Gates

K&L Gates Guilty of Overlawyering

By Kashmir Hill

KL Gates logo.JPGOne of our Biglaw friends told us a story of being on a call with a client and being told in advance by the partner not to say a word. It was not out of a fear that said associate would say something stupid, but because the partner didn’t want the client to think about how many lawyers were working on the case.
But when clients get their bills, they do usually take note of how many associates are working for them. These days, with everyone tightening their belts, clients sometimes get annoyed — or worse — when they have a whole football team of associates playing defense.
A family in Massachusetts objected to the number of K&L Gates players on its team working on a probate case when the firm’s bill came to almost the same amount as the probate estate in question. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week that K&L Gates’s $800,000 bill for defending a $1.2 million probate estate was for a whole lot of “unnecessary lawyering.”
From the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Docket:

In a ruling in In the Matter of the Estate of Bartley J. King, released today, Justice Margot Botsford wrote for a unanimous court that “a total of eighteen attorneys and paralegals were representing [the client], a remarkable number especially when one takes into account the motion judge’s view that the theories advanced by the contestants were not ‘overly complex.’”

Ouch. Overlawyered in body count, but underlawyered in brain power…

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SCOTUS Retirement Watch? Zzzzzz…

By Kashmir Hill

Justice Alito was barely able to contain himself during Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech. Justice Ginsburg, on the other hand, was barely able to stay awake:

For Obama, a polite State of the Union [Washington Post]
Earlier: SCOTUS Slammed at SOTU
Breaking: Justice Ginsburg Hospitalized (Again), But Released
Ginsburg Falls Asleep: Media Pretend Not to Notice [News Busters]

Who Dat Sey Dey Own Dat Chant?

By Elie Mystal

Who Dat chips.JPGBack when I used to practice law, I had the opportunity to do some low-level IP work for the National Football League. As Biglaw work goes, it was pretty fun. And I remember the staff lawyers at the NFL as a very nice and engaging group of men and women.
But sometimes, the IP gurus at the NFL really know how to act like an immense turd in a punch (super) bowl. Remember when the NFL cracked down on the “unlicensed” use of the term Super Bowl? Then there’s the NFL’s ongoing ridiculousness with American Needle. For the overlords of a sport that claims to be “America’s passion,” the NFL has a curious way of crushing the life out of anything that could even slightly siphon a dollar away from their clever system of unlimited revenue potential and fixed labor costs.
But the latest example of the NFL blitzing small entrepreneurs is arguably more ridiculous than everything that has come before. The NFL is claiming ownership over the phrase “Who Dat.” According to WWLTV in Louisiana, the NFL wants to own a chant:

As the Saints’ appearance in their first Super Bowl gets closer, the marketplace is being flooded with Saints merchandise and memorabilia as businesses are looking to cash in on the euphoria, but the NFL is cracking down on the use of their trademarks, including the iconic phrase “Who Dat.”

For those who haven’t had the pleasure of taking in a football game at the Superdome, the full chant goes: “Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?” So let’s be clear — the NFL claims it owns a chant of ungrammatical pidgin English that can’t even be pronounced properly without using a Bobby Boucher accent. The NFL doesn’t have what they call “the social skills.”
More details after the jump.

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