March 2011
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Career Alternatives, Law Schools
Ironic Message About What You Can Do With A Law Degree
Raise your hand if one of your reasons for going to law school was that somebody told you a law degree was “versatile” and that you can do a whole bunch of things with a J.D. Keep your hand up if time and the recession have proven that “versatility” thing to be a complete load […] -
Fashion, Gay, Job Searches, Libraries / Librarians, Non-Sequiturs, Pets
Non-Sequiturs: 03.31.11
* Ex-Marc Jacobs International CFO is suing the company for allegedly making him look at gay porn. Wait, you can sue people for that? [Fashionista] * Monty, the Yale Law School Therapy Dog, is already being billed out to the max. How long before Monty develops a superiority complex and a coke habit? [NPR] * […] - Sponsored
Law Firms Now Have A Choice In Their Document Comparison Software
Six months on since its launch, over 200 firms worldwide are now using Draftable Legal for accurate and reliable document comparison, including UK Top 50… -
Advertising, Biglaw, Career Center, In-House Counsel, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
How to Become an (Almost) Indispensable Junior Associate(Part 5)
In the first four parts of the Career Center “Tip of the Day” series, focused on how junior associates can become more indispensable to their law firms, we covered the importance of taking ownership of your work, becoming an expert in your field, developing effective management strategies, and the knowing the local rules of court […]
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Facebook, Free Speech, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Insulting Your Boss Online Is Now Protected Speech
In 2009, a paramedic in Connecticut went home and complained about her boss on Facebook. Then she got fired. “Love how the company allows a 17 to be a supervisor,” 42-year-old Dawnmarie Souza wrote. A “17” is the code her company, the American Medical Response ambulance service, uses for a psychiatric patient. She also called […] -
American Bar Association / ABA, Law Schools, Politics
Watch Out, Law Schools: A United States Senator Wants You To Stop Lying
Hell. Yeah. Today, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer called out the American Bar Association and asked the ABA to require law schools to provide accurate post-graduate employment and salary information about their former students. And so now the movement to get law schools to engage in some basic transparency about the value of a legal education […] -
Pro Bono, Public Interest, Small Law Firms
Size Matters: Good Deeds Can Come In Small Packages
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I have written this column from many places: my parents’ couch, my local Starbucks, my bed, etc. I have yet to try it from atop a soapbox, but here goes. It is common knowledge that […] -
Biglaw, Gender, In-House Counsel, Minority Issues, Women's Issues
Inside Straight: Pitching Diversity
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Diversity matters. It matters for reasons of social justice. It matters because folks are tracking it, and it can be important to look good on those scales. It matters for reasons of trial strategy, […] -
Admin, Advertising, Announcements, Biglaw, Law Schools, Practical Law Company (PLC), Shameless Plugs, Summer Associates, This Is an Ad
Are You a Law Student Seeking Career Advice? Send Us Your Questions.
After we announced our special event for law students, We Know What You Should Do This Summer, we heard from a number of our readers from outside New York. These law students, from D.C. and South Carolina and elsewhere, expressed apoplectic anger regret that they wouldn’t be able to attend our NYC event and benefit […] - Sponsored
How Transactional Lawyers Can Better Serve (And Maintain) Their Clients
Sign up and join us for our CLE webinar. From importing your checklist to delivering the closing book, you can bolster client service throughout the… -
Law Schools, New York Times
Law School Applications Down... At Yale?
We’ve talked about how there’s been a general decrease in law school applications. I’d like to interpret that as a sign that people are being more prudent about making the investment in legal education, but the decline could also be an indicator of more general economic recovery in America. Hey, if fewer people are applying […] -
Biglaw, Citigroup, Dissolution, Howrey LLP, Layoffs, Staff Layoffs
Howrey Going to Go On Without Bank Funding?Firm shutting down today, after Citi pulls plug.
Although Howrey LLP officially dissolved as a partnership as of March 15, some operations continued beyond that date. But at the close of business today, the firm is going into a more complete shutdown, due to a withdrawal of bank financing. “Last night, we received notice via email that Howrey is closing as of today, […] -
Biglaw, Celebrities, Drugs, FTC, Google / Search Engines, Howrey LLP, Marijuana, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.31.11
* What kind of a tour bus does Willie Nelson have? A cannabus. The singer won’t have to make a pit stop to sing in court on his maryjane charges. [New York Daily News] * How is there a human trafficking problem in Michigan? Are they all Canadians? No one cares if Canadians aren’t getting […]
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Law Schools, Reader Polls, Vanderbilt
The Choice: 0Ls Try To Figure Out Which Law School Is Right For Them
This is the time of year when future lawyers have to make a crucial choice that will follow them for the rest of the legal careers: where to go to law school. The choice of law school is critical, maybe unfairly so. When you look at medical schools, the hard part is getting into a […] -
Britney Spears, Gay, Gay Marriage, Immigration, Job Searches, Law Schools, Mergers and Acquisitions, Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.30.11
* Some people regret going to law school; Rachel Kramer Bussel regrets not finishing. But she wound up at the same delicious destination as so many JDs, namely, cupcakes. [The Gloss and Cupcakes Take the Cake] * Speaking of law school, Professor Dan Filler asks: Despite all the gloom and doom, is now actually an […]
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Why Do AI And Legal Professionals Make The Perfect Partnership?
For many legal departments, generative AI is the technology they’ve been waiting for.
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How Transactional Lawyers Can Better Serve (And Maintain) Their Clients
Sign up and join us for our CLE webinar. From importing your checklist to delivering the closing book, you can bolster client service throughout the…
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.
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AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
How solo lawyers, midsize firms, and global large law firms have an opportunity to adjust the way they work.
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Law Firms Now Have A Choice In Their Document Comparison Software
Six months on since its launch, over 200 firms worldwide are now using Draftable Legal for accurate and reliable document comparison, including UK Top 50…
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Advertising, Bar Exams, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
Check out the latest offerings in Sponsored Content: A bar review course for only $1,395. A great solution to your transcript management woes. And now, thanks to this week’s advertisers on Above the Law: American Express BarMax Black Socks IMS ExpertServices Kinney Recruiting (sponsor of the Asia Chronicles) Lateral Link LexisNexis – Juris LexisNexis – […] -
Benchslaps, Crime, Federal Judges, Law Schools, Quote of the Day, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trials
Quote of the Day: Justice Ginsburg's Subtle Benchslap of Tulane Law
On what basis can one be confident that law schools acquaint students with prosecutors’ unique obligation under Brady? Whittaker told the jury he did not recall covering Brady in his criminal procedure class in law school. Dubelier’s alma mater, like most other law faculties, does not make criminal procedure a required course. [FN21] [FN21] See […] -
Biglaw, Contests, March Madness, Reader Polls
ATL March Madness: The Coolest Law Firm Final Four
There haven’t been any VCU-style upsets in our Coolest Law Firm Bracket. That’s probably because lawyers don’t like upsets. Lawyers get paid to make sure no “surprises” happen; lawyers like things to proceed in a predictable and organized fashion. Sure, Davis Polk (ranked #5 by Vault) topped Skadden (ranked #4) in the Elite Eight. But […] -
McDonald's, Shameless Plugs, Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Is Your Firm Like Disney World?
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. No, not in the way you think. I’m not talking about E-tickets and giant bow-tied mice and screaming, overtired kids being dragged around by the half-crazed parents determined to get their money’s worth. […] -
Law Schools, Money, Rankings, Student Loans, U.S. News
The Best Law Schools -- Ranked By Financial Value at Graduation
Now is the season when law school applicants, having received their admission and rejection letters, need to make up their minds about where to attend law school (or if they want to go at all). We’ve received a number of inquiries from anxious 0Ls seeking advice about whether to matriculate at School X or School […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: O'Melveny Announces Spring Bonuses(While the associates are getting restless at Gibson Dunn....)
In its recent obituary for Warren Christopher, former U.S. Secretary of State and former senior partner at O’Melveny & Myers, the New York Times referred to O’Melveny as “the most traditional and prestigious of Los Angeles law firms.” Well, if you want to be one of the “most prestigious” Los Angeles law firms — or […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel
The Calm Center
My tenure at Sullivan & Cromwell ended – along with my legal career – in a smoking crater. Picture scorched earth. Nuclear armageddon. The fat lady sang. That said, I actually got off to a pretty good start. At least for the first couple weeks. I was assigned to a rather jolly partner, fresh back […]