Just after Christmas, Dechert announced its 2011 end-of-year bonuses. We guess you'd call it a "match" of the Cleary Gottlieb scale. Dechert is paying a pro-rated bonus to first-year associates and has a top payment of $42,500 for very senior associates. But Dechert isn't a lockstep firm. You have to meet a requirement in order to get the bonus....
In 2009, Professor Martin H. Redish of Northwestern Law School published a book arguing that class actions are in large part unconstitutional: Wholesale Justice: Constitutional Democracy and the Problem of the Class Action Lawsuit (Stanford Univ. Press 2009). Where is the practicing bar? I understand that nobody reads law review articles or books published by […]
Legal work isn’t slowing down, and the firms that win won’t be the ones working harder — they’ll be the ones working smarter.
* Landmark case alert. This just in from SCOTUS: the separation of church and state even applies to employment discrimination lawsuits. Say hello to the “ministerial exception.” [New York Times] * Paul Ceglia was fined for ignoring a discovery order. He also has to reimburse Facebook for all of its related, Biglaw legal fees. Here’s […]
California has released some macro-level results from the July 2011 administration of the bar exam. The California bar is notoriously difficult, and every year we like to take a look at which schools prepared their students well for the exam, and which schools did not. You might be surprised at which California law school had the best passage rate on the California bar. Hint: it's not Stanford, or Boalt Hall, or UCLA....
* Being 15 minutes early to crucial meetings is not all that it’s cracked up to be. [The Ying-a-Ling] * Law school fiction: possible comic gold, possible Shakespearean tragedy. Check out excerpts from Cameron Stracher’s work in progress. [The Socratic Method] * The key for women getting ahead in 2012: working for companies that don’t […]
Last August, John J. O'Brien, who was once a highly regarded and well-liked partner in the celebrated M&A practice of Sullivan & Cromwell, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor tax offenses. In the end, he pleaded guilty to failing to file taxes relating to $9.2 million in partnership income, for tax years 2003 to 2008. Earlier this week, O'Brien was sentenced. So is O'Brien trading Biglaw for the Big House? And if so, how long a sentence did he receive?
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Yesterday, the Atlantic was the messenger reminding you of the serious financial peril involved in starting a legal career. Yeah folks, even in 2011, the legal economy was still shedding jobs. But it's not like law schools were spitting out fewer graduates, so... you do the math. Here, the Atlantic has put things in a fancy chart. Pictures people, it'll be like an LSAT game: how many people made a terrible investment in higher education?
As we recently mentioned, our view is “better late than never” when it comes to bonus news. With this in mind, we are pleased to bring you the bonus announcement of Willkie Farr — which came out in December. Given Willkie Farr’s status as a top New York law firm, you can probably guess what […]
Remember Todd Remis? How couldn't you? He's the disgruntled groom with a Biglaw daddy whose ridiculous lawsuit against his wedding photographer made national news when it hit the New York Times. But now, more than two months after the story first broke, Remis has emerged from hiding to combat the New York Times version of his lawsuit. Remis wants to tell his side of the story, and he's got a website to prove it....
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
I’m writing this wearing my new bifocals. They take some getting used to after years of regular glasses and contacts. But, after watching me examine small print like I was Mr. Magoo, my wife convinced me that it was time to take a symbolic plunge toward middle age. I admit to no small amount of […]
Every so often, people ask us about the "value" of getting an LL.M. degree. Our answer has remained pretty consistent. Is it a tax LL.M. from Georgetown or NYU? No? Then save your money and buy something valuable like gold or drugs. The National Law Journal made that EXTREMELY OBVIOUS point this week (again)....
It appears that Gregory Berry's "superior legal mind" failed to impress Justice Eileen Bransten of New York Supreme Court. Ruling from the bench, she dismissed his entire case, with prejudice. But that's not all. Her Honor was displeased when Berry walked out of her courtroom before the hearing was over, while she was still putting her ruling on the record....
* “It seems no one can use dirty words, except Steven Spielberg.” Well, sh*t, I’ll be damned. Is Elena Kagan going to be the voice of reason in the Supreme Court’s FCC profanity case? [Los Angeles Times] * Ken Cuccinelli filed an emergency motion to get Virginia’s primary ballots printed. You can’t wait three days […]
* There’s a new chief legal officer at Morgan Stanley: Eric Grossman, a former Davis Polk partner, replaces Frank Barron, a former Cravath partner (who joined Morgan Stanley not that long ago; if you know more about this odd situation, email us). [Bloomberg Businessweek] * Will anybody be surprised if it turns out that Ron […]