April 2011
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Gay, Gay Marriage
Apparently, Prop 8 Supporters Are Now Comfortable With Everybody Knowing They're Raging Bigots
Judge Vaughn Walker, the man who overturned Proposition 8 in California, is gay. He even admitted it. You know what that means, don’t you? [Wink, wink]. I mean, the man is gay so clearly… like, do I have to spell it out for you? He’s a man who likes to have sex with other men, […] -
Allen & Overy, Celebrities, Fabulosity, Letter from London, Magic Circle, United Kingdom / Great Britain, Weirdness
The Royal Wedding: A Legal Look (Part 2)
Ed. note This is the second in a series of posts that Alex Aldridge, a London-based journalist who covers legal affairs, will be writing for Above the Law about the upcoming royal wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton. You can read the first post here. In Britain, middle-class people who don’t know what […] - 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… -
Bar Exams
New York February Bar Results Are Coming Out Today
That was quick. Last night, we ran a story about the threatening message up on the New York State Board of Law Examiners website. Predictably, that message is now gone (which is why we took a screen shot, yesterday). But it’s been replaced with the kind of relevant information people are actually looking for when […]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.26.11
* The Supreme Court screwed the Cooch because his health-care challenge came too soon. That’s what she said. [Wall Street Journal] * Hide your bong, hide your weed, ‘cause Antoine Dodson’s smokin’ everything out here. Run and tell that, homeboy. [Chicago Sun-Times] * If this guy can hide weapons in a 1/8-inch beard, he deserves […]
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Antitrust, Football, Sports
Our Long National Football Nightmare Is Not Over, But Maybe?
Earlier this evening, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson (D. Minn.) ordered an end to the NFL lockout. Football is back on! Maybe! Or not! Not at all? Who knows?!?!?! Yes, Judge Nelson ordered an end to the lockout today. Watching ESPN is like a trainwreck for those who crave certainty in their news reports. […] -
Bar Exams
Recent Bar Exam Results: Open Thread(And: Is the New York Board of Law Examiners Threatening Me?)
‘Tis the season for bar exam results. If you took the bar in February we’re sorry, your score should be on its way. Several states have announced since our last open thread, which covered Illinois and Kansas. Last week, scores came out for Florida, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Scores have also been out for a while […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.25.11
* Ropes & Gray is now America’s law firm. [Law Shucks] * And the Galleon Group case finally goes to the jury. [Financial Times] * Paul Krugman needs friends. [Dealbreaker] * Apparently, American children are more dumb than British children and thus cannot be trusted with the same kinds of Easter candy. [DNAinfo] * The […] -
Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Constitutional Law, Gay, Gay Marriage, King & Spalding, Paul Clement, Quote of the Day, Seth Waxman, Viet Dinh
Quote of the Day: Classy Clement
I think it’s important for lawyers on the other side of the political divide from Paul, who’s a very fine lawyer, to reaffirm what Paul wrote [in his resignation letter from King & Spalding]. Paul is entirely correct that our adversary system depends on vigorous advocates being willing to take on even very unpopular positions. […] - 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… -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Schulte Will Pay Spring Bonuses, But You'll Need To Jump Through Some Hoops First
The funny thing about spring bonuses is that nobody really planned on them. Firms really thought they were going to be able to get through bonus season paying Cravath’s lowball initial bonuses. Remember when Cravath seemingly set the market, and there was that one partner caught saying “thank God”? That’s what firms were thinking. Well, […] -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Small Law Firms, Technology
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Blade Runner and the Future of Law
I’ve got news for you: The future of practicing law will not be about cloud computing. It won’t be about tablets or offshoring or client self-help or virtual law offices. It won’t be about e-discovery, or practice management, or paperless offices. Yes, these things will certainly all happen; many are happening now, and a number […] -
Law Schools, Money
If Tuition Stays Down, I Don't Give A Damn What They Call It
If your law school sells its naming rights but keeps tuition flat, would you protest? That’s the question facing students at the University of Maryland School of Law. They woke up on Monday morning to find out that instead of going to an easily identifiably state law school, they’ll soon be going to something called […] -
Biglaw, General Counsel, In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: Non-Lawyers As Clients
I never noticed this before I went in-house, because it never made a difference to me: When you’re an outside litigator, representing corporations in significant disputes, your clients are lawyers. This may not be true for all outside lawyers. If you’re representing a small business, the business may not have inside counsel, so you may […] -
Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Constitutional Law, Gay, Gay Marriage, King & Spalding, Paul Clement, Politics, Small Law Firms, Viet Dinh
Paul Clement Quits King & Spalding After K&S Moves to Drop DOMA Defense
The leading law firm of King & Spalding, which came under fire from LGBT rights groups after its defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) became public last week, has moved to withdraw from the litigation. The firm cited problems with the vetting process applied to the engagement. And Paul Clement, the former U.S. […]
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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…
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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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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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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Biglaw, Layoffs
Just How Big Is The Lost Generation?
It’s hard to put a number on just how many people are in the so-called “lost generation” of attorneys who had their careers ruined during the recession. We’ll probably never know how many people did not get jobs or had to take very bad jobs because of the weak economy in 2008, 2009, and 2010. […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.25.11
* LiLo was sentenced to 4 months behind bars and 480 hours of community service in a morgue. I guess the morgue is fitting, since this might be the final nail in her acting career’s coffin. [Reuters] * The Winklevii didn’t take kindly to being told to STFU and GTFO, so they found some new […]
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Law Schools, Videos, YouTube
One Person's Law School 'Decision'
Despite the waves of people trying to show me the humor and humanity of stomping a bird to death, I prefer my laughs to come in more traditional formats. Something light: like YouTube videos, made by prospective law students, that are both intentionally and unintentionally funny at the same time. And it just so happens […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.22.11
* Technology is a godsend, but old-school ways did have their charms. Ben Kerschberg reminisces about preparing SCOTUS briefs back in the days of hot-metal printing. [Forbes] * Ed Whelan calls out Linda Greenhouse regarding the D.C. Circuit nomination of Caitlin Halligan (in a blog post whose title I prefer not to dwell on). [Bench […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Salary Freeze, Silicon Valley
Associate Salary Watch: Wilson Sonsini Restores Pay to Pre-Freeze Scale
It appears that Larry Sonsini, chairman and name partner of the high-powered Wilson Sonsini law firm, is a very good golfer. Earlier this year, while playing golf to celebrate his 70th birthday, the legendary lawyer scored a hole in one. Sonsini isn’t the only one who’s scoring over at 650 Page Mill Road. His partners […] -
Celebrities, Copyright, Fame Brief, Intellectual Property, Music
Fame Brief: Weird Al, Fair Use, and the Lady Gaga Saga
On Wednesday, white and nerdy musical genius Weird Al released “Perform This Way,” to his Twitter followers for free download, after Lady Gaga supposedly refused to approve it for inclusion on his upcoming album. The song parodies Gaga’s “Born This Way” and, while certainly no “Another One Rides The Bus” or “Rye or the Kaiser,” […] -
Akin Gump, Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Partner Profits
Associate Bonus Watch: Akin Gump Jumps on Spring Bonus Bandwagon
It’s definitely a good Friday over at Akin Gump. The firm just announced spring bonuses. Better late than never. We’ve been receiving complaints from financially achin’ Akin associates for weeks. Earlier this month, for example, one Akin Gump lawyer complained about the firm not paying spring bonuses despite robust profits in 2010 (profit per partner […]