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Happy Tax Day!
(And information about tax day giveaways.)

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Today is a very special and important day. Do you know what day it is? (And no, we’re not talking about the official release of the U.S. News law school rankings, which we’ve already covered.)

It’s not National Be Kind to Lawyers Day, which took place on Tuesday. Now your secretary has no reason to be nice to you. But you have to be nice to him very soon — this coming Wednesday, April 21, is Administrative Professionals Day.

Today is April 15: TAX DAY. The day you have to cough up some of your hard-earned cash to Uncle Sam. The time each year when you must render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s.

We reached out to some tax gurus and groupies for thoughts on this special day. They provided us with a wealth of insights and links — plus opportunities to GET FREE STUFF, and alleviate the financial burden associated with today….

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(And information about tax day giveaways.)“

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Morning Docket 04.15.10

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* As we reported last night, the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings are out. The magazine also has some advice for law students during these tough times. [U.S. News & World Report]

* Rankings guru Bob Morse explains his methodology. [U.S. News & World Report]

* Taking a closer look at Elena Kagan’s previous visits to One First Street. [New York Times]

* Yahoo is battling Colorado federal prosecutors over the need for a warrant to obtain users’ email that is less than 180 days old. If it’s more than 180 days old, they don’t even need the warrant. [Threat Level/Wired]

* We like our judges firm and strong-handed. [Fox Chicago News]

* Ann Althouse and Emily Bazelon debate the Phoebe Prince case. [Bloggingheads/New York Times]

* Your colleagues in Britain may be distracted today. [New York Times]

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New U.S. News Law School Rankings: They’re Official

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We reported on the leaked U.S. News law school rankings on Tuesday afternoon. That leak was correct, and the 2011 rankings are officially up on the U.S. News website, right now.

That’s bad news for NYU kids. They should try asking Berkeley students how transparent it looks to say that you go to a “top 6″ law school.

There was some movement within the top 14, but no school fell out of the so-called “T14.” This seems like a logical time to remind people why the T14 are referenced in this manner. The top 14 schools have been the top 14 schools for as long as most people can remember. Sure, they’ll change their positions relative to each other from year to year; but none of the schools that are in the T14 have been ranked lower than 14th in quite some time.

So with that out of the way, let’s take a look at this year’s version of the T14….

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Above the Law Wants to Review Your Revue

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Each year, at law schools across the nation, a few brave — some might say foolhardy — students take a break from outlining case law, and set it to music instead. The Annual Law Revue (or whatever it’s called at your law school) allows students to parody the law and life in law school. And now, thanks to the wonder of file-sharing sites, the musical creations last beyond the run of the show, and can be enjoyed (or hated) over and over again on YouTube.

Last year, we held our first ever Law Revue Video Contest, and UVA’s Con Luv video took home the big prize (though it’s unclear if they ever collected their prizes).

We’re holding the contest again this year. Rules after the jump…

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Non-Sequiturs: 04.14.10

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* Is there anything positive we can take from the D.C. Circuit’s blow to net neutrality last week? [Infamy or Praise]

* Bill Lerach isn’t the only one — there’s a whole host of criminals teaching in law schools these days. [Forbes]

* Literally being attacked by a man’s python > Metaphorically being attacked by a man’s python. [The Smoking Gun]

* Tea Party organizer thinks conservative women are smarter and hotter than liberal women. The obvious fallacy of the former makes me call the latter into question. [Huffington Post]

* Here are some really basic errors law students make when writing papers. [Legal Profession Blog]

* It’s always the assholes who are most sensitive about being called an asshole. [The Legal Satyricon]

* PJ of PhilaLawyer.net will be discussing law firm douchebaggery tonight with Bl1Y. Should be a good listen. [Here's What to Think]

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Congratulations to the Newest Class of Bristow Fellows

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office of solicitor general.gifIn our reader poll on possible Supreme Court nominees — which is still open, by the way — Solicitor General Elena Kagan is leading the pack, at least in terms of the predictive poll. At the current time, a majority of respondents believe that she will be nominated by President Obama to the seat of Justice John Paul Stevens. (On the prescriptive side, i.e., who SHOULD be nominated to replace JPS, a plurality of you want to see Judge Diane Wood get the nod.)

So Kagan may soon be leaving the SG’s office. But new talent is coming aboard, starting in September or so, through the Bristow Fellowship program. These staggeringly prestigious fellowships allow recent law school graduates, typically coming out of clerkships with federal appellate judges (often feeder judges), to get involved in the work of the Solicitor General’s office, representing the United States before the Supreme Court.

We’re a little late in bringing you the news of the Bristow hires — they were notified weeks (even months) ago — but better late than never. A reader email reminded us that we hadn’t covered the announcement. So we did some digging and obtained their names.

So who are the new Bristow Fellows? Do we know their law schools and clerkships?

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This Time, The Lawyer Wants To Get Screwed…

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One of the reasons we brought Courthouse Connection to New York is that we came across so many lawyerly personal ads on Craigslist. (Um, not that we troll Craigslist for dates. Our readers send them to us.)

We were wondering whether Courthouse Connection has caused a drop-off in legal types posting on Craig’s pages. When we recently searched “lawyer” in the personal ads section of New York Craigslist, we had three hits. Two were romantics attesting to the fact that they weren’t lawyers (and thus more attractive specimens to the rest of humanity), and one was a lawyer, whose ad attests to the fact that lawyers are not attractive specimen to the rest of humanity.

The ad is too explicit for our front page. Here’s an excerpt:

I am a middle aged whtie [sic] married discreeeeet male. Somewhat overweight but clean, safe, sane, dd free. Even more fun for some: I am a lawyer LOL…any of you want to pretend I represented your hubby in that nasty divorce? LOL

He wants to give those screwed over by a lawyer the chance to screw one back, nastily. Full ad, after the jump.

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  • 14 Apr 2010 at 3:24 PM
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NYU Charges Twice as Much as Columbia for Barrister’s Ball

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We’re still waiting for official confirmation on the latest U.S. News law school rankings. The leaked results show that NYU Law has fallen behind the University of Chicago to #6. That’s two spots below NYU’s rivals at Columbia Law school.

At the Practical Law Company Summer Kick-Off party last night, NYU’s precipitous fall of one spot was the topic of conversation. Consternation was rife among NYU law students, Columbia law students were smug, and even Fordham law students enjoyed the schadenfreude. Tomorrow, we’ll do a full retelling of all the possible reasons NYU kids came up with for why the school may have dropped.

But one thing we know is that now that they’re out of the top five, NYU students do not want to pay twice what Columbia students are paying for the same extracurricular event. We’ve learned that a ticket to the NYU “Barrister’s Ball” is twice the price of a ticket to Columbia’s “Barrister’s Ball” — even though their events are taking place at the same venue.

I guess only top five schools are able to negotiate fair market prices…

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UC-Berkeley’s Gun Club Secret Society Rides Again
John Yoo unimpressed

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Flyer via Nuts & Boalts

UC-Berkeley once again topped Michigan in the (leaked so still unofficial) U.S. News law school rankings. Boalt Hall also dominated the Wolverines this month when it comes to secret society activity.

Whereas, members of Michigan’s “Barrister’s Society” threw their dirty laundry o’er the rooftops, resulting in campus-wide derision, recent activities by Berkeley’s “Gun Club” have left their fellow students appropriately mystified and intrigued.

A Boaltie tells us:

Last week, flyers featuring John Yoo’s face, with the phrase “I’m sorry, for everything” were posted around Boalt Hall.

Everyone assumed it was just the usual torture-memo protesters who flock to Berkeley, in the hope that it’s still the Bezerkeley of the 1960s, only to find a bunch of JD and MBA students hurrying by, scowling at their unshowered ways.

On Tuesday morning, the flyer reappeared in the student center, attached to the King of Beers….

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John Yoo unimpressed“

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Tiger Goes Tiger, Insurance Company Doesn’t Have to Pay

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If this tiger reminds you of your pet cat, you are an idiot.

There’s a Chris Rock joke about the Siegfried & Roy tiger attack: “That tiger didn’t go crazy, that tiger went tiger.” With that in mind, I bring you this latest decision from the Tenth Circuit, via the National Law Journal:

An insurance company does not have to pay a Kansas family $100,000 for an accident in which a Siberian tiger attacked and killed their daughter during her senior photo shoot, a federal appeals court ruled this week.

On Monday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that Safeco Insurance Company of America does not have to pay damages in a wrongful death suit because the homeowners policy bought by the tiger’s owners excluded coverage for business pursuits.

I’ll admit, it took me a second to appreciate what was going on here. As it turns out, the only actor that behaved reasonably in this situation was the tiger (and the Tenth Circuit)….

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Lawyerly Lairs: Partner Accused of Misappropriating Money to Overhaul Minnesota Mansion

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Back in the summer of 2008, we wrote a post entitled “Summer Associates of the Day: Sapphic Summers in Lesbianic Lip-Lock.” The title of the post pretty much says it all.

Well, it turns out that a partner at the same firm, Minneapolis-based Lindquist & Vennum, may have been misbehaving too. The Pioneer Press reports that Michael S. Margulies, a leading Twin Cities real estate lawyer, has been accused of professional misconduct — in the form of “misappropriat[ing] significant sums from a limited number of clients and from the firm,” according to a statement by the firm. Margulies has withdrawn from the firm’s partnership, reported his conduct to Minnesota’s professional responsibility office, and agreed to be disbarred. He has also resigned from the St. Paul Planning Commission, where he served several terms under different mayors.

What prompted this alleged theft? It seems that Michael Margulies, former head of Lindquist’s real estate group, may have loved real estate not wisely, but too well. From the Pioneer Press:

Margulies, 56, of St. Paul, and his personal company, Triad Services, were sued in Ramsey County District Court by a real estate development company for which he had worked as an attorney, secretary and treasurer. In the lawsuit, CMB Minnetonka LLC alleged that Margulies “made numerous illicit withdrawals” from CMB’s bank account and line of credit at Highland Bank and used the money — $1.5 million or more — for his own purposes.

Specifically, the suit claims Margulies spent the money to overhaul the historic mansion at 516 Summit Ave. in St. Paul that he owned with his former wife.

So he allegedly did it all for love of a house. Was it worth it? Just how nice is this pile o’ bricks?

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Career Center: Top 10 Tips for Junior Associate Success

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Career Center AboveTheLaw Lateral Link ATL.jpgWelcome to the next article in our Expert Insights series, brought to you by the ATL Career Center. This week, we spoke with Katy Lewis, Associate Director at Lateral Link, who works with associate candidates on law firm searches in Chicago and the Midwest, and with candidates seeking in-house positions. Katy has worked closely with associates, recruiting coordinators and hiring partners at many national firms, so we asked her to share her Top 10 list of what they want to see in junior associates. Whether you are a new associate or just considering a career move, the Top 10 list is useful checklist of what you can do to succeed at a firm.

As a reminder, all Career Development articles, as well as additional career coaching information, are available in the Resources section of the Career Center.

Top 10 Tips for Junior Associate Success

10. Take advantage of slow periods. Use the time to organize your office, attend a CLE, catch up on business/legal current events (WSJ, NY Times DealBook, AmLaw Daily, etc.).

9. Develop a good working relationship with your assistant and paralegals. The better your relationship with the staff, the easier your job will be.

8. Learn how to use technology.  Become proficient with firm software – learn to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Westlaw, Lexis, document compare software.  Understand how to use the telephone – learn to transfer, conference call, dial international, etc.  Nothing is below you as a junior associate.

The rest of the tips, after the jump.

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