December 2011
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Education / Schools, Law Schools, Money, Student Loans
Don't Defend Your Law School Until You're Earning Three Times Its Yearly Tuition
The National Law Journal reports that Jim Chen, Dean of the Louisville School of Law, has come up with an easy to apply salary figure to determine whether law school was a financially sound decision on a case-by-case basis. I'd like for people who constantly defend the value of law school to start pointing out the high salaried jobs that are needed to make law school worth it.... -
Akin Gump, Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Akin Gump Matches in New York, But Won't Really Get Into This Thing Until January
Akin Gump, it seems to me, has taken the reasonable approach for any firm that does not want to be a market leader in terms of compensation: it’s going to wait. Of course the firm is going to match. Most of the firms will end up matching the prevailing market for associate bonuses. But as […] - Sponsored
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In-House Counsel
Will's Kids
It's hard to generate sympathy for lawyers – especially when the group of people you're milking for sympathy is other lawyers. At first glance, that seems counter-intuitive. Will Meyerhofer is writing about your fellow attorneys, after all, and they're in miserable straits. He feels sorry for them. He want to help. But then, he's a bleeding heart psychotherapist. He even felt sorry for them back when he was a lawyer, too – incontrovertible proof he was never “cut out” for the profession....
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Job Searches, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Student Loans
The University of Chicago Law School Offers Detailed Employment Data; Will Other Schools Follow Suit?
Here's an interesting idea: what if law schools just started posting comprehensive, accurate employment data on their websites? On a voluntary basis -- not compelled by politicians, lawsuits, or the American Bar Association? Take a look at what they're now doing at the University of Chicago Law School. Could it perhaps serve as the model for law school reporting of employment data? -
Antitrust, Basketball, Canada, FTC, Gloria Allred, Morning Docket, Sex, Sex Scandals, Technology, Twittering
Morning Docket: 12.14.11
* Apparently Gloria Allred will only take male clients if they’re controversial enough to keep her in the limelight. She’s representing the alleged sex abuse victims in a suit against Syracuse and basketball coach Jim Boeheim. [CNN] * Law School Transparency breaks it down for the guy who believes that the “apocalyptic” views of the […]
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Disability Law, Drugs, Education / Schools, Health Care / Medicine, Law Schools, Reader Polls
ATL Wellness Survey: Haven't We All Had a Little Adderall?
Adderall, as we understand it, is the same as Ritalin, but better. It's easy to get your hands on -- all you have to do is fake the ADHD exam and you have your very own prescription for an amphetamine for law school and beyond. Or you can bum one off of a friend as finals stress approaches. Haven't you done that? Come on, be honest.... -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.13.11
* Remember Catholic Witch hunter Rebekah Nett? Now she’s got the Catholic League on her ass. Yep, Super Christ, Bat Priest, Wonder Nun, and Father Flash (is he wearing anything under his robes), are all out to defend Catholics everywhere. [St. Paul Pioneer Press] * When a hostile deal is not at all hostile, just […] -
Education / Schools, LLMs, Small Law Firms
Size Matters: Back to School?
The issue du jour is whether or not it is worth getting more education to get a (better) job. Valerie Katz is talking about the Small Business LLM from Concord Law School. Tuition is $600 per credit hour, or $14,400 for the program. Is it worth it? Let’s discuss the pros and cons.... - Sponsored
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Advertising, Career Center, Holidays and Seasons, Pro Bono, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: Three Ways the Holidays Can Boost Your Résumé
For most of us, the holidays are synonymous with family, fun, and fruitcake. Work, at least for a few days, drops off our radar. However, the down time received during the holidays is the perfect time to break out the old résumé and, in fact, improve it. Whether or not you are looking for a […] -
Bad Ideas, Google / Search Engines, Privacy, Sex, Sex Scandals, Technology, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Suing Google to Remove Results About Your Alleged Orgy Won't Work
Chris Danzig had never heard of Max Mosley until yesterday, when he read he was suing Google in Europe to block all search results regarding his alleged participation in some sort of Nazi sex orgy. Ironically, when you search for Mosley's name now, you get a zillion news stories with headlines like "Max Mosley sues Google over 'Nazi orgy' search results." Let's learn more about Mosley, the former president of Formula One, and his decidedly unsexy legal battle against Google.... -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Boutique Law Firms, Clerkships, Litigators, Money, Partner Issues, Susman Godfrey, Texas
Associate Bonus Watch: Susman Godfrey Pays Ten-Gallon Bonuses (and Announces New Partners)
Just as it did last year, the powerhouse litigation boutique of Susman Godfrey announced associate bonuses that put the bonus scales of most other firms to shame. Happy Holidays, Susman Godfrey associates! So, the Susman bonuses -- what are we looking at here? -
Football, Gay, Kids, Quote of the Day, Rape, Sex, Sex Scandals, Sports
Quote of the Day: Wait, Who Should We Call?
I suggest you dial 1-800-REALITY. — Joe Amendola, attorney for accused child predator Jerry Sandusky, suggesting in a press conference held earlier today that a reality check was in order for anyone who believes Mike McQueary witnessed a rape, reported it, and nothing was done about it. (So what is 1-800-REALITY? It’s pretty amazing, actually. […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: It's Cahill Time (aka Time for Cravath Associates To Feel Bad, Again)
Last year, Cravath initially low-balled the bonus market, and Cahill Gordon made them look foolish by using the Cravath scale as a floor for its bonuses. This year, Cravath has come out with another crappy bonus scale, and Cahill is beating the bag out of it again. This year, Cahill is making a "special bonus" payment right now, in time for everybody's next paycheck. This is before they even delve into the regular year-end bonuses that Cravath has set at such a low mark. So just how special are these special bonuses?
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Biglaw, Layoffs, Letter from London, Partner Issues, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: Expelled from Linklaters's Gilded Cage(Layoffs at Linklaters, at the partner level.)
A few months ago, one of the public relations staff at Linklaters invited me to have lunch with him in the firm’s canteen. Now, I know that if I was a client, or even a journalist of greater rank, my PR acquaintance would have probably deemed me worthy of a trip to a restaurant on […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Cadwalader Matches S&C Bonus Scale
It’s beginning to look a lot like last year’s Christmas at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. CWT announced yesterday that it would be matching the Sullivan & Cromwell bonus scale. It starts at $7,500 for the class of 2010 and tops out at $42,500 for the class of 2003 and more senior. All bonuses will be […] -
Biglaw, Fabulosity, Lawyerly Lairs, Litigatrix, Money, Partner Issues, Reader Polls, Real Estate
Lawyerly Lairs: Cravath Cribs (Part 2)(Partner parts with Park Avenue property.)
Let's take a look at the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side, where a Cravath partner recently sold his ultra-luxurious residence -- for a whopping $4.6 million. Interestingly enough, the buyer is a lawyer as well, in-house counsel at a major media company. Who are the parties to this transaction? And what does a $4.6 million apartment look like? -
California, Elena Kagan, Immigration, Money, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Pornography, SCOTUS, Student Loans, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 12.13.11
* The Supreme Court will hear Obama’s challenge to Arizona’s immigration law. Upside: we can probably expect a decision by June. Downside: Lady Kaga has to sit her ass out. [New York Times] * Depressing fact of the day: unless you’re earning six times your law school’s annual tuition, you’ll probably never be able to […]
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Hotties, Legal Ethics, Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), Music, Rap, Videos, YouTube
So You Failed the MPRE... Now What?
Last week, we mentioned in Non-Sequiturs that the results for the November administration of the MPRE had been released. While most were elated with their scores, others had a serious case of the WTFs (i.e., “WTF, how did I fail this stupid multiple-choice test?!”). If you’re a member of the latter camp, you might be […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.12.11
* Is taking down the government easier than taking law school finals? [McSweeney’s] * If you are a card-carrying member of the ACLU, do you keep your mouth shut when you go in-house? [Underdog] * A lawyer claims he was fired for not meeting an “unrealistic” requirement to bill 3,000 hours. Dude, I’ve seen people […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Paul Weiss Matches
Bonuses have just been announced at Paul Weiss. The firm is matching what we’ll call the Cleary Gottlieb scale, which seems to be the most generous bonus schedule among the main-line law firms (i.e., excluding outliers like Boies Schiller and Wachtell Lipton). The Cleary scale provides for (1) prorated bonuses for class of 2011 members […]