BIG announcement. A magazine designed for paralegals is launching next month. It's called KNOW -- a strangely generic title. The full name is "KNOW: The Magazine for Paralegals." It's not to be confused with KNOW: The Science Magazine for Curious Kids.

As a former paralegal, I am fairly certain I would not have read this magazine. But I was one of those fresh-faced university grads trying to figure out whether I wanted to go to law school, and was not planning to be a career paralegal gal.

According to the promo, KNOW is an "outside-the-box, informative magazine balancing workstyle and life balance for paralegals." Here are some of the articles planned for the first issue:

Famous TV Stars: What Fans Don't Know About These Former Paralegals

Work Less, Earn More: Can You Ditch the 24/7 Stressful Routine?

The 10 Most Influential Paralegals in the Country

Trends Guaranteed to Change the Paralegal Profession

Diversity's Little Secret: Are Caucasian Paralegals Doing Enough to Support African-American Paralegals?

Paralegals Succeeding Against All the Odds

Navigating a Male-Dominated Industry

In terms of industry niche publications, they've hit all the hot topics in the first issue: celebrities, diversity, and gender. Where do you go from there? We suggest an article ranking paralegal schools.

We're skeptical. But we'll pose the question to our paralegal readers. What do you think? Have you been wondering about how to succeed against all odds? Or whether Caucasian Paralegals are doing enough to support their African-American comrades in arms?

Update: We invite you to suggest article subjects for future issues of KNOW magazine, in the comments. E.g.: "Life beyond Paralegaling: Turning that Senior Partner's 'Stain' into a Multi-Million Dollar Child Support Settlement."

New Magazine for Paralegals [Estrin Report]

For a society that has embraced litigation and the digital age, there will soon be a new website to love, SueEasy.com. It's like Match.com for lawyers and litigants.

The site promises to revolutionize legal service. There are three easy steps:

1. Register your case.
2. View attorney responses.
3. Choose an attorney.
4. Instant legal bliss.

We are not making step four up. "Instant legal bliss" sounds pretty sweet to us. These guys know how to market their stuff.

Tort reform advocates are not fans of the idea. From UPI:

Darren McKinney, spokesman for the American Tort Reform Association, said the site is the "latest distillation" of an attitude promoted by trial lawyers.

"It's an attitude that runs against personal responsibility and seems to promote the notion that whatever negative happens in your life somebody else can be blamed and thus sued," McKinney told Legal Newsline.

There are some interesting class action suits up on the site now. They include Hot Dog and Bun Mismatch filed by oscarmayer and Circumcised without Anybody's Consent filed by Frank OHara on behalf of one million infant boys.

Oscarmayer's complaint: "Currently buns are sold in packages of 10 but hotdogs come in packages of 8." While certainly annoying, does it really warrant a lawsuit?

Web site makes suing easy [United Press International]
SueEasy — Hey Tort Reform, This One’s For You [WSJ Law Blog]
SueEasy.com [Overlawyered]

In the wake of our recent post about a dubious defense, here's another one:

A lawyer for an MIT student held at gunpoint after she walked into Logan International Airport wearing what authorities believed was a bomb asked a judge to throw out the charges Friday, saying the device was a legitimate form of free speech....

Thomas Dwyer Jr., a lawyer for Simpson, said his client didn't think her shirt would scare anyone. He said she'd been wearing the shirt for several days on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, and it had not alarmed anyone....

"People make these objects part of their identity. It's a part of their personal expression," he said. "They are legitimate forms of First Amendment expression."

Writes Blogonaut:

[A] 9mm round from an airport police handgun might be a legitimate “free speech” reply to a person with a battery-powered rectangular device on their chest with flashing lights and apparent plastic explosive in their hands.

The marketplace of ideas. Ain't it grand?

P.S. Is the Tom Dwyer involved in this case the well-regarded Thomas E. Dwyer, Jr., of Dwyer & Collora (formerly Dwyer, Collora & Gernter, before Nancy Gertner was appointed to the federal bench)? If so, we'd expect a former state and federal prosecutor to offer a more compelling defense.

P.P.S. In fairness to Dwyer, another argument he's making -- that state law does not clearly define a "hoax device" -- seems stronger.

Woman charged with wearing fake bomb says device was free speech [Worcester Telegram via Blogonaut]

Earlier: From the Department of Dubious Defenses

* New accounting rules for M&A. [DealBook]

* Lilly contemplates $1 billion payment to settle civil and criminal investigations relating to its marketing of Zyprexa. [New York Times]

* NYPD officer accused of pimping child. [MSNBC]

* Ex-priest jailed for murder via exorcism. [CNN]

* Indiana man arrested for making his own crosswalk. [The Indy Channel]

* Nader takes steps toward another run for the presidency in 2008. [Bloomberg]

Last week was a busy one in terms of bonus news. In addition, we were prevented from publishing as much as we wanted by technical difficulties (which lie outside the jurisdiction of your undersigned blogger, a mere writer and not a tech person).

Our recent neglect of the "misbehaving lawyers" beat has given rise to a backlog of possible Lawyers of the Day. We've decided to clear the backlog by tossing out five nominees and having you vote on who should get the honor.

Click on each lawyer's name to read more about their alleged misadventures. Then vote on who should be our Lawyer of the Day.

1. Todd Paris: This North Carolina lawyer was held in contempt after a judge caught him reading Maxim [quasi-NSFW] in court. "When [Judge Kevin] Eddinger gave Paris a chance to respond he apologized and 'stated in his view the magazine was not pornography, was available at local stores and that he did not intend contempt,' the [contempt] order said."

2. Beth Modica: "A former suburban prosecutor and PTA president had sex with two underage boys, joined many other teens in booze and pot parties and kept it all a secret from her police chief husband, officials said Tuesday. Beth Modica, 44, was indicted on 35 counts alleging statutory rape, criminal sex acts, sex abuse and endangering children. Wearing an olive-gray suit and handcuffs, she pleaded not guilty at her arraignment in Rockland County Court and was ordered held on $75,000 bail."

3. Mikal Hanson: "Pierre police early Thursday morning arrested an assistant U.S. attorney, who is accused of drunken driving and speeding. Mikal Hanson, 52, an assistant U.S. attorney in Sioux Falls, was stopped by police shortly before 1 a.m. for speeding, said Pierre Police Chief Elton Blemaster. The arresting officer could smell alcohol on Hanson and asked him to perform field sobriety tests, Blemaster said. 'Mr. Hanson didn't complete them as instructed,' he said."

4. Canadian Senator Mobina Jaffer: "Liberal Senator Mobina Jaffer is under investigation by the Law Society of British Columbia for allegedly overbilling one of her legal clients, including charging for 30 hours of work in a single day.... Jaffer has been called before the law society to account for more than $6 million in legal bills charged to her former client, a Catholic missionary order known as the Oblates of Mary Immaculate."

5. Jay Grodner: From the Chicago Tribune (via Blackfive.net):

Jay Grodner, the Chicago lawyer who keyed a Marine's car in anger because the car had military plates and a Marine insignia, finally got his day in court last week. Grodner pleaded guilty in a Chicago courtroom packed with former Marines. They came to support Marine Sgt. Michael McNulty, whose car Grodner defaced in December, but who couldn't attend because he's preparing for his second tour in Iraq....

"You caused damage to this young Marine sergeant's car because you were offended by his Marine Corps license plates," said Judge [William] O'Malley....

"That's because there is a little principle that the Marine Corps has had since 1775," the judge continued. "When they fought and lost their lives so that people like you could enjoy the freedom of this country. It is a little proverb that we follow: "No Marine is left behind.

"So Sgt. McNulty couldn't be here. But other Marines showed up in his stead. Take him away," said the judge and former Marine.

So those are the five contestants. Here's the poll:

Defendants in deep doo-doo come up with all sorts of innovative defenses. Last week, we learned that fashion mogul Dov Charney, accused of sexually harassing a former employee, claimed in a deposition that when he appeared before the plaintiff wearing nothing but a strategically placed sock, he was merely testing a new line of underwear.

But this is even more dubious. At a murder trial underway in New York, a father accused of killing his seven-year-old stepdaughter has introduced into evidence a “World’s Greatest Dad” mug she once bought for him.

If the mug has writing on it, you must acquit.

'World's Greatest Dad' Mug Seen In Nixzmary Trial [wcbstv.com]
Implausible defense department [Overlawyered]

The tipster who forwarded this invite to us pretty much said it all: "Weil: Are you joking?"

Weil is currently ranked #9 on the Vault 100. How many spots should they be docked for this?

(In case you're wondering, yes, we did contact the firm for comment. We did not hear back from them.)

WEIL GOTSHAL & MANGES -- INVITATION TO DIVERSITY RECEPTION FEATURING STAR JONES

Please join us at our diversity reception for first year law students next Tuesday, January 22nd! Please also note that the time for the reception has changed to 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

Our guest speaker, Star Jones, will be arriving at 6:00pm to mingle, so plan to be there early! Further details are below.

For those of you who cannot view the JPEG, here are the details for the event:

Location: STK
Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Special Guest Speaker: Star Jones of truTV (formerly Court TV)

RSVP by Friday, January 18 to [xxxx] or (212) 833-[xxxx]

[xxxx]
Legal Recruiting Coordinator
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
767 Fifth Avenue

Star Jones Reynolds [Wikipedia]
Star Jones [official website]

As you know, here at ATL we have a weakness for lawyers who pose in the nude. So today's pick for Lawyer of the Day should surprise no one. From Legal Blog Watch:

Remember the racy billboard ads posted by Chicago law firm Fetman, Garland & Associates that raised so much controversy last spring? The ads featured two photographs, centered on the chest of a scantily clad man and woman with the slug line, "Life's Short. Get A Divorce."

Now, one of the firm's principals, Corri Fetman, has revealed something else about her firm's revealing ads. In this press release issued today, we learn that "the sexy female in the ads is none other than Corri herself." Fetman first shared "the naked truth" about the ads in the February 2008 issue of Playboy, which includes another law firm ad, a "provocative nude pictorial of Corri" and a new online column by Fetman, entitled Lawyer of Love.

Carolyn Elefant disapproves:

[I thought] that Fetman's billboard ad was an effective form of advertising, because it made a point clearly, provoked an emotional response and generated buzz. But the nude spread in Playboy goes too far. As a pure marketing ploy, I'm hard pressed to figure out what kind of clients Fetman is trying to target by posing nude in Playboy.

Horny male ones? Surely men in need of matrimonial counsel are disproportionately represented among the ranks of Playboy readers.

Elefant anticipates this argument:

Even if her spread did generate some decent clients, Fetman would spend hundreds of hours culling through all kinds of calls from various perverts and weirdos contacting her for reasons other than aggressive legal representation.

Hehe. Hey Beavis. She said "aggressive legal representation."

Lawyer With Racy Divorce Ads Exposed -- Literally! [Legal Blog Watch]
'Life's Short, Get a Divorce' Attorney Corri Fetman Bares All for Playboy.com [EarthTimes.org (press release)]
Corri D. Fetman bio [Fetman, Garland & Associates]

* Actually, Judge Lamberth, calling a presidential candidate as "a European socialist" constitutes an endorsement -- at least at most American law schools. [AP via WSJ Law Blog]

* News you can use: under the "Free File" program, opening tomorrow, the IRS and its private-sector partners will provide free tax preparation and electronic filing services to qualifying taxpayers (AGI of $54,000 or less -- sorry, Biglaw denizens). [TaxProf Blog]

* The law school essay question: an unrecognized art form? [PrawfsBlawg]

* Practice pointer: don't "recreate" correspondence to use as evidence in your case. Dramatic reenactments belong on television, not in court. [Feminist Law Professors]

* We just got called "the Matt Drudge of the legal world." Our thanks to Neil Squillante for making our day. Now where did we put our animated siren GIF? [TechnoLawyer]

The firm of Dewey Ballantine was never known for being particularly PC. From a 2004 article by Anthony Lin, for the New York Law Journal:

Nearly one year after lawyers at Dewey Ballantine infuriated members of the Asian-American community by performing a stereotype-laden parody song at their annual dinner, the law firm is again dealing with allegations of racial insensitivity....

On Monday, an employee sent a firmwide e-mail advertising the availability of some puppies for adoption. Douglas Getter, a London-based American who heads Dewey Ballantine's European mergers and acquisitions practice then sent a firmwide reply.

"Please don't let these puppies go to a Chinese restaurant!" Getter wrote in his e-mail.

Now Dewey has merged with LeBoeuf Lamb. Happily, it appears their firm cultures are a good match. Check out this email exchange appearing below -- and note that partner Stephen Best came from the LeBoeuf Lamb side of the marriage.

From: Ralph C. Ferrara
To: DL All Attorneys - US
Cc: Ferrara, Ralph C.
Sent: Mon Dec 17 11:00:29 2007
Subject: German Translation - Completed

Dear All,

Thank you for your many quick responses [to a request for translation of a German document]. The translation has been completed.

Regards, Ralph
______________

From: Stephen A. Best
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 11:02 AM
To: Ferrara, Ralph C.; DL All Attorneys - US
Subject: Re: German Translation - Completed

Zieg Heil!!!!!!

Sent from my Blackberry Wireless Handheld

Oh, the perils of Blackberrying! If you respond to a firm-wide email on your Blackberry, be EXTRA careful about not hitting "reply all" (unless that is truly your intention).

Of course, the "Zieg Heil" response would have been inappropriate even if sent to a smaller group of recipients. As noted by Wikipedia, uttering the phrase "Sieg Heil" in Germany is "a criminal offence punishable by up to three years of prison."

Two emails of profuse apology, issued within an hour of the offending message, after the jump.

The ethical rules governing advertising by lawyers are designed in large part to protect the public from misleading pitches. But maybe it's the lawyers who need protecting -- from themselves.

If these lawyers scratch themselves inappropriately during meetings, or hog the cold cuts at lunch, don't say they didn't warn you.

Magilla Gorilla, Esq. [copyranter]

Earlier: Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My -- Is It a Law Firm Ad Campaign?

Denizens of the East and West Coasts are supposed to be sybarites, at least compared to their heartland counterparts. But maybe this generalization doesn't apply to state attorneys general.

From the Topeka Capital-Journal:

Attorney General Paul Morrison faces a sexual harassment claim tied to an extramarital affair he had with a subordinate in the Johnson County district attorney’s office that continued after he became the state’s top prosecutor this year.

Linda Carter, longtime director of administration in the district attorney’s office, revealed extensive details of the relationship with Morrison before quitting her job Nov. 30 in Olathe.

Holy crap! The Kansas AG slept with Wonder Woman?

(Oh no, different Lynda Carter -- the actress spells her first name with a "y.")

Now, cheating AGs are nothing new. See, e.g., Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox (hehe). But Paul Morrison wins Lawyer of the Day honors for this bit of chutzpah:

Carter and Morrison regularly had sex in Carter’s private office and in Morrison’s office at the courthouse during normal business hours, her statement said. During one such encounter, the statement says that Morrison gazed out the office window and wondered aloud if Kline had someone watching through a telescope. The two also had sex in a witness room assigned to District Court Judge Stephen Tatum.

Attention Tatum clerks: it's time to break out the Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. Turns out that sticky spot on the witness room conference table is NOT congealed donut oil.

Sex scandal rocks attorney general Morrison [Topeka Capital-Journal]

Wondering where to spend New Year's Eve this year? Well, if you're in New York City, do you have any friends over at Skadden? Surely you must. Considering that the firm recently passed the 2,000 attorney mark, everyone has friends at Skadden (if they don't work there themselves).

From an internal email by "New York office guru" Wally Schwartz, posted at the Skadden Insider blog:

Since our 4 Times Square office is located in such close proximity to New York City's New Year's Eve celebration many employees have rung in the New Year by viewing the festivities from our offices. For the most part these gatherings have been enjoyable and appropriate. However, during last year's celebration there were several problems caused by an excessive number of guests, and, in some cases, excessive drinking.

[T]he following policies are being implemented for this year's celebration:

Each employee is limited to inviting a maximum of three guests, each of whom must be registered with security....

Guests must be accompanied, or met, by their Skadden host in order to be admitted.

No alcohol will be permitted.

A New Year's Eve celebration without booze? That sucks.

Moral of the story: If you're spending New Year's Eve at SASMF, get royally trashed before showing up at Four Times Square.

No vodka in the Skadden lemonade [Skadden Insider]

Remember those strange radio advertisements about Hogan & Hartson? We discussed them here and here. The ads went something like this:

Did you hire a Hogan and Hartson senior partner for bet the company liltigation? Was your case handled by a junior lawyer instead of the senior partner you thought you were paying for? Call 800-759-8611.

Well, Peter Lattman and the WSJ Law Blog have gotten to the bottom of this oddness. It turns out the ads, which ran in print as well as on the radio, were financed by a company called General Steel. Earlier this year, General Steel sued Hogan, alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. From the Law Blog:

In July a judge in Denver dismissed all but one of the claims against Hogan and sent the remaining claim — essentially a fee dispute — to arbitration. Hogan says General Steel owes the firm around $300,000; General Steel wants its money back and more. Click here for the judge’s order; and here for the judge’s order denying General Steel’s motion for reconsideration. General Steel is also appealing the judge’s ruling.

Hogan & Hartson says it’s not surprised by the Times ad, which has also run in D.C. newspapers (and on the radio). During the settlement negotiations, Hogan says that Knight had threatened a “shock and awe” campaign against Hogan if it didn’t pay General Steel money to settle its claims.

We are "shock[ed] and awe[d]" -- by the tackiness of General Steel. If we're ever in the market for prefabricated commercial steel buildings, they're definitely not getting our business.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Dissatisfied Hogan & Hartson Client [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Remember Those Weird Radio Ads Mentioning Hogan & Hartson?
Lawsuit of the Day: Have You Been Injured... By Hogan & Hartson?

Statutory interpretation is fun! Check out this wacky fact pattern, perfect fodder for a criminal law final exam, from Court TV News (via Blogonaut):

In a 5-0 ruling, the [South Dakota Supreme Court] overturned the conviction of Michael James Plenty Horse for indecent exposure because he didn't attempt to arouse others when he tried to have sex with the mannequin in a dark, closed room at a YMCA in Sioux Falls, S.D.

On Nov. 14, 2005, Plenty Horse, then 19, went to the YMCA's Alumni Room, which housed memorabilia and photos of local high school students, including a mannequin wearing a band uniform, on the second floor of the building.

Once inside the empty room, he closed the door, turned off the lights, took the mannequin over to a desk and began trying to have sex with it, according to court documents.

A security guard opened the closed door, turned on the lights and saw Plenty Horse on top of the partially undressed mannequin, his pants down and a wadded piece of paper in his hand, court documents said.

Plenty Horse immediately rolled off the mannequin and began adjusting his pants when he saw the security guard, according to the ruling. When questioned by police, he said he had not seen his girlfriend in a year.

Grounds for a temporary insanity defense? Wisely, his lawyers took a different approach:

Plenty Horse's attorney argued throughout the legal fight that, while what the young man did with the mannequin would likely offend people, he did not "flash" his genitals "in hopes of being observed, thereby gratifying himself sexually."

The defense succeeded in getting him off:

"Nothing establishes that his conduct was done with the specific intent to generate sexual arousal or gratification by the act of publicly exposing, displaying or offer to the public view, his genitals," the ruling said. "Therefore, the defendant's act, lewd though it may have been, does not fall within the purview of the indecent exposure statute."

Good stuff. You can read the full opinion here (PDF, via How Appealing).

Sex with a mannequin? S.D. Supreme Court says keep it behind closed doors [Court TV via Blogonaut]
State v. Plenty Horse [Supreme Court of South Dakota (PDF) via How Appealing]

On some days, the posts just write themselves. From Blogonaut:

James Michael Shull is no longer a Virginia Judge, thanks to the decision of the Virginia Supreme Court that unanimously upheld his removal from the bench.

Shull’s misconduct on the bench included ordering a woman to pull down her pants in open court during a hearing—ostensibly to view a claimed injury—exposing everything not covered by a pair of g-string panties the woman was wearing.

If she was humiliated, she deserved it. What was she doing in a g-string? Everyone knows that acceptable courtroom attire is a sober black skirt suit -- with granny panties underneath.

Schull also decided child custody matters by tossing a coin in the air, initiated ex-parte contact with witnesses outside the presence of the attorneys for either side in a dispute, and was discourteous to litigants.

Independent of making them strip in open court, of course.

Judge Defrocked for Deciding Cases by Coin Toss, Making Woman Pull Pants Down in Court [Blogonaut]

Looking for a way to earn some brownie points? Wish your boss a happy National Boss Day!

Yes, that's right. Today is National Boss Day. Here's some history:

• Began in 1958 when Patricia Bays Haroski, then an employee at State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Ill., registered the holiday with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

• Ms. Haroski chose October 16, her father's birthday, as the date for National Boss Day because she felt he was an exemplary boss.

• National Boss Day has become an international celebration in recent years and now is observed in countries such a England, Australia and South Africa.

So secretaries, make sure the coffee you fetch today is piping hot. Associates, put your heart into that document review.

And answer the phone on the second ring when the assigning partner calls you at 6:30 PM. Since today is National Boss Day, it's the least you can do.

National Boss Day 2007 [Hallmark]

We just caught the second half of I Love New York 2 (previously discussed here and here). Wow.

Even by the debased standards of reality television, the show couldn't be any more trashy. We felt our IQ plummeting as the minutes passed. We won't tune in next week, since we don't have the points to spare.

And no, we're not TV snobs. Our favorite shows include ANTM, Gossip Girl, and Desperate Housewives. We like good trash TV as much as, if not more than, the next guy (or girl). But it has to be quality trash, if that makes any sense. (As for defining quality trash, we cite Justice Stewart: we know it when we see it.)

But look, don't take our word for it. From a commenter (one of the few to opine on the show itself, as opposed to affirmation action, the legal academy, and the plight of minorities in America):

Since I'm not arguing about race, HLS, Obama or any of these issues, my post probably doesn't belong. But I was personally quite amused to [see] a Big Law associate on my secret vice: vh1 reality programming....

Though I would have to say, seeing as how law firms are in the business of questioning the "good judgment" of associates, I think exhibiting an interest in dating NEW YORK [a/k/a Tiffany Pollard] is clearly a poor example of judgment.

She's crazy, looks like a [transsexual] with a cheap breast enhancement, and did I forget to mention CRAZY?

Frighteningly enough, the exact same description -- "crazy, looks like a [transsexual] with a cheap breast enhancement, and did I forget to mention CRAZY" -- also applies to Tiffany "New York" Pollard's mother, Sister Patterson. While we harbor a weakness for strong, African-American women, we want them to look like women (and work at the Justice Department).

And what about the fate of the two legal eagles on the show -- David Otunga, a Harvard Law School graduate and former Sidley Austin associate, and Juan McCullum, a 2L at Mississippi College of Law? As you can see from the show's Wikipedia page, which has already been updated with the results of tonight's episode, they're both still in the running.

And Christopher Columbus Langdell is turning over in his grave.

I Love New York 2 [VH1 (official website)]
I Love New York 2 [Wikipedia]

Earlier: Sidley Hates on Old People, Reality TV Stars
He Feels Pretty, Oh So Pretty

Law firms love free publicity. Especially law firms that have been in the news for having to pay $27.5 million to settle age discrimination claims by former partners.

Or maybe not:

David Otunga, a 2006 graduate of Harvard Law School and former associate at Sidley Austin, appeared in the first episode of I Love New York 2 on VH1 last night.

In case you're not familiar with the show, here's a synopsis:

"Tiffany "New York" Pollard is jumping back into the dating pool to find the man of her dreams. A fresh crop of twenty men are brought together to compete for her heart and this time the selection process has a twist....some of the chosen contestants vying for New York's heart have been hand-picked by online users and some have been chosen by Tiffany's outspoken mother, Sister Patterson."

Back to our tipster:

[Otunga] was brought in as one of three or four "Mama's Boys" (potential suitors selected by New York's mother) and nicknamed "Punk." He told New York that he was perfect for her, since he was an HLS grad and a lawyer at "one of the top law firms in the world."

Unfortunately, that law firm -- Sidley Austin -- didn't appreciate his appearance on the show, and the firm recently "suggested" to him that it may be in his best interest to pursue his "acting career" instead of his legal career. He's no longer on the firm's webpage.

More after the jump.

Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures we'll be seeing here in D.C. later this week, summer is over. But that doesn't mean our inbox is closed to stories of summer associate scandal.

Check out this great pair of controversies, from the summer program of Washington powerhouse Patton Boggs:

There have been rumors flying around Patton Boggs about major drama in this year's summer associate class that I thought I'd pass along. Some of the summers got upset because:

(1) At the summer associate golf outing, one of the associates wore a Confederate flag hat while playing 18 holes with the summers. The hat apparently went unnoticed by everyone except the summer associates, who (rightfully) felt uncomfortable telling a lawyer at the firm that his hat may be in poor taste. Best part: apparently he shared a golf cart with one of the black summers!

(2) Apparently a very high-level partner at Patton Boggs was disappointed to learn that a beauty queen winner/current law student was not offered a position as a summer associate. When he learned that the firm had instead hired a (gasp!) gay summer associate, he allegedly said, in front of others at the firm, "You know the recruiting department is screwed up when they're rejecting beauty queens but hiring homosexuals."

We contacted Patton Boggs for comment. A firm spokesperson provided this statement:

"The firm takes these types of matters seriously. When we hear of things of this nature, we investigate and take appropriate action as necessary."

If you're at Patton Boggs and can enlighten us further about these events -- or if you're at another firm, and have summer associate stories you're now at liberty to share with us, given the passage of time -- please email us. Thanks.