This year we decided to dress up as Judge Denny Chin (S.D.N.Y.), recently nominated by President Obama to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. If you’re a criminal, Judge Chin can be quite frightening — he sentenced Bernie Madoff to a whopping 150 years.
And where did we get the idea for our costume? ATL comments (see #2 and #17).
A slideshow of photos showing us in our Judge Chin costume, after the jump.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:27 AM - By David Lat
* SCOTUS has agreed to decide whether federal courts can order Guantanamo detainees to be released into the United States, which raises separation of powers issues (because the political branches are in charge of passing and enforcing immigration laws). [How Appealing (linkwrap)]
* A big loss for Exxon Mobil (and its lawyers at McDermott): a jury issues a $104.7 million verdict, after finding the company liable for poisoning NYC water wells. [Bloomberg]
* Weekend at Bernie’s: lawsuit alleges drug use and debauchery at the Madoff offices. [ABA Journal]
* The Galleon / Raj Rajaratnam insider trading case lands in Judge Rakoff’s court. Could this create complications for the SEC? [WSJ Law Blog]
* The FAA is investigating last week’s Balloon Boy incident. [CNN]
Thursday, September 17, 2009 6:07 PM - By Elie Mystal
A couple of days ago, an attorney sent in an email to the New York State Bar Association listserv. Like many people, the attorney was looking for a job. He decided to ask the listserv for some helpful tips:
Subject: [nysba-nonres] (somewhat) new attorney still seeking first FT position
From: [Redacted]
To: nysba-nonres@lists.nysba.org
Its a difficult time for new lawyers graduating with gigantic student loan debts and a bad economy. I’ve been searching for two years sending out hundreds of resumes and applying for an online jobs every chance I get but it now seems hopeless.
I’m a Fordham Law School graduate and have an internship working at a small bankruptcy/divorce/immigration firm and also have been doing debt collection in state court and attending 341 hearings as a per diem attorney. I also have an interest in criminal law and litigation and therefore took hands on courses in law school: civil litigation drafting, trial advocacy, fundamental lawyering skills, criminal procedure.
I want a full time position but contract work would be helpful also.
If anyone has any suggestion as to where to apply or what to do please advise.
Everybody tells you to network to find a job in this economy. But what if you don’t know anybody? One can understand how the state bar association listserv could seem like a viable option to a recent Fordgam graduate.
Were the employed attorneys helpful to the young Fordham ram? What do you think?
Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:13 AM - By Kashmir Hill
* Earlier this month, we reported that Sonnenschein had made cuts. Of the 30 let go, 10 were income partners. [National Law Journal]
* Republican Congressman Joe Wilson may be the most hated lawyer in the U.S. today after heckling President Obama during his healthcare reform speech. [CNN]
* NALP is forming a commission to review law firm hiring practices, including the current timetable for 2L OCI recruiting. [Am Law Daily]
* Bankruptcy judges are chastising mortgage servicers for their sloppy business practices and their poor communications. [New York Times]
* Associates who went to lower-ranked law schools tend to be happier and harder working in their BigLaw job. Why? For the same reason that ugly people are better in bed - they have to be. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Unemployment hits 9.7%. That is not funny. [New York Times]
* The 2nd Circuit reaffirms that wiretap warrants should only be granted to the government after a detailed explanation of why the wiretap is necessary. Then the court reinstates evidence acquired pursuant to a wiretap warrant that probably shouldn’t have been granted. [Threat Level/Wired]
* This is just not a good time to be Proskauer Rose. The firm is now being sued in Nevada on a malpractice claim that was rejected in Texas for improper venue. [National Law Journal]
* Could the SEC be sued for negligence in failing to properly investigate Bernie Madoff? [Time]
* Is Bernie Madoff about the try the Lockerbie terrorist defense? Does he have friends in oil rich countries that we don’t know about. [Dealbreaker]
* You can’t get rid of the LSAT until you come up with something better to replace it. I nominate tying up prospective law students and throwing them into a body of water of some kind. If they sink, we’ll know they have what it takes to depress the salaries of lawyers already in the system. [Miller-McCune]
* Now I know why the British left their islands to conquer the world. They were just in search of a little bit of sunlight. [Pink Tape via Blawg Review]
Frank DiPascali, the former CFO — chief fraudulent officer? — for Ponzi schemer extraordinaire Bernard Madoff, pleaded guilty today to a variety of charges, including securities fraud, falsifying records, and international money laundering.
* Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, the No. 3 official in the Obama Justice Department, signed off on a decision to drop a voter intimidation complaint against members of the New Black Panther Party. [Washington Times]
* Can’t we all just get along — with the help of beer? Today at a White House picnic, President Obama will drink a Bud Light, Professor Gates will drink a Red Stripe, and Sergeant Crowley will drink a Blue Moon. We told you Cambridge police officers were yuppies. [Washington Post]
* A San Francisco lawyer who interviewed Bernie Madoff may use the information obtained to pursue feeder fund managers. [Reuters]
* Advisers on the Microsoft-Yahoo ad partnership: Sheppard Mullin, Skadden, and Perkins Coie. [Am Law Daily]
* New York is considering the Madoff bill: making rich prisoners foot their own prison bills. No word as to whether tipping the prison warden is suggested during the holiday season. [Reuters via Daily Beast]
* Part of the U.S. DOJ is relocating from D.C. to South Carolina. [Associated Press]
* A porn star, who tested positive for HIV, is suing California health officials for violating her rights by demanding her medical records. [Courthouse News Service]
* Harvard Law prof Jonathan Zittrain is down on cloud computing. [New York Times]
The long (inter)national Marc Dreier nightmare is almost at an end. He’s been sentenced to 20 years for defrauding his clients and investors. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports:
Prosecutors had asked for a 145-year sentence, which harked back to the 150-year sentence U.S. District Judge Denny Chin readily handed down to Bernie Madoff, whose massive Ponzi scheme drained the bank accounts of countless investors. In both cases defense attorneys sought a fraction of that. Dreier’s attorney sought no more than 12-and-a-half years.
But Dreier drew U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who has been highly critical of the length of sentences under the federal sentencing guidelines, particularly in white collar crime cases.
Bernie Madoff gets 150 years, but Dreier only gets 20? Justice may be blind, but she’s certainly not deaf.
The federal government seems to think so, based on the sentence they’re seeking. We’re kind of proud that one of our own, a lawyer, can rank up there with one of the greatest swindlers of all time.
And what does Marc Dreier think he deserves? No more than 12 1/2 years, according to his sentencing memo. More details, including excerpts from Dreier’s seemingly heartfelt letter to Judge Rakoff, over at the WSJ Law Blog.
* Earlier this week, Leah Ward Sears stepped down as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. She penned this piece for CNN about her brother’s suicide, the problems with no-fault divorce, and where she’s going next. [CNN]
* Former Latham & Watkins partner Samuel Fishman sentenced to 15 months in prison for bilking the firm and clients out of several hundred thousands of dollars. [Dow Jones Newswires]
* J.D. Salinger wins his copyright suit. Judge rules that ‘J.D. California’s’ spin on Catcher in the Rye is not transformative enough, and cannot be sold in the U.S. [Associated Press]
* Doesn’t “Velvet Revolution” sound like a musical band, instead of a collection of angry lawyers administering vigilante justice? [The Blog of the Legal Times]
* Mayoral control of New York City schools could end tonight if the New York State Senate doesn’t act. But hey, politicians acting like children can’t very well care about children. This is a good time to learn the word “mishigas.” [Huffington Post]
* Was Bernie Madoff six times more evil than the Jeff Skilling? [Bloomberg]
* Remote DVRs are okay. I suggest television advertisers seriously consider “product placement.” [Interactive TV Today]
* Rhode Island lawmakers want to change the name of the state. But they don’t want to drop the “Rhode,” or the “Island.” [New York Times]
* Somebody got chased with a knife for calling Michael Jackson a talented musician. This country is out of control. [Quiz Law]
* Some lawyers say Twitter is a fad. Other lawyers are already trying to make money and generate business from Twitter, just in case it is here to stay.
[Marketing Strategy And The Law via Blawg Review]
Judge Denny Chin said that the sentence was necessary to deter other people from entering into these kinds of schemes
The Judge apparently said that he was struck that there was no letter written in support of Bernie Madoff. On the other hand, the judge received 141 pages of letters from Madoff victims.
Madoff allegedly said:
They have accused me and my wife of not being sympathetic. She cries every night, I am also tormented.
Umm … crying doesn’t make you sympathetic. I think instead of turning on the waterworks, Madoff should try not stealing billions of dollars.
But Madoff did apparently say: “I am sorry.”
But the pitchfork rally doesn’t have to end here. Next up: what prison will Madoff be heading to? A “club-fed” facility, or someplace where Madoff might expect “more bareback.”
For extensive and ongoing coverage of L’Affaire Madoff, surf over to our sister site, Dealbreaker.
* Maria Belen Chapur (Mark Sanford’s girlfriend) says she’s pretty sure who hacked into her email account, but she can’t say. [CNN]
* Is it time for New York State to have a full blown constitutional convention? Maybe downstate New York should just secede from upstate New York. Then we can rename upstate “East Dakota” and everything will make sense. [Newsday]
What’s your Halloween costume this year? A slutty nurse? A creepy Notre Dame 1L? Or something far more scary — maybe Bob from Human Resources, the Grim Reaper who takes your Biglaw job away?
Continue reading "Open Thread: Happy Halloween!"
(76) Comments
* SCOTUS has agreed to decide whether federal courts can order Guantanamo detainees to be released into the United States, which raises separation of powers issues (because the political branches are in charge of passing and enforcing immigration laws). [
* Naked shorting: it sounds hot, but it might just get you into trouble with the SEC. [
