October 2011
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Antitrust, Associate Advice, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Email Scandals, Litigators, Litigatrix, Partner Issues, Screw-Ups, Skaddenfreude
An Inside Look at the Skadden Annual Review Process
Today, we take an inside look at the annual review process for attorneys at Skadden Arps. In this special report, we'll provide general observations on the Skadden review process, highlight noteworthy comments from leaked attorney evaluations, and show you a few reviews in their entirety. If you're interested in learning more about performance reviews at one of the world's biggest and best law firms, please keep reading.... -
American Bar Association / ABA, Breasts, Career Alternatives, Michael Jackson, Money, Morning Docket, Music, Nude Dancing, Rap
Morning Docket: 10.13.11
* People seriously need to stop complaining about alternative careers for attorneys. Having a JD can lead to a fulfilling career outside of the law, assuming you can make partner at Cravath first. [DealBook / New York Times] * Due to a decline in filing fees on the killing of the American dream, the Florida […]
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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. -
Lawsuit of the Day, Pictures, Weddings
Here Comes the Bride, All Dressed in... Oops, She's Not Dressed
From a bride's pre-wedding hair and makeup session to her walk down the aisle, someone with a camera will be by her side snapping pictures all the way. And Staci does mean all the way. Did you ever think that a picture of you in your skivvies would make its way into your wedding album? This lawyerly bride sure didn't. She was blushing alright, but with embarrassment....
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 10.12.10
* Florida only wants to fund education that creates jobs. Apparently English majors are concerned, but shouldn’t Florida’s law schools be really, really concerned? [Legal Blog Watch] * I’ve said this before, but the Republican failure to bargain for tort reform during the health care negotiations shows that they don’t really have good faith when […] -
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
We’d like to take a moment to thank our wonderful advertisers here at Above the Law: Chase College of Law Delta IMS Kinney Recruiting (sponsor of the Asia Chronicles) Lateral Link (sponsor of the Career Center) LexisNexis – Mobile Solutions LexisNexis – MORE Reasons LexisNexis – Public Records LexisNexis – Search Advantage New York Times […] -
Law Schools, Legal Ethics, State Judges, Student Loans
New York Post Tells Law Grads to Go Away
A lovely editorial in the New York Post showed a total lack of understanding about the problems lawyers and recent law grads are facing. You should see it, because sometimes it's easy for lawyers to forget just how much the outside world hates them. Maybe if more prospective law students knew how much everybody else dislikes them, there would actually be fewer unemployed lawyers walking around in need of help.... -
Books, Law Professors, Law Schools, Shameless Plugs
A Helpful New Resource for Law Students
We’re already into the middle of October. In the law firm world, associates are starting to think about bonuses. Meanwhile, at law schools, exams will be here before you know it. If you’re a law student looking for guidance about preparing for and taking exams, you might want to check out Open Book: Succeeding on […] -
Family Law
Topeka! Now the Best Place to Beat Your Wife.
It might be a bit of a hike, but now there is one city in America where you can go to teach your woman a lesson. And by “teach your woman a lesson,” I mean share a book with her, like, upside her head and stuff. Sadly, I’m not joking. Topeka, Kansas has just effectively […] - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Litigators
House Rules: Tips for Picking Outside Counsel
I received a fair amount of mail this past week asking about transitioning to in-house positions from firm life. I tried to offer useful responses when time permitted. I certainly appreciated all the kind words, and I feel for those enduring the struggle of a job search, especially in this economy. Many folks share in […] -
Books, Caption Contests, Contests, Law Schools, Libraries / Librarians
Caption Contest: Ugh, Our Library Is Such a Dump
Every year at the end of finals, law students contemplate doing crazy things with their books. While some people want to set them on fire, others want to roll up a page or two and just blaze. These are creative options for creative people. Others will settle for the simplest solution possible, tossing those babies straight into the nearest trash can. But what happens when a law school does it for you? Here's the photo for our latest caption contest.... -
Biglaw, Faegre & Benson, Law Firm Mergers, Law Firm Names, Mergers and Acquisitions, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms
Law Firm Merger Mania: Faegre & Benson and Baker & Daniels Make It Official
Back in August, the law firms of Faegre & Benson and Baker & Daniels confirmed that they were engaged in merger talks. Today the firms announced that their partnerships have voted in favor of the combination. The merger will take effect on January 1, 2012, and the new entity will be known as Faegre Baker […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Interview Stories, Job Searches
Should You Tell Them?
Some things are so obvious they really don't need to be explained anymore. Like it's icy in Iceland. Like it sucks working at a Biglaw firm. You kinda ought to know that by now -- which is why interviewing 2L's feels so heart-breaking. Will Meyerhofer should know; he's been listening to senior and mid-level associates for the past month, telling him how much it sucks interviewing 2Ls.... -
Airplanes / Aviation, American Bar Association / ABA, Antitrust, Attorney Misconduct, Depositions, Facebook, Legal Ethics, LSAT, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.12.11
* LSAC might start auditing the LSAT scores and GPAs that law schools report to the ABA. Now, which agency is going to handle their too good to be true employment stats? [National Law Journal] * Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s lawyer asked a judge to ban the word “bomb” from his trial. The judge denied it, […]
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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…
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
Sponsored
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…
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
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John Marshall Law School, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Trendspotting
Trendspotting: Will Law Schools Continue to Defend Questionable Employment Data?
It was just last week that Jesse Strauss and David Anziska announced that in addition to their class action suits against Cooley Law and New York School of Law, they intended to sue 15 more law schools over their allegedly deceptive post-graduate employment statistics. In the days that followed, everyone wanted to know when these […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 10.11.10
* People are making efforts to keep the Occupy Wall Street Crowd from breeding. [Dealbreaker] * Here’s a defense of going to law school. Written by a law professor. Who doesn’t teach at an elite institution. Next up, we have a fox who wants you to take down barriers of entry to the hen house. […] -
Deaths, Small Law Firms, Technology
Size Matters: Innovate
It is without question that Steve Jobs was a genius, and we will never know what he could have created with more time. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat 'em, copy 'em. Or at least that is what Valerie Katz is saying now. And luckily, she came across a blog post by Larry Bodine about what lawyers, particularly small-firm lawyers, can learn from Jobs.... -
Crime, Drinking, Litigators, Litigatrix, Partner Issues, UVA Law
DLA Piper Partner Picks A Penalty For Public Intoxication
It's been a while since Elie went out on an epic bender. It's hard for him. Maybe not so much for Laura L. Flippin. She's a lawyer, a partner at DLA Piper. Last month she got charged with public intoxication. The police report states that Laura Flippin's blood alcohol level was .253, which is flippin' epic... -
Bar Exams, Fabulosity, Kids, Law Schools, Pregnancy / Paternity
Quote of the Day: The Fruits of Her Labor
It’s impossible to know what would have happened if I had done something differently. Ultimately, I have what was, and remains, most important to me — a happy, healthy son. — Elana Nightingale Dawson, the recent Northwestern Law graduate who went into active labor during the bar exam, commenting on the good news of her […] -
Cyberlaw, Federal Government, Google / Search Engines, Privacy, Technology
If the Government Wants Your Email, It Gets Your Email
We've been talking a lot recently about the secretly authorized stuff our government does to us -- like killing us, or molesting us at airports. Here's another one for the list: digging through our emails or Twitter feeds or cell phone data, without probable cause, our permission, or our knowledge. How does the U.S. government circumvent basic probable cause and search warrant requirements when it wants electronic information? Let's see.... -
Romance and Dating, Small Law Firms, Texas, Weddings, You Go Girl
What Happens When You Get Engaged Too Soon? You Get Sued
Here we have the case of a doctor and a hot blonde who got engaged after knowing each other for only five months. That was probably mistake number one. But hey, he liked it and he put a ring on it -- a four-carat ring, in fact. Now, diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but contrary to the title of that James Bond movie, they aren't forever. They broke up about a month after they got engaged. It looks like the doctor took the break-up really hard, because he sued five days later....