Law Schools
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Biglaw, Drugs, Education / Schools, Gambling / Gaming, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Professors, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Murder, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trials
Morning Docket: 09.11.14
* The justices of Supreme Court of the United States will discuss gay marriage cases from five states during their “long conference” at the end of the month. Which ones will they decide to take? Help us, Justice AMK! [National Law Journal]
* This law school is having some troubles adjusting to the “new normal.” Not only is its administration planning back-to-back tuition hikes, but it’s asking the state for help with its deficits. Yikes, that’s not good. [The Republic]
* This Gonzaga Law professor thinks that playing poker is part of having a balanced life. He might not come home with much after his games, but “it’s better than a kick in the head.” [Spokesman-Review]
* Remember Kent W. Easter, the Biglaw partner who was accused of planting drugs in a school volunteer’s car? During his recent retrial, he was convicted of false imprisonment by fraud and deceit. [OC Weekly]
* Following a “marathon trial marked by screams, tears, vomit, anger,” Oscar Pistorius has been found negligent, but not guilty of premeditated murder. Expect a final verdict tomorrow, perhaps. [USA Today]
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Football, Law Professors, Law Reviews, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Student Loans, Trademarks
Non-Sequiturs: 09.10.14
* Because it’s been such a long time since the NFL has had a scandal, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is accused of sexual assault in a new suit. The Cowboys claim the suit is nothing but a money grab. No one knows a money grab like a franchise owner milking a new stadium partially financed by taxpayers. [USAToday] * Dean Frank Wu explains why Hastings will survive the end of law schools. [SF Weekly] * A pair of IP litigators, James W. Dabney and Stephen S. Rabinowitz, have jumped from Fried Frank to Hughes Hubbard. Will others be following Dabney & Rabinowitz out of Fried Frank? [Hughes Hubbard] * “Lawyer’s ‘Torture Porn’ Past Pops Up in Pa. Governor’s Race.” OK, let’s see what you’ve got here. [Greedy Associates / FindLaw] * An interesting breakdown of the legal scholars with the widest network of co-authors. Think of these as the most promiscuous scholars around. Actually, no. Don’t think that. [Ryan Whalen] * Etsy sides with the USPTO and bans sales of anything branded “Redskins” on its platform. I’m not sure how smart this is since the economic teeth of the USPTO decision was to allow sites like Etsy to sell massive quantities of otherwise trademark-infringing stuff until Washington relented and opted for a new trademark-protectable name. [Etsy] * Don’t throw peanut butter in my neighborhood (though I don’t understand the blotter… there’s no Bodega at that location). [Legal Juice] * Lest you think law school is reasonably priced: “New IBR and PSLF provide benefits large enough that high earnings still result in nearly $100,000 in loan forgiveness for typical levels of debt for law school graduates. A lawyer earning at the 50th percentile with that debt level stands to have $147,282 forgiven, which is more than he borrowed…” [New America Education Policy Program] * Keeping in touch with your inner child to relate to witnesses as humans. [Katz Justice] * Closing out this football-heavy NS, friend of the blog Mitchell Epner discusses why Roger Goodell won’t (and shouldn’t) survive the fallout of the Ray Rice scandal. Check out the video after the jump… [CNBC] - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Football, Law Professors, Law Schools, Litigators, LSAT, Money, Morning Docket, Plaintiffs Firms, Politics, Violence
Morning Docket: 09.10.14
* Sweet billable hours: Congrats to Proskauer Rose on its efforts to keep the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo, New York. It’s the largest deal for the sale of an NFL team in history. [Am Law Daily]
* Your firm brings in billions in verdicts, but that’s not prestigious enough. It needs to be on the inaugural list of America’s Elite Trial Lawyers. See if yours made the cut. [National Law Journal]
* The best way to dodge traps in the LSAT analytical reasoning section is to display your analytical reasoning capabilities by not taking the LSAT in the first place during a time when law schools are in turmoil. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
* Law professors Zephyr Teachout (Fordham) and Tim Wu (Columbia) were defeated in the Democratic primary election for New York governor and lieutenant governor, but they lost well. [New York Daily News]
* The world wants to know if Ray Rice can be prosecuted for domestic violence, even though he’s enrolled in a pre-trial intervention program. Like the answer to all legal questions, it depends. [WSJ Law Blog]
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Elena Kagan, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Pornography, Supreme Court
Non-Sequiturs: 09.09.14
* A website has been set up to collect stories, videos, photos, memories, and more, to share with slain Professor Dan Markel’s young sons. His memorial is scheduled for next Tuesday. [Prawfsblawg] * What would happen if lawyers gave out GPS directions? [Legal Cheek] * George Mason Law is looking for a new dean. Brush off that résumé, Elie! [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Is it me, or do we need to buy Justice Kagan a new outfit? [Josh Blackman's Blog] * The scion of a Biglaw Bigwig (go ahead and guess which firm…) arrested for filming and distributing video of his sexual escapades with his girlfriend without her permission. It’s like revenge porn without the revenge element. [Law and More] * Don’t bring creeps with you to a jury trial. [What About Clients?] -
Law Schools, Reader Polls
The 3LOL 'Challenge'
Take Our Challenge And Find Out What You Know About The Realities Of The 3L Experience -
American Bar Association / ABA, Law Schools, Money, Quote of the Day
The ABA Doesn't Care If Law Students Are Poor
Law students would be better off if they could receive pay for academic internships, but the ABA doesn't care. -
Elena Kagan, Football, Jury Duty, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, LexisNexis / Lexis-Nexis, Movies, Non-Sequiturs, Sex, Supreme Court
Non-Sequiturs: 09.05.14
* The Oakland Raiders have settled their cheerleader lawsuit for $1.25 million. Here’s to a season of crippling losses! [SF Gate] * The death of law schools requires observing the 5 stages of grief. It’s DABDA right? Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Debt, AGAIN! [TaxProf Blog] * You don’t need permission to change careers… though many law […] -
3rd Circuit, 7th Circuit, Biglaw, Books, Deaths, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Partner Issues
Morning Docket: 09.05.14
* A unanimous Seventh Circuit panel, in an opinion by Judge Posner, just struck down Wisconsin and Indiana’s bans on same-sex marriage. The result isn’t surprising in light of the blistering benchslaps delivered by Judge Posner at oral argument, but the timing is faster than usual (for a federal appellate opinion in a high-profile case, not for the prolific Posner). [BuzzFeed]
* Bad news for Cahill Gordon: the Third Circuit just revived a fraud case against the high-powered firm and one of its clients, a unit of BASF. [WSJ Law Blog]
* And badder news for BP: a federal judge just concluded that the oil giant was grossly negligent in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. [New York Times]
* Freshfields gets fresh talent, adding former Wachtell partner Mitchell Presser and former Skadden partner James Douglas to its ranks. [American Lawyer]
* The dean of Seton Hall Law, Patrick Hobbs, will step down from the deanship at the end of the current academic year. Congratulations to Dean Hobbs on a long and successful tenure. [South Orange Juice]
* And congratulations to John Grisham and Jason Bailey, winners of, respectively, the 2014 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and the 2014 ABA Journal/Ross Short Fiction Contest. [ABA Journal]
* Brittany McGrath, Brooklyn Law class of 2014, RIP. [TaxProf Blog]
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How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Biglaw, Law Schools, Partner Issues, Public Interest
The Ice Bucket Challenge Takes The Legal World By Storm
A round-up of "Ice Bucket Challenge" news from around the legal world. -
Law Professors, Law Schools
Suffolk Law Offers More Buyouts Than Harvard, Yale, And Columbia Combined
It turns out that subway ads cannot turn around a law school. -
Bar Exams, Canada, Law Schools
The View From Up North: The Ontario Bar Exam is Easy!
What is it like to study for and take the bar exam in Canada? -
Contract Attorneys, Job Searches, Law Schools
Putting Lipstick On A Pig, And Other Tricks From TTT Career Services
As hard as your run-of-the-mill career services professional may work, the level of difficulty is jacked up to hero mode when you work at a TTT law school. -
Law Schools, LSAT, Reader Polls
Revisiting The 0L Mind
A look at the findings of a survey of students currently studying for the LSAT regarding the legal education landscape.
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Law Schools, Libraries / Librarians
This Week In Law Schools In Trouble
Going to an unaccredited law school or even a law school of middling rank remains dangerous. -
Copyright, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Trademarks
Non-Sequiturs: 08.29.14
Ed. note: Due to the Labor Day holiday, we’re on a reduced publication schedule today. We’ll be back to our normal Saturday schedule tomorrow. But you don't care about that. More importantly we’ll be off on Labor Day and back to normal on Tuesday. A restful and happy Labor Day to all! * Jesus, this Elle Woods fascination just won’t die. [Law School Lemmings] * Lawyers seek to ruin something beautiful: ALS Association wants a trademark on the concept of an ice bucket challenge. [Washington Post] * Ah, fun tales of the Streisand Effect. [Popehat] * UC Davis Law saw increased applications. Dean Kevin Johnson says, “I do think the market is coming back. And I do think the naysayers of law schools and being a lawyer, their days are limited in number.” You’re the only school in California showing an increase and the country as a whole is down and you’re conveniently not charging any application fee, but yeah, our days are limited. [UC Davis Law] * Lawyer who showed up to court going by the name “Lord Harley of Counsel” gets a tongue-lashing from the judge. [Legal Cheek] * Ant-f**king. OK. [Legal Juice] -
Ask the Experts, Career Center, Career Files, Law Schools, Law Students
From The Career Files: Want Better Law School Grades? Take An Iterative Approach To Learning
Alison Monahan offers some advice for improving your law school performance. -
Benchslaps, Drugs, Football, Law Schools, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.29.14
In honor of the Simpsons marathon let’s introduce each of these with a Simpsons quote.
* Dr. Hibbert: And hillbillies want to be called “Sons of the Soil,” but it ain’t gonna happen. — BofA wants that $1.3 billion verdict tossed as “unreasonable.” [Law360]
* Superintendent Chalmers: Oh, I have had it, I have had it with this school, Skinner! The low test scores, class after class of ugly, ugly children! — Suffolk University fired its president just days before school began. I’d like to think it was over their subway ads. In any event, the interim president seems to get the problem: “‘I don’t think there’s growth there,’ he said, referring to [law school] enrollment.” [Boston Globe]
* Homer: Barney’s movie had heart, but “Football in the Groin” had a football in the groin — College football kicked off last night (or Wednesday if we cared about Georgia State), so check in with the lawyer for the USC player who pretended he injured himself saving his nephew’s life. [Deadspin]
* Lionel Hutz: There’s the truth and… the truth! — Bracewell & Giuliani partner, Glenn A. Ballard Jr., got benchslapped in Texas for “an affront to this court, to the other parties and to judicial integrity.” Everything’s bigger in Texas. [Houston Chronicle]
* Chief Wiggum: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say blah blah blah blah blah blah. — After Philip Seymour Hoffman’s overdose, the police actually arrested a jazz musician. He got no jail time after he hired a new lawyer, Alex Spiro, who went after the cops for taking advantage of his client. [NY Daily News]
* Jimbo: You let me down, man. Now I don’t believe in nothing no more. I’m going to law school. — Professor Campos wonders if American University law school will sue students who drop out or transfer? [Lawyers, Guns & Money]
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Biglaw, Law Schools, Rankings
The Best Law Firms To Work For: Midlevel Associates Speak
And which law schools best prepare their graduates for Biglaw? -
Cars, Erwin Chemerinsky, Hair, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Police, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
Non-Sequiturs: 08.27.14
* Dean Chemerinsky lays out how the Supreme Court is protecting local corruption. It’s what the Framers would have intended. [New York Times] * In response to the latest article from Professor Michael Krauss, a former student suggests that maybe the so-called “justice gap” is a good thing. It kind of comes down to how much you believe in the efficiency value of the “American Rule.” [That's My Argument] * The eternal question for female lawyers: do you dye your hair or embrace the gray? [Gray Hair] * Boston’s drivers suck. [The Faculty Lounge] * A well-written tribute to a Nashville civil rights lawyer. [Nashville Scene] * This seems like a place to remind people that David’s going to Houston next month. [Above the Law] * Here’s a new game to check out. It’s a twisted dirty word game called F**ktionary (affiliate link), so obviously it was made by a lawyer. It’s kind of like Cards Against Humanity meets Scattergories, which is just as fun as it sounds. The promo is after the jump…. -
Canada, Law Schools
The View From Up North: Law Schools Acting Like Businesses
A Canadian perspective on what U.S. law schools need to do to survive in a challenging market.