Lindsay Lohan
* Professor Glenn Reynolds notes Lindsay Lohan’s swift movement through the jail system. [Instapundit]
* Professor Orin Kerr notes Professor Stephen Higginson’s swift movement onto the Fifth Circuit — in apparent violation of the rule in judicial nominations “that a circuit court nominee with Supreme-Court-level credentials will have a harder time getting confirmed than a nominee without those credentials.” [Volokh Conspiracy]
* Professor Larry Ribstein notes the growing competition between Biglaw and the in-house world. [Truth on the Market]
* If you’re having a hard time keeping track of all the lawsuits in which law firms and their partners are parties rather than counsel, check out this handy guide from Brian Baxter. [Am Law Daily]
Professor Paul Campos
* How would you like your soon-to-be-ex spouse to have your Facebook and Match.com passwords? [Not-So Private Parts / Forbes]
* Here’s an interesting profile of Professor Paul Campos, the legal academic behind the controversial Inside the Law School Scam blog. [National Law Journal]
* And here’s commentary on Karen Sloan’s NLJ piece by Professor Paul Horwitz. [PrawfsBlawg]
* Still on the subject of scamblogging, where do retired scambloggers go? Apparently they start doing podcasts about reality television. [Top Chef Refire]
It’s time to announce the winner of October’s Lawyer of the Month competition. Our readers had a motley crew of female lawyers behaving badly to choose from, and one male attorney who probably would have loved to keep company with them all.
But which kind of lawyer do our readers like the best? Drunk, naked, rich, or slutty ones? In this polling cycle, we learned that money can buy just about anything, except enough votes to win an ATL contest….
Continue reading “October Lawyer of the Month: Drunk and Disorderly”
Dr. Conrad Murray
With hundreds gathered outside of a courthouse in California (with a stunning lack of Michael Jackson impersonators), we can finally answer this lingering question.
Who’s bad? Dr. Conrad Murray.
Dr. Murray, the King of Pop’s doctor, has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
What kind of sentence is Dr. Murray looking at?
Continue reading “Breaking: Conrad Murray Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter in Michael Jackson Case”
Brian Smith no longer has to wear a suit to work.
A few weeks ago, I was drinking an Old Cuban with my roommate at my favorite bar, Grand Tavern. We were sitting on the back patio, when a group of men across from us started talking loudly about Above the Law. My ears perked up, and I began wondering if I might overhear something like this or this.
Fortunately for the gentlemen across the bar, I didn’t hear anything scandalous. Fortunately for me, I did hear them mention Brian Smith, a former associate at Nixon Peabody, who opened the doors to his new business, Huckleberry Bicycles, last Friday in San Francisco.
I met up with Smith last week, and we spoke about how he became a part of our growing club of lawyers not practicing law….
Continue reading “Former Nixon Peabody Associate Opens San Francisco Bike Shop”
We live in a country where a former president was impeached over charges relating to a sex scandal that occurred while he was still in office. People remember him as one of the “greatest United States presidents” of all time. That being the case, why do we care so much about whether a presidential candidate once sexually harassed a coworker more than ten years ago?
Probably because that presidential candidate allegedly tried to make a former coworker give him a blow job….
Continue reading “Herman Cain Seeing All Red Over Another Accuser Hiring Gloria Allred”
Some people say that you’d have to be crazy to go to law school during these times of economic instability, but people keep going. Some go because they’re delusional — they think that they’ll be in the top ten percent of the class. Some go because they’re narcissistic — they think that they’ll get to listen to themselves talk for hours on end in a law school classroom. Some go because they’re masochists — they think that they’ll get beaten by the Socratic method and the curve.
Have law schools realized that their students may need psychiatric intervention?
Here’s the photo for our latest caption contest….
Continue reading “Caption Contest: Have a Seat…”
Brian Tannebaum
I’ve learned a lot in my one week here, reading comments from the anonymous miserable Biglaw associates who take a break from their “.1 review” of correspondence (e-mail) and “.3 draft correspondence” (one-sentence letter) to comment on ATL.
I learned the term “s**t law.”
I am a s**t law lawyer. I represent clients, real people with real problems. They need legal services. They need arguments made on their behalf. They need advice. They need something other than an edited “pre-bill” in the mail once a month. I love s**t law, and I love talking to Biglaw lawyers about their desire to join s**t law. And while I always thought lawyers that were smart enough to leave the confines of “.2 receive and review correspondence” law to strike out on their own practiced real law, I realize now that the Biglaw lawyers that tell me they hate their jobs, hate that they can’t bring in clients because they can only pony up $10,000 for a retainer, and want to have their own practice, are apparently all lying.
So this advice is for those of you who haven’t been brainwashed into thinking that the practice of law is on the 46th floor in a small office trying to meet the important goal of having the divorced-three-times 53-year-old partner walk by at 8 p.m. and see you there in the thick of it, preparing irrelevant motions to compel discovery for cases that will never go to trial. This is for those that can’t wait to leave, those that realize that no one can name the best Biglaw commercial litigator in their town, but can name the best of various types of s**t law lawyers. This advice is for those that want to practice law, and not feed the billable hour factory that is Biglaw….
Continue reading “The Practice: Leaving Biglaw to Become a Relevant Real-World Lawyer”
Welcome, William and Mary law students!
Virginia is for Lovers, not Partiers. Law students in the Old Dominion State are not as much fun as we thought they were.
We recently wrote about a law school party — called the “Fall From Grace,” aptly enough — that supposedly spiraled out of control. According to an email from the Student Bar Association (SBA) at William and Mary School of Law, the raucous event featured law students “urinating on the bathroom floor, breaking a toilet paper dispenser, knocking over a flower pot, and engaging in inappropriate behavior” at the Williamsburg Crowne Plaza. This supposedly culminated in the Crowne Plaza calling W&M Dean Davison Douglas “to inform him that the law school is no longer welcome at the hotel.”
But now we’re hearing that this incident has been overblown, and that the law school has not been banned from the high-end Holiday Inn at Fort Magruder….
Continue reading “Reports of a Law School’s ‘Fall From Grace’ Have Been Greatly Exaggerated”
Here’s proof that I view my readers at ATL as family: In this post, I’m going to share with you the results of my recently concluded 360-degree performance review and tell you how I plan to improve my personal job performance. (That may not be quite as sexy as pictures of naked judges, but you must admit that I’m making terribly personal information awfully public.)
I’d never been through a 360-degree review before. As part of the process, I completed a self-evaluation, so we could see whether my self-perception matched how the world perceives me. In addition to my self-rating, I received anonymous feedback from (1) the person to whom I report (who was classified as a “peer,” so that his responses would remain anonymous), (2) five other “peers,” or people who hold jobs equivalent to mine in the company and who work with me occasionally, and (3) seven “direct reports,” or folks who report up to me through the ranks. The human resources guy who discussed the review with me did a very nice job; he knows a fair amount about performance evaluations. (Aon is not just the world’s leading provider of insurance and reinsurance brokerage, but also the leading provider of human capital consulting. This means that (1) at long last, Aon finally just got some free publicity out of my having written this column for almost a year, and (2) we have many colleagues at Aon who do human resources consulting for a living, so they’re slightly better at delivering the results of reviews than the kid down the block or the head of your practice group at your law firm.)
What did I learn from the results of my 360-degree review?
Continue reading “Inside Straight: Learning From My 360-Degree Review”
Wave goodbye to that ring.
* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 400 new jobs were added to the legal industry last month. Talk about progress. That’s like a fraction of a job for every successful bar exam taker. [Am Law Daily]
* Biglaw firms in Washington, D.C. are racing to get more green. Sadly, we’re not talking about money or bonus news. We’re talking about tree-hugging, environmental hippie design initiatives. [Washington Post]
* Same-sex couples in New Jersey will get the chance to challenge the state’s civil union law. Here’s hoping that my home state gets with the program and allows gay marriage like our New York neighbors. [Star-Ledger]
* “Lawsuit-crazed groomzilla” Todd Remis isn’t happy with the media’s coverage of his wedding woes. We’re “turning this into a circus,” he says. Uh, you did that yourself, buddy. [Huffington Post]
* What’s the best way to get out of a possible 15-year jail sentence? It’s as easy as saying that you’re an illegal immigrant and getting yourself deported to Mexico. [ABC News]
* Kim Kardashian has a pricey clause in her prenup. She’ll have to pay her soon-to-be ex-husband the purchase price of her gaudy engagement ring if she wants to keep it. [New York Post]
* You know, I buy not knowing every detail of every woman you sexually harassed. But I don’t buy not knowing exactly who you had to pay money to. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Anti-bullying laws leave exceptions for bullying gay kids. Yeah, all the Tyler Clementi hysteria is really working out well for young gay teens. [Legal Blog Watch]
* Minnesota has crappy landlord-tenant law if having your roof cave in doesn’t get you out of a lease. [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
* Lawyer on the run. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* Terrell Owens is suing Greenberg Traurig over some real estate deal. I think he should just do sit-ups in court until the jury gives him what he wants. [Miami New Times]
* Could we please get online poker back now? [Main Justice]
Readers, we know what you must be asking yourselves: fashion law? Is that similar to unicorn law? No. Unlike unicorn law, and contrary to public opinion, fashion law actually exists.
In the past, we’ve written about lawyers and law students who have violated multiple fashion laws. We’ve even profiled a lawyer who specializes in fashion law. But we’ve never given you the scoop on what it’s like to be an insider in the business of beauty.
Earlier this week, the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Fashion Law hosted an event that featured in-house attorneys from some of the country’s most prominent cosmetic brands — companies like Coty, Avon Products, Elizabeth Arden, and Revlon.
So, what’s it really like to be an in-house attorney working in the beauty and fashion industry? Will you get to flex your copyright and trademark muscles? Is it really as glamorous as it all seems?
Read more at Fashionista….
Inviting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at your university is one thing. I don’t agree with what the man has to say, and he’s a dangerous crazy person — but he is the leader of a sovereign nation that plays a vital role in an important region. If you want to invite him to your campus, fine.
I bring that up to highlight the fact that giving a platform to an anti-semitic global strongman is less damaging to your reputation than allowing a cast member from Jersey Shore to address your students.
Vinny Guadagnino, the “smart one” from the Jersey Shore who occasionally talks about going to law school, was actually a guest speaker in front of college students at a Columbia University class….
Continue reading “Vinny From Jersey Shore Now Lecturing Columbia Students”
In my mind, I haven’t done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing.
– Judge William Adams, defending the brutal beating of his disabled daughter, Hillary Adams, after a YouTube video of the event went viral.
Here at Above the Law, we sometimes write about career alternatives for attorneys. But what about attorneys who are living double lives in seemingly conflicting professions — attorneys like Alisha Smith, district attorney-cum-dominatrix extraordinaire?
Today, we bring you a story about an attorney coming straight outta Compton Knoxville.
Enter Lawyer Mike, a man who claims to be the “only rapping lawyer on the planet.” Lawyer Mike rolls hard. Can’t you tell from the picture?
Continue reading “Is This the ‘Only Rapping Lawyer on the Planet’? God, I Hope Not”
The Lone Star State is in need of some top corporate talent! If you have experience in general corporate work (M&A, securities, and finance), Lateral Link’s Texas Team has several jobs for you at some of the top firms in Dallas and Houston. Today’s Job of the Week, brought to you by Lateral Link, presents a great opportunity for a corporate associate to move to one of Texas’s premier firms.
Position: Corporate Associate
Description: A prominent Texas firm is seeking corporate associates with 4-8 years of experience in M&A, private equity, and securities. Excellent academics required.
Location: Dallas, Texas
If you are currently a Lateral Link member, please see position #9665. Not a member? Sign up for free at www.laterallink.com to access hundreds of law firm and in-house jobs, and to work with a recruiter in your market.
To learn more about the Texas legal industry, contact our any of our Texas recruiters.
Oh Halloween, a time when the keenest minds have an opportunity to dress up as obscure legal concepts that will baffle their friends.
But not Above the Law readers. Oh, we get the jokes, all the jokes. Which is probably a little sad….
Continue reading “Legally Themed Halloween Costume Contest: 2011″
In last week’s Grammer Pole, 60 percent of you supported forming the singular possessive of a noun ending in “s” by adding an apostrophe followed by an additional “s” — e.g., “Kansas’s statute” rather than “Kansas’ statute.” In this debate, you sided with Justice Souter over Justice Thomas (based on their dueling approaches in Kansas v. Marsh).
Today we call upon you to choose between nationalities instead of Supreme Court justices. When it comes to the placement of punctuation marks in relation to quotation marks, do you favor the British approach or the American approach?
Let’s review the differences….
Continue reading “Grammer Pole of the Weak: Punctuation and Quotation Marks”
Last week was my company’s annual legal conference. This year, lawyers from around the world descended upon the cultural and historic haven called New Orleans. And we had lots of stuff planned. And I don’t mean just food. Although the week did feel kind of like this:
Food / Event / More Food / Event / AND More Food / Event / Full-on Food “Event”
We spent a part of the first day volunteering with a New Orleans-based organization called St. Bernard Project. SBP is an amazing non-profit that was formed 5 years ago by a lawyer (Zack Rosenburg) and a teacher (Liz McCartney). After a week’s visit to New Orleans, these two decided to give up their lives as they knew them and settle in New Orleans to help people whose homes and lives were devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the Oil Spill. SBP has several programs and about 60 of us worked in the effort to rebuild houses — painting, removing siding, installing insulation, et cetera. SBP is all about quality when it comes to rebuilding homes; so if the air bubble in the level you’re using is even just touching one of the vertical lines on either side, you can expect an earful from your supervisor who won’t care that your “real” job doesn’t involve the use of power tools. Unless it’s April Fool’s Day at the office. (More on that at another time.)
Our legal conference also included a couple of training sessions. One of them was held by Second City. Yes, Second City — you know, the famous comedy club/school that has trained (among other comedy elites) the entire original cast of Saturday Night Live?
Continue reading “Moonlighting: Inside an Insider’s Legal Conference”
Over a year ago, Lat and I had a good debate about whether a student already in law school should finish the effort or drop out and cut his losses.
Somewhat predictably, I advocated getting out while the getting was good.
I don’t know what happened to that student. But recently, I came across a student who was a part of the class of 2010, but dropped out, voluntarily, in 2009. Yeah, I found a guy who saw the writing on the wall after the dark days of 2008, and had the foresight and the bravery to quit throwing good money after bad and left law school.
Sure, I found him now that he’s unemployed and literally running out of food as we speak. But that’s hardly the point. The point is that he’s doing something exciting with his life. The point is that he’s still alive, and still trying to make a difference in this world.
And trust me, if you ever are living in a world overrun by zombies, you’re going to want to make your way to this guy’s house. He’ll be prepared for the worst….
Continue reading “Man Drops Out Of Law School; Prepares For Zombie Apocalypse”
