In Monday's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we asked you whether you worked over the Fourth of July Weekend this year.

We received 1,416 responses, and, not counting summer associates, 60% of you reported that you took the day off. Associates in Boston and Denver were most likely to celebrate the holiday, with roughly 80% of respondents in those cities taking the full three-day weekend, while associates in the Bay Area were most likely to be working, with roughly 44% of respondents there logging some billable hours. (Respondents in the Bay Area were also most likely to work over Christmas and New Year's, on Martin Luther King's birthday, and over Memorial Day Weekend.)

Of those who spent the day at the office, about 52% reported that they weren't actually asked to work the holiday, but had things they needed to get done, which is roughly the same as what we reported on Martin Luther King's birthday and Memorial Day Weekend. About 18% said that partners told them to work on the holiday. About 16% were asked to work by clients. Another 14% said they needed the hours, which is up slightly from Memorial Day Weekend.

Just over two percent of respondents who worked over the holiday weekend, however, said that they "wanted to impress people."

About 63% of respondents who worked on the holiday believed that the work justified the sacrifice.

--
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this Associate Life Survey.

Back in January and February, we asked you whether you worked on Christmas or New Year's, or Martin Luther King's Birthday, and we learned that about a quarter of you worked on Christmas, almost a third of you worked over New Year's, and more than half of you worked on Martin Luther King's Birthday. Last month, we found that 42% of you worked over the Memorial Day weekend.

In today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we continue our exploration of the holidays. Specifically, did you bill over the Fourth of July Weekend?

--
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this Associate Life Survey.

This is not the first time in our adult life that we are proud of our country. Accordingly, we are pleased to wish you a Happy Fourth of July.

ATL won't be publishing today in observance of Independence Day. Enjoy the three-day weekend; we'll see you on Monday.

In last Monday's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we asked you whether you worked over Memorial Day Weekend this year.

We received just under 1,400 responses, and 58% of you reported that you took the day off. Associates in San Diego and Philadelphia were most likely to celebrate the holiday, with more than two thirds of respondents in those cities taking the full three-day weekend, while associates in Chicago, Denver, the Bay Area, and Texas were most likely to be working, with roughly half of respondents from those cities logging some billable hours. (Respondents in the Bay Area were also most likely to work over Christmas and New Year's and on Martin Luther King's birthday.)

Of those who spent the day at the office, about 52% reported that they weren't actually asked to work the holiday, but had things they needed to get done, which is roughly the same as what we reported on Martin Luther King's birthday. About a fifth said that partners told them to work on the holiday. About 14% were asked to work by clients. Another 12% said they needed the hours.

Just over two percent of respondents who worked over the holiday weekend, however, said that they "wanted to impress people."

Almost two thirds of respondents who worked on the holiday believed that the work justified the sacrifice.

--
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this Associate Life Survey.

Back in January and February, we asked you whether you worked on Christmas or New Year's, or Martin Luther King's Birthday, and we learned that about a quarter of you worked on Christmas, almost a third of you worked over New Year's, and more than half of you worked on Martin Luther King's Birthday.

In today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we continue our exploration of the holidays. Specifically, did you work over Memorial Day Weekend?

--
Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this Associate Life Survey.

Today is Friday, so this news is timely. Some of you may recall the case of Schoenfeld v. Allen & Overy. Norman Schoenfeld, an observant Jewish lawyer who once worked in A&O's New York office, sued the elite "Magic Circle" law firm, alleging that it discriminated and retaliated against him as a result of his observing the Sabbath.

For counsel, Schoenfeld retained Anne C. Vladeck, the superstar plaintiffs-side employment lawyer who successfully represented Anucha Browne Sanders in her sexual harassment case against Isiah Thomas and MSG. After Vladeck and Sanders won at trial, the parties settled the case -- including all appeals -- for a cool $11.5 million.

Back to the Schoenfeld case. Sources close to the case inform us that the parties have resolved the case, and it will be formally closed in the near future. It hasn't been dismissed yet, as you can see when you check the S.D.N.Y. docket (1:07-cv-11431-HB), where the last entry is the pretrial scheduling order. But the parties have an agreement in principle to settle, and it will be papered up soon.

We reached Todd Girshon of Jackson Lewis, counsel to Allen & Overy, by phone. He offered a "no comment" (although we detected a faint hint of amusement in his voice as he said it). We've left telephone and email messages for Anne Vladeck, counsel to Norman Schoenfeld. We haven't heard back from her yet, but we'll let you know if and when we do.

We must confess that, although we're happy to see the parties resolve their differences, we're sad that we won't get to write more about this case. As you may recall, when the story first broke, we thought that it might turn into "the Jewish version of Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell." It looks like that won't be happening. No tales of "bending over," boiled hard drives, or boasts of representing Nazis -- just a quiet settlement. What began with a bang has ended with a whimper.

In other Allen & Overy news, the New York office has a new managing partner. Congratulations to Kevin O'Shea, who assumed leadership of the New York office effective May 1. Presumably he's glad to have this lawsuit behind the firm as he takes the reins at A&O - NY.

Update: The firm has confirmed news of the imminent settlement. See here.

Earlier: Lawsuit of the Day: The Jewish Version of Charney v. S&C?
Schoenfeld v. Allen & Oy-vey-ry: We've Got Close to Bupkis
Schoenfeld v. Allen & Oy-vey-ry: A&O's Answer

Hey kids, guess what? Today is Law Day. Happy Law Day!

So what exactly is Law Day? From the ABA's special webpage, set up in honor of the holiday:

Fifty years ago President Eisenhower proclaimed the first Law Day a "day of national dedication to the principle of government under law." The ABA invites you to celebrate this enduring principle during the 50th anniversary of Law Day.

Law Day 2008 will explore the meaning of the rule of law, fostering public understanding of the rule of law through discussion of its role in a free society.

And through... buying random crap on the internets! Because no American holiday is complete without excessive consumption. Click here to visit the ABA's Law Day Store, "your one-stop shop for Law Day products." That economic stimulus payment won't spend itself!

Update: More details about Law Day over at the WSJ Law Blog (including a link to 36 U.S.C. § 113, codifying Law Day).

Not enticed by the ABA Store's offerings? Okay, here's another possible Law Day purchase: Lawsuit!, the board game. Because what lawyer doesn't love board games?

Attorney Tina Eskreis Nelson, creator of the game, describes it as "the first game for the entire family that teaches in a fun way what it's really like to be a lawyer." She explains that the game was created "as a Father's Day gift for her husband, to teach their three children a little bit about what their dad (and mom) do as attorneys." Creative Child magazine awarded Lawsuit! a "Preferred Choice" award in 2006, and then a "Game of the Year" award in 2007. It was also chosen as one of Grandparents Magazine's "Best Games."

Read more, after the jump.

We don't usually get lots of "news from Israel" tips, but we have this week. Okay, we received two links to stories from Israel, but that seems like a lot compared to the usual zero.

The first story speaks to the dangers of Facebook. Sweet, seductive Facebook, you get us into trouble by making us want to constantly update our status message, addicting us to Scrabulous, and tempting us to post inappropriate photos that compromise national security:

A soldier from the elite Intelligence Corps unit "8200" was sentenced to 19 days in prison for uploading photos taken on his base without approval to the popular social networking site Facebook.

This is the first time the Israel Defense Forces has sentenced a soldier to military jail for an offense of this sort.

Maybe it's time to confiscate cameras from military personnel. Photos seem to get these folks into trouble. E.g., Abu Ghraib.

On to the second story. Beyond the Israeli link, there's really nothing in common. So let's just move on to the nudity.

Our tipster sums this story up well:

I'm not sure if you are aware of the Passover legal hubbub that occurred in Israel earlier this month, but it caused quite a stir among all Israelis and many American Jews. There was a long-standing ban against selling non-kosher-for-Passover food ("hametz," or leavened bread) on Passover in public places, which meant all supermarkets and restaurants. A couple weeks ago, the Israeli Supreme Court, which in my opinion is way too activist for its own good, did away with the law completely by taking away its only application: it ruled that supermarkets and restaurants are not public places.

All this is only mildly newsworthy to the general public, not necessarily ATL material.

But yesterday, some (arguably) legally savvy protester pulled a brilliant and hilarious move to get the attention of the courts. He stripped naked in a supermarket (wearing only a strategically placed sock) and called the police on himself and demanded they arrest him for indecent exposure. He wants this to go to court and he already has his argument: according to the Israeli court, supermarkets are not public places.

Happy Passover! Enjoy the matzah!

IDF soldier jailed for posting sensitive photos on Facebook [Haaretz]
Man strips in protest of bread sale during Passover [YnetNews]
Israeli Orthodox Jews angered over Passover ruling [Reuters]

This week is chockful of holidays: Earth Day, Passover, and tomorrow, Administrative Professionals' Day. (We apologize for putting Passover in the same sentence as the other two.)

Many of you are wondering what to do for secretaries, administrative assistants, and/or paralegals:

Administrative Professional’s Day is coming up this Wednesday. I found your column on gifts for secretaries on Christmas to be invaluable. Could you run something similar for Administrative Professional’s Day?

According to Wikipedia, "the day is often 'celebrated' by giving one's assistant flowers, candy, small gifts, lunch at a restaurant, and time off."

This is an open thread to allow you to discuss your plans. Will you do gifts for your secretary? For your paralegals? What gift, and what price range, are you planning on?

As a side note, the best gift Kash received as a paralegal was a gift card for Banana Republic. Clothing gift cards are cooler than bookstore gift cards.

No, we didn't forget. We love you too much, dear readers. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Of course, this is a holiday fraught with peril. How should you celebrate? What gift should you get for your spouse or significant other? How do you handle the occasion if, say, you've been dating someone for just a few weeks -- or if you're seeing more than one person at the same time?

For many lawyers, Valentine's Day is no big deal. A relationship -- who has time for that?

But it does raise at least one issue. From a tipster:

Most attorneys get their secretaries / assistants a gift for the end-of-year holidays. But what about Valentine's Day?

I suggest a thread on what people do give, should give, shouldn't give, and should spend for Valentine's Day gifts for their assistants. And whether attorneys need to give anything for this very Hallmark holiday.

Hmm... maybe a nice box of chocolates (unless he or she is diabetic)? Steer clear of lingerie, unless your secretary is doing more than your time entry.

What are your thoughts on this pressing inquiry, so the delinquent among you can step out during lunch and grab a gift or card? Feel free to share ideas, or discuss your V-Day plans more generally, in the comments.

P.S. This is too late to be helpful for this Valentine's Day, but for future reference, you can order personalized printed greeting cards at the Billable Hour. Check out their Valentine's Day selection over here.

Earlier: Secretary / Administrative Assistant Gifts: Open Thread (270 comments -- wow)

Last month we asked you which holidays you worked on, or expected to work on, during 2007. About half of you reported that you had worked on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, we see how you fared last week. Did you take the day off to honor a champion of civil rights, or did you make it a "day on"?

Thanks for participating. We'll share the results with you next week.

In the meantime, at least one of you noticed that I am not Dave Lat. I'm actually Justin Bernold, a Director in Lateral Link's Boston office. I'm also a friend (and fan) of Dave's from college and the author of, among other things, the Associate Pirate (Arr is for Resume!) blog.

It's a government holiday, so public sector employees get the day off. And the markets are closed, so Wall Street is out today too.

But not everyone gets Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday. From an incensed tipster:

[A friend] at Price Waterhouse Coopers forwarded this offensive message, which was sent from the head of PWC US to all US employees. It is one thing for firm management to decide not to observe Dr. King's birthday. It is quite another to dress up that decision, which was clearly motivated by a refusal to bear the costs of observing the holiday, as a noble gesture in honor of Dr. King's achievements.

Clearly, the firm believes that its employees (many of whom are attorneys -- hence the email to Above the Law) are unintelligent enough to believe that this thinly veiled insult was intended to honor Dr. King. Even more offensive is the fact that the firm denigrates Dr. King's extraordinary struggles and achievements by equating them with the daily work of accountants, auditors and tax professionals as they work to save tax dollars and maximize profits for mega-corporations.

The comparison is laughable and utterly offensive. I trust that ATL will not allow the insult to go unnoticed.

We'll let you be the judge. Check out the message, after the jump.

Today we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the pioneering civil rights leader. Dr. King's birthday was actually on January 15th, but the holiday is observed on the third Monday of January each year.

Many of you are not in the office today, in honor of the holiday. If you're not at work, we hope that you are enjoying the day off. (We are around, but will be posting less than usual.)

If you are looking for something to do, we suggest that you treat today as an opportunity for public service. You can look up a service project in your area at MLKDay.gov.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Blawg Review #143 [Public Defender Stuff via Blawg Review]
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service [MLKDay.gov]

Last month we asked you which holidays you worked on, or expected to work on, during 2007. About 10% of you reported that you expected to work on Christmas, and roughly 22% expected to work on New Year's.

You were wrong.

We received about 1,300 responses to last Tuesday's ATL / Lateral Link survey about whether you did, indeed, work over the holidays. Overall, a little over 36% of you worked at least one of those days. About a quarter of you worked on Christmas, and almost a third of you worked over New Year's. Broken down by day, 22% of you worked on Christmas Eve, 10% on Christmas Day, 28% on New Year's Eve, and 15% of you nursed your hangovers in the office on New Year's Day.

Find out how it broke down by city, after the jump.

Happy New Year, dear readers of ATL! We hope that you had an enjoyable and restful holiday season; we know we did.

Now we're back, after a pleasant holiday hiatus. Did you miss us?

We're looking forward to another fun year of dishing legal gossip, as well as chronicling associate pay raises and partner profits (God willing). We're still in the process of catching up on email and legal news, so please bear with us. If you have a juicy tip to share, please do email us.

Here are some of our ATL-related New Year's resolutions:

1. Wake up earlier. (When you work from home, it's easy to oversleep.)

2. Respond more promptly to emails that require a response.

3. Stop feeling guilty about not being able to respond to every last email (because, given the volume of email we receive around here, it's not possible to respond individually to each and every message -- for which we apologize).

We've shown you ours; now you show us yours. Have you made your New Year's resolutions yet? If so, feel free to share them in the comments. If not, check out the interesting links below, from some of our favorite non-legal blogs, which offer guidance and reflections about the resolution-making process.

Once again, we wish you fun and prosperity in 2008!

Economics and New Year’s Resolutions [Freakonomics / NYT]
Will Your Resolutions Last Until February? [Well / NYT]
It's January 2008. Make a happiness-project resolution now! [The Happiness Project]
Start a Happiness Project for 2008! [The Happiness Project]

Earlier: Happy Holidays from ATL!

We hope that you're having a wonderful holiday season and are getting some well-deserved rest -- as are we.

As was the case last year, we'll be on a reduced publication schedule between now and the new year. We'll return to a normal schedule on Wednesday, January 2, 2008.

To those of you who celebrate it, Merry Christmas! And a happy new year to all.

Our earlier open thread, about exam time "care packages" from law firms, remains active -- over a week after it was posted. So we thought we'd do a follow-up, on what law firms are sending recruits for holiday gifts.

From one tipster:

How about a piece on what law firms are offering law students as Christmas gifts? I received a package from Nixon Peabody (where everyone's a winner). It was a gray scarf, made in the USA with imported polyester (no s**t!) -- and, of course, Nixon Peabody's logo imprinted on it. I can always use a scarf, even if it is polyester, and the logo comes off with a knife (scraping).

And, of course, the market leader in swag -- Sullivan & Cromwell, provider of the famed bonsai trees -- is getting into the holiday spirit:

Attached are some pictures of the S&C holiday / exam swag (above right; thumbnail image, click to enlarge). It all came in a comically large box which I was hoping would lead to much jealousy from my roommates. Unfortunately, inside was a quite standard mug, hot chocolate, cookie combo - and, in a box of its own, a large, reversible fake wool blanket. On the reverse the blanket is a kind of synthetic raincoat material. Strange.

So what did your law firm, a former and/or future employee, send you to welcome the holiday season? Feel free to share in the comments.

(A picture of the "comically large" packaging, after the jump.)

Earlier: Does Your Law Firm Love You? An Open Thread on Exam Time Swag

We see that the WSJ Law Blog has beaten us to this subject. We've had this post ready for a while; unfortunately, technical difficulties have prevented us from posting for the past hour.

The WSJ folks have already presented some of the cards that we were going to cover. But here are a few firm holiday greetings not on their list (click on each firm name to see their card):

1. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft: Trying too hard, sort of like their Wild West-themed holiday party? Then again, it must have been fun for those underemployed structured finance associates to try their hand at web design.

2. Dewey & LeBoeuf: Not trying hard enough? This may take subtlety and understatement too far, to the point of banality. But at least the card's not signed "Sieg heil."

3. Schottenstein Zox & Dunn: This firm, which has about 110 lawyers in three Ohio cities and Raleigh, NC, explains in its cover email that it "strive[s] to approach life and law from a different perspective." So they designed not one but TWO holiday videos. You can view them, and vote for your favorite, over here. We're partial to the video of the skateboarding attorneys, which must have been a challenge to film.

For each vote, the firm will donate $1 to Project Mentor Big Brother Big Sisters of Central Ohio. How nice! (But it's too bad you have to provide your name and email address to vote, which will probably depress voter turnout.)

Update: It appears that the WSJ's link to the holiday card of Grodsky & Olecki, an entertainment law boutique, is broken. We've posted the card, which we also received, after the jump.

Law Blog Law Firm Holiday Cards Of the Day [WSJ Law Blog]

Okay, she didn't quite say that. But, for the record, the woman accused of groping Santa Clause denies the allegations, claiming that she never ever sat on his lap:

"I don't know what's going on. I don't know if he was confused, it was a false report," Sandrama Lamy, 33, said this morning.

Lamy said she was window shopping at the mall Saturday with a friend when she decided to get a picture with a man playing Santa Claus.

A woman -- apparently working with the mall Santa -- made a comment after the picture was snapped, Lamy said.

"I did not sit on his lap. A woman there said 'Be careful, that's my husband.' I said 'What does that have to do with the picture?'" Lamy said. "That's all I said, and I left."...

"Why would I do this? There were so many people there. If he (Santa) needed a few extra bucks I would have given it to him," Lamy said. "I've never been involved in a crime or anything. This is shocking to me."

Selected amusing comments from readers of the Danbury News-Times, after the jump.

What kind of sick society do we live in? From the Danbury News-Times (via Drudge):

A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.

Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, is charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, according to Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas Michael.

She sounds like a total.... ho ho ho.

Details leading up to the alleged fondling are sketchy. "I don't know what the deal was. It was just bizarre," the mall Santa told a reporter...

The mall Santa told police that Lamy touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap. "The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," Michael said.

Put Ms. Lamy on the "naughty" side of the ledger.

2007 has not been a great year for mall Santas. Earlier this month in Missoula, Mont., a mall Santa was assaulted with a pumpkin pie. Meanwhile, a department store Santa in Australia claims he lost his job earlier this month because he said "Ho, ho, ho." (His bosses had asked him to say "Hi, hi, hi.")

"Santa Tim" Connaghan is the president of RealSantas.com and teaches hundreds of people a year how to be Santas. He said the Danbury Fair mall incident, if true, is one of kind. Santas usually have to worry about kids tugging beards and teens throwing pennies from the mall rafters.

"I've had some very nice ladies sit on my lap," Connaghan said.

Over at the Connecticut Employment Law Blog, Daniel Schwartz offers an analysis of potential employer liability under this fact pattern.

Sexual Harassment of Santa Claus - What's An Employer To Do? [Connecticut Employment Law Blog]
Police say woman groped Santa [Danbury News-Times]