December 2011
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American Bar Association / ABA, Biglaw, Celebrities, Death Penalty, Gay, Law Schools, Military / Military Law, Morning Docket, Technology, Texas, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 12.09.11
* DLA Piper is blaming the Occupy Wall Street movement for Biglaw’s sad, 2011 bonus season. It looks like we can expect a Cravath match from that firm. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * We could really use some more law schools — fourth tier law schools, in particular. Say hello to the Savannah Law […]
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Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Sullivan & Cromwell 'Beats' Cravath -- and Promises Spring Bonuses
Sullivan & Cromwell has shown up to Bigfoot the partnership of Cravath -- sort of. It has announced a year-end bonus scale that is very similar to, but slightly better than, the Cravath bonus scale. And, more importantly, it has promised spring bonuses. Let's get into the specifics.... - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.08.11
* Normally, I’m not sure there’s anything “bad” you can do to prosecutors, but maybe the Lindsey prosecutors deserved better. [Forbes] * Is Newt Gingrich already breaking the law? Whatever, who cares, it’s not like the people who support him really care about things like that. [WSJ Law Blog] * I think it’d be funny […]
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Free Speech, John Yoo, Law Professors, Law Schools, LLMs, Richard Epstein
Richard Epstein and John Yoo on Law School Reform
The topic of whether (and how) to reform legal education remains very hot. The latest New York Times story — by David Segal, who isn’t very popular among law school deans right now — has sparked much online commentary. And it’s not over yet. What do Professors Richard Epstein and John Yoo — two of […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Weil Matches Cravath (And There's Nothing 'Distinguished' About It)
After yesterday’s excitement over the Boies Schiller bonuses, we’re back to the Cravath scale. Today Weil Gotshal came out with its year-end bonuses. The firm is matching Cravath. Our sources report the Weil scale starts at $7,500 for full first-year associates — no stub-year bonus for the class of 2011, like at Milbank — and […] -
Drinking, Fabulosity, Holidays and Seasons, Parties, Pictures
More ATL Holiday Party Pictures
We were pleasantly surprised by how many of you seemed to be interested in our recent holiday party photos. So we've decided to bring you more, this time with the opportunity to offer your insights on our pictures. (Yes, despite our new comments policy, we're still happy to let you poke fun at us.) Let's have a look, shall we? -
In-House Counsel, Interview Stories, Job Searches
Inside Straight: Thinking About Interviews
People have occasionally asked me for advice about interview techniques. My suggestion has always been short and pointed: “Say something smart. Say something funny. Ask a good question. And get the heck out of there.” What about on the other side of the table? I really don’t trust interviews. I don’t believe that it’s possible […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Breasts, Legal Ethics
Behind the Breast Implants: A Look into the Life of Tamara Tanzillo
On Wednesday, we brought you the titillating tale of Tamara Tanzillo. Attorneys with breast implants and alleged exhibitionist tendencies are apparently the key to success in the law blogging world, because the story went viral. Readers have requested more information about our favorite Boss Lady, and we are more than happy to oblige. Read on to get all of the details about this fiery, legal redhead -- including her bra size.... - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Advertising, Career Center, Headhunters / Recruiters, Job Searches, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: Tips for Selecting a Legal Recruiter
The lateral hiring market has improved substantially over the past year. With that improvement, associates are receiving a greater number of cold-calls from recruiters. For many junior associates, these calls are a new phenomenon. Your choice of a recruiter — and the way you manage the process — will have a profound impact on your […] -
Lawyer Advertising, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
Adventures in Lawyer Advertising: Best Lawyer Billboard Ever
Last week in Non-Sequiturs, we pointed you to a photo essay of some of the sketchiest lawyer billboards out there. From dogs, to eye patches, to crazy nicknames, these billboards are the epitome of what makes local lawyer advertising so painfully bad. It’s tough to say which is worse — these misguided attempts at originality, […] -
Crime, Hate Crimes, Law Professors, Law Schools, Violence
Hate Crime Suspected In Stabbing of Law Professor
Members of the University of Illinois College of Law community received sad and disturbing news yesterday when they learned that a faculty member at the law school was the victim of an apparent hate crime. The law professor (who remains anonymous at the request of the University) was found on the second floor of the […] -
Biglaw, Fabulosity, Lawyerly Lairs, Money, Real Estate
Lawyerly Lairs: Cravath Cribs (Part 1)(A non-partner's million-dollar penthouse.)
Partners at Cravath, where profits per partner exceeded $3 million in 2010, are definitely in the top 1 percent. But it seems that even non-partners are doing nicely for themselves, despite all the bonus bellyaching. Check out the million-dollar penthouse -- yay real estate porn! -- of one of Cravath's corporate lawyers. And she's not even a partner.... -
Books, California, FDA, Food, Morning Docket, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, UVA Law, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 12.08.11
* In an unprecedented move, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has overruled the FDA. Looks like the Obama administration thinks that Plan B will turn little girls into promiscuous prosti-tots. [Wall Street Journal] * Due to this ruling, Occupy Boston protesters will probably have to STFU and GTFO. Bring out the brooms, because this will be […]
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Admin, Announcements, Blogging, Free Speech, Media and Journalism, New York Times, Rudeness
A Note to Our Readers About Comments
The executive editor of the New York Times, Jill Abramson — who once worked as a legal journalist, for Steve Brill at the American Lawyer — recently issued A Note to Our Readers About Comments, in which she explained various changes to the Times’s commenting system. We thought we’d follow in the Gray Lady’s footsteps […] -
Barack Obama, Celebrities, Election 2012, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Rod Blagojevich, Sentencing Law, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Non-Sequiturs: 12.07.11
* Rod Blagojevich is sentenced to 14 years but his hair will be out in seven if it behaves. [Sentencing Law and Policy] * Jerry Sandusky was re-arrested. This dude needs to be put in the Hannibal Lecter cell. Can’t you hear this guy saying, “A pizza boy tried to deliver to my house once. […] -
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
A Great, Big Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
We’d like to take a moment to thank our wonderful advertisers here at Above the Law: American Express Best Buy Chase College of Law IBM JD Match Kinney Recruiting (sponsor of the Asia Chronicles) Lateral Link (sponsor of the Career Center) LexisNexis – eReader LexisNexis – Mobile Solutions LexisNexis – MORE Reasons LexisNexis – Public […] -
Email Scandals, Law Professors, Lawyer of the Day, Reader Polls, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Lawyer of the Month: November Reader Poll
November is typically a month where people give thanks for all of the good things in their lives. The vast majority of the scandalous lawyers featured in these pages seem to have forgotten about that small fact. They just don’t give a damn. Family ties? Meh. The troops? Screw ’em. Honorific ATL titles? Totally lame. […] -
Crime, Law Schools, UVA Law
UVA Law Student Arrested: Charged With Breaking and Entering
Man, you guys sure like making fun of UVA Law students. Based on our overflowing inbox, many of you know that a UVA law student was arrested today. He's been charged with breaking and entering -- but not into a dorm room, or into the house of a millionaire. The student was charged with breaking into the University's Registrar's office.... -
In-House Counsel, Insurance, Practice Pointers
House Rules: Insurance, LoL, and Indemnity, Redux
I wrote about these contractual issues the week before Thanksgiving. I received so many emails that I thought it best to flesh these topics out a bit more. Also, some of these headings are from the anonymous “comments” section on this site, so I can’t attribute them (and I’ve also edited them for language). 1) […] -
Akin Gump, Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Associate Salaries, Bonuses, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Ho-Love, Money, Partner Profits
Keeping Up With the Cravathians: The Ten Most Generous (or Foolish?) Law Firms
Cravath is among the most profitable firms in the world. We thought it would be interesting to see what the implications of matching Cravath are for those firms with much lower profit margins. Which firms’ partners willingly take the biggest hit by keeping up? Are these firms arguably more “generous”? After the jump, check out those firms that pay the largest percentage of PPP in bonuses....