* Meet Aquagirl. She's the Cleary Gottlieb summer associate who had too much to drink, then wound up in the drink.

* But even Aquagirl can land a good job -- in fact, two (a Biglaw gig, and a clerkship) -- after her fifteen minutes of infamy.

* In fact, legal employment is even available to people who make pathetic fools of themselves at their interview lunches.

* Interview Horror Stories: Is the supply inexhaustible? (Click here, scroll down.)

* More law firms get the urge to merge. The latest legal Brangelinas: Dewey/Orrick, Thelen Reid/Brown Raysman, and Pitney Hardin/Day Berry.

* The Ninth Circuit: Why can't they all just get along?

* Speaking of the Ninth Circuit, Judge Kozinski is just as cool as ever. And he photographs well, too. The New Jersey Supreme Court, on the other hand, does not.

* When you aggregate the "Most Favorite Justice" and "Least Favorite Justice" scores, Justice Scalia comes out on top.

* So ATL readers think that Justice Scalia rules (except for those who blame him for judicial incivility). But does anyone want to take a nude cruise with him?

In the wake of the Dewey/Orrick and Thelen Reid/Brown Raysman announcements, here's news of yet another law firm merger. But this one is a bit smaller than the last two:

One of New Jersey's oldest and largest firms, Pitney Hardin, is merging with Connecticut's biggest, Day, Berry & Howard, to create a 395-lawyer power with branches ranging from Boston to Washington, D.C.

The new firm, to be known as Day Pitney, will come into being at year end.

The amalgamation reflects both firms' need to compete in a market that is becoming increasingly regional, in which practices restricted to individual states can no longer thrive. It mirrors similar moves by McCarter & English, which has joined with practices in Hartford and Boston.

One of you wasn't so sure Above the Law would deign to cover this:

It's not really so newsworthy for your site, because New Jersey and Connecticut firms can never really be Big Firms, no matter how many people they stick in their New York offices, and even if they hold hands together to become a larger firm. But as an alum of one of the two firms, I was moved and figured you should know.

But we HAVE written about the merger, because we DO care (and we hail from the Garden State). We're just a little late, that's all -- the news broke on Wednesday.

To atone for our tardiness, we pass along an insider's detailed analysis of the Day Berry/Pitney Hardin merger. Check it out, after the jump.

Lateral Moves:

* Litigator Robert Knuts, to Allen & Overy, from Day, Berry & Howard. Knuts was with the New York office of the SEC from 1994 to 2003.

As you may recall, London-based Allen & Overy is trying to build up its New York litigation practice -- most recently through the addition of former plaintiffs'-side princess Pat Hynes.

* Private equity lawyer James Kelly, to Nixon Peabody, from O'Melveny & Myers.

New Partners:

* Goodwin Procter: corporate and private equity lawyer Edward Braum.

NY Partners Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]
NY Lawyers On the Move [NYLawyer.com]