December 2012
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Crime, Education / Schools, Guns / Firearms, Murder, Violence
Open Thread: School Shooting In Connecticut
A place for the ATL community to talk about their thoughts on the tragedy in Connecticut. -
California, Judge of the Day, Rape, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: Making Todd Akin-esque Comments on the Bench Won't Earn You Any Praise, Even Four Years Later
This California judge was making Todd Akin-esque comments about rape before Todd Akin was a joke. - Sponsored
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar on April 10th, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Arthur Miller, Law Professors, Law Schools, Screw-Ups
NYU Law Comes to Reasonable Resolution After Latest Exam Screw-Up
Famous NYU Law professor makes a mistake when handing out exams, but he corrects it quickly and gracefully...
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Biglaw, Cozen O'Connor, Deaths, Lawyer of the Day, Partner Issues
Lawyer of the Day: A Compassionate Managing Partner
Meet a managing partner with empathy. -
Holidays and Seasons, Law Schools
'Twas The Night Before Finals, And Law Students Were Freaking Out
Turning your case brief into a Christmas poem is the NKI... -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Breasts, Cocaine / Crack, Drugs, Gender, General Counsel, Hotties, Litigators, Money, Morning Docket, NALP, National Association for Law Placement (NALP), Patents, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 12.14.12
* NALP is becoming the harbinger of doom for law practice. Here’s some cheerful news: the percentage of female associates in Biglaw dropped for the third year in a row. Perhaps they’re going the way of the Clifford Chance mommy. [National Law Journal]
* Biglaw hotties are coming to a continent near you! Davis Polk & Wardwell will be adding a litigation practice to its existing shop in Hong Kong, and they managed to poach two big name Clifford Chance litigators in the process. [DealBook / New York Times]
* According to the ACC, in 2012, base salaries for general counsel rose 1.9 percent, while cash bonuses dropped 7.9 percent. But really, who’s going to complain about a six-figure bonus? [Corporate Counsel]
* A Delaware jury ruled that Apple infringed on several patents in a mobile-device technologies case filed by MobileMedia Ideas. Somewhere, Samsung’s bigwigs are laughing their asses off. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]
* A woman was arrested in Spain for trying to smuggle in cocaine from Colombia. Seems pretty standard, except for the fact that she was hiding the coke in brand new breast implants — three pounds of it! [CNN]
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Caption Contests, Contests, Libraries / Librarians, Pets, Pictures
Caption Contest: Law School Has Gone to the Dogs
Did this law school admit a dog as a student? Check out our latest caption contest! -
Asians, Books, Federal Judges, Jews, Judicial Nominations, Nancy Grace, New Jersey, S.D.N.Y., State Judges, Tax Law, Videos, YouTube
Non-Sequiturs: 12.13.12
* How much could going over the fiscal cliff cost midlevel to senior associates whose bonuses get paid in January? Here’s an estimate. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * Congratulations to the newest member of the S.D.N.Y. bench: former Debevoise partner Lorna Schofield, the first person of Filipino descent to be confirmed as an Article III judge. [AABANY] * Judges in my home state of New Jersey are always so fair-minded. Here’s a great recusal motion, directed at Judge Carol Higbee in the New Jersey Accutane mass tort case. [Reed Smith via Drug and Device Law.] * Make sure you don’t murder any babies before signing up to meet Nancy Grace. [Charity Buzz] * If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer (affiliate link) for a young lawyer in your life, look no further; Dan Hull has a great recommendation. [What About Clients?] If you’re interested in Judaism, Supreme Court clerks, or both, there’s a video for you after the jump…. I find Orthodox Jews who are boxers or professional basketball players more impressive than Orthodox Jews who clerked for the Supreme Court (shocking, I know). In case you’re curious as to who is the first Orthodox Jewish woman to clerk for the Supreme Court, watch this video.... - 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… -
Drugs, Quote of the Day, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court, Weddings
Quote of the Day: She Really Is a Wise Latina!
Did you hear about the time Justice Sotomayor did Quaaludes? No? That's because it never happened. -
Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Job Searches, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Small Law Firms
From Biglaw to Boutique: Bad Hires
Small-firm columnist Tom Wallerstein has some advice on why it's important to properly screen new hires, even if you're desperate for assistance. -
California, Fame Brief, Fashion, Hotties, Law Schools, Reality TV, Television
Fame Brief: The Sun Sets On Jokes About AIDS
Lilly Ghalichi, a pseudo-celebrity with a law degree, said something offensive on reality TV. Now she has to apologize... -
Biglaw, Fabulosity, Job Searches, Law Schools, Pro Bono, Public Interest
Congratulations to the 2013 Skadden Fellows
See any names you know? And which law schools have produced the most Skadden Fellows over the past five years? -
Courthouses, Guns / Firearms, Suicide
Attempted Suicide at an Alabama Courthouse
A shooting at an Alabama courthouse appears to be an attempted suicide...
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Law Schools, Money, Student Loans
How the Heck Will You Pay Your Law School Loans After You've Been Kicked Off Income-Based Repayment?
Happy holidays from your law school loan servicers, you've been kicked off IBR! -
Associate Bonus Watch 2012, Biglaw, Bonuses, Magic Circle, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Clifford Chance
Bonus news for U.S. associates at one of the world's top law firms. -
Bar Exams, Movies
'How Did You Pass The BAAAAAr'? Frank Abagnale Jr. Says It's Easy To Fake Being A Lawyer
Being a fake lawyer is way easier than being a fake pilot.... -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, In-House Counsel, Partner Issues, Shameless Plugs
Inside Straight: The Managing Partner On Billing Time
Mark Herrmann imagines what a managing partner might say to the troops about billing time. -
2nd Circuit, Blogging, China, Fashion, Federal Judges, Intellectual Property, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Patents, S.D.N.Y., Wall Street
Morning Docket: 12.13.12
* “This is a total victory not just for the C.F.T.C., but also for financial reform.” Regulators, mount up, because you basically just got a free pass to do your jobs and keep a more watchful and vigilant eye on Wall Street. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Last year, China officially surpassed the United States in terms of the number of patent applications filed. China’s probably surpassed the United States in terms of patents infringed, but that’s neither here nor there. [National Law Journal]
* And now we see why St. Louis University School of Law’s interim dean said he’d be donating his salary to the school. He’s no “butt boy” — he’s settled $25M worth of cases since the fall. [Madison-St. Clair Record]
* “Help me, I’m poor”: the Huffington Post’s army of unpaid bloggers will continue to be unpaid, because the Second Circuit recently affirmed the S.D.N.Y.’s decision to toss out their case. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]
* Diane von Furstenberg, the fashion designer behind luxury brand DVF, is suing an ex-distributor for selling her wares on the cheap to the likes of TJ Maxx and Marshalls. Ugh, cringe… that’s très déclassé. [Bloomberg]
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NYSE, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Law, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
SEC's Netflix Probe Is No Blockbuster
The SEC is probing Netflix for posting company milestones on Facebook. Calling Facebook a non-public forum sounds crazy, it's just one more instance of the SEC failing to grasp modern technology. -
Election 2012, Gender, Lindsay Lohan, Non-Sequiturs, Patents, Politics, Sexism, Tax Law
Non-Sequiturs: 12.12.12
* It’s 12/12/12. Or as rational people call it, “just another Wednesday already, God.” [ABC News] * Elizabeth Warren is going to be on the Senate Banking Committee. Boom. How ya like me now. [Reuters] * Do women make better lawyers than men? For some reason this question made me want to make a really sexist joke. But I’m afraid of being yelled at by feminists. Afraid, like a little girl. [Law Frat] * Verizon to take on copyright trolls. I hope this leads to a commercial with that Verizon 4G woman playing whack-a-mole in a sun dress. [Torrent Freak] * You know what could keep us from falling off the fiscal cliff? The death tax? Mwahahaha. [Tax Prof Blog] * SCOTUSblog is looking to hire a good law student or LL.M. student. Qualification #1: you should probably know what SCOTUS refers to. [SCOTUSblog] * Lindsey Lohan had her probation revoked. If you are one of the people who care about this story, thus necessitating this mention of it, I hope bad things happen to you this holiday season. I’m serious, if you care about Lindsey Lohan, I hope Santa brings you herpes. [TMZ]