Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 03.24.11

By David Lat

* Still more benchslappery, this time from the Second Circuit. Professor Nita Farahany wonders whether Judge Gary Sharpe “may have missed a few important days of his genetics class in high school or in college.” [Law and Biosciences Digest] * In other federal judicial news: I’ve never bought into the silly claim that Clarence Thomas […]

Biglaw, Small Law Firms

Size Matters: Small Firm With Big Shoes To Fill

By Valerie Katz

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I suppose that I should interview John Quinn (or john quinn?) on what it takes to start a successful small law firm. I mean, yeah, Quinn Emanuel was once small and now is sort of […]

Law Schools, Libraries / Librarians

Purported Wake Forest Law Student Slams Wake Forest Law Librarians

By Elie Mystal

You know an email has gone viral when we get unsolicited emails asking us to not post something we just received from a bunch of people all at the same time. Let’s hope Wake Forest School of Law is ready for its closeup. Someone — claiming to be a Wake Forest law student, and calling […]

7th Circuit, Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Legal Ethics, Litigators, Quote of the Day, Richard Posner, Rudeness, Vicious Infighting

Quote of the Day: Judge Posner Is Not a Kindergarten Teacher

By David Lat

There must be no more of this childish abuse…. No more or there will be sanctions. In more than 29 years as a judge, I have never encountered such bickering, quarrelsome lawyers. You are wasting my time and your clients’ money. – Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, sitting by designation as a district […]

Advertising, Biglaw, Law Schools, Shameless Plugs, Summer Associates, This Is an Ad

How To Make the Most of Your Summer

By Above the Law

Are you a law student (or lawyer) who belongs to one of the following groups? You’ve lined up summer employment, and you want to ensure that you make the best of the opportunity (e.g., that you get an offer, if that’s an option). You haven’t lined up summer employment, and you’re interested in ideas and […]

Biglaw, Contests, March Madness, Reader Polls, Williams & Connolly

ATL March Madness: The Coolest Law Firm Elite Eight

By Elie Mystal

We will have a new winner in this year’s Coolest Law Firm contest. When Above the Law first ran this bracket back in 2008, you picked Latham & Watkins as the victor. This time around, they got… Lathamed, in the first round. Cravath crushed Latham by a 60% – 40% margin. That was the second-highest […]

Biglaw, Cheapness, In-House Counsel, Partner Issues

Inside Straight: In Praise Of Mediocrity!

By Mark Herrmann

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. All this perfection crap. One reader wrote to me to complain. Surely, he said, there’s room in the world for a law firm that does work that’s “good enough for the occasion at a […]

3rd Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Musical Chairs, Old People

Musical Chairs: Judge Fullam, Benchslapped and Elderly, Is Stepping Down

By David Lat

We recently covered the Third Circuit’s benchslap of Judge John Fullam, an 89-year-old judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In his opinion in United States v. Higdon, issuing a writ of mandamus and directing that the case mishandled by Judge Fullam be reassigned on remand, Chief Judge Theodore McKee had some harsh words for […]

Asians, China, Politics, Religion

From The Dalai Lama To A Harvard Law Fellow? Free Tibet Movement Could Get Hardcore.

By Elie Mystal

I’m not a hippie, but I have attended a Free Tibet rally (it was college, I was experimenting). I support a free Tibet, in that American way of admonishing China while in no way depriving myself of any Chinese products or consumer markets. My dog is a Tibetan breed (Lhasa Apso). I spent a not-insignificant […]

Celebrities, Lindsay Lohan, Madonna, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trials

Morning Docket: 03.24.11

By Juggalo Law

* Conky the Robot says the word of the day at the Barry Bonds trial yesterday was…syringe. AAAAHHHH!!!!!! [ESPN] * Robert George, a prominent Boston defense attorney, stands accused of money laundering. Forget prison for a second; what is he going to do with 40 subscriptions to Vibe? [Boston Globe] * Lilo rejected a plea […]

Law Schools, Rankings, Student Loans, U.S. News, UNC Law, Vanderbilt

Open Thread: 2012 U.S. News Law School Rankings (16 – 30)

By Elie Mystal

And now things get interesting. As we continue to run through the U.S. News 2012 law school rankings, we get to a crucial set of schools. The schools in this batch are certainly top tier, but they’re not “top 14″; for the most part, though, they charge like top 14 schools (especially the private ones). […]

9th Circuit, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Schools, Musical Chairs, Non-Sequiturs, S.D.N.Y., U.S. Attorneys Offices

Non-Sequiturs: 03.23.11

By David Lat

* Were you skeptical of all the law schools reporting to U.S. News that the median private-sector starting salary for their graduates is $160,000? Forbes explains why your skepticism is warranted. [Forbes via Constitutional Daily] * On a related note, if you want to be a millionaire, you should definitely go to college. Law school? […]

California, Kids, Law Schools, New York Times

In Five Years, Will the Endless March Of New Lawyers Finally Stop?

By Elie Mystal

A reader sent in an encouraging list from the New York Times. Well, encouraging to me and others who want the demand for legal education to decrease to levels the legal economy can sustain. According to this story, the Times asked 18 high school seniors in San Diego to predict their futures over the next […]

Advertising, Real Estate, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad

Thanks to This Week’s Advertisers

By Above the Law

This week in sponsored content: an interesting look at the Hong Kong housing market, by Alexis Lamb of the Asia Chronicles. Finding a flat in HK these days poses quite the challenge. And now, let’s thank this week’s advertisers on Above the Law: American Express BarMax Black Socks IMS ExpertServices Kinney Recruiting (sponsor of the […]

Books, Small Law Firms, Videos

Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Why Are You a Small-Firm Lawyer?

By Jay Shepherd

Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Seriously. Why? I don’t mean in a “because I couldn’t get a BigLaw job” way. I mean, “Why are you practicing law in a small firm?” And if you’re looking for work in […]

7th Circuit, Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Frank Easterbrook, Legal Ethics, Quote of the Day

Quote(s) of the Day: Oh, professionalism is overrated.
(Or: Mess with the Easterbrook, you get the horns.)

By David Lat

The Law Society of Upper Canada has its panties in a twist. Apparently there are a few lawyers up there who have been exhibiting “uncivil behavior,” and the society wants it to stop. I know what you are thinking: Isn’t everybody in Canada nice (except for Scott; he’s a dick)? Well, it would seem that […]

Money, Technology

A Challenge to Startup Lawyers, from Fred Wilson

By David Lat

A prominent venture capitalist, Fred Wilson, has a question: Why do lawyers cost so darn much? That’s the gist of Wilson’s recent blog post, A Challenge To Startup Lawyers, in which he discusses a recent investment his fund closed, a seed round. The parties used standard form documents, without negotiation, and the investors had no […]