March 2010

There is a growing awareness on just how much the U.S. News law school rankings affect legal education in this country. Last fall, the Government Accounting Office reported that the rankings were a significant factor in the rising cost of legal education. Many have argued that the rankings create perverse incentives for law school deans. […]

Apparently, people who summered at Mayer Brown in 2009 and received an offer are still waiting to hear whether they will be able to start work in a timely manner. Two former MB summer associates and current NYU Law students decided to take matters into their own hands. They sent out an email to everybody […]

On Thursday morning, a criminal law professor at Georgetown University Law Center started his class with some startling news. He told his first-year law students that Supreme Court Justice John Roberts was planning to retire due to health concerns. He told his students that he could not reveal his sources but that the information was […]

Ed. 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.” Tom Goldstein predicted Justice Stevens will retire at the end of the term. He’s getting his own sitcom, so it must be true  And in honor […]

I previously mentioned that I would be participating in a poker tournament hosted by Caesars Palace Atlantic City and Stockings and Bonds. Breaking Media will stake one lucky reader in the tournament as well. But enough about you. Top prize is $30,000 and I want to win — I at least want to make it […]

* Is Obama ready to back down on a civilian trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? [Daily Beast] * Unemployment holds steady. [New York Times] * Anti-gay California State Senator caught leaving a gay bar. [True/Slant] * A Texas lawyer threatens to sue the airport where he lost his coat. [The Smoking Gun] * How to […]

* Who would take tax advice offered by one of the sorriest teams in professional sports? [Going Concern] * Kash opines: “Nowadays, if you’re not on Facebook, it’s possible you don’t actually exist.” Good point. But I don’t think Descartes needed a business card. [True/Slant] * Digital court makes me cry. [Lawyerist] * “Do you […]

Everyone is wondering: Where did that erroneous rumor of an imminent retirement by Chief Justice John Roberts come from? The gossip spread like wildfire, triggering thousands of texts, blog posts, and emails — a few hundred of them to the ATL tips line — before Radar, which first published the rumor, retracted its report. We […]

Everybody knows that the Charlotte legal market has taken a beating during the recession. But we didn’t know that it was so bad that the firms couldn’t afford to pay people. This tip comes in from Charlotte-centric Moore & Van Allen: Just passing along in case this warrants further investigation (i.e., if anyone still gives […]

Last fall, we wrote about the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program, which one reader of ours described as “a hidden, relatively-unexploited gem for graduating law students.” You can read the full post here. Some commenters, who already knew about the PMF program and the job opportunities it offers, were not happy with the exposure. A […]

Radar Online had an “exclusive” report today that Justice John Roberts planned to step down any minute. It spread like wildfire through the legal community. Huffington Post picked it up, noting that the justice has suffered seizures in the past. The chief justice is a vigorous 55, and has already hired his clerks for next […]

Over the weekend, I read an interesting article by Orrick partner Patricia Gillette about how law firms should rethink how and who they layoff in an economic downturn. Normally, when firms find themselves in a financial pinch, they immediately slash those that they consider most dispensable: the contract lawyers, part-time lawyers, and support staff that […]

You’re a lawyer? Please don’t kill yourself, the cab gets really messy. — My cab driver last night, after I explained what I used to do for a living.

There have been quite a few lawsuits filed by former law firm employees of late. Covington & Burling is fighting off Yolanda Young. Fried Frank is tussling with Julie Kamps. And law firm secretaries across the land are uniting in pursuit of their overtime. Law firms cutting back and performing layoffs tend to leave people […]

Tell us about your law firm experience and we’ll buy you a latte! Yep, that’s right, we are giving away a free tasty coffee beverage to every person who completes our Career Center Associate Experience Survey* (conditions apply). In case you are wondering, the survey is 75 mostly multiple choice questions and takes about 10 […]

Texas attorney Adam Reposa is not shy about singing his own praises. The man registered with the State Bar as “Bulletproof,” after all. He’s not jailproof, though. He was slapped with contempt of court charges for making the “jerk-off gesture” within sight of the judge, and sentenced to 90 days in prison. After we posted […]

* Good news: There’s going to be lots of in-house hiring. Bad news: It’ll probably lead to Biglaw firing. [Corporate Counsel] * Sounds like this guy was thinking with his cock instead of his noggin. [Courthouse News Service] * Liz Cheney attacks Eric Holder’s “Department of Jihad” for harboring terrorist sympathizers, i.e., attorneys who argued […]

We’ve mentioned this before — earlier today, in Morning Docket, and last night, on Twitter — but this story merits further discussion. It has been discussed extensively by various news outlets and blogs (links collected below). The most detailed account comes from the New York Law Journal: Three judges from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court […]

* There’s a chance that enforcing a mandatory retirement age would be illegal, so I again urge aging partners to exit “gracefully.” [Law and More] * Please spay or neuter any professional golfers you happen to live with. [Examiner] * Hardened terrorists v. American jurisprudence. [The DC] * Ana Gardiner is in the news again, […]

Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. Dear ATL, Like many 2009 grads, I’m jobless, but not workless. I started an unpaid internship for a local government in January. They’ve been giving me a full caseload (as much as they give other employed attorneys), but no indication that they’re […]