December 2010
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Crime, Family Law, Gay, Law Professors, Law Schools, Sex, Sex Scandals
Lawyer for Alleged Columbia Perv Makes Pro-Incest Argument
I honestly can’t believe I have to do this, but apparently we need to argue about incest. Last week we told you about the Columbia political science (and adjunct law) professor, David Epstein, who is accused of having a sexual relationship with his 24-year-old daughter. I’d hoped that most reasonable people would agree that incest […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.16.10
* You can’t get a lap dance without being disbarred? What the hell kind of… oh, oh, you can’t be a pimp and be a lawyer. Alright, that makes more sense. [New York Post] * Yeah, I really want to hear Florida’s opinion on health care. Old people are notoriously good at desperately trying to […] - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Sidley Austin Pwns Cravath/DPW Associates
Dear associates at Cravath and Davis Polk (and other firms that have matched the Cravath bonus): you guys are getting screwed. No, seriously, you’re getting rogered but good. If you are going to take this lowball bonus the partners are shoving down your throats and grin and bear it, maybe you deserve what’s happening to […]
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Books, Crime, Gay, Harvard, Lesbians, Libraries / Librarians
Are Urine-Soaked Harvard Books Evidence of A Hate Crime?
I’m on record as being generally uncomfortable with hate crime designations. I’m not against hate crime laws across the board. You show me a guy with a demonstrable history of bigotry who then goes around beating people of some particular group, and I’m all for enhanced punishment. But in general I don’t think the state […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Davis Polk Matches Cravath
Bonuses have just been announced at Davis Polk. The firm has decided to match the Cravath scale. This may be disappointing, but it honestly shouldn’t be shocking. Davis Polk may be a market leader when it comes to beautiful offices or beautiful associates, but historically it has been cheap hasn’t led the way on associate […] -
Advertising, Biglaw, California, Career Center, Partner Issues, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center Survey Results: Top Partners to Work For - California (Part 2)
The East Coast is freezing right now. New York is bitterly cold, and D.C. is even getting snow. So let’s head out to the West Coast, where the weather is warmer — and where associates are thrilled to be working with some superb partners. Earlier this week, we presented ten California partners whom our readers […] -
Blogging, In-House Counsel, Media and Journalism
Inside Straight: Reminiscence, After Four Weeks
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Look: If Lat and Mystal are silly enough to let me write a column about in-house lawyers when I’ve worked in-house for just ten months, then surely I can reminisce about blogging at […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010
Associate Bonus Watch: Weil Believes That 'Market' = Cravath
As we just mentioned, Sullivan & Cromwell has not yet announced its bonuses. It seems that several other top law firms are keeping their powder dry until S&C fires. But Weil Gotshal, which previously committed itself to “compensating Associates at market rates” and paying “2010 bonuses that are commensurate with bonuses paid by peer firms,” […] - Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Associate Bonus Watch: What's Up With S&C?
As of this writing — Thursday, December 16, at 10:30 AM — Sullivan & Cromwell has not yet announced its bonus scheme. We suspect that several other top firms that have yet to announce bonuses, like Davis Polk, Simpson Thacher, Cleary Gottlieb, and Debevoise, are simply waiting for the white smoke to emerge from 125 […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.16.10
* One gusher of a lawsuit: BP could pay more than $5 billion because of the oil spill. A small price to pay for unleashing Cthulhu. [Wall Street Journal] * Prince Jefri owes his former lawyers more than $21 million. Time to cross another life-size sex statue off his Christmas list. Le sigh. [Washington Post] […]
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Bad Ideas, Food, Minority Issues, Racism
I Thought I Liked Fried Chicken Because It Is Delicious
Many of you know that the headline is the punchline to an awesome Dave Chappelle joke about black people and chicken. As far as I know, it is the only joke about black people and chicken (fried or otherwise) that is acceptable for white people to retell in 2010 America. I say again, it’s the […] -
McDonald's, Non-Sequiturs, Tort Reform, Walter Olson
Non-Sequiturs: 12.15.10
* Here’s a list of America’s Worst Bosses for 2010. Shocker: some of them are lawyers. [eBossWatch] * Is this a legal and/or fair way to get a flaking eBay auction winner to pay up? Maybe all is fair in love and war e-commerce — although that approach didn’t work out well for Vitaly Borker. […] -
Advertising, Career Center, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: Top International Law Firms
Want to work for a top law firm with legitimate global presence? Check out the following profiles of law firms that are (1) most admired by Career Center readers and Lateral Link members and (2) known for their strong international practice. Don’t forget to check out the profiles for other firms, both international and domestic, […]
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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…
Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls.
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
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…
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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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Biglaw, Law Firm Mergers, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell
Law Firm Merger Mania: Would a Nixon Peabody/Locke Lord Merger Make Sense?
Yesterday we reported on a change in management at Nixon Peabody. We understand that some people at Nixon hope that the shift at the top will be followed by a return to Nixon Peabody’s old law firm culture. But maybe NP people will have to get ready to assimilate into an entirely different culture? A […] -
6th Circuit, Police, Privacy, Technology
Sex Pill Peddler Makes It Hard for the Po-Po to Peep at Your Email
Thanks to a huge decision out of the Sixth Circuit, your email and the Fourth Amendment just got better acquainted. The police need to get a warrant to take a peek at the contents of someone’s inbox, writes Judge Danny Boggs — once rumored to be on the SCOTUS shortlist — in the court’s opinion […] -
Book Club, Books, Federal Judges, Judicial Divas, Vanessa Gilmore
Memoirs of a Judicial Diva: Judge Vanessa Gilmore Pens A Second Book
Back in 2007, I declared Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore (S.D. Tex.) to be a judicial diva (a term I first popularized over at my original blog, Underneath Their Robes). Judge Gilmore earned this delicious distinction through such behavior as allegedly throwing objects at attorneys in open court and dumping motions in the trash for using […] -
Cars, DealBreaker, Lawsuit of the Day
Legal Defense of the Day: New Car Smell Diminishes Your Capacity to Have A Soul
You know the only thing worse than getting run over by some rich joker in a Mercedes-Benz? Getting run over by a rich joker in a Mercedes-Benz who gets a slap on the wrist because his Mercedes-Benz is a brand-new Mercedes-Benz. Dr. Steven Milo knows that pain all too well. Our sister site, Dealbreaker, explains […] -
Advertising, Holidays and Seasons, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
Thanks to this week’s advertisers on Above the Law, who are putting gifts under our trees this holiday season: American Express BarMax Delta ELR Search Kinney Recruiting Lateral Link Lexis Nexis – Law Firm Marketing Products Lexis Nexis – RLS Specialized Law Livescribe Thomson Reuters WestlawNext If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law […] -
In-House Counsel
I Suck at Law
Ed. note: This post is by Will Meyerhofer, a former Sullivan & Cromwell attorney turned psychotherapist. He holds degrees from Harvard, NYU Law, and The Hunter College School of Social Work, and he blogs at The People’s Therapist. His new book, Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy, is available on Amazon. I uttered those […] -
Biglaw, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Williams & Connolly
A Look at New Partner Classes at Ten Top Firms (and an Open Thread)
‘Tis the season — for new partner elections at large law firms. Although there are some exceptions, most firms pick and announce their new partner classes around November and December, with partnership effective on January 1 of the following year. These partnership announcements sometimes contain interesting information, if you read between the lines. As we’ve […]