Archive for March 2010

Quote of the Day: Is Rodge Cohen Comparing His Clients to Coke Addicts?

By David Lat

The cocaine analogy is quite a good one. Because this stuff was addictive. A lot of people couldn’t resist.


– H. Rodgin Cohen — former chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, and counsel to many of the nation’s biggest banks — discussing subprime mortgage debt.

Above the Law Steps into the Current Decade

By Above the Law

above the law logo.JPGIt’s time for Above the Law to start living in the now. We’ve been growing and growing, building on a platform that is so 2006. It’s time for us to embrace the brave new world of 2010.

We’re making two changes that we hope will make reading and interacting with Above the Law easier and less likely to result in a sexually transmitted disease. If you’ve been reading Above the Law over the past six weeks — thank you, we know we haven’t made it easy on you. We hope that these changes will ameliorate the recent problems and technical difficulties.

  • We’re changing our publishing platform to WordPress. We believe that WordPress is a better fit with our needs over time and will allow us to integrate additional ways to help you procrastinate.
  • We’re moving our commenting platform to Disqus. The Disqus platform should allow us to lessen the burden on our servers during traffic spikes. Disqus also represents our latest attempt to maintain our freewheeling comment threads without risking the lives of innocent civilians.

The Disqus platform requires you to register with a unique name and email address of your choosing. Perhaps, as many of our tipsters do, you have already set up a dummy email account? Perhaps you think it would be funny to use Grandma’s old Compuserv address? We don’t really care, Disqus isn’t going to spam you, and we won’t spam you.

As always, we will protect your anonymity, and we’re not going to sell the information you provide.

So, how exactly is this going to work?

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Correction: Culture Gap Between Deferred and Public Interest Attorneys Not as Wide as We Were Led to Believe

By Above the Law

City Bar of New York.JPGA week and a half ago we ran a story about the culture gap between deferred associates working in public interest jobs and their full-time public interest colleagues. The news came from the City Bar of New York, which did a study of the satisfaction levels of deferred associates.
But it turns out the City Bar misread its own study. Deferred associates weren’t displeased with their public interest colleagues. Instead, they actually got along pretty well. Here’s a statement from the City Bar on what led to the error:

We have learned of an error, for which we apologize, in the interpretation of one aspect of the online survey data in the our report on the Deferred Associate Law Extern Support Project. We had reported that the deferred externs reported a lower satisfaction rating with regard to colleagues and integration into the workplace than was the case; in fact, the externs reported a high degree of satisfaction in their interactions with colleagues. Thus, the externs expressed an even more positive response to the program than was originally presented in our report. We have revised the report accordingly.

The City Bar survey asked associates to rate their colleagues on a scale of one to four. A rating of one was the highest rating, but when they interpreted the numbers, the people who made the report interpreted one as the lowest rating.
Hey, NASA lost a billion-dollar spacecraft because somebody didn’t convert numbers into the metric system. This kind of thing happens.
For clarity’s sake, we asked for the raw data….

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Associate Bonus Watch: Mayer Brown (Chicago and DC)

By Law Shucks

2009 Associate bonus watch above the law.JPGHere’s some news that might interest the mutineers at Mayer Brown. The firm has announced bonuses for its offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. — and early word seems to be positive.
We don’t have a memo; bonuses were communicated in person or over the phone. But we’ve gathered some intelligence from sources in both Chicago and D.C. that give us an overall picture.
It appears that there is no longer a bonus for hitting 2000 hours. But associates who hit 2100 hours were rewarded handsomely, receiving the same bonus that 2100 hours would have gotten them last year. For example, we hear that second-year associates who hit 2100 hours received bonuses of around $28,500 — almost three times as much as second-years got under the Cravath scale (which is what Mayer Brown paid in its New York office). Furthermore, additional increments of 100 hours above the 2100-hour level resulted in $8,500 in extra bonus money.
Mayer associates also received news about raises….

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Does March Madness Justify Exam Rescheduling? UW Law Says No.

By Above the Law

Washington Law logo.JPGWe’ve seen judges grant continuances to lawyers who wanted to go to the BCS Championship game and the SuperBowl. So we know that the legal community takes notice of important sporting events.
One student at the University of Washington School of Law feels that exams shouldn’t get in the way of the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. UW is in the tourney this year — getting a bid out of the dreadful PAC-10. And the student just wanted to participate in the fun. One of his finals conflicted with the tournament, and he sent a very polite note to the registrar asking to reschedule. Deadspin reprints his email:

The first weekend of the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament occurs on March 18-21 this year. This is, by far, my favorite weekend of the year, specifically Thursday and Friday, in which the first round takes place. I am not a member of any church and have no children, so I consider this my “holiday,” the most important day of the year. For the past several years, a couple of friends of mine, who are in similar position in life, and I have spent the weekend enjoying this “holiday” in Reno, NV. It is a central location for the gathering and meeting there for this weekend has become a tradition that has become very important and dear to me.
I understand that this is not a typical request, but I’d like to move my Compensation and Benefits final to the following Monday (3/22) or earlier in finals week. This is so important to me that I wouldn’t even mind it if it were rescheduled during a day that I already have a final.
Please give my request ample consideration. I appreciate your time.
Reschedule class: Fri. March 19 – 6:00 PM T521B Comp & Benefits (Thorson)
Requested date: Wednesday, March 17
Requested time: 1:00 PM

The humorless registrar was unmoved….

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Will the Month of March Spark Merger Madness for the Energy Industry?

By Kashmir Hill & Elie Mystal

Merger Madness.jpgAs many of you are slowly trying to shake off your St. Patrick’s Day hangovers, there comes a bit of good news from Jon Ogg on the blog 24/7 Wall Street. Exxon Mobil announced that it had received approval from the DOJ for its acquisition of XTO Energy.
Despite the pervasive perception that the Obama administration was going to be a ginormous thorn in the side of Wall Street with regard to regulation, Exxon Mobil managed to get this approved without having to answer a second request. Second requests are commonly launched by either the DOJ or FTC during proposed mergers so that the government can make certain a company will not grow to monopolize a certain industry.
So why is this good news? After the jump I will explain why this may end up being a boon to both the legal and legal technology industries. If Ogg’s predictions are any indication, a cash cow may be coming to an antitrust division of a law firm near you.

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Jersey Shore’s Snooki Charged in Connection with Teen’s Death

By Elie Mystal

Now here’s something from RadarOnline that I think we can believe:

Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi was criminally charged for selling booze to minors at a party at her house — a party that ended with the tragic drunk driving death of one of her classmates, RadarOnline.com has uncovered in a blockbuster exclusive. Snooki was one of three people charged in connection with the 2004 death of teenager Michael Truncali, a RadarOnline.com investigation revealed.

Truncali crashed his vehicle and died driving home from a party at Snooki’s house. His BAC was .18 at the time of the accident.

RadarOnline actually talked with Michael Truncali’s parents, who were understandably upset….

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Harvard Law Grad Brian Schroeder Pleads Not Guilty to Halloween Hijinks

By Kashmir Hill

brian schroeder halloween photo.jpgOn Halloween, a Sidley Austin-bound Harvard Law School grad celebrated by setting fire to a chapel holding remains from 9/11. His St. Patrick’s Day was less festive.

Yesterday, Brian Schroeder, who is no longer Sidley Austin-bound, appeared in criminal court and pleaded not guilty to arson and burglary.

According to court documents reviewed by DNA Info, Schroeder says he partied “through the night” on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, then walked two miles to set fire to the chapel on East 30th Street between 5 and 7 a.m.

Schroeder, 27, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 2009 and had reportedly taken Sidley’s pro bono deferral package, turned himself in to police the day of the fire. He may have set fire to the chapel, but not to his legal career. Though Sidley immediately rescinded his offer, he’s since found a job.

So what is his defense strategy — and his new employment?

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New York Profits Making a Comeback

By Above the Law

Cravath Swaine Moore LLP logo small.JPGIt’s a been a beautiful week in New York City. The sun is shining and Biglaw partners are making it rain. Am Law Daily reports some great news from Cravath:

Cravath, Swaine & Moore joins the exclusive ranks of New York firms that achieved a significant jump in both revenue and profits per equity partner (PPP) last year. The firm’s revenue rose 7 percent to $569 million; PPP increased 8 percent to $2.7 million, according to our reporting.

This is wonderful news compared to what was coming out of Cravath last year:

Cravath’s 2009 results are an optimistic change from a disappointing 2008 when reveue fell 13 percent and PPP plunged 24 percent, as we reported last year. Despite this rebound, the firm’s numbers remain below the high water mark of 2007, when revenue reached $610.5 million and PPP soared to $3.3 million.

But Cravath isn’t the only New York titan that received good news this week …

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Morning Docket: 03.18.10

By Law Shucks

Supreme Court bobblehead dolls SCOTUS bobbleheads.jpg* If a friend asks you for free legal representation that you don’t want to provide, decline and say it might ruin your friendship — and cite this article. [New York Times]
* Two experts on national security and the war on terror, Ben Wittes and Jack Goldsmith, have a solution to the problem of where to hold the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: don’t try KSM at all. [Washington Post]
* A California appeals court gives the green light to a lawsuit brought by a teenage boy whose website was flooded with anti-gay threat messages. [How Appealing]
* If U.S. News starts ranking law schools based on the size of their library SCOTUS bobblehead collections, Yale will still be number one. [New York Times]
* The investigation continues into an illegal prescription drug ring that may have been involved in the death of actor Corey Haim. [CNN]
* If you receive an email notifying you that you’ve been sued by the law firm of Crosby & Higgins, just ignore it. [WSJ Law Blog]

Are Attractive People Better Lawyers?

By Above the Law

legally blonde attractive lawyers.jpgWomen’s Health recently had an article about how pretty people have an advantage in this world. D’uh. In other breaking news, strong people have an advantage when it comes to beating the crap out of others.

Still, the Women’s Health article has a money quote that every lawyer — especially an unemployed lawyer — should note:

Job recruiters have come to learn that sending aesthetically pleasing candidates gets a better reaction from their clients. “I’ll write ‘This person is attractive’ on the applicant’s cover letter before passing her on,” admits a professional who does hiring in the legal field.

“Whether they admit it or not, many employers feel that having pretty female employees will reflect well on their firm.”

This seems like a good time for ATL editors to opine on hotness and career success in the law….

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Non-Sequiturs 03.17.10

By Above the Law

Henry V.JPG* Would Henry V have been guilty of war crimes? If so, I’d be interested in the prison dynamic between Henry and his certain cellmate Macbeth. [Washington Briefs]
* Obama nominates Nina Totenberg’s sister, Amy Totenberg, to the federal bench. At this point, if Nina Totenberg herself were nominated for SCOTUS, she’d probably be less well-connected than she is now. [AJC]
* Is the LSAT a god? [Class Struggle / Washington Post]
* Perez Hilton. Chuy Bravo. A finger. I need to wash my eyes out with soap. [True / Slant]
* Julia Tarver Mason, the Paul Weiss Gitmo lawyer, now has a stalker. [Pajamas Media]
* Summary judgment is a good value, especially in the world of flat fees. [Daily Record]
* If this kid was a law student, we’d make him famous. Instead he’s just your average college douchebag. [Adjunct Law Prof Blog]

Musical Chairs: Cadwalader Snags Three Prominent Proskauer Partners

By David Lat

Cadwalader Wickersham Taft new logo CWT AboveTheLaw blog.jpgThree litigation partners have just joined Cadwalader from Proskauer, according to a firm-wide email circulated at CWT by firm chairman Chris White and litigation chair Gregory Markel.

The three partners are Louis Solomon, Hal Shaftel, and Colin Underwood. Their bios are still available on the Proskauer website (here, here, and here). Solomon previously chaired Proskauer’s litigation department; Underwood was co-head of Proskauer’s antitrust group.

In other Cadwalader news, class of 2010 incoming associates have their start date: September 27, 2010. This is a nice, normal start date. Commented one of future associates:

I’m very happy…. It’s 64 degrees in the city, and I’ve got a start date in 2010. Things are looking good.

Cadwalader was a “leader” in terms of lawyer layoffs: it moved early, and it cut deeply. But now the firm seems to be doing quite well — along with another firm known for heavy layoffs, Latham & Watkins.

Food for thought: Are the firms that conducted large-scale layoffs now reaping the benefits of their “right-sizing”?

More details about the pirated Proskauer partners, after the jump.

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Skadden Sets the Pace for Start Dates and Salary Advances Instead of Stipends?

By Kashmir Hill

start date 3Ls ready for Biglaw start dates.jpgClass of 2010 graduates with offers in hand want to know when they’ll have firm-issued BlackBerrys in hand too. Last week, we had an open thread on start dates for 2010 graduates.

Shortly thereafter, we heard from Skadden-bound associates. They’ll be starting in the new year, and they’ll have some money to keep them afloat til then. But it’s money from their future earnings:

[Skadden] says “start date and orientation in mid-January 2011.” No stipend — just 15k salary advance — 5K in April, rest with receipt of final law school transcript. Repaid out of first year salary.
Honestly, I was hoping for more…

Skadden is a market leader. Does this mean stipends are no longer in fashion? Sorry, 3Ls, money for doing nothing is so 2009.
UPDATE: We’ve noticed some confusion in the comments. We’re not talking about the bar stipend; we’re talking about the deferral stipend for January start dates. If you look at our 2009 round-up, you’ll see that many firms offered a $5,000 – $25,000 “deferral stipend” along with January start dates. (Last year was a different ballgame, though, with deferrals taking incoming associates by surprise. This year, offering salary advances instead of stipends might not be unreasonable.)

What’s the policy at other firms? Some firms, such as Sidley Austin and Milbank, are reportedly still offering stipends. A round-up, and more chatter from Skadden-ites, after the jump.

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Cooley Law Dropout Learns a Lesson in Res Judicata

By Elie Mystal

Cooley law school logo.jpgWhenever we write about Thomas M. Cooley Law School, commenters cannot resist reminding us of Cooley’s business model. The school admits a large number of 1Ls. If they can’t hack it, they are dismissed.

So what happens to the kids who couldn’t hack it at Cooley? Well, sometimes they sue the school for discrimination. But, because they washed out at Cooley, sometimes they still haven’t learned some very basic 1L principles — like res judicata. Here’s the summary of the Sixth Circuit opinion in the case of Buck v. Thomas M. Cooley Law School:

Plaintiff appeals from the district court’s dismissal of her lawsuit against her former law school as barred by res judicata and a lack of causation. She previously litigated earlier acts of discrimination against her law school in Michigan state courts, and had secured a preliminary injunction allowing her to attend classes. She was then dismissed from the law school on academic grounds. Because plaintiff should have supplemented her complaint in state court with claims that arose during the pendency of that suit, she is precluded by res judicata from raising these claims now. Therefore, we AFFIRM.

It’s a shame that Cooley admits people who can’t understand basic principles of civil procedure. Even if plaintiff Buck had a good argument for setting aside the principle of res judicata, she does a terrible job of making her case to the Sixth Circuit ….

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Chadbourne ‘Parkes’ Eleven Deferred Associates in Unemployment

By David Lat

Chadbourne solid logo.JPGThings seem to be going relatively well at Chadbourne & Parke. Let’s review some recent developments.

Back in January, the firm announced sizable raises and bonuses. In the same month, the Chadbourne & Parke Foundation generously contributed $100,000 to Haiti relief efforts. More recently, the firm’s well-regarded project finance practice snagged some high-profile work relating to renewable / clean energy projects.

But perhaps things aren’t going well enough at C&P. Earlier this week, we heard rumblings of the firm rescinding offers to some of its deferred associates.

We reached out to the firm, which confirmed the news and provided some details.

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Quote of the Day: You have the right to remain… dead?

By Kashmir Hill

The reality is that we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden.


– Attorney General Eric Holder

In-House Counseling: You’re in Trouble

By The People's Therapist

Lawyer PTSD soldier.jpgEd. 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.

Remember when you were a kid, and you got caught doing something you shouldn’t, and a big cloud formed over your head?

You were “in trouble.”

The other kids sort of inched out of your path and exchanged looks. They didn’t want any piece of what you had coming. Mom was going to talk to you later. Or dad. You’d done something wrong.

It feels that way sometimes at a big law firm — in fact, a lot of the time.

Maybe you forgot to ask a crucial question during a deposition. Or you wrote a memo that didn’t have the answer your partner wanted. Maybe — and this happened to me once — you ended up getting berated for being “too friendly” to the other side at a drafting conference. Maybe you’re still not sure exactly what you did wrong, but it must have been something. It’s always something.

The cloud hangs over you in the office and follows you home. When you were a kid, it eventually dissipated, but now it lingers indefinitely. What’s really going on?

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Meet Corporette — A Lawyer With a Sense of Style

By David Lat

Corporette logo.jpgFor female lawyers seeking advice about fashion and style, Corporette.com is a must-read. Many ATL readers are already familiar with this excellent site, which we link to often. If you’re not aware of Corporette, a self-described “fashion and lifestyle blog for overachieving chicks,” check it out here.
Corporette — which has been around for almost two years, since May 2008 — receives approximately 850,000 pageviews a month. It has received shout-outs in the New York Times, the National Law Journal, and Glamour, among other outlets.
Since the site’s inception, the writer has remained anonymous. Based on the use of “we” on Corporette, we’ve always assumed there were multiple authors.
As it turns out, there’s just one writer behind Corporette. And today, after almost two years of writing under a pseudonym, she has decided to come out of the blogging closet..
Interestingly enough, Corporette is a lawyer. Perhaps you know her?

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How to Run an NCAA Tournament Pool: Tips from Allen & Overy

By Above the Law

NCAA Bracket 2010 Allen Overy.jpgHere on Above the Law, we’re running our own NCAA Tournament style bracket about the best cities for practicing law. Please don’t forget to vote — your ATL editors have printed out the brackets and somebody is going to make a killing.
But most of you will be filling out brackets for the real NCAA tournament (you can play against the ATL community here: group name: Atlblog, password: abovethelaw). I’ve got some experience running an NCAA bracket. My firm didn’t participate in an office pool, because that would be gambling. And gambling is wrong. Very wrong.
But if my firm had run an NCAA office pool, my officemate and I would have run the thing every year. We would have negotiated the scoring rules and buy-ins with busy partners and chased down money from paralegals and secretaries for weeks. Yes, my officemate and I would have owned the office pool … if it had existed.
At Allen & Overy, one American has taken it upon himself to run the bracket for a firm full of Brits. In my professional opinion, this guy is doing all the right things. For all the people out there participating in an office pool this month, make sure to steal this guy’s outline:

ITS BACK!!!!! Every year it seems we need a distraction right about now and that beloved tradition known as the NCAA basketball tournament somehow seems to fit the bill. Want to earn an abrasive street name? Want to indoctrinate Kevin and Robert by robbing them of a few quid? Here is your chance to win some adoration and transcend the “pyramid model” for a few weeks. Participating in the pool will give you all this and more. …
Traditional legal disclaimers, adjusted slightly, below.

That’s right, there’s an entire “mini prospectus” that should bring Brits and the non-sporting up to speed. It’s info every office should know …

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