May 2011
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Eric Holder, Football, Health Care / Medicine, Morning Docket, Paul Clement, Sports, War on Terror
Morning Docket: 05.05.11
* DOMA dude Paul Clement filed his first brief as lead counsel for 26 states seeking to nullify Obamacare. In a land of socialist, freeloading, hippie queers, one man stands alone. [Atlanta Journal Constitution] * Actually, that’s not true — The Cooch has Clement’s back (twhs), Tweeting all the misspelled and hilarious punchlines that are […]
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Canada, Contests, Law Revue, Law Revue Video Contest, Law Schools, Videos, YouTube
Law Revue Video Contest: Dishonorable Mentions
We started taking submissions for our third annual Law Revue Video Contest way back in March. It’s taken us so long to review the videos because we’ve had scheduling challenges with our special, returning, awesome guest judge. As you’d already know if you follow Above the Law on Twitter, editor emerita Kashmir Hill has returned […] - Sponsored
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.04.11
* Teacher mocks Muslim child over Osama bin Laden’s death. Come on people, listen to the President; when you get to the end zone, act like you’ve been there before. [Village Voice] * Exams were worse back in 1900. Or at least more deadly. [Josh Blackman’s Blog] * The DOJ is investigating the Bowl Championship […]
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Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Spring Is A Great Time
For expressing gratitude. Thank you to the contributors of this week’s Sponsored Content: Say No To $3,000 Bar Review; and The Asia Chronicles: Kinney’s 2011 Asia Placements of U.S. associates in Law Firms. And thanks to this week’s advertisers…. -
Crime, Lawyer of the Day, Trials, Violence
Lawyer of the Day: Sucker-Punched D.A. Puts Criminal In The Hospital
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater: you, sir, are poised to receive the coveted “everybody now knows you’re a bad ass” award. Expect your phone call from Badass-in-Chief President Obama shortly. The story from the Oklahoman (gavel bang: ABA Journal) starts off in scary fashion. A defendant, Emanuel “E Man” Mitchell, took a swing at […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Layoffs, Money, Pregnancy / Paternity
Growing Discontent at Kaye Scholer
We previously compared the law firm of Kaye Scholer to a drag queen. Kaye Scholer, Kay Scholer — geddit? Well, some associates at Kaye Scholer claim they’ve seen underneath all the make-up — and it’s not pretty. This contestant would not go far in RuPaul’s Drag Race. In terms of responses to our recent discussion […] -
Associate Advice, Labor / Employment, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: When Should You Start Your Own Firm?
There comes a time in the career of every law-firm lawyer when she realizes that her bosses are acting like idiots, that “they’re doing it wrong,” and that she could do a better job if she were running her own law firm. Most of the time, that idea goes no further: the lawyer rattles off […] -
Department of Justice, John Yoo, Politics, Quote of the Day, Torture, War on Terror
Quotes of the Day: Did 'Torture' Contribute to the Finding of Osama Bin Laden?
Imagine what would have happened if the Obama administration had been running things immediately following 9/11. After their “arrest,” we would have read [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] and [Abu Faraj al-Libi] their Miranda rights, provided them legal counsel, sent them to the U.S. for detention, and granted them all the rights provided a U.S. citizen in […] - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Citigroup, Dissolution, Howrey LLP, Weirdness
Dead Firm Billing: Howrey Going to Keep Doing Business?
Although it officially passed away back in March, when its partners voted for dissolution, the law firm of Howrey LLP continues to twitch in its grave — or maybe even step out of its grave and walk around a bit, like a zombie from a horror flick. Howrey continues to have a presence on Twitter, […] -
Crime, Insider Trading, John Dowd, Jury Duty, S.D.N.Y., Trials, White-Collar Crime
Back to Square One for the Raj Rajaratnam Jury
After seven days of deliberations, one juror in the insider trading trial of Raj Rajaratnam has been dismissed, for unspecified medical reasons. An alternate has been seated, but this means the jury has to begin its deliberations anew. The original jurors must be thrilled. Let’s hope that the dismissed juror was a holdout (either way). […] -
In-House Counsel, Law Schools
Someone Likes A Quitter
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). I […] -
Drugs, Immigration, John Paul Stevens, Marijuana, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.04.11
* The poster state for Planned Parenthood may be picking a fight with the Obama administration over funding Planned Parenthood. [Los Angeles Times] * Yesterday, Justice John Paul Stevens delivered a speech on the need for legal representation of immigrants. Es muy importante. ¿Puedo ir al baño? Gracias. [New York Times] * Justice Stevens also […]
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10th Circuit, Benchslaps, Document Review, Federal Judges, Neil Gorsuch
Biglaw Litigators, Rejoice! A Circuit Court Opinion on a Discovery Dispute
Litigators at large law firms spend an inordinate (and depressing) amount of time on discovery disputes. They bombard poor magistrate judges with motions to compel. They bicker over deposition timing and location. They compile massive privilege logs. They file letter briefs with the court, explaining their entitlement to certain documents that opposing counsel is withholding, […]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.03.11
* In case you can’t get enough of speculating on what would have happened to a captured alive Osama bin Laden, here you go. [Sentencing Law and Policy] * The Skadden lawyer who moved to Nepal blogs about his experiences. [The Kathmanduo] * I guess the administration is no longer defending DOMA but still enforcing […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Cheapness, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: DLA Piper's People Pipe Up -- and They're Not Happy
DLA Piper has released some information about its associate compensation and bonus payouts, and some associates who work for the firm are unhappy. Why? I don’t really know. I don’t know why they thought that working for the largest firm in the world would be a good thing when it came time to pay out […] -
Associate Salaries, Biglaw, California, Gunderson Dettmer, Money, Silicon Valley
Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: West Coast Action
We recently reported on Wilson Sonsini restoring associate base salaries to pre-recession levels. Wilson Sonsini associates in five major offices — New York, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. — are now paid on what might be called the New York market scale or the $160K scale (a scale I’ve committed to […] -
Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Career Center, Job Survey, Killing Lockstep, Money, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center Survey Results: Comparing Compensation Systems
Back in 2009, when killing lockstep was all the rage, a number of large law firms announced that they would be moving to some form of a merit-based compensation system. Now that we’re a few years into those systems, how many firms have stuck with the plan? And which systems do associates prefer? Of the […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Plaintiffs Firms, Small Law Firms
Size Matters: Does Skadden Do Personal Injury?
I recently met Ray Zolekhian at a wedding. He went to Harvard Law School, worked as an associate at Skadden in Los Angeles, and started his own law firm with a friend, Robin Hanasab. As soon as I heard Zolekhian’s background, I immediately guessed that he started a personal injury firm. Isn’t that the most […] -
Media and Journalism, Politics, Quote of the Day
Fun Fact of the Day: Legal Eagles Don't Soar As Pundits
Finally, those prognosticators with a law degree were more likely to be wrong. — one of the findings of a research paper, Are Talking Heads Blowing Hot Air? An Analysis of the Accuracy of Forecasts in the Political Media, analyzing the accuracy of predictions by 26 leading print and television commentators. (The top five most […] -
Biglaw, Gender, In-House Counsel, Minority Issues, Racism, Women's Issues
In-House Positions Are Slightly Less Crappy Better For Women Of Color
Talk to almost any black woman and ask her what kind of discrimination she runs up against the most: prejudice against minorities, or prejudice against women? She will probably say, “Gender discrimination, you stupid, stupid man.” I imagine you’d get a similar answer from non-black female minorities as well. You’ll see a lot of crap […]