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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Canada, Clerkships, Holidays and Seasons, Tax Law, Weirdness
Are the Canadians Better Than Us at Everything?
Last week we asked you for funny Halloween-related stories, including descriptions of wacky costumes or festivities. We were disappointed by your responses. So we had to turn to our neighbor to the north. These days, Canada is ascendant. Canadians are beating out Americans for jobs at top U.S. law firms. They have Supreme Court justices […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Interview Stories, Rudeness, Supreme Court Clerks
Interview Horror Stories: SCOTUS Clerks Can Be Really Rude
Supreme Court clerks, aka “the Elect,” are gods and goddesses of the legal profession. But as our latest interview horror story shows, they aren’t perfect — at least not all the time. Sometimes SCOTUS clerks let their lofty status go to their heads, treating the Great Unwashed like “the little people.”* Check out our latest […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Admin, Announcements, Pictures, Politics, Weddings
October 2006 Couple of the Month: When the Polls Will Close
Happy Monday, everybody. We’re guessing you’re still recovering from the weekend; so are we. (We had a bit too much red wine last night, and we fear we’re coming down with a minor cold.) Anyway, before we plunge into matters of “substance,” a quick administrative announcement. The polls in our October 2006 Couple of the […]
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Gay, Gay Marriage, New Jersey, Pictures, State Judges
The New Jersey Supreme Court: Not Ready for Their Close-Up
Late last month, the New Jersey Supreme Court gave the gays a big gift. In Lewis v. Harris, the court held that New Jersey must provide same-sex couples with “the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes.”* Well, maybe the gays can return the favor — by giving makeovers […] -
Alex Kozinski, Copyright, Eyes of the Law, Hotties, Intellectual Property, Law Professors, Law Schools
The Eyes of the Law: Judge Kozinski in the Windy City
Two hotties for the price of one: Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, the #1 Superhottie of the Federal Judiciary; and our super-cute correspondent, Justin, a student at the DePaul University College of Law. West Coast folk, don’t say we neglect you here at Above the Law. Earlier today, we wrote about some Ninth Circuit benchslappery. […] -
Aquagirl, Arnold & Porter, Biglaw, Exercise, Nude Dancing, Summer Associates, You Go Girl
An Update on Aquagirl: Things Are Going Swimmingly
Yesterday we told you the tale of Aquagirl — the Clearly Goatlips Cleary Gottlieb summer associate who stripped down to her underwear and dove into the Hudson River. At a summer associate event. At night. At Chelsea Piers. Seriously. In the comments, some of you updated us on Aquagirl’s fate. Now we’re happy to bring […] -
Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: October 2006 Couple of the Month
Yesterday we declared the final winning couple in Legal Eagle Wedding Watch for October 2006. So you know what that means: time for you to vote on which couple deserves to be crowned Above the Law’s October 2006 Couple of the Month. If you need to refresh your memory about these different couples, our prior […] -
9th Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Jay Bybee, Stephen Reinhardt
Bench-Slapped! Reinhardt v. Bybee
Judge Stephen Reinhardt (left), perhaps the most prominent liberal appeals court judge in the country, is buddies with his conservative colleague on the Ninth Circuit, Judge Alex Kozinski (right). But we suspect that Judge Reinhardt feels less warmly towards Judge Jay S. Bybee (far right). You can always count on the Ninth Circuit for a […] - 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… -
Biglaw, Interview Stories, Rudeness
Interview Horror Stories: We're Trying Hard Not To Call Her a Witch
The Interview Horror Stories just keep on coming — and we love ’em. So if you have one to share, please send it to us, by email. Our latest tale concerns an interviewer who was, er, less than welcoming: I had an interview [for a summer associate position] at a large, downtown DC law firm […] -
Celebrities, Movies, Rank Stupidity, Tax Law, Wesley Snipes, White-Collar Crime
Wesley Snipes Cuts a Deal with the IRS
And aficionados of direct-to-video movies rejoice. UPI reports: Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes will avoid any time in jail on tax fraud charges as part of a recent settlement with the Internal Revenue Service. The 44-year-old star of the “Blade” film trilogy had been wanted in connection with his attempt to claim $12 million in tax […] -
Biglaw, Day Berry & Howard, Law Firm Mergers, New Jersey, Partner Profits, Pitney Hardin
Law Firm Merger Mania: Pitney Hardin, Day Berry
In the wake of the Dewey/Orrick and Thelen Reid/Brown Raysman announcements, here’s news of yet another law firm merger. But this one is a bit smaller than the last two: One of New Jersey’s oldest and largest firms, Pitney Hardin, is merging with Connecticut’s biggest, Day, Berry & Howard, to create a 395-lawyer power with […] -
Cyberlaw, Lawsuit of the Day, YouTube
Lawsuit of the Day: A Tale of Two YouTubes
Move over, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer. There’s a new “Tube” case on the block. YouTube is being sued — but not by a company asserting a copyright claim. From the AP: A company that shut down its Web site because it was overwhelmed by millions of people looking for YouTube has sued […] -
Celebrities, Money, Music, Tax Law
Bono Still Hasn't Found What He's Looking For
Namely, a nation in which U2 can pay zero in taxes on its songwriting royalties. But he’s certainly getting closer. From Slate (via TaxProf Blog): A familiar paradox about leftist celebrities in the entertainment industry is that their embrace of progressivism almost never includes a wholehearted embrace of progressive taxation, i.e., the principle that the […]
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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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…
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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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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.
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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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Benjamin Brafman, Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, King & Spalding, Musical Chairs, Partner Profits
Musical Chairs: 11.02.06
Today’s big move is from the government to the private sector: * Renowned Enron prosecutor Sean Berkowitz, to the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins. The much-anticipated move took place after the young legal superstar was wooed by many other top firms. Berkowitz will be an equity partner at Latham, where profits per partner clock […] -
Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, David Souter, John Paul Stevens, John Roberts, Reader Polls, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justice "Net Popularity Scores"
You may recall our recent Above the Law reader polls for Most Favorite Supreme Court Justice and Least Favorite Supreme Court Justice. The results of those polls are available here and here, respectively. One of you had an interesting suggestion: Combine the results of the two polls to generate “net popularity scores” for the justices. […] -
Biglaw, Interview Stories, Rank Stupidity, Shameless Plugs, Silicon Valley
Interview Horror Stories: Don't Make Him Beg (Part 2)
This is the continuation of an interview horror story that we started earlier. You can read the prior installment here. When we last left our hero, an applicant for a lateral position at a top Silicon Valley law firm, he had just said a bunch of completely boneheaded things at an interview lunch with two […] -
Announcements, Aquagirl, Biglaw, Blogging, Exercise, Nude Dancing, Summer Associates
Scuttlebutt Central: Legal Gossip Blogs
If you haven’t already done so, we recommend that you read this article (and not just ’cause we’re featured in it). It’s entitled Scuttlebutt Central, by Stephanie Francis Ward, and it’s from the November 2006 issue of the ABA Journal. The piece is a fun and interesting read; check it out for yourself. We’ll just […] -
Michael Boudin, Weddings
Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: October 29, 2006
On the heels of the robust lawyer wedding market over October 21-22, last weekend delivered another bumper crop of attorney nuptials. We picked three couples to write about, per our standard procedure. But there were many others that would have been equally suitable for review. Three of the wedding announcements that we almost wrote about […] -
Biglaw, Interview Stories, Rank Stupidity, Silicon Valley
Interview Horror Stories: Don't Make Him Beg (Part 1)
Another interview horror story from the West Coast (just like our last two). And this one is a real gem. Here you go: Back when I was a junior associate at a BigLaw in Silicon Valley, a colleague of mine grabbed me to take a candidate to an interview lunch. My colleague had heard through […] -
Angelina Jolie, Celebrities, Money
Cambodian Charity v. Hollywood Movie Star
Angelina Jolie may soon be defending a lawsuit — and not from Jennifer Aniston alleging alienation of affection. Reuters reports: A Cambodian charity threatened on Wednesday to sue Angelina Jolie for breach of contract, saying the Hollywood star had reneged on a promise to give $1.5 million over five years to wildlife conservation. Some of […]