February 2011
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.18.11
* “As virtually any clown can attest, no one owns the idea of making a balloon dog.” Jeff Koons was on the wrong side of this awesome legal beatdown. [Freakonomics / New York Times] * In honor of his memory, a new federal courthouse in Arizona will be named after Judge John M. Roll. [CNN] […]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 02.17.11
* Do not handcuff law professors and search their homes for drugs unless you are absolutely sure you are right. [SF Weekly] * Facebook adds relationship status options for “civil union” and “domestic partnership.” [Huffington Post] * Quick, 1Ls: Do I need an easement or a covenant to erect a 24-foot cross that shines into […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Advertising, Biglaw, Career Center, Job Survey, Money, Shameless Plugs, Student Loans, This Is an Ad
Career Center Survey Results: A Generation of Debtors (Part 2)
In Part 1 of the Career Center survey results on debt, we reported that 85% of the 3,700 survey respondents have outstanding student loan debt, with more than half of them owing $100,000 or more. We also found that 75% of respondents considered their debt at least as much as other factors when deciding on […]
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Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Milbank Makes Bank, Matches Cravath Spring Bonuses
Milbank Tweed? More like Milbank Cashmere. Associates at the firm can treat themselves to some luxury goods this weekend, in anticipation of the cash that’s coming their way in a few weeks. Earlier today, the firm announced that it will be matching the Cravath spring bonuses. It’s a pleasant surprise to some…. -
Boutique Law Firms, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
Size Matters: How Small Is Too Big? A Vocabulary Lesson
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I moved from Biglaw to a small firm in 2008. I had heard the term “litigation boutique” used positively. Also, I had heard tales of Biglaw associates going on to small firms and doing great […] -
Biglaw, General Counsel, Law Schools, Outsourcing, Technology
I, For One, DO NOT Welcome Our New Computer Overlords
I should have written about this days ago, but the pain was still too near to me. The humans have lost to the machines. We might as well start digging towards the Earth’s core, where it’s still warm, and start building our own Zion. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the terrifying […] -
Law Professors, Law Schools, Tim Wu
Columbia Reassures 1Ls By Sharing Professors' Dirty Transcript Secrets
We all know that in this legal economy, 1L grades are critically important. There aren’t enough good jobs to go around, and coming out of your first semester with a strong transcript can really help. This is why some law students flip out over changes (real or perceived) to grading policies or curves. But getting […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Willkie Farr
Associate Bonus Watch: Willkie Matches the Cravath Spring Bonuses!
We recently wondered, in the wake of Cadwalader announcing spring bonuses, whether Willkie Farr (and several other top New York firms) might follow suit. Well, the wait is over. Willkie has announced spring bonuses, on the top-of-the-line Cravath scale…. - Sponsored
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Asians, Drinking, Guns / Firearms, Law Schools, Pictures, Temple University, James E. Beasley Law
A Portrait of the Temple Law Shooter as a Young(er) Man
The jury verdict in the attempted-murder trial of Temple Law student Gerald Ung came out on Tuesday, but people are still talking about the case. Some readers have complained about our repeated use of Gerald Ung’s mugshot to illustrate our stories. In yesterday’s linkwrap, we mixed it up a bit, using a more formal photo […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Simpson Raises to Cravath Spring Bonus Scale
In a postcript to our detailed post speculating about the future direction of the spring bonus phenomenon, we noted “an isolated report of one firm on the S&C spring bonus scale going back and raising to the Cravath scale,” but said we required additional corroboration. We now have the requisite confirmation. On Tuesday, Simpson Thacher […] -
Books, In-House Counsel, Litigators, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Law, Shameless Plugs, Wall Street
Inside Straight: FAS 5 Fracas
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. First, a shameless plug; then, back to business. The plug: I’ll be giving my “book talk” about The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law in several locations in the next couple of weeks, including in […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.17.11
* Hawaii state legislators have approved civil unions for same-sex couples. Tiny gay couples… [Reuters] * Louisiana applies special penalties to those who are convicted of soliciting oral or anal sex, under the Crimes Against Nature law. Kirk Cameron and this Kiwi fella seem to disagree with Louisiana on just how unnatural oral sex is. […]
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Bad Ideas, Law Schools, Rank Stupidity
A Miami Law Student Wants a 'Student Bill of Rights.' Really?
Usually I’m happy to stand with law students against the slings and arrows of outrageous law school administration. But not this time. This time, instead of a noble law student fighting the good fight, I see an annoying whiner who wants law school to be about teddy bears and rainbows. A student at the University […]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 02.16.11
* The California Supremes have agreed to tackle the Prop 8 standing question. [Poliglot / Metro Weekly] * Musical chairs: veteran litigator Thomas Wiegand leaves Winston & Strawn and joins his good friend Steve Molo at MoloLamken. [Am Law Daily] * A report on the appellate proceedings in the Drew Peterson case. [Chicago Tribune] * […] -
Biglaw, Howrey LLP, Litigators, Musical Chairs, Thelen Reid & Priest, Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner
Howrey Met Your Mother (Then Lost Her to Another Firm)
Yesterday we reported on talks last week between Jones Day and key partners in the construction group of Howrey. It appears that the talks have borne fruit. As reported yesterday by the Daily Journal (subscription), a group of seven Howrey partners — led by prominent construction lawyer Steve O’Neal, former chairman of the now-defunct Thelen […] -
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Thanks to This Week’s Advertisers
This Valentine’s Day week, we express love for… our advertisers on Above the Law: American Express BarMax Black Socks Buy With Me Columbia Business School EMBA Kinney Recruiting Lateral Link LexisNexis – Juris Themis Bar Review Thomson Reuters WestlawNext If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or any other site in the Breaking […] -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Money, Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Have You Gotten Stupider?
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I live near Wellesley, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb usually described with words like “leafy” and “tony.” (I get “leafy,” but I’ve never really figured out “tony.”) Think soccer moms in yoga pants and […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, California, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: O'Melveny Highlights Difficulties for West Coast Firms
Tipsters report that O’Melveny & Myers has announced its bonuses. Tipsters are underwhelmed. Tipsters in California are starting to ask: “What about our spring bonuses?” As we mentioned last night, spring bonuses are sweeping the nation. We’re actually working on a spring bonus update (pending confirmation of a few things). If you have information and […] -
Courtship Connection, Gay, Holidays and Seasons, Romance and Dating
Courtship Connection: One Hit, Two Misses
Given the track record of Above the Law’s lawyer-matchmaking series, some may think we should change the name of the series to the Courtship Misconnection. In one of our first Washington, D.C. couplings, on Superbowl Sunday, a male lawyer fumbled his date with a “disarmingly feisty and unabashedly vivacious” female associate. (Beware the women who […] -
Bernie Madoff, Quote of the Day, Wall Street
Quote of the Day: Looking the Other Way
They had to know. But the attitude was sort of, ‘If you’re doing something wrong, we don’t want to know.’ — Bernard Madoff, speaking about the banks and hedge funds that invested in his Ponzi scheme, in his first for-publication interview since his December 2008 arrest (via Dealbreaker).