January 2012
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Contracts, In-House Counsel, Practice Pointers
House Rules: Risk / Reward
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 […] -
Biglaw, Education / Schools, Job Searches, Law Schools, LLMs, Student Loans, Tax Law
The Value of the LL.M. Degree? Still Low
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).... - Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Biglaw, Kasowitz Benson, Labor / Employment, Lawsuit of the Day, Litigators, Pro Se Litigants, Ridiculousness, Rudeness, State Judges
Berry v. Kasowitz Benson: Superior Legal Mind Fails to Conquer
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....
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10th Circuit, Cars, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Election 2012, Election Law, Elena Kagan, FCC, LLMs, Magic Circle, Mergers and Acquisitions, Morning Docket, Politics, Religion, SCOTUS, Student Loans, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 01.11.12
* “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 […]
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Alex Kozinski, Election 2012, Federal Judges, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Labor / Employment, Music, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Social Networking Websites, Wall Street
Non-Sequiturs: 01.10.12
* 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 […] -
Advertising, Biglaw, Career Center, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: A New Year's Resolution for 2012 – Tips for a Better Legal Career
Eat healthy, workout, stop procrastinating, learn Spanish — it’s 2012 and time to make your New Year’s resolutions. One big resolution you should add to your list is to improve your legal career. Lucky for you, the recruiting professionals at Lateral Link have written articles that will help you with your career resolutions. If you […] -
Barack Obama, Department of Justice, Election 2012, Politics
Recess Appointments: How Do You Stop A Legal Sham?
It’ll take some time before a court rules on the legality of Barack Obama’s recess appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In case you haven’t been paying attention, Obama nominated Cordray two years ago, but the Republicans have refused to allow his nomination to come to a vote. Obama then wanted […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Disability Law, Hotties, Small Law Firms
Size Matters: Plot Idea For Miss Congeniality 3
Like most of you, Valerie Katz spends her free time trying to come up with a plot idea for Miss Congeniality 3. It is hard, however, to mess with perfection. Having reached the limits of her creativity, she decided to look to actual events (and, of course, small law firm news) to serve as the inspiration for her movie plot. And she found just what I was looking for, thanks to a real-life Miss Congeniality and Mr. Social Security. Intrigued? Check out photos of a certified hottie, after the break.... - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Kasowitz Benson, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Kasowitz Rewards Superior Legal Minds
Today's bonus news comes to us from Kasowitz Benson. The litigation powerhouse, which describes itself as "a national law firm primarily focusing on complex and sophisticated commercial litigation, numbering 375 lawyers," announced its bonuses last Thursday, January 5. So how much is Uncle Marc paying to the superior legal minds who work for him? -
Advertising, Drugs, Google / Search Engines, Marijuana, Sports, Technology
Why Google Is an Unwitting Drug Dealer and Ticket Scalper
One of my favorite Mitch Hedberg jokes goes something like, “I love the FedEx driver, because he’s a drug dealer and he don’t even know it.” Well, it turns out you might be able to say the same thing about Google AdWords. A new BBC report reveals the sketchier side of Google’s flagship, profit-making endeavor. […] -
Akin Gump, Bankruptcy, Food, Sports
Some Sightings of the Elusive Lawyer Athlete
There are still a few legal types out there who take care of their bodies, and we're not just talking about Reema Bajaj. We're talking about lawyers who are actual athletes. It's a rare breed, but today we're going to take a look at two of them. One is an Olympian, while the other is just a record-breaking weekend warrior.... -
Allen & Overy, Dorsey & Whitney, Letter from London, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: The Benedict Arnold Society
Benedict Arnold was a general during the American Revolutionary War who started out in the Continental Army but later defected to the Brits. So when in the early 1990s U.S. lawyers Jeffrey Golden and Thomas Joyce quit, respectively, Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Dorsey & Whitney to join U.K. firms Allen & Overy (A&O) and […] -
Bar Exams, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Minority Issues, Police, Racism, Reader Polls, Small Law Firms, UVA Law
An Update On Johnathan Perkins: Did He Get His Law Degree?
What transpired here is a mystery.
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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2nd Circuit, 9/11, Bar Exams, Depositions, Gloria Allred, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas, Travel / Vacation
Morning Docket: 01.10.12
* In trying to resolve the Texas redistricting problem, the Supreme Court has come to a realization: everything really is bigger in that state, including its congressional delegation. [Los Angeles Times] * The Center for Constitutional Rights is suing to get video of the would-be 20th hijacker’s interrogations made public. Too bad no one really […]
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8th Circuit, Law Professors, Law Schools
Conservative Law Profs: Just Say You Need 'Affirmative Action' for Intellectual Diversity and We'll End Hiring Discrimination Against You
Conservative law professors need help. They don’t want to admit it because conservative orthodoxy holds that the only people who can ask for help in this country are small businessmen and the institution of marriage, but make no mistake, conservatives who want to get a tenure-track job in legal academia need a leg up. That’s […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 01.09.12
* Corporations are people when it comes to influencing our political process with money. But people are not people if they are foreign born. Clearly, foreign nationals living in the United States should just incorporate themselves in Delaware if they want to regain their personhood. [Election Law Blog] * Let’s see if my patented blurb […] -
Cyberlaw, Intellectual Property, Technology, Trademarks
Under New Internet Rules, URLs Like AboveTheLaw.YourMom Will Soon Be Available
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has been busy lately. First, the Southern California-based non-profit responsible for the Internet’s address system created a porn-only, top-level domain. And on January 12, ICANN will start allowing people to register top-level domains of whatever they want. .Com, .net, and .org — your days of tyranny are […] -
Practice Pointers, Small Law Firms
The Practice: Who’s the Idiot That Invented Three Name Referrals?
Brian Tannebaum want to know when lawyers will stop using opportunities to give referrals as a panicked strategy of covering their asses. You know what he's talking about -- the “three names” idiocy? He knows, you were taught this. You never give one name. Why? Because what if it doesn’t work out? Then you’re going to have some sort of imagined problem that someone told you could be very, very bad.... -
Football, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Labor / Employment, Screw-Ups, Sports
How to Get Fired From Your Job as General Counsel to an NFL Team
Tim Tebow is a God in Florida, and he was sitting there in the draft when Jacksonville passed on him. Now, the Jacksonville Jaguars have a new owner. Coincidence? The Jaguars seem to be a terribly run organization. Even the Jags' lawyers can't get it together. The new owner removed the team's general counsel for something that looks like an unforgivable error for a lawyer to make.... -
Advertising, Continuing Legal Education / CLE, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
A Special CLE Offer for Above the Law Readers
Here’s a New Year’s resolution for you: get your continuing legal education done early, instead of saving it until the last minute. In late December, wouldn’t you rather be out shopping for holiday gifts and drinking eggnog, instead of sitting in front of your computer in a zombie-like trance watching CLE videos? Courtesy of our […]