May 2011
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Lawsuit of the Day, Masturbation, Sex
Lawsuit of the Day: Woman Allowed To Relieve Pressures Via Masturbation At Work
UPDATE (5:30 PM): Please note that the veracity of this story has been called into question. For more, see the note at the end of this post. (Or ignore the note and pretend that the story is real; life’s more fun that way.) Fair warning: I will not succeed in writing this post like an […] -
Clarence Thomas, Federal Judges, Quote of the Day, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Quote of the Day: Thomas Talks Back
I think there is a disease of illiteracy or laziness, because just the commentary will tell you they haven’t read [the opinions they’re critiquing]…. You don’t go to a Georgia fan to get commentary on the University of Florida, because it’s not objective commentary. Unfortunately, much of the commentary about the court is from the […] - Sponsored
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Education / Schools, Law Schools
Indiana Tech Moves Forward With New Law School Plans. Can Nobody Stop Them?
Does somebody have to die? Does somebody have to commit suicide? Does somebody have to leave a suicide note that reads, “I just couldn’t go on paying off the debts I incurred from going to this law school”? What is it going to take before somebody, some organization, some kind of regulatory authority steps in […]
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Perks / Fringe Benefits, Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Get Rid of Sick Days
Every so often a lawyer with a small firm will ask me what to do about providing employees with paid sick days. The practice is much more common in large firms, but many lawyers have come to expect it as a perk no matter how big their firms are. (To be clear, I’m talking about […] -
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
May We Give Thanks...
to this week’s advertisers on Above the Law: American Express BarMax Chivas Citibank – Small Business Tactical Delta Emirates Georgetown University Kinney Recruiting (sponsor of the Asia Chronicles) Lateral Link (sponsor of the Career Center) LexisNexis – Discovery Services LexisNexis – Juris LexisNexis – Search Advantage Livescribe Practical Law Company Rocket Matter SunTrust Private Wealth […] -
Crime, Pictures, Politics, Sex, Sex Scandals, Sexual Harassment
Is The 'Perp Walk' Contrary To Justice?
I’m sure that somewhere there is a gang of civil rights activists and defense attorneys saying, “So, we’re only going to talk about this if it happens to a rich European?” But hey, let’s not dwell on why the perp walk is suddenly generating some controversy, and instead embrace the fact that people are willing […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Sexual Harassment
Oh... That.
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). Associates […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.18.11
* I was just asking myself, “What does Ben Stein think about the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case?” [American Spectator via Daily Intel] * The perp walk is illegal in France. It’s not clear from this article how the French view the crip walk. [Sacramento Bee] * Carl Icahn, the Blockbuster bankruptcy, insider-trading charges, and a golden […]
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Antitrust, Bar Exams, BARBRI, Ted Frank
BAR/BRI Class Actions: Open Thread
As we reported last month, it looks like Leeds Equity Partners will be acquiring BAR/BRI, the well-known bar exam preparation business, from West Publishing / Thomson Reuters. If you’ve taken a bar exam prep course, odds are that you took BAR/BRI — although there are alternatives, such as BarMax and Themis (disclosure: ATL advertisers, whom […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.17.11
* Starbucks sued for not being nice to dwarfs. I propose to fix this by offering a dwarf-sized coffee that is the volume of a full-sized dwarf. That way, everybody would learn that dwarfs might be small in stature but huge if you had to drink one. [ABA Journal] * Happy is the lawyer who […] -
Admin, Advertising, Announcements, Conferences / Symposia, Shameless Plugs, Technology, This Is an Ad
The Legal Technology Leadership Summit: More Speakers and Sponsors
As we’ve previously mentioned, we are pleased to be hosting the Legal Technology Leadership Summit, in partnership with the Electronic Discovery Institute and the American Society of Digital Forensics and eDiscovery (ASDFED). Today we’re happy to announce a new sponsor: Applied Discovery. We’ve also added some great speakers to the panels, including David King of […] -
Education / Schools, Job Searches, Law Schools, Student Loans
Enough With The ABA; Law Students Appeal to the DOE To Force Law School Transparency
Fed up with the slow movement towards law school transparency, several law school student body presidents are appealing to a higher power. They’ve proposed legislation that would require law schools to engage in some honest reporting practices, under the oversight of the Department of Education. If the American Bar Association is too weak or too […] -
Minority Issues, Movies, Racism, Reality TV, Television
White Male Judges Are Being Discriminated Against (On Television)
It feels like I receive at least one email a week from a pissed-off white male. I feel like everywhere I look there is some white person whining, complaining, playing the “victim” card, and moaning about how difficult things are for a white person nowadays. I’m telling you, if white males have to live under […]
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Small Law Firms
Size Matters: Growing Up Together
Oprah is ending on May 25. Like most Americans, I am exhibiting signs of Empty Oprah Syndrome. During this time, as I mourn the loss of my “ultimate girlfriend,” I find myself asking one key question: why does Gayle King get to be Oprah’s actual best friend? I would be way better. There are a […] -
Advertising, Biglaw, Career Center, Job Searches, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: How well did your firm behave during the recession?
Some firms handled the great recession with grace and poise, while others need lots of improvement if they ever want to receive a Miss Congeniality award in the near future. Check out the blurbs below, as well as the firm profiles at the Career Center, to see which firms are pageant contenders and which firms […] -
Commencement, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Screw-Ups
Commencement Speechmaking 101
Is it really that hard to make a commencement speech? I wrote one in high school. It was basically about seizing the day. My friend made one in college. Same theme, only in Latin. You can also make commencement speeches about giving back to your community, the importance of education, or how your generation is […] -
6th Circuit, Bankruptcy, Federal Judges, Gender, Judge of the Day, Legal Ethics, Minority Issues, Quote of the Day, Racism, Women's Issues
Quote of the Day: In Da Club
If I were in their role and in their position, I probably wouldn’t understand it either, that a club really can’t attract minority members. — Judge Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. of the Sixth Circuit, commenting to the New York Times about two of his colleagues on the court — Eric L. Clay and R. Guy […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.17.11
* Dominique Strauss-Kahn will go to Rikers for three or four years just to prove his point. [CNN] * A South Carolina jail is being investigated by the Justice Department for allowing its inmates to read only the Bible. Instead of a joke, how about you goofballs learn something and read this article that Christopher […]
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Associate Advice, Rudeness, Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: The Problem with Lawyer Letters
Have you ever noticed that some lawyers become different people when they get in front of a keyboard? It’s like a Jekyll-and-Hyde kind of thing. They might be perfectly pleasant individuals in real life, capable of warmth or at least civility to their fellow human beings. But get them in front of a computer with […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.16.11
* Akin Gump gets a major influx of renewable energy partners, from Chadbourne. And I bet they only used wind and solar power to jump ship. [PR Newswire] * I keep saying, people will start going for merit-based compensation the minute merit-based compensation pays more than lockstep compensation for all (or almost all) associates. Until […]