June 2012
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Legal Ethics
Criticisms Of American Legal System That Are Even More Stupid Than Normal
These critiques of the American legal system sound childish... -
Bar Exams, Ohio State - Moritz College of Law
Bar Review Diaries: Where Is My Motivation?
Our Bar Review Diarists are getting into the thick of studying. And things are still pretty dull. So what do they do to shake up the dust? - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Biglaw, Holidays and Seasons, Kids, Money, Partner Issues
Buying In: Thoughts From A Biglaw Dad
How can one balance being a Biglaw partner and being a father? Our newest writer, Anonymous Partner, offers his reflections.
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Biglaw, Exercise, Fat People, Food
Weight Loss Tips That Keep Fat People Fat
Lawyers, especially Biglaw lawyers, have some unique challenges when battling to stay physically fit. One of those challenges is being too smart for stupid weight loss tips… -
Biglaw, Rankings, Vault rankings
2013 Vault Law Firm Rankings: Prestige Can't Buy You Money
Paying top dollar is no longer necessary to achieve "prestige" in the Vault rankings... -
Defamation, Kids, Lawsuit of the Day, Nude Dancing, Ridiculousness
Potential Lawsuit of the Day: Octomom Refuses to Ride the Pole at Florida Strip Club
Nadya Suleman (aka Octomom) may be facing an epic lawsuit, but to be honest, we’re surprised that it took this long for someone to threaten to sue her…. -
American Bar Association / ABA, Bail, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Gay Marriage, Law Schools, LSAT, Morning Docket, S.D.N.Y.
Morning Docket: 06.19.12
* Dewey know how many professional services firms it takes to wind down a Biglaw firm? According to new D&L bankruptcy filings, there are at least eight of them — including Togut Segal & Segal, a leading law firm that reportedly charges $935 an hour. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Despite Barack Obama’s pledge of support, Brett McGurk has withdrawn his name from the White House pool of ambassadorial candidates amid much salacious controversy. Apparently this man knows a lost cause when he sees one. [Washington Post]
* So many DOMA lawsuits, so little time: what’s happening in the six major cases on this statute? The majority are in various stages of appeal, and the world at large is currently awaiting a cert filing to get a final take from the Supreme Court. [Poliglot / Metro Weekly]
* LSAC will now vet incoming law students’ GPAs and LSAT scores. The ABA won’t do it because they need the insurance policy of someone else to blame in case something happens to go wrong. [National Law Journal]
* Oh, my sweet little Mittens, you’re making it really hard for moderates like me to consider voting for you in November. Protip: you went to law school, so you should probably stop telling people that you didn’t. [Ology]
* Stephen McDaniel’s lawyers are expected to ask a judge to reconsider his $850K bond today. If he’s released, it seems like there’s a high probability that he’ll become an ATL commenter. [Macon Telegraph]
* Remember the legal fight over the Tyrannosaurus bataar? Well, now Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the S.D.N.Y., is on the case, and he wants to be seized for return to Jurassic Park Mongolia. [New York Observer]
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3rd Circuit, Benchslaps, Christopher Christie, Crime, Federal Judges, New Jersey, Paul Bergrin, Trials, U.S. Attorneys Offices
Benchslaps of the Day: A Double Whammy for a District Judge
The Third Circuit just delivered not one but TWO benchslaps -- of the same district judge. What did the judge do to incite the court's ire? - 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… -
Court Reporters / Stenographers, New York Times, Non-Sequiturs, Parties, Prostitution, Public Interest, Technology
Non-Sequiturs: 06.18.12
* Roger Clemens was found not guilty on charges of lying to Congress about using steroids. [New York Times] * Why did the ABA Journal kill a feature story on mentoring by Dan Hull and Scott Greenfield? The world may never know, and the world may never see the story. [Simple Justice] * Q: What does a male lawyer do when his female secretary gives him a nice little Father’s Day gift? A: Freak out because random acts of kindness are so unusual, and then write a letter to a New York Times advice columnist. [New York Times] * If you’ll be in D.C. this Thursday, June 21, check out this battle of the law firm bands — a fun event that we’ve covered before, as well as a fundraiser for a worthy cause. [Banding Together 2012] * ATL readers are awesome. You guys have already been a huge help to this court reporter who almost died when he fell into the Chicago River. The family is still taking donations, and now there’s a PayPal link, so it’s even easier to lend a hand to Andrew Pitts and his family. [Kruse Reporters Blog] * A closer look at the continuing rapid progress of predictive coding (or, as skeptics would say, our new computer overlords) in legal discovery. [WSJ Law Blog] * New York’s “hot dog hooker,” Ms. Catherine Scalia (no, not that Scalia), was sentenced to jail. Maybe she should have deigned to sell chocolate milkshakes instead. [Gothamist] -
Copyright, Defamation, Depositions, Facebook, Intellectual Property, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Facebook Litigation Continues: A Closer Look at Aaron Greenspan
Was Aaron Greenspan the programmer Facebook forgot? Let's hear, in his own words, the story of his various lawsuits against the social network… -
American Constitution Society (ACS), Health Care / Medicine, Quote of the Day, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Quote of the Day: She Disapproves of Your Disapproval
Does Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg think the Supreme Court's approval rating will go up in the next few weeks? -
Caption Contests, Contests, Law Schools, Pictures, Reader Polls
Caption Contest Finalists: Columbia Law Provides Quality Street Construction Materials
Caption choices for the Columbia Law housing umbrella... -
Small Law Firms
The Practice: Following Up On Referrals (Non-Beggar Edition)
Small-firm columnist Brian Tannebaum rarely follow up on potential clients anymore. Here are a few reasons why...
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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Constitutional Law, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
The Supreme Court Is Not Kind To Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Or the Confrontation Clause
SCOTUS didn't issue a health care opinion, but for a certain kind of lawyer, a very important opinion was issued today, instead... -
American Bar Association / ABA, Biglaw, Job Searches, Law Schools, Unemployment
ABA Employment Stats Are Just As Dire As We Expected
One last, final look at the terrible reality for the class of 2011... -
Fashion, Hotties, Masturbation, Pictures
Male Model Claims He Was Instructed to Masturbate Nude for Photo Shoot, Sues for a Million
Male models may be stereotypically portrayed as stupid, but when they’ve allegedly been taken advantage of, they have the good sense to sue for millions. -
Adam Liptak, Antonin Scalia, Books, Constitutional Law, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Tony Mauro
Justice Scalia and Bryan Garner on the Interpretation of Legal Texts
Justice Scalia and legal writing guru Bryan Garner have written a new book. What's it all about? -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Partner Issues
Inside Straight: Pessimism Has Its Pleasures
In-house columnist Mark Herrmann offers some thoughts on the power of negative thinking. -
Attorney Misconduct, Barack Obama, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Facebook, Federal Judges, Football, Health Care / Medicine, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trademarks, Trials
Morning Docket: 06.18.12
* “At the Supreme Court, those who know, don’t talk. And those who talk, don’t know.” If that’s the case, then there must be a lot of people who “don’t know” — it’s rumored that the Court’s decision on Obamacare will be released today. [CNN]
* Dewey know what kind of news this week’s conference call will bring for the failed firm’s former partners? On Tuesday afternoon, we might get some information on the status of a global partner contribution plan. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Guys in my high school ambassadorial nominations pool used to have extramarital affairs with WSJ reporters all the time, it was no big deal. Obama still supports Brett McGurk, despite his racy emails. [Reuters]
* The $64,000 question in the Jerry Sandusky case: will the allegedly histrionic former football coach take the stand to testify in his own defense? He should, because apparently it’s his “only shot.” [Legal Intelligencer]
* Looks like Facebook decided to initiate the use of a proverbial “dislike” button when the company pointed the finger at NASDAQ in defense against dozens of lawsuits over its incredibly glitchy IPO. [New York Daily News]
* It’s actually possible to have an “offensive personality” as a matter of law: former prosecutor Kenneth “I Am the Prize” Kratz will plead no contest to six ethics violations for his sordid sexting scandal. [Associated Press]
* “Careful … that is a Lewis [sic] Vuitton.” It seems that at least one federal judge in Manhattan holds comedic value to a higher standard than our favorite fashion house’s trademark infringement claims. [Chicago Tribune]
* Loose lips may sometimes sink ships, but not all gossip is bad. After all, without gossip, your ATL editors wouldn’t be able to bring you some of the juiciest stories out there in the legal world. [New York Times]
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Alex Kozinski, Clerkships, Fabulosity, Federal Judges, Feeder Judges, J. Harvie Wilkinson III, John Bash, Law Schools, SCOTUS, Solicitor General's Office, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Color Commentary on the October Term 2012 Class
Some interesting observations about the October Term 2012 law clerks of the U.S. Supreme Court (plus updated clerk lists for OT 2012 and OT 2013).