Kramer Levin is going to be a film star. The New York office received notice yesterday that a movie shooting will start there next week.

From: Tortorella, Nicholas J.
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 11:39 AM
To: All NY
Subject: Movie Shoot at KL

The firm has consented to permit several scenes from "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits" to be filmed in our space. The movie features Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Filming is scheduled to begin next week and will take place in 29C - 29L - the north corridor of 30 and office 3027. I know this will present some inconvenience, but we thought that it would add a bit of excitement and fun in an otherwise challenging time. I ask your patience and no, they don't require any extras, stunt people, walk-on's or real lawyers!! Filming will take place primarily on Wednesday and Thursday of next week but there will be some activity as early as tomorrow. They chose our space because it conveyed the image of a big, powerful, successful NYC law firm (in spite of our recent plumbing issues). The film will be released next year and the firm will be mentioned in the credits.

In the novel-based film, Natalie Portman will play an aspiring lawyer who "thought she knew what she wanted when she went after the sexy, married senior partner," Jeffrey Dean Morgan (aka Denny Duquette from Grey's Anatomy). No plumbing issues for the firm partner: Portman's character gets pregnant.

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits [Internet Movie Database]

[Ed. note: This post is by SOPHIST, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Sophist's avatar (at right).]

Thanks to all who participated in rounds one and two of the Lionel Hutz Invitational. Today we crown the most unrealistic fictional attorney of the past 18 years (subject to other completely arbitrary disclaimers and conditions, stated and imaginary).

The finalists share one thing in common; they represent clients far dumber than they.

Congratulations to readers' choice winner LeBron James. He played LeBron James on brain steroids in the popular commercial, entitled "I'm pretty sure we can get idiots to purchase water with food-coloring in it if we call it Super-Water."

Vote in the final poll after the jump.

[Ed. note: This post is by SOPHIST, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the "reality blogging" competition that will determine ATL's next editor. It is marked with Sophist's avatar (at right).]

Why does my television constantly tell me that being an attorney is: glamorous, "fun," and yet so easy that any idiot can do it? I caught a preview for TNT's new lawyer show, Raising the Bar, and, after my seizure, I realized that dramatic license has gone too far.

So, with a nod to the Coolest Law Firm bracket, I bring you the "Lionel Hutz Invitational." Which of the following characters has done the most to mislead our friends and family about the true nature of our profession? Let's keep it to characters created after 1990, so the kids can play along.Today, I'll start with the quarterfinals, I'll update the progress on Thursday, and on Friday we'll vote on the finalists. But I sense how much ATL readers love to write in candidates, so please comment on the fictional donkeys that didn't make my cut (I cannot watch Eli Stone or Shark). Perhaps I will run my own "shadow poll" based on the most popular write-in choices.

See the field after the jump.

We have not yet seen the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. It's too bad we're not summering at Simpson Thacher in New York. Have you seen the film? Does it live up to the hype?

Meanwhile, Batman star Christian Bale was arrested in London, before being released on bail. From the Daily Mail:

Batman star Christian Bale was released on police bail today after he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting two family members.

The Hollywood actor was questioned for four hours at Belgravia police station in central London and later bailed to a date in September pending further inquiries.

Bale, 34, is alleged to have lashed out at his mother Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, in his suite at Park Lane's Dorchester Hotel on Sunday night.

If true -- Bale denies the allegations -- such conduct is most unbecoming of Bruce Wayne.

Batman star Christian Bale released on bail amid claims he assaulted his own mother and sister [Daily Mail via Drudge Report]
CHRISTIAN BALE DENIES ASSAULT ALLEGATION [AP via New York Post]

Superhero movies aren't really our cup of tea. We much prefer films like Sex and the City.

But even if Carrie's Vivienne Westwood wedding gown does more for us than the Batsuit, we are impressed by the trailer for the new Batman film, The Dark Knight. And Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker, his final complete performance, is generating Oscar buzz.

So the summer associates at Simpson Thacher in New York, who will get to see the film a day before its theatrical release on Friday, July 18, are a lucky bunch.

If you'd like to draw our attention to a particularly interesting or unique summer associate event -- the standard-issue Broadway shows, fancy dinners, casino nights and cooking lessons don't count -- feel free to mention it in the comments, or email us (subject line: "Summer Associate Event Watch").

The Dark Knight [official website]

We wouldn't have guessed this, in light of his social conservatism and the show's risqué nature. But here it is, from New York Magazine's Intelligencer:

Apparently Antonin Scalia is a Sex and the City fan. When Sarah Jessica Parker finished an interview with Charlie Rose on May 29, she left the Bloomberg Building, where the show is taped, and stopped for a cigarette in the courtyard. The conservative Supreme Court justice emerged from a nearby Town Car and rushed over to praise the star.

"He was absolutely gushing, telling her how much he loved her show and how excited he was to see the movie," says a witness. "Finally, he asked her if he could bum a cigarette." She obliged, the witness said, and then Scalia strolled away. A Supreme Court spokeswoman confirmed the meeting but denied the cadge. "He was there for a symposium," she said. "And he lent her a match."

What, no lighter? Supreme Court justices may be underpaid, but Justice Scalia, who recently reported assets between $1.5 million and $3 million, can surely afford a nice Dunhill.

On second thought, maybe chemistry between SJP and AS isn't so surprising after all. Justice Scalia does look a little like "Mr. Big." (Or, to put it another way, Chris Noth looks like a young Scalia.)

Over at the WSJ Law Blog, a commenter speculates: "That is a new low, a guy telling a woman how much he likes 'Sex and the City' in order to bum a cigarette from her. How many guys really like that HBO series? Not very many. Scalia must be a hard core nicotine addict."

Update / Correction: This post is subject to a correction. Please see here.

Love Supreme for Carrie Bradshaw [Intelligencer / NYM via WSJ Law Blog]

That's the title of our latest column for the New York Observer, which reflects upon recent television and film portrayals of women litigators.

It touches upon some of the same themes highlighted in Amy Kolz's excellent American Lawyer article from last year, but it's more focused on fictional female litigators, as opposed to real-life ones. Here's how it starts:

Whatever happened to Ally McBeal? If recent movies and television shows are any guide, the life of a female lawyer has gotten a lot less pleasant since the carefree, charmingly neurotic days of dancing babies and bathroom kisses. But today's portrayals may be more accurate, and certainly more critically acclaimed.

Last January, Glenn Close won a Golden Globe for her compelling performance as Patty Hewes, a fearsome and wildly successful plaintiff's lawyer, on the addictive TV show Damages. The following month, Tilda Swinton snagged an Oscar for stepping into the pumps of Karen Crowder, a hard-charging in-house litigator, in Michael Clayton.

In March, Julianna Margulies (of ER) returned to television as aggressive defense lawyer Elizabeth Canterbury, the title character of Canterbury's Law. Even Katey Sagal, who embodied the famously vulgar Peggy Bundy on Married With Children, reincarnated herself this year as Marci Klein, the sleek, powerful, and ruthless founding partner of the law firm on Eli Stone.

You can read the full column over here.

Farewell, Ally McBeal; Enter the Litigatrix [New York Observer]

Entertainment Weekly has just generated 15 Legal Eagles We'd Hire: a list of the on-screen attorneys they would like to have as counsel. To save you the trouble of clicking through EW's annoying slideshow format, here's the breakdown:

1. Atticus Finch / Gregory Peck, To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Perry Mason / Raymond Burr, Perry Mason
3. Vincent Gambini / Joe Pesci, My Cousin Vinny
4. Lt. Daniel Kaffee / Tom Cruise, A Few Good Men
5. Ally McBeal / Calista Flockhart, Ally McBeal
6. Denny Crane / William Shatner, Boston Legal
7. Henry Drummond / Spencer Tracy, Inherit the Wind
8. Jack McCoy / Sam Waterson, Law & Order
9. Victor Sifuentes / Jimmy Smits, L.A. Law
10. Fred Gailey / John Payne, Miracle on 34th Street
11. Miles Massey / George Clooney, Intolerable Cruelty
12. Joe Miller / Denzel Washington, Philadelphia
13. Jake Tyler Brigance / Matthew McConaughey, A Time to Kill
14. Frank Galvin / Paul Newman, The Verdict
15. Lionel Hutz / Phil Hartman, The Simpsons

We can't believe that Ally McBeal ranked higher than Jack McCoy. That show was canceled, while Law & Order lives on like the Energizer Bunny.

Some Hollywood legal-types ATL would add to the list:

-- Reese Witherspoon, in Legally Blonde;
-- Richard Gere, for Chicago and Primal Fear;
-- Julia Roberts, as paralegal in Erin Brockovich, and a law student in the Pelican Brief;
-- Michelle Pfeiffer, in I Am Sam;
-- Jim Carrey, in Liar, Liar; and, most importantly,
-- Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino, as good lawyer vs. evil Satan lawyer, in The Devil's Advocate

That is not a scientific list, just the result of rigorous ATL brainstorming and some Google searching.

Who are your favorite on-screen attorneys? We encourage you to list your top five, in the comments.

Best TV/Movie Lawyers: 15 Legal Eagles We'd Hire [Entertainment Weekly]

We wish we knew how to quit... finding legal angles to every story under the sun. One such story is the recent, tragic death of Heath Ledger, the celebrated young actor.

We've noted the news in passing. Now we offer more substantive, law-related discussion (beyond fleeting references to NYU law students who went from their seminars about Jesus to join the crowd of gawkers assembled outside Ledger's apartment).

1. Rights to remains. Sometimes this can become an issue, as it did in the case of Anna Nicole Smith. Earlier this week, the Ohio Supreme Court heard a case about a law providing that body parts removed during an autopsy are classified as medical waste (which usually results in the incineration, rather than burial with the body).

It fortunately appears this won't be an issue in Ledger's case. Although additional blood and tissue testing still needs to be done, his family will be taking custody of his body, according to the NYT's City Room blog.

2. Pending projects. Heath Ledger's sudden passing raises issues with respect to projects he was involved with. From the Hollywood Reporter:

Of particular importance to Hollywood will be the future of Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which had very recently begun shooting. After dealing with the shock of losing Ledger to unfortunate circumstances, the film's producers and lawyers will have to consult with their production lawyers and the insurance firm that indemnified the film to decide whether to recast, restage and/or rewrite the film to work around Ledger's absence, or whether Ledger's death presents an irresolvable barrier to completion of the film.

More analysis, including discussion of insurance recovery issues, over here.

3. Funeral protestors. Exact funeral plans for Heath Ledger are not yet known. But when it does happen, it could get ugly. A tipster raises a legal question:

Check out this story [about how members of the antigay Westboro Baptist Church plan to protest at Heath Ledger's funeral, because of his work in "Brokeback Mountain"].

Here's my question. These [SOBs] are saying horrible, offensive, disgusting things. When does the fighting words doctrine come into play, and does the fighting words doctrine protect me if I punch out one of these bastards? Because I would really like to.

Feel free to opine in the comments.

Update: More about that Jesus seminar, from the WSJ Law Blog.

Heath Ledger's Death Leaves Big Legal Question [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter]
Anti-Gay Church to Protest Ledger Funeral [ABC News]
What Are They Teaching at NYU Law These Days? [Traditional Notions]
Where Were You When? [Concurring Opinions]
The Passion of the Christ: The Trial of Jesus [NYU School of Law]

* Actually, Judge Lamberth, calling a presidential candidate as "a European socialist" constitutes an endorsement -- at least at most American law schools. [AP via WSJ Law Blog]

* News you can use: under the "Free File" program, opening tomorrow, the IRS and its private-sector partners will provide free tax preparation and electronic filing services to qualifying taxpayers (AGI of $54,000 or less -- sorry, Biglaw denizens). [TaxProf Blog]

* The law school essay question: an unrecognized art form? [PrawfsBlawg]

* Practice pointer: don't "recreate" correspondence to use as evidence in your case. Dramatic reenactments belong on television, not in court. [Feminist Law Professors]

* We just got called "the Matt Drudge of the legal world." Our thanks to Neil Squillante for making our day. Now where did we put our animated siren GIF? [TechnoLawyer]

* So, it's gonna be illegal now, which means the CIA can't do it, right? [Washington Post via How Appealing]

* New Jersey gets rid of the death penalty; now if they could just tackle that disgusting odor. [BBC]

* Prosecutors go 0-1-6 in Sears Tower trial. [CNN]

* Hey, look everybody! International law! They've got a court with judges and lawyers and stuff, and they even issue rulings! Just like it's real! That's cute. ICJ upholds treaty giving islands to Colombia. [Jurist]

* Hollywood writers take this strike thing up a notch. [AP via Reno Gazette-Journal]

Cadwalader isn't the only New York law firm with a sideline in serving as a film location. As previously reported in the ABA Journal, the recent George Clooney film, Michael Clayton, was filmed in the offices of what was then Dewey Ballantine (now Dewey & LeBoeuf).

But did Davis Polk & Wardwell also get a piece of the action? This email was recently sent to an internal email group at the firm:

"A couple of friends of mine saw 'Michael Clayton' last night and said they saw a credit to Davis Polk at the end. Any idea why?"

Find out, after the jump.

In our latest column for the New York Observer, we shine the spotlight on a firm that has figured prominently in these pages lately:

Founded in 1792, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is “the oldest continuing Wall Street law practice in the United States,” as its website proudly notes. Name partner George Wickersham was attorney general under President Taft, and name partner Henry Taft was the president’s brother.

In addition to being one of New York’s oldest firms, Cadwalader is also one of the most lucrative. Last year, it was the city’s third-most-profitable law firm, behind perennial leaders Wachtell and Cravath.

But in the past few months, CWT has hosted some rather surprising visitors—at least by the standards of a prestigious, white-shoe law firm.

Some of these visitors will be familiar to ATL readers, but one will not. You can read the whole piece -- and view a rather odd photo of Cameron Diaz and CWT litigation chair Gregory Markel -- over here.

Update: If you're wondering about the identity of the Pimp, the mystery has been solved! Peter Lattman has the scoop over at the WSJ Law Blog.

Cadwalader’s Strange Visitors [New York Observer]

We always get excited about law-related movies. E.g., Michael Clayton; A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar. If you hear of any in the pipeline, please let us know.

Today we're pleased to present an exclusive clip for the upcoming release by Magnolia Pictures, Terror's Advocate, which opens in theaters tomorrow. Here's a brief blurb about this legally-themed film:

TERROR'S ADVOCATE is a controversial documentary that explores the legal practices of the charismatic and devious-until-proven-innocent French lawyer Jacques Vergès. He is best known for defending Carlos the Jackal and members of the Nazi party. In addition, TERROR'S ADVOCATE features the recently arrested former Khmer Rouge Second in Command, Nuon Chea.

“Jaw-dropping and all the more amazing for being true.” A.O. Scott - NY Times

“A riveting drama. This fascinating drama is fresh and epic” - Time Magazine

An Official Selection at Cannes Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival.

You can check out the ATL exclusive clip, an interview with this rather charming defender of terrorists, by clicking here. Additional information, including the official trailer, is available at the film's website.

Terror's Advocate [film clip]
Terror's Advocate [official website]
L'Avocat de la terreur [IMDb]

In our column for this week's New York Observer, we take Michael Clayton, the new legal thriller starring George Clooney, and use it as a jumping-off point for a discussion of the senior associate. Here's an excerpt:

“Who is this guy?”

That’s what an icy general counsel (Tilda Swinton) wants to know about George Clooney—of all people—in the new legal thriller Michael Clayton. At the prestigious New York law firm of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen, Mr. Clooney’s title character has the nifty-sounding job of “Special Counsel,” as well as a snazzy corner office overlooking Sixth Avenue. But while he’s been at the firm for 17 years, he’s never made partner. As a salaried employee, with no management role or equity stake in the firm (as he bitterly notes more than once), Michael Clayton is what we politely call a senior associate.

So, who are these guys? Senior associates are typically associates who didn’t make partner. They’re generally viewed by their colleagues as perfectly competent worker bees, but not superstar material. They’re no longer in junior-associate hell, and they’re very well paid, but their predicament within the legal profession’s prestige-obsessed precincts is difficult: They’re indefinitely trapped in the purgatory of nonpartnership, with its attendant lack of dignity.

But is the "plight" of senior associates overstated? Read the rest of the piece by clicking here.

Hollywood Hugs Beta Males of Law [New York Observer]

Over the past few months, a number of you have written to us about A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar. It's a critically acclaimed, independent documentary film about lawyers and the legal profession.

The movie made the rounds on the film festival circuit earlier this year, and now it's out on DVD. Here's a brief synopsis:

A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar... is a celebration of the law and triumph over adversity that follows 6 future lawyers of all ages and backgrounds as they undertake the rigorous and excruciating California Bar Exam while also dealing thematically with certain hot button issues in our profession. The [themes of the film] include, among other things, stress, big firm economics, substance abuse, law as a calling, frivolous litigation, bar exam economics, women in the law and other threads that you can likely intuit.

These subjects are all near and dear to the hearts of ATL readers. And there's stuff in the film that ties into this week's special theme, non-top-tier law school graduates:

The cast members run the gamut, from a former Marine who has taken and failed the California Bar Exam 41 times, to top and middle graduates of the Loyola and UCLA Law Schools, to a Latina activist from East L.A. who attended a non-accredited law school, to other diverse and interesting people.

Sadly, the film was produced before the rise to fame of Loyola 2L. But it features other legal celebrities, such as Alan Dershowitz, Scott Turow, and Nancy Grace -- all of whom appear in this short clip:

Some of our favorite films are documentaries -- e.g., Spellbound, Capturing the Friedmans -- and some of our favorite people are lawyers. We haven't seen A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar yet, but we intend to; it looks like it's right up our alley. Exciting stuff!

A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar [official website]
A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar [trailer]
A Lawyer Walks Into A Bar [Amazon]

Are you in the New York office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft? If so, then please rush up to the 39th floor -- and take your camera phone!

Cameron Diaz is on the 39th floor of Cadwalader's New York office, using a conference room for some movie being made on South End Ave. Don't know what the movie is, do you?

Might it be What Happens in Vegas, starring both Diaz and Kutcher, and currently listed as "filming"?

Rumor from the secretaries has it that Ashton [Kutcher] and Demi [Moore] might be up there too. Apparently Greg Markel, chair of the litigation department, said the firm let them use the conference room. He was supposed to take his picture with her -- and didn't know who she was until minutes before!

Wow. Are Biglaw partners even more cloistered than federal judges?

It's no Michael Jackson sighting, but maybe you still care to know. Does that make CWT an "it" firm now?

Sorry, not quite. But it does make up for the bedbug infestation!

Update: "Someone here also saw them setting up a 'stars buffet' outside of the conference room. LOL!"

Last night we watched Transformers: The Movie. In our defense, it was enthusiastically recommended to us by a friend with a very high-powered legal job.

While the special effects and action-sequence set-pieces were impressive -- after all, it's a Michael Bay film -- we were disappointed on the whole. The movie is about an hour too long.

The most thrilling part for us? During the epic battle at the film's end, in which the Autobots and the Decepticons fight to the death in downtown Los Angeles, you get a very clear shot of this building:

The camera lingers on the Paul Hastings Tower. The law firm's name and logo are clearly visible.

Pure coincidence? Or law firm product placement?

Transformers [IMDb]

Why is Robert Offer our Lawyer of the Day? Because he's taking bullets for his superhottie client, Angelina Jolie.

Chivalry is not dead! Even among people who bill by the hour.

(Also, any lawyer who is willing to describe himself as "bone-headed" to the New York Times scores points in our book.)

A Deal Too Far: Interviewers Balk at Jolie’s Terms [New York Times]
Managing the Media: Angelina Jolie's Media Contracts [Gawker]
The Sloane Offer Partners [Variety]

At our former law firm, the making of microwave popcorn was strictly prohibited. Marty Lipton didn't like the hallways smelling like a movie theater. As we previously observed, "When you're trying to close a billion-dollar deal, a sudden hankering for a 32-ounce Coke can be very distracting."

So... Is the City of Seattle about to follow suit? Details here.

City of Seattle may ban microwave popcorn [King5.com via Drudge Report]

Earlier: Fun With Internal Memos: Submissions, Please