The revolving door between government and private practice is in full swing. This morning brought the news that Judith Kaye, former chief judge of New York State, has joined Skadden Arps as counsel.
And this afternoon brings more news: Michael Mukasey, fresh off his stint as U.S. Attorney General, will be joining the partnership of Debevoise & Plimpton. Before his service as AG, Mukasey was a partner at Patterson Belknap (and was a Patterson associate before becoming a federal judge in the S.D.N.Y.).
Why didn’t Mukasey return to Patterson? Perhaps Debevoise offered more dough. Fueled by a series of large internal investigations, including the international Siemens matter, the firm has seen its partner profits skyrocket in recent years. In 2007, profits per partner at Debevoise hit $2.3 million.
Says a Debevoise tipster: “Now I get to find out if waterboarding is torture.”
Update (3:05 PM): The Debevoise press release is now available here.
Update (4 PM): Mukasey gave a short interview to the WSJ Law Blog, in which he explained his decision to join Debevoise: “It’s particularly strong in litigation and in conducting major corporate investigations and preparing reports to boards. Also, it has many former government lawyers, including Mary Jo [White].”
Update (5:30 PM): More praise from Mukasey for Debevoise, over at Am Law Daily.
Thursday, February 12, 2009 9:00 AM - By Eliza Gray
*Some important notes about Cyber-Bullying from David Lat. [Portfolio]
* Senator Schumer has recommended that Obama choose his chief counsel Preet Bharara as Manhattan’s next U.S. attorney. [The New York Times]
* In other New York news, the state senate confirmed Judge Johnathan Lippman to replace Judith Kaye as chief judge. [Newsday]
* South Africa’s high court ruled that South Africans living abroad should get the right to vote, which could affect likely president Jacob Zuma. [The Los Angeles Times]
* Monday we wrote about extraordinary rendition; yesterday the House and Senate introduced bills that would limit the President’s “state secrets” privilege. [The Boston Globe]
* A state-ordered suspension of jury trials in New Hampshire to save money during the recession could prevent justice from being served. [Bloomberg.com]
* A-rod may not be the only outed baseball star, the California 9th circuit court will soon decide whether the list of 104 players that tested positive for steroids in 2003, will be admissible in court. [MLB.com]
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 5:02 PM - By Elie Mystal
* Well, well. It looks like my monkey, has evolved into a man. A poor man. [Swordplay]
* Governor Paterson is ready to name a new chief judge to replace Judith S. Kaye. It’s Caroline Kennedy … no, sorry, wrong wire feed. It’s Jonathan Lippman! [New York Law Journal]
* Liberal blogger of some note, Matt Yglesias, is in on the whole Sidley pro-bono, anti public transportation issue. [Yglesias]
* We’ve mentioned David Mills’ funny “Courtoons” site before. I guess we’re not the only ones watching. A Russian blog has picked up one of the drawings, begging the question: there’s a Russian Biglaw blog!? If anybody can translate the Russian we (and David Mills) would be interested. [Courtoons via Юридический блог]
* You need to hear to be on a jury? Really? ‘Cause you don’t really need it for law school, Biglaw, being a law professor, courtroom litigator, or judge. But if a juror can’t locate the jury box using high pitch sonar we should kick him out of the pool? [Simple Justice]
* Lateral Link has undergone a complete site redesign. [Lateral Link]
* Just to be clear, we are pretty sure this Craigslist job listing is a joke. The riff about vacation time is really where it unravels. Then again … just because it’s a joke doesn’t make it devoid of truth. [Craigslist] [Ed. Note: It looks like Craigslist took down the link, but now Google Cache can finally be used for something other than catching my former typos. Check here]
* Meet David Lat tonight at the Bel Air Bar and Grill and learn about all the gossip we can’t publish on ATL. [Above the Law]
* Anti-government demonstrators in Thailand swarmed around the Parliament building Monday, delaying the new legislature’s first meeting. [International Herald Tribune]
* Bloggers beware! A Maryland court will decide whether authors who write critical comments on-line under pseudonyms will have to reveal their identity. (yikes!) [The Baltimore Sun]
* New York chief court judge Judith Kaye officially retires Wednesday. Now a highly celebrated Judge, Kaye was not an easy sell when Cuomo appointed her to the state court of appeals. [The New York Times]
* US Courts will stil see a steady flow of terrorism threat cases, even when Obama is president. [The Washington Times]
* In light of recent events in Gaza, the Iranian cabinet has decided file suit against Israeli officials in international courts. [Trend News Agency]
* Holiday sales were the worst in 40 years, so expect to see a ton of bankruptcies and take-overs in the near future. [Bloomberg]
* Getting your court case before SCOTUS is 10 times harder than getting into Harvard, says YLS 1L (and former SCOTUSblogger) Adam Chandler. And odds are worse for liberal-cause cases, because left-leaning groups are dropping the ball when it comes to amicus briefs. [Slate]
* Another legal controversy in Florida. This time, over layoffs of public defenders. Should public defender office employees be considered civil servants? Should the public defender and state attorney be apointed, rather than elected? Why is the sunshine state so depressing? [Ed. Note: Go Gators] [National Law Journal]
* Hello, law school students in the throes of final exams. We appreciate your procrastinating with us at ATL. Here’s something useful for you— exam-taking tips from Suffolk Law School professor Jeff Lipshaw. [Legal Profession Blog]
* Republican-appointed appellate judges are bullying the Democratic-appointed ones. [Washington Post]
* Retired New York chief court judge Judith Kaye may not have been a fan of the salary, but she says “don’t waste a minute” in becoming a judge. [New York Times]
* Bad news for the big three: the New York Times says Congress “is suffering from acute bailout fatigue.” [NYT]
* There were 13 law firm mergers in the third quarter this year (not unusual). The largest number of combinations (5) were in the southeast. [The Birmingham News]
* O.J. Simpson is finally going to jail. He will be sentenced today in Nevada. This time, he stole back sports memorabilia from two people. Can you think of a more inelegant end to the Simpson saga? [The Associated Press]
* If you break the law in New York, at least you get free day care. Thanks to Judge Judith S. Kaye (New York State’s cheif judge), there are 34 children’s centers across the state in family, criminal, and civil courts. They provide a safe and happy place for children whose parents are involved in legal battles. [NYT]
* The shareholder lawsuit against the merger of Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase was dismissed Thursday in the New York State Supreme Court. [Reuters]
* Singapore awarded Clifford Chance, White & Case, and Latham & Watkins licenses to practice law, as part of an attempt to compete with Hong Kong and other cities in China and the Middle East that have benefitted from having international law practices. [Bloomberg]
* Discover is mad at Morgan Stanley for secretly hanging-out with Visa and Mastercard behind Discover’s back. Sounds a lot like middle school, only in the real world, you can sue. [Bloomberg]
Friday, November 14, 2008 6:15 PM - By Elie Mystal
* Okay, restaurant workers are suing their employers. Do you hear that Biglaw associates? I want everybody to stand up, go to the window, and scream … (Oh who am I kidding? If we try to blackmail them, they’ll just push us out a higher window.) [Midtown Lunch]
* Could Randy Moss become a SCOTUS justice? It depends on which one you are talking about. [Holy Hullabaloos]
* UT-Law is going to give a shout out to appellate lawyers. Perhaps Lawrence Sager will be there with a collection plate?[Tex Parte Blog]
* The irreplaceable Judge Judith Kaye will be missed. We hope she enjoys her well earned retirement. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog]
* If Tupac were still alive, he’d know how to handle Kanye West. [Popsquire]
Monday, October 20, 2008 3:09 PM - By Kashmir Hill
Salaries for New York judges have been capped at $136,700 for the past ten years. We reported on their attempt to force a raise by suing the New York legislature. New York Supreme Court justice Edward Lehner ruled in favor of mo’ money in June and gave the legislature 90 days to up their pay.
The state’s chief judge, Judith Kaye, was the force behind the lawsuit. But a lesser-known judge, Philip Straniere, of Staten Island, did his part to support the movement. He grew a big, bushy protest beard. He’s been wearing it for the last 14 months.
Unfortunately for cash-strapped New York judges, neither the beard nor lawsuit have done the trick as of yet. According to the New York Law Journal, New York Governor David Paterson has appealed Lehner’s decision. The judges’ brief defending Lehner’s decision is due Friday, with argument scheduled for November.
Straniere has not given up the protest, but he has given up the beard, in order to look less like Father Christmas while he runs for a state Supreme Court judgeship. His shave made the news. From the Staten Island Advance:
Straniere scores points for his Family Guy reference with a shout-out to Peter Griffin’s bird-infested growth. Negative points for the barber for butchering Straniere’s chin.
* DA says new DNA evidence clears JonBenet Ramsey’s family of suspicion in the six-year-old’s 1996 murder. [AP]
* If you say you want to “cut someone’s nuts off,” is saying sorry really enough to heal the wound? See the violent little gesture that accompanied Jesse Jackson’s insult to Obama in the video. [Washington Post]
* New York Governor David Paterson will soon have the opportunity to put his mark on the state’s judiciary. He will choose a new chief judge of the Court of Appeals as the current chief, Judith Kaye, is set to retire. [New York Sun]
* Watch those long hours. Japanese labor bureau finds that man died from overwork. [CNN]
* If you build a wiffle ball field, the lawyers will come. [New York Times]
Thursday, April 10, 2008 4:15 PM - By Kashmir Hill
*50 Cent and Universal sued for promoting a “gangsta lifestyle.” [Reuters]
*News from New York: Chief Judge Judith Kaye is filing a lawsuit for raises for all state judges, with assistance from former White House counsel, Bernard Nussbaum of Wachtell. [The New York Sun]
*In a survey of UVA’s 1990 law school grads, 86% are satisfied with life. The other 14% may be the ones still in Biglaw. The income of the top 25% of the class is three times that of the bottom 25%. Study up! [Virginia Law via TaxProf Blog]
The revolving door between government and private practice is in full swing. This morning brought the news that Judith Kaye, former chief judge of New York State, has joined Skadden Arps as counsel.
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