March 2012
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Law Schools, Minority Issues, Racism
Hoodie Law? Law Students Around the Country Stand Against Profiling.
Law students try to scare you... -
Biglaw, DUI / DWI, Health Care / Medicine, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, New Orleans, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, U.S. Attorneys Offices
Morning Docket: 03.26.12
* It’s Obamacare week at the Supreme Court, and people have been waiting in line since Friday morning to see the oral arguments. It’s kind of like Black Friday, except more people care about affordable TVs than affordable health care. [New York Times]
* Growth in the NLJ 250 increased by 1.7 percent in 2011. That’s fantastic for Biglaw, but associates at these firms care more about the growth of their bank accounts. Seriously… where are the spring bonuses already? [National Law Journal]
* George Zimmerman’s lawyer says he doesn’t think the “stand your ground” law applies to Trayvon Martin’s shooting. This was just self-defense — against Skittles. [MSNBC]
* The finalists for deanship at Baltimore Law include a Patton Boggs partner, an assistant attorney general, a law school dean, and two law professors. But which will be able to stand up to Bogomolny? [Baltimore Sun]
* Since blogging allows “big personalities” to run free, does the prosecommenter, Sal Perricone, have a bright future ahead of him here at Above the Law? Let’s see what David Lat has to say about that. [Times-Picayune]
* Millionaire John Goodman has been convicted of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges, and now he’s facing 11.5 to 30 years in prison. Boy is his girlfriend-slash-daughter going to miss him. [CNN]
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Job Searches
Calling All 'Kick Ass' Attorneys
You have to be a special breed of attorney to land a job at this firm, which posted an ad on the University of Chicago Law School's career services system...
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 3.23.12
* You know you love bracketology, so why not fill this one out and start an office pool with your nerdiest lawyer friends before Obamacare hits SCOTUS. [March Madness - Healthcare Edition] * But speaking of SCOTUS, maybe you should give this a read before you fill out your Obamacare bracket. Do the justices even care about the law here? [Slate] * Snitches get stitches, even alleged ones, especially when they’re tight ends in the NFL. [Fox Sports] * Facebook tells employers to back off with the big brother BS. [CNN] * Philip Morris execs probably started singing the chorus from one of Billy Joel’s most popular songs when they got the verdict on this case. [Abnormal Use] * This is kind of like that episode of Family Guy where Brian and Stewie get drunk and crash a car. Except this is real life, so it’s less entertaining when a dog gets drunk. [Legal Juice] -
China, Legal Ethics, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: I Pledge Allegiance to the Commies
As if it weren't already tough to be an attorney in China... -
In-House Counsel
Moonlighting: If You Think Domestic Pow-Wows Are Challenging...
Companies are doing more business internationally and dragging their lawyers along with them. As you can imagine, doing international work has obvious challenges — foreign law, culture and language, time zone issues, cardboard that airlines call “food,” etc. These next couple of Moonlighting posts are going to delve into some of the nitty gritty of practicing in a global arena. -
Law Schools, Student Loans
You Should Have Known Better Than to Go to Law School
These days, law school is a sucker’s bet, and it’s clear to everyone. Well, scratch that. It’s clear to everyone except prospective and current law students that law school is for suckers…. -
Drugs, Law Schools, Slideshows
Adderall Abuse At Stanford Law School? Only If You Look Really Close.
We might have evidence on just how Stanford was able to jump ahead of HLS this year. A tipster reports that there's an Adderall epidemic at Stanford Law. He says there might be an "Adderall ring" at the law school. Maybe. Or maybe one pill fell on the ground... - Sponsored
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Copyright, Cyberlaw, Intellectual Property, Movies, Technology, Television, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Since When Is Merely Linking to Copyrighted Content an Extraditable Offense?
The U.S. is extraditing a 23-year-old software engineering student from the UK who ran the website TVShack, a site which linked to streaming video files. The kid has never been to the U.S. He did not even break any British laws, but OMG piracy, and woe to all who get caught anywhere near the crosshairs of the American entertainment industry… -
Bar Exams, Law Professors, Law Schools
Law Professor Calls Entering Class 'Overall Average Students' While Advocating for a Bar Exam Focused Curriculum
If you don’t attract the very best students, then your law school needs to focus a little more on the nuts and bolts of passing a state bar exam. A law professor at a lower ranked school made that point to the rest of the faculty and students, but some of the students are getting a little butthurt after being called “average”…. -
King & Spalding, Money, Partner Issues, UVA Law, Violence
This King & Spalding Partner Allegedly Kicks Ass
Corporate law partners are supposed to have kick ass deal books, but they’re definitely not supposed to kick their mistresses’ asses. Let's learn about the charges that one King & Spalding partner is facing.... -
2nd Circuit, Education / Schools, Kids, Rank Stupidity
This Ten Year Old Told a Bad Joke, But Was It Bad Enough To Earn Him a Six-Day Suspension?
It was completely absurd when a 10-year-old was suspended from school for six days because he unsuccessfully tried to be funny and drew kind of a violent picture in class. Yesterday, the Second Circuit upheld the dismissal of the lawsuit filed by the boy's parents five years ago, but the dissenting judge's opinion showed at least someone behind the bench still understands what it means to be a kid… -
Deaths, Football, Law Schools, LLMs, Morning Docket, Student Loans, Twittering, U.S. News
Morning Docket: 03.23.12
* Joe Amendola has filed a motion to dismiss the child sex abuse charges against his client, Jerry Sandusky. And if he actually thinks that’s going to happen, then he definitely needs to call 1-800-REALITY. [Associated Press]
* @AllenStanford’s motion for a #newtrial has been denied. The Ponzi schemer’s “conviction by journo tweet” argument has failed. Major props to Judge David Hittner for issuing a ruling in less than 140 characters. [Bloomberg]
* Everyone’s obsessed with the U.S. News law school rankings, but here’s a ranking that people should actually be paying attention to: the law schools that lead to the most debt. [The Short List / U.S. News and World Report]
* This defunct firm’s homeless Halloween party just won’t be as fun this year. Steven J. Baum P.C. has to fork over $4M to settle a probe over its alleged foreclosure abuses. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* St. John’s Law is planning to launch two new LL.M. programs, neither of which is in tax. This is newsworthy because people will apply anyway, and then bitch about the “value” of their degree. [National Law Journal]
* John Payton, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, RIP. [NAACP LDF]
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Football, Pranks, Privacy, Sex, Sex Scandals
Criminalizing College: BC Football Player Accused of Invasion of Privacy
Another instance of a college kid being prosecuted for acting like a college kid... -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.22.12
* Sonia Sotomayor will reportedly speak at NYU Law commencement… wait, wait. Sorry, I’m hearing that Party Law is moving to exclude her from the ceremony because she didn’t get her commencement speaker application in on time. [NYU Law] * Let’s count all the ways Justice Kennedy was wrong in Citizens United. [Politico] * We’ll […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Litigators, Small Law Firms
From Biglaw to Boutique: Fire in the Belly
If not the money, and not the public good, then what motivates a trial lawyer to win? Tom Wallerstein says you need a fire in your belly... -
John Edwards, Politics, Prostitution, Sex, Sex Scandals
John Edwards's Sex Life Allegedly Gets Even More Lurid
We have more potential legal troubles for former presidential candidate John Edwards. DNAinfo is reporting the his name is among the first released in the probe into the client list of "Millionaire Madame" Anna Gristina. -
Jury Duty, Screw-Ups
When an 'Innocent' Attempt to Avoid Jury Duty Goes Horribly Wrong
When you call in to the radio to tell the story of jury duty shenanigans, you never know who is listening… -
Advertising, Career Center, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
Career Center: Building a Convincing Legal Résumé
As the market continues to grow with applicants across various practice areas, qualified or not, it’s more important than ever for your résumé to stand out, especially from the competition. -
Rankings, U.S. News, Vanderbilt
We Have a Winner 14th Runner-Up!
We're going to reveal the people’s choice for the 15th and final spot in legal academia’s most exclusive club, as well as arguments for and against each of the contenders....