April 2010
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Boutique Law Firms, Media and Journalism, Musical Chairs, Solo Practitioners
Musical Chairs: More About Lanny Davis's Departure from McDermott
In yesterday’s post about the departure of D.C. power broker Lanny Davis from McDermott Will & Emery, a firm he joined a little over six months ago, we put out a request for more information. That request was promptly answered — by none other than Lanny Davis himself. The drama lover in us was hoping […] -
Blind Item, Drugs, Marijuana, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: Partner Pothead
I have been a lifelong cannabis user, on an almost daily basis since I was in high school. I am now the managing partner of a very successful law firm in the Washington, D.C. area. I have been in a professional law practice for almost 27 years. I work 60+ hours a week, and all […] - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep
DLA Piper Ends Experiment With Low Salaries
Back in December, DLA Piper decided to move to a merit based compensation system. Attendant to that move, the firms instituted a 10% pay cut, dropping starting salaries to $145,000. Despite widespread outrage among DLA associates, the firm repeatedly defended the move. Other Biglaw firms that moved away from lockstep would not follow DLA down […]
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Biglaw, Partner Issues, Weirdness
An Exorcism at Bryan Cave?
Last month, Midwestern firm Polsinelli Shughart raided Bryan Cave. Approximately 22 attorneys from Bryan Cave’s Phoenix, D.C., and Chicago offices spread their wings and flew over to Polsinelli. The Phoenix flock was the largest, consisting of 12 partners and associates. When a big group of attorneys leave, it sometimes spooks those left behind. We hear […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.16.10
* MSM, it’s a volcano, not the apocalypse. [New York Times] * Liberal law students are unimpressed with the frontrunners to replace Stevens. [Slate] * Patients can now chose who can visit them in the hospital and make crucial medical decisions. That’s another step in the road towards fundamental fairness for gays and lesbians. [Associated […]
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Law School Deans, Law Schools
Obsession With Tenure And Money Likely to Ruin the Future of Legal Education
This is my last report about the Harvard Law School/New York Law School Future of Education Conference. If you read the previous installments, you’ll note that assembled law school deans, professors, and other educators spent a lot of time talking about the past. Towards the end of the day however, the conference turned forward looking […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.15.10
* Is the iPad a good gadget for a young associate? [Young Lawyer’s Blog] * The blogosphere is still trying to come to grips with Chester Paul Beach’s statement. [Simple Justice] * I think I know why we are all so obsessed with the U.S. News rankings. [True/Slant] * New York City to close “rubber […] -
Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs: Lanny Davis Out at McDermott Already?
Back in October, we wrote about D.C. powerhouse lawyer Lanny Davis moving from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe to McDermott Will & Emery. He was joined in his Orrick-to-McDermott move by Eileen O’Connor, the journalist-turned-lawyer who worked with him in his crisis management practice. Now, just a few months later, it appears that Davis is striking […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Clarence Thomas, Minority Issues, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Clarence Thomas Throws Fellow Justices, Feeder Judges, and Law Schools Under the Diversity Bus
Today Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer made a rare appearance on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Appropriations Subcommittee, regarding the Court’s budget. It started out jovially, with Justice Thomas poking fun at Justice Breyer for agreeing with him for the very first time (at the 15 minute mark, regarding taking […] -
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Job Searches, Small Law Firm Open Threads
Trying To Go To A Small Firm? Be Prepared For A Harsh Rejection
Given the recession, a lot of lawyers shut out of Biglaw are trying to get jobs with small firms. The problem is, the skills required to get one of those jobs are not obvious to your average recent law school graduate. Of course, small and solo practitioners want to help young lawyers better themselves! In […] -
Job Searches, Lawyer of the Day, Solo Practitioners
An Interview With One Of The Qualcomm Six, Adam Bier
Or: Horror Story From A Young Associate, Wrongfully Sanctioned And Job Hunting During The Great Recession. -
Associate Advice, Books, Fabulosity, Supreme Court Clerks
Happiness Tips for Lawyers
Ed. note: Gretchen Rubin is the author of The Happiness Project. The book has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 15 weeks, ever since its publication (including hitting the #1 spot). Although she’s now a writer, with a total of five bestselling and/or critically acclaimed books to her name, Rubin started her […]
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Holidays and Seasons, Tax Law
Happy Tax Day!(And information about tax day giveaways.)
Today is a very special and important day. Do you know what day it is? (And no, we’re not talking about the official release of the U.S. News law school rankings, which we’ve already covered.) It’s not National Be Kind to Lawyers Day, which took place on Tuesday. Now your secretary has no reason to […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 04.15.10
* As we reported last night, the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings are out. The magazine also has some advice for law students during these tough times. [U.S. News & World Report] * Rankings guru Bob Morse explains his methodology. [U.S. News & World Report] * Taking a closer look at Elena […]
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Law Schools, Media and Journalism, Rankings, U.S. News
New U.S. News Law School Rankings: They're Official
We reported on the leaked U.S. News law school rankings on Tuesday afternoon. That leak was correct, and the 2011 rankings are officially up on the U.S. News website, right now. That’s bad news for NYU kids. They should try asking Berkeley students how transparent it looks to say that you go to a “top […] -
Law Revue, Law Revue Video Contest, Law Schools
Above the Law Wants to Review Your Revue
Each year, at law schools across the nation, a few brave — some might say foolhardy — students take a break from outlining case law, and set it to music instead. The Annual Law Revue (or whatever it’s called at your law school) allows students to parody the law and life in law school. And […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.14.10
* Is there anything positive we can take from the D.C. Circuit’s blow to net neutrality last week? [Infamy or Praise] * Bill Lerach isn’t the only one — there’s a whole host of criminals teaching in law schools these days. [Forbes] * Literally being attacked by a man’s python > Metaphorically being attacked by […] -
Department of Justice, Federal Government, SCOTUS, Solicitor General's Office, Supreme Court
Congratulations to the Newest Class of Bristow Fellows
In our reader poll on possible Supreme Court nominees — which is still open, by the way — Solicitor General Elena Kagan is leading the pack, at least in terms of the predictive poll. At the current time, a majority of respondents believe that she will be nominated by President Obama to the seat of […] -
Craigslist, Sex
This Time, The Lawyer Wants To Get Screwed...
One of the reasons we brought Courthouse Connection to New York is that we came across so many lawyerly personal ads on Craigslist. (Um, not that we troll Craigslist for dates. Our readers send them to us.) We were wondering whether Courthouse Connection has caused a drop-off in legal types posting on Craig’s pages. When […]