Perhaps there is an everlasting reward for those who won't wantonly take advantage of law students?
You might remember the story of brave Philip Closius. He is the former dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law. He gets to be called “brave” because he went down fighting for the financial security of his students and future UB Law students in the face of another university president who treated the law school like a cash cow.
Dean Closius might have lost his individual battle with University of Baltimore President Robert L. Bogomolny, but he may have won the war.
Today, Baltimore announced a plan to give its law school an extra $5,000,000 to play with….
Continue reading “Law School Dean/Martyr Did Not Lose His Job In Vain”
I hope it hasn’t come to this. For the sake of Bravo, of reality television, of the legal profession in general, I hope this Craigslist ad is fake.
Because if it’s not, that means that Bravo is putting together a pilot for some kind of Beverly Hills-based, female-lawyer reality show, and the network is casting it on Craigslist through somebody who so has his finger on the pulse of whatever that he’s still using an AOL email address.
I mean… hey, calm down L.A. ladies, I’ll give you the damn email address in two seconds….
Continue reading “Who Uses An AOL Email To Cast A Lawyer Reality Show?”
I’m begging for help here: If you have global responsibilities and are routinely dealing with documents created in languages that you don’t speak, how do you assess outside counsel’s skill at communicating?
As any regular reader of this column knows, I’m a realist at heart. I know in my bones that most lawyers write poorly. I learned this lesson early. When I popped open the first brief that crossed my desk as a clerk in the Ninth Circuit, I exclaimed to one of my co-clerks, “This is great!”
“What’s great?” she asked. “The brief?”
Continue reading “Inside Straight: Lost In Translation”
Find out how much he got over at our sister site, Dealbreaker.
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Raj Rajaratnam
We enjoy giving our readers the occasional peek behind the Biglaw curtain. Last month, for example, we shared with you the internal interview manual that Sullivan & Cromwell provides to its attorneys who conduct on-campus interviews at law schools.
Today, in a similar spirit, we take an inside look at the annual review process for attorneys at Skadden Arps. We’re into the fourth quarter of 2011, so these reviews are not far away.
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 (redacted to remove lawyer and client names). This information should interest Biglaw associates who want to know what partners look for junior lawyers, and it should also appeal to partners at other firms who want ideas on how to structure annual reviews.
If you’re interested in learning more about performance reviews at one of the world’s biggest and best law firms, please keep reading….
Continue reading “An Inside Look at the Skadden Annual Review Process”
In need of legal representation.
* 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 court system had to take out a $45.6M loan. It’s kind of like they have their own unpayable mortgage now. Gotta love karma. [Miami Herald]
* The ABA Journal really wants to know how hard it is for recent law school graduates to find a job. Maybe if we flood them with responses, the ABA will give a sh*t. Ugh, I’m way too optimistic. [ABA Journal]
* If you’re willing to move to Iowa, here’s a niche practice alert for you: stripper law. Who thought that you could find work in limiting boob exposure? And why would you want to? [Des Moines Register]
* We all know Michael Jackson was bad, but was he bad enough to drink his propofol straight up? Conrad Murray’s defense team may have changed its tune. [CNN]
* Did a judge seriously think he could arraign someone with close ties to the Wu? He’s lucky True Master didn’t let the killa bees out on his ass. [DNAinfo]
Your wedding day is supposed to be a special occasion filled with joy and happiness. And for that reason, brides across the country are willing to pay top dollar for the best photographer money can buy, to document the entire experience.
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 I do 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….
Continue reading “Here Comes the Bride, All Dressed in… Oops, She’s Not Dressed”
* 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 negotiating about this issue. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog]
* A chilling tale of malicious prosecution by the government. [Popehat]
* I don’t think Eliot Spitzer won’t go away, I think he can’t go away. [Dealbreaker]
* The Winklevii don’t want to pay their lawyers. Always remember folks, people who are rich without working for it tend to suck. [Hollywood Reporter]
* Lawrence Lessig has some advice for the Occupy Wall Street people. [Huffington Post]
* The Underwear Bomber pleads guilty. I don’t usually support excessive punishments, but seeing as he’s the proximate cause of everybody getting groped or scanned in the nude when they fly, I really hope he spends the rest of his life tossing salads. [CBS News]
* I think I’ve watched this 20 times today. No legal hook, unless South African laws allow you to sue antelopes. [YouTube]
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A lovely editorial in the New York Post showed a total lack of understanding about the problems faced by lawyers and recent law grads. I want you guys to see it, because sometimes it’s easy for lawyers to forget just how much the outside world hates them.
And make no mistake, the outside world hates lawyers. But the New York Post is able to add an extra helping of disgust toward legal practitioners. The editorial mocks the idea of helping unemployed lawyers.
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….
Continue reading “New York Post Tells Law Grads to Go Away”
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 Exams From the First Day of Law School (affiliate link). Written by two law professors — Barry Friedman, of NYU Law School, and John C.P. Goldberg, of Harvard Law School — the book connects the dots of the law school experience, explaining how what takes place in class relates to both final exams and the practice of law.
How has the book been received?
Continue reading “A Helpful New Resource for Law Students”
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 decriminalized domestic violence. Now, it would be one thing (a horrible thing) if the people of Topeka just decided as a matter of public policy that home beatings were a good thing. But the people of Topeka aren’t even standing on principle. Instead, their argument is that they have so many wife-beaters around town that they can’t even afford to prosecute them all.
So, they’re not going to….
Continue reading “Topeka! Now the Best Place to Beat Your Wife.”
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 the struggle, and many folks have struggled before you — myself included. It doesn’t make it easier, but it will get better. The words “going in-house” presuppose that you have a choice: to go. For most people these days, the choice is to go where you’ll be able to cover your budget. And that doesn’t always translate to getting the job you want.
I do not view this column as a place to preach, I view it as one side of a dialogue. If you feel moved to write to me and ask for advice or ideas, I will certainly do my best to respond to your email. I knew going in to this that by publishing my real name I was setting myself up for abusive comments from a small group of people. It’s all good; I have been a long time reader of Above the Law. But I also knew that, far more importantly, folks who really wanted or needed to discuss topics that I write about might contact me. To that end, let’s talk about choosing the right person for the job….
Continue reading “House Rules: Tips for Picking Outside Counsel”
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….
Continue reading “Caption Contest: Ugh, Our Library Is Such a Dump”
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 Daniels. The website will be located at faegrebd.com (which right now is occupied by a GoDaddy.com placeholder page).
What will the new firm look like?
Continue reading “Law Firm Merger Mania: Faegre & Benson and Baker & Daniels Make It Official”
Ed. note: This post is by Will Meyerhofer, a former Sullivan & Cromwell attorney turned psychotherapist. He holds degrees from Harvard, NYU Law, and The Hunter College School of Social Work, and he blogs at The People’s Therapist. His new book, Way Worse Than Being A Dentist, is available on Amazon, as is his previous book, Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy (affiliate links).
I was hiking in Iceland this past summer. We were pretty high up – around 1,000 meters – and it was raining hard, high wind, snow on the ground.
“Damn, it’s cold,” grumbled one of my American companions.
An Englishman behind us stumbled over a patch of frozen volcanic ash. “There’s a clue in the name, mate,” he offered helpfully.
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 big law firm. You kinda ought to know that by now — which is why interviewing 2L’s feels so heart-breaking.
I should know; I’ve been listening to senior and mid-level associates for the past month, telling me how much it sucks interviewing 2L’s….
Continue reading “Should You Tell Them?”
* 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, because, well, he’s called the Underwear Bomber. Duh. [New York Daily News]
* “Don’t sanction me, bro!” Paul Ceglia’s lawyers are begging the court to pass on Gibson Dunn’s request for discovery sanctions after multiple delays. Like. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* In a continuing battle over the market for slutty children’s dolls, Quinn Emanuel may have scored a big one for Barbie with this tentative ruling to toss MGA’s antitrust suit. [Washington Post]
* Apparently it’s unprofessional to put your colleagues on blast for allegedly having “sexual torture chambers” in their basements. Who knew? [Chicago Tribune]
* It’s also unprofessional to slap a man in the face during a deposition. And to think, this came after a confrontation about the impropriety of finger-pointing. [The State]
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 lawsuits would actually be filed, what role the ABA might play in the suits, and whether the law schools targeted would preemptively change their ways.
We don’t yet have more information about the lawsuits to be filed. And we certainly don’t have so much as a statement from the ABA. (Come on, why would the ABA deign it necessary to comment on an important issue like this?)
But we do have some reactions from a few of the law schools on the Strauss/Anziska naughty list….
Continue reading “Trendspotting: Will Law Schools Continue to Defend Questionable Employment Data?”
* 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. [National Jurist]
* If it’s wrong to call somebody wrong, then I don’t want to be right. [Just Enrichment]
* It feels like we should expect to find some male models behind the plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. [Wall Street Journal]
* Now that he’s been dead for a couple of days, I think I can link to this without being forced to become part of the humancentiPad. [The Legal Satyricon]
* How to give really long notice about your intention to resign? My advice would be to start keeping a bottle of liquor on your desk that you very obviously have to replace on a regular basis. Nothing evinces your intention to not be around for the long haul like openly developing an alcohol problem during business hours. [The Careerist]
* Is there a euphemism for breasts that lawyers prefer to use? In my experience, I think writers like the word “boobs,” while in law land it’s really all about “Tits or GTFO.” [Huffington Post]
Last week was a sad time for America. People mourned the loss of a visionary, Steve Jobs. I cannot even tell you how many times I heard people talk about his celebrated 2005 Stanford graduation speech. It is without question that Jobs was a genius and we will never know what he could have created with more time. The depth of people’s reactions, however, suggests that we were mourning something more than the loss of a great man. We are, perhaps, mourning the loss of American innovation.
As the saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, copy ‘em. Or at least that is what I am saying now. And luckily, I came across a blog post by Larry Bodine about what lawyers, particularly small-firm lawyers, can learn from Jobs….
Continue reading “Size Matters: Innovate”
