January 2011
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 01.31.11
* While Cravath reignites competition over associate bonuses, Howrey associates are starting to wonder if ATL is running any kind of Nationwide Severance Watch. [Washingtonian] * Is the Cravath bonus big enough that we could call it the “Live Charlie Sheen’s life for a day” bonus? [Radar Online] * Hillary Clinton completed the “full Ginsburg” […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Fabulosity, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Cravath Enters the Bonus Wars -- and Beats S&C!
The venerable firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore — still widely regarded as setting the market for associate compensation at large law firms, even if other places pay more — has announced springtime bonuses. These bonuses are on top of the recent year-end bonuses that Cravath paid in December 2010. And get this: the CSM […] - Sponsored
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Anthony Kennedy, Constitutional Law, Federal Judges, Health Care / Medicine, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Florida Judge Strikes Down Obamacare
Well this should be fun. Florida federal judge Roger Vinson has struck down the heart of Obama’s health care reform plan, finding that the individual mandate part of the bill is unconstitutional and therefore the whole thing is unconstitutional. As Ashby Jones points out on the WSJ Law Blog, that makes the score 2 – […]
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Advertising, Announcements, LexisNexis / Lexis-Nexis, Shameless Plugs, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners, This Is an Ad
Congratulations to the Winner of LexisNexis's Small Law Firm Marketing Makeover!
Above the Law’s coverage of small law firms is about to ramp up. We will soon be announcing our two new writers on the small firm beat. (If you responded to our open call for new columnists, we thank you for your interest. We received a slew of excellent applications, which made the selection process […] -
2nd Circuit, Federal Judges, Judge of the Day, Kids, Pornography, Sentencing Law
Judge of the Day: Sentence Based on Judge's Genetic Theories Overturned
Do you think there is a child porn “gene”? It’s an interesting scientific question (although I don’t really care, because I don’t believe in genetic determinism). I’m sure that one day science will give us some kind of answer. But it is not this day. At this point we don’t know if there are any […] -
Admin, Announcements, Job Searches, Quote of the Day, Shameless Plugs
Fun Fact of the Day: Everything's Coming Up Roses
Job openings in the legal industry are up by 97 percent (December 2010 over December 2009). — A Sign of Hope for More Hiring, New York Times (Speaking of jobs, Above the Law has a new jobs board. If you’re looking for a new job, check out all the listings over here. If you’re an […] -
Asians, China, Old People
'Tiger Mothers' Hoping to Sue the Children Who Grow Up to Hate Them
Chinese New Year is this week (February 3rd). May the year of the rabbit bring you health and good fortune. Holiday preparations are well underway, and hopefully people will take the time to reconnect with family and friends. And if you don’t visit your parents, they might sue you. A new proposal from the Chinese […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: Human Resources and the Law
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. It’s odd to be one of the legal world’s shoulders to cry on. This began when I went in-house a little more than a year ago. I started getting calls from lawyer-friends asking […] - 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… -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.31.11
* Lawyers, just as an FYI, downgrading from a Porsche to a Beamer won’t make you look poor. [New Jersey Law Journal] * Representing Porsche and then punching another lawyer in the head? That’s another story. [Times-Tribune] * Repeal this, bitch. The Ninth Circuit has politely flipped the DOJ the bird over its request to […]
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Conferences / Symposia, Social Networking Websites, Staff Attorneys / Discovery Attorneys, Technology, Willkie Farr
The LegalTech Pregame Show
Ed. note: Gabe Acevedo will be covering LegalTech for Above the Law this year. If you are interested in communicating with someone from ATL about LegalTech coverage, please contact Gabe at gabe@gabesguide.com. Thanks. The pregame show for LegalTech New York 2011 has been in full swing the last few weeks. Vendors and their PR reps […] -
Non-Sequiturs, Sean Combs, Sonia Sotomayor, Williams Mullen
Non-Sequiturs: 01.28.11
* Professor Carlton Larson has a great new paper exploring possible constitutional limitations on state laws regulating baby names. Could parental rights to name a child “Dumb Motherf**ker,” “Preserved Fish,” or “Latrina” be protected by the First Amendment? [SSRN via Legal Blog Watch] * Speaking of the Wise Latrina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor is a fan […] -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, pls hndle thx
Pls Hndle Thx: Should You Ask for Lateral Signing Bonuses?
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. Dear ATL, I’m an associate at a mid-sized law firm, and I recently received an offer from a much larger and more prestigious firm. I’ve decided to accept. My question is: should I ask for a signing bonus, and if so, how […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus (and Salary) Watch: Wilson Sonsini
In our coverage last month of top law firm partners to work for, Wilson Sonsini did well. See here and here. (Speaking of Wilson Sonsini partners, the firm recently announced nine new ones — including Rick Frenkel, of “Troll Tracker” fame. Congratulations!) Not only does WSGR have some great partners to work for, but they […]
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Fast Food, FDA, Food, Lawsuit of the Day, Nauseating Things
Taco Bell Launches Meaty Offensive Over Its Beef
Earlier this week, we told you about a class action lawsuit filed against Taco Bell over its taco fillings. The lawsuit alleges that Taco Bell inaccurately claims to be selling “seasoned beef” when in fact it is selling “taco meat filling.” We didn’t think Taco Bell would take these allegations lying down. The WSJ Law […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Morgan Lewis & Bockius
This week brought annual reviews and individual bonus news for associates at Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Today (Friday) is payday, so everyone at MLB should know their bonus by now (or fairly soon). Back in November, firm chairman Francis M. Milone stated that 2010 bonuses would be “substantially larger” than last year. So that set […] -
Biglaw, Contract Attorneys, Document Review, Job Searches, Law Schools, Outsourcing, Student Loans
Law Graduates: Welcome to Your 'Barely Legal' Future
I know lots of guys fantasize about boinking “barely legal” teenage girls. Not me, I like women: fully formed, adult women. There’s just something unseemly about older men salivating over girls who could have been in high school a year ago. Call me crazy, but it’s just more interesting as an adult to be intimate […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.28.11
* Rahm’s back. And now you’re all in big BIG trouble. [Chicago Tribune] * It was a resounding victory for Rahm Emanuel, but two justices didn’t think the majority needed to benchslap so hard. [Chicago Sun-Times] * No more jokes about Allen Stanford. Still, that picture reminds me of a Geto Boys album cover. [TPMMuckraker] […]
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Biglaw, Howrey LLP, Law Firm Mergers
Howrey Going to Make This Merger Happen?(Plus two interesting internal emails.)
Developments are flying fast and furious out of Howrey. Yesterday we passed along reports that Howrey’s merger talks with Winston & Strawn were off. Today we’re hearing that they might be back on (or that they never stopped in the first place). According to the U.K.-based Legal Week (via the ABA Journal), the talks are […] -
Deaths, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Suicide, Wall Street
Non-Sequiturs: 01.27.11
* An interesting interview with Professor Benjamin H. Barton about his new book, The Lawyer-Judge Bias in the American Legal System, which demonstrates what many laypeople suspect: namely, that the legal system is rigged to benefit lawyers over the public. Professors Barton and Reynolds discuss why this might be the case and also compare the […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Cleary Gottlieb Matches S&C Spring Bonuses!
Springtime for Hitler? No, silly — Springtime for Associate Bonuses! And just like the (in)famous “show within a show” from The Producers, this production is a huge hit. This afternoon, Cleary Gottlieb announced spring bonuses on the Sullivan & Cromwell scale. They’re payable on April 29, just like those of Simpson Thacher. What else is […]