Alston & Bird
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Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, Celebrities, Crime, D.C. Circuit, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Federal Judges, Guns / Firearms, Heller Ehrman, Howrey LLP, Money, Morning Docket, Murder, New Jersey, Real Estate, Silicon Valley, Sports, Violence
Morning Docket: 12.23.13
* Judge Richard Leon’s decision in the NSA surveillance case is ripe for review by the D.C. Circuit, and given the court’s new make-up, we could see a very interesting result. Oh, to be an NSA agent listening in on those calls. [National Law Journal]
* With seven business days left until 2014, law firms all around the country are still desperately trying to get paid. Lawyers are working hard for the money — 83.5 cents to the dollar — so you better treat them right. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]
* Who you gonna call? Your local bankruptcy attorney. Alston & Bird, currently housed in Heller’s old digs in Silicon Valley, will head to a new office whose former occupants include Dewey, and Howrey, and Brobeck, oh my! [Am Law Daily]
* Four were arrested in the tragic murder of attorney Dustin Friedland, and each is being held on $2 million bond. One of the alleged assailants has a history of putting guns to other people’s heads. [NJ Star-Ledger]
* “I think it would be wise for the NCAA to settle this now.” Thanks to the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit, the world of college sports will be forever changed, so all those video games you’ve got are now antiques. [CNBC]
* Tom Cruise settled his defamation lawsuit against a tabloid publisher over claims that he’d abandoned his daughter during the pendency of his divorce proceedings. Xenu is pleased by this announcement. [CNN]
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Alston & Bird, Antitrust, Biglaw, Career Center, Career Files, Keker & Van Nest, Law Students, Litigators, Munger Tolles & Olson, Partner Issues, Rankings, Tax Law, White & Case, Willkie Farr
Biglaw’s Most Underrated Firms by Practice Area
The most underrated practice groups in Biglaw, according to the ATL readership. - Sponsored
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Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Celebrities, Facebook, Federal Judges, Law Firm Mergers, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Musical Chairs, Police, Privacy, Racism, Ted Frank
Morning Docket: 08.13.13
* In the latest round of musical chairs, Skadden Arps managed to scoop up products liability queen and top woman litigator Lisa Gilford from Alston & Bird. Congratulations! [The Recorder (sub. req.)]
* Is merger mania a thing of the past? With pocketbooks tighter than ever, “pseudo-mergers” are starting to look great. No one will complain about more lawyers with less liability. [Legal Intelligencer]
* Man, it’d be great if you could represent plaintiffs in a class action suit and keep all of the settlement funds without having to pay your clients a cent. Oh wait, you can actually do that? [New York Times]
* “It shows he’s adventuresome and he’s got good taste.” Peter Zimroth, the lawyer appointed to oversee the reform of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policies, married very, very well. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]
* The ABA approved Texas A&M’s acquisition of Texas Wesleyan’s law school. Hello to the Texas A&M Johnny Football School of Law! We hope to see the Heisman of employment stats. [National Law Journal]
* A judge says the woman who sued Paula Deen for racial discrimination was nothing more than an “accidental victim.” And like that, her race-based claims have melted away like butter, y’all. [ABC News]
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Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Education / Schools, FDA, Gay, Gay Marriage, Politics, Women's Issues
Non-Sequiturs: 04.05.13
* The Kardashians are suing their father’s widow for allegedly trying to exploit his diary — because the Kardashians object to anything exploitative. [Courthouse News Service] * Judge Edward Korman ruled that the FDA must stop requiring those under 17 years old to present a prescription for the morning after pill. MTV’s programming executives plan to appeal. [CNN] * Do litigators really need instruction not to scream at witnesses? [Roll on Friday] * A school in Massachusetts privatized school lunches, and then that company told its workers to dump the food of students who were in default on their lunch tickets. America! F**k Yeah! [Lawyers, Guns and Money] * Illegalities sums up the malaise of being a Biglaw associate with this reblog. [Illegalities] * Target learns the value of editing after labeling plus-sized dresses with the word “Manatee.” [Forbes] * After the jump, watch Elie discuss his take on Democrats just coming around to supporting gay rights. Maybe McKayla Maroney rubbed off on Elie during their interview, because in this segment, he’s not impressed…. -
Alston & Bird, Banking Law, Biglaw, Crime, Death Penalty, Gay, Gay Marriage, Ho-Love, JPMorgan Chase, Morning Docket, Paul Clement, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Violence, You Go Girl
Morning Docket: 03.28.13
* Based on the justices’ reactions during oral arguments in Windsor v. U.S., there was no defending the Defense of Marriage Act. Not even the Paul Clement, the patron saint of conservative causes could save the day. [New York Times]
* Alas, the David Boies and Ted Olson Dream Team stole much of the spotlight from Roberta Kaplan, the Paul Weiss partner who argued on behalf of Edith Windsor in an effort to overturn DOMA. Seriously, you go girl! [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]
* Dude, you’re getting a Dell! Alston & Bird and Kirkland & Ellis are the latest firms to join the Biglaw sharks (including Ho-Love, Debevoise, Wachtell, SullCrom, and Simpson Thacher) circling this major tech buyout. [Am Law Daily]
* It looks like it’s time for JPMorgan to face the music for its investments in Lehman Brothers, because a federal judge just ruled that the bank cannot “dispatch plaintiff’s claims to the waste bin.” [Reuters]
* An alleged killer’s sense of mortality: James Holmes, the suspect in the Colorado movie theater shooting, offered to plead guilty and spend life in prison in order to avoid the death penalty. [CNN]
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Adoption, Alston & Bird, Arnold & Porter, Biglaw, Gay, Gay Marriage, Health Care / Medicine, Insurance, Money, Perks / Fringe Benefits, Tax Law
Biglaw Perk Watch: Adoption Benefits(Plus an update on the gay gross-up.)
Which major law firms offer benefits that cover adoption and/or surrogacy costs? Plus an update on the gay gross-up (aka "tax equalization for same-sex health benefits"). -
Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Blogging, Bloomberg, David Boies, Health Care / Medicine, Law Schools, Mergers and Acquisitions, Money, Non-Sequiturs, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Law, Supreme Court, Ted Olson
Non-Sequiturs: 11.26.12
* As soon as Mary Schapiro announced she was stepping down as chairwoman of the SEC, Obama nominated another woman to take her place. Congrats to SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter! [WSJ Law Blog] * In other breaking news that no one will care about now that bonus season is upon us, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg swapped out her neck doily for a blingy necklace from Glamour. [Josh Blackman's Blog] * You know what the ancient Romans would’ve hated more than watching the fall of the Roman empire? The Citizens United decision. Cato, Cicero, and Julius Caesar wouldn’t have been impressed with this. [Slate] * Why go to law school if you’re already doing well financially? Perhaps you’re just another prestige hunter. If you are, then all the better for you, because that seems to be what all of the law schools are selling these days. [Inside the Law School Scam] * Don’t cry for Argentina: they may be in the middle of a billion-dollar bond dispute, but the uber-prestigious lawyers on either side of the case (Boies; Olson) are enough to make you forget about their troubles. [Reuters] * A Biglaw attorney from Alston & Bird with a rare sleep disorder confronts Big Pharma and… doesn’t win. At least not yet. But on the bright side, she’s not sleeping for 18 hours anymore. [The Last Word on Nothing] * We’re honored to announce that Above the Law was named as one of the ten law blogs in the ABA Journal’s inaugural Blawg 100 Hall of Fame. Please click here if you’d like to help us win again this year. [ABA Journal] * After the jump, Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia speaks with a Bill Lawlor, a Dechert partner, who claims that “hope springs eternal for M&A attorneys.” Will the mergers and acquisitions market begin to boom once again? -
Alston & Bird, Biglaw, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Litigators, Money, Rankings
Who Represents America's Biggest Companies?
Which firms do Fortune 100 companies turn to when they’ve got bet-the-company litigation on the table? - Sponsored
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
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Alston & Bird, B for Beauty, Barack Obama, Biglaw, Clerkships, Divorce Train Wrecks, Federal Judges, Hair, Judicial Nominations, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Patton Boggs, Politics, Pregnancy / Paternity, Rape, SCOTUS, Shoes, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Morning Docket: 08.20.12
* What happens if a Supreme Court clerk violates the Code of Conduct and leaks information to the press at the behest of a justice? At worst, he’d probably be forced to wash dirty socks from the SCOTUS morning exercise class. [National Law Journal]
* “[T]he great expectations when he was elected have not come to fruition.” Making judicial nominations wasn’t a high political priority, so President Barack Obama will be ending his term with just 125 lower-court appointments in the federal judiciary. [New York Times]
* If there’s anything that Paul Ryan’s good at, it’s soliciting money from lawyers and Biglaw firms. Alston & Bird tops the list of legal campaign contributors, with Patton Boggs in a close second. [Am Law Daily (sub. req.)]
* Apparently the female reproduction system shuts down to prevent conception upon rape. This improbable tidbit from a man who sits on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. [Los Angeles Times]
* But a great way to take some of the heat off of the “legitimate rape” dude is to break news about another Congressman’s nude swim in the Sea of Galilee while in Israel. Excellent work on this distraction. [POLITICO]
* What crisis? Despite a steep decline in applicants, the average law school’s tuition will climb by more than double the rate of inflation this fall. It’s really heartwarming how they put students first. [National Law Journal]
* Customs agents in Los Angeles seized 20,457 pairs of faux Christian Louboutins that would’ve been worth approximately $18M. For this heinous crime of fashion, the offending shoes will undergo a trial by fire. [CNN]
* Karma sure is a Blitsch. Matthew Couloute, the alleged lawyerly Lothario who got slammed by his exes on LiarsCheatersRUs.com, is now being slammed by someone else: his soon-to-be ex-wife. [New York Post]
* Beauty school dropout, no pube hair trimming days for you! Seventeen female plaintiffs have alleged that a cosmetology instructor subjected them to less-than-sanitary lessons in a federal suit. [New York Daily News]
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Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Cold Offers, Job Searches, Kasowitz Benson, Kramer Levin, No Offers, Summer Associates
Summer Associate Offer Rates (2012): A Round-Up
Which firms are making job offers to 100 percent of their summer associates? A whole lot of them.... -
Alston & Bird, Golf, Partner Issues, Rudeness, Sports
Alston & Bird Partner Calls Out Country Club For Allegedly Debauched Behavior
A partner at a prominent Atlanta law firm has taken it upon himself to enforce standards of appropriate conduct at his allegedly debauched country club. -
Alston & Bird, Anthony Kennedy, Biglaw, California, Email Scandals, Health Care / Medicine, John Roberts, Law Schools, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 03.12.12
* Two weeks from today, the Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments on the Obamacare case. Everyone thinks Justice Kennedy’s vote will swing the Court, but Chief Justice Roberts isn’t about to let him steal his sunshine. [New York Times]
* Montana’s Chief Judge stands accused of sending a racist email, but he once counseled law students about the dangers of email. It seems like the man can’t follow his own advice… and that’s some major Cebulls**t! [Billings Gazette]
* Gaming post-graduation employment statistics: the Columbia Law School and NYU Law edition. It looks like it might be time to fire up the Strauss/Anziska machine for the top tier of our nation’s law schools. [New York Post]
* Greenberg Traurig and Alston & Bird think people care about their new, multimillion dollar rental agreements in Los Angeles. No one cares. They just want to know where the spring bonuses are. [Los Angeles Times]
* But speaking of Alston & Bird, some Floridians are complaining about the firm’s bill. $475 an hour for four partners and associates? You really need to stop, because you’re getting the deal of the century. [The Ledger]
* James Humphreys — with a P-H! — donated $1M to GW School of Law so more students can receive scholarships. Maybe one of our favorite Wall Street Occupiers will get one? [National Law Journal]
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Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Rankings
Fortune's ‘Best Companies to Work For’ List Includes Four Law Firms
Each year in January, Fortune releases its list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. As in years past, a few law firms have managed to sneak their way onto a list that includes companies like Google, DreamWorks Animation, and Goldman Sachs. With companies like that on the list, you’ve got to wonder (Elie […]
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Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Rankings
Crain's 2011 'Best Places to Work in NYC' List Includes Seven Law Firms
Since 2008, Crain's has been producing a list of the 50 Best Places to Work in New York City. This year, seven law firms made Crain's list. It appears that congratulations and condolences are both in order. So, which law firms are considered the cream of the crop in New York City? -
Alston & Bird, Animal Law, Benchslaps, Biglaw, Cars, Deaths, Federal Judges, Law Schools, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Musical Chairs, Non-Sequiturs, Sam Sparks, Texas
Non-Sequiturs: 09.01.11
* Remember the “kindergarten party” that Judge Sam Sparks (W.D. Tex.) was planning to hold? His Honor has canceled the festivities. [WSJ Law Blog] * John Althouse Cohen — yes, son of La Althouse — discusses one way in which Texas might be emulating… Europe? [Jaltcoh] * Professor Paul Campos opens up a can of […] -
Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Book Deals, Books, Federal Government, Litigatrix, Romance and Dating, Technology, U.S. Attorneys Offices, UNC Law
Save as Draft: Meet Natalie Lee, Novelist and Federal Prosecutor
Might we be seeing a new trend, namely, federal prosecutors moonlighting as novelists? Last year, as part of Above the Law’s Career Alternatives series, we profiled Allison Leotta, an assistant U.S. attorney in D.C. who wrote a well-received thriller, Law of Attraction. Today we introduce you to Natalie Lee — an assistant U.S. attorney in […] -
Alston & Bird, Arnold & Porter, Biglaw, Media and Journalism, Rankings
Annual 'Best Companies to Work For' List Includes Four Law Firms
Every year, Fortune produces a list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, and every year a handful of law firms make the list. And every year I wonder why some law firms made the list, while others did not, and whether Fortune actually has any idea about what they’re talking about. We cover […] -
Alston & Bird, Biglaw, Drinking, Holidays and Seasons, Rudeness
Associates: Try Not to Leave Behind Evidence of New Year's Debauchery
(Admittedly, that advice would have been more helpful on Friday than it is now, but then I wouldn’t have had anything to write up today.) Every year there are people who use New Year’s as an excuse to go out and act like fools. I know, the bubbles in the bubbly are hard to handle. […] -
Alston & Bird, Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Intellectual Property
Who Represents Corporate America?
Now this is a list that matters. Corporate Counsel (an American Lawyer publication) has complied its annual list of the firms that Fortune 100 companies use as outside counsel. This is a list of which firms are getting work from clients with deep pockets. If you care at all about the business end of the […] -
Alston & Bird, Document Review, Email Scandals, Technology
Dude, You're Getting A Dell... Runaround?
Discovery disputes, like a certain other thing, happen. But it’s not often that these happenings make the pages of the New York Times. An article on the front page of the business section reports: Dell has been accused of withholding evidence, including e-mails among its top executives, in a lawsuit over faulty computers it sold […]