March 2011
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Cars, Law Schools, Rudeness
Law License Plates: School Spirit?
On Friday we posted a photo of a law-related license plate that struck some of you as rather obnoxious. We asked you to send in pictures of additional legally-themed vanity plates, by email (subject line: “Vanity License Plate”). We received a number of interesting submissions. Check out the first one…. -
Blogging, Facebook, Small Law Firms, Social Networking Websites, Twittering
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: 7 Reasons to Avoid Social Media
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Most small law firms are staying away from social media when it comes to marketing, according to a new report from Chicago-based Total Attorneys. The report, which you can see here (a short […] - Sponsored
Why Do AI And Legal Professionals Make The Perfect Partnership?
For many legal departments, generative AI is the technology they’ve been waiting for. -
Biglaw, Blogging, In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: Corporate Discussion Boards And Blogs
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Bruce MacEwen has been blogging long and well over at Adam Smith, Esq. He typically writes about law firm management, and his target audience is senior lawyers at large firms. Recently, however, MacEwen published […]
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Antitrust, David Boies, Football, Sports
U.S. District Court Judge David S. Doty: The Man Who Holds Football By The Balls
Since Japan is about to sink, drown, or blow up, you might have missed the fact that 32 or so billionaires officially can’t figure out how to share profits with a few hundred millionaires. That’s right, the National Football League — the most successful sports association ever — is in a stage of lockout. The […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.14.11
* Quentin Tarantino is suing his neighbor, Alan Ball, over the “pterodactyl-like screams” of his macaws. How high do you have to be to know what a pterodactyl sounds like? My guess: very. [The Telegraph] * Connecticut, please don’t let Komirsarjevsky dictate the terms of his guilty plea. Many would sentence this guy to the […]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.11.11
* How lawyers in Tokyo were affected by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan. [Am Law Daily] * Former Judge Jack Camp gets 30 days in prison — even less time than Paris Hilton. That’s some weak sauce. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] * An interesting account, by former Dealbreaker editor (and Skadden lawyer) John Carney, of […] -
Law Schools, Rankings, U.S. News
Quote of the Day: Well, it might be in some people's interest....
[I]t is not in anyone’s interest — especially that of prospective students — to have less than accurate data being put out by law schools. It’s creating a crisis of confidence in the law school sector that is unnecessary and we think could be easily fixed. Specifically, employment after graduation is relevant data that prospective […] -
Cars, Rudeness
A Funny Friday License Plate
Check out the amusing license plate below, sent to us by a reader in Los Angeles (of course)…. UPDATE (5:45 PM): Our original tipster adds, “Not sure if you can see the ‘Harvard Law Graduate’ brackets….” - 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. -
Law Schools, Money, Pro Bono, Public Interest, Student Loans
The University of Chicago Law School Unveils Its Enhanced Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)
Numerous applicants to law school claim that they want to become lawyers in order to serve the public interest — and some of them are telling the truth. Alas, after burdening themselves with six figures of law school debt, they find it difficult to follow through on their public-interest dreams. The path of least resistance, […] -
Biglaw, Career Alternatives, Money, Public Interest, Student Loans, Travel / Vacation, Weirdness
The Skadden Associate Who Picked Up and Moved to Nepal: An Update
On Wednesday we wrote about the great departure email sent out by Brian Emeott, a former corporate associate at Skadden in Chicago. Emeott, a 2004 graduate of Harvard College and 2008 graduate of Harvard Law School, picked up and moved to Kathmandu, Nepal. Brian’s wife, Claudine Emeott, resigned from her own job in December and […] -
Bad Ideas, Crime, Facebook, Rank Stupidity, Social Networking Websites, Technology
World's Dumbest Criminal Would Like to Add You As a 'Friend'
The following tale of legal technology took place in our nation’s capital, although it seemed to draw more attention overseas. Last December, as winter’s grip began to take hold over Washington, D.C., Rodney Knight Jr. found himself in serious need of a heavy jacket. So he did what any of us would have done in these circumstances: he […] -
Courtship Connection, Law Schools, Romance and Dating
Courtship Connection: Sloppy Seconds
At the heart of our Courtship Connection series is the premise that lawyers play well together in romantic relationships. Hopefully the story earlier this week of an engagement between two lawyers going horribly wrong won’t discourage future participants from taking on a fellow lawyer as a playmate. Previous Courtship participants aren’t discouraged, at least. Perhaps […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: McDermott Will & Emery's Good News
Earlier this week, associate bonuses were announced at McDermott Will & Emery. We’ve heard about the news from multiple McDermott sources — and, without exception, all expressed happiness with their bonuses. “McDermott essentially matched market for average billers and beat market for above average billers,” said one source. “They also combined year-end and spring bonuses, […]
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How Transactional Lawyers Can Better Serve (And Maintain) Their Clients
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Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Why Do AI And Legal Professionals Make The Perfect Partnership?
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Animal Law, Law Schools, Libraries / Librarians, Pets
The Best Law Schools -- For Dog Lovers
In the past week, we’ve learned about the best law schools for getting rich and the best law schools according to law firm hiring partners. So let’s do one more ranking: the best law schools for dog lovers. This ranking, as it turns out, looks a lot like the U.S. News law school rankings: there’s […] -
Antonin Scalia, Biglaw, FDA, Linda Greenhouse, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
Morning Docket: 03.11.11
* Johnson & Johnson will have to fix several factories after an agreement with the FDA prompted by massive product recalls. This still doesn’t explain why my bottle of Tylenol may contain tree nuts. [Bloomberg] * Charlie Sheen hammered out a custody agreement With Brooke Mueller. That’s nice. [People Magazine] * Texas may consider a […]
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Biglaw, Canada, Howrey LLP, Lawyer of the Day, Reader Polls
February Lawyer of the Month: We're Starting To See A Pattern Here
Whoops. Even though the polls closed about a week ago, we forgot to announce our Lawyer of the Month for February. So let’s get to it. Who is Above the Law’s latest honoree? -
Howrey LLP, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Sexual Harassment, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 03.10.11
* Howrey’d come to this? Robert Ruyak’s ruminations on his law firm’s fall. [WSJ Law Blog] * Speaking of Howrey, it’s only the latest of several major law firms to go from Am Law 100 status to dissolution. Take a swim in the Biglaw Dead Pool. [Law Shucks] * Dov Charney, CEO of American Apparel, […] -
Andrew Cuomo, State Judges, Technology, Trials
The Digital Courtroom: Apparently Not a Pipe Dream
We live in the age of ulcer-inducing, never-ending budget cuts. It’s surprising, though, when the chopping block can help the government achieve some progress, instead of just slicing its legs off. And what do you know? We happen to have recent news of that sort from the New York Unified Court System. Last week, Chief […] -
Facebook, Law Professors, Law Schools, LLMs, Rudeness
Here in the United States, if the professor ends class early, we do not complain.
And maybe that’s why we’re falling behind the rest of the world educationally. But at least we’re having fun, right? This story comes to us from Boston University Law School (a top 10 law school by alumni median income, by the way). A professor accidentally ended class 15 minutes early, and it looked like class […] -
Celebrities, Entertainment Law, Lunacy, Munger Tolles & Olson, Television
Lawsuit of the Day: Charlie Sheen's WINNING Case?
Watch out, Warner Bros. and Munger Tolles: the machete-wielding, tiger-blood-fueled Charlie Sheen is coming after you. The seemingly deranged actor, who was recently fired from the CBS hit show “Two and a Half Men,” has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. and Chuck Lorre, the studio and executive producer of the show, respectively. […]