March 2010
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David Souter, Eyes of the Law, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court
The Eyes of the Law: Justices Souter and Sotomayor
Justice David H. Souter may be gone from the Supreme Court, but he has not been forgotten. He still gets recognized in public, for example. From an ATL reader in Beantown: After a day of toil for a client adamantly opposed to paying for nighttime cab rides home, I walked to Boston’s Park Street subway […] -
Job Searches, NALP, National Association for Law Placement (NALP)
Statistics About the Lost Generation
Breaking news from the land of totally obvious statistics: the class of 2009 got rogered, but good. The National Law Journal reports that the NALP numbers are out, and the statistics confirm what we all already know: The median number of offers by U.S. law firms for 2010 summer associate positions was seven, according to […] - 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. -
Craigslist, Sports
Will Bill Hours for Basketball
As Scott Van Pelt is fond of saying: “fear the turtle.” We all know that University of Maryland basketball fans are a strange bunch. Some might call them the red-headed stepchildren of the ACC. I prefer to think of them as a litmus test for how strong Duke and UNC are in a given year. […]
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Entertainment Law
Conan O'Brien and NBC Team Up For 'Justice'
Conan O’Brien and NBC parted ways in January. Despite rumors to the contrary, Conan’s attorneys — Patricia Glaser and Leigh Brecheen — told us that their client was pleased with his $32.5 million exit settlement with NBC. As Leno takes the helm at the Tonight Show, Conan is moving on. He’s joined Twitter, and he’s […] -
Admin, Advertising, Announcements, 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 George Mason University Harvard Business School Kinney Recruiting Lateral Link Lexis Nexis: Discovery Solutions Lexvid Smith & Wollensky Suntrust PWM Legal Thomson Reuters USCL Race If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or any other site in the Breaking […] -
In-House Counsel
In-House Counseling: Alone in a Crowd
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. Last week I did a first session with a typical client […] -
Associate Salaries
Katten: Why Can't You Set 2010 Salaries Already?
It’s March and Katten Muchin is coming into it like a very meek lamb. The firm froze salaries in 2009. So far in 2010, it has sent a series of memos trying to explain why it can’t get its act together. A tipster reports: You may recall that most associates had their salaries frozen and […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.03.10
* SCOTUS grapples with guns, hearing argument in McDonald v. Chicago. [Washington Post] * Meanwhile, three Seventh Circuit judges put themselves on the receiving end of lawyers’ questions, by taking the witness stand in the Hal Turner trial in Brooklyn. [How Appealing (linkwrap)] * Chief Justice John Roberts declines to stop gay marriage from coming […]
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Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Old People
Mandatory Retirement Age for Partners: An ATL Debate
The older generation of Biglaw partners is starting to see retirement staring them in the face. At firms that have a mandatory retirement age, getting old means getting out — forced out. This phenomenon is affecting some big-name attorneys. Word on the street (and in our comments) is that Bob Bennett left for Hogan & […] -
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell: A Wanted Woman
And this time not by designers for runway shows — by the NYPD. Read more (and comment) over at our sister site, Fashionista (link below). WANTED: Naomi Campbell [Fashionista] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.02.10
* Send your résumés to Bracewell & Giuliani. They have an opening for Master of Everything. [3 Geeks and a Law Blog] * K&L Gates helps an aide to David Paterson. I wonder how long until Paterson himself is seeking legal representation? [Business Insider] * The Second Amendment could be coming to a state near […] -
Admin, Media and Journalism, Shameless Plugs, Social Networking Websites
We're a Bunch of Tweeps
@OurReaders — we’re on Twitter. You can follow Above the Law at atlblog. There’s been no sign of the “fail whale” at Twitter in recent weeks, but here at ATL, we’re sure you’ve noticed our technical difficulties. We will use our Twitter feed to communicate with you when our site is down. But it’s not […] -
Law School Deans
Former Maryland Law Dean Will Return (Some) 'Questionable' Compensation
There’s an update in the continuing controversy over compensation paid to Karen Rothenberg, former dean of the University of Maryland School of Law. From the Baltimore Sun: The former dean of the University of Maryland School of Law has offered to repay $60,000 in compensation questioned by a state audit and is “deeply sorry over […]
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Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
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SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Law Student of the Day: Mike Sacks
Georgetown 3L Mike Sacks had a mission this semester. He wanted to be first in line for every major argument at the Supreme Court. He’s been documenting his adventures on his blog First One @ One First. This is made easier for him because he has no morning classes and lives on Capitol Hill, a […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Biglaw, Bonuses, Killing Lockstep, Money
Inside the Bingham McCutchen Bonus
When you step into the killing lockstep zone, your bonus disappears into a black box. A while back, we reported that Bingham McCutchen adopted a lockstep-merit hybrid approach to associate compensation. Base salary would still be lockstep, but the bonus would be merit-based. When we reported on the Bingham bonus, we noted that the firm […] -
Job Searches
Poor Little Harvard Law 3L
I went to a private high school (mainly because I needed a break from the constant beatings delivered to me at my public junior high school). Once I got to private school, I developed an intense, almost blinding hatred for the spoiled little rich girls that populated my new school. There is nothing more odious […] -
Ridiculousness
Legal Recruiter of the Day: A Name to Suit the Times
South Carolina-based Nexsen Pruet is currently recruiting summer associates. In better economic times, we would not find its legal recruiter’s name very noteworthy. But given the way the summer associate experience has changed — from a summer of pampered luxury to a running of the gauntlet for an offer — it caught our eye and […] -
Akin Gump, Biglaw, Email Scandals, Pranks
Departing with Flair
Have you had the privilege of voluntarily leaving your Biglaw job? I have, and let me tell you, the last day is a special kind of awesome. You kind of walk around, taking a survey of things you no longer have to deal with. Many of your friends and colleagues look at you with envy […] -
Hogan & Hartson, Morning Docket
Morning Docket 03.02.10
* One secret to happiness is to make your bed each morning, says Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project and one of The Elect. (She got Lat to reveal his secrets last year.) [New York Times] * Hogan & Hartson’s 38-lawyer Warsaw office is defecting to K&L Gates. [Blog of the Legal Times] * […]
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Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Divorce Train Wrecks, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Legal Ethics, Slideshows, Violence, White House Counsel
All You Ever Wanted to Know About John Michael Farren, The Ex-Bush Lawyer Charged With Attempted Murder Of His Skadden Counsel Wife
In January, a former Bush Administration lawyer was charged with attempted murder after allegedly strangling and beating his wife, a counsel at Skadden Arps. John Michael Farren, 57, served as deputy counsel to the president under President George W. Bush, as general counsel at Xerox Corp., and as Under Secretary of Commerce under President George […]