What do you predict for the legal profession in 2020?
* Florida gets a lot of flak, but the state seems to be doing something right with respect to defamation lawsuits. [The Legal Satyricon]
* “How is law school like the NFL draft?” (Aside from the high risk of getting your brains scrambled.) [Freakonomics]
* Let’s “think the unthinkable” about the legal profession in 2020, suggests Matt Homann. Bruce Carton: “50 percent of U.S. law schools will close their doors due to overcapacity.” [the [non]billable hour and Legal Blog Watch]
* Some readers apparently mistook this satirical communication from Jose Baez, counsel to Casey Anthony, for the real thing. And maybe that wasn’t so unfounded. [ABA Journal]
* Speaking of satirical takes on the Casey Anthony case, here’s one from Mark Steinberg. [Huffington Post]
* Kenneth Moreno, one of the two NYPD officers acquitted of raping a drunk woman, isn’t out of the legal woods yet: he faces drug possession charges for heroin allegedly stashed in his precinct locker. [DNA Info]
* Courtesy of MoloLamken, here’s a great guide to the big business cases of the Supreme Court Term just ended. Download or print it, then read it at the gym or on the subway. [MoloLamken]
* Good news for job-seeking law students: JD Match is now free. So what do you have to lose? Give it a whirl. [JD Match]
* Musical Chairs: Guidepost Solutions welcomes litigatrix Carolyn Renzin, formerly a partner at elite boutique Stillman Friedman. [Guidepost Solutions]
The verdict in the Casey Anthony case reflected the lack of forensic evidence and heavy reliance on circumstantial inferences. There was no evidence of a cause of death, the time of death, or the circumstances surrounding the actual death of this young girl. There was sufficient circumstantial evidence from which the jury could have inferred homicide. But a reasonable jury could also have rejected that conclusion, as this jury apparently did.
– Alan Dershowitz, in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece about the Casey Anthony verdict. (For thoughts along similar lines in defense of fair Casey, see Elie’s recent post.)
Damn, check out the girls from corporate. Schwing!
It’s almost the middle of summer, and it’s hot as hell outside. Partners are starting to relax a little bit, and collars are getting unbuttoned. You think you might have seen someone sporting a pair of flip-flops at the office, but that one was probably a mirage. All of this can mean only one thing: the moment that you’ve been dreading has finally arrived. The invitation to the firm summer party is coming for you — and it might involve a pool or beach.
But do you really want to wear a bathing suit in front of these people? Maybe while you were busy shredding documents this spring, you got distracted and ditched your ab-shredding routine. Maybe while you were trimming the fat from your briefs, you neglected your cottage cheese thighs. And maybe, just maybe, you were lucky enough to graduate from “law school hot” to “law firm hot,” and you’re worried about your colleagues ogling your grand tetons.
Is there such a thing as bathing suit etiquette for a Biglaw summer bash? Apparently there is, so prepare to be de-sexified (as if you’re not undersexed enough as it is)….
Continue reading “Grin and Bare It: Stripping Out of Your Suit at Firm Events”
As we learned in Qualcomm v. Broadcom, e-discovery can be tricky. While there is an ethical rule against disclosing client confidences, there is an exception to that rule. In order to properly invoke that exception, certain procedural and ethical steps must be taken.
A special ethics and e-discovery panel at the Legal Technology Leadership Summit will reexamine the Qualcomm e-discovery sanctions opinions, particularly as they affected six of the attorneys representing Qualcomm.
On January 7, 2008, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major of the Southern District of California imposed sanctions on those attorneys for Qualcomm’s failure to produce certain electronic discovery (2008 WL 66932). Just under two months later that part of the opinion was vacated and remanded by U.S. District Court Judge Rudi M. Brewster (March 5, 2008, 2008 WL 638108). A little over two years after remand, Judge Major ultimately declined to impose sanctions and dissolved the order to show cause (April 2, 2010, 2010 WL 1336937).
Attorney Adam Arthur Bier, the junior-most attorney identified in the Qualcomm case, plans to discuss the impact of ethical sanctions and will offer some thoughts on ways to avoid such situations. Attorney Frank Cialone, who defended several of the six attorneys involved in the case, will discuss the self-defense exception to the ethical rule against disclosing client confidences and will describe what has to be done procedurally and ethically to invoke the exception. Cialone will also suggest the ways in which law firms and clients can work together to avoid such circumstances.
The Summit will take place on September 6 – 8, in Amelia Island, Florida. If you are interested in attending the Summit, please sign up here to join us. You can also take a look at the full agenda for the event here.
It has been a while since I took the S.A.T, but here goes. Nancy Grace: Casey Anthony Verdict; Valerie Katz: ________.
A. Ramona Singer Pinot Grigio;
B. Biglaw Spring Bonuses;
C. Closed Compensation Model in Small Firms;
D. All of the above;
E. None of the above.
Correct Answer: C. I, like Ms. Grace about the Tot-Mom verdict, am full of rage about closed compensation models in small firms.
A “closed compensation” model is defined as one “where partners in a firm do not know how much the others earn. While partners generally have a sense of how compensation is determined, they will not be party to the outcome by which individual compensation is arrived at.” An “open compensation” model, by contrast, is “one where individual partner compensation is known by all partners of the firm.”
A recent study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that almost half of all workers in the U.S. “are either contractually forbidden or strongly discouraged from discussing their pay with their colleagues.” And, 66.7% of the respondents to my salary survey reported that they did not know the compensation that other associates earn.
Why does this make me think “the devil is dancing?” Find out after the jump….
Continue reading “Size Matters: Time To Get All Nancy Grace On You”
Judge Rhonda Hollander
We mentioned this in yesterday’s Morning Docket, and still you emailed. We mentioned it again in Non-Sequiturs, and still the tips kept coming. Well, fine. By popular demand, here is a full post on the Florida judge who stands accused of photograping a guy peeing in the men’s bathroom.
The Honorable Rhonda Hollander is a traffic court judge. But she seems to have a pretty interesting hobby. She was arrested last week for allegedly taking out her cell phone and snapping pictures of a man peeing in the bathroom. A courthouse police officer tried to stop her from taking these photos.
And that’s when things got weird….
Continue reading “Judge of the Day: Lady Likes To Take Pictures of Men Peeing. What’s Wrong With That?”
'How do I get these stupid marks to disappear from my document?'
Over the last few weeks, I’ve written about some über expensive and embarrassing examples of lawyers making technological mistakes.
Those stories involved sexily scandalous blunders, but they were relatively extreme scenarios. (If turning over thousands of privileged documents happens regularly at your firm, may God help you.)
More frequently, firm employees deal with little technological snafus that are just annoying, pointless, and a waste of time. In a world where attorneys might literally be working themselves to death, every second of the day counts. It’s when people can’t handle mundane, seriously easy computer tasks that daily tasks become inefficient and infuriating.
Keep reading for some true stories of the technologically challenged….
Continue reading “All This Techno-Ignorance Will Make Your Head Explode”
According to the more than 1,000 responses we received to this week’s Career Center survey, 65% of respondents took the Fourth of July holiday off to celebrate their freedom or something like that. That’s a huge jump from the 27% of respondents who reported not working on Presidents’ Day, and the 34% of respondents who reported not working on MLK Day.
For the unlucky 35% of respondents who reported working on Independence Day, what were the top reasons given for missing out on the festivities?
- 54% said that nobody specifically asked them to do work, but they had work they needed to get done.
- 29% said a partner or associate asked them to do work.
- 14% said a client asked them to do work.
- 9% said they needed the hours.
- 5% said everyone else in their office was working.
- 5% said that Independence Day is not recognized as an official firm holiday.
Now let’s look at some firm-specific data….
Continue reading “Career Center Survey Results: Who Worked on the Fourth of July?”
A few months ago, I attended a hearing on a motion for a temporary restraining order.
The judge came out on the bench and berated one side’s lawyers: “You filed these papers at midnight last night. Your brief is more than 70 pages long and has a foot of exhibits attached to it. I arrived at court at 9 this morning, and you’re now arguing this at 9:30. Do you really think I had a chance to read this stuff?”
How does this happen? How can lawyers be so silly?
Continue reading “Inside Straight: If I’ve Got It, Then By God I’m Gonna Inflict It On You”
First, I just want you all to know that I hate you guys for making me follow this story. Seriously, I even wrote wrote a song about it.
Anyway, Casey Anthony has been sentenced for lying to the cops. She’s getting four years. BUT, she’s getting credit for her time already served. That means she could be out by late July or August.
I’ll now pause for you to express your collective outrage….
Continue reading “Casey Anthony: The Sentence”
* Even though the Pentagon was halfway through its repeal of DADT, the Ninth Circuit decided the process was moving in reverse warp speed and officially put the kibosh on it yesterday. [Los Angeles Times]
* While DSK played a “constructive” game of Go Fish, Mayor Bloomberg decided that perp walks had gone out of style. We’re always the last to get the memo on fashion. Le sigh. [New York Times]
* I was all excited that I might not have to write about Casey Anthony anymore, but noooooo — she just had to go and get served by her imaginary nanny for defamation. [This Just In / CNN]
* Actually, I rescind that comment. I’m excited to report that even pornographers don’t want to touch Casey Anthony. She’s not a baby killer, but boner killing’s another story. [TV Guy / Orlando Sentinel]
* The NYC Atheists are making a stink about a street sign honoring heroes. I guess these prudes objected to playing seven minutes in heaven during high school, too. [New York Daily News]
* Dallas Cowboys receiver Roy Williams is going to court over his $76K Pony Express marriage proposal. Who knew that “mail order” brides cost so much? [Odessa American]
I hope you all maxed and relaxed over the holiday weekend, because things are about to get serious. We have reached the final four stage in our Fictional Lawyers bracket. We started with 32 lawyer characters, but the top four shouldn’t really surprise anybody.
We’re giving you the rest of the week to vote on this one. We expect these match-ups to be close so it might be time to call on some friends to champion your favorites…
Continue reading “Fictional Lawyer Madness: The Final Four”
I'm pretty sure this was the only child to die under suspicious circumstances in the past three years.
* Caylee’s Law would make it a felony for anybody to grieve for their child in any way that doesn’t involve law enforcement within the hour. I trust the libertarian crowd is going to help me point out how this is dumb. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Big time antitrust lawyer Christine A. Varney is leaving the Justice Department and heading to Cravath (perhaps as a replacement of sorts for Katherine Forrest). So it looks like there was some money left over after spring bonuses for Cravath to make a new hire. Phew. [Dealbook]
* Eliot Spitzer (f.k.a. the steamroller) just got flattened by Erin Burnett. [Dealbreaker]
* Even judges in Flori-duh are allegedly bats**t crazy. [Obscure Store]
* In more reasonable news coming out of Florida, this reminds me of the “mock trial” club in high school. [Miami New Times]
* Courtesy of NALP, here’s more evidence that the class of 2010 is totally screwed. You know, I wish I could have the entire class over to my house for a big pity party. We could all hang out and play Rock Band, and at the end everybody could have a cup of my delicious homemade Kool-Aid. [NALP]
* Chicago law firm merger mania? I just hope nothing messes with the name “Wildman Harrold.” [ABA Journal]
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Madam Justice Lori Douglas will be publicly probed.
This week brings good news for law firms in Canada. Apparently they weathered the recession better than their U.S. counterparts.
The news for Canadian judges, or at least one high-profile jurist, is less good. Madam Justice A. Lori Douglas — the Canadian judge featured in pornographic pictures showing her engaging in bondage, playing with sex toys and administering oral sex — will be subjected to a public inquiry.
Let’s take a look at the nudie pics procedural posture and possible consequences, shall we?
Continue reading “Bad News for Madam Justice Lori Douglas”
July is turning into a cushy month for me in ATL Land (not a real place; more of a state of mind). The first Monday of the month was the Fourth, meaning a much-appreciated day off for my colleagues and me. Then there’s this post today, which is nearly half done and I haven’t even said anything yet. Then I’m off for two weeks on vacation, and back the last week of the month. Two more posts and another month in the books. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. (Yeah, I don’t know what that means either.)
Good thing I don’t get paid by the post. Wait, what? Really? Huh. OK, apparently I do. I’ll try and make this one count then.
It occurs to me as I pack for two weeks off that vacation is a difficult issue for small-firm lawyers. It’s easier at Biglaw: You get your four weeks a year, and there are armies of other lawyers to cover for you while you’re away. (Actually, that’s only half true; many big firm lawyers struggle to take all of their allotted time.) But in small firms, it’s much harder to take vacation or to get adequate coverage while you’re away.
It took me some time, but I finally figured out how to do it. Here then are my vacation-related tips for small firm lawyers, including the most important thing you can do to protect your vacation time….
Continue reading “Small Firms, Big Lawyers: A Week Without You, Thought I’d Forget”
Boy, it has not been a fun 2011 for Thomas Jefferson School of Law. The school has already been sued in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit over its allegedly misleading employment statistics. Even if all the allegations against the school are true, TJSL would be guilty of doing what a bunch of other law schools do; they’d just be the first to get called out in a court for such behavior.
And speaking of things that kind of happen everywhere, we’re learning today of a more mundane lawsuit filed against Thomas Jefferson. This one alleges sexual harassment by a school official against school employees.
I know, I know, sexual harassment allegations from a former employee tend to make people yawn. But this case has a fun twist: the plaintiff is alleging that a school official was sexually harassing his wife…
Continue reading “Thomas Jefferson School of Law Sued Again”
Back in March, we wrote about the mysterious departure from Cahill Gordon of leveraged finance partner Michael Michetti. Now, three months later, we can report that the Michael Michetti mystery has been solved: he is joining Paul Hastings, which just trumpeted his arrival in a press release.
Michetti is not the first former Cahill partner to join Paul Hastings in 2011. Just last month, Rich Farley, another leveraged finance partner, hopped over to Paul Hastings.
On the whole, Cahill has been flourishing as a firm — and sharing the bounty with its associates. Recall the firm’s recent mid-year bonuses, which were very well-received.
But do the departures of Messrs. Farley and Michetti reflect trouble in paradise? Let’s hear some of the scuttlebutt….
Continue reading “Musical Chairs: Paul Hastings Snags Another Leveraged Finance Partner from Cahill”
Paul Bergrin
I’ll always be grateful to Paul Bergrin, the New Jersey federal prosecutor turned notorious criminal defense attorney. Thanks to him, I’ll never have to worry about being the most scandalous alumnus of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
While working as an assistant U.S. attorney, I wrote a mildly snarky blog about federal judges, pretending to be a woman, until I outed myself in the pages of the New Yorker. That pales in comparison to what Bergrin stands accused of doing, including (but not limited to) the following: operating a real-estate scam, which defrauded lenders of over $1 million; running a high-volume drug dealership, which was apparently big enough to move 120 pounds of uncut cocaine; running an illegal escort service; and, most seriously of all, having witnesses murdered to keep them from testifying against his clients.
It’s hard to believe that Paul Bergrin was once a federal prosecutor. It’s not hard to believe that he is, in the words of New York magazine, “The Baddest Lawyer in the History of Jersey.”
But let’s recall that the charges against Bergrin are just that — charges, which Bergrin disputes. Last week, represented by prominent defense lawyer Lawrence Lustberg, Bergrin appeared in federal court in Newark and pleaded not guilty to all 33 counts in the 139-page indictment. Bergrin’s trial is currently set for October 11 before Judge William J. Martini.
In light of the astounding charges leveled against him, Paul Bergrin has taken on a larger-than-life aura — the man, the myth, the legend. What is he really like?
Continue reading “A Closer Look at Paul Bergrin, Former Federal Prosecutor Accused of Murder-for-Hire”
