March 2010
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Judge of the Day, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: Shirley Strickland Saffold
When weighing in on cases, it’s best for judges to limit their opinions to their Opinions. They’ve been warned before to be careful on Facebook and on blogs they author. But the case of Ohio judge, Shirley Strickland Saffold, shows they should exercise caution with anonymous online commentary as well. An online commenter named “lawmiss” […] -
Here's One Job Brooklyn Law Students Are Definitely Qualified For
The Good Wife is one of the few legal dramas out there that is worth a damn. The writing is good, the situations are believable yet not so realistic as to be boring, and the acting is quality. The producers of the Good Wife brought their show to the campus of Brooklyn Law School this […] - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Hotties
Attractive People May or May Not Be Better Lawyers, But They Do Get Paid More
Earlier this month, your Above the Law editors had a little debate about whether attractive people make better lawyers. Apparently a couple of economists asked a similar question a decade ago. Jeff Biddle and Daniel Hamermesh published a paper in the Journal of Labor Economics in 1998 titled Beauty, Productivity, and Discrimination: Lawyers’ Looks and […]
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The PC Police Have Perfect Playground Jail
For two days now the New York Times has been all over a playground in Bedford-Stuyvesant. People have been very offended by one piece of equipment: [A]n orange jungle gym adorned with the word “Jail,” a cell door and prison bars has, six years after its installation, set off outrage in the neighborhood and the […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.26.10
* The state of Maryland and Perdue Chicken are ganging up on the University of Maryland Law School. [Baltimore Sun] * UConn sued for age discrimination against a 13-year-old. [Associated Press] * We have a deal for Ground Zero reconstruction! [Daily News] * What is the proper venue for lawsuits against Toyota? I don’t know, […]
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March Madness, March Madness 2010
ATL March Madness: Best City to Practice Law (Regional Finals). West and Midwest.
ATL’s competition to crown the best city to practice law continues. In the regional finals in the east and south, D.C. is dominating New York, and Dallas is doing away with Atlanta. Now it’s time for us to turn our sights westward. This round’s bouts will determine which city in flyover country is the best […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.25.10
* Watching porn on a television in your car could be a crime in New York. So, to be clear, SUVs are for ego masturbation, not the other kind. [Legal Blog Watch] * When I think of the NCAA, I don’t think of slavery. Serfdom, yes. But slaves weren’t allowed to learn how to read. […] -
Grade Reform, Law Schools
New York Law School Student Plea for Pass/Fail Grading Results in Epic Fail
Here’s a little rule I just made up: People who do poorly in legal writing at New York Law School should not file pro se complaints against their school. It’s a good rule for people who don’t want to embarrass themselves. I think I’ll call my brand-new maxim the “Timothy Keefe Rule.” The kid deserves […] - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Job Searches
UC - Irvine: Everybody Has a Job
As we’ve previously reported, the inaugural class of students at UC – Irvine School of Law attends law school for free. Now, we’ve got more good news for students there: they all have jobs lined up for the summer. Every last one of them. The Recorder (subscription) reports: Not only does the entire inaugural class […] -
Weirdness
Mental Health Break: The Lawyers' Coloring Book
Loyal readers of our In-House Counseling column may have have missed their little dose of psychotherapy yesterday. Will Meyerhofer, aka The People’s Therapist, is regressing this week. He’ll be back next Wednesday. You’re stuck at work, but perhaps you’d like to do a little regression too? For your infantile pleasure, we bring you an oldie […] -
Job Survey, Layoffs, pls hndle thx
Pls Hndle Thx: High Anxiety
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. Dear ATL, So I got Lathamed from my job last year. It was tough but I eventually found a job that I like. However, I live in constant fear of being Lathamed again. I guess since it came out of nowhere last […] -
Technology
The ABA Techshow: You Say You Want A Revolution? There's an App for That
“F@ck no!” As I stood sipping a drink at The Front Page in Dupont Circle during a happy hour for e-discovery professionals, that was the highly articulate response I received from a technology vendor rep on whether he was attending the ABA Techshow, which begins today. “That event is more for solos,” he said. “It’s […] -
Advertising, Career Center, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: March Madness
March is all about the numbers: associates at some firms are finally learning what their 2009 bonus amounts are, while associates at other firms are learning more about what their 2010 salary will be. Check out the ATL Career Center, powered by Lateral Link, for the latest information on what the numbers are at firms […]
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Food, Perks / Fringe Benefits
Schulte Nixes Seamless Before 8:30
Most Biglaw New York lawyers would die of malnutrition without SeamlessWeb. Malnutrition, people! Because nobody has time to run down 50 floors to grab a bite to eat after hours. Given the recession, charging 6:30 steak dinners to clients is no longer cool. But Schulte Roth & Zabel could be taking its anti-Seamless policy a […] -
Secretaries / Administrative Assistants
Legal Secretary of the Day: Not Getting Fired Leads to Getting Fired
Nancy Topolski must have been happy initially to survive the layoffs in the Portland office of Davis Wright Tremaine. But with fewer secretaries to go around, her workload increased. To the point of causing stress-induced panic attacks. If you’re not making a lawyer’s salary, that’s just not acceptable. After one of her panic attacks, she […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 03.25.10
* Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker (pictured) just says no to health care reform lawsuits. [Associated Press] * The Supreme Court issued a last-minute stay yesterday in the execution of a Texas man. [Associated Press] * Proposition 420? [Reuters] * Wall Street pay reform is making life difficult for divorce attorneys. [Bloomberg] * The first […]
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Associate Bonus Watch 2009
Associate Bonus Watch: Paul Hastings Matches Cravath Scale Everywhere but Atlanta
For two weeks we’ve been getting reports about Paul Hastings bonuses. Many people claim that they received bonuses on par with the Cravath scale. But there have been a dedicated few who claim they were jobbed by the firm at bonus time. This tipster captures the general feeling: PH bonuses were just announced [last month] […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.24.10
* I wonder if Jesse James was blindsided by his tax problems? (Too soon?) [Going Concern] * Is it possible to make Westchester less white? [Next American City] * How the Census discriminates against … well, almost all of us. [True/Slant] * There’s a reason God didn’t want humans to kill each other — and […] -
In-House Counsel
General Counsel Flex Their Muscles
Biglaw needs to take a page out of the Burger King playbook and adopt a “Have It Your Way” attitude with its general counsel clients, according to a new study. In the words of the ABA Journal: The recession has driven a power shift that now favors in-house counsel over the law firms they hire, […] -
ACLU, Education / Schools, Free Speech, Gay, Lesbians
You Can Dance If You Want To (Unless You're a Lesbian)Judge declines to order school to hold prom.
Don’t be misled by the photo — this isn’t another post about Snooki. It’s about Constance McMillen (pictured), a lesbian high schooler who wanted to bring her girlfriend to the high school prom. (Query from Elie: Is “lesbian high schooler” the politically correct way to say “girls’ hockey team”?) The Clarion-Ledger reports: Both sides are […]