Barack Obama

Morning Docket: 01.22.08

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* Fed cuts fed funds rate by 0.75%, but stocks are still lower. [AP; New York Times; Washington Post]
* Clinton and Obama get snippy with each other in debate, raising questions about each other’s legal work. [Washington Post; New York Times; WSJ Law Blog]
* SCOTUS denies review in gigantic Enron-related investors’ lawsuit. [SCOTUSblog via How Appealing]
* Statutory interpretation makes for strange bedfellows in 5-4 ruling in Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons. [SCOTUSblog (PDF) via How Appealing]
* New York City revisits the issue of forced disclosure of calorie counts by restaurants. [AP via Drudge]

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Non-Sequiturs: 01.17.08

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Green Bay Packers football Above the Law blog.jpg* Does the Supreme Court’s Stoneridge decision give the “getaway drivers” of securities fraud a free pass? [OverHedged]
* Apparently Green Bay fans really like the Packers. [SI.com]
* Miss Loyola 2L? Meet Kirsten Wolf. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Did Barack Obama receive an illegal endorsement? [TaxProf Blog]
* Speaking of Obama, his minister had this to say about Bill Clinton: “He did the same thing to us that he did to Monica Lewinsky.” Can someone please remove the cigar from the national vajayjay? [Baltimore Sun]

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The Summer Associate Recruiting Sweepstakes: Open Thread on Winners and Losers

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summer associate Above the Law blog.jpgThe recruiting season for 2Ls — scooped up by law firms eager to hire them as summer associates, fatten them up at fancy lunches, and get them addicted to a luxury lifestyle — is pretty much over. So now is a good time to take stock of who fared well (and who didn’t).
From a tipster at Sidley Austin (New York):

On its internal site for new summers, the firm releases the list of incoming 2008 summer associate class. It is 38 people long, and one has to assume hiring has likely ended. The list from last year was accessible until recently, and that list was 62 people long. Additionally, NALP data shows the firm’s NYC office had 58 and 54 summers in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

The significant drop in number of incoming summer associates this summer may be a proxy for the economic health of the firm. In a way, it is positive, because it indicates a proactive measure on the part of firm. That is, they aren’t going to risk bringing aboard more summers than they can hire; chances of not getting an offer due to a downturn in business are much lower.

That’s an optimistic take. Most people would read a drop in summer associate class size as a sign of declining recruiting appeal or “mojo” among law students. Saint-cum-superman Barack Obama met his wife while summering at Sidley. Was that fact not enough to sway recruits?
Update: We have contacted the firm for comment and are waiting to hear back from them.
Here are some other things we’ve been hearing (mere rumors, so take with a grain of salt):

1. Wiley Rein: vastly oversubscribed, perhaps due to their topping the Am Law 100 in profits per partner, thanks to the RIM / Blackberry settlement.

2. Wachtell Lipton: our former firm, which we shamelessly plug in these pages, is also hosting a much larger summer class than usual. Office space could become an issue.

3. Kirkland & Ellis: a somewhat lower yield than usual. Some people blame us, but we’ve offered both sides of the story. We also give K&E lots of props around here for their generous bonuses (and awesome summer associates).

So, if you know: How did your firm do in the summer associate sweepstakes? Please discuss, in the comments (or send us email if you prefer). Thanks.
Further Update: Some tips we received via email, after the jump.

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The Audacity of Hope Barack Obama’s Book Deal

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Barack Obama Senator Barack Hussein Obama Above the Law blog.jpgWe’re tired of the national lovefest for Barack Obama that is currently underway. It seems that Senator Obama, barely halfway through his first term in the U.S. Senate, can do no wrong — and the divalicious Hillary Clinton, the fabulous former first lady who also has a complete (and highly successful) Senate term under the belt of her pantsuit, can do no right.
Everybody loves Barack. The 2008 election has turned into a run for class president, Barack is the “Cool Kid,” and Hillary is the nerd — the Tracy Flick character from Election.
Lawyers seems to love Obama, especially young, starry-eyed law firm associates. But general counsels have a weakness for him too, as reported today in Corporate Counsel:

The nation’s best-paid general counsel have a clear favorite in the presidential race: Barack Obama. In the run-up to the primary season, the Illinois senator received more money from the in-house legal elite than any other candidate….

A total of 29 GCs in the top 100 have contributed to a presidential candidate so far (five gave to more than one campaign). Eight legal chiefs gave Obama a total of $20,600; Hillary Clinton raised $14,500 from six; and Christopher Dodd netted $13,000 from eight.

And publishers like to throw money at Obama too. From a post over the weekend at Boston Now:

[P]residential candidate Barack “No Experience” Obama apparently has no program for reducing foreign corporate control of the U.S. book publishing industry and other U.S. media industries.

One reason Obama might not want to propose that U.S. anti-trust laws be enforced against German media conglomerates like Bertelsmann AG is that between Election Day 2004 and his swearing in as a Senator, Obama was given a $1.7 million two-book contract by the Random House/Crown Publishers/Alfred Knopf subsidiary division of Bertelsmann AG. By signing his lucrative book contract with the German media conglomerate’s U.S. subsidiary before taking office, Obama did not fall under various requirements for disclosure and reporting that applies to members of Congress who accept money from U.S. media conglomerates.

We could offer some snarky quip, but will refrain. Senator Obama complied with all applicable legal and ethical rules. His deal was brokered by Robert Barnett of Williams & Connolly, the D.C. superlawyer who brokered a similar book deal for Hillary Clinton, also hammered out right before she took office.
And Hillary is our girl. If loving her is wrong, we don’t want to be right.
Update: This video, in which HRC gets a bit choked up, is awesome. She’s the most effective politically when she’s the most personal. Remember how her political career was launched, after she was humanized as the wronged woman in L’Affaire Lewinsky?
Further Update: In the comments, some of you suggest that this post would be more appropriate for our personal blog. Thanks for the unsolicited advice, which we have taken.
We offer additional thoughts about Hillary, Obama, and the amazing video clip, in this post on our personal blog. The post’s title: “Could this be Hillary’s anti-Scream, her anti-Macaca moment? Could this video clip save her faltering campaign?”
The GCs’ Choice: Obama [Corporate Counsel]
Obama’s $1.7 Million Book Contract [Boston Now]

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Non-Sequiturs: 10.24.07

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Hillary Clinton Rocks My World Above the Law blog.jpg* If you received Jesse Wegman’s invitation to join Shelfari, please accept his apologies. [NYO]
* Yet another law professor who’s out of touch with the real world. [TaxProf Blog]
* Going north of Westchester = Going south of the Mason-Dixon line? [QuizLaw]
* Is Hillary a Commie? [Althouse]
* Eh, who cares? She’s unstoppable! Polls show Hillary picking up more momentum, especially among younger voters, while Obama is losing his mojo. [Marc Ambinder]

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Morning Docket: 10.23.07

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Volkswagen Fahrvergnügen Porsche Above the Law blog.jpg* Some Fahrvergnügen for Porsche, courtesy of the European Court of Justice. [How Appealing (linkwrap)]
* Surprise surprise: a Yale law professor has issues with Michael Mukasey. Professor (and novelist) Jed Rubenfeld questions the nominee’s views of executive power. [New York Times via WSJ Law Blog]
* If confirmed, Mukasey has his work cut out for him. “Clearly the Justice Department has lost its mojo,” said WilmerHale partner Reginald Brown. [Legal Times]
* Obama criticizes Hillary in Iowa mailing. [Politico via Drudge Report]
* A (very close) vote is expected this week on Leslie Southwick’s Fifth Circuit nomination.
[Fox News via How Appealing]
Additional links, after the jump.

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Morning Docket: 10.22.07

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* Who, Exactly, Is A Journalist? [Concurring Opinions]
* Law Student May Have Shot At Textbook With Assault Rifle [JournalGazette]
* Nixon Peabody Links Up With Boutique for London Launch — Everyone’s A Winner! [Law.com]
* Man gets life in ‘Curious George’ killing [CNN]
* “I’m not a morning person.” Child Abuse Excuse Riles Judge [New York Times]
* Courts and the Law: Justice’s Blind Trust [CQ Weekly]
* Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama: When They Were Young [New York Magazine]
* The Carnival of the Capitalists #211 includes law blogs this week.

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Summer Associate of the Day Earlier in the Month: The Clifford Chance Lolita

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Clifford Chance LLP Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgThis story has been making the rounds in New York summer associate circles. We’ve known about it for a while, but we wanted to get more corroboration. Now that we’ve heard the same details from multiple sources, we feel that it’s fair game.
In the style of Page Six, we’re doing it as a blind item.* Here you go:

A partner at Clifford Chance was seen making out with a summer associate at the corporate reception [on Thursday, July 12]. The two were seen leaving together when a fifth-year associate ran out and told the partner: “Dude, you don’t want to do this.”

Now THAT is a good associate. The model associate is like an extension of the partner’s mind — the sober part.
So are summer associates fair game? Read the rest of this post, after the jump.

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Morning Docket: 07.09.07

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U Conn 2 University of Connecticut Bullets Bubbly pimps hos.jpg* That’s one way to have “smaller government”. [CNN]
* Maybe the jury can pick a day to wear their “pimps ‘n hos” jumpsuits. [New York Times via How Appealing]
* Corzine signs New Jersey greenhouse gas legislation. [Jurist]
* So where was Hillary on Friday night? [AP]

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The Harvard Law Review: Good Training for Politics?

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Harvard Law Review Andrew Crespo Above the Law blog.jpgRegular ATL readers know that the venerable Harvard Law Review is something of a shark tank. See here, here, and here.
So maybe the rough-and-tumble world of Gannett House is where Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), a former HLR president, learned how to campaign. From the NYT:

Shortly after the Clinton campaign released the financial information [about a blind trust], the campaign of Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat, circulated to news organizations — on what it demanded be a not-for-attribution-basis — a scathing analysis. It called Mrs. Clinton “Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)” in its headline.

The document referred to the investment in India and Mrs. Clinton’s fund-raising efforts among Indian-Americans. The analysis also highlighted the acceptance by Mr. Clinton of $300,000 in speech fees from Cisco, a company the Obama campaign said has moved American jobs to India.

“D-Punjab”? Not very politically correct of the Obama campaign.
We bet that Senator Obama — who tries to cast himself as Mr. Sweetness & Light (and Hope, The Audacity Of) — will try to stay above the fray. He’ll leave the dirty work to his staffers (a la Geffengate).
But we wanted to bring this to your attention. We think it’s unfair that our girl Hillary gets attacked for being allegedly conniving, but equally devious competitors don’t get called out on such things.
Update: You can view the Barack Obama campaign memo, entitled “Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)’s Personal Financial and Political Ties to India,” by clicking here (PDF).
To Avoid Conflicts, Clintons Liquidate Holdings [New York Times]

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