David Lat
David Lat, the founding editor of Above the Law, is a lawyer turned writer and speaker. You can read his latest writing about law and the legal profession by subscribing to Original Jurisdiction, his newsletter on the Substack platform. David's book, Supreme Ambitions: A Novel (2014), was described by the New York Times as "the most buzzed-about novel of the year" among legal elites. David previously worked as a federal prosecutor, a litigation associate at Wachtell Lipton, and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can learn more about David on his personal website; you can connect with him on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at davidlat@substack.com.
Posts by David Lat
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Beyonce, Blogging, Celebrities, Movies, Music, Shameless Plugs, Supreme Court, Ted Frank, Television, Videos
A Trio of Shamless Plugs
* Former ATL guest blogger Ted Frank — of Overlawyered, Point of Law, and Table 42 fame — will be on C-SPAN today, at 2 PM (Eastern time). He’ll be discussing federal regulatory action and the Roberts Court. [C-SPAN] * If you haven’t done so already, add the excellent JD Bliss to your RSS reader […] -
Borat, Celebrities, Divorce Train Wrecks, Family Law, Hersh Mannis & Bogen, Judy Bogen
We're Trying Hard To Care About This Story
But we can’t bring ourselves to do it. Maybe this guy can do some caring for us. Actually, the Borat connection may be the only vaguely interesting thing about the Pamela Anderson/Kid Rock divorce (court papers filed yesterday). From Page Six: [Hollywood producer] “Ron Meyer held a screening of ‘Borat’ at his house for a […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Breasts, Hillary Clinton, Judicial Nominations, Michael Chertoff, Pictures, Politics
C'mon, Hil, Let Bygones Be Bygones
Back in this comment, Sean Fitzpatrick pointed out a fun fact: One of those “not so sexy” district court nominations [to be submitted to the lame duck Congress] is of former U.S. Representative Jim Rogan (R-CA), who served as lead prosecutor in Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate. This escaped our notice, but […]
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Biglaw, Paralegals, Sex, Violence
When You've Broken Over Five (5) Staplers By Throwing Them at Paralegals, It's Time To Get Help
Our big brother brings to our attention an interesting article, from New York magazine, about urban professionals and burnout. And no article on the subject would be complete without a discussion of Biglaw attorneys: An epidemic of malaise among bankers and lawyers is far more likely to inspire jokes—Wouldn’t it be nicer if it were […] -
Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Crime, Nude Dancing, Scott Blauvelt, Sex
Naked Prosecutor Gets Off -- For Now
Remember Scott Blauvelt, the former Ohio prosecutor who was charged with public indecency, for allegedly walking around his office in the nude? Time for an update: Charges of public indecency were dropped [last week] against an ex-city prosecutor because of a paperwork problem. But officials said they would re-file the case against Scott Blauvelt, who […] -
Biglaw, Martha Stewart, Musical Chairs, Options Backdating, S.D.N.Y., U.S. Attorneys Offices, Willkie Farr
Musical Chairs: 11.27.06
We’ve fallen a bit behind in telling you who is going where, and why. So here’s a short recap of notable recent moves within the legal profession: From Law to Finance: * It’s rare for partners to leave Wachtell Lipton, but it does happen. Earlier this month, former WLRK corporate partner Mitchell Presser left the […] -
Bar Exams
Congratulations to All Successful Bar Exam Candidates
As regular ATL readers already know, the results of the July 2006 New York bar exam are now available. They’re public and online; you can access them here (scroll down, to the boxes organized by the applicant’s last name). The July 2006 test takers were, on the whole, pretty smart cookies. Pass rates rose in […] -
Books, Immigration, Judge of the Day, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: John Wilson
Most judges exhibit an excess of caution in their out-of-court comments. While understandable, given judicial ethics and decorum, it’s disappointing (at least to those of us who write about the judiciary). When judges do speak out, the results can be both informative and entertaining. Consider the literary exploits of Judge John H. Wilson, a criminal […] - Sponsored
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Learn how emerging tools will likely change and enhance the work of lawyers for years to come in this new report. -
Biglaw, Craigslist, Drinking
This Sounds Like Our Kind of Law Firm
A tipster sent us this Craigslist posting, with a query: “I wonder if this gets expensed to clients?” National law firm with large Los Angeles offices seeks a Barista!!! Huge law firm with an in-house coffee bar. The hours are Monday-Thursday from 8:30-5:30. You will receive full benefits, parking, etc. Time and a half if […] -
Biglaw, Oy, Screw-Ups, Sex
Talk About a "Full Service" Law Firm
[Ed. note: This post is on the vulgar side. It’s a bit like Borat: funny to some, distasteful to others. If you’re a person of delicate sensibilities, please exercise discretion in deciding whether to read further. Thank you.] Last week we reported some top law firms involved in billion-dollar deals: Biglaw shops are involved in […] -
Admin, Food, Holidays and Seasons, Shopping
Welcome Back, Turkeys
To those of you who have just returned from the Thanksgiving holiday, hoping that a venti coffee with an extra shot of espresso will bring you out of your food coma: Welcome Back. We hope you had a delightful holiday. The sight (or mere thought) of turkey probably makes you nauseous at this point. But […] -
David Boies, Deaths, Lexis-Nexis, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Will There Be a Red Flag on His Tombstone?
Probably not, ’cause that’s Westlaw. H. Donald Wilson, who passed away earlier this month, was the founder of Lexis-Nexis. Fittingly enough for a man responsible for placing thousands of lawyers in front of their computer screens, for thousands of hours a year, Wilson died in front of his computer. An interesting tidbit from the New […] -
Advertising, Books, Borat, Britney Spears, Celebrities, Edith Jones, Federalist Society, Movies, O.J. Simpson, Richard Posner, Sex, Tax Law, Vicious Infighting, Videos, Week in Review, Wesley Snipes
ATL Week in Review: November 20-24
* Another week, another Borat lawsuit. * Wow — it doesn’t take much to get lawyers all hot and bothered. But ATL readers were evidently untroubled. * Merry Christmas. There will be no O.J. Simpson book. * But no Britney sex tape, either. * Wesley Snipes has some harsh words for the IRS. And Judge […]
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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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…
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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.
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How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Learn how emerging tools will likely change and enhance the work of lawyers for years to come in this new report.
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Antonin Scalia, Conspiracy Theories, Fabulosity, Fashion, Federalist Society, John Roberts, Judicial Nominations, Samuel Alito, Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court
From the Belly of the Beast: An Evening With Scalito (Part 2)
This is a continuation of our prior post about the annual dinner of the Federalist Society. You can read the rest of it after the jump. -
O.J. Simpson
If He Wrote It: O.J. Simpson's Ghostwriter
The New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin — who made his name as a legal affairs writer with his coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial, later turned into a best-selling book — profiles Pablo Fenjves, the ghostwriter for Simpson’s ill-fated literary effort, If I Did It. Money quote: Fenjves believes that, in the wake of Murdoch’s decision […] -
Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: November 12, 2006
The weekend of November 4-5 was a little short on lawyer weddings in the New York Times wedding announcements. But the weekend of November 11-12 had a lot of them. We had a hard time picking which pairs to profile. We came thisclose to writing about Lauren Clabby and James Moore V, but we were […] -
Advertising, Fashion, Gender, Reader Polls, Sex
ATL Poll Results: The Jiwani Ad Is HOTT
We can’t say we’re surprised. The readers of ATL probably have a higher-than-average tolerance for things that push the envelope (or the bounds of good taste). But for what they’re worth, here are the results of our most recent reader poll: Reader opinion is consistent with that of Dahlia Lithwick, who had this to say […] -
Antonin Scalia, Fabulosity, Fashion, Federalist Society, Laurence Silberman, Parties, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks, Ted Frank
From the Belly of the Beast: An Evening With Scalito (Part 1)
We previously provided you with our photographic coverage of the Federalist Society’s annual dinner, held last Thursday at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC. Now we offer a short (and admittedly belated) write-up of the proceedings. For more systematic accounts of the dinner, check out the news links collected at the end of this […] -
3rd Circuit, Breasts, Celebrities, FCC, Nude Dancing
Love Will Never Do Without Boobs
Video footage? Still photographs? We’d like to see the record on appeal in this case: Lawyers for CBS Corp. argued Monday that singer Janet Jackson’s breast-baring at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004 was unintended, took place without the knowledge of the network, and should not be considered indecent. CBS is suing the Federal […] -
Admin, Announcements, Food, Holidays and Seasons, Law Reviews, Tax Law
Hey, What Are You Doing Here?
Why are you in front of your computer? To quote our big brother: The rest of America is either sleeping off their Thanksgiving hangovers or pushing their way into a mall to grab those holiday shopping discounts. But you’re rubbing the sleep out of your eyes while staring at a glowing screen. Well, you’re not […]