March 2010
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Grade Reform, Loyola Law School
Loyola Law School (L.A.) Retroactively Inflates Grades
We reported in November that Loyola Law School of Los Angeles was thinking about artificially raising grades. In response to the terrible economy, the school has acted on the proposal. Here’s the opening line of the message from Loyola Law Dean Victor Gold: Last week the faculty approved a proposal to modify the grading system. […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.31.10
* You know things are bad when people from Kentucky start suing the Church. [Gawker] * … Speaking of the Holy No-See; regardless of whether or not Pope Benedict XVI gets deposed, he’s ruined my Easter. [True/Slant] * A court found that the Bush administration illegally wiretapped two Americans. Only two? Is there a typo […] - Sponsored
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Clarence Thomas, SCOTUS, Solicitor General's Office, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
An Amusing Oral Argument: Justice Thomas Opens His Mouth, and Justice Sotomayor Struggles With Math
Sorry, we didn’t mean to get your hopes up (or maybe we did). The famously sphinx-like Justice Thomas did not ask a question at oral argument yesterday — but he did open his mouth and emit hearty laughs. From CNN: Sometimes the most complicated of cases at the Supreme Court brings out the best arguments. […]
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4th Circuit, Law Schools
Law Student of the Day: Duke 3L Stephen Rawson
Duke is having a good month. The Blue Devils are heading to the NCAA Final Four this weekend. (Sorry, haters.) And one of the school’s law students, 3L Stephen Rawson, argued before the Fourth Circuit last week. Like Duke in its Elite Eight game against Baylor, Rawson struggled early on. A few minutes into oral […] -
Quote of the Day, Summer Associates
Quote of the Day: Maybe It's More Like 'Survivor'?
It’s not American Idol. — Cravath presiding partner Evan Chesler, explaining that his firm makes offers to all (or almost all) of its summer associates, at a panel discussion today at NYU Law School. -
Hogan & Hartson, Law Firm Mergers, Layoffs, Lovells
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Lovells Makes Cuts Ahead of May Merger
Not everybody from Lovells will be jumping on the Ho-Love bandwagon this May. Legal Week reports that Lovells will close its Chicago office: Lovells is set to shut down its Chicago office by the end of October following a strategic and financial review of its business. The office, which has seven partners and 15 fee […] -
Secretaries / Administrative Assistants
Baker Hostetler Attorneys Accused of Aiding an African Bank Fortune Scammer
If someone told you they had a $14,500,000 inheritance from their father stuck in a bank account in Burkina Faso, you would likely laugh in their face and offer them some Viagra and a penis enlarger in exchange for a slice of the fortune. But what if they told you this while you were sitting […] -
Asians, Media and Journalism, New York Times
Don't Mess With Singapore
Readers of the New York Times may have noted an odd correction/apology in the paper last week: In 1994, Philip Bowring, a contributor to the International Herald Tribune’s op-ed page, agreed as part of an undertaking with the leaders of the government of Singapore that he would not say or imply that Prime Minister Lee […] - Sponsored
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Learn how emerging tools will likely change and enhance the work of lawyers for years to come in this new report. -
In-House Counsel
A Letter to the People's Therapist: Mental Health and the Bar
Ed. note: This post is written by Will Meyerhofer, a Biglaw attorney turned psychotherapist, whom we profiled. 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. The People’s Therapist received an interesting and important letter a few […] -
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
A quick word of thanks to this week’s advertisers on Above the Law: BarMax John Varvatos Kaplan PMBR Kinney Recruiting Lateral Link Lexis Nexis – Discovery Solutions Lexis Nexis – Law Firm Marketing Products Lexis Nexis – RLS Specialized Law Practical Law Company Race Suntrust 2010 PWM Legal Thomson Reuters USCL If you’re interested in […] -
Bad Ideas, Law Schools, Ridiculousness
Michigan Law Secret Society Openly Mocked
It’s been a while since we’ve had a good, hard laugh at the expense of Michigan law students. As the recession took hold, Michigan students stopped stealing sandwiches and cell phones. So maybe the latest spate of on-campus douchebaggery at Michigan is a sign that economy is picking back up? Or maybe it’s simply another […] -
Craigslist, Job Searches
Did You Go to Law School to Earn $12 an Hour?
In a cover story last year for Washingtonian magazine, on the subject of lawyer incomes, Kash and I posed a question: Are lawyers like white-collar auto workers? Answer: no. Autoworkers are better paid. Check out this latest job listing, from craigslist for Orange County: Full time associate attorney start at $12 an hour. Welcome to […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.31.10
* Obama signs the student loan overhaul into law. [New York Times] * It’s official: Andrew Giuliani’s lawsuit against Duke, for kicking him off the golf team, has been dismissed. (A magistrate judge previously recommended dismissal, in a humorous opinion.) [Durham Herald-Sun] * Billionaire Mark Cuban, represented by Dewey & LeBoeuf, takes the offensive against […]
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Animal Law, Pets
The Truth About Cats and Dogs: What's the Best Pet for Lawyers?
It’s hard to find someone to love who also loves you. It’s a lot easier to find an animal with which to establish a loving relationship. Just make sure it’s not too loving. Many lawyers are proud pet owners, bringing cats, dogs, small wolves, iguanas, and/or flying squirrels into their apartments and homes. Your ATL […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs 03.30.10
* I don’t think they’ll make a Fugitive type movie about this Boston guy accused of stealing video game code. “A one-armed man — with really spindly and dexterous fingers — took the code.” [Kotaku] * The distinctive plight of the overqualified unemployed. [The Atlantic Wire] * SCOTUS unanimously smacks down Chief Judge Easterbrook. [Conglomerate] […] -
Courtship Connection
ATL Courtship Connection: Date Crashers Edition
We’re a month into ATL Courtship Connection. So far, I’ve sent nine couples out on blind dates and learned that it’s better to match people according to their favorite law school class than by their ideal number of hours to bill per year. Women, if you voted for D.C. instead of NYC in our March […] -
Advertising, Parties, Shameless Plugs, Summer Associates, This Is an Ad
Practical Law Company and ATL Try To Save Your Summer
It’s a talk, it’s a party, it’s an opportunity for us to tell you how to increase your chances of landing an offer from your summer associateship. Save the date: April 13th, at Amity Hall. Your Above the Law editors will be heading to the Summer Associate Kick-Off Party, hosted by the Practical Law Company […] -
Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep, Salary Freeze
Nationwide Salary Watch: Morgan Lewis Raises Salaries
We have good news for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius associates. Salary information is in and most people are getting raises. True-up raises at that. The class of 2008 pulled the short straw, but everybody else seems relatively happy. A tipster reports: Please post that yesterday MLB essentially unfroze salaries (most ’08 grades only went up […] -
Art, Biglaw, Career Alternatives
ATL Field Trip: Playing With LEGOs on a Saturday
This past weekend, two of your ATL editors paid a visit to Agora Gallery in Chelsea. We wanted to see for ourselves the LEGO brick sculptures of Nathan Sawaya, the lawyer turned LEGO artist. As explained in our profile of Sawaya, the NYU Law grad left Winston & Strawn for a $30,000-a-year job as a […] -
Gay, SCOTUS
Gay Justice Could Be Coming
When I first read this headline on the ABA Journal this morning, I became very excited: Poll Finds 55% Would Support Openly Gay Justice Gay Justice? How awesome! Justice is way too straight. Basic black letter laws and stuffy proceedings. It’d be far more exciting and visually interesting if Lady Justice was a little bit […]