You have to love it when law students air the dirty laundry about their school over Facebook. But it’s even better when faculty responds to student concerns on Facebook — and better still when faculty get touchy and defensive on Facebook.
All of that is happening at Mercer University School of Law, where students turned a Facebook status update into a bitchfest about the school’s third tier ranking. The blog But I Did Everything Right gives us the backstory:
Mercer University students, faculty, and staff are in open war against each other and themselves over rankings, hiring decisions, and even the school logo. We have uploaded the facebook argument between Professor Donal Christopher Wells and Mercer Law students on Mercer 3L Charlie Grimsley’s facebook page.
Grimsley’s status update started innocently enough:
Things didn’t really get fun until Professor Wells got involved … 
Continue reading “Mercer Law Students Fight With Faculty on Facebook”
On Friday, we broke the news that Shanetta Cutlar will be stepping down as head of the Special Litigation Section (“SPL”), in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. This news was met with rejoicing in some quarters; Cutlar was not universally loved as a boss.
Much of our past coverage of Shanetta Cutlar has been somewhat negative (reflecting what we’ve heard from our sources). But there are some dissenting opinions — and we’re happy to present one to you today.
After our Friday report, we heard from Robert Driscoll, a former Justice Department official who is now a partner in the Washington office of Alston & Bird. During his time at the DOJ, he worked with Cutlar — and was very impressed by her work as an attorney. Driscoll told us:
I was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division from 2001-2003. In that position, I played a part in Shanetta getting the post as Chief. Whatever her strengths or weakness as a manager may have been (and I had heard she could be mercurial), I never doubted that she was a talented and extremely dedicated lawyer. Indeed, it was these characteristics that caused us to appoint Shanetta as Chief. She certainly was not placed in that position for having any conservative credentials.
More warm words for Shanetta Cutlar, after the jump.
Continue reading “In Defense of Shanetta Cutlar”
The big news today seems to be the Health Care bill. Congratulations and recriminations are all over Washington today as supporters claim they are happy with the bill (they’re not) and detractors claim it will ruin America (it won’t).
Now that it looks like something will actually get signed, it’s time for the losers to run to the courts. This happens all the time, if you lose at the ballot box you try to win at the bar. Liberals and conservatives do it. The question is whether the courts will take the bait.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for the court system to overturn health care. Continue reading “Will the Courts Stop Health Care Reform?”
We don’t do a lot of reporting on the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University. But when an 1L community gets smacked down by one of their own deans for following the best NCAA opening weekend ever, one can’t help but take note.
The set up is simple, as this tipster explains:
This “professionalism” lecture, a mandatory event for 1L’s, consisted of a very conservative attorney/judge/sheriff from Cincinnati talking about the need to return prayer and spanking to schools, and a very liberal ACLU attorney stressing the importance of pro bono representation of child molesters. Event titled “Lawyers: Agents of change, or Preservers of the status quo?” And yes, the entire class of 1L’s were playing on their iPhones during the entire event, following March Madness.
A mandatory “professionalism” lecture during the first night of the NCAA tournament? Isn’t this precisely why God invented the iPhone?
Sadly, Associate Dean Lawrence Rosenthal didn’t seem to enjoy living in our modern age … Continue reading “1Ls at Northern Kentucky Law Are Not Very Professional”
Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks, which has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.
The jobs picture, at least the sliver reflected by the initial jobless claims numbers, remained stagnant this week. Initial claims decreased for the third straight week, but the decrease was less than predicted (of course).
Not only are claims at a level higher than at the end of 2009, they’re just muddling along at about the same level we hit in November. Since most of us work in major metropolitan areas, news that those were hardest hit isn’t particularly welcome, either.
The lack of job creation isn’t really affecting the markets, though. Over the same three-week period, the S&P 500 has had three straight weekly gains. Although that’s due in no small part to the Fed keeping the discount rate near zero. Things should get interesting when the housing-market support expires, unemployment benefits get extended, and the US-China trade tiff heats up.
But law firms have circled the wagons and are focused inward as they try to sort through the effects on the sector.
Their efforts after the jump.
Continue reading “Last Week in Layoffs: 03.22.10″
* The health-care reform bill is headed to the Senate, with no help from the Republicans. [New York Times]
* Legal challenges are in the bill’s future. [Washington Post and All Headline News]
* A Manhattan judge strikes the juicy parts from an Alan Levy’s lawsuit against his former firm, Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold. [ABA Journal]
* Not every indigent client gets Paul Weiss to step in to help when a public defender fails them. [New York Times]
* Cyber criminals aren’t afraid of law firms. [San Francisco Chronicle]
* Life after prison for the Milberg Weiss lawyers doesn’t sound so bad. [Business Week]
* A judicial boycott in California. [New York Times]
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.”
In this week’s column we will dig deeper, and figure out exactly how many people cheated on predictions, and whether this cheating had any impact on the results. Additionally, we will revisit five cases recently decided: Johnson v. US, Bloate v. US, Reed Elsevier v. Muchnick, Milavetz, and Mac’s Shell Service v. Shell Oil.
Continue reading “FantasySCOTUS.net: Counting the Cheaters and Reviewing Recent Cases”
* It sounds like Eric Holder is calling all Biglaw lawyers patriots. [Politico]
* Anna Nicole Smith was not the only one to get screwed over by the Ninth Circuit this week. [Courthouse News Service]
* Too bad time spent primping isn’t billable. [City Room/New York Times]
* Harvard likes this law professor ranking system better than Brian Leiter’s. [Harvard Law]
* Beware the Facebook. [Adjunct Law Prof Blog]
* A 24-year-old paralegal seeks career advice… [True/Slant]
* CHECK YOU CANDIDATE RESUMÉ! [Los Angeles Times]
* For the journalists who read our site looking to steal for stories. [Loyola Law School]
* If the Hoyas destroyed your NCAA bracket, console yourself by voting in round one of ATL March Madness, here and here. Polls close Sunday at midnight.
Despite her death back in February 2007, Anna Nicole Smith (aka Vickie Lynn Marshall) continues to make headlines. From the Ninth Circuit comes bad news for her former lawyer (and lover) Howard K. Stern, and her daughter, Daniellynn. From E! Online:
[A court] said today that the estate of Anna Nicole Smith is not entitled to the $300 million-plus judgment previously awarded from her late oil tycoon hubby’s billion-dollar estate.
The court battle over Texas oilman J. Howard Marshall II’s millions has been ongoing since 1995.
You can download the opinion from the Ninth Circuit here [PDF]. You’ll see a familiar name on the list of counsel.
Kathleen Sullivan, new name partner at Quinn Emanuel, filed an amicus brief in the case for the Washington Legal Foundation, arguing in support of the decision by the Texas probate court that originally denied Smith’s claim to Marshall’s $1.6 billion fortune.
This could make for an appropriate last act in the forthcoming Anna Nicole Smith opera.
UPDATE: Congratulations to Dechert partner G. Eric Brunstad, the veteran Supreme Court litigator who represented the victorious estate of Pierce Marshall in this case. (Brunstad was also Lat’s bankruptcy law professor at Yale.)
Remember All Those Millions? Anna Nicole’s Estate Can Kiss ‘Em Bye-Bye [E! Online]
SF Appeals Court Denies Anna Nicole Smith Estate’s Claim To Millions [KTVU]
In re: VICKIE LYNN MARSHALL, Debtor. ELAINE T. MARSHALL v. HOWARD K. STERN
[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]
March is almost over (and tomorrow is the official start of spring), but law firm bonus news continues to trickle in. Yesterday, for example, we covered Mayer Brown. Today we bring you Baker Botts (Houston).
As far as associates were concerned, it was about time:
Baker Botts in Houston finally announced bonuses for 2009. People were getting very upset about how long it was taking, and the partners were very aware of that fact.
For the most part, bonuses were slightly higher than most people were expecting.
Perhaps Baker Botts can afford to be generous; work is definitely coming in the door these days. The firm is representing Dominion Resources, which is being acquired for $3.48 billion by Consol Energy, and Schlumberger LTD., which is merging with Smith International. And Baker Botts has been raking in big bucks from bankruptcy work too.
So, how big were the Baker Botts bonuses?
Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Baker Botts – Houston
(And other Baker Botts / Houston law firm news.)“
The elevation of Kathleen Sullivan to name partner at Quinn Emanuel symbolized some serious change in the world of Biglaw. Diversity in the partnership ranks is growing. Sullivan is likely Biglaw’s first openly LGBT name partner, and she appears to be the first female to get her name on the door at an AmLaw 100 firm.
We raised the gender milestone question last week, asking our readers if they knew of any that came before her.
We think it is now fair to award her this distinction in Biglaw lore. After all, the next day, the American Lawyer declared it definitively: Quinn Emanuel Becomes First Am Law 100 Firm to Have a Female Name Partner.
But our readers did raise the names of some other notable females who deserve asterisks next to their names in the legal history books…
Continue reading “Update: Notable Notes on Kathleen Sullivan and Other Female Name Partners”
Here’s a brief update on Shanetta Cutlar, one of our favorite figures here at ATL. For those of you not familiar with Cutlar — who heads the Special Litigation Section in the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department, where she has presided over what her critics have described as a reign of terror — page through our archives (or just read the blockquote in this post).
Yesterday afternoon, Cutlar convened a section meeting where she announced that she will be stepping down as head of the Special Litigation Section (“SPL”). According to attendees, Cutlar explained that she had lost the confidence of the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
Cutlar is also leaving SPL, but staying on at the DOJ. Where is she headed next?
Continue reading “A DOJ Diva’s Final Bow? Shanetta Cutlar to Step Down from Justice Department Leadership Post”
I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news: Covington & Burling is thawing out salaries in California. Yay!
The bad news: Covington is keeping salaries frozen in D.C. Why? Because they can. Many tipsters report:
FYI, Covington’s Management Committee informed the associates last Tuesday that it was increasing salaries (retroactive to March 1), but only in its California offices. Mentioned as justification that Latham and Munger are its “peer” California firms, while Steptoe, Howrey, and A&P are its “peer” DC firms.
For the record, Covington never froze New York salaries in the first place — so the thaw only affects California, and the continued freeze only adversely affects D.C.
We’ve got a statement from the firm about this West Coast bias …
Continue reading “At Covington, It’s Always Sunny in California. On the East Coast, Not So Much.”
The Courtship Connections — Above the Law’s amateur stab at matchmaking New York legal types — continue. Three dates were set for this week. The first of those took place Monday evening.
You may remember that our first matchmaking attempt fell flat. I blamed Elie, who had a hand in that match. Married people tend to give bad dating advice, after all.
This time around, we were dealing with a gay couple, so I let Lat do the matching. He threw two Biglaw men at each other — one over 30, one under 30. Lat’s approach wasn’t terribly scientific. Though we’ve asked our “L-date” participants to tell us everything from their favorite legal character to their favorite law school class, Lat matched these two because he thought “they both looked cute.”
Maybe it worked. We sent them to Grey Dog Cafe in the Village. Reports our Biglaw cougar:
So… He was twenty minutes late, but I forgave that because a) he accidentally went to the wrong instance of the right place; b) it wasn’t that cold outside; and c) he bought my coffee to make up for it, which was not necessary, but sweet. Quite attractive. We had a fun, wide-ranging conversation, about our law firms, art, music, travel, and more, with just a few awkward first-date silences. I feel like I probably talked too much, and he seemed a bit disinterested at times, but I’m fairly confident that we’ll mesh better over time. Definite dating potential. Thanks, ATL!
So, was it a successful match from the younger guy’s point of view?
Continue reading “ATL Courtship Connection: Colin Farrell Goes to the Wrong Grey Dog”
* A Sunday showdown looms for proposed health care legislation. [Associated Press]
* Meanwhile, Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) outline a “blueprint” for overhauling the country’s immigration laws. [Washington Post]
* The Ninth Circuit refuses to reconsider a ruling that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be held personally liable for money damages to a man who claims unconstitutional jailing. Judge O’Scannlain and seven colleagues send out the Bat-Signal to SCOTUS. [How Appealing]
* “Jihad Jane” pleads not guilty to conspiracy and other charges. As for inappropriate wearing of cornrows, she’s guilty as charged. [New York Times]
* It’s official: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (pictured) rejoins the ranks of the single, as his divorce becomes final, and agrees to pay $74,000 in fines to resolve ethics charges. [Associated Press]
* Gibson Dunn gets slapped with a suit from a former client. [Am Law Daily]
* Has Judge William H. Pauley (S.D.N.Y.) “pulled a Rakoff,” with his rejection of a proposed modification to an SEC settlement? [WSJ Law Blog]
* An alienation-of-affections lawsuit results in a $9 million verdict against a lawyer’s lover. [ABA Journal]
The NCAA March Madness Tournament kicked off officially today. (Since it took Elie a good two hours to write his half of this post, Kash assumes he’s streaming the tournament on his computer.)
Meanwhile, we kicked off round one in our ATL “Best City To Practice Law” tournament on Tuesday, pitting cities in the East and South against one another. Heading into the weekend, D.C., NYC, Dallas, and Atlanta are looking good in their regions.
If you’ve forgotten the match-ups, check out the bracket, also available after the jump.
Today, cities in the PST and flyover country go head to head. The voting and some commentary from your editors, after the jump.
Continue reading “ATL March Madness (Round 1): Best City to Practice Law. The West and Midwest Matchups.”
* The Third Circuit punts on the First Amendment rights of teenage sexting. Over stimulated teenage boys everywhere just prematurely celebrated. [WSJ Law Blog]
* The Supreme Court has a new website. Is it better? [Sunlight Foundation]
* News you can use: “Five Overrated Tax Planning Ideas.” [Going Concern]
* What ATL power couple Cass Sunstein and Samantha Power talked about on their first date. (Or: further proof that Sunstein is a big nerd.) [Harvard Law Record]
* Lawyer rating site Avvo raises another $10 million in financing. If you need help spending that cash, guys, feel free to advertise with us. [Robert Ambrogi's LawSites]
* Who is the top law professor in all the land? [Blackbook Legal]
* Did two professors just make the cost of punitive damages to defendants shoot up 40%? [SSRN-Taxing Punitive Damages]
The common assumption is that corporate counsel positions are cushier than Biglaw gigs. One of the big reasons is that in-house hours are supposedly more humane. However, Daniel Cooperman, a former partner at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen (now Bingham McCutchen), who left Biglaw to work as general counsel at Oracle and then Apple, suggests otherwise.
At Oracle for 11 years, he only lasted two at Apple before he burned out. He talked to the Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog about his time getting housed:
Mr. Cooperman admitted that he needed a break from the intensity of the general counsel job, which he has held for a total of 13 years.
“It’s an extreme amount of responsibility and accountability and you need to be available fully 24 hours a day. After all that time, I really wanted a bit of sabbatical,” he said.
Cooperman is getting that “breather” by heading back to Biglaw. He’s returning to Bingham as of counsel in the firm’s Silicon Valley office. He told the WSJ that his mission is to help the law firm understand its corporate clients’ culture.
Lesson one: don’t be offended when people hang up on you…
Continue reading “Is In-House Not All That It’s Cracked Up to Be?”
