July 2010
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Craigslist, Job Searches, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants
A Passive-Aggressive Craigslist Ad
A reader drew our attention to a mildly amusing “help wanted” ad on Craigslist. Says our source: “Now that I’m a lawyer myself, who previously worked for an a**hole boss, I find this ad for a new legal assistant pretty funny. You can tell he thinks his boss is an anal-retentive douche, but doesn’t know […] -
Associate Advice, Biglaw, Partner Issues, pls hndle thx
Pls Hndle Thx: It's A Partner's Life
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. Dear Above the Law, I’d like your insight on a recurring event at my firm. It seems that several partners love to hit the “reply all” button in response to mass emails. Here’s an example: Email: Is anyone familiar with an attorney […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
9th Circuit, Department of Justice, House Judiciary Committee, Jay Bybee, Office of Legal Counsel, Torture
Quote of the Day: And I ordered the Code Red on Santiago, too!
We took a muscular view of presidential authority. We were offering a bottom line to a client who wanted to know what he could do and what he couldn’t do. I wasn’t running a debating society, and I wasn’t running a law school. — Ninth Circuit Judge Jay S. Bybee, testifying to the House Judiciary […]
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Canada, Defamation, Drinking, Labor / Employment, Parties, Sex, Sex Scandals, Sexism, Sexual Harassment
Partner of the Day, Eh: Canadian Lawyer Sues Two of His Former Associates
Sometimes law firm after-hours parties get pretty wild. The Great Recession didn’t put a damper on one Toronto firm’s celebrations last year. In January 2009, Mathews, Dinsdale & Clarke threw a rager in honor of its annual labour law “moot” competition for Canadian law students. (We mentioned this story briefly in yesterday’s Non-Sequiturs.) After awards […] -
Email Scandals, Job Searches, Law Schools
Emory Law Student Lament: 'We don’t need donuts, we need jobs.'
When times are tough, the tough get… whiny? A law student at Emory is frustrated by the lack of jobs being offered up by Career Services and circulated an email airing his or her discontent. Addressed to “My Fellow Emory Law Students,” it lambasts the employees charged with helping Emory grads land jobs. It’s available […] -
Cars, Lawyer of the Day, Minority Issues, Police, Racism, Rudeness
Lawyer of the Day: Prosecutor-To-Be Mouths Off to Officer -- and Loses Job
When I worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, I’d sometimes hear colleagues joke about handing over their Justice Department credentials along with their driver’s license if pulled over for a moving violation. It was a joke because it was generally understood that trying to get out of a speeding ticket by flaunting one’s status as […] -
7th Circuit, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.16.10
* The Gulf gets a temporary respite from the oil flow. [New York Times] * Dancing with the Lawyers: Erin Andrews sues the hotels that booked her stalker in an adjoining room. [CNN] * University of Wisconsin Law School professor Victoria Nourse gets the Obama nod for the Seventh Circuit. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; State Bar […]
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Drinking, Lawsuit of the Day
Lawsuit of the Day: Mad Beer Pong Skills Lead to Lawsuit
Based on our report about the UVA super-awesome-happy law student, a lot of people seem to be confused about how the internet works. So, as a public service, let’s go over the rules: Rule 1: If it ends up on the internet, everybody can see it. Rule 2: If everybody can see it, it’s possible […] - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.15.10
* Goldman Sachs settles with the SEC — for $550 million dollars. That’s gotta go down as a big “LOSS” for GS. [Wall Street Journal via Dealbreaker] * Former O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro is the latest addition to Team LiLo. At this point, I’m thinking of going to jail for 90 days just to […] -
Arlen Specter, Elena Kagan, Politics, SCOTUS, Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court
Quote of the Day: A Not-So-Ringing Endorsement
In addition to her intellect, academic and professional qualifications, Kagan did just enough to win my vote by her answers that television would be good for the country and the court, and by identifying Justice Marshall as her role model. — Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), explaining in a Los Angeles Times op-ed piece why he […] -
Pregnancy / Paternity, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Update: 'Baby Mama' Drama on Wisconsin Bench Reaches Resolution
Back in February 2009, we named the Honorable Joseph Wall a Judge of the Day. Joe Wall, at the time a Wisconsin trial court judge, used the term “baby mama” at the sentencing of an African-American defendant. He also made additional amusing quips — e.g., suggesting that “baby mamas” congregate at “a club” to find […] -
Law Professors, Minority Issues, Racism, Texas
University of Texas Renames Simkins Hall
The University of Texas Board of Regents has agreed to rename Simkins Hall. Simkins Hall was named for a former UT Law professor and Ku Klux Klan leader. The Board of Regents voted unanimously to change the name. The Houston Chronicle reports: “There has never been any doubt in my mind about what direction they […] -
Celebrities, Contract Attorneys, Pregnancy / Paternity, Sports, Weirdness
An Interview with the Alleged Father of LeBron James(aka Gloria James's 'Baby Daddy')
In the aftermath of last week’s “LeBromination,” where we witnessed the Miami Heat become the basketball power equivalent of the SuperFriends, this was the response from a colleague of mine to a related story gaining steam in the media: “Yeah, and I’m Shaq’s uncle.” The last two weeks have been quite a whirlwind for Leicester […]
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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Advertising, Biglaw, Career Center, Shameless Plugs, Summer Associates, This Is an Ad
Career Center: A Report on 2009 Summer Programs
Now that we have kicked off the 2010 Summer Associate Satisfaction Survey, we wanted to share with you some of the highlights from the reports on the 2009 firm summer programs. If you are a current summer associate, click here to take our short survey about your experiences this summer at your firm. The summer […] -
Bad Ideas, Crime, Immigration
Utah Citizens Form Their Very Own Secret Police
A group calling itself “Concerned Citizens of the United States” has compiled and published a list of 1,300 allegedly illegal immigrants living in Utah. In addition to names and addresses, the list goes into shocking personal detail about the people the Concerned Citizens group is concerned about, The New York Times reports: Each page of […] -
9th Circuit, ACLU, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Crime, Privacy
A Brave New Genetic Database
While in journalism school, one of my “assignments” was to hang out at New York’s night court (open until 1 a.m. every night), observe the proceedings, and then write about them. It was less exciting than Judge Harry had led me to believe, but was an interesting night replete with drug addicts, prostitutes, and a […] -
Law Schools, Student Loans, U.S. News
Even U.S. News Suggests Law School Tuition Is Getting Ridiculous
Over the past few days we’ve seen an outpouring of support for the proposition that people should go to law school. It’s clear that there are many students in law school or heading to law school who believe that they’ve made the right decision (and it is the right decision, for some people). Moreover, we’ve […] -
Food, State Judges, Violence, Weirdness
How Not To 'Sweet Talk' A Judge
Why are University of Bridgeport students / graduates so prone to violence? First there was Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber (Bridgeport ’00). Now there’s Michael Williams: Police said a University of Bridgeport student angrily confronted Probate Judge Paul Ganim (pictured) during the Puerto Rican parade, throwing candy into the judge’s face. Michael Williams, 26, […] -
Gay Marriage, Immigration, JPMorgan Chase, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.15.10
* JPMorgan Chase kicks off earning season with strong numbers. You wonder if this will give Jamie Dimon even more clout has he lobbies on the financial reform bill. [CNN Money] * Argentina legalizes gay marriage. [New York Times] * Hogan Lovells partner Scott McInnis admits he committed plagiarism in 1984. He’d still like to […]
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Cars, Elena Kagan, Politics, SCOTUS, Screw-Ups, Supreme Court
Finally, an Elena Kagan Scandal: A Hit-and-Run Car Accident!
The Senate confirmation vote on Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court has been pushed back one week, to July 20. This gives the Republicans more time to try and persuade a few Democrats to vote against Lady Kaga. As they try to win over Democrats, the Senate Republicans have some new fodder: a Kagan-related […]