May 2012
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Attorney Misconduct, Legal Ethics, Rudeness, State Judges
'Oh Sh*t': Attorney Faces Discipline for Allegedly Cursing in Court
Sh*t My Lawyer Says. You know, like the word "sh*t," allegedly uttered by one Illinois lawyer in open court. -
Law Professors, Law Schools, Screw-Ups
Huge Exam Screw-Up Requires Class to Retake Portions Of Test
An amazing exam administration screw-up defies explanation... - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
9th Circuit, Affirmative Action, Asians, Biglaw, Conferences / Symposia, Copyright, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Federal Judges, Harvard, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Murder, Technology, You Go Girl
Morning Docket: 05.08.12
* Aw, come on, Mort, Dewey really have to pay you $61M? In case you missed it last night, the only thing that made the former vice chairman’s departure memo dramatic was the insane amount that he claims he’s owed. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Congratulations to Jacqueline H. Nguyen on her confirmation to the Ninth Circuit. She’s the first Asian American woman to sit on a federal appellate court, so she’s earned our judicial diva title (in a good way). You go girl! [Los Angeles Times]
* Google might’ve infringed upon Oracle’s copyrights, but a jury couldn’t decide if it constituted fair use. Sorry, Judge Alsup, but with that kind of a decision, you can bet your ass that there’ll be an appeal. [New York Times]
* A Harvard Law professor has come to Elizabeth Warren’s defense, claiming that an alleged affirmative action advantage played no role in her hiring. And besides, even if it did, it only played 1/32 of a role. [Boston Herald]
* Classes at Cooley Law’s Tampa Bay campus began last night. Unsurprisingly, the inaugural class is double the size originally projected, because everyone wants to attend second-best school in the nation. [MLive.com]
* Albany Law will be having a three-day conference on the legal implications of the Civil War. This could be a little more exciting if presenters wore reenactment garb and did battle when it was over. [National Law Journal]
* Jury selection is underway in a second degree murder trial that will forever be known as the case where a defendant first raised the “Snooki Defense.” He didn’t kill his wife… but her spray tan did. [CBS Miami]
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Bankruptcy, Bar Exams, BARBRI, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Dewey Ballantine, Dissolution, ERISA, JPMorgan Chase, Lateral Moves, Layoffs, LeBoeuf Lamb, Money, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues, Schiff Hardin, Silicon Valley, Staff Layoffs
Dewey Have an End in Sight? Friday Will Be the Last Day for Many Employees
What is the latest Dewey & LeBoeuf news? Some employees may lose their jobs as of this Friday -- plus news about incoming associates, retired partners, and defecting partners. -
Blogging, Football, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 05.07.12
* I bought the excellent Mayweather/Cotto fight this weekend. Floyd looked great for a guy who was too much of a coward to fight Manny Pacquiao. But the sweet science is dying. In its place, a bunch of grabbing and submission could be legalized in New York. [New York Daily News] * Speaking of boxing, hey football, I bet 40 years ago nobody thought this would ever happen to boxing. [Overlawyered] * Cooley Law subpoenas Professor Paul Campos. [Inside the Law School Scam] * Accusing the president of “thuggery,” just another day on the campaign trail. [Election Law Blog] * These kids are smiling because those diplomas were free, folks. [OC Register] * Here is a visual representation of the Dewey & LeBoeuf partner departures (which have also been captured in tabular form by Am Law Daily). [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * I think if more lawyers drew inspiration from Jeanne d’Arc, more recent graduates would light themselves on fire. [Amicae Curiae via Blawg Review] -
Quote of the Day, Student Loans
Quote of the Day: The House That Debt Built (And Then Destroyed)
Law school debt is kind of like buying a house with a mortgage, burning the house down, and then continuing to pay the mortgage… -
California, Cyberlaw, Junk Email / Spam, Litigators, Small Law Firms, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Twittering
Alleged Spammers Respond to Twitter Lawsuit: We Are Not the Spammers You're Looking For
One of the alleged spammers sued by Twitter is fighting back -- with help from one of Above the Law's own illustrious columnists… -
Biglaw, Blind Item, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Job Searches, Lateral Moves, Musical Chairs
Biglaw Blind Item: How Dewey Feel When Other Firms Make Jokes?
Now other firms are making jokes at Dewey's expense. Is Dewey's possible demise a laughing matter? - 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. -
Cheapness, Small Law Firms, Social Media, Social Networking Websites
The Practice: Creating A 'Brand,' While Others Create Your Reputation
Reputations aren’t created or bought, they are earned... -
Divorce Train Wrecks, Family Law, Holidays and Seasons, Legal Ethics
Lawyer Faces Possible Discipline Over Epic Christmas Poem About Neverending Divorce Case
While poetry may be the best way to make passive-aggressive complaints about your case, the next time you’re considering writing a four-page, 60-line email riffing on a classic holiday poem, you might want to consider your audience... -
Biglaw, Caption Contests, Contests, Pictures, Reader Polls
Caption Contest Winner: Biglaw Beach Blanket Bonus Bingo
Many lawyers are hoping that Cravath, the former market leader on spring bonuses, will leave Sullivan & Cromwell all wet. Here's the winner for our latest caption contest... -
Harvard, Jury Duty, Law Professors, Law Schools, Movies
The Harvard Law Exam That Requires You To Apply Lessons From ‘12 Angry Men’
The HLS exam that a film critic could pass... -
Art, Biglaw, Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Dewey Ballantine, Dissolution, Lawyerly Lairs, Partner Issues, Pictures, Real Estate
Dewey & LeBoeuf: A Visual Essay (Part 1)
What does the downfall of a Biglaw firm look like? Here are several visual representations of the turmoil at Dewey & LeBoeuf.
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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
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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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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Document Review, Election 2012, Election Law, In-House Counsel, Litigators, Politics, Technology
Inside Straight: Why Are Elections Like E-Discovery?
Here's some food for thought, from in-house columnist Mark Herrmann: Why are elections like e-discovery? -
5th Circuit, 9/11, Abortion, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Food, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Prostitution, SCOTUS, Sex, Sex Scandals, Student Loans, Supreme Court, Texas
Morning Docket: 05.07.12
* While Dewey’s former culture gets roasted on a spit, and the seemingly unending drama gets turned into a montage of living lawyer jokes, we’re still waiting for the final punchline. [New York Times; Wall Street Journal]
* Don Verrilli tried so hard, and got so far (depending on who you ask), but in the end, it doesn’t even matter. When Linkin Park lyrics apply to your oral argument skills, you know you’re kind of screwed. [New York Times]
* The 9/11 arraignments went off without a hitch this weekend. And by that, we mean that it was a 13 hour hearing filled multiple interruptions, and grandstanding about “appropriate” courtroom fashion. [Fox News]
* In a “re-re-reversal,” Judge Jerry Smith, on a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit, reinstated Planned Parenthood’s injunction against Texas, without even so much as a homework assignment. [Dallas Observer]
* The It Gets Worse Project: if you thought that the Law School Transparency debt figures were scary before, then take a look at them now. Six figures of debt just got a lot harder to swallow. [National Law Journal]
* Scalia gets busted on a case of hot-dog hooking. No, not that Scalia. A woman from Long Island has been accused, for the second time, of selling swallowing foot-longs in the back of her food truck. [New York Post]
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Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Dissolution, Labor / Employment, Layoffs, Staff Layoffs
When Dewey WARN People?
Dewey warns people to prepare for the worst... -
California, Career Alternatives, Craigslist, Job Searches
Career Alternatives: An Attorney Chef? That's So Crazy It Just Might Work
Do you want to work as in attorney and a chef -- at the same time? That's crazy… so crazy, it just might work. -
Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.04.12
* I think I entirely agree with Eugene Volokh, who in turn agrees with the Eighth Circuit, which agreed with the lower court, that a school board is well within its rights to call a website unreliable. [The Volokh Conspiracy] * Steve DiCarmine retains counsel. [Thompson Reuters News & Insight] * Rajat Gupta’s lawyers are applying a defense they must have learned in grade school. [Dealbreaker] * Do brown people in Arizona who are legal immigrants get extra time off school to deal with being hassled by any cop who wants to “check their status”? Didn’t think so. [WSJ Law Blog] * Apparently, courtroom fashion only matters if you are attractive. [Huffington Post] * Pit bulls are the black people of dogs. [Legal Blog Watch] * I assume insurance lawyers check people’s Facebook history as a regular matter of course. [Not-So Private Parts / Forbes] * R.I.P. Adam Yauch. All you sucker MCs better recognize. [What About Clients?] -
Food, In-House Counsel, Labor / Employment, Lawsuit of the Day, Rudeness
Lawsuit of the Day: This General Counsel Is Allegedly A Teabag-Throwing Terror
A secretary is suing her former boss, an in-house attorney who gives terrible bosses a bad name… -
Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Dissolution, Lateral Moves, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues
Dewey Know When It's Over? Source Says 'We Work For The Banks Now'
Sources say bankers are now calling the shots at Dewey...