Billable Hours

* To those of you who celebrate it, Happy Easter! Welcome the holiday by voting in the ABA Journal’s fifth annual “Peeps in Law” contest. [ABA Journal] * If law firm brackets aren’t your thing, check out Professor Kyle Graham’s brackets for (1) law school classes and (2) law blogs. I’m thankful for ATL’s #1 seed but terrified by who we’re up against (because they’ve ripped me a new one before). [noncuratlex] * Sorry, Judge Steiner, you wuz robbed; you should have been our Judge of the Day. It’s tough to top “allegations of a sexual quid pro quo with a female lawyer and the eye-opening confiscation of carpet from [chambers] for forensic analysis.” [OC Weekly] William Shatner * “William Shatner’s Seductive Powers Don’t Create a Fiduciary Duty.” Robyn Hagan Cain explains why. [U.S. Second Circuit / FindLaw] * Citi settles securities cases for $730 million. Matt Levine is not impressed. [Dealbreaker] * And Ted Frank is incensed by Bernstein Litowitz’s nine-figure fee request. [Point of Law] * If you’re already depressed by public ignorance about the Supreme Court, don’t look at the responses to question 9 of this opinion poll. [Penn Schoen Berland] * Steven Harper — author of a new (and very good) book about the legal profession, The Lawyer Bubble (affiliate link) — offers thoughts on the billable hour in the wake of the DLA Piper overbilling allegations. [New York Times]

David Mowry examines the ACC's new initiative to protect companies from excessive billing.

* With SCOTUS justices questioning standing in the Prop 8 case, and one even stating that gay marriage is newer than cell phones and the internet, you can guess where the decision is headed. [New York Times]

* “This badge of inequality must be extinguished.” With men like Ted Olson and David Boies representing the plaintiffs in Prop 8, at least we can say that they fought the good fight. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

* OMG, remember when DLA Piper allegedly overbilled a client and got dragged through the mud over scandalous emails? Now the firm says they were totally joking. So cray. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Less than a month after handing out pink slips across multiple offices, Patton Boggs named a new managing partner in New York who just so happens to be a Dewey defector. Ominous. [Am Law Daily]

* These are great tips on negotiating financial aid, but try this: tell admissions you’ll happily enroll elsewhere, and watch them throw cash at you. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

* It looks like Paul Ceglia’s zany misadventures in being fired as a client by Biglaw firms and suing Facebook may finally be at an end thanks this scathing 155-page recommendation of dismissal. [CNET]

Can you believe the emails that went around internally at DLA Piper about this client's legal bill? Check them out -- along with news of lateral partner moves.

Where do all the hours go?

A new platform allows clients to receive real-time billing updates on their smartphones. That's not going to be inefficient at all.

Former congresswoman faces disbarment for allegedly overbilling a client. Billable hours are lame.

A lawyer gave birth in the office, and presumably continued redlining an agreement during labor.

* A new lawsuit asks, “Who owns Sherlock Holmes?” That sounds like a mystery suitable for… ugh, I can’t bring myself to finish that gag. [Courthouse News Service] * The well-oiled train wreck that is the NCAA finds itself in hot water for ignoring legal advice and going after Miami using privileged information. Lawyers are often maligned by non-lawyers, so let’s enjoy this article from a sports columnist explaining why lawyers can be awesome. [EDSBS] * There’s a new iTunes app to keep track of your hours! I’m assuming it has a Biglaw feature to pad hours. [Herald Online] * A trilogy of articles about California’s prison “realignment,” described as “The Best Trilogy Since Star Wars.” I’m certainly hoping this isn’t a reference to Episodes I-III. [PrawfsBlawg] * The previously discussed proposal to allow Arizonans to bypass law school and take the bar exam has been cut down. It was always ironic that the state most wrapped up in “they took our jobs!” rhetoric wanted to open the legal profession to everyone. [Verde Independent] * The third in an ongoing series of posts covering the trial of DC superhero Firestorm. Too bad he doesn’t have that split personality defense to fall back on. For the three of you who got that joke, you’re welcome. [Law and the Multiverse]

Associates at Akin Gump don't sound happy about their bonuses. What gives?

What can Biglaw firms learn from their corporate clients about managing and developing human resources? What improvements do in-house lawyers want to see from their outside counsel?

Bonuses were announced at Goodwin Procter this past Tuesday. How are they looking?

Assuming that “working from home” means that you still are working, should a firm care when or whether an attorney comes into the office, provided nothing time-sensitive needs to be accomplished that day?

What criteria do in-house counsel use to determine if a firm is delivering value to their company? Why have clients drawn such a line in the sand when it comes to paying for associate time?

Do you need help leaving the office?

How are 2012 bonuses looking at Orrick, one of the leading firms in the area of merit-based compensation?

The Anonymous Partner speaks with an In-House Insider about the value of junior associates, work-life balance, and other issues.

A new client advisory from Citi Private Bank and Hildebrandt Consulting contains predictions and advice for large law firms.

Here's some encouraging news for large law firms and the lawyers who work in them. In-house readers, however, may be less enthused.

* Everybody is entitled to a competent defense. It’ll make justice possible. I’m just so thankful I don’t have to defend people like this. [CNN International] * In other terrible rape news, make no mistake, we need more people prosecuting rapists than we need defending the few falsely accused. [Slate] * More news that fewer people are taking the LSAT. Somebody better tell Dean Lawrence Mitchell that it’s time to fire off another op-ed. Maybe he can tell people that getting a Case Western J.D. comes with a chance to enter a drawing to attempt a half-court shot for a million bucks. [Faculty Lounge] * If you want to put a billable hours requirement on your bonuses, things like this are bound to happen. [The Volokh Conspiracy] * Law graduate makes fun of “sloppy” recruiters. I hope his loan officer doesn’t end up making fun of a sloppy payment schedule. [Legal Cheek] * Here’s a real fishy case. [Winston-Salem Journal] * Wait, so if you try to pull off Denzel Washington stuff in a real cockpit it doesn’t turn out so good? [Legal Blog Watch] * We got this spam today too. And yes, it was annoying. [Associate's Mind]