February 2010
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In-House Counsel, Insider Trading, Suicide
In-House Counseling: When the Emptiness Swallows You Whole
Ed. note: This post is written by Will Meyerhofer, a Biglaw attorney turned psychotherapist, whom we profiled last week. A former Sullivan & Cromwell associate, he holds degrees from Harvard, NYU Law, and The Hunter College School of Social Work. He blogs at The People’s Therapist. Last October, a law school placement director friend of […]
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Advertising, Biglaw, Bonuses, Career Center, Clerkships, Job Survey, Money, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: Clerkship Survey Results
Our recent Career Center survey asked about whether the recession has affected clerkship bonuses and law firm hiring of clerks. Of respondents at law firms, a slight majority — 57% — indicated that their firms are not interviewing judicial clerks for Fall 2010 positions. Of respondents who are currently clerking, only 30% indicated that they […]
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INNOVATION IN ENTRY LEVEL RECRUITING
We’ve all heard how dysfunctional entry-level legal recruiting is: Inordinate expense, decisions made on the briefest of subjective impressions with opacity all around, and what do firms reap for all their efforts? Shocking attrition rates among junior associates. It’s time for a conference on what could work better, and this is it.
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Musical Chairs: White & Case Regroups After Latham Raid
Earlier this month, we wrote about the departure of over a dozen partners from White & Case to Latham & Watkins (which is once again in expansion mode). These defections took place mainly in London and the Middle East, outside our usual geographic focus; but they were sizable and dramatic, and therefore worth covering. Am […]
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Election Law, Law Schools, Politics
Special Election in Massachusetts Redux
Massachusetts had another special election this week, though on a smaller scale than the Scott Brown — Martha Coakley Senate race of last month. A member of the Law Student Association (LSA) at Boston College Law School stepped down unexpectedly this month. Polls were open on Monday and Tuesday to elect a new member of […]
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* There are domestic violence issues in same-sex marriage too. Oregon assistant attorney general Susan R. Gerber attacks her wife after being accused of having an affair. [The Oregonian] * Years of serving under Judge of the Day Hall of Famer Elizabeth Halverson may have broken her bailiff. Johnnie Jordan has gone from rubbing Halverson’s […]
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* If a case involving a state’s attempt to secede from the Union comes before the Supreme Court, will Justice Scalia have to recuse himself? (Or: how to become pen pals with Nino.) [New York Personal Injury Law Blog] * Prisoners sue states all the time. But this time, the state — to wit, Louisiana […]
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Boutique Law Firms, Quote of the Day, Solo Practitioners
Quote of the Day: Unless your niche was real estate…
The path to riches is through niches. – Law firm marketing consultant Stephen Fairley, on why “Little Law” is the largest and fastest-growing sector of the legal community.
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5th Circuit, Advertising, Food
‘Taste the Truthery.’
Fifth Circuit Stars in a Domino’s Ad.Ed. note: Gabe Acevedo, who covered LegalTech for Above the Law earlier this month, will be writing for these pages about legal technology. Recently, Steven C. Bennett, the chair of Jones Day’s E-Discovery Committee, published an article [PDF] in the Northern Kentucky Law Review entitled “The Ethics of Legal Outsourcing.” In his article, Bennett relied […]
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Job of the Week: Better Hours, Better Culture, Better Future
Are you a junior to mid-level corporate/finance associate who has been contemplating a move to (or within) Washington, DC? In response to increased deal activity requiring “NY (or like-kind) trained” corporate associates, the Washington, DC corporate/finance market is experiencing an unusually high demand for your skills. Read more, and check out www.g-s.com.
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American Bar Association / ABA, Antitrust, Health Care / Medicine, Law Schools
Will an M.D. Soon Be as Worthless as a J.D.?
If a professional organization wants to protect the incomes and job opportunities of its members — and if it wants to ensure the quality of the services being provided, thereby preserving the profession’s reputation — it needs to exert some control over who enters the field. A professional association should arguably do whatever it can, […]
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A Reason Not To Respond To Rape Fantasy Ads on Craigslist
We’re big fans of Craigslist here at Above the Law, especially the ridiculous job postings and lawyerly missed connections. But the site has a dark side too. A “forced connection” in December has led two men to be charged with rape. Ty Oliver McDowell, a medical technologist, thought he was fulfilling a Wyoming woman’s “rape […]
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* Bloomberg files a lawsuit to crack the Fed’s secrecy. “It’s like what it was like 30 years ago. Back in the days when journalism was exciting — really exciting,” said Amanda Bennett, Bloomberg’s investigations editor. [New York Times] * Perhaps under pressure from Mike Ghaffary and his BarMax iPhone app, BarBri changes its policy. […]
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* Once again, First Amendment crusader Marc Randazza — who successfully represented Above the Law in Jones v. Minkin — comes to the defense of a besieged blogger. [Simple Justice] * Kevin Smith v. Southwest Airlines: the film director (pictured) and the airline duke it out in the court of public opinion, concerning Smith’s getting […]
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Health Care / Medicine, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: Too Much of a Good Thing?
We should worry about too many lawyers. – Dr. Robert M. D’Alessandri, president and dean of the new Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, responding to the suggestion that opening more medical schools might lead to a glut of doctors.
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Education / Schools, Kenneth Starr, Law School Deans, Law Schools
Musical Chairs: Ken Starr Stepping Down as Pepperdine Law Dean
We heart Kenneth Starr. Aside from his platinum-plated résumé — Supreme Court clerkship, D.C. Circuit judgeship, service as Solicitor General — Starr brought us the most entertaining political scandal ever: the Monica Lewinsky affair. Don’t you long for a return to the pre-9/11, pre-Iraq / Afghanistan War, pre-Great Recession days, when our nation’s greatest worry […]
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Nationwide Layoff Watch: Drinker Biddle
Last year witnessed a Valentine’s Day Massacre in the legal profession. Over 800 lawyers and staffers lost their jobs in the week leading up to V-Day. This year, the week before Valentine’s Day was comparatively full of sweetness and light — totally appropriate for the holiday of love. In fact, it looked like last week […]
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Happy Presidents Day. We’ll be on a reduced publication schedule today. (And Elie is on vacation this week.) * The KSM trial is forcing attorney general Eric Holder to adjust his “political antennae.” [New York Times and The New Yorker] * Law students like mock trials but don’t want to get involved in the real […]
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Admin, Announcements, Travel / Vacation
Vacation Memo: Elie’s Annual Winter Gambling Extravaganza
Last year at this time, I took a winter break to visit sunny Las Vegas. Everything went well until a drunk Irishman pushed all in with A-Q, against my A-K wired. He flopped a queen, two days’ worth of winnings evaporated, and I tried to commit suicide via the MGM Grand lion enclosure. This year, […]
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KINNEY’S EVAN JOWERS IN HONG KONG TODAY THROUGH MARCH 4
Kinney’s head of Asia recruiting, Evan Jowers, is in Hong Kong today through March 4 and has some slots still available for meetings on this trip. Please feel free to reach out to us at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com if you would like to set up a meeting with Evan. His next trip to Hong Kong will be in late March.
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National Institute for New Partners
If you are a new partner or are on the cusp of becoming a new partner, register today for the ABA’s National Institute on New Partners. Full day program on April 17, 2015 (in bold) in Washington, DC and includes 1.50 General CLE Credit Hours, 2.75 Ethics/Professionalism CLE Credit Hours.
