* Fans of “The Office” (what BBC version?) will rejoice at this play-by-play of potential litigation related to each episode. Ladies, whenever you cringe at the memory of a loser ex-boyfriend, just think of Jan, Michael’s otherwise competent and attractive boss, who somehow ends up vacationing with him… at a Sandals resort. [That’s What She Said via WSJ Law Blog]
* I guess this means that now every idiot can use this “trademark.” Wouldn’t it make more sense to trademark “Weirdness Factor”? [The Smoking Gun]
* If David’s fashion rundown gave you a headache or put you to sleep faster than Norah Jones’s music, then don’t read this. [De Novo]
* In this quirky show you have surely never heard of, a bunch of misfits conspire to break into Mick Jagger’s home. One character suggests perhaps starting a hedge fund instead. “What’s a hedge fund?” another misfit asks. To which misfit #1 shrugs, “I don’t know.” [Conglomerate]
* I was never one to participate, but even I admit that you always need oral. [First Movers]
Latest Stories
- Fashion, Intellectual Property, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Television, Trademarks
Non-Sequiturs: 02.14.07
By Stella Q
In Lawyerly Lairs, a recurring ATL feature, we check out the luxurious homes of prominent figures within the legal profession. If you share our addiction to real estate porn, this is a column you’re sure to enjoy.
In recent editions of Lawyerly Lairs, we’ve visited a $2.8 million mansion in Cambridge, MA, home to celebrity law professors Noah Feldman and Jeannie Suk (“Feldsuk”); a $20 million Park Avenue pad, recently sold by Cravath partner John Beerbower; and a $29 million townhouse, owned by Columbia Law professor Hans Smit (and resided in by his son, Simpson Thacher partner Robert Smit).
Today we look at a residence which, while not as lavish as these spreads, should still be of great interest to ATL readers. It’s the Hell’s Kitchen apartment of celebrity litigant Aaron Charney. It’s in a high-rise, luxury condominum building called the Orion (pictured at right).
Join us after the jump, won’t you?
Continue reading “Lawyerly Lairs: Aaron Charney’s De-Luxe Apartment in the Sky-y-y”
Fred Fielding, the former name partner of Wiley Rein & Fielding who is now settling in as White House counsel (for the second time), has brought in some reinforcements. They come from his former shop, Wiley Rein & Fielding (now known simply as Wiley Rein).
Three former Wiley Rein-sters, a partner and two associates, are joining Fielding over at the White House. They are:
1. Kate Comerford Todd (top right). This brilliant and beautiful member of the Elect (OT 2000/Thomas), whose husband is a current Supreme Court clerk (OT 2006/Alito), was a highly regarded young litigation partner at Wiley Rein.
Now Kate Todd is moving over to the White House. We’re uncertain of her seniority level over there (deputy level?). If you know, please enlighten us.
2. Amy Dunathan. Comerford will be joined by the similarly delicious Amy Dunathan (at right). Dunathan worked on the Hill before going to law school, so she’s a smart pick, given that the White House will be tangling quite a bit with the ascendant Democrats. She worked directly with Fielding on several projects during her time as a Wiley Rein associate.
3. Al Lambert. Lambert, also a former associate at Wiley Rein, brings a significant amount of experience in white-collar investigatory work — which will come in handy at the White House nowadays. Lambert worked extensively on the David Safavian case, as well as other white-collar matters.
Congratulations and good luck to Comerford, Dunathan, and Lambert!
P.S. We can’t find a photo of Al Lambert, which is why we don’t engage in any lip-smacking over him.
Kathryn Comerford Todd bio [Wiley Rein via Google Cache]
Amy F. Dunathan bio [Wiley Rein via Google Cache]
Judge Throws Out Jury Verdict in Iraq Fraud Case [Wiley Rein]
- Aaron Charney, Anna Schneider-Mayerson, Biglaw, Gay, Gera Grinberg, New York Observer, Sullivan & Cromwell
Brokeback Lawfirm: Gera Grinberg — Who Is This Guy?
By David LatThe excellent New York Observer article that we mentioned earlier today, concerning the Brokeback Lawfirm litigation, contains many interesting tidbits. Anna Schneider-Mayerson, always an expert at digging up fascinating facts, has outdone herself this time. To read the entire piece, click here.
Here are some highlights that caught our attention. On the early settlement discussions:
According to a source familiar with Sullivan & Cromwell’s side of the litigation, Mr. Charney initially asked for $5 million, and Sullivan & Cromwell offered “a very small fraction” of that. Mr. Charney referred calls to his lawyers, and through its recently retained public-relations firm, Sullivan & Cromwell declined to comment.
On S&C’s countersuit:
“The debate was: ‘Would this help us or hurt us?’” said the source familiar with Sullivan & Cromwell’s legal strategy. “The downside in filing the suit was to prolong the story, to keep it on the front pages …. [But] we concluded that we were obligated to bring the lawsuit irrespective of what it did to us.”
On Sullivan & Cromwell’s latest filing, a motion to dismiss (which we’d love a copy of if anyone can send it to us):
On Feb. 13, Sullivan called on the judge to dismiss Mr. Charney’s complaint on the grounds that the case will reveal client and firm matters and secrets. In a footnote to the 22-page motion, the lawyers address Mr. Charney’s destruction of his hard drive with a snarl.
“Charney’s attempt to blame S&C for his willful destruction of material information in violation of the New York Penal Code is false, contemptible and will be addressed at the appropriate time,” the note reads.
Update (9 PM): You can access a copy of the S&C motion to dismiss via this post.
And, finally, on Aaron Charney’s ex-associate and friend, Gera Grinberg:
In his complaint, Mr. Charney claimed, he was told that a Sullivan partner referred to their friendship as “unnatural” and that another partner thought they were too close. (That Sullivan associate, Gera Grinberg, has since been placed on paid leave.)
Gera Grinberg is a central figure in the Brokeback Lawfirm saga. He’s Ennis Del Mar to Aaron Charney’s Jack Twist.
(We’re making Gera the more butch one because he’s reportedly straight. Also, based on this comment and this one, it seems that Aaron Charney was basically Gera Grinberg’s bitch.)
But unlike the other figures in this story — Eric Krautheimer, Alexandra Korry, David Braff, etc. — we know so little about Gera Grinberg. Heck, we can’t even find a photograph of the guy.
We’d like that to change. We hereby request any and all information and rumor you might have about Gera Grinberg — what he was like in law school, what he was like to work with at S&C, baby pictures, etc. Please send what you have to us by email. Thanks!
P.S. Yes, we have contacted Grinberg’s staggeringly prestigious lawyers, Gallion & Spielvogel, for confirmation that he is now on paid leave. But we don’t expect to hear back from them, since they’ve ignored most of our prior inquiries.
P.P.S. If you’re troubled by this mini-investigation into Gera Grinberg, we have three responses:
(1) Grinberg is a public figure — a major player, in a publicly filed lawsuit, that’s of great interest to the legal and gay/lesbian communities.
(2) We are all public figures now. Check out this great article, by Emily Nussbaum.
As Nussbaum writes, “The future belongs to the uninhibited.” Trying to fight the loss of privacy is a rearguard action. So just embrace it.
(3) You’re entitled to your opinion about what is or is not appropriate for us to write about. We’re entitled to ignore you. You’re entitled not to read this blog.
Remember: we’ve discovered our inner diva.
Associate Gets Crushed Beneath White Shoe [New York Observer]
Earlier: Brokeback Lawfirm: A Runway Report (Part 1)
Does the copy editor of the DuPage Daily Herald, like Professor Jeffrey Rosen, think that Justice Antonin Scalia “is a huge dick”?
If so, it would make sense. Animus towards Justice Scalia might explain this amusingly salacious headline:
This innocent little headline, just seven words long, makes it sound like Justice Scalia has a mistress. Who’s a lush. And a criminal.
It’s an impressive feat, in its own way.
Woman tied to Scalia faces DUI charge [DuPage County Daily Herald]
Earlier: Justice Scalia’s Daughter Joins the Ranks of Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and State Court Judges
- Aaron Charney, Biglaw, Charles Stillman, David Braff, Fashion, Gay, Laura Schnell, Shoes, Sullivan & Cromwell, Zachary Fasman
Brokeback Lawfirm: A Runway Report (Part 1)
By David Lat
Move over, Bryant Park. The real fashion show was going on here: New York Supreme Court, 60 Centre Street.
Last week, of course, was New York Fashion Week. Our little sister, Fashionista, covered the events extensively.
Meanwhile, downtown from the tents in Bryant Park, we too had fashion on the brain. But instead of watching runway models strut their stuff, we assessed the sartorial choices of lawyers — namely, counsel at last week’s hearing in the litigation between gay lawyer Aaron Charney and his former employer, Sullivan & Cromwell.
You’re dying to know:
– Who was the best-dressed attorney in Courtroom 540 — and who was the worst?
– Who sported the nicest footwear?
– Who had the most problematic hair?
The answers to these questions, and more, after the jump.
Continue reading “Brokeback Lawfirm: A Runway Report (Part 1)”
We’re bestowing this honor upon Malik Cupid, and not just because today is Valentine’s Day. He actually did something to earn this award.
From the NJ Blog (emphasis in original):
Malik Cupid, an attorney, Democrat party activist and current aide to Governor Jon S. Corzine’s administration, was arraigned in Westchester County (New York) Supreme Court yesterday (which also happened to be his 31st birthday) after being charged with stealing $1,400 from his old girlfriend’s bank account and hacking into the former girlfriend’s account while she was serving on active duty with the Army in Iraq.
All told, the Westchester County district attorney’s office charged Cupid with four felonies, including grand larceny, identity theft and eavesdropping. He faces up to 16 years in state prison.
More details here — including a picture. Check out Cupid’s snazzy bow tie.
Cupid Is Crazy [NJ Blog]
Cupid Arraigned on Larceny Charge [Journal News]
Justice Scalia’s Daughter Joins the Ranks of Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and State Court Judges
By David LatIf your mom or dad is a federal judge, that makes them perfect (by definition). But Article III infallibility does not extend to you, their offspring. Do YOU have a commission signed by the President? Where’s your fancy black robe?
In fact, federal judicial kids get into all sorts of embarrassing scrapes. For example, sometimes they spill coffee on airplanes.*
And sometimes they get into much bigger trouble. From the Chicago Tribune:
A daughter of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was arrested Monday night in Wheaton and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and child endangerment, Wheaton Deputy Police Chief Thomas Meloni said.
Ann S. Banaszewski, 45, was stopped about 7:25 p.m. in a 1996 Ford Econoline van near Gamon Road and Longfellow Drive after a citizen reported a possible drunken driver was at the McDonald’s restaurant near there, Meloni said.
Three of Banaszewski’s “small children” were in the van with her at the time, leading to the child endangerment charge, Meloni said.
Quips our tipster: “Now that I have kids, it really makes me mad to see someone drinking and driving with their kids in the car.”
(Similarly troubling: Banaszewski’s taste in vehicles. A 1996 Ford Econoline van? Not nearly as nice as the BMW her father tools around Washington in.)
Mrs. Banaszweski wasn’t eager to chat about the incident:
Banaszewski, reached by phone at home, declined to speak about the arrest, or whether she was Scalia’s daughter.
“I have no information and I certainly would not speak with a reporter about my father,” she said.
Some unsolicited advice: Next time, Ann, just say “no comment.” We don’t mean to be annoying or pedantic — we’re guessing you don’t speak to the media much — but saying you “have no information” about an episode in which you’re the protagonist isn’t true.
Anyway, we must say we’re rather surprised by this news. The offspring of Justice Scalia are an upstanding bunch. They include a priest, a military officer, and a hot ERISA lawyer. And given Justice Scalia’s emphasis on morality and personal responsibility, we think he’d be displeased to learn that his daughter was allegedly driving under the influence, with his three grandchildren in the car.
* For those of you who care, yes, we will (eventually) respond to Judge Alex Kozinski’s open letter to us. We’ve just been very, very busy.
Daughter of Supreme Court Justice Charged in DUI [Chicago Tribune]
Earlier: Flying the Friendly, Federal Judicial Skies
Judges of the Day: Patrick Young and Jan Fiss
The Honorable Nicole Richie?
We’ve been covering the latest round of law firm associate pay raises largely from the perspective of the associates. But what about the people who have to pay for all this largesse: the partners?
Several recent articles offer a partners’-eye-view of the compensation arms race. We’ve collected the links below.
Despite the cheery announcement memos they’ve been sending out, partners aren’t happy about having to cough up more dough. From New York magazine:
[I]t’s estimated that at a big firm like Simpson (which has about 500 associates and 155 partners), average per-partner profits run about $2.4 million a year. To pay for this raise, each partner will take an approximate personal hit of $40,000 to $70,000 a year. “It’s horrible,” said one partner at a big firm.
Horrible indeed! For that kind of dough, you could get ten bespoke suits, a decent luxury car, or a house in the Hamptons for a month.
But before you start shedding tears for your benefactors, dear associates, consider this information, from the National Law Journal:
[C]omparisons from 1996 to 2005 indicate that as partners have made more, first-year associate salaries have not kept pace.
At law firms with 501 attorneys or more, median associate salaries were $125,000 in 2005. At the same time, profits per partner at the nation’s 100 highest-grossing law firms in 2005 averaged $1.07 million.
Consequently, associates were making 11.7 percent of the amount partners pulled in for 2005, the smallest percentage in the last 10 years.
By contrast, associate salaries in 1996 at the nation’s largest firms equaled $70,000, or 14.3 percent of the profits per partner, which that same year averaged $489,753 among the Am Law 100, the 100 highest-grossing firms.
As we wrote in these pages back in August (which feels so far away right now, given the snow and freezing temperatures):
“Associates of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your Blackberries.”
But revolution may not be necessary. Things may get better naturally on their own. From the NLJ piece:
William Johnston, a vice president of Hildebrandt International, a law firm consultancy, expects the gap between associate salaries and profits per partner to narrow in the next few years.
“Overall profitability will start to plateau,” he said. In addition, law firms will continue to feel the pinch for qualified law school graduates from their own competitors and from hedge funds and investment banks offering attractive alternatives, he said.
Firms must also compete with the opportunities offered by insider trading. If you do it right (and don’t get caught), you can earn profits that make $160K look like a pittance.
The Partner Tax [Intelligencer / New York Magazine]
Starting Pay at Top Firms Falls Farther Behind Partners’ [National Law Journal]
In the Law-Firm Pay Race, Who’s Really Ahead? [DealBook / NYT]
Happy Valentine’s Day!
* Miss Brazil wins lawsuit competition. [CNN]
* ABA: Pay the judges! [Law.com]
* Cheney and Libby will not testify in CIA leak trial. [CNN]
* What makes a good or bad law school exam answer? [Volokh]
We have more associate base salary information, from different Dechert offices around the country, to share with you. Alas, these pay scales aren’t as interesting as the Dechert DC memo, which announced what one commenter described as “a caste system” within that office.
But some of you did request compensation information for Dechert offices other than D.C. and Philadelphia. So here it is.
Check out the tables, if you’re interested, after the jump.
Yesterday we announced our next hotties contest here at Above the Law: Law Librarians!!!
If there’s a hot legal librarian that you’d like to nominate, we are now accepting your submissions. To learn about how to make a nomination, please click here.
Since we announced the contest yesterday, nominees have been rolling in like book carts. We think you’ll be quite impressed by the final slates of candidates.
We did want to clarify one thing about the contest. It is open to ALL attractive law librarians — whether they’re at law schools, private law firms, courthouses, or any other law-related workplace. There was some language in the original post, since removed, that erroneously indicated that the contest was restricted to “law school librarians.” This is NOT the case.
As for how the language wound up there, it was through careless cutting and pasting. Just like transactional lawyers, we bloggers rely upon “precedents” — past documents that we adapt or crib from to make new ones. For the post announcing the law librarian hotties contest, we lifted some boilerplate from our prior contest for hot law school deans. We removed the word “dean,” but we accidentally left in the word “school.”
Hence the confusion, for which we apologize. Consider this a cautionary tale about the perils of ctrl-C, ctrl-V.
Earlier: Above the Law Hotties: Law Librarians!
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