September 2011
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Associate Advice, Partner Issues, pls hndle thx
Pls Hndle Thx: The Panhandling Partner
In this week's installment of Pls Hndle Thx, Above the Law's "advice" column, a reader wants to know what to do when faced with a panhandling law firm partner. Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 09.12.11
* Now that the guy who invented the TSA admits he made a mistake, I think he and J. Robert Oppenheimer should get jackets made. Oppenheimer’s could say “I am become death.” The TSA guy’s says “I am become fear.” [Constitutional Daily] * Practicing financial services attorneys, be honest: regardless of your political affiliation you […] - 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… -
Career Alternatives, Federal Government, Job Searches, Law Schools
Reminder: Presidential Management Fellows Applications Are Due Soon
The job market remains challenging for graduating law students. Here at Above the Law, we try to do what we can to bring opportunities to the attention of 3Ls. In recent weeks, we’ve discussed judicial clerkships and the DOJ Honors Program. Granted, clerkships and the Honors Program are opportunities that are (1) fairly obvious and […]
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Health Care / Medicine, Quote of the Day, Sex, Sexual Harassment
Quote of the Day: It Feels Like a Bag of Sand
Sex is like petting something furry for the first time. — a comment allegedly made by Dr. Jeffrey Wisoff, a pediatric neurosurgeon, to Kristen Haight, a pediatric nurse, after Dr. Wisoff discovered that Haight may be a 41-year-old virgin. -
Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dissolution, Howrey LLP, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues
Musical Chairs: Robert Ruyak, Ex-Chairman of Howrey, Finds a New Home
One of the most colorful characters in the saga of Howrey LLP, the once-thriving law firm that dissolved this past March, was Robert Ruyak, former chairman of the firm. Alas, many at Howrey found Ruyak's leadership to be less than inspiring, but yesterday brought news that Ruyak has found a new professional home. Where's he going? -
American Bar Association / ABA, Law Schools
Another Law School Caught In A Lie
Another law school has been busted for reporting inaccurate admissions information. The latest school caught up in a scandal involving false data is the University of Illinois College of Law. Now, we know how this sounds. You're probably thinking that it's not "news" that an Illinois public institution is being accused of engaging in unethical behavior. In fact the most observant of you are thinking that Illinois Law has already been busted for admissions corruption. And, you know, you're right. But this is an entirely different admissions scandal... -
Canada, Email Scandals, Rudeness, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Small Law Firms
I'm Rubber and You're Glue: Is Name-Calling a Part of Law Firm Culture?
You'd figure that when people grow up, go to law school, and get real jobs as attorneys, that name-calling would stop. But you'd be oh so wrong. With the advent of modern technology, name-calling is ten times easier than it was before. Lawyers can now insult colleagues in the blink of an eye and with the click of a button, making for great email scandals. But has name-calling become a part of law firm culture? One wrongful termination suit claims that it has.... -
In-House Counsel, Litigators, Money, Practice Pointers
Inside Straight: Projecting Defeat
During my 25 years litigating at law firms, I fretted about two words: “winning” and “losing.” (As one old-timer put it: “They don’t pay you twelve dollars a minute to lose.”) Now I’m in-house, and I’m still fretting about two words: “probable” and “estimable.” What happened? The accounting rules require corporations to take a reserve […] - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
9/11, Brown Rudnick, War on Terror
And Then It Was 9/12
This weekend, we (and every other media outlet) ran our solemn 9/11 remembrance post. In any event, yesterday was the predictable day where the media took a closer look at the aftermath of 9/11. And by "closer look," we mean "report on everything that's gone horribly wrong since 9/11." Elie Mystal has got a really heartwarming story from a law firm that he wants to share before he "takes a closer look" at the week after 9/11.... -
American Bar Association / ABA, Antitrust, Crime, Deaths, Fast Food, Fat People, Food, Job Searches, Law Schools, Mergers and Acquisitions, Money, Morning Docket, Murder, SCOTUS, Technology
Morning Docket: 09.12.11
* In November, the Supreme Court will decide whether our Fourth Amendment rights come subject to advances in technology. I, for one, welcome our new Orwellian overlords. [New York Times] * What do you get when two wireless carriers with craptastic coverage and service that goes down more than a porn star have plans to […]
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9/11, Violence, War on Terror
Remembering 9/11: Open Thread
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Throughout today, people have been looking back and reflecting on the tragic events of 9/11, as well as remembering and praying for the thousands who perished on that day. Scanning the Twitter and Facebook feeds of my friends, I’ve seen competing impulses. Most people’s posts […] -
Clerkships, Federal Judges, Feeder Judges, Immigration, Job Searches, Law Schools
Clerkship Application Season: Open Thread
Today is Friday, September 9, 2011. Do you know why today is special? Here’s the answer: Yes, that’s right — we’re smack dab in the middle of the clerkship application season. Today was the first date and time (10 a.m. Eastern) when judges could contact applicants to schedule interviews, pursuant to the official law clerk […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 09.09.11
* Finally, an answer to why in the hell “white shoe” law firms are called that. Not surprisingly, this is another case of Yuck Fail. [Overlawyered] * I knew there was this ridiculous report from Cooley Law School floating around where the school claims that employment is great for lawyers. I wasn’t going to insult […]
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Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls.
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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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…
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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…
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Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Outsourcing, Technology
Legal Technology Leadership Summit: Outsourcing And How It Maybe Won't Totally Ruin Your Life
While at the Legal Technology Leadership Summit, I attended the panel entitled “Legal Process Outsourcing and Insourcing.” As I mentioned on Twitter, when I go to conferences I enjoy attending the panels that are most likely to cause pain and suffering among junior attorneys. It’s kind of my thing. Usually, anything involving outsourcing is a […] -
9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Benchslaps, Diarmuid O'Scannlain, Federal Judges, Reader Polls
Grammer Pole of the Weak: 'I Respectfully Dissental'
Above the Law readers are traditionalists in matters of grammar, usage, and writing style. How do y'all feel about neologisms? Let's look at two new words, coined by none other than the newly svelte Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.... -
Attorney Misconduct, Quote of the Day, Rudeness
Quote of the Day: A Ballsy Prosecutor
Obviously some people in my office … all of them … don’t like me. — County Attorney Bill Sutter, of York, Nebraska, drawing a conclusion about his relationship with his co-workers. His co-workers have alleged that Sutter was disrespectful to women, made crude comments about his scrotum and about rape, and goofed around in the […] -
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Biglaw, Caption Contests, Contests, Law Schools, Pictures
Caption Contest: What Can You Do With a Fordham Law Degree?
Week in, and week out, without fail, we write about the state of the legal economy. Sometimes we have good news about employment prospects for law school graduates, but the reality of the situation is that things are probably going to get worse before they get better. And these days, apparently you can run into career trouble even if you go to a top-tier law school in a major city. Here's the photo for out latest caption contest.... -
Courtship Connection, Romance and Dating
Courtship Connection Chitown: Hush, Puppies
One of the past Courtship Connection couplings that beat the odds included two New York lawyers paired because of their shared love of My Cousin Vinny. Seeing that two Chicago early-twenty-somethings had named Vincent Gambini as their fave legal fictional character, Kashmir Hill sent these two yutes out on a date, hoping to replicate that success.... -
Conferences / Symposia, Document Review, Intellectual Property, Legal Ethics, Litigators, Patents, Qualcomm, Technology
Dispatch from Amelia Island: When Clients Attack
Adam Bier was still a self-described "baby lawyer" when he was wrongfully sanctioned in the landmark 2008 Qualcomm e-discovery case. The appealed sanctions were finally vacated, more than two years after they were first imposed. Bier shared his story with attendees at the Legal Technology Leadership Summit, joined onstage by U.S. Magistrate Judge David Waxse and Frank Cialone, who defended several of the outside counsel in Qualcomm. Read on to learn the details of Bier's nightmare experience. Can you imagine yourself in his shoes?