February 2012
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Cyberlaw, Google / Search Engines, Law Professors, Technology
Are Lawyers Officially No Longer Technophobic?
The first month of 2012 was a crazy one for internet law. The Stop Online Piracy Act gloriously crashed and burned, Apple is getting sued in China for naming rights to the iPad, and in America someone is suing to show that porn doesn’t deserve copyright protection. In the wake of all the hot debate […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Morgan Lewis & Bucks-ius
Thanks to everyone who responded to our recent request for information about 2011 bonuses at Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Here's our report on bonuses at MLB. How are Morgan Lewis associates feeling about their bonuses? We'll get the ball rolling with some tips that we've received.... - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Divorce Train Wrecks, Family Law, Holidays and Seasons, Romance and Dating, Solo Practitioners
This Valentine's Day, Give the Everlasting Gift of Love Divorce
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and for some people, it represents a time to serenade a sweetheart, pop bottles of champagne, and stare dreamily into the eyes of Mr. or Ms. Right (or Right Now, as the case may be). For others, Valentine’s Day is a time of loneliness and despair — angry, […]
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Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Interview Stories, Small Law Firms
Inside Straight: Tales From The Interview Crypt
Mark Herrmann wishes he could name names; he really does. But he works at the world's leading insurance broker for law firms, and he can't go around offending the clients (or potential clients). You'll just have to guess. All of these interviews actually took place. He swears it. He didn't say these stories were uplifting. He said only that they were true.... -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Did MoFo Just Use Cravath as an Excuse to Screw Over New York Associates?
Today we offer more evidence that if you are an associate working and living in New York, you are a chump. You are paying a higher cost of living than anywhere else in the country, and you're not getting paid any more for the effort. In fact, if you work at Morrison & Foerster, you might be getting a smaller bonus just because you work in New York.... -
Courthouses, Nauseating Things, State Judges
The Race to the Courthouse (Bathroom)
In the past week or two, our bathroom coverage has exploded. We've written about a law firm and a law school experiencing toilet shortages, a law school that has a sense of humor when selling naming rights to its bathrooms, and a law firm that wants its employees to follow proper restroom etiquette. If you're tired of the toilet humor, stop here. But if you want to see a funny sign from a courthouse bathroom, keep reading.... -
Biglaw, Celebrities, Crowell & Moring, Divorce Train Wrecks, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Firm Names, Morning Docket, Murder, Partner Profits
Morning Docket: 02.09.12
* At least two firms probably won’t be handing out spring bonuses like candy this year. While gross revenue remained steady at Dickstein Shapiro and Crowell & Moring, PPP dropped at both firms. [Legal Times] * Not-so breaking news: the Thirteenth Amendment applies only to humans. It seems like the only people who didn’t already […]
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Election 2012, English Grammar and Usage, Immigration, Politics
Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Discrimination Against People Who Can't Speak English
How much English do you have to be able to speak in order to hold elected office? I don’t know, but apparently justices in Arizona think they know it when they hear it. Continuing Arizona’s quest to become the most racist state in the Union, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed a ruling that prevented Alejandrina […] - 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… -
Football, Non-Sequiturs, Sonia Sotomayor, Student Loans
Non-Sequiturs: 02.08.12
* When the student debt bubble bursts and causes general economic ruin, I don’t want to be called a “prophet.” You may call me “messenger,” as in the sentence, “We’d like welcome the messenger, Elie Mystal, to the program. Tell us, seer, what it was like being so far ahead of the curve.” [Democrat and […] -
Advertising, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Thank You to Our Advertisers
We’d like to take a moment to thank our wonderful advertisers here at Above the Law: ALPS BarMax College of Law eLawgic IBM Kinney Recruiting (sponsor of the Asia Chronicles) Lateral Link (sponsor of the Career Center) New York Times Practical Law Company Themis Westlaw If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or […] -
Adam Liptak, Constitutional Law, Law Professors, Law Reviews, Quote of the Day, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Quote of the Day: Why Do You Hate America, Justice Ginsburg?
[A]mong the world’s democracies … constitutional similarity to the United States has clearly gone into free fall. Over the 1960s and 1970s, democratic constitutions as a whole became more similar to the U.S. constitution, only to reverse course in the 1980s and 1990s. The turn of the twenty-first century, however, saw the beginning of a […] -
In-House Counsel, Labor / Employment, Layoffs
House Rules: RIF Is a Four-Letter Acronym
When I was a kid, before many of you were born, there were ads during Saturday morning cartoons for a program called “RIF” -– an acronym for “Reading is Fundamental.” Started in 1966 in Washington, D.C., it is supposedly one of the oldest non-profit educational programs in existence. I mentioned RIFs in my last column, […] -
Facebook, Law Schools, Privacy, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Law Student of the Day: Max Schrems
While most law students are shaking off the winter break and settling back in for the second semester, Max Schrems is busy doing his best to bring Facebook to its knees. Last year, the 24-year-old University of Vienna law student spent a semester abroad at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. His privacy law professor […]
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Drugs
Time to Lay Off the Meth: Attorney Gets Kicked Out of Court During Her Own Arraignment
Small-firm attorney Amy McTeer is back in the news with yet another arrest. This time, McTeer was charged with methamphetamine possession, public intoxication, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia after allegedly telling the police that a trucker had poisoned her pipe. If you think this trainwreck of a story can't get any worse, you're wrong. Let's take a look at what happened during McTeer's arraignment, and view a compilation of McTeer's photos in our Faces of Meth: Lawyer's Edition.... -
Facebook, Free Speech, Social Media, Social Networking Websites
The University of Minnesota Is the Facebook Fun Police
The battle between educational institutions and loudmouth students who fight for the right to say dumb things is a rich area of recent American history. A student says something inflammatory. The school suspends/fails/disciplines the student. The student sues, and everyone has a big First Amendment debate party. Usually, I have a lot of sympathy for […] -
7th Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Frank Easterbrook, Practice Pointers, R. Ted Cruz, Screw-Ups
Benchslap of the Day: Judge Easterbrook Benchslaps Biglaw
Lately the Seventh Circuit has been laying down its pimp hand. Biglaw just got a big benchslap -- from none other than Chief Judge Easterbrook. Which firm incurred His Honor's wrath, and for what alleged infraction? -
Grade Reform, Law Schools, Texas
Law Students Sue School Over Being Graded on a Curve
Two students at Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law received crappy grades. Other people get bad grades and re-dedicate themselves to study, or (gasp) figure out something to do that they are actually good at. These kids, well, you can't say that millennials are ashamed of being whiny bitches.... -
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Bingham McCutchen's 'Extraordinary' Bonuses
Congratulations to Bingham McCutchen, which recently earned a spot on Fortune's best companies to work for -- for the eighth year in a row. And congratulations to Bingham's nine new partners. And congratulations to high-billing associates at Bingham. They were rewarded with "extraordinary" bonuses, as set forth in the firm's bonus memo.... -
Crime, Drinking, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Paralegals, Police, Pregnancy / Paternity, Rape, Sex, Sex Scandals
Greg Kelly Won't Be Charged with Rape, But Who Is His Accuser? Where Did It All Go Down?
Greg Kelly, the popular television host, has been cleared of his rape allegations -- he won't even face charges. When word of the rape accusation first hit the presses, all we knew was that it had allegedly taken place at a “lower Manhattan law firm.” Well, now we know the name of the accuser, and the name of the "downtown law firm" where the alleged rape occurred.... -
Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Election 2012, Kasowitz Benson, Lindsay Lohan, Morning Docket, Sex, Sex Scandals
Morning Docket: 02.08.12
* Extra frothy: Santorum’s trifecta of wins in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri has made Mitt Romney angry. Because even a guy who wins nonbinding primaries can be dangerous to a man’s campaign. [New York Times] * Richard Holwell, the judge who presided over Rajabba the Hut’s case, will be resigning and starting a boutique firm […]