Time to resume our lateblogging — or can we call it early-blogging, in light of the morning hour? — of the Federalist Society’s 2009 National Lawyers Convention. If you’re a conservative or libertarian lawyer (or law student), this is an event well worth attending every year. In addition to the lively and informative panel discussions (which offer CLE credit), the networking is excellent.

Here’s the next panel we attended, on a timely topic given the government’s increasing — and perhaps excessive — involvement in the national economy:

Breakdown of the Public-Private Distinction: Implications for the Administrative State

We continue our lateblogging of the Federalist Society’s 2009 National Lawyers Convention. The conversations at the conference are always interesting. As far as we’re concerned, this has to be one of the most painless ways to rack up CLE credits.

Here’s the next panel discussion that we attended:

Regulation of Financial Institutions

Over the weekend, we had the pleasure of attending the Federalist Society’s 2009 National Lawyers Convention, down in Washington, D.C. As in past years, conservative and libertarian legal luminaries were plentiful, and the panel discussions and other events were excellent.

Some folks — e.g., Josh Blackman — were liveblogging the proceedings. We’re only writing up the conference now, so you can call this “lateblogging” (both because we’re late in blogging about the conference, and blogging late at night; hey, better late than never).

This year, sadly, we missed most of the Thursday events (because of a speaking engagement at the ABA’s Law Firm Marketing Strategies Conference). The first Fed Soc panel we caught was on Friday afternoon:

Free Speech: The Fairness Doctrine

Although Above the Law is based in New York, we adore our West Coast readers. We try to post stories that would be of special interest to them as often as possible, typically later in the day to account for the time difference. (We have one such post coming out after this one; we’re not done for the day.)

And we regularly visit the Left Coast. For information about two upcoming events that we’ll be participating in later this week — a talk at King Hall on Thursday, and a social networking conference at Boalt Hall on Friday — check out the links below.

• Social Networks: Friends or Foes? [Boalt Hall - UC Berkeley School of Law]
• King Hall LSA presents Above the Law’s David Lat [King Hall - UC Davis School of Law]
• King Hall LSA presents Above the Law’s David Lat [Facebook]

P.S. As previously explained, we generally don’t do event plugs on the ATL main page, unless we or one of our advertisers is involved. But if your event is free / non-commercial, you can promote it in ATL’s Community section. If your event is not free, you can advertise it with us. E.g., the Legal Reform Summit in D.C. (October 28), or the ABA Law Firm Marketing Strategies Conference in Philadelphia (November 12-13). Thanks!

Despite slight indications that the legal economy is recovering, the market continues to be difficult for would-be intellectual property lawyers.

The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is having its annual career fair next Saturday. Unfortunately, employer turnout is depressed this year. Here’s the email that went out to AIPLA job seekers yesterday:

To: AIPLA Career Fair Registrant

Subject: AIPLA Important Career Fair Information

Thank you for registering to participate in the AIPLA Career Fair. Please be aware that our attendance for firms/companies participation in the AIPLA Career Fair is not what we expected for this year. We’ve followed up with the Firms and Companies and they have indicated that they do not have positions available and/or not hiring at the present time.

Currently we have 9 firms participating in the Career Fair and we have over 350 Job Seekers that have registered to participate in the Fair. We strongly encourage you to only plan to come to the Career Fair if you have a confirmed interview or were otherwise planning on attending the AIPLA Annual Meeting. If you joined as an AIPLA Student Member between September 1 through October 6, 2009 to participate in the AIPLA Career Fair we will offer you a complimentary Annual Meeting Registration…. The Annual Meeting, which runs from October 15-17, will offer Educational Session, Committee Meetings, Continuing Legal Education Credit and is a Great Networking Opportunity!

Regards,
AIPLA Meetings Dept.

I can’t believe that I have to ask this, but does anybody know where an IP attorney can get a job?

Earlier: Small Law Firm Open Thread: Intellectual Property
Nationwide Salary Cut Watch: Townsend and Townsend and Crew

We continue our series of open threads about small law firms focused on different areas of practice. In light of the turmoil being experienced by Biglaw, as well as the many laid-off lawyers and job-hunting law students looking for other opportunities, now is an excellent time to look beyond large law firms.

Today we turn our attention to TRUSTS AND ESTATES. What is it like to work at a small (or at least non-big) firm focused on T&E work? What are your hours like? Your compensation? What do you like the most — and the least — about your job?

Please discuss, in the comments.

Speaking of trusts and estates, at the recent Lavender Law conference we attended a workshop on advanced estate planning. The panelists offered advice that might be helpful to people who practice in, or aspire to practice in, trusts and estates.

Read about it, after the jump.

We’re having a pretty gay Monday here at Above the Law. Earlier today, we discussed which top law firms won recognition from the Human Rights Campaign for being LGBT-friendly.

Perhaps we’ll still recovering from the weekend. As we mentioned before, we spent part of it attending the excellent Lavender Law conference, over in Brooklyn (just a short subway ride away from the ATL offices in Soho). In case you’re not familiar with the conference, here’s some background:

Every year, the sharpest legal minds in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community gather at the National LGBT Bar Association’s annual conference and career fair.

Hundreds of practicing attorneys, dozens of scholars, over 500 students and many leading members of the judiciary are expected to attend over the course of this year’s events.

We moderated a panel on Saturday, focused on federal courts and LGBT equality, and we attended several other panels and workshops. We’ll be writing a bit about the conference proceedings.

Our first conference write-up — discussing the workshop Coming Out in the Profession: “But What Will the Clients Think?”, which may interest young LGBT attorneys — appears after the jump.

Your above-signed writer will be delivering the keynote address at this year’s ABA Law Firm Marketing Strategies Conference, taking place in Philadelphia from November 12-13, 2009. In this tough economy, the subject of how to market your law firm effectively is more important than ever.

To learn more about the conference, click here. To register, click here. Early bird registration closes on August 31, after which rates will increase. So don’t delay — register today!

ABA Law Firm Marketing Strategies Conference 2009 [American Bar Association]

Greetings from the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. We’ve been having a great time schmoozing with federal judicial celebrities, here in lovely (but surprisingly chilly) Monterey.

Yesterday we participated in an excellent panel discussion about the future of journalism, together with some boldface names: Linda Greenhouse (moderator), former Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times; Nina Totenberg, of NPR; Judge Robert Lasnik, chief judge of the Western District of Washington; and Hal Fuson, Executive Vice President, Copley Press. We got to play the role of blogger-barbarian at the gate, which was fun.

We’ve also enjoyed attending the excellent educational programs and speeches. Two of the early highlights: a review of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently completed Term, by the noted constitutional law scholar and former Stanford Law School dean, Kathleen Sullivan (top right); and a speech by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (center right). We got to meet both Dean Sullivan and Secretary Napolitano — both of them possible Supreme Court nominees, both of them fabulous — and it was thrilling.

(We even got Secretary Napolitano’s business card. Who knew that Cabinet members got business cards? Does President Obama have a business card?)

We were planning to write up both of these events, until we saw the excellent accounts of Articleman over at dagblog. We refer you to his delightful write-ups (links below).

The Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference: Dean Kathleen Sullivan Speaks on the Supreme Court [dagblog.com]
The Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference: Secretary Napolitano Speaks About Our Security [dagblog.com]

P.S. If you’d like to see our rough notes on Dean Sullivan’s SCOTUS round-up, click here to download (Word document). But these notes are very rough, not converted to polished prose; you’re much better off with Articleman’s elegant summary.

The second panel we attended at the recent convention of the American Constitution Society (ACS) focused on a topic near and dear to our heart: free speech on the internet.

The panel, The Internet Revolution and Its Effect on the First Amendment, featured the following participants:

We’re quite talented at bringing you last week’s news. See, e.g., our ridiculously extensive coverage of the Battle of the Law Firm Bands.

The main reason for our D.C. visit was not the Battle of the Bands, but the national convention of the American Constitution Society (ACS) — the left’s answer to the Federalist Society. With the Democrats in control of both Congress and the White House, this year’s conference was well-attended and celebratory. There was even an upgrade in venue, from the Hyatt Regency to the Mayflower Renaissance.

(Was Eliot Spitzer on the program committee? Or did ACS go with the Mayflower because it’s the traditional venue for the annual conference of the Federalist Society?)

The first plenary panel of this year’s ACS conference featured a star-studded cast:

Despite the depressed mood here at the NALP conference in Washington, some folks are still up for fun. We’re about to head off to karaoke night, sponsored by Major, Lindsey & Africa, which we’ve heard is not to be missed.

Last night, SJL Attorney Search hosted a swanky reception at the National Portrait Gallery. Attendees availed themselves of the open bar to dull the pain. At the emcee’s instigation, a dozen brave female volunteers took the stage to “do the twist”:

One spectator was unamused: “Fiddling while Rome burns.”

But hey, a little dancing can’t hurt. When the emcee exclaimed “Now turn it around! Turn it around!”, surely he was referring to the economy.

A few pictures — don’t get your hopes up, it’s not as extensive as this morning’s slideshow — after the jump.

As mentioned previously, your above-signed writer is currently at the annual education conference of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). Yesterday we attended some excellent events.

One of our favorite presentations, despite its deeply depressing nature, was “Understanding the Current Legal Economy.” Law firm management guru James Jones — Managing Director of Hildebrandt International, and former managing partner of Arnold & Porter — spoke to a packed ballroom about how the legal industry is, in short, completely screwed (at least for 2009, and probably beyond).

We took some notes on Jim Jones’s talk, which we’ve written up in this post. It is, we confess, what some might call a notebook dump. Alas, we don’t have the time for a more polished write-up.

Even if inelegantly written, we think you’ll find it interesting. Check it out, after the jump.

Elyse DiPierri, sales and marketing director for Above the Law, at the NALP conference booth for ATL (booth #53 — feel free to drop by if you’re here).

Greetings from Washington, host city for the 2009 annual education conference of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). We’ve been down in our former stomping grounds since Tuesday. The conference started yesterday and will continue into Saturday.

We attended a number of very interesting events yesterday — and participated in a fun and lively plenary panel, entitled “Don’t Fight the Web: Surviving and Thriving in a 2.0 World” — and we will be filing a few reports on the proceedings. Although we understand that there are fewer attendees this year, which is understandable in light of the economic crisis, the conference still appears to be well-attended (standing room only at several panels, including our plenary).

In addition to attending events, catching up with old friends, and networking up a storm, we’ve been manning the Above the Law booth in the exhibition hall. Check out a slideshow of booth photos — featuring ATL swag, as well as our lovely and amazing advertising sales director, Elyse DiPierri — after the jump.

We regularly receive tips about free events that might interest our readers. Because we don’t have the ability to give shout-outs to all, and to ensure equal treatment, we direct everyone with events to promote to mention them in our Community section. If your event is more commercial in nature, you can advertise it on ATL; if your budget is limited, consider a quicklisting.

Our rule against event promotion admits of exceptions. We will mention events featuring significant participation by Above the Law editors (e.g., a speech by one of us). We’ll also mention selected events sponsored by our advertisers (like the happy hour sponsored by Major Lindsey & Africa, and the launch party of Practical Law Company).

If you’ll be in or near Morgantown, West Virginia — which isn’t far from Pittsburgh, and which happens to be one of the few cities that’s doing well in the downturn — you might be interested in this event, featuring your above-signed editor (see the 9:50 a.m. panel):

DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: INCENTIVES AND LEGAL RISKS

When: Friday, March 27, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Speakers: Various. Check out the full schedule of events.
Where: Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom, WVU Law Center, Morgantown, WV
Cost: Free and open to the public.

Hope to see you there!

Digital Entrepreneurship: The Incentives and Legal Risks [West Virginia University College of Law]

Welcome to the latest post in our recent series on the 2008 National Convention of the American Constitution Society. We attended lots of excellent events as part of the conference. Prior posts appear here and here.

One of our favorite events was the Saturday lunch panel, “Covering the Court.” It was moderated by Thomas Goldstein, of Akin Gump and SCOTUSblog fame, and featured the following distinguished members of the Supreme Court press corps:

As we mentioned yesterday, we’re currently attending the 2008 National Convention of the American Constitution Society. For those of you not familiar with ACS, here’s a short description:

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is one of the nation’s leading progressive legal organizations. Founded in 2001, ACS is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals. Our mission is to ensure that fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice enjoy their rightful, central place in American law.

The energy level and enthusiasm are high among conference attendees, with the sense that their star is on the rise. After eight long years in the executive branch wilderness, the left is poised to retake the White House, through the unstoppable campaign of Barack Obama. (Like the Federalist Society on the right, ACS is a non-partisan, non-profit educational organization. As such, it does not endorse presidential candidates. But as with the Fed Soc, it’s clear where its members’ political sympathies generally reside.)

Speaking of politics, this morning there was a fantastic plenary panel on the presidential selection process, election law, and related topics. If you’re a political junkie, check out our write-up of the discussion, after the jump.

We’re attending the 2008 National Convention of the American Constitution Society (aka the Federalist Society of the Left, for those of you not familiar with the ACS). It’s being held today and tomorrow at the Hyatt Regency here in Washington, DC. The theme of this year’s conference: “Revitalizing Our Democracy: Progress and Possibilities.” Read: “Welcome President Obama: It’s Good To Be Back in the House!”

We may be filing some dispatches from the proceedings. We’d liveblog the panels contemporaneously, but neither the hotel wireless nor our wi-fi card worked inside the hotel’s subterranean ballroom. So we will post in between sessions, when we can.

These comments — essentially a liveblog, but posted after the fact — will have an unpolished, stream-of-consciousness quality. Expect lots of randomness (and typos).

The first report, about the very interesting (and star-studded) plenary panel, “Law and Justice Policies in a New Administration,” appears after the jump.

At the Federalist Society festivities: Ryan Bounds, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy; Deputy Associate Attorney General John O’Quinn; and Susanna Dokupil, Assistant Solicitor General for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.

Last week, the Federalist Society celebrated its 25th anniversary, with a black-tie gala at Union Station. The official ATL report, by Laurie Lin, is available here; the account of the Washington Post appears here (via the WSJ Law Blog).

Since we were there also, we figured we might as well add our two cents. Some random tidbits about the evening, along with a few more photos, after the jump.

A pair of Volokh Conspirators, Professors James Lindgren and Randy Barnett, at last week’s NYLS conference on writing about the law. Inset: Professor Cameron Stracher, who organized the symposium.

In our write-up of the NYLS conference panel on law reviews, we offered the following fashion commentary:

Professors Barnett and Stracher are both rockin’ the “downtown auteur” look: black or dark blue suit, dark collarless shirt, no tie. Not bad in a vacuum, but unfortunate that they’re on the same panel with the same look (except as to the color of their shirts).

Professor Barnett has taken issue with our observations. He claims that he was wearing a crewneck shirt, while Professor Stracher was wearing a turtleneck — and that “a world of difference” exists between the two.

We pulled out our photographs of Professors Barnett and Stracher. Professor Barnett is clearly wearing a crew neck — the same crew neck he’s wearing in his website photo, it seems. But we couldn’t tell the type of Professor Stracher’s collar (above inset).

So we looked up Professor Ann Althouse’s more detailed photograph of Professor Stracher (together with yours truly). Yep, that’s a turtleneck (although a relatively short one).

We apologize to Professor Barnett, and we regret the error.

In addition, Professor Lindgren wanted to clarify his choice of a button-down shirt (for which we criticized him). He explained that he has several levels of sartorial formality, and he deliberately chose a button-down because he viewed the NYLS conference as calling for a moderate rather than extreme level of formality. Given the fairly laid-back nature of the proceedings, we can see where he’s coming from.

For true legal-media-and-academia groupies, additional pictures of top legal journalists and law professor bloggers appear after the jump.