October 2011
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Barack Obama, Money, Student Loans
Obama Authorizes More Debt Collection Calls in Futile Attempt to Collect Blood From Rocks
If you don't have a job, paying off your student loans is the last thing on your list. For some reason, Obama doesn't understand that. He seems to think that if you pester people more, they'll pay off their loans. Thanks to this flawed logic, expect debt collection calls to be coming to a cell phone near you.... -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 10.04.11
* Chris Christie is not coming to save the Republican party in 2012. Brother looks hot for 2016 though. [CBS] * Wait, firing people Survivor-style is illegal? Lat… we need to talk. [Des Moines Register] * I don’t understand the people who think they learned something from the Ni**erhead Ranch thing. I mean, are there […] - Sponsored
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Associate Advice, Small Law Firms
Size Matters: Tell Me I Am Pretty
Small firm columnist Valerie Katz thinks that the year-end review, like the New Year's Resolution, does not work. Rather than getting feedback only once a year, you should make every day New Year's Day. Well, maybe not every day....
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Advertising, Biglaw, Bonuses, Career Center, Reader Polls, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center Survey: What’s Your Biglaw Bonus Prediction?
We’re about a month or so away from the arrival of the 2011 year-end bonus season. You know what that means: time to start freaking out. And maybe make a prediction while you’re at it. Take our short survey, brought to you by Lateral Link, and give us your best guess as to how Biglaw’s […] -
Drinking, FDA, FTC
Four Loko Settles With FTC -- Will Improve 'Warning' That Product Will Get You Drunk
Welcome back to Above the Four Loko. In today’s episode, we find that the drink that used to combine alcohol and caffeine in really obvious ways has settled a false advertising suit with the Federal Trade Commission. As we’ve discussed often with Four Loko, the alcoholic kick IS the appeal of the product. This drink […] -
Courtship Connection, Romance and Dating
Courtship Connections: Out Of His League
Dating sucks sometimes -- especially when it's a date set up by a legal blogger with no particular aptitude for matchmaking. Last week, Kashmir Hill thought she had actually done a decent job. She sent two Washington, D.C. lawyers out to Eighteenth Street Lounge on a Thursday night. Halfway through the date, the dude sent her an email, "Going really well so far." She thought she finally set up a date that was going well.... -
Federal Government, Job Searches, Law Schools
More Jobs for 3Ls -- But Applications Are Due ASAP!(And job opportunities for experienced attorneys too.)
In light of the tough job market for graduating law students, we've been running a series on employment opportunities for 3Ls. Thus far we've covered judicial clerkships, the Justice Department Honors Program, the Presidential Management Fellows Program, and the Chief Counsel’s Employment Program at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Now we bring you news about another arm of the federal government that is hiring graduating law students as well as experienced attorneys. But if you're interested, you need to act fast; applications are due today.... -
Admin, Advertising, Announcements, Document Review, Shameless Plugs, Technology, This Is an Ad
Introducing Free Sign Up for the Above the Law Research Corner
Did you know that Above the Law has introduced a Research Corner to the site? In the Research Corner, readers will be able to sign up and obtain access to white papers, reports, and analysis from leading legal technology companies. From resolving in-house e-discovery matters, to comprehensive document review solutions, the Research Corner has something for everyone.... - 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… -
iPhone, Law Schools, Technology
Law School Actively Encourages People To Apply Before They Go Home And Think
We've talked about the drop in law school applications. Generally, this is a good thing. Less pressure on law school tuition is a good thing for students, and it's not like schools can't fill out their classes. Well, most schools. Some schools --- especially schools that are not highly regarded -- are feeling the sting of fewer people eager to go to law school. And so we have the latest innovation in law school fleecing technology. Now you can apply to a law school on your iPhone. Because this is really the kind of decision you want to make as quickly as possible.... -
Biglaw, Crime, Letter from London, Politics, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: Curing a 'Sick' Society
Last week it emerged that a British teenager had been jailed for two months for taking a photo on his cellphone from the public gallery of a courtroom. Now, I know in the U.S. you’d probably just have executed the kid, but to us effete Europeans it seems a little harsh to dish out prison […] -
Anna Nicole Smith, Bankruptcy, Barack Obama, Biglaw, Breasts, Heller Ehrman, Money, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 10.04.11
* Anna Nicole Smith is still screwing old white men from beyond the grave. Biglaw firms want Heller Ehrman’s claims to be decided in federal court, not bankruptcy court. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * Kirkland & Ellis is pledging $2.75M to Stanford Law over the next five years in an effort to convince more […]
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Barack Obama, Department of Justice, Election 2012, John Yoo, Politics, War on Terror
'Secret' Memo of Law Makes Obama's DOJ Look Like John McCain Won The 2008 Election
Many of you have been following the story of Anwar al-Awlaki. He's the American-born radical cleric who was targeted and killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen. Many have questioned Obama's authority to assassinate an American without due process of the law. Today's news is that President Obama did seek and receive legal justification for this strike from the Department of Justice. But you won't get to see it. That's because the DOJ issued Obama a secret memo that purportedly explains why Obama is allowed to kill Americans now.... -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 10.03.11
* Oh look, another random group is kind of indirectly in support of the Occupy Wall Street protests in a totally unfocused way. You know, I’m thinking of joining the protests, unless and until the BANKERS, stop hoarding the jetpack and flying cars I was promised by every sci-fi movie and television show by 2010. […]
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Crime, D. Marvin Jones, Law Professors, Law Schools, Prostitution, Quote of the Day, Sex, Sex Scandals
Quote of the Day: Driving a Mercedes But Seeking a Hummer?
I am just a horny guy. — a comment allegedly made to the police by University of Miami law professor D. Marvin Jones, upon being arrested for a prostitution-related offense last month. (This is not the first time Professor Jones has been accused of such a crime. Back in 2007, we named him a Lawyer […] -
Crime, Deaths, Murder, Trials
Congratulations to Amanda Knox, Freed by an Italian Court
After 11 hours of deliberation, an Italian jury issued its verdict, overturning the convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. -
Biglaw, Chadbourne & Parke, Rankings, Summer Associates
Very Happy Campers: The Top 10 Summer Associate Programs
A summer associate program at a top law firm is like sex or pizza: even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. That seems to be the conclusion of the American Lawyer's 2011 summer associate survey. If you're a law student trying to figure out where to spend your summer, you're probably asking: Which law firms came out with the highest scores? -
Career Alternatives, Job Searches, Law Schools, U.S. News
Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Being Anything Other Than A Lawyer
You know things are bad when U.S. News, the Holy Grail for students trying to figure out where to go to law school, is writing articles about all of the non-law-related jobs recent graduates are taking just to get by. Everybody who is in law school knows how difficult the job market is. But U.S. News is giving this sobering message about "non-traditional" legal careers to people who have not yet signed up for their own financial doom. And it turns out that even going to a highly-ranked school doesn't save you from having awful job choices.... -
Federalist Society, Free Speech, Law Schools, Religion
Here's A Thought: Let The Federalist Society Invite Whomever They Want To Speak
It appears that some people have forgotten that they are free to not attend events sponsored by the Federalist Society. There is a controversy bubbling at George Mason University School of Law because the law school’s chapter of the Federalist Society has invited Nonie Darwish to speak at an event. Darwish has been described as […] -
Biglaw, Lateral Moves, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues
Musical Chairs: Orrick Assembles an Impressive Team of Finance and High-Yield Lawyers
The law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe continues to do battle with its former client, MGA Entertainment. It seems that the maker of Bratz dolls is still acting in bratty fashion, by not paying its legal bills, and Orrick has moved to withdraw from representing MGA. Fortunately, things are happier on the transactional side for Orrick. The firm just announced that it's picking up five bank finance and high-yield partners, for its New York office. The new arrivals come from four different places, including three firms whose names you will definitely recognize.... -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, In-House Counsel, Money
Inside Straight: Packaging Flotsam and Jetsam
Admit it: Your corporation has a lot of legal flotsam and jetsam. This is probably true no matter what business you’re in. On the corporate side, you have routine business transactions, and you may well handle those in-house. On the litigation side, you have a bunch of routine cases that pose little risk to the […]