December 2010
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Gay, Military / Military Law, Politics, Quote of the Day
Quotes of the Day: Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Hold Your Breath
I’d have to say I’m not particularly optimistic that they’re going to get this done. — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, discussing whether or not the Senate will vote to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” before the end of this year. This legal uncertainty is not going away anytime soon. — Jeh Johnson, general counsel […] -
Baseball, David Boies, Divorce Train Wrecks, Family Law, Screw-Ups, Sports, Trials
Drafting Fail: Court Rules Jamie McCourt Owns A Piece of the L.A. Dodgers
Well, this is not going to make Bingham McCutchen partners happy. A judge today ruled that the marital agreement between Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and wife Jamie McCourt is invalid — and therefore Frank might not have sole ownership of the Dodgers. We wrote about Bingham’s boo-boo back in September. Some copies of […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Advertising, Biglaw, Career Center, Partner Issues, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center Survey Results: Top Partners to Work for - Washington, D.C. (Part 1)
Last week we brought you the top New York partners to work for (see here, here, and here), as nominated by our readers. This week we head inside the Beltway to highlight the best partners to work for in Washington, D.C. The following six partners work at some of the most prestigious law firms in […]
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Cyberlaw, Lawsuit of the Day, Pornography, Privacy, Technology
Lawsuit of the Day: YouPorn Sued for Sniffing its Users
I’m not overly familiar with the popular porn spots around the Internetz, but I understand that a good number of people are big fans of the homegrown selections that can be found on YouPorn – essentially YouTube for naked, lascivious types. The site is currently the 72nd most popular site on the Web, according to […] -
American Bar Association / ABA, Law Schools, Outsourcing
ABA Delays Decision on Whether to Accredit Foreign Law Schools
Protectionism? You betcha! Bowing to pressure from arguably every unemployed or underemployed American-trained attorney, the American Bar Association has delayed its controversial decision about whether or not to start accrediting foreign law schools. Back in August, we told you that the ABA was thinking about unleashing foreign-educated attorneys upon bar examinations across the country. And […] -
Akin Gump, Gender, Labor / Employment, Minority Issues, Partner Issues, Racism, Women's Issues
Discrimination Lawsuit Potpourri: Reed Smith and Akin Gump
Pennsylvania legal circles are buzzing over a discrimination lawsuit filed yesterday in federal district court by a partner in the Pittsburgh office of Reed Smith. One source who informed us of the suit referred to “some really interesting allegations” against the firm. A corporate and energy law partner at Reed Smith, JoEllen Lyons Dillon, alleges […] -
Biglaw
Stress Is What Makes Lawyers Act Like Lawyers
According to Hildebrandt, lawyers aren’t naturally overly critical, risk-averse people who are emotionally dead inside. It’s stress that makes lawyers behave this way. Those are the top-line results of a Hildebrandt study. The consulting firm did personality tests on 1,800 lawyers from four large law firms. The surveys tested both partners and associates, in attempt […] -
Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Wal-Mart
Morning Docket: 12.07.10
* Julian Assange was arrested at a London police station last night. What a dumb place for Julian Assange to be hanging out. What a stupid, stupid place. [CNN] * I can’t tell whether this story is real or not, but the Supreme Court heard the case yesterday of a deceased Korean War veteran diagnosed […]
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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… -
Deaths, Law Schools, LSAT, Lunacy, Old People
Prospective Law Student Must Choose Between LSAT and Dead Grandma
Pure lunacy is on display today in the Dear Prudence column on Slate. A prospective law student is set to take the December administration of the LSAT. But his or her grandmother — for ease of reference, I’ll use the male pronoun throughout this post — recently lost a battle with Alzheimer’s. Hence this question […] -
Loyola Law School, Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.06.10
* Loyola of Los Angeles has launched a new faculty blog. In the latest post, Professor Cesare Romano asks: Do states have human rights? [Summary Judgments] * And what happens if a nation-state disappears underwater — is it still a nation? [Associated Press] * Speaking of global warming, it’s going back to SCOTUS; here’s Professor […] -
Lawsuit of the Day, Nauseating Things, Old People, Ridiculousness, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Tort Reform
Lawsuit of the Day: Woman Breaks Hand Trying to Wipe Bum
I don’t remember the moment I first learned how to wipe my ass without hurting myself. I don’t think I received a special present or accolade for that momentous life event. But perhaps my parents did take notice in this way: MOM: Our little boy just successfully wiped himself without incident! DAD: Good. Maybe you […] -
Al Gore, Bush v. Gore, George Bush, Jeffrey Toobin, Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Ten Years After Bush v. Gore, the Stench Lingers
When asked about the decision in Bush v. Gore, Justice Antonin Scalia — one of the best legal minds in modern American history — tells questioners to “get over it.” That’s right, the Supreme Court decided the winner of a popular presidential election, and one of the architects of that decision wants people to not […] -
In-House Counsel, Legal Ethics, Litigators
Inside Straight: Overseeing International Litigation
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. I’ve spent my whole life watching my ignorance be exposed. When I worked at a small firm in California, I thought the whole litigation world was my oyster: We handled all civil cases […]
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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…
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9th Circuit, David Boies, Federal Judges, Gay, Gay Marriage, Stephen Reinhardt, Ted Olson, Videos
Liveblogging the Prop 8 Ninth Circuit Oral Arguments
We’ve set up our liveblog of the Ninth Circuit oral arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the Proposition 8 / same-sex marriage case. For a comprehensive account of what has happened in the litigation thus far, see this great FAQ by Chris Geidner, over at Poliglot. You can watch streaming video of the arguments over at […] -
Akin Gump, Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Tax Law
Associate Bonus Watch: At Akin Gump, Timing is Everything
It’s been a rough couple of week for Akin Gump. First, Steven Pesner made the firm look bad by exposing his own egomania. The man is now a case study in inappropriate partner behavior, so that should be coming to an Akin recruiting brochure near you. Then, as we mentioned in Morning Docket, the firm […] -
Canada, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
A Small Firm Renaissance?
It’s pretty clear that traditional large-firm jobs in big cities are still hard to come by. Even those cushy government jobs sometimes offered as a Biglaw equivalent are, as of last week, slightly less appealing. Well, fear not; the small law firm renaissance is here! A recent article in Lawyers Weekly suggests that small towns […] -
Federal Government, Job Searches, Technology
Government Is Serious About Dissuading Job Seekers From Reading Wikileaks
Last week, we reported that Boston University School of Law was warning job seekers not to read (or link to) WikiLeaks if they want to get a government job. The government still regards the documents as classified, and so somehow if you link to them (say on Facebook), you might fail a to get the […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.06.10
* Is this supposed to be the “change” we can believe in? Obama pops his pardon power cherry with a felony coin mutilator. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] * A 1L at University of Tennessee Law might be bombing her finals right now because of her failed attempt at tossing a ball for tuition. I bet she threw […]
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Feminism, Gender, Partner Issues, Quote of the Day, Women's Issues
Quote of the Day: Unintended Consequences
[M]ale lawyers do not want to travel with, have lunch with, or mentor women lawyers because they fear someone will mistake their intentions and accuse them of sexual harassment. — law firm consultant Cynthia Calvert, in a blog post entitled Male Partners: Help Your Firm by Connecting with Women Lawyers. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.03.11
* The Paradise Hunter audition tape of a Florida lawyer. [South Florida Lawyer] * One of my many problems wit the Repeal Amendment is that it wouldn’t put power in the hand of the people, it would put power in the hands of state legislatures. Have you seen how those things are run? [The Volokh […]