Archive for July 2011

Town Clerk In New York Resigns Rather Than Enforcing The Law — The ‘Gay’ Law, Of Course

By Elie Mystal

I’m always amazed when people aren’t afraid to let everybody know their prejudices. Even a little impressed. In most situations, people try to their disguise their disgust at an entire class of people, or at least try to express their viewpoints from behind a cloak of anonymity. But when people just come balls out with their prejudices, well, it’s a sight to see.

And when people who serve in official government positions reveal their contempt for the separation of church and state, that just makes it so much better.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that a person like Laura Fotusky fascinates me. She’s the former town clerk in Barker, New York, who chose to resign rather than sign a gay marriage license. Apparently the new New York gay marriage law conflicted with Fotusky’s interpretation of God’s law. Or, put another way, Fotusky thought she was teaching Sunday school, and then woke up one day as the town clerk of Barker, New York.

At least she corrected the problem, and for that she should be applauded….

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Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: The Official List for October Term 2011

By David Lat

On Monday we published an update on Supreme Court law clerk hiring. In the wake of that update, we received a veritable cornucopia of tips and news of new hires (for which we thank you).

The most welcome information came from the Supreme Court itself. The Court’s Public Information Office kindly provided us with the official list of law clerks for October Term 2011. This list does not include law school and prior clerkship information, which the PIO will release later this year, but it does allow us to verify all of the crowdsourced hiring information we have gathered on our own.

So let’s take a look at (1) the official list of SCOTUS clerks for OT 2011, courtesy of the Court itself; (2) our unofficial list of OT 2011 clerks, with law school and prior clerkship information; and (3) an updated list of October Term 2012 hires thus far (at least three justices are already done)….

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Latham to Launch New ‘World-Class’ Website

By Natasha Lydon

Latham & Watkins is about to join the likes of Ballard Spahr and Cox Smith in requiring their associates to pose for mandatory body shots for the firm’s new website.

According to an email sent out to all Latham attorneys yesterday, the new photos are part of an ambitious project to redesign the firm’s website and advertising materials to make them “world class.” Or, as one tipster put it: “Latham wants to look as prestigious as DLA Piper by forcing associates to submit to ridiculous photo shoots.”

Indeed, Latham has hired Gittings Photography, a studio specializing in, among other things, law firm photography. According to the Gittings website, they have been hired by firms such as Baker & McKenzie, DLA Piper and Jones Day, and they are already touting Latham as a client.

It seems, however, that Latham has grand plans to go beyond the traditional attorney portraits that appear on these other firms’ sites. Find out just what Latham management has in mind, and what Latham associates should be prepared for, after the jump.

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And Now The ABA Has Bi-Partisan Pressure To Actually Regulate Law Schools

By Elie Mystal

When Republicans start asking an organization to make more use of its regulatory authority, you know that organization has grossly failed its mandate.

We’ve documented the pressure Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has been putting on the ABA. Yesterday, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) decided to join the party. He also wrote a letter to the ABA asking it to “account for its work on behalf of both law students and taxpayers.”

Grassley’s on the Senate Judiciary committee. I bet the ABA will want to stay on his good side….

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Morning Docket: 07.13.11

By Staci Zaretsky

* Tot Mom’s mom won’t face perjury charges after all. Too bad, because at this point, convicting any C. Anthony for something related to Caylee’s death would be a win for Florida prosecutors. [CNN]

* Facebook connects you with the people around you, including federal law enforcement agencies. And there’s no way to adjust your privacy settings to avoid it. [Thomson Reuters]

* Howrey going to pay nearly $500K in bonuses when we’re bankrupt? Businesses want a cut of the defunct firm’s cash, but stay tuned to see if they’ll actually get it. [ABA Journal]

* Casey Anthony is being sued by a volunteer group that went looking for her “missing” daughter. This is the case that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on, my friends. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

* Thinking of stalking your favorite firm via Twitter? Someone wants to help you out! Check out this comprehensive list of AmLaw 100 firms that are active Twits. [Marketing Strategy and the Law]

* Are Blue Balls a medical emergency worthy of skipping out on a book signing? They are according to Jenna Jameson, and she wants the chance to say so in court. [Huffington Post]

Fictional Lawyer Madness: The Final

By Elie Mystal

Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!

And by “Frazier,” clearly I mean Lionel Hutz.

From my perspective, Lionel Hutz losing in the semifinal round was a huge upset. I don’t want to take anything away from Jack McCoy — whose face is probably next to the word “lawyer” in the dictionary for a generation of people — but I thought Lionel Hutz would walk away with this thing.

And in the other semifinal, there was another upset of sorts. Apparently Elle Woods is human after all.

You can see all the action on our updated bracket. And now, on to the Fictional Lawyer Madness final….

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Non-Sequiturs: 07.12.11

By Staci Zaretsky

* TLC’s Sister Wives are challenging Utah’s bigamy laws. More power to these polygamist people, especially the men. They deserve some credit for tolerating a handful of wives. [Jonathan Turley]

* Screw law students, we need to keep our professors employed. This is definitely the most important thing the ABA needs to worry about right now. [TaxProf Blog]

* Even though the fan who caught the ball on Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit is swimming in student loans, he may still have to pony up taxes on all of his new Yankees loot. [Going Concern]

* We all know Julian Assange doesn’t want to get extradited to Sweden because no one understands zeeur phuenteec lungooege-a boollsheet. Börk, börk, börk! [Constitutional Daily]

* A PA restaurant is banning kids under 6 because they are LOUD, NOISY a-holes. Parents, WHY do you think it’s okay to bring your kids to a restaurant if they can’t behave? I’ll never get this. [CNN]

* Crackpot Law, starring Herb Titus and Michele Bachmann. You better get armed and dangerous in God’s Law and “normal people values” if you know what’s good for you. [Religion Dispatches]

* If you think that your law school loans ruined your credit, you should try being “dead.” [ABA Journal]

The Best Law Firms To Work For

By David Lat

The world of large law firms isn’t all about prestige and pay. Although the Vault 100 prestige rankings and the Am Law 100 profit-per-partner rankings are closely watched, there are other ranking schemes out there — and some of these frameworks adopt a kinder, gentler outlook on Biglaw.

For example, take the American Lawyer’s A-List. Although the A-List rankings take law firm financial performance into account, they also factor in diversity, pro bono work, and associate satisfaction.

Associate satisfaction: that’s the driving force behind another important set of rankings, Vault’s just-released “Best Law Firms to Work For” list. The notion of “quality of life” at a law firm might seem laughable to some — but let’s face it, some firms are generally better workplaces than others. (Of course, your mileage may vary: some lawyers have great experiences at firms known for being awful, and some lawyers have awful experiences at firms known for being great.)

Let’s check out the Vault top ten, shall we?

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Bar Review Diaries: Don’t Panic

By Christopher Danzig

Well, we are just two weeks away. The bar exam looms. Our columnists have given up discussing country life and making fake advice lists. They are putting their noses to their respective grindstones.

This week at the Bar Review Diaries, we hear some crowd-sourced opinions about studying for the bar, we learn the secret to not feeling stressed (hint: spell it backwards), and we even get a little immigration policy lesson.

Let’s check in with our bar-taking correspondents….

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The Mandatory Firm Retreat Associates Have To Pay For Out Of Pocket

By Elie Mystal

I’ve only been on one “retreat” of any kind. It was with my church. My parents paid for it because anytime you can pay the Catholic Church to take your kids into the woods and tell them about God’s plan, it’s something you have to do.

Of course, going to a voluntary retreat sponsored by a religious organization is one thing. Going on a mandatory retreat ordered by your employer is quite another. Traditionally, if your employer is going to make you go on one of these things, then the employer is going to cover the hotel and airfare of the employees. That’s just how corporate America works.

Even Heller Ehrman paid lavishly for its last firm retreat. That would be its last firm retreat before dissolution.

I bring this up because associates at one midsize firm seem to be getting the short end of the stick. Their firm is apparently forcing them to attend a two-night retreat, but the firm is only paying for a one-night stay in their hotel rooms….

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Size Matters: No White After Labor Day Is Not Fashion Law

By Valerie Katz

I consider myself to be pretty fashionable. Indeed, I (like so many others) pray to the patron saint of fashion, the Duchess of Cambridge. I am well versed in the laws of fashion. For example:

1. Thou shalt not wear a romper after age 22.
2. Thou shalt wear white any season.
3. Khakis are sad.

And I have learned the hard way about the fashion of law (i.e., what to wear at a law firm). It probably involves a khaki sack-turned-skirt but certainly does not involve hoop earrings. (Sorry Jay, but I think dress codes are still alive and well in small firms, at least if you are a woman.)

Yet I did not know what fashion law was. So I got a crash course from an expert, Charles “Chuck” Colman of Charles Colman Law PLLC.

What did I learn from Chuck?

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What Might Have Happened at the Albany Law School Admissions Office

By Staci Zaretsky

Yesterday we brought you a story about a law school from upstate New York. The pace is supposed to be a little slower and people’s lives are supposed to be a little less scandalous in that part of the state, at least compared to New York City. But all of that goes out the window when a law school apparently replaces almost all of its (well-respected) admissions staff, at a time when many members of the administration carry the word “interim” in their position titles.

Now some alumni are upset and threatening to withhold funds from the school (like they actually have any funds to withhold). You’re doing it wrong, Albany Law School.

When we reached out to David Singer, Albany Law’s Director of Communications & Marketing, he gave us a quick “no comment,” stating that the situation with the admissions office staff was “a personnel matter.” But our readers certainly weren’t short on comments, and we now believe we know more about what might have happened at the Albany Law School admissions office….

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Career Center: Feedback and the Art of Patience

By Above the Law

In this week’s Career Center Summer Associate Tips Series, Lateral Link’s Frank Kimball, an expert recruiter and former Biglaw hiring partner, demystifies the process of receiving feedback as a summer associate.

As a law student, you may ask yourself: “What is it about attorneys and their inability to provide quality feedback in a reasonable amount of time?” Throughout law school you will have to wait weeks and months on end before receiving your grade on even multiple choice exams. Then, you move on to your summer clerkship and wonder if every single assignment you email gets sent to a black hole where it never gets read, much less utilized. The truth of the matter is, your work is being monitored, and you are being “graded” during your summer clerkship. But unlike your professors, the attorneys you work for at your summer law firm has legitimate excuses for not providing your grades in a reasonable timeframe.

Every summer associate wants to know how well they are doing. It is a natural human emotional need. Former New York Mayor Ed Koch used to call out to reporters: “How am I doin’?” He had to wait four years for an answer. Your answer will come at the end of the summer. All feedback systems depend on structure, forms, follow through, and a decidedly unreliable human element. Every spring, hiring partners and recruiting coordinators redesign reporting lines, meeting schedules, review forms, and many other ways to coerce their lawyers to put pen to paper and write reviews. As a hiring partner I tried systems, humor, cajoling, requests just short of Fed. R. Civ. P. 30 and 45, and sitting down in a lawyer’s office and filibustering until they completed the darn form.

To learn more on how to handle the feedback provided during your summer clerkship (or lack thereof), click here to read on. For additional career insights, as well as profiles of individual law firms, check out the Career Center.

An Update On a Mercer Law Student’s Untimely Death

By Elie Mystal

A week and a half ago, we told you about the death of a Mercer Law student. The student has now been officially identified as Lauren Giddings, a recent Mercer Law graduate who was back in Macon studying for the bar.

The body was found dismembered. Our sources say that the body was decapitated. Police still haven’t found all of the body parts.

We have an update from Macon. Our sources are telling us that the police have two persons of interest, but law students are still being questioned….

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A Legal Department’s Guide to Selecting the Right Technology for Long-Term Value

By Above the Law


Legal departments can – and probably should — implement new technology to increase the value they provide to their organizations. But with so many systems flooding the marketplace, selecting the right one can be tough. Many solutions appear to provide similar capabilities, but of course there are differences.

Traditionally, lawyers have used a variety of point solutions: one system for spend management, another for matter management, a third for e discovery, etc. This breeds great inefficiency for both users of these systems and those supporting them.

An organization looking to embrace newer technology for productivity and cost benefits should consider implementing a platform.

Platforms allow legal departments to choose the best point applications for specific needs, then consolidate and integrate them. Platforms enable a single point of access for tasks, such as reporting, across all systems.

Some organizations have approached Datacert seeking a point solution, such as our matter management application. We help prospective clients identify their long-term strategies, and many realize it’s smarter to go with matter management applications built on a platform.

It’s true. Using a comprehensive solution like PassportTM, our patent-pending platform for consolidating and integrating legal applications, is a better approach.

Many vendors claim they offer a platform simply because all of their point applications are built on a common architecture, even though the architecture doesn’t allow for the consolidation and integration of other vendors’ solutions. It doesn’t allow clients to have an integrated ecosystem composed of the systems that best meet their needs.

Keep this in mind when reviewing new systems. And don’t forget to consider factors such as client-side configurability and integration capabilities, which impact the total cost of ownership.

When choosing a system, determine whether it provides tools that allow you to evolve it internally to meet changing needs. A true platform will offer a complete set of tools for configuring existing applications and building, deploying and integrating new ones, without returning to the vendor or hiring external resources.

One toolkit that Passport offers, for example, is an “Integration Toolkit.” It allows clients to build and maintain integrations between Passport and other systems without “rehiring” Datacert. With a true platform, the total cost of ownership should decrease over time because of the maintenance savings from these sorts of tools.

As the legal industry evolves, so should its supporting technology. Providing on-going value depends on the ability to implement processes that increase efficiency and reduce costs. This can be achieved by leveraging the right technology. So when considering new technology, make sure it can support long-term needs. This is the critical component for future success.

Datacert is a proud sponsor of the 2011 Legal Technology Leadership Summit. Thought leaders and decision-makers will be attending the summit in September to learn about and discuss the ever-changing impact of technology on the legal world.

For more information about working with Datacert, contact Toni Harrison at 832-369-6170 or go to www.datacert.com.

InJustice: Tort Reform’s High Cost Documentary Infomercial

By Staci Zaretsky

In Above the Law’s last film review, we spoke about Hot Coffee, a documentary film about the evils of tort reform in America. The film, which received rave reviews from publications like the New York Times and the Washington Post, was produced by former trial lawyer Susan Saladoff.

Now, just two weeks later, InJustice, a documentary film that is being hailed as the “anti Hot Coffee,” made its small screen debut on the ReelzChannel — a channel I’d never heard of and do not receive. Luckily enough, in the two weeks since we reviewed Hot Coffee, I had earned enough street cred to get an advance copy of the film.

While Hot Coffee presented the plaintiff’s side of the tort reform debate, InJustice attempts to present the defendant’s side in a more favorable light by exposing the evils of lawsuit abuse and the greed of attorneys involved in “America’s lawsuit industry.” Those are some pretty high aspirations for the film’s producer, non-lawyer Brian Kelly.

All that being said, I have no idea why I waited to release my review of InJustice until after the film had aired, because I’m not sure if anyone was even able to watch it. And if they had been able to do so, I’m pretty sure they would have changed the channel pretty quickly….

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Morning Docket: 07.12.11

By Staci Zaretsky

* A Casey Anthony video may be released, but it’s not the pornucopia that the male public is hoping for. I hope Nancy Grace did Kegels this weekend, because she’s about to have another cow. [ABC News]

* First comes love, then comes gay marriage, then comes the best dressed and most fashionable baby ever in a baby carriage. First baby in New York with a pair of Louboutees wins! [Associated Press]

* Oy vey! That place we don’t believe in hath no fury like a Jewish woman scorned. According to court filings, this rabbi has seen one too many unholy Channukah bushes. [New York Post]

* A paralegal is suing a man 15 years her junior over a Mafioso Facebook fling gone wrong. No wonder she’s unemployed. [New York Daily News]

* Anheuser-Busch wants to trademark your area code. I’m not a big fan of beer, but I could be convinced to try one if the company picks up “201.” [Breaking Business / Chicago Tribune]

* Britney Spears doesn’t wanna go-o-o to her Brand Sense deposition, and she won’t have to thanks to Judge Reva Goetz’s orders. [Beverly Hills Courier]

Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: The Changing of the Guard

By David Lat

July has arrived. At law firms, partners leave early on Friday, so they can beat the traffic out to the Hamptons (or the Eastern Shore, or the Cape).

At the Hollister store across the street from the Above the Law offices, hot shirtless men stand outside, trying to lure shoppers into the darkened, heavily perfumed, previously bedbug-ridden space. At 7-11 stores, they are giving away 7.11-ounce Slurpees (because today is 7-11 — geddit?).

And at One First Street, home of the Supreme Court of the United States (aka “SCOTUS”), clerk classes are transitioning. July is when outgoing Supreme Court clerks leave the marble palace — do pass go, do collect a $250,000 signing bonus — and their replacements arrive. The arrivals and departures are staggered over the entire month, so the departing clerks can train the newest members of the Elect.

July is a good time for an update on Supreme Court law clerk hiring. Let’s have a look….

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Non-Sequiturs: 07.11.11

By Elie Mystal & Staci Zaretsky

* Wait, having your boss walk in screaming “Penis, Penis, Penis” doesn’t happen in every place of business? [Jezebel]

* Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s case has been adjourned until August. [Thomson Reuters]

* Yeah, well I told the phone what to do, so maybe I’m the “smart” one, and the phone has just gotten better at listening to me. [iPhone J.D.]

* One of TaxProf Blog’s readers offered to donate a kidney to Adjunct Law Prof’s daughter. Would that have been considered as income? Here at Above the Law, we just want your eyes. [TaxProf Blog]

* When life gives you lemons, you probably shouldn’t do what this 79-year-old child toucher allegedly did, which was basically the equivalent of making lemonAIDS under Megan’s Law. [Deadspin]

* It’s 7/11, so there are free slurpees at 7-11. In solidarity, Above the Law declares that this is one day where Kirkland & Ellis associates can slurp their firm without being made fun of. [Slurpee]

June Lawyer of the Month: Score One For The Practice Of Law

By Elie Mystal

So far, our Lawyers of the Month have been a motley crew. Dying helps. So does being incredibly stupid.

But this month we have a lawyer who won our Lawyer of the Month competition just for his old-fashioned practice of the law. Yep, in a month where we had naked people and dead people, an actual legal person won the competition….

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