April 2011
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Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Why Lawyers Suck at Sales
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Funny story: One day during my third year of law school, I overslept and missed an important session of my Sales class. The problem is, when I tried to get the notes for […] -
Education / Schools, Gay, New Jersey, Pranks, Privacy, Suicide
Tyler Clementi's Roommate, Dharun Ravi, Indicted on 15 Counts
They really threw the book at this kid. Last September, Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi jumped off of the George Washington Bridge after his roommate, Dharun Ravi, surreptitiously recorded and then broadcast footage of Clementi hooking up in his room with another man. Clementi’s death touched off an important national conversation about the bullying of gay […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Boutique Law Firms, Fabulosity, Lawyerly Lairs, Real Estate, Small Law Firms
Lawyerly Lairs: An Attorney's $7.5 Million Townhouse
As small-firm columnist Valerie Katz previously discussed, some partners at small law firms are worth big bucks. The only practicing lawyer in the Forbes 400 is a small-firm attorney, in fact. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some partners at small firms have big and beautiful wives homes. The New York Times recently […]
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Boutique Law Firms, Drugs, Lawsuit of the Day, Marijuana, Small Law Firms
Fake Lawsuit of the Day: It's 4.20!
It’s been a while since I graduated from college, but isn’t there something special about this particular day on the calendar? I just can’t quite remember what’s so important about 4/20. Well, according to this fun little headline, I’m not the only one with memory problems today: AFROMAN SUED ON 4/20: ‘Because I Got High’ […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Kids, Money
The Provider
Ed. note: This post is by Will Meyerhofer, a former Sullivan & Cromwell attorney turned psychotherapist. He holds degrees from Harvard, NYU Law, and The Hunter College School of Social Work, and he blogs at The People’s Therapist. His new book, Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy, is available on Amazon (affiliate link). Every […] -
Bernie Madoff, Biglaw, Environment / Environmental Law, Intellectual Property, Morning Docket, Patton Boggs, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 04.20.11
* The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a lawsuit asking courts to force major companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sotomayor spent the entire oral argument asking attorneys how she could fit more Miami Sound Machine on her Zune. [New York Times] * Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who can be seen every Thursday night […]
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Job Searches, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Minority Issues, Racism
Indianapolis Dean Shows How Indy's 'Invisible Man' Was Merely Blind
Gary Roberts, the dean of Indiana School of Law – Indianapolis, is a bad ass. We’ve mentioned him before: we featured him in a Quote of the Day, when he said, “If you’re a law student and think you’ll make $140,000 right out of law school, you’re an idiot.” At the time I thought the […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.19.11
* Even family-friendly Easter treats have been molested by the TSA.* [ABA Journal] * The woman who falsely accused the Duke Lacrosse players has been charged with murdering her boyfriend. And so Karma has provided the perfect opportunity to show this lady what a “rush to judgment” actually feels like.* [Huffington Post] * How much […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Constitutional Law, Gay, Gay Marriage, King & Spalding, Money, Paul Clement, Politics
Paul Clement and King & Spalding Defend DOMA -- at a Discount
They say that everyone is entitled to a lawyer. [FN1] But is everyone entitled to the services of former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, one of our nation’s finest appellate advocates? At a discounted rate, no less? As we mentioned in yesterday’s Non-Sequiturs, the U.S. House of Representatives has hired Paul Clement and Clement’s law […] -
Advertising, Associate Advice, Biglaw, Career Center, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center Tip of the Day: Evaluating the Counteroffer — Should You Stay or Should You Go? (Part 5)
In the first four parts of our Career Center “Tip of the Day” series, focused on how to evaluate a counteroffer, we covered the importance of re-evaluating your current employment situation, assessing what the new firm is offering, analyzing the counteroffer of your current firm, and considering the ramifications (both tangible and intangible) of accepting […] -
Health Care / Medicine, Law Schools, Old People, Violence
A Real Life 'Blue' and a Pushy Prof Spice Up Life at a Top 50 Law School
It’s been a while since we have had a good ol’ Flori-duh story. I mean, that Miami kid came up with a ridiculous student bill of rights ages ago. We’re all overdue for some Everglades antics. We’ll need to do a Florida potpourri here, but together these two stories have everything we’ve come to expect […] -
Crime, Gambling / Gaming, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: Sounds Like My Namesake Had A Hell of a Weekend
Elie was arrested on Friday in Las Vegas, married a former Playboy Playmate on Saturday, and is scheduled to appear in a federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday. — an Am Law Daily report on Chad Elie, one of the people caught up in the federal government crackdown on my massive Full Tilt bankroll they […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Lawyer Advertising, Pictures, Small Law Firms
Size Matters: Anatomy Of A Small-Firm Website
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. They say that to be competitive in today’s market, branding is key. To do that, one needs a snappy marketing campaign. I mean, think about the marketing genius behind the Shake Weight, or that truly […]
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Job Searches, Parties
Evidence That Students At Top Schools Are Also Getting Crunched By The Weak Job Market
It’s a familiar refrain around these parts: it’s tough to find legal employment, unless you got into one of the top law schools. The prevailing wisdom is that students at the “best” (i.e., highest-ranked) law schools have been protected from the recession-dampened job market facing recent graduates of most American law schools. “HYS” (Harvard, Yale, […] -
Biglaw, Lawyer Advertising
Is Cravath Getting Soft?
Consider the evidence, from the website of Cravath. We’re guessing this change was made a while ago, perhaps when Cravath overhauled its home page last June, but we didn’t notice it until a Cravath alum pointed it out to us just now. Let’s take a look…. -
Morning Docket, Patents, Romance and Dating, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 04.19.11
* Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer tapped the brakes on the Insane Train yesterday, vetoing one measure that would allow guns at schools and another that would require presidential candidates to prove they weren’t Kenyan immigrants hellbent on the destruction of Lee Greenwood. [TucsonSentinel.com] * Microsoft went before the Supreme Court yesterday to argue that patents […]
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Biglaw, Deaths, Money, Partner Issues, Pro Bono, Public Interest, Trusts and Estates
How Much Was Joe Flom Worth? Some Clues From His Will
Back in February, Joseph Flom — name partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and one of the nation’s most successful and prominent lawyers — passed away, at the age of 87. During his life, Flom earned well-deserved renown as an attorney, philanthropist, and mentor. He was also a wonderful father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, […] -
Facebook, Gay, Gay Marriage, Holidays and Seasons, Job Searches, King & Spalding, Non-Sequiturs, Paul Clement, Tax Law
Non-Sequiturs: 04.18.11
* House Speaker John Boehner and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, now at King & Spalding, have joined forces to fight marriage equality by defending DOMA. Talk about two people who will not be taking their talents to South Beach. [The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times] * The tax returns of Barack Obama […] -
Job Searches, Law Schools, Minority Issues, Racism
Giant Pictures Of African-American Males Make Law Student Feel Unwelcome
I think we’ve all seen law schools or law firms conduct a “diversity campaign” through extremely selective photography. There might be only four people of color at your law school, but you can best believe that all four of them will show up in the brochure for prospective students. Your 100-person law firm might have […] -
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Religion
Quote of the Day: The Maltese Falcon Flies Away
In the weeks since the [Inspector General]’s flawed and narrow vision of our diplomatic mission, people of good will in the middle ranks of our Department have seen it as their calling to strictly enforce it. As a consequence, my voice has been prevented from speaking; my pen has been enjoined from writing; and my […]