Archive for April 2010

NALP 2010: Dealing with Above the Law Online Media

By Elie Mystal

We’re on to day 3 of the NALP conference. With all the racial tensions going on back home, day 3 has been a pleasant reminder that once properly tanned, everybody basically looks the same. Of course, there is a downside: I can no longer figure out which panelists may be genetically predisposed to say something intelligent.

Absent these helpful signals, I could only guess at which Friday morning panel to go to. I decided to hit Navigating Online Rumor Mills and Maintaining a Positive Image for Law Firms/Schools. Being a walking rumor mill myself, I figured it was worthwhile to learn how I should be handled.

For our partner readers, the panel produced some good advice. For our commenters, all I can say is that firms and law schools fear you guys. It’s not us, it’s you…

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Non-Sequiturs: 04.30.10

By David Lat

* Did the Sarah Palin email hacker get convicted? You betcha! [Gawker]

* Solicitor General Elena Kagan spills the beans about Justice Kennedy — her future colleague? — and his “bad habit.” [The BLT: Blog of the Legal Times]

* Professor Gaia Bernstein wonders: How useful is Facebook users’ information? [Concurring Opinions]

* The iPhone finder has his regrets — e.g., believing Gizmodo when they told him “there was nothing wrong in sharing the phone with the tech press.” [Threat Level / Wired]

* Planning out your career is like planning for retirement: you need to think about the long term. [Lawyerist]

Was the Harvard Email Racist? Was it Offensive?
Take Our Reader Polls

By David Lat

If you’re tired of reading about the Harvard Law School email controversy — judging from our traffic and comment levels, most of you aren’t, but maybe some of you are — we have some good news. Our coverage is winding down. (We do have a few loose ends to tie up, though, which may take us into the weekend or early next week.)

Before we conclude, we’d like to hear from you, our readers. We’ve heard from the commenters, of course — but many readers never comment, so the commenters aren’t representative of everyone.

Reader polls, which draw much larger participation than the comments, offer a better gauge of audience sentiment. We’d like to poll you on two questions:

(1) Was Crimson DNA’s email racist?

(2) Was Crimson DNA’s email offensive?

Please vote in our two reader polls, after the jump.

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Take Our Reader Polls”

Congratulations to Our 2010 Law Revue Video Contest Winner: Northwestern!

By Above the Law

Over 16,000 votes were cast in our second annual Law Revue video contest. We now bestow the 2010 Law Revue Video Contest crown upon….

Wait, hold on a sec. Unfortunately, there were allegations of voting irregularities.

And according to our friends at Vizu, which hosted our poll, it appears that the allegations may have merit….

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A SCOTUS Joke from The Gap?

By David Lat

Is the clothing mega-retailer following the Supreme Court nomination process?

Check out this photo of a store window here in New York….

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Harvard BLSA Responds to Email Controversy
Plus a statement from the HLS dean of students.

By Elie Mystal

Yesterday, I asked why the Harvard Black Law Students Association had been silent on the controversial email from a third-year Harvard Law School student raising the “possibility that African Americans are, on average, genetically predisposed to be less intelligent.” Today, the organization released a statement on its website:

Harvard BLSA denounces racially inflammatory language – The Harvard Black Law Students Association (HBLSA) strongly condemns the racially inflammatory email that was circulated among the entire Harvard Law School community. Like many individuals who read its content, we find the message to be deplorable and offensive. We are open to thoughtful discourse on even the most controversial of views, and yet we categorically reject the archaic notion that African-Americans are genetically inferior to white people. We recognize, however, that this issue is much larger than any single email or any particular student.

Was that so hard? The foregoing paragraph is a pitch-perfect assessment of the situation and an effective response.

The BLSA letter goes on to say that HBLSA should not (and apparently does not) want to be the focus of attention here…

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Plus a statement from the HLS dean of students.“

A Grim Report From Female Lawyers, Including De-Equitized Partners

By Kashmir Hill

The American Bar Association is currently holding its Women in Law Leadership Academy in Philadelphia; prior to the conference, they surveyed female partners in regional and international firms. Harder for women than figuring out what they’re allowed to wear is becoming a partner. (Though there are signs that’s changing.)

Apparently, female lawyers must go elsewhere to be appreciated. Forbes summarizes:

According to the study, the majority of women who had made partner had to attain the position by making a lateral jump to another firm–few were promoted from within.

Once you make partner, it’s hard to stay one. Almost eight percent of the 700 female partners surveyed reported being de-equitized. How come?

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FantasySCOTUS Predictions of the Next Justice: Team Kagan v. Team Wood v. Team Garland

By The 10th Justice

Who will replace Justice John Paul Stevens? While pundits, savants, and oracles across the SCOTUSphere pontificate and read Article III tea leaves, FantasySCOTUS.net conducted extensive and detailed polling to predict the next Justice. We have invited our nearly 5,000 members – who represent some of the closest and most ardent Court watchers – to weigh in on the vacancy, rank the candidates on the short list, and give their views on the potential nominees. We are still collecting data.

This is the third in a series of posts breaking down this data, as we attempt to add some certainty to the vast amounts of uncertainty emanating from the penumbras of the upcoming vacancy.

This week, we pit Elena Kagan, Diane Wood, and Merrick Garland in a head-to-head-to-head confirmation death match…

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Job of the Week: Partner Opening – No Portable Business Required

By Above the Law

Thumbnail image for Job of the Week Lateral Link ATL logo.gifThe latest Job of the Week, from our friends at Lateral Link, is for a very unique opportunity.

Description: A small firm is looking for an IP litigator with more than 15 years of IP litigation experience to first-chair a number of IP litigation matters. The attorney may be located in either Northern Virginia or San Francisco.

Requirements: Must have first-chair experience; must have substantial second-chair experience. Must be from a top 20 law school. Must have a technical or scientific background. Telecom or EE background would be ideal.

For more information, Lateral Link members may view Position #6199 or Position #6141, or contact Jordan Abshire at 202-360-4067 or jabshire@laterallink.com.

Speaking of Jordan, Lateral Link is proud to be a part of a panel on Harnessing the Power of Social Media next Thursday May 6th at WilmerHale, organized by the Women’s Bar Association of D.C. Please join Jordan and panelists Mellissa Feuer, Esq., Senior Career Advisor at Shannon & Manch, L.L.P., and Kristen Uhl Hulse, Esq., Assistant Director of Professional Development at Georgetown Law Center, for an informative lunch time discussion on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Lateral Link’s Career Center on Above the Law, and other helpful tools. For more details and to RSVP, please visit www.wbadc.org.

Earlier: Prior Jobs of the Week

The Solo Practitioner Strikes Back

By Kashmir Hill

solo practitioner solo practice hang shingle.jpgRichard Zachary is a solo practitioner in Chicago who has mixed it up with Biglaw many times in his career… and has come away unimpressed.

In a recent filing in Cook County Court, he vented about the shortcomings of the big firm lawyers he’s come up against. He’s currently representing an individual suing a corporation represented by Schiff Hardin. He describes an attorney there as follows:

Some paper-shuffling third-rater trying to camouflage his own culpability with defamatory rhetoric [who made me] realize that there are depths of chicanery to which some legal professionals will not hesitate to descend.

Richard Zachary is both irate and poetic, a wonderful combination.

The motion captures the frustration that solos experience in their clashes with Biglaw. More incensed turns of phrase, after the jump.

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NALP 2010: Résumé Advice = Mind the Gaps

By Elie Mystal

Day 2 of the 2010 NALP Annual Education Conference had a remarkably different feel from day 1. Apparently, it took everybody a day to realize that they were in Puerto freaking Rico. After really sticking to business casual on the first day, day 2 saw the introduction of something I’d call “business beachware.” Men were wearing t-shirts with their slacks. Women were wearing bathing suit tops instead of bras under their attire. Sandals abound. Everybody’s hair is messed up. Panelists stuck in suits look like they’re ready to kill themselves, or melt.

Anyway, you don’t come to me for fashion advice. You come to me to throw stones and rotten fruit for job advice. And today I’ve got that in spades. I attended a panel called Reading Between the Lines: A Candid Conversation about Resumes in Today’s Market. Good news: it doesn’t appear that anybody has an idea of how harshly to judge applicants with résumé gaps. So try not to worry…

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Quote of the Day: To err is human…

By Kashmir Hill

[We] had a heart to heart and she profusely apologized.

– Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree, a BLSA adviser and director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, after asking CRIMSON DNA to come to his office.

Morning Docket: 04.30.10

By David Lat

* The feds — this time federal prosecutors, on the criminal side, not just the SEC — might be going after Goldman. [New York Times]

* A lot of talking heads like the idea of a SCOTUS nominee who’s not already a judge — but among the general public, judicial experience reigns supreme. [Washington Post]

* Speaking of SCOTUS, President Obama has started meeting with potential nominees — including Judge Sidney Thomas (9th Cir.). [CNN]

* Bankruptcy god Harvey Miller appears in court — not as a lawyer, but as a witness. [Am Law Daily]

* The right to bear arms may be an individual right, but it’s not one you have at Fuddruckers (or at least certain branches of the popular burger chain). [WSJ Law Blog]

Harvard Law School BLSA and the Banality of Evil

By Elie Mystal

Elie here: just wanted to make sure you all know what’s coming.

Few things embarrass me like the Harvard Black Law Students Association. It could be the most credible foil to systemic racism against black law students. It has instead become a convenient tool to be used by those who wish to ignore the racial tensions in our system of legal education.

Don’t believe me? Earlier this week, we learned that a sole white kid called blacks genetically dumber than whites, and Harvard BLSA backed down — stepped and fetched, if you will — in the face of one solitary white person. It’s not the first time (we’ll get to the tragically impotent reaction to Kiwi Camara later). But at a point when the entire law school world would have at least considered what Harvard BLSA had to say, the organization sought to cover their own ass in the media, instead of standing up on the behalf of maligned black law students everywhere.

I cannot and do not wish to speak for all black law students and lawyers. But when confronted with abject racism, I can find the courage to speak for myself. I believe that gives me more balls than BLSA…

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Non-Sequiturs 04.29.10
Including an explanation of the RSS feed change.

By Kashmir Hill

Sonia Sotomayor, a woman of influence

* As many of you have noticed, our RSS feed no longer gives you all the good stuff. It’s a 30-day experiment. Our CEO explains why we are trying it out. It’s not just about traffic-whoring. [Breaking Media]

* John Roberts, eat your heart out. [ABA Journal; Time]

* Judges, get ready for your close-ups. As Alex Kozinski warned, Congress is making moves to force cameras on the judiciary. [BLT]

* Going on defense of Arizona’s immigration law, cuz someone has to. [Volokh Conspiracy]

* Is the Apple 4G iPhone comparable to the Pentagon Papers? [Slate]

* Did Goldman’s CFO slip up in his testimony? [Going Concern]

* Last chance to vote for the 2010 Law Revue video winner. At this point, it’s Northwestern v. Columbia. [Above the Law]

Lawyerly Lairs: Orrick’s New Digs in New York

By David Lat

Last summer, we reported that Orrick would be moving into fancy new offices in New York. Earlier this week, the office move took place. From the firm’s press release:

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has moved its New York office to 51 West 52nd Street, the same building that houses CBS headquarters and which is also known as Black Rock. The innovative design of the space reflects Orrick’s progressive culture, integrating technological, environmental and social advantages that enable the firm to better and more efficiently serve its clients.

Non-traditional features for law firms are incorporated throughout the office. Numerous public spaces, transparent glass office fronts and an open floor plan, with low-height components for greater visibility and interaction among staff, contribute to a sense of community. To better connect with other offices and clients, Orrick invested in state-of-the-art telepresence conferencing equipment.

As it turns out, the Orrick offices have a Telepresence Room — not to be confused with the Cryogenic Room, where Ralph Baxter plans to live forever.

So, what do the new Orrick offices look like?

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  • 29 Apr 2010 at 2:51 PM

CRIMSON DNA Apologizes, But Gawker Outs Her

By Kashmir Hill

I got an email this afternoon from Maureen O’Connor of Gawker, letting us know that she had outed CRIMSON DNA:

Great post on the Harvard 3-L who started the racist email war. We just did a follow-up.

We’ve made great efforts to keep the identity of the Harvard 3L under wraps, terming her CRIMSON DNA and deleting mentions of her real name in the comment section. Now that she has been publicly outed, on a site much larger than our own, we will no longer be moderating the comments.

Still, for us, the story was about the fact that a Harvard law student with a prestigious clerkship holds these views and about the reaction from Black Law Student Associations. We did not think that her identity was an important component of the story, nor that she was a typical public figure whose name should be disclosed. Obviously, those of you spamming the comments with her name disagree, as does Gawker.

We won’t say her life is ruined, but it’s certainly not been a good week. People have emailed the judge she’s rumored to be clerking for. She has issued an apology. And the Harvard Law School dean has issued a statement, distancing the school from DNA’s views. And hell, it’s finals time.

Here’s an excerpt from her apology to the incoming and outgoing presidents of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, available in full after the jump:

I am deeply sorry for the pain caused by my email. I never intended to cause any harm, and I am heartbroken and devastated by the harm that has ensued. I would give anything to take it back.

So what set this all off? A cat fight, apparently…

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Quote of the Day: Giving the Finger

By David Lat

If somebody is mildly angry, they might just give the middle finger. If they’re very angry, they might give it with some sort of words or facial expression that shows anger. And if they’re off-the-charts angry, they may give a double.

– Professor Ira P. Robbins — author of Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger and the Law, and “an actual legal expert on flipping the bird” — explaining the significance of the middle finger on the Colbert Report (with gestures).

Update on Ted Vogt and the Immigration Law Controversy at the University of Arizona

By Kashmir Hill

Ted Vogt, University of Arizona 3L and Arizona Representative

Arizona’s harsh new immigration laws are causing debate across the country. Apparently, having to show your papers for being brown might not conform with federal law. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is considering getting involved, threatening to file a federal lawsuit against the state, according to the Washington Post, based on the “doctrine of ‘preemption’ — arguing that the state’s law illegally intrudes on immigration enforcement, which is a federal responsibility.”

As we’ve written before, the national debate has caused some local acrimony at the University of Arizona College of Law. Third-year law student Ted Vogt was appointed to the Arizona State House of Representatives in March, and voted yes on two of the controversial bills. Prior to becoming a state politician, he was voted by his classmates to represent the class as a student speaker at the Law Center’s graduation ceremony in May.

As the immigration debate heated up though, some students regretted their decision to give Vogt a platform. They said they wanted him to step down or they would protest by holding big signs, turning around when he speaks, handing out flyers, and demanding “a certified copy of his birth certificate” before he will be allowed to talk. A vicious debate broke out on the law school list-serv, between those who oppose and support Vogt, those who oppose and support the new immigration laws, and those who see the laws as fundamentally racist.

The dean has weighed in on the debate, stating that he is in support of both Vogt and those who wish to protest him. We also reached out to funny 3L and now-controversial politician Ted Vogt and have a statement from him…

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The Harvard Law School ‘Racist’ Email Controversy:
Dean Martha Minow Weighs In

By David Lat

Martha Minow, Dean of the Harvard Law School — and, by the way, a possible Supreme Court nominee — has issued a statement regarding the allegedly racist email by a third-year Harvard Law School student that has been making the rounds. (We refer to the 3L in these pages as simply “CRIMSON DNA” or “DNA”; please do not post DNA’s real name in the comments.)

Not surprisingly for a law professor, Dean Minow avails herself of the teaching moment that the Harvard Black Law Students Association apparently passed on. She writes:

This sad and unfortunate incident prompts both reflection and reassertion of important community principles and ideals. We seek to encourage freedom of expression, but freedom of speech should be accompanied by responsibility. This is a community dedicated to intellectual pursuit and social justice. The circulation of one student’s comment does not reflect the views of the school or the overwhelming majority of the members of this community.

Dean Minow condemns the substance of the email in question:

Here at Harvard Law School, we are committed to preventing degradation of any individual or group, including race-based insensitivity or hostility. The particular comment in question unfortunately resonates with old and hurtful misconceptions. As an educational institution, we are especially dedicated to exposing to the light of inquiry false views about individuals or groups.

She also highlights a point we emphasized last night, namely, that BLSA did not publicize the email or pressure DNA’s future employer (a federal judge) to rescind a job offer.

The dean’s statement refers to an apology written by DNA. We haven’t seen the apology in question (although we’re trying to obtain it). If you have a copy, please email us (subject line: “HLS Apology”).

Dean Minow’s full statement appears after the jump.

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Dean Martha Minow Weighs In”