September 2011
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Craigslist, Lawyer Advertising, Partner Issues, Solo Practitioners
Partners for Sale on Craigslist
It’s no secret that the legal market is still in the tank. Unemployed associates have grown accustomed to scrounging the Internet for any and all job openings that might materialize - even sketchy postings offering $35,000 salaries to sharp dressers. Just how bad has the economy gotten? Bad enough that Craigslist isn’t just for associates anymore.... -
Alex Kozinski, Books, Deaths, Federal Judges, Gay, Law Professors, Non-Sequiturs, Technology, Vanessa Gilmore
Non-Sequiturs: 09.14.11
* Lincoln Caplan writes about Bill Stuntz — “America’s leading thinker on criminal justice, and its hardest to categorize” — in a review of Stuntz’s posthumously published book, The Collapse of American Criminal Justice (affiliate link). [Democracy: A Journal of Ideas] * Ben Kerschberg identifies eight great law and technology resources — including Above the […] - 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… -
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Thank You to Our Advertisers
We would like to extend our thanks to this week’s advertisers here on Above the Law. We are honored to have these respected brand leaders as our advertisers. Please show them your support: American Express Autonomy Chase Datacert JD Match Kinney Recruiting (sponsor of the Asia Chronicles) Lateral Link (sponsor of the Career Center) LexisNexis […]
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Crime, Law Schools, Murder, Violence
New Tulane 1L Is An Advocate, A Writer, And A Murderer
You have probably never heard of Charles Russell, but he was a professor who was murdered in 1992. His attacker served 12 years in prison and admits his guilt. The man who killed Professor Russell is named Bruce Reilly. And after a lot of work, he was accepted into the Tulane Law School for the class of 2014. Does that sound like an amazing success story about a guy who has turned his life around? Well, you haven't heard Tulane Law students tell it.... -
Airplanes / Aviation, Federal Judges, Old People, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Justice Ginsburg Evacuated From Plane at Dulles
Along with all of the other passengers, according to the Washington Post. The plane reportedly experienced engine trouble. United Airlines Flight 586 was scheduled to depart Dulles for San Francisco at 12:34 p.m. The engine problems apparently started before the plane took off. The passengers were evacuated from the smoky plane via emergency chutes and […] -
Biglaw, Blind Item, Clerkships, Cold Offers, Federal Judges, Law Schools, No Offers, Summer Associates
Biglaw Blind Item: An Ice-Cold Offer
Now that Labor Day is behind us, fall is fast approaching. You can tell by the chill in the evening air. Or is that just the cold offers we're feeling? We recently heard a story about a pretty cold offer. This summer associate, who wasn't the most popular person in her class, received a full-time employment offer "contingent upon obtaining a federal clerkship." Given how hard it is to land a federal judicial clerkship, that's a pretty cold offer. But wait, it gets better.... -
Admin, Announcements, Practice Pointers, Rudeness, Shameless Plugs, Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: A Civil Practice
In his final Small Firms, Big Lawyers post, columnist Jay Shepherd reminders readers that clients don't like to see their lawyers palling around with the other side's lawyers. They hate the other side; they want you to hate the other side's lawyers. Here are a couple of reasons why you should be civil with opposing counsel.... -
Barack Obama, Election 2012, Gender, Law Professors, Law Schools, Politics
Female Law Professors Continue Their Assault On The World
Unbeknownst to most of us, when Ted Kennedy died Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren became the last liberal with balls. While other Democrats have been desperately trying to keep themselves in the good graces of Wall Street, Elizabeth Warren has been standing toe-to-toe with the bankers. It therefore seems only appropriate that Warren is now running for Ted Kennedy's old Senate Seat.... - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Affirmative Action, Biglaw, Crime, Food, Health Care / Medicine, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Murder, Racism, SCOTUS, Utah
Morning Docket: 09.14.11
* With yesterday’s decision from Pennsylvania, the game is now tied for Obamacare at the federal district court level. Come on, SCOTUS, just grant someone certiorari already. [Bloomberg] * Keep this in mind if you’re applying to law school this year: if you’re white, it ain’t aight. Who knew that there could be “anti-white bias” […]
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Benchslaps, Contests, Edith Jones, Federal Judges, Lawyer of the Day, Reader Polls, Sam Sparks, Texas
August Lawyer of the Month: Bow Down Before the King
While some of the candidates for August's Lawyer of the Month were bold in their displays of public idiocy, others were bold in their candid assessments of the legal profession. We thought that legal smarts were taking a substantial lead over legal stupidity. But as it turns out, the margin is much closer than we thought. In this polling cycle, just ten votes separated our Lawyer of the Month from our second-place finisher.... -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 09.13.11
* Since the knife wasn’t stored between somebody’s testicles, TSA missed it. [NY Post] * This is why I blog, instead of etching things in stone. [Village Voice] * An expert witness, Walter Quijano, testifying before a parole board in Texas, said that “being black could contribute to an inmate’s future dangerousness.” That’s kind of […] -
Advertising, Biglaw, Career Center, Job Searches, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad, Women's Issues
Career Center: Finding the Perfect Firm - Does Work Life Balance Exist in Biglaw?
Can you name the Biglaw firms with great lifestyles, supportive and friendly partners, lots of mentors, a commitment to parenting, salaries high enough to pay off your debts in 6 years with no pressure to develop business, and a guarantee of partnership (and frequent sabbaticals)? This tough question cannot be answered. There is no perfect […] -
Banking Law, Federal Government, Job Searches, Law Schools, Wall Street
Another Job Opportunity for 3Ls
Not many employers are interviewing third-year law students this fall. But there are employment opportunities out there for enterprising third-year law students. Today we bring you information about another program that's hiring graduating law students. The good news: the work/life balance is good, as are the benefits and the pay (six figures). The bad news: these positions aren't easy to land. So, what program are we talking about?
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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California, Small Law Firms
Size Matters: California Love
For the next few months, small firm columnist Valerie Katz is working and living in San Francisco. It is safe to say to that it is a different world here than in Chicago. This difference, she has learned, is present not only outside of the office, but inside as well. How? According to several small-firm attorneys, this difference manifests itself in a work culture that stresses healthy competition in a supportive environment. Let's examine this difference in a little more detail.... -
Bad Ideas, Career Alternatives, Feminism, Gender, Job Searches, Money, Nude Dancing, Women's Issues
Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Stripper?From the Bar to the Pole
Most women who go to law school think that their advanced education will buy them out of taking their clothes off for money (unless, you know, it's partner money). But as a practical reality, stripper skills are very useful. For today's tale of a lawyer cum stripper, we have a young lady who has ended up stripping to pay her bills and law school debts. It's not a sob story, though; she says that in one sense the job is less hostile than any law office she’s worked in... -
Education / Schools, Interview Stories, Job Searches, Law Schools, Money, Student Loans, Summer Associates
An Update on the 1L Who Considered Dropping Out (But Didn't)
Not all of our coverage of law schools is depressing; we bring you happy stories as well. Let's continue the good cheer. Back in the spring, we wrote about a law student who was thinking of dropping out of school. He sought our advice -- and, surprisingly enough, Elie Mystal advised this fellow to stay in school (even though Elie is generally not a fan of legal education). Some commenters disagreed with Elie (shocker), and urged the kid to drop out. But now we bring you an update suggesting that perhaps Elie's advice was sound.... -
Caption Contests, Contests, Law Schools, Pictures, Reader Polls
Caption Contest Finalists: What Can You Do With a Fordham Law Degree?
Last week, we asked readers to submit possible captions for this depressing photo. For those of you who are just joining us, this homeless man’s hat reads “FORDHAM LAW.” Let's have a look at what our readers were able to come up with, and then vote on finalists.... -
Biglaw, George Bush, Letter from London, Litigators, O.J. Simpson, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: Barristers Behaving Badly
Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of the day a little-known heroin addict called Russell Brand turned up for work dressed as Osama Bin Laden, and was promptly fired by his then-employer, MTV. After some ensuing years knocking around the lower echelons of British light entertainment, Brand got himself together and landed a role presenting the […] -
5th Circuit, Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Edith Jones, Federal Judges, Judicial Divas, Rudeness, Sam Sparks, Texas, Vicious Infighting
Benchslap of the Day: Judge Sparks Gets a Taste of His Own Medicine
The benchslapper has become the benchslapped. Judge Sam Sparks, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, just got smacked around by a higher authority: Chief Judge Edith Jones, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. What did she have to say to Sparks? -
Abortion, Fabulosity, Gay, Health Care / Medicine, Insider Trading, Morning Docket, Paul Bergrin
Morning Docket: 09.13.11
* Mississippi’s “personhood” ballot measure could ban not only abortion, but birth control, too. This is supposed to “protect women.” Protect women from what, their right to choose? [Huffington Post] * This defense attorney has seen plenty of big cases before, but this may be his biggest one yet. Paul Bergrin has been given the […]