* This really could happen to anyone who uses public transportation. Seriously, slow down people — that extra 5 minutes isn’t going to tear off three of your fingers and half your palm, or turn you into a deserving-yet-questionable plaintiff. [Gothamist]
* I love it when the art world gets nasty. [New York Sun]
* Ethiopia knows a good thing when it sees it. Or does it just really hate that Red campaign? (I’m still wondering if any of those self-righteous celebs are able to locate any African country on a map.) [Legal Times]
* The face that launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Hope her self-esteem is in check, because the commentary is bound to be nastier than the comments to ATL’s “Hotties” contests. [QuizLaw; CNET]
* I don’t know who this is, but this happens way too much. For shame. [Yahoo! Sports]
Email Scandals
* Can an IP expert explain how it is legal for Blockbuster to use Netflix’s name in this promotion?
(And the promotion continues until December 24.) [PRNewswire - FirstCall via Yahoo! Finance]
* Chelsea Clinton’s boyfriend’s dad — putting a face to those Nigerian e-mail scams. [ABC News]
* I would feel safer opening up one of those “Cash Your Check Without ID” storefronts between an adult video store and a pawnshop than cashing someone else’s check. [Consumer Law and Policy]
* I, for one, would rather have the monkeys than the rats. But, and I quote the Delhi High Court: “If you can’t control the monkeys, what can you do?” [Red Orbit]
* It’s just law school, not re-education camp. But I feel kind of inspired — f**k corporate law, I’m reclaiming my dream of banishing styrofoam from the earth once and for all. [Concurring Opinions]
- 5th Circuit, Bad Ideas, Bar Exams, Email Scandals, Emily Pataki, Fast Food, Federalist Society, Food, Judicial Nominations, Politics, R. Ted Cruz, Senate Judiciary Committee, Sex, Week in Review
ATL Week in Review: November 13-17
By David Lat
* Emily Pataki, the attractive and accomplished daughter of New York governor George Pataki, failed the New York bar exam — and sent around an office-wide email about it. The story was broken by the mainstream media.
* We heard from some of Emily’s law school classmates about the incident. In a reader poll, you opined that emailing her White & Case colleagues was unwise.
* The Democratic takeover of the Senate could make things tough(er) for the White House’s judicial nominees.
* Despite the sea change in Washington, President Bush resubmitted six controversial judicial picks to the lame duck Senate. Getting all of them confirmed is probably impossible, but getting two of them through might happen.
* The White House has not yet submitted nominees for the two vacant Fifth Circuit seats. (Texas’s Solicitor General, conservative legal superstar R. Ted Cruz, is said to be uninterested.)
* Borat-related litigation shows no signs of abating.
* O.J. Simpson: He’s back — and he’s still looking for his wife’s killer. Except this time, he’s looking in the mirror.
* Some bad ideas from the past week: getting frisky on an airplane; setting your ex-girlfriend’s kittens on fire; having sex with a deer (even if it’s dead); eating at Burger King or Taco Bell; and getting married without a prenup (if you’re a filthy rich Hollywood celebrity).
* Over the past few days, we’ve been spending some quality time with the Federalist Society. More reports on the proceedings — including lavish photography — will appear in the coming week.
We recently quoted from this reader comment:
Repeat after me: an office wide email is never, ever a good idea.
This advice, while generally sound, is slightly overbroad. We can think of at least one occasion when an office-wide email is appropriate.
When you leave a job, it’s perfectly appropriate to send around a farewell email to the entire office, if you are so inclined. You should talk about how much you enjoyed working there, thank your colleagues for a great experience, mention your future plans, and provide your contact information (if you wish).
Try to refrain from writing things like this:
While I have a high degree of personal respect for PHJW as a law firm, and I have made wonderful friendships during my time here, I am no longer comfortable working for a group largely populated by gossips, backstabbers and Napoleonic personalities. In fact, I dare say that I would rather be dressed up like a pinata and beaten than remain with this group any longer. I wish you continued success in your goals to turn vibrant, productive, dedicated associates into an aimless, shambling group of dry, lifeless husks.
Yep, that’s a quote from an actual good-bye email, which an ex-Paul Hastings associate sent to his former colleagues. You can read the complete email here.
This email is an old one. In the future, the next time you receive a scandalous or funny email message at work, please forward it to us (tips AT abovethelaw DOT com). We love to reprint such emails in these pages. Thanks!
Paul, Hastings: “Gossips, Backstabbers and Napoleonic Personalities” [Gawker]
Both Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes have a “message recall” feature. Of course, it’s a bit late for Emily Pataki to invoke it, so as to retract the office-wide email she sent to her White & Case colleagues about failing the New York bar exam.
But if Emily agrees with the majority of you, she probably wishes she had never sent that e-mail. Here are the results of our ATL reader poll:
We’re a bit surprised at the tally; we expected the vote to be closer. We didn’t think so many of you would disapprove of her handling of the situation. But this is your verdict, for what it’s worth.
Maybe the best advice can be found in this reader comment: “Repeat after me: an office wide email is never, ever a good idea.”
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Emily Pataki (scroll down)
- Bar Exams, Biglaw, Blogging, Columbia Law School, Email Scandals, Emily Pataki, New York Observer, Politics, White & Case, WSJ Law Blog
The Emily Pataki Story: Credit Where Credit Is Due
By David LatPG of De Novo, in a post entitled Bad Judgment at White & Case and ATL, had this to say about our Emily Pataki coverage:
I’m disappointed to see that someone forwarded this to David Lat, and that he chose to publish it. The July 2006 New York Bar Exam pass list is not yet public, and while I might expect someone online to pick through the list when it is, pointing out people who were known to have taken the bar yet not passed, to publicize a single person’s failure and her reaction to it is a particular kind of bad taste that I hadn’t expected of either White & Case employees or of Above the Law.
Reprinted below is the comment that we left on De Novo in response:
I actually can’t take credit for breaking this story. I actually first learned about it in a mainstream media blog, the WSJ Law Blog:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/11/14/emily-patakis-email/
But the Wall Street Journal didn’t break this story either. The source with the scoop was actually ANOTHER MSM blog, the New York Observer’s widely read politics blog, The Politicker:
http://thepoliticker.observer.com/2006/11/first-setback.html
So, PG, please don’t hang this all on me just because I’m a blogger (and we bloggers are such easy targets, especially on matters of journalistic ethics). I only touched this story after two MSM organs did — even though I had the email much earlier.
Of course, once the Wall Street Journal and the New York Observer decided to cover this story — a story which, you must admit, lies squarely within the territory of Above the Law — I couldn’t just sit on the sidelines.
PG posted a response to our response; if we get around to it, we’ll offer our rebuttal later today.
Bad Judgment at White & Case and ATL [De Novo]
As we discussed yesterday, Emily Pataki — daughter of lame duck New York governor George Pataki, a graduate of Columbia Law School, and now an associate a supervised legal intern at White & Case — did not pass the New York bar. This fact became widely known after Emily sent around an office-wide email about the matter.
We’re taking a reader poll to obtain your thoughts on whether or not this was a wise move. We’ll close that poll soon; if you’d like to vote, click here. Several of you also discussed the issue in the comments (where opinions were all over the map).
Also, some of Emily Pataki’s law school classmates responded to our request for firsthand information about her. We’ve collected these responses, which you can read after the jump.
Continue reading “Emily Pataki: Her Law School Classmates Weigh In”
- Bar Exams, Biglaw, Columbia Law School, Email Scandals, Emily Pataki, Politics, Reader Polls, White & Case
Yes, We Have Heard About Emily Pataki
By David LatFailing the New York State bar exam. And emailing her White & Case colleagues about it.
We’ve already covered this story; click here. But since it’s what everyone is buzzing about today, we’ll give in to your appetite for more discussion. Two requests for your assistance:
1. If you work at White & Case, went to Columbia Law School or Yale College with Emily Pataki, or are otherwise acquainted with her, we’d love to hear from you.
What’s Emily like in person? Any thoughts on why she didn’t pass? How are people at the firm reacting to her email? If you have information to share, please email us.
2. We’re curious about whether other people think it was wise or unwise for Emily to send out that mass email to her White & Case colleagues about her failing the New York bar exam.
So please share your views in the comments to this post. And cast your vote in this reader poll:
| Make Free Online Polls |
Thanks!
Earlier: Political Kids and the Bar Exam: What Gives?
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