July 2010
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Food, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Washington Post
Eating at the Supreme Court Cafeteria: A Cruel and Unusual Punishment?
Last month, the employee cafe in the D.C. office of Skadden was briefly closed for health code violations. Meanwhile, across town, the Supreme Court cafeteria continues to operate — even though some apparently think it should be struck down like an errant statute. On what grounds? For serving fare that violates evolving standards of decency. […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.14.10
* The excellent hiring partner stories continue. This time from Paul Hastings we learn whether or not the firm has a “drive meter,” and how grade inflation is just pissing everybody off. [The Careerist] * Cravath is getting serious about its image. First it overhauled its website. Now it’s overhauling its marketing department. If only […] - 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… -
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Thanks to This Week’s Advertisers
Thanks to this week’s advertisers on Above the Law: Kaplan Test Prep Kinney Recruiting Lateral Link Lexis Nexis – Discovery Solutions Lexis Nexis – Law Firm Marketing Products Lexis Nexis – Martindale Lexis Nexis – RLS Specialized Law Lexis Nexis – Search Advantage & Hosted Litigation MasterCard MarketPlace Rocket Matter Suntrust PWM Legal Thomson Reuters […]
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Akin Gump, Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep
Akin Gump Back to $160K: Another Merit-Based Plan Offers Market-Level Base Salaries
It started with DLA Piper. After offering recession salaries to associates for a while under the guise of merit-based compensation, DLA relented earlier this month and restored the $160K base salary scale to its associates. Yesterday, WilmerHale announced that while it too is going forward with a merit-based compensation plan, it will be offering base […] -
Law Schools, Quote of the Day, Student Loans
Quote of the Day: More Positivity About Law School
The first time I looked at the grand total of what it would cost to get a law degree, I cried. And then I realized that this is what I want to do. I’ll have debt for the rest of my life, and that’s that. — Allissa Klatt, an incoming law student at Drake University […] -
Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justices Are People Too
In today’s Washington Post (gavel bang: WSJ Law Blog), writer Stuart Taylor Jr. notices that the Supreme Court is a totally partisan institution: Why does the supposedly nonpartisan Supreme Court split so often along ideological lines, with the four conservatives locked in combat against the four liberals and the eclectic Justice Anthony Kennedy determining which […] -
Associate Advice, Fashion, Fashion Is Fun, Summer Associates
Summer Fashion Tips
This month’s heat wave forced professional types to start desperately thinking about whether spaghetti straps and speedos are appropriate attire for the office. (Hint: they’re not.) Many offices do go casual over the summer, though. At Weil Gotshal, for example, you can buy your way into a pair of jeans on Friday. Says a tipster […] -
Bar Exams, Elizabeth Wurtzel, John Yoo, Law Schools, Richard Epstein
John Yoo, Richard Epstein, and Liz Wurtzel Walk Into a Bar....
… or talk about the bar. Welcome to one of those “only on the internet” moments, a spirited debate between three people I adore: Elizabeth Wurtzel, Richard Epstein, and John Yoo. The subject: the bar exam (but also law schools and the legal profession more generally). Here’s one thing the three share in common: they’re […] - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Lawyer Advertising, Plaintiffs Firms, Weirdness
Adventures in Lawyer Advertising: Pocket-Sized Legal Advice
There are many, many personal injury firms in the world, and they often have to come up with gimmicks to set themselves apart. -
Job Searches, Old People
What Can You Do With A J.D.? Whatever You Do, Don't Get Old.
Here’s a fun little story about the immense, door-opening possibilities you can enjoy once you have a J.D. and/or legal experience. From the ABA Journal: With 23 years of legal experience, Laurie-[E]llen Shumaker thought she would soon find another job when she was laid off in January 2009 from her position as a shopping center […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.14.10
* A possible upside to jury duty: getting to watch porn in court? [The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times] * Things just got hard in the Big Easy for six New Orleans police officers, who are now accused by the feds of shooting unarmed citizens and/or conspiring to cover it up. [New Orleans Times […]
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Biglaw, Job Searches, Law Schools, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Small Law Firms, Student Loans
In Defense of Going to Law School
When it comes to law school, “Hope springs eternal.” According to a National Law Journal article entitled Hope Drives Rise in Law School Applications, for this year’s incoming class, law school applications increased by 7% and the number of applicants by 3% — despite tough times in the legal profession and the heavy educational debt […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.13.10
* George Steinbrenner (R.I.P.), always a shrewd businessman, passed away at just the right time to avoid the estate tax. [CBS] * John Yoo’s defense of the defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). [Ricochet] * Latino Major League Baseball players are threatening to boycott the 2011 All-Star game (which is currently set to be held in […]
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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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…
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…
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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2nd Circuit, Free Speech, Quote of the Day, Rudeness
Quote of the Day: F*** Yeah!
We agree with the Networks that the indecency policy is impermissibly vague. The first problem arises in the FCC’s determination as to which words or expressions are patently offensive. For instance, while the FCC concluded that “bullshit” in a “NYPD Blue” episode was patently offensive, it concluded that “dick” and “dickhead” were not. Other expletives […] -
Facebook, Lawsuit of the Day, Social Networking Websites
Facebook Wants to De-Friend State Court
The meteoric rise of Facebook has tended to inspire lawsuits by those who claim to have collaborated with Mark Zuckerberg in the site’s creation. The latest to make a claim on the 500-million-member site is a wood chipper man in New York. We don’t understand how Paul D. Ceglia went from writing code to producing […] -
Pictures, Weirdness
Photo of the Day: This law office needs an Urban Dictionary.
The founders of this Oman-based law firm obviously haven’t seen American Pie: Law Firm Fail [Fail Blog] -
Arent Fox, Law Schools, UVA Law
UVA Law Stakes Claim to Become the Douchiest Law School of All Time
Last year, in our douchiest law school competition, Duke Law was crowned as the douchiest law school in the land. But we might have to run the contest again based on the new information we have about UVA Law. On the law school’s website, the school is posting summer associate stories from UVA students who […] -
Advertising, Biglaw, Career Center, Job Survey, Shameless Plugs, Summer Associates, This Is an Ad
Summer Associates: Let Your Voices Be Heard
We are updating the Career Center and want to know what you think of your summer program. Are the attorneys at your firm screamers or camp counselors? Are you eating at 5-star restaurants, or splitting meals from the Dollar Menu at McDonalds? Are you working on the next mega-merger, or picking up a partner’s dry cleaning? […] -
Biglaw, Feminism, Gender, Partner Issues, Women's Issues
Wage Gap Persists Among Female Partners: Where's the Outrage?
A couple of days ago, a survey came out showing that the wage gap between male and female partners is still very large. The National Law Journal put it this way: It’s no secret that women earn less than their male colleagues at law firms. The National Association of Women Lawyers concluded last year that […] -
Crime, Disability Law, Judge of the Day, Lawyer of the Day, Sexual Harassment
Lawyer of the Day, or Judge of the Day? We Report, You Decide.
In a few weeks, an interesting trial will be getting underway in Queens Criminal Court here in New York. The underlying incident should provide fodder for either a Lawyer of the Day or a Judge of the Day — but it’s not clear which. The episode giving rise to the criminal charges was reported back […]