Archive for November 2011

Law School Blind Item: Hot for Teacher

By David Lat

Our latest blind item has to do with the extracurricular activities of a prominent law professor….

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Is a Senate Hearing on the Way for Law School Transparency?

By Staci Zaretsky

Law schools have faced an incredible amount of public scrutiny this year. Three law schools — Thomas Jefferson, Cooley Law, and New York Law School — are facing lawsuits over their allegedly deceptive employment statistics. Fifteen more lawsuits of the same variety may be filed soon. Three senators have demanded action from the American Bar Association, but the response has been lacking.

And in the face of all of this public ridicule, the ABA’s Section of Legal Education declined to ask questions pertaining to employment in legal jobs in its 2011 questionnaire. Apparently the powers that be at the ABA have adopted a honey badger policy with regard to questions of post-graduate employment data (i.e., don’t care; don’t give a sh*t).

So, what’s the next step in this process? Is there a Senate hearing in the works?

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Judge Tells Breastfeeding Mother That Laws ‘Don’t Apply’ in Court

By Staci Zaretsky

We’ve written in these pages before about the wrath that breastfeeding mothers incur on a seemingly daily basis. Like it or not, for some women, breastfeeding is part and parcel of being a new mother. And whether you’ve lost your job or you’ve been prevented from taking the LSAT, sometimes the discrimination that these women face just seems downright unfair.

So what happens when you’re a breastfeeding mother but life just isn’t cooperating with you? What happens when you have to start nursing in a public place, and that place just so happens to be a courtroom?

Here’s what one judge has to say about whipping out a boob in public….

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The Practice: Three Perfectly Good Uses For Biglaw Lawyers

By Brian Tannebaum

I’ve been outed. My jealousy about never having sat in the front row of a courtroom gallery to take notes and hand documents to partners trying cases has now been discovered by the crack anonymous commenters. No, I never worked in Biglaw. No, they would never hire me. I didn’t have the grades, or the personality… I will forever regret not spending the first 5-7 years of my career hoping that the timesheet would evidence my ability as a lawyer and that I could brag at judicial receptions I was sent to for the purpose of meeting judges I never practiced before, about my (document review) work on a big corporate case (sorry, “matter”).

And so it appears that I am not a big fan of Biglaw — but that’s not true. Actually, Biglaw has been very good to me, and it can be good to you as a solo or small firm lawyer. Just don’t steal any of the embossed coffee cups, and consider some of these ideas….

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Suffolk Law Supports the Troops, and Free Speech, and the Constitution, and Everything Else!

By Elie Mystal

On Friday, we told you about Michael Avery, a professor at Suffolk University Law School who objected to a school-wide solicitation for care packages for American servicemen fighting in Afghanistan.

If I were in charge of Suffolk University, I’d have just said, “Yeah, Professor Avery can be a dick sometimes, whatever,” and moved on. I mean, it’s an entire university; I think most people assume that the views of one man don’t necessarily reflect the view of the entire university.

But the powers at be at Suffolk couldn’t leave it at that. Both the dean of the law school and the president of the university had to weigh in and defend, well, everything.

I’m sure all the military guys know what happens when one defends everything….

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Inside Straight: I’ve Written a Brochure For You!

By Mark Herrmann

In this column, I’m presenting you with a gift: I’m ghost-writing for you a law firm brochure. I hereby grant all copyright interest in my brochure to you. Feel free to reproduce the following brochure, print it up, attach your firm’s logo, mail or e-mail the brochure to clients and potential clients, and wait for business to beat a path to your door.

It’s yours, free of charge, courtesy of Above the Law and yours truly. Don’t say we’ve never done anything for you….

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Kinney Recruiting is Participating In Asia Career Development Seminar this Thursday at NYU – Come See Speaker Evan Jowers

By Kinney Recruiting


Ed. note: This post is authored by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, sponsor of the Asia Chronicles. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past five years. You can reach them by email: asia@kinneyrecruiting.com

Come join us this Thursday evening at NYU for an Asia career development seminar put on by the Asian Practice Committee of the New York County Lawyers Association. In the past, biglaw associates have found this type of event to be of great help when considering a move to Asia. Here is some basic info on the event:

Career Development in the Legal and Finance Fields
7:00PM – 9:00PM, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011
New York University
Room 212, Furman Hall
245 Sullivan Street

Co-Organizers:
*Asian-Pacific American Law Students Association
*US China Legal Exchange Foundation
*Chinese Public Company Advisory Committee of UCCA
*Culture and Career Club
*Asian Financial Society

Interested in Asia or an Asia-focused legal or finance career? Want to find an Asian practice related job or grow your Asian practice? Curious about how to build your network and develop more career opportunities? Come join us at our career development panel with four experienced professionals in the legal and finance fields!

Topics:
1. The Asian job market for legal and financial professionals
2. Insiders’ tips on qualities that law firms and financial institutions look for in candidates
3. Insights from practitioners about how to grow your Asian practice
4. Professionals’ views on how to network and find more career opportunities in the legal
and financial industries

Panelists:
*Zhihui Julie Guo, Attorney from NY office of a top US law firm
*Alex Hao, Partner from NY office of a top Chinese law firm
*Kevin Pollack (Former lawyer and now fund manager)
*Evan P. Jowers (Head of Asia recruiting at Kinney Recruiting)

When:
7 pm, Thursday, November 17, 2011

Where:
New York University
Room 212, Furman Hall
245 Sullivan Street

Supreme Court To Decide Constitutionality of Obamacare

By David Lat

The president looks good in a doctor's coat, no?

In a development that should surprise no one, the U.S. Supreme Court this morning agreed to review the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s signature policy achievement, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — aka Obamacare. This means that, before the end of the current SCOTUS Term in summer 2012, Anthony Kennedy the justices will rule on the validity of this sweeping legislation (unless they avoid the question on jurisdictional grounds, as Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the D.C. Circuit recently did — a path that might appeal to Justice Kennedy, as suggested by Professor Noah Feldman, and a path that the Court itself highlighted by mentioning the jurisdictional issue in its certiorari grant.)

In the meantime, there will be a lot of cocktail party chatter about the health care reform law and its constitutionality. If you’d like some quick talking points, for use when you get the inevitable “What do you think about this as a lawyer?” questions from friends and family at Thanksgiving, keep reading….

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Morning Docket: 11.14.11

By Staci Zaretsky

* Pennsylvania may have new child abuse reporting requirements by the year’s end. Apparently the key to efficiency in state government is to sully the reputation of the state’s pride and joy. [CNN]

* “There is always room for a good law school, regardless of the climate.” Say hello to Peter C. Alexander, the founding dean at the Indiana Tech law school that nobody wants. [Journal Gazette]

* The hunt for the remains of Mercer Law grad Lauren Giddings is playing out like an episode of Scooby Doo. Will the gang be able to investigate at Old Man Jenkins’s Browning’s farm? [Macon Telegraph]

* A paralegal-cum-prisoner is suing over his soy-based diet, saying it’s cruel and unusual punishment. He’s doing life for child sexual battery, so I say bring on the soy! [New York Times]

* Lat once said that lawyers are like cockroaches: you can’t kill them. Probably why this lawyer bugged out when he saw his creepy-crawly brethren on an AirTran flight. [New York Daily News]

Law School Accreditation: What Is To Be Done?

By David Lat

Let a thousand law schools bloom?

Critics of the current legal-education model, including my colleague Elie Mystal, have accused the American Bar Association of failing to uphold sufficiently stringent accreditation standards. ABA-accredited law schools proliferate, even though thousands of law school graduates find themselves unemployed or underemployed.

The ABA was recently chided by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity for various alleged deficiencies in the ABA’s exercise of its accreditation power (for example, failure to consider student-loan default rates in assessing programs). Politicians such as Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Charles Grassley (R-IA), and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have also raised questions about whether there are too many law schools and law school graduates, especially in light of the still-challenging legal job market.

In light of this debate, I was eager to attend a panel at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention on the subject of law school accreditation….

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Quote of the Day: Dangerous Addictions

By David Lat

When you stop smoking, the cigarettes don’t get together to figure out how to kill you anyway.

– Benjamin Wittes, on a panel at the National Lawyers Convention of the Federalist Society, responding to the observation that smoking and traffic accidents cause more deaths in a year than 9/11.

(Julian Sanchez discusses what the web is for, after the jump.)

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Non-Sequiturs: 11.11.11

By Elie Mystal

* I wish I had a government job like working for the SEC or something. Not only would I have had today off, but I could also be grossly incompetent without any accountability. [NPR]

Ponder that while we get to the rest of the links….

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The Battle in Michigan Over Who Gets to Bully Gay Kids Is On

By Elie Mystal

Earlier this week, the Michigan Senate passed anti-bullying legislation that included an exception that allowed religious nuts to bully gay kids if they wanted to. The Michigan Senators who voted for the bill wouldn’t characterize it that way, but let’s just say those jackasses won’t be hosting the Oscars, either.

Yesterday, the Michigan House also passed anti-bullying legislation. This time, there wasn’t an exception for those who want to pick on gay kids. House Republicans and Democrats joined on the bill.

As a person who isn’t a fan of anti-bullying legislation in the first place, I’ve kind of been looking at the developments this week with a feeling of: “You see what happens, Michigan?”

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Chicago Police Turn the Tasing Up to Eleven

By Staci Zaretsky

Andrew Meyer — the University of Florida student who coined the phrase “don’t tase me, bro” — was only tased one time, but his screams were heard around the world thanks to YouTube. And as far as we know, he didn’t sue over the incident.

But how many times do you think the average person would have to be tased before he marched his ass to the closest law firm? Two times? Five times?

How about 11 times? At that point, we’d be surprised if the poor guy could even remember his name, let alone the fact that he might have a cause of action….

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Job of the Week: Project Finance in Washington, D.C.

By Above the Law

Today’s Job of the Week offers a terrific opportunity for a stellar project finance attorney who wants more partner contact, more client contact, and who can handle being the right-hand person to a VIP partner. Lateral Link is working exclusively with one of the nation’s strongest project finance teams who is looking to hire a mid-level associate who will play a key role in the expansion of an already successful practice. This opportunity offers exceptional prospects for career advancement. If you want to make your mark in the project finance arena, this could be the opportunity for you. Don’t forget — when Lateral Link recruiters find you a new Biglaw job, you’ll receive a $10,000 signing bonus.

Position: Project Finance Associate

Requirements: Ideal candidates will be in the graduating class of 2006, 2007, or 2008, have excellent academics, and experience with a recognized project finance practice (ideally Chambers-rated). Candidates interested in relocating are encouraged to apply.

Location: Washington, D.C.

To learn more about this position, contact Amy Savage, Lateral Link Director and former Biglaw attorney, at asavage@laterallink.com or 202.470.0661.

Caption Contest Winner: Have a Seat…

By Staci Zaretsky

Earlier this week, we asked our readers to submit possible captions for this photo:

On Wednesday, you voted on the finalists, and now it’s time to announce the winner of our most recent caption contest….

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Quotes of the Day: Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

By David Lat

I really think after-dinner speeches are a barbarous institution.

– Justice Antonin Scalia, in after-dinner remarks at the annual banquet of the Federalist Society, where he and Justice Clarence Thomas were honored for their respective 25 and 20 years of service on the Supreme Court.

(Justice Scalia comments playfully on Justice Thomas, after the jump.)

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Law Professor Objects to Solicitations to Help Our Troops in Afghanistan

By Elie Mystal

Hope that eagle is on the lookout for jobs.

So it’s Wednesday and I’m watching the second night of the excellent Vietnam in HD series on the History channel while my Iroquois are locked in a quagmire against the Greeks in my game of Civilization V. They’ve got a veteran on and he nearly breaks down talking about how much it hurt him to be despised when he came home from the war. I thought to myself that at least one good thing that came out of Vietnam was that our country learned to distinguish between the political leaders who order wars and the fighting men and women who execute the policy. It’s a point that the very same veteran ended up echoing on the last night of the series.

Meanwhile, also on Wednesday, a law professor was writing a screed objecting to a solicitation to send care packages to troops deployed in Afghanistan.

Let me say that again: the professor was pissed off that students were asked if they could send care packages to soldiers serving abroad.

Yeah, happy Veterans Day….

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Grammer Pole of the Weak: Backburner for the Bluebook?

By Staci Zaretsky

Welcome to the latest edition of Above the Law’s Grammer Pole of the Weak, a column where we turn questions of legal writing and English grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and debate.

Last week, we found out that only 29% of our readers lie back and think of England when dealing with punctuation and quotation marks. Makes you proud to be an American, doesn’t it?

This week, we turn to a hotly-debated issue among legal professionals: the use of the Bluebook. At least one federal judge hates it, joining hundreds upon thousands of law students to date.

Should we consider putting the Bluebook on the backburner in our legal writing?

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Any Lawyer Who Calls Himself ‘Doctor’ Like a Ph.D Should Get Punched in the Mouth

By Elie Mystal

Can you imagine if this kid called himself a 'doctor' just because he went to law school?

I know J.D. stand for Juris Doctor. I get that at commencement somebody probably proclaimed that law school graduates were “doctors of laws.” All that said, the lawyer who refers to himself as “Dr.” So-and-So has got to be the biggest douchebag on the planet. Bigger even than the tool who runs around calling himself So-and-So, Esquire.

On Adjunct Law Prof Blog, Mitchell H. Rubinstein asks if lawyers are considered doctors. It’s an easy question to me. I don’t even think Ph.Ds should call themselves doctors unless they can prescribe medicinal marijuana or something.

But hey, I’m just the guy who thinks lawyers should generally avoid saying things that make the general public think: “What a self-important a$$hole.”

As per usual, the American Bar Association has no such compunctions. And we already know that the organization is strangely committed to making sure as many people go to law school under false pretenses as possible.

So you can guess which way the ABA comes out on this issue….

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