Above the Law

‘Adventures In Legal Tech’: Efficiency, AI, And Business Planning For The Solo Practitioner

We explore the most transformative AI applications for lawyers in this episode of the ‘Adventures in Legal Tech’ podcast.

3 Questions For A Patent Litigator Turned Legal Recruiter (Part II)

The patent litigation market is ever-changing.

Alexi Fires Back At Fastcase Lawsuit With Counterclaims Alleging Anticompetitive Conduct Following Clio’s $1B Acquisition

Alexi Technologies accuses the newly merged legal technology giant of manufacturing breach-of-contract allegations as a pretext to eliminate a competitor in the AI legal research market.

Small Frictions, Big Fixes: What Carl Davidson’s Inbox Struggle Teaches Legal Tech

The hidden bottleneck in legal work isn’t legal at all.

From Cost Center To Value Engine: Patent Management In The AI Era

Findings from a recent survey by Tradespace and Above the Law.

Less Hours Worked & Fewer Lawyers Needed: Dealing With The New AI Reality

There’s no escaping the possibility that AI tools may reduce the time needed to be spent, billable hours, and correspondingly, profit and revenue.

Trump’s ‘Great Healthcare Plan’ Aims To Cut Costs, But Details Are Sparse, Execs Say

Healthcare executives say the proposal lacks sufficient detail to assess whether it would meaningfully reduce costs.

Morning Docket: 01.20.26

* ICE refusing to grant detainees access to legal counsel. “Imagine the chaos,” one agent said, describing the bare minimum of a constitutional society. [ABC News]

* DOJ Civil Rights chief threatens to charge Don Lemon under the KKK Act. [NBC News]

* After state defections, ABA’s law school accreditation council reminds everyone that it’s independent of the ABA. [ABA Journal]

* “What Happened To Pam Bondi?” asks this deep dive about a woman who fought hurricane victims because she wanted to take away their dog for herself. [The Atlantic]

* Former judges announce new initiative to save the leal profession’s dignity. Looking through this roundup, it’s possible the damage is already done. [NY Times]

* In-house counsel expect cybersecurity suits. [Corporate Counsel]

* Supreme Court will take up Roundup verdict. [Law360]

Partnerships, Legal Education, Marriages… Lawyers Were Destroying Everything Last Week — See Generally

Another Biglaw Single-Tier Partnership Falls: The path to upward mobility got a little narrower.

Florida And Texas Take Over Legal Education From The ABA: Both states have made abundantly clear that their schools are headed for a dumpster fire.

Former Senator Turned Biglaw Lawyer Sued For Ruining A Marriage: The complaint reads less like a legal dispute and more like a prestige HBO drama. Well… STARZ drama anyway..

Supreme Court Hacked, Which Tracks: America’s highest court might want to consider changing its password to something harder than “12345.”

Former Biglaw Associate Who Refused To Bend The Knee Earns Top Honor: Above the Law readers select lawyer who chose principle over prestige as 2025 Lawyer of the Year.

Lindsey Halligan Responds To Illegal Appointment Allegations By Doubling Down: Trump’s most loyal lawyer insists the problem isn’t the law — it’s everyone insisting on following it.

New Law School Rises From The Ashes Of A Prior Disaster: Hopefully this time is different.

Former Biglaw Partner Charged With Murder: The profession confronts a grim reminder that elite credentials are not character references.

Law School Arms Students With Anti-ICE Hotline: As federal enforcement escalates, one institution decides protecting students matters more than staying quiet.

Law Firm Earns Coal Right Before Christmas — See Also

Leave The Trick Or Treating For Halloween: Firm tries to teach the importance of cybersecurity by tricking their associates.

Florida Newest State To Break From ABA: Only 48 states remain under the weight of the ABA’s unenforced diversity requirements.

Welcome, Dean! Goodbye, Dean!: The culture war claims the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville’s newest dean hire’s job.

United States Threatens UK Over Investigating America’s CSAM Bot: We’re the only ones that can ban foreign apps!

Beveridge & Diamond Mourns The Loss Of Albert Beveridge III: We send our condolences to the firm, family and friends.

How Much More Will Clients Pay?

Firms are going to find out!

Adversaries Can Make Great Referral Sources

Just watch out for the ethical issues that may come with accepting referrals from an adversary.

Stat(s) Of The Week: Top Outside Counsel Quiz Results

How many readers successfully matched the firm to the feedback in our "Name That Firm" game?

AI Is Killing The Billable Hour. The Real Question Is What Comes Next.

Moving beyond the billable hour requires more than negotiating new fee structures with outside counsel.