* Brooklyn College kid complains of a hidden camera in her apartment and is sent to psychiatric ward. The thing is, there was a hidden camera in her apartment. And tinfoil hats work. (Only one of those last two sentences is true.) [Forbes]
* Somebody should start a group for law professors against law schools. The latest member of the club: Bruce Antkowiak of Duquesne Law. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Former lawyer decides to devote her time to animals in a very awesome way. She helps people incorporate animal-friendly activities into their travel plans. Which immediately makes her the best travel agent ever. [Your Time Travels]
* Blacks in the military? Check. Women? Check. Gays? Check. Wow, it looks like the military is getting really inclusive… no, no wait, people with bad genes might be need to get out. [Instapundit]
* A personal story about Judy Clarke, defense counsel to Jared Lee Loughner. [Underdog]
* In case you missed this question on the MPRE, no, you can’t expense your booty calls to the firm. [Legal Profession Blog]
(Yes, this is late, but better late than never. If you have bonus news or a bonus memo that we have not yet written up — run a site search or scroll through our archives to check what we’ve already covered — please email us. Thanks.)
Last month, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher announced associate bonuses. As we explained last year, GDC pays individualized bonuses, based on such factors as hours or quality of work. So here’s an open thread for anonymous comparison of Gibson bonuses.
We received a little detail about Gibson’s bonuses this year….
Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Gibson Dunn Open Thread”
What is not thought of or talked about relative to these threats and follow-up protection is the effect on a judge’s ability to think about the cases and the law. With gun toting Deputy Marshals, good people all, within arm’s reach, it’s pretty hard to think about anything other than security. The whole experience is very distracting and the public suffers in the sense that the judge can’t do his/her best in such circumstances.
— a federal trial judge, commenting to Andrew Cohen of The Atlantic about how judges have been affected by the recent killing of Chief Judge John Roll (D. Ariz.).
Really, it’s a good news/bad news kind of thing. The good news: the ABA committee reviewing the accreditation standards for law schools is starting to remember it has some power over how law schools operate. The bad news: the committee is contemplating a change that will only result in making it easier for schools to recruit any and all with the ability to pay (or go into debt), while at the same time gaming the U.S. News law school rankings.
The latest brain nugget to come from the ABA is a proposal to remove the LSAT requirement for admission into law school. Currently, the committee requires prospective law students to take a “valid and reliable” test. But a number of schools already have a waiver so they can admit their own undergraduates without taking a rankings hit due to low LSAT scores. The new ABA proposal would simply drop the requirement altogether.
I don’t think the LSAT is indicative of whole lot more than one’s ability to study for the LSAT. Being able to take standardized tests is an important skill — at least if you ever want to pass your state bar exam — but it’s not the only skill. From an educational standpoint, I don’t think it really matters if students have to take the LSAT or not.
But given the proliferation of law schools more concerned about generating tuition dollars than preparing the next generation of lawyers, the LSAT exists as one of the few barriers to entry to a profession that is already overrun with applicants. Dropping the requirement is a move in the wrong direction that will only make it easier for diploma mills to churn out the next generation of unemployed, wage-depressing attorneys….
Continue reading “ABA Considers Dropping LSAT Requirement for Admission to Law School”
In a previous post, we revealed that 73% of respondents to our survey met their minimum billable requirements last year. Today, we find out whether associates were satisfied with receiving 2009-level bonuses for a busier 2010.
Let’s see what the survey says….
Continue reading “Career Center Survey Results: Bonus Satisfaction”
Jim McDermott
Yesterday, authorities arrested a man for allegedly making death threats against Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA). Charles Turner Habermann allegedly threatened McDermott because of the Congressman’s stance on tax policy. The FBI claims the arrest of the man who threatened the Congressman wasn’t spurred on by the tragedies in Arizona.
But, given the shootings in Tucson, at least everybody is going to be paying attention to vitriolic state of our political discourse.
Habermann seems to be going with the always fun “I was drunk” defense. But after reading the messages Habermann allegedly left for the Congressman, I’m not sure intoxication mitigates “the crazy” in any meaningful way…
Continue reading “California Man Arrested for Death Threats Against A Democratic Congressman”
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann.
Put yourself in the other guy’s shoes.
I don’t want a chorus of, “But that’s common sense! Tell me something new! Complain about bonuses!”
Of course it’s common sense that you should put yourself in the other guy’s shoes. But few people do it.
You call an IT guy for help because your !!%@! computer isn’t working. And the IT guy starts blathering on about IT gobbledygook. Interface this and reboot that and a bunch of gigabytes.
Gimme a break: I don’t want information technology; I want magic.
Just make the damned thing work. I’m not interested in your job.
You call the internal training folks and tell them that you have to revise the training module about discrimination or overtime pay or insider trading or whatever. And the training person starts blathering on about approvals and launch dates and other training modules and personnel schedules.
Gimme a break: I don’t want logistics; I want magic.
A business person calls a lawyer and asks how to accomplish something. And the lawyer starts blathering on about statutory this and precedent that and whether Smith is distinguishable.
Give the business person a break: He doesn’t want law; he wants magic.
So give him magic….
Continue reading “Inside Straight: ‘Will You Be There On Monday?’”
* Jared Lee Loughner had a long, strange relationship with the local constabulary. [New York Times]
* Illinois Governor Pat Quinn says he will follow his conscience in deciding whether to sign a bill abolishing the death penalty. And if you’re at all familiar with Illinois governors…well, that might not mean a whole lot. [Chicago Tribune]
* Lawmakers in Montana who claim Obamacare is unconstitutional may be violating Montana’s constitution in their effort to challenge the health care law. Petards, commence hoisting. [CNBC]
* What do I think of when I hear the phrase “app”? Awesome blossom. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Someone named Shayna Leah explains why she isn’t going to law school. Someone named Elie Mystal cries big, goofy, and, quite frankly, unnerving tears of joy. [Yahoo!]
* “Uma’s stalker stays caged after failed argument that actress is ‘not vulnerable’.” [New York Post]
* Shepard Fairey and the Associated Press settled their dispute over the Obama “Hope” poster. In retrospect, Fairey’s probably happy Andre the Giant’s posse didn’t include any lawyers. [ABA Journal]
It isn’t easy to wring a correction out of the New York Times. The Gray Lady is notoriously stingy when it comes to confessing error. [FN1]
But David Segal’s very interesting and widely read article about the perils of going to law school — which still sits at the top of the NYT’s list of most-emailed articles, several days after it first came online — now bears a notable correction…
Continue reading “A Notable Correction to the New York Times Article on Law School”
* Boasting about how you abuse attorney-client privilege probably isn’t the smartest thing to do. [Business Insider]
* Now that House Republicans have subpoena power, Obama is lawyering up. His latest hire: the nephew of a well-known movie critic. [Politico]
* Vigilantism and primitive justice. [Blackbook Legal]
* Lawyers should have goals, and metrics to make them reasonable. [A Closer's Coffee]
* Here’s a thought: If you were going to place new limits on one constitutional amendment because of Jared Lee Loughner’s unspeakable acts, would you rather go after the First Amendment or the Second Amendment? It’s a false choice, but still. [Infamy or Praise]
* A powerful visual of a tribute to Chief Judge John Roll and all the victims of the Tucson shooting. [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]
* Dear U.S. Military, please watch the first two Terminator movies before you kill us all. [The Awl]
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Well, how much debt do you have?
Wow. Guy goes to law school, guy racks up a huge amount of debt, guy has no idea how he’ll pay off his debts. Sound familiar? Okay, here’s the twist: the guy failed the “character and fitness” component of the Ohio bar because he has no plan to pay off his loans.
What the hell kind of legal education system are we running where we charge people more than they can afford to get a legal education, and then prevent them from being lawyers because they can’t pay off their debts?
Because it’s not like Hassan Jonathan Griffin was in a particularly unique situation when he went before the Ohio bar. A year and a half ago, we wrote about a man who was dinged on his character and fitness review because he was $400,000 in debt. That’s an extraordinary case. Hassan Jonathan Griffin owes around $170,000. He has a part-time job as a public defender. He used to be a stockbroker. He’s got as much a chance of figuring out a way to pay off his loans as most people from the Lost Generation.
If Griffin can’t pass C&F, Ohio might as well say that half of the recent graduates in the state don’t have the “character and fitness” to be a lawyer…
Continue reading “Character & Fitness Fail for Graduate With ‘No Plan’ To Pay Off His Debts”
When you read the accounts of recruiters at these firms, you get a sense of why they might choose these metrics. They have multiple stacks of resumes. They meet hundreds of applicants at career fairs. Rather than scrutinizing anyone’s resume it’s easier just to limit the pool to the top three or four universities.
Do you really want to pore over the transcript of that kid from the University of Michigan? Wouldn’t it be easier just to call the Harvard grad? In essence, what they’re assuming is that the admissions offices at the super-elite schools have already picked the best of the best. Why second guess them?
— Tom Bartlett of the Chronicle of Higher Education, writing about a paper by Lauren Rivera, a professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, entitled “Ivies, Extracurriculars, and Exclusion: Credentialism in Elite Labor Markets.”
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 did a podcast a while back with the ABA Journal. The topic was “work/life balance.” You can listen to it here.
It was a weird experience – like living on another planet.
I was the sole male. The other panelists and the moderator were women. That’s fine, but somehow, faced with the topic of “work/life balance,” everyone turned into Gloria Steinem circa 1971.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a shrill, strident feminist committed to full equality for women, and I have no beef with Gloria Steinem.
But how is work/life balance in the legal world strictly a gender issue? Women are admitted to law schools, and graduate from them, like men. They go to the same law firms, make the same money and take the same abuse…
Continue reading “Work/Life Whatever and Ten Missing Minutes of Tape”
It's a train car, not a conference room.
Here at Above the Law, we’re trying to help you. We write about lawyers who do embarrassing things so that you can learn from their examples. Heck, you should get ethics CLE credit for reading this site.
One of our most widely-used lessons — now part of new employee training at a Wall Street firm, in fact — is the cautionary tale of Acela Bob. Pillsbury Winthrop partner Robert Robbins conducted what should have been a confidential conversation about impending layoffs at his firm — in a loud voice, using his cellphone bluetooth, on a crowded Acela train. An ATL reader heard the whole thing and tipped us off; we wrote it up. Shortly thereafter, Pillsbury — which had not yet admitted to any layoffs — confessed that cuts were coming (and “apologize[d] for the unfortunate manner in which our deliberations about reductions have become public”).
Here’s one lawyer who apparently never heard about Acela Bob, or perhaps forgot the story: James J. Kirk (no relation to Captain James T. Kirk).
This James Kirk is the managing partner of Kelley Drye & Warren — and a man who has no trouble making himself heard….
Continue reading “Acela Bob, Meet Acela Jim: Kelley Drye Managing Partner Conducts Confidential Conversation on Packed Train”
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com.
Dear ATL:
I am a graduate of a T3 law school. I was on a law journal, successfully competed in moot court competitions (regional and national) and loved my clinical experience during my third year of law school. Basically, I love the courtroom, want to be a litigator, and have seriously been searching for a public interest job for a longtime. It just hasn’t happened yet.
However, recently I had the opportunity to interview with BigLaw. It’s a Vault50 firm, with an excellent reputation (like I need to say that). However, the offer I received was for a non-legal position, in the litigation support arm of the firm. The pay isn’t great, but it’s almost in line with what most new lawyers are making anyway (those who aren’t going straight to BigLaw from OCI). Is this a smart career choice? Does the networking opportunity outweigh the cons of the position? I’m just not sure if it’s smart to wait for a real lawyer gig, or take this position and run with it, and be the best non-lawyer I can be at the law firm. Thoughts, comments, advice?
– Oliver Twist
Dear Oliver Twist….
Continue reading “Pls Hndle Thx: Are Non-Lawyer Jobs Career Suicide for JDs?”
Jared Lee Loughner
* The attorney of Jared Lee Loughner will likely dig back several generations in order to establish her client’s lunacy. Apparently Loughner was an avowed nihilist. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism… [New York Times]
* Meanwhile, newspapers have grappled with how to use the batsh*t mugshot of Jared Loughner. Although “grappled” might be too strong a word as that cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs grin stares out a thousand-fold from every newsstand.[Washington Post]
* Silvio Berlusconi’s lawyers are trying to persuade an Italian court that he is immune from prosecution in two separate cases brought against him. Bunga Bunga. [BusinessWeek]
Eva Longoria
* Eva Longoria was sued for violating California state usury laws. When Tony Parker heard the news, he surrendered. Cause he’s French. He’s French, guys. Get it? [msnbc.com]
* An Iranian human rights lawyer has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, five of those years for not wearing a hijab. Reports are unclear, however, whether or not she is a lush Persian beauty. [CNN]
* Yesterday, a judge ordered that Michael Jackson’s physician stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s moonwalk off this mortal coil. [ABA Journal]
* “A Spanish teacher who was fired for getting hot and sweaty with another woman in a Brooklyn classroom is suing to get her job back.” [New York Post]
The Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from my hotel room last weekend. (I just got back from the AALS conference in San Francisco.)
Here in New York, home to Above the Law and Breaking Media, we’re gearing up for more epic snow. Those of you lucky enough to live in the Golden State might have to deal with earthquakes, mudslides, and obnoxious celebrities, but at least you don’t have to deal with blizzards.
Falling snow? Not in sunny California. Falling bar exam passage rates? Yes — at least for 2010.
A few days ago, the State Bar of California released overall statistics for the July 2010 administration of the (notoriously difficult) California bar exam. The overall bar pass rates went down by a little — but at some schools, the pass rates went down by a lot.
Which law schools’ pass rates tumbled, and by how much?
Continue reading “California Bar Exam Results By Law School: Open Thread”
* Lady Kaga issues her first single: a ruling against a Chapter 13 debtor, in favor of his credit card issuer, affirming the Ninth Circuit by a vote of 8-1. The lone dissenter: Justice Scalia. Weird, huh? [WSJ Law Blog; ABA Journal]
* “How do you spark a bonobo orgy?” [Andrew Sullivan]
* How do you prosecute a deaf, mute, illiterate man? Please, please, please let the answer include pinball. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Should law school final exams use made-up hypotheticals or real-life cases? Professor Howard Wasserman assesses pros and cons. [PrawfsBlawg]
* Illinois State Senate takes a syringe stab at repealing the death penalty. [Reuters]
* Guns used to shoot off penises > Guns used to shoot at attackers. [Gawker]
* Congratulations to the 13 new partners at Bingham McCutchen. [Bingham]
* Lateral Link is teaming up with Frank Kimball, the former McDermott Will hiring partner who founded Kimball Professional Management, to focus on partner placements. (Disclosure: Lateral Link is an ATL advertiser.) [Am Law Daily; Lateral Link (press release)]
Max Mosley wants to be warned next time he's the subject of a (s)exposé
Max Mosley, former head of international motorsports organization FIA, has been fighting with British tabloid News of the World for almost three years. In 2008, News of the World published a story about Mosley’s raunchy role-playing rendezvous with five sex workers, in which they played prison guards to his naughty prisoner. One of the sex workers had a camera supplied by the tabloid, so the story had a graphic video component. The News of the World focused on the fact that the sex workers spoke German throughout the role-playing, and thus described it as a “Nazi orgy.”
Not only was Mosley miffed to be part of a sex sting story, he said News of the World mischaracterized his sex fantasy. He said it was just a German prison camp, not a Nazi German prison camp (a crucial distinction — especially given that his father was Oswald Mosley, head of the British fascists, who did associate with Nazis).
Max Mosley sued News of the World for defamation and invasion of privacy. He won his case and was awarded nearly $100,000 plus legal fees. Heil yeah.
But by that point, it was too late to undo the reputational damage….
Continue reading “Max Mosley Fights for Right to Be Told About Nazi-Orgy News Stories in Advance”
