Supreme Court clerks continue to flood the NYT wedding pages this month, creating grim LEWW odds for mere-mortal Cornell grads and Skadden associates. Like Troy playing Florida or North Texas playing Alabama, these folks are welcome to suit up, but the only question is how bad their whuppin’ is going to hurt.

Here are your three finalist couples for the week:

1. Rebecca Mancuso and Andrew Brunswick

2. Erin Gustafson and David Curtiss

3. Kathleen Devine and David Newman

Evaluate these newlyweds, after the jump.

As we finish off the Vault top 50, we look at some firms went through some tough layoffs.

Here’s the list:

41. Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
42. Baker & McKenzie
43. Goodwin Procter
44. DLA Piper
45. King & Spalding
46. Jenner & Block
47. Dewey & LeBoeuf
48. Proskauer Rose
49. Vinson & Elkins
50. Irell & Manella

It might not look like it, but there is a lot of carnage on this list. Orrick is down four spots. Proskauer is down four spots. King & Spalding is down 3 spots.

And many of the firms here that are marginally up or holding steady still went through significant layoffs.

After the jump, Law Shucks offers some stats.

Name partner Jerold Oshinsky is leaving Gilbert Oshinsky for Jenner & Block’s Los Angeles office. Gilbert Oshinsky will now be known as “Gilbert LLP.” According to the firm’s press release, long distance relationships aren’t easy for law firm partners either:

Founding partner and chairman Scott Gilbert announced today that Jerold Oshinsky is leaving the partnership to join the Los Angeles office of Jenner & Block, where he will concentrate on policyholder work and expand Jenner’s West Coast practice. The DC-based law firm’s name will be Gilbert LLP, and the firm will continue to serve its West Coast and other clients from its Washington DC headquarters. “Although our firm has active litigation and other business in most regions of the United States, including California, virtually all of our lawyers are headquartered in Washington, DC. Jerry and we found that, notwithstanding our mutual best efforts, this long-distance relationship was not practical for either of us.”

When Above the Law talked with a spokesperson for Gilbert, the firm again emphasized Oshinsky’s desire to build up his west coast practice. The spokesperson said that there was a logistical issue. Oshinsky’s family lives in L.A. and he didn’t want to continue going back and forth from the west coast to Gilbert’s headquarters in D.C.

Oshinsky will be the only Gilbert lawyer making the move to Jenner & Block.

Oshinsky joined Gilbert just this past October. The move to Jenner ends the delightful firm name abbreviation Scott Gilbert highlighted when Oshinsky came to the firm in October:

[A]s soon as Jerry is able to join the partnership, the firm will be changing its name to Gilbert Oshinsky LLP. This name best reflects our new, or in some cases reestablished, relationship with Jerry, as well as the merger of our two substantial practices. And yes, on several levels, we henceforth will be known as the GO to firm.

It was fun while it lasted.

Read the full Gilbert press release after the jump.

So far, law firm partnerships have put on a unified front about the cost cutting measures that need to be taken during this economic crisis. When it comes time to layoff associates or cut salaries, partners look like a monolithic group.

But law firm partners do not all think with one mind. And the cracks are beginning to show.

Back in October, Jenner & Block asked 10 partners to leave. But the latest reports out of Jenner suggest that the firm is not only asking some partners to leave, management is outright de-equitizing partners as well. A tipster reports:

Management just voted themselves massive raises while cutting the points of partners who are not politically connected. More significantly, over the last few days, management is going office to office de-equitizing and partially de-equitizing tons of partners in an effort to raise the profits per partner number. Those partners who are being de-equitized are no different than those who are permitted to keep their equity except those whose status remained intact have friends on management.

Above the Law asked Jenner spokespeople about these specific allegations. We received this response:

The quote … is inaccurate. However, as a matter of policy, we do not publicly comment on individual personnel matters.

But additional sources corroborate the reports that Jenner partners are being de-equitized.

More details after the jump.

* Former Attorney General John Ashcroft is opening a new firm with four offices in Boston, St. Louis, Austin, and Dallas, each to be headed by Bush appointed federal prosecutors. [The Wall Street Journal]

* The Supreme Court had a an energetic discussion yesterday about the use of race in hiring and promotion when arguing about the New Haven firefighter’s case. [The New York Times]

* A judge ruled that Blockbuster will have to go to court after allegedly sharing customer’s video purchases with their Facebook friends as part of a targeted advertising campaign. [Geek.com]

* Former broker Kosta Kovachev pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring with Marc Drieir. [Reuters]

* The New York tax lawyer who killed his wife and two daughters before committing suicide may have run a $20 million ponzi scheme. [Bloomberg.com]

Lindsay Harrison at One First Street. Photo by Patrice Gilbert.

Earlier this year, we conducted an interview of Lindsay C. Harrison, an associate in the Washington office of Jenner & Block. In January, Lindsay had the privilege of arguing before the United States Supreme Court — in her first oral argument ever. We chatted with her about the argument she presented in what was then Nken v. Mukasey and is now Nken v. Holder: what she wore, how she prepared, who was mean to her at argument.

This morning, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case. And even though Lindsay took the “liberal” position, she prevailed — by a 7-2 margin, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the Court. Congratulations, Lindsay!

Here’s a summary of the decision, from the ABA Journal:

A court of appeals retains its traditional authority to grant stays in deportation cases, despite a 1996 statute that limited the circumstances in which courts may block the removal of aliens, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 7-2 opinion…..

The government had argued that a provision in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 limited the circumstances in which stays could be granted. The Supreme Court disagreed, saying the statutory provision — on injunctions blocking the removal of aliens — leaves intact the court’s traditional authority to grant stays….

Harrison says the decision is “a critical victory” for [Jean Marc] Nken. “It’s a case that could really literally mean life or death for my client,” she says. “If he were deported while his appeal was pending, he is likely to be killed or jailed or tortured in Cameroon.”

As Lindsay told us in our earlier interview, she and her colleagues at Jenner in D.C. have devoted hundreds — by now, thousands — of hours to the case (pro bono). It looks like the Chicago office of Jenner isn’t the only one that can burn the midnight oil.

(Digression: One tipster is skeptical of the claim that Jenner’s office in Chicago is busy round-the-clock: “Amusing article about a condo owner who can’t sleep because her new next door neighbor, Jenner & Block, leaves its lights on all the time. Every lawyer in Chicago knows that Jenner is faking it — it’s like the guy who slips into the office on Sunday for two minutes, just to be seen by anyone who happens to be there.”)

This afternoon, we caught up with Lindsay Harrison over the phone. Our interview, after the jump.

* Northwestern University steps up to the plate for its deferred 3Ls. The school is helping with the pro bono deferral job search and offering up loan forbearance programs. [Chicago Tribune]

* Minnesota should have two sitting Senators in Washington. However, while Amy Klobuchar holds down the fort in D.C., Norm Coleman and Al Franken continue to vie for the other Senate seat and are spending their time sitting in lawyers’ offices in Minneapolis. It’s the legal battle that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on, my friends… [New York Times]

* Financial disclosure forms give us a peek at the salaries of attorneys and partners at Biglaw’s safest firm, the “notoriously tight-lipped” Williams & Connolly. [Legal Times]

* Judge Richard Posner pleasures Eliot Spitzer… with his opinion on executive compensation. [Slate]

* No need for concern. Turns out Texas billionaire Allen Stanford can afford a lawyer. [Reuters]

* … But Rod Blagojevich is not so lucky or, rather, flush. [City Room/Chicago Public Radio]

* Jenner & Block opens L.A. office. Steals Recruits two Kirkland partners to do it. [National Law Journal]

* AIG turned in the list of bonus recipients to New York’s Attorney General Andrew Cuomo yesterday—let the games begin. Just kidding, I too fear for the safety of heavily compensated AIG executives—there is nothing scarier than an angry progressive. [The Los Angeles Times]

* Dispensers of medical marijuana have room to breathe after Attorney General Eric Holder announced that federal authorities would cease raiding their operations. [The New York Times]

* Attorney General Eric Holder issued guidelines to federal agencies after The White House advised them to release their records to the public. [The Washington Post]

* A 3-judge federal appeals panel is considering whether or not to re-instate Madoff’s bail—springing him from jail until sentencing in June. [Newsday]

* Albert Hu, a Silicon Valley hedge fund manager conned clients by saying he was represented by prominent law firms like Heller Ehrman and Shaw Pittman; he was arrested in Hong Kong, and charged with defrauding millions from investors. [The National Law Journal]

* Another sad tale of an associate whose offer has been put on hold—his employer Latham & Watkins is asking incoming attorney’s to defer their start dates. [The National Law Journal]

It’s been a rough week in Chicago. Sidley laid off 229 people, something is happening at Katten today, and we have received confirmation that Jenner & Block has had to lay off 34 staffers.

Above the Law obtained this official statement from Jenner’s managing partner, Susan Levy:

Given the efficiency and productivity gains from these various sources, Jenner & Block is eliminating 34 support staff positions in our Chicago and Washington, D.C. offices. No attorneys are affected by these changes. We are offering generous severance packages to the individuals affected as well as outplacement services.

That is not a huge number compared to what has been going around. But it’s still pretty tough to be replaced by productivity gains during these difficult economic times.

Good luck to those let go from Jenner today. Read the full statement after the jump.

Lindsay Harrison at One First Street. Photo by Patrice Gilbert.

To paraphrase the controversial Campari ads at issue in Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (aka The People vs. Larry Flynt), everyone remembers “their first time” — arguing in open court, that is. It’s a rite of passage that all young litigators must go through. At large law firms, associates (or even junior partners) typically tackle something minor for their first oral argument — e.g., a non-critical discovery motion — and then work their way up the ladder.

But that’s not the case for everyone; some people start at the top. Meet Lindsay C. Harrison. She’s a fifth-year associate in the D.C. office of Jenner & Block, who just had her very first oral argument — which happened to be in the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday, she appeared before the nine justices to argue the case of Nken v. Mukasey (or, technically, Nken v. Filip; more on the name changes later).

Read our interview with Lindsay Harrison, after the jump.

There are a couple of updates to this morning’s post about the 10 Jenner & Block partners that have been laid off.

Many people emailed us claiming that six associates were also let go. And there are six associate bios that we expected to see that are no longer on the firm website. But the firm maintains that no associates will be leaving with the partners:

Jenner & Block did not recently lay off six associates and does not plan to do so in the near future.

We have a long-standing policy of not publicly commenting on individual personnel matters. As in all law firms, associates join and leave the Firm for various reasons. Some of the associates who have left this year have joined clients as in-house lawyers, some have returned to school, some have joined other law firms. Associates also leave to join the government, work for not-for-profit organizations or personal reasons. Some associates are asked to leave due to performance.

As we’ve suggested before, not every associate departure is a “layoff.” Natural attrition and simple poor performance can cause any individual person to leave a firm. Jenner not only denied the specific associate layoff rumors that we have heard, they also essentially promised that associates were safe. That’s a stronger response than some other firms have offered.

We’ll keep an eye out for “performance reviews” that start to look like patterns.

But is the partner bloodletting finished? After the jump.

The hits to the Chicago market keep on coming. In the wake of Katten Muchin Rosenman laying off 21 attorneys, and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal cutting 25 attorneys and additional staff, Jenner & Block is getting rid of 10 partners:

The Chicago-based firm is asking about 10 partners, both equity and non-equity, to exit with the bulk of those affected currently working out of the firm’s biggest office in Chicago, the sources said. No particular practice area is more affected than others. The departures equate to about 6 percent of Jenner’s 155 equity partner headcount and 2 percent of the overall 490 lawyer headcount. The firm declined comment.

Remember that happy-happy-joy-joy meeting Jenner held earlier this month? According to a tipster, Jenner associates were told:

not to worry about the issues on wall st- they will not adversely affect Jenner’s bottom line. Jenner is having a great year and bonus are expected to be as good or better than last year.

Well how does that statement jibe with cutting 10 partners? As one commenter put it:

A rich man doesn’t need to tell you that he’s rich.

The flip side below the fold.

We weren’t sure we’d do a follow-up to yesterday’s post on the firm-wide meeting at Jenner & Block. But since there was a fair amount of speculation in the comments, as well as requests for updates, we thought we’d close the loop.

Based on what we’ve heard from our own sources at the firm, we can confirm the accuracy of this comment:

The conference room was packed- five deep along the walls. Everyone was there right on time. Levy introduces herself. Tells us not to worry about the issues on wall st- they will not adversely affect Jenner’s bottom line. Jenner is having a great year and bonus are expected to be as good or better than last year. Litigation is doing great. Keep up the good work. blah, blah. No merger, or layoffs, no LA office, no moving to Chile. All is good.

Another source described the meeting as follows:

It was basically a hand-holding pep talk — a “don’t worry that there will be an all-associates meeting to announce layoffs” meeting.

When your firm schedules a firm-wide or all-associates meeting, do feel free to drop us a line. Thanks.

Remember the mystery meeting held last month at Covington & Burling? It seems that Jenner & Block is following in Covington’s footsteps, announcing an “all associates” meeting for 5 p.m. today that has set tongues wagging.

In times of high anxiety, firm-wide meetings make people nervous. It’s a little early for bonus discussion, so what might be in the cards? A merger? Layoffs?

We reached out to the firm for comment. Jonathan Groner, a Jenner spokesperson, described the upcoming event as simply a regular meeting with associates, held in the ordinary course. He declined to discuss the agenda for the meeting, citing its internal nature.

Should Jenner associates be worried? Probably not. What we’re hearing is that the meeting will bring good news. Word on the street is that it’s being held to tell everyone — in the wake of Heller Ehrman’s collapse, and general economic turmoil — that Jenner is doing just fine. Managing partner Susan Levy will offer words of reassurance to all assembled. [FN1]

So the meeting is expected to be a non-event. But if it turns out to be more momentous, we will let you know.

[FN1] With respect to Susan Levy, one tipster tells us: “Yay to Jenner for selecting a female managing partner. She may not be able to see Russia from her office in Chicago, but she was ready to lead from Day 1.”

(By the way, speaking of Jenner and gender, the firm was recently honored by Working Mother as one of the best law firms for women.)

We’re entering the second half of the Vault 100. This is part of a series of open threads to discuss the firms considered to be the profession’s most prestigious. Because we know you love prestige. And the opportunity for “TTT” accusations. [FN1]

Here’s the next bunch of firms, with prestige scores in parentheses:

51. Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP (5.851)
52. Dechert LLP (5.838)
53. Vinson & Elkins LLP (5.822)
54. Goodwin Procter LLP (5.815)
55. Jenner & Block LLP (5.778)
56. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (5.728)
57. Alston & Bird LLP (5.715)
58. Fish & Richardson P.C. (5.706)
59. Cooley Godward LLP (5.692)
60. Irell & Manella LLP (5.635)

Vault notes that attorneys at Pillsbury are treated to “freshly baked cookies.” But they also have to put up with being referred to as “Pillsburians” by Vault.

Compare, contrast, discuss… and if you’re at Pillsbury, have a chocolate chip cookie for us.

Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009

[FN1] We periodically get e-mails asking for the definition of “TTT,” which appears so often in comment threads. As the uninitiated have surely gathered, it’s a derogatory term. Likely originating on AutoAdmit, it stands for “third tier toilet.” For more, see Urban Dictionary.

Last year, Viacom filed a $1 billion suit against Google-owned YouTube, asserting widespread copyright infringement. We predicted a smackdown, and that day has come.

Viacom filed an amended complaint [PDF] last month, saying it had found over 150,000 unauthorized clips of copyrighted material on YouTube. In its answer [PDF], Google says YouTube responds properly when made aware of copyrighted content, and said Viacom’s suit threatens our way of life… pretty much. From the Associated Press:

A $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit challenging YouTube’s ability to keep copyrighted material off its popular video-sharing site threatens how hundreds of millions of people exchange all kinds of information on the Internet, YouTube owner Google Inc. said.

Google’s lawyers made the claim in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan as the company responded to Viacom Inc.’s latest lawsuit alleging that the Internet has led to “an explosion of copyright infringement” by YouTube and others.

The back-and-forth between the companies has intensified since Viacom brought its lawsuit last year, saying it was owed damages for the unauthorized viewing of its programming from MTV, Comedy Central and other networks, including such hits as “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

It’s sad that MTV no longer has the spirit of rock-and-roll rebellion and has officially become The Man.

In Google’s corner are Wilson Sonsini, Mayer Brown, and Bartlit Beck. In Viacom’s corner are Jenner & Block and Shearman & Sterling.

Google vows not to settle, saying it will take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. Let the law firms rejoice!

Google: Viacom’s YouTube suit threatens freedom [Associated Press]
Google’s Answer To Complaint [PDF] [IP Democracy via Paid Content]
Google vows to keep fighting Viacom [Business Week]
Google Case Spells Windfall For Lawyers [Forbes]

Earlier: Coming Attractions: Viacom - YouTube - Google Smackdown

Here’s your daily dose of schadenfreude. Associates aren’t the only ones suffering in the economic downturn; partners are getting axed too. From the Chicago Tribune:

Jenner & Block, a top Chicago law firm best known for its trial attorneys, has downsized its partnership for the second time in two years.

At least 10 partners have been told in recent weeks they will have to give up their equity in the firm, with some being asked to leave, according to people familiar with the discussions….

“We periodically review how each of our partners and associates are doing and act on those reviews,” [firm chairman Anton] Valukas said. “It’s nothing different this year than we’ve done in other years.”

Guys at his high school got de-equitized all the time. It was no big deal.

Jenner & Block law firm cuts several partners [Chicago Tribune]

Sadly, the music-loving law firm of Nixon Peabody is not on this afternoon’s list of five Vault 100 firms to talk about. And don’t hold your breath — we won’t reach NP until we hit the 70’s.

Here are the firms that are on the table:

51. Jenner & Block LLP (5.940)
52. LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP (5.925)
53. Allen & Overy LLP (5.922)
54. DLA Piper (5.913)
55. Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP (5.913)

We note the presence of Cahill Gordon on this list. Even though Cahill routinely lands near the top of the profits per partner rankings of the American Lawyer — in 2006, they were #6, with PPP of $2.575 million — the firm’s prestige seems to lag behind its profits. Any thoughts on why?

Please chatter away about these five firms in the comments. Thanks.

The Vault Top 100 Law Firms [Vault]

Earlier: Vault 1-5; Vault 6-10; Vault 11-15; Vault 16-20; Vault 21-25; Vault 26-30; Vault 31-35; Vault 36-40; Vault 41-45; Vault 46-50

This from a source:

Jenner has gone to $160,000 for first years in its Chicago, DC, and Dallas offices. The NY office will remain at $160,000. More senior classes will be determined and communicated individually. The raise was communicated this morning by individual memoranda and is effective August 1, 2007.

Earlier: Prior ATL Jenner & Block Coverage

Yesterday we declared ourselves “all Jenner-ed out.” But based on the comments and emails we’ve received, it seems people are still interested in hearing about Jenner & Block.

We have a little more to offer you. A second source confirms what we previously reported:

Your post about yesterday’s meeting was accurate. [Managing partner Gregory Gallopoulos] went through 3 areas: (1) associate compensation (expect a raise announcement later this week), (2) financial health of the firm (doing great, regardless of the temporary slowdown in litigation), and (3) the partner de-equitizations (no further waves of de-equitizations are expected).

And we’re pleased to report that rumors of an Above the Law shout-out are apparently true:

Greg mentioned that since so many people have sent him links to ATL, he’s become somewhat of an ATL aficionado.

For those of you who are still interested — maybe there are a handful of you — there’s a little more after the jump.