Hello, Above the Law community. I’m back from hiatus. I’m away for a whole week and what happens, law firms stop laying people off. Coincidence? Dear God I hope so.
I didn’t follow any legal or non-legal news during my absence, so I’ll be counting on you guys to bring me up to speed. But I’m not too concerned. I’m like Tiger Woods on Sunday with a 54-hole lead, I never lose.
It’s great to be back.
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When Justice Sonia Sotomayor needs to work off all the rice, beans and pork she’s consumed, she hits the gym.
Alas, it appears that Her Honor’s Equinox gym membership was canceled, after she apparently refused to show identification when trying to enter the premises. We’re with Justice Sotomayor on this: she’s a frickin’ federal judge, the closest thing this nation has to an aristocracy. Showing ID is for little people!
Sure, Barack Obama showed his birth certificate identification when he visited Equinox health clubs during the campaign. But he’s Article II — ick, having to run for election, how déclassé — and Justice Sotomayor is Article III, fabulous and life-tenured.
Luckily, the SCOTUS has its own gym — replete with a basketball court, aka “the highest court in the land.” And Justice Sotomayor won’t have to worry about being recognized at One First Street (where even the law clerks are recognized on sight by the Supreme Court police).
Sotomayor v. Equinox Fitness: The Case of the Canceled Membership [New York magazine]
(Gavel bang: commenter.)
If you’ll be in New York on Monday, August 24, you might be interested in this event, brought to you by Above the Law and our friends at Applied Discovery:
SPACE IS LIMITED. To request an invitation, please email InviteRequest@breakingmedia.com. Please include your name, employer, and job title in your response. If we can accommodate you, we will send you a confirmation by email.
Thanks! We hope to see you on the 24th.
Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks. Law Shucks has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.
Hallelujah!
We’ve come so close recently, but we can finally call it.
For the first time this year, we have gone an entire week without a layoff reported at any major law firm.
By popular demand, we’ll first address the broader US economy, where the news isn’t quite as good. Initial jobless claims rose unexpectedly, to 558,000, last week. Curiously, what seems like good news might not be: the total number of unemployed dropped to the lowest level since April. Once again, that’s more likely the result of people no longer qualifying as "unemployed" under the BLS definition. In the worst case, people whose right to receive benefits has expired (i.e., they’ve been unemployed for more than 12-18 months) don’t count. There is also a substantial contingent of disaffected workers, those who have simply given up searching, who also don’t count.
Perhaps the better indicator of BigLaw’s clients’ health is the S&P 500, which was relatively flat for the week and held at the psychologically important 1,000 level.
After the jump, a celebration of the week without layoffs. Continue reading “This Week In Layoffs: 08.15.09″
* Courtesy of Marin, news you can use: Top Five Ergonomic Problems at Large Law Firms. [Technolawyer]
* Will the next White House beer summit bring together Justice Scalia and Judge Reinhardt? [Litination]
* The 19-year-old law student, Kate McLaughlin, doesn’t need your crappy advice, thank you very much. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Breaking up is hard to do — especially if your boyfriend has nude pictures of you. [Chicago Sun-Times]
* If you’re a law student going through OCI, check out PLC’s free Interview Resource Center, which includes an Interview Survival Guide, a Global 50 search tool (info on firms not available elsewhere,) and the “What’s Market” tool (so you can know what you’re talking about in interviews). [Practical Law Company]
A Friday afternoon in August — the perfect time for a resignation. As first reported by Politico:
In an interview with POLITCO Armey said that he was concerned about the media scrutiny the health care protests were drawing to the firm he has been associated with since retiring from Congress.
“The firm is busy with its business, and shouldn’t be asked to take time out from their work, to defend themselves of spurious allegations,” Armey said. “No client of this firm is going to be free to mind its own business without harassment as long as I’m associated with it.”
This is the culmination of a controversy that was brewing over the past week.
Continue reading “Musical Chairs: Dick Armey Out at DLA Piper”
From two distinguished commentators: lawyer and law firm consultant Bruce MacEwen, of Adam Smith Esq., and Professor Daniel Filler, over at the Faculty Lounge.
Above the Law reader sentiment generally supported Fordham Law School and Dean William Michael Treanor. Interestingly enough, both MacEwen and Filler side with Reed Smith. MacEwen confesses to being mystified by Dean Treanor’s handling of the situation; Filler argues that Reed Smith’s late withdrawal from OCI was a minor infraction, and that Fordham’s “punishment” of the firm will only hurt students.
Check out their analyses via the links below.
In This Corner, AmLaw #16… [Adam Smith, Esq.]
Fordham Law v. Reed Smith, Or, How To Scare Away Firms From OCI [The Faculty Lounge]
Earlier: Fordham Law v. Big Law: Reed Smith’s Response
Fordham Law Lashes Out at Reed Smith Rudeness
On Monday, we brought you this photo, then asked you to suggest captions for it. Over 4000 votes were cast, and one caption won by the narrowest of margins…
“Firms run a risk of bad publicity when they lay off both labor lawyers and the print shop staff at the same time.”
The runner-up, and the backstory and law firm in question — a firm that has already been shamed once today — after the jump.
With the arrival on-campus interviewing (OCI), inquiring minds want to know: How should I dress for my interviews?
Men have it easy. A dark suit, a white shirt, and a non-obnoxious necktie should fit the bill. If you have confidence in your fashion sense, you can be more adventurous. E.g., tastefully striped shirts; ties in cute patterns. For more thoughts on men’s fashion, see this earlier post.
Alas, the fairer sex has it harder. For advice on how women should dress in professional environments, read (and comment on) a pair of recent posts by our colleagues at Fashionista and our friends at Corporette.
Corporate Fashion? [Fashionista]
Corporette 101: The Old Mirror Trick [Corporette]
LEWW loves summertime. We’re shining the spotlight on four law school graduates this week (well, three and an almost-graduate), and all four are from Yale or Harvard. All that prestige is perfect for a steamy Friday afternoon in August (and if it’s too elitist for you, here’s a cool lesbian-lawyer wedding).
Even better: One of our contestants is a plaintiff in a high-profile lawsuit involving anonymous internet comments! (So comment with care on this post.)
LEWW will be on vacation next week, but we’ll have June/July Couple of the Month polls for you. Regular weekly posting will resume with a double issue on Friday, August 28.
Here are this week’s three finalist couples:
1. Adina Yoffie and Matthew Feigin
2. Brittan Heller and Nathaniel Gleicher
3. Julie Cohen and Jared Strumwasser
Click on the link below for pictures and details on these fabulously credentialed newlyweds.
Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 8.10: Seoulmates”
Canceled Summer Program Watch – The ‘Mc’ Edition:
McCarter & English, McGuire Woods (selected offices)
By
David Lat
The number of law firms canceling their 2010 summer associate programs continues to climb. Here are the latest additions to the growing list:
1. McCarter & English: Managing partner Eric Wiechmann confirmed to ATL that the firm will not be holding a summer associate program in 2010. In addition, he confirmed that incoming associates won’t be starting until December 1, 2009 (which, all things considered, is pretty good).
(Before some of you say you’ve never heard of McCarter, please note that it’s one of the largest firms in New Jersey — a sizable legal market. In addition to its main office in Newark, the firm also has offices in Boston, Hartford, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia and Wilmington. Recently it made news by hiring Harley Lewin, a leading IP lawyer and trademark guardian, from Greenberg Traurig.)
2. McGuire Woods: This is a firm that needs no introduction. It’s quite sizable, with 900 lawyers across 18 offices worldwide, and it’s #61 on the Am Law 100 list.
A spokesperson for McGuire Woods confirmed what we’ve heard from various law student tipsters: the firm is “likely to reduce the number of offices in which we have our summer programs.” It has not, however, made a final decision on which offices won’t be hosting summers. (One reader predicts the firm won’t have summer associates outside of Richmond, Charlotte, and Chicago.)
But there’s some additional interesting backstory here.
Blind Item Follow-Up: Morgan Lewis Also Denies Layoffs
(Plus a look at the Five O’Clock Club’s law firm clients.)
By
David Lat
Based on a Washington Post article profiling the Five O’Clock Club, an outplacement and career coaching company, we constructed a Biglaw blind item:
Which New York law firm, having already completed two rounds of layoffs, has hired the Five O’Clock Club to help it carry out additional layoffs (in August, October, and November)?
After we ran the item, several firms came forward to declare they’re not the firm in question. And now they’re joined by one more: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
A spokesperson for Morgan Lewis contacted ATL to say that it isn’t the firm with layoffs in the works. In fact, Morgan Lewis claims that it shouldn’t even be on the shortlist of contenders.
Read why — and check out the list of the Five O’Clock Club’s clients, including some very prestigious law firms that haven’t publicly admitted to layoffs — after the jump.
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