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Trial Transcripts Don’t Lie: Crack Really Is Wack

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Whitney Houston small crack is wack cocaine Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.JPGThe following comes from a trial in the Southern District of Alabama, Chief Judge Ginny Granade presiding. It’s from an assistant U.S. attorney’s examination of an accomplice in a bank robbery:

Q: Well, let me just as an aside right now, what kind of a high, what kind of feeling do you get from smoking, and you were smoking crack?

A: Yes, ma’am.

Q: What kind of a high do you get from that?

A: You get a real intense high and you’re not really able to really able to make good — good judgment calls about what you’re doing.

News flash: Crack use may impair your judgment. That’s why all the Biglaw attorneys stick to powder cocaine. Clients pay them big bucks for their sound judgment!
The excerpt from the trial transcript continues, after the jump.

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Adventures in Babysitting: Open Thread on Child Care Benefits

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baby babies kid kids day care child care Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgWe continue our series of posts about perks/fringe benefits provided by legal employers. In prior posts, we covered technology allowances and gym memberships.
Today we’re all about the children. Let’s talk about… child care benefits!
As reflected on the NALP website, here are some of the options that law firms offer:

1. Child care subsidy

2. On-site day care

3. On-site emergency day care

4. Lactating paralegals to breastfeed your infant

We say: As long as rats aren’t eating your kids, it’s all good.
So, what child care benefits does your employer provide (if any)? Please discuss, in the comments. Thanks.
Earlier: Even Worse Than the Cadwalader Bed Bugs?

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A Bad Way To Procrastinate While Studying for the Bar

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Phillip Pilie Phillip R Pilie Philip Pilie Philip R Pilie Phil Pilie Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgMany of you are studying for bar exams at the end of this month. You read ATL while procrastinating — and perhaps you feel guilty about it.
But you shouldn’t. There are far worse ways to procrastinate.
Like using the internet to set up trysts with underage females — who turn out to be undercover detectives. This email was forwarded to us yesterday:

From: [UGA Law grad]
Date: Jul 10, 2007 1:32 PM
Subject: Another great moment for UGA Law!
To: [Various other UGA Law alumni]

Philip Pilie… a graduating 3L this past May. See these links.

More background, from a tipster:

Guy in question was studying for the Louisiana Bar Exam before he got picked up [for computer-aided solicitation for sexual purposes and attempted indecent behavior with a juvenile].

He was a Georgia Law ’07 grad, with a job lined up at Baker Donelson (a big firm for the city) in New Orleans. All of that is obviously not going to happen now.

Kicker is this: If you Google his online handle, it comes up with forum posts for a bunch of fashion sites. In one he gives lengthy fashion advice…

Read more about the Prada Predator, after the jump.

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Brokeback Lawfirm: A Portrait of Gera Grinberg As A Young Man

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Aaron Charney headshot Aaron B Charney Aaron Brett Charney Above the Law Above the Law Above the Law ATL.JPGWe realize that not everyone has been following Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell, the salacious case filed by former S&C associate Aaron Charney (at right), alleging anti-gay discrimination and retaliation by his extremely prestigious (and profitable) former firm. But for those of you who are interested in this matter, today we have a special treat.
Remember Gera Grinberg — the former colleague of Aaron Charney who some partners suspected was in an “unnatural relationship” with Charney? Grinberg, who no longer works at S&C, is a critical figure in this case. But he has been an elusive figure to followers of this litigation. We’ve seen no pictures, and we know few facts about him.
Finally, after months of mystery, we’ve gotten our hands on a photograph of him. It’s kinda old, but hey, it’s better than nothing.
Check it out, after the jump.

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Morning Docket: 07.11.07

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collarbomb_horz.jpg* Charges coming in “collar bomb” case. [CNN]
* Size matters. And bigger isn’t always better, as the Ninth Circuit demonstrates. [Los Angeles Times]
* That’s some hardcore pwnography. [Click 2 Houston (KPRC, Houston NBC affiliate)]
* Deal reached in Libya foreign medics AIDS trial, with details to come tomorrow; Libyan Supreme Court had been expected to uphold death sentences. [Jurist]
* Facing child sex charges, but don’t want that fact to slow down your legal career? Check out the Solomon Islands. [CNN]

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It’s Hard Out Here for Non-Top-Tier Law School Graduates

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homeless man beggar Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgBased on the comments to our last post, it’s clear that many of you want to talk about job opportunities — or the lack thereof — available to folks who aren’t at so-called “top tier” law schools (or who aren’t at the top of their class at non-elite law schools).
As it turns out, we have a good vehicle for such discussion. Check out this interesting National Law Journal article:

Despite news of record-breaking employment figures for law school graduates and first-year salaries of $160,000 at many top law firms, a significant contingent of job seekers — including those with strong credentials — are living a much different story after graduation….

But the eye-popping salaries are the reality for a small fraction of law school graduates, and all those stories of big money may be creating unrealistic hopes for the vast majority of law school students. Contributing to the situation is the effort by law schools to portray their employment numbers as robustly as possible to boost their ranking scores.

The upshot means dashed expectations for lots of graduates, many of whom are saddled with high debt as they struggle to start their careers.

The depressing discussion continues after the jump.

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More Than You Ever Cared To Know About Legal Aid Lawyers and Their Attire

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Legal Aid Society New York Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgIn the discussion about Peter Barta, the Legal Aid lawyer who allegedly made secret videotapes of his female colleagues getting dressed in the office, one question keeps coming up, again and again.
This comment is representative:

“[C]an someone explain why people are getting dressed/undressed at the Legal Aid office in the first place?”

We were curious ourselves. So we undertook an ATL investigation, contacting a few sources with firsthand knowledge.
If you’re curious, the results of our investigation appear after the jump.

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Why Is Nina Totenberg Like Judy Miller?

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Nina Totenberg NPR Georgetown Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgWe are still accepting your colorful anecdotes about Nina Totenberg, NPR’s legendary Supreme Court correspondent, and a celebrity within legal and media circles. Past installments appear here and here.
Today we have two more stories to offer, both variations on a theme. Here’s the first:

I really have to mention here a little semi-encounter I had with Totenberg during the day I covered the Scooter Libby trial. When I arrived, I sat down in a random spot — and quickly discovered that Ms. Nina had apparently managed to convince all the journos covering the trial that a certain portion of the court bench was her personal property.

Sadly, the trial did not go on further. I really wanted to sit in her chair!

We’re not surprised. It’s completely consistent with our second story — which you can check out, if you’re interested, after the jump.

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Is That an iPod Under Your Burqa, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

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Muslim woman Islamic woman hijab burqa burka Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgWhile we’re on the subject of reluctant jurors, check out this news story:

A female Muslim juror has been arrested in Britain after allegedly listening to an MP3 player under her hijab headscarf during a murder trial, police said Monday.

The woman in her early 20s was spotted by a fellow juror listening to music as she was meant to be helping try the case of a pensioner accused of bludgeoning his wife to death after 50 years of marriage.

The judge in the case thought that something might be up:

Judge Roger Chapple, presiding, said that he thought he could hear “tinny music” in the courtroom at Blackfriars Crown Court in Central London, but dismissed it as a figment of his imagination until another juror sent him a note.

We’re surprised this juror tuned out during a MURDER trial. What would she have done if the case were truly boring — whipped out a laptop and started watching movies?
British juror arrested after listening to music under hijab [AFP]
Muslim juror ‘listened to iPod under hijab’ [Times of London]

27 Comments

Shape Up or Ship Out: An Open Thread on Gym Memberships

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gym sign gymnasium exercise room law firm Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgAs we mentioned yesterday, over the next week or two we’ll be doing a series of posts on fringe benefits at law firms. Each day we’ll have a post dedicated to discussion of a specific type of perk.
Today’s fringe benefit: gym memberships. Although you might never have guessed, based on the proliferation of pasty and portly associates, many top law firms offer free or discounted gym memberships for their lawyers.
Some firms even have on-site gyms. The market leader here may be Skadden, which has gyms in some of its larger offices, like New York and Washington. We’ve visited the gym of Skadden DC, and it’s impressive. Personal trainers are available, and they’ll even furnish you with freshly laundered workout clothes, emblazoned with the Skadden logo (down to jockstraps — although we don’t think those have the logo).
An in-house gym is great. You can head down for an afternoon pick-me-up, before settling in for the evening session of work. Or you can squeeze in a quick work-out while waiting for word processing to turn around some document.
weight free weight law firm gym exercise room Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgBut exercising with co-workers has its downsides. When we were at a firm, a former colleague who worked out at the super-high-end gym frequented by partners once returned in a shellshocked state. She declared: “I just saw [partner X] on the elliptical. In a tank top and short-shorts. I didn’t need to see that.”
Please discuss free or discounted gym memberships, in-house exercise rooms, and similar law firm perks, in the comments. Thanks.
Earlier: An Open Thread on Tech Allowances

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How Not To Get Out of Jury Duty

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Twelve Angry Men 12 Angry Men Abovethelaw Above the Law online legal tabloid.jpgDon’t try this strategy, which didn’t turn out that well for one Daniel Ellis, of Cape Cod.
(Unless you want to get taken into custody. And face possible perjury charges.)
Jury duty excuse: I’m a racist, homophobic liar [AP via CNN.com]

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Reading the Bartameter (Part 3): What Is Up With Those Policy Debaters?

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Peter Barta 2 Peter A Barta Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgWe continue to follow the story of Peter Barta, the Legal Aid lawyer who allegedly made secret videotapes of his female colleagues getting dressed. Tales like this — along with associate pay raises, of course — are the raison d’etre of ATL.
After we quoted a tipster stressing that Peter Barta did policy or cross-examination debate in high school, rather than Lincoln-Douglas debate, commenters argued vociferously over whether C-X or L-D debaters get laid more. One commenter helpfully provided a link to the website for alumni of the Stuyvesant High School debate team. Here’s the entry on Barta:

Peter Barta ’92 – Debated with Eric Yuen. Came back and coached for a while. “After NYU, I went to law school at Georgetown. Now, I work as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society in Manhattan. Essentially, I’m still debating.” (3/12/03)

And still acting like a horny high schooler. And living at home with mom.
As it turns out, though, Peter Barta is not the Stuy policy debate team’s most (in)famous alumnus. That honor surely belongs to Dick Morris, the noted political commentator and consultant.
Yes, THAT Dick Morris. The self-described “sex addict”. And devotee of toe-sucking.
A new nickname for C-X debaters: C-XXX debaters?
Stuyvesant Policy Debate Alumni [official website]

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