It’s hard to believe that another year has passed, but here we are. It’s December 31st, New Year’s Eve. The weather is turning cold, the Republican presidential contest is heating up, and it’s time to review this year’s biggest stories on Above the Law.
Consistent with past practice, we will refrain from offering our subjective judgments on the most important stories of the year. Instead, just as we did back in 2010 and 2009, we’ll identify the ten biggest stories of the past year as decided by you, our readers. With the help of our friends at Google Analytics, we’ve compiled a list of our top ten posts for 2011, based on traffic.
In terms of overall topics, the most popular category page for the year was Law Schools, for the second year in a row. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since the year was an eventful one for the legal academy. It would be fair to describe 2011 as an annus horribilis for the law school world, with various forces laying siege to the ivory tower. The attackers include not just unemployed lawyers turned scambloggers, but the mainstream media, led by David Segal of the New York Times; plaintiffs’ lawyers, who have already sued several law schools (and have announced plans to sue at least 15 more in 2012); and even a tenured law professor calling for reform (Paul Campos, currently in the lead for 2011 Lawyer of the Year).
The second most-popular category at ATL: Biglaw. Although we’ve expanded our small-firm and in-house coverage dramatically here at Above the Law, adding multiple columnists in each space, our coverage of large law firms still draws major traffic and drives discussions.
Now, on to the ten most popular individual posts on Above the Law in 2011….
Continue reading “Above The Law’s Top Ten Most Popular Stories of 2011″
Even he doesn't believe it.
* I really do think Roberts is eager to lead the Court that strikes down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. I don’t know why you want to go down in history as the Chief Justice who trusted South Carolina, but we’ll soon find out. [Slate]
* Listening to Republican candidates compete about who grew up the poorest is like listening to Democratic candidates argue about which one has a spine. [Huffington Post]
* But honestly guys, Rick Santorum? The Republicans would be better off nominating a “candidate to be named later.” [TPM]
* College and Law together in only six years! [Tex Parte Blog]
* The one thing you need for 2012 is focus? Really? Are those the points you have to build up before you can use Force Sweep? [Forbes]
* “The Fourth Circuit, in sum, found that an officer’s use of a knife to cut a sandwich baggie of crack off his penis, an act performed at night on a public street, was unreasonable.” Wait, what? Cops are cutting crack baggies off of people’s penises? What the hell is going on in this country? [WSJ Law Blog]
In our recent post on the top 10 most generous large law firms — based on analysis by ATL’s new director of research, Brian Dalton — the firm of Hogan Lovells placed second. Under the rankings, this meant that Hogan partners are taking the second-biggest hit to their own bottom lines in order to keep their associates happy and well-compensated.
But is this still the case today? Based on what we’re hearing about the most recent Hogan bonuses, announced shortly before Christmas, one wonders whether the Ho-Love partners have turned from Santas into Scrooges….
Continue reading “Associate Bonus Watch: Hogan Lovells”
Tom Wallerstein
This is the time of year when everyone pulls out a Top Ten list of one thing or another. I don’t mind; a Top Ten list is a convenient format for reflection and New Year’s Eve has always been a time of reflection for me, whether that involves setting goals or just thinking about the ups and downs of the past year. So I thought I would use the opportunity to offer my perspective of the Top Ten Differences Between Biglaw and Boutique. So without further ado, let’s push in the button and let the top ten play:
10. Money, Money
When you work at a firm, you get paid either a salary or an hourly rate. You get employer-paid benefits and you might even get a bonus. But you know the firm is billing you out at hundreds of dollars an hour, and your hourly wage comes nowhere near that. When you run your own shop, you don’t get a salary but you keep all the money paid by your clients, or recovered in a contingent fee agreement. Of course, you’re also responsible for all the expenses.
Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on a lot of factors and varies by individual, but no one can deny that the economics between working in Biglaw and working for yourself are very different.
Read on after the jump for the rest of the Top Ten Differences Between Biglaw and Boutique….
Continue reading “From Biglaw to Boutique: Top Ten Differences”
* Rick Perry’s motion for a temporary restraining order over the printing of Virginia’s primary ballots without his name on them has been denied. Damn all of those unelected, activist judges! [Bloomberg]
* Jed Rakoff isn’t the only one with cojones big enough to challenge the SEC. Wisconsin Judge Rudolph Randa fell right in line, and cited the controversial Citigroup case as precedent. [New York Times]
* Looking for ways to lower your law firm’s operating expenses in 2012? Here are some suggestions for Biglaw firms. At least they deal with technology, not layoffs. [Law.com]
* Long, hard litigation: a Los Angeles city attorney would like to pull out of a ballot measure that requires porn stars to wear condoms while filming before people start suing. [Los Angeles Times]
* Do you want to think about babies when you’re being served at a strip club? Didn’t think so. This pregnant waitress is suing over being demoted, and then fired by the Hustler Club. [Gothamist]
* Grumpiest old man: at almost 100, an Italian man is set to become the world’s oldest divorcé. Hope he had a prenup (even though they probably didn’t exist back then). [Herald Sun]
* Pizza, beer, and hot chicks: what’s the problem? A lawsuit over the “hot chicks.” A former bartender says he was replaced in favor of hotties, and now he wants justice (and money). [11 Alive News]
Whoever owns this should be imprisoned.
* Palsgraf yo, the 2011 version. [The Daily What]
* There was a dispute about who owns the rights to Ghost Rider? Ghost Rider? Even dung beetles don’t fight each other over poo. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Meanwhile, both Marvel and D.C. Comics support SOPA. That’s cool, definitely the lesson kids are supposed to take from comic books is that freedom should always be sacrificed when there is more money on the line. [The Beat]
* A state-mandated Christmas bonus is one reason to follow Mantequilla to Mexico. [Library of Congress]
* One of the best year-end lists I’ve seen: the year in lies. [Gawker]
* They should make a comedy about MF Global with Rowan Atkinson playing Jon Corzine. [Dealbook]
* Rick Perry; still stupid. [TPM]
* New media. Catch the fever! [Real Lawyers Have Blogs]
It's like Bizzaro Pursuit of Happyness.
If you were close to a computer yesterday, you probably noticed the article on Gawker about the Yeshiva University student who was “homeless by choice” while going to school. The student, who goes by the name of “David,” gave an interview to the Yeshiva Observer.
If you read the article quickly, you might have missed the part where we found out this David fellow is a 2L at Cardozo Law School. You might have missed the part where this 2L at Cardozo decided to go through a semester of law school while living on the streets.
The Yeshiva Observer interview which Gawker linked to focused on the crazy aspect of a privileged person depriving himself of shelter. But David reached out to Above the Law and gave us short interview, including insight into how his self-challenge affected his legal career….
Continue reading “Homeless By Choice: Because Law School Wasn’t Tough Enough”
Jeremy Paul
For Yale, it’s very economically feasible because almost nobody would do it.
– Jeremy Paul, dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law, commenting on the likelihood (or lack thereof) of law schools adopting the unconventional tuition reimbursement policy proposed by Yale Law professors Akhil Reed Amar and Ian Ayres in their thought-provoking essay, Paying Students to Quit Law School
You can't make money selling all this stuff?
* Wait, Viacom couldn’t make money off of Rock Band? That’s ridiculous. I’ve got Skyrim and Star Wars and really every form of entertainment imaginable; but when the family comes over or the boys come over with their girlfriends, out come the drums, the four different guitars, the keyboard, and the mics. How do you not make money off of that? [New York Times / Media Decoder]
* South Carolina Republicans are trying to legislate greatness. Let me get this straight: markets need to be free, but employees should be controlled right down to the way they greet people. [NPR]
* Young lawyers can use their time sheets to impress clients? What, should they fill them out in invisible ink? [Greenhorn Legal]
* Meanwhile, most lawyers want to use their time sheets to impress their bank account. [WSJ Law Blog]
* I think the Millennials know the government is watching them at all times. The kids just want to look good when their profile comes up at headquarters. [Instapundit]
* Look at all the things this person did in 2011 in addition to passing the bar. [Undeniable Truth]
* Last week to vote for your favorite legal blogs in the ABA Blawg100. [ABA Journal]
Fiscal year end for us is officially this coming Saturday. Until then we’re expected to be on call 24/7. While it might seem draconian, we’re a sales-based technology company, and the push is on for the “Field” to get their year-end orders completed. I readily admit that being “on-call” just four times per year (three quarter ends and one year end), rather than “all year all the time,” is not a bad deal.
When I was in private practice, you were expected to respond top clients ASAP, if not sooner. It didn’t matter where you were or what you were doing, you had to respond. I brought that attitude with me when joining my current employer. This not only took many of my clients by surprise, but by putting myself out there as a go to attorney 24/7, I find that very few clients actually take advantage of that proposal. Truth be told, I am able to “disconnect” on vacation weeks, and I have forewarned anyone tempted to call me at home that if it isn’t a true emergency, I’ll just put my two-year-old on the phone and let them discuss the latest happenings in rugrat world….
Continue reading “House Rules: Year-End Press”
Scott Rothstein
You don’t want to have marijuana dealing from the middle of your law office because I was running a giant Ponzi scheme out of there.
– Scott Rothstein, convicted Ponzi schemer and disbarred attorney, commenting during a deposition about his attempts to stop former Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler employees from dealing drugs in the office.
* How many of these suggested New Year’s resolutions should the members of the Supreme Court consider following? Eight out of ten resolutions wouldn’t be too shabby. [Huffington Post]
* Like a virgin, detained for the very first time: thanks to this court order, Egypt will be forced to come out of the dark ages and ban virginity tests for female detainees and military prisoners. [CNN]
* Oh, hell no. Judge Jed Rakoff issued an order 78 seconds after the Second Circuit decided to delay the SEC’s Citigroup case. His pimp hand is strong (which is impressive!). [WSJ Law Blog]
* As an attorney, you should know that the law stops for no one, not even Santa Claus. Major deals in Asian markets kept many Biglawyers working hard this holiday season. [Am Law Daily]
* Social media subpoena fail: “Haha. Boston PD submitted to Twitter for my information. Lololol? For what? Posting info pulled from public domains? #comeatmebro” [Boston Herald]
* 2011 didn’t bring us a white Christmas, but New Yorkers are still pissed about the Great Blizzard of 2010. The trapped A-train passengers have finally brought suit against the MTA. [New York Post]
* A former stripper is suing a police officer for allegedly stealing money from her purse. This girl fit $714 in dollar bills in a small, Coach bag? That’s actually a real accomplishment. [ABC News]
* It’s been seven hours and fifteen sixteen days, since you took your love away. Nothing compares to a Vegas wedding, because Sinead O’Connor’s marriage is already over. [Los Angeles Times]
* Newt, you know we keep records about who said what in divorce proceedings, don’t you? [CNN]
* Did you know that airlines have to compensate you if they lose your luggage? Funny, when they molest you, they don’t even have to buy you dinner. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* High achieving women need some better advice givers. That’s too bad: “you need to get laid” is really good advice to give to a high achieving man. [Ms. JD]
* How long will the law school bubble last? I don’t know, how long will people keep ignoring the problem? [ABA Journal]
* It’s more law professors arguing over the Liebeck case! I’ll say what I always say: if we had universal health care in this country, people wouldn’t have to play the lottery to see if they can get somebody to pay their medical bills. [Point of Law]
*… Of course the Chilean version of Hot Coffee will be named Exploding Churro. [Gawker]
* I wonder if the FDA will make it illegal to inhale caffeine and alcohol at the same time while eating some fruit. [NPR]
* The problem with old people making laws about social media is going to get so much worse before it gets better. [Instapundit]
* And I feel and I feel when the dogs begin to smell her; it constitutes a search. [The Volokh Conspiracy]
‘Twas the night before bonuses, and all through New York Empire, not a creature was stirring, not even a Wall Street Occupier.
Direct deposit accounts were set up with care, in the hopes that fat bonuses soon would be there.
The associates were nestled all snug in their cubicles, while nightmares loomed of bonuses paid out in rubles.
And secretaries in underwear, and partners in slacks, had finished some last minute work on their backs.
When out on the blogosphere there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my Lawyerly Lair to see what was the matter.
Away to the BlackBerry I fingered like mad, to see if the news would make me sad, neutral, or glad.
With a few short clicks I made it on Above the Law, to see if I should hit should Lat square in the jaw….
Continue reading “Career Center: The Night Before Bonus Season – A Survey”
The year is quickly drawing to a close, but we have unfinished business to conduct here at Above the Law. We still have to crown our Lawyer of the Year for 2011.
Thank you to everyone who responded to our call for nominations. We’ve narrowed down the nominees to a field of twelve (although you’ll see only eleven options in the poll because one is a joint nomination). As in past years, the contenders run the gamut from distinguished to despicable.
And the nominees are….
Continue reading “ATL’s 2011 Lawyer of the Year: The Finalists!”
Paul Clement
* If defending unpopular clients is cool, consider Paul Clement Miles Davis. He’s the lead lawyer in three politically charged cases going up before SCOTUS in the new year. [LA Times]
* Joe Arpaio’s going to have a tough time racially profiling Hispanics in 2012. What’s a man to do without verification powers and the ability to detain people on suspicion alone? [WaPo]
* A summary of the NLJ’s 2011 year in review round-up: all of this was a preview of what’s to come in 2012. And what’s to come? Same sh*t, different docket number. [National Law Journal]
* C&F fail: the California Supreme Court is busy worrying about Stephen Glass, a guy who took his “creative writing” efforts a bit too far. [San Francisco Chronicle]
* The Hollywood actress suing IMDb for revealing her age has to reveal much more thanks to this ruling. She’s got two weeks to amend her complaint to include her name. [The Wrap]
* “Oh my God, the law school has gone crazy.” Don’t blame the messenger, but UVA Law’s headlines on ATL are totally self-inflicted. Here’s Elie’s take on the collar-poppin’ action. [C-VILLE]
* Larry Ribstein, partnership law guru, business law blogger, and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Illinois College Law, RIP. [Truth on the Market]
* Robert Morvillo, New York trial lawyer and white-collar defense pioneer, RIP. [WSJ Law Blog]
* John Lawrence, plaintiff in the landmark LGBT rights case of Lawrence v. Texas, RIP. [NY Times]
Stephen Gillers
The lawsuit is doomed. The antitrust argument seems to be that the A.B.A. is limiting the number of law schools. But there are 200 A.B.A.-approved law schools, so if the council’s secret agenda is to limit competition, it’s doing a lousy job.
– Stephen Gillers, New York University law professor and legal ethics expert, commenting on Duncan Law’s chances of prevailing in its antitrust lawsuit against the ABA.
Or enjoy the Chinese food, as it were.
* Honestly, once I started having to spend massive amounts of disposable income on consumer goods to fulfill my holiday obligations as dictated by corporate America, I kind of forgot about Occupy wherever. #Santaworksforwallstreet [Empty Wheel]
* I guess I’m not getting so worked up about SOPA because I’m already resigned to living in a repressive society. Democrats, Republicans, there is no party that actually fights for a government that has limited authority. Politicians just fight over whose liberty the government is suppressing at any given moment. [The Verge]
* That said, SOPA is really an excellent reason to tell GoDaddy that the time for honoring itself with tantalizing commercials featuring marginal race car drivers is at an end. [Atlantic Wire]
* Is a deluge of law firm “blogs” one of the signs of the apocalypse? [Lawsites]
* Accounting firm bonuses are even worse than Cravath bonuses. [Going Concern]
* I had to work today. But honestly, if you have to bill on Christmas Sunday this year, that’s terrible. [Constitutional Daily]
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from all of us at Above the Law to all of you.
