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Update: Cass Sunstein’s ‘Power’ Resigns

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Samantha Power.jpgWe updated our original post from this morning about Samantha Power calling Hillary Clinton a “monster,” but it’s a big enough development to cover in a separate post. So here we go.

Professor Power, rumored love interest of Cass Sunstein, resigned from the Obama campaign because of her tawdry remarks about Hillary Clinton in an interview earlier this week. She also apologized publicly:

“With deep regret, I am resigning from my role as an adviser the Obama campaign effective today,” Ms. Power said in a statement released by the campaign. “Last Monday, I made inexcusable remarks that are at marked variance from my oft-stated admiration for Senator Clinton and from the spirit, tenor, and purpose of the Obama campaign. And I extend my deepest apologies to Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, and the remarkable team I have worked with over these long 14 months.”

Obama Aide Resigns for Calling Clinton a ‘Monster’ [New York Times]

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Law Students with Guns: Bad Idea, or Worst Idea Ever?

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There’s a national movement pushing for law students to have the right to carry guns on campus. They’ve even got an official acronym: SCCC (Students for Concealed Carry on Campus). The group formed in response to the VA Tech shootings last year, and currently claims to have more than 16,000 members.

They argue that when students know that other students may be armed, it has a preventative effect on anyone contemplating an NIU or VA Tech style shooting. The group also wants students to be able to protect themselves in case of another tragedy.

Dan Filler at The Faculty Lounge gives his response….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Law Students with Guns: Bad Idea, or Worst Idea Ever?”

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Update: Do the Cadwalader Shuffle

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Cadwlader Official.JPGHere’s the most comprehensive bit we’ve heard from a tipster:

[N]o longer at CWT anymore (thankfully), but I did hear that Chris White (the Partner who deposed Link) is attempting a major realignment of practice groups. Apparently he wants to move the Corporate department into the Real Estate and somehow make it a sub group. As expected, this is not going over well with the Corporate partners (imagine Dennis Block being told he needs to move?) and there’s all kinds of infighting and threats from the Corporate partners in regards to this.

Is this the source of the rumblings we’ve been hearing? We’ll update you as we find out more information.
UPDATE #2: This tip just came in the comments from someone in the office at Cadwalader today:

I’m in the office today and something is definitely going on. There is absolutely no work going around. I asked a partner if everything was OK and he told me to mind my own business. This is not a joke. I also have some friends at other firms (Milbank) who say that they are also extremely slow.

So, we have confirmation that “something” is going down. Could this be just another slow Friday, or are we on the verge of a serious scandal?

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Job(s) of the Week

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Today’s JOW offering is a selection of IP opportunities at a Fortune 500 technology company, brought to you by ATL’s career partner, Lateral Link. In the last month, over 300 Lateral Link members referred friends who’ve joined the network, giving these members the opportunity to earn up to $5000 in referral bonuses.
Positions: Patent Counsel and Division Counsel
Location: San Diego and Atlanta
Description: The company is looking for several mid- to senior-level IP attorneys with patent experience and strong technical skills. See the full descriptions of each position at Lateral Link:
- General – Position #8159
- Position Location Group – Position #8155
- PHY/MAC+ Technologies – Position #8156
- Architecture and Process Group – Position #8158
- Open Source Software Attorney – Position #8157
The company is also seeking a senior attorney to serve as division counsel for one of its recently acquired subsidiaries based in Atlanta. This person will do general corporate and IP transactional work and will report directly to the president of the subsidiary. Position # 8160.
Company Description:
Headquartered in San Diego, CA, this technology company is a member of the S&P 500, Fortune 500, and a winner of the U.S. Department of Labor’s” Secretary of Labor’s Opportunity Award.” The company manufactures CDMA cell phones, base stations, and chips. Its unique work environment, dedicated workforce and expertise has also earned the company a place among Fortune’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For in America” for ten years in a row and Fortune’s list of “Most Admired Companies.” The in-house legal department consists of more than 60 highly qualified attorneys.
Learn more about these and other job opportunities by visiting Lateral Link.
Earlier: Prior Job of the Week listings (scroll down)

Lawyerly Chick Lit (?)

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Julie Buxbaum is a Harvard alumna and lawyer turned novelist. Her first book, The Opposite of Love, is getting favorable reviews. As we’ve written about before, she’s signed a deal for two books, so it’s a good sign that the first is being well-received.

For the lawyers who want to be writers: her advance was likely in excess of $500,000.

Carrie Bradshaw’s Smarter Sister [Washington Post]
The Opposite of Love [Amazon]

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  • 07 Mar 2008 at 10:25 AM
  • Biglaw

What’s going on at Cadwalader?

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Cadwalader.jpgWe’re getting tips about something big going down at Cadwalader today, but no specifics yet. If you have information, be sure to let us know: tips AT abovethelaw DOT com.

Hopefully this is as exciting as their bed-bug infestation of ’07.

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Smoking Hot

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Smoking.jpg
If you live in NYC, you’re used to smoking being banned in almost every place of business; your law dates back to 2003. DC caught up in January of 2007. However, the pro-health laws have had a harder time down south where people get all hot and bothered when the government tries to tell ‘em what to do. Here in Tuscaloosa (‘Bama), the law bars smoking in restaurants before 10:00 pm. It’s a narrow victory for the non-smokers.

Professor Althouse posted today about the loophole in the Minnesota ban that allows smoking for “actors in theatrical performances.” Non-actors in Minnesota are trying to use the exception to get around their state’s ban.

We know we have readers all around the country. What’s the status of smoking in your town’s bars and restaurants? If there is a ban, is it enforced?

“The Tobacco Monologues” [Althouse]
NY State Smoking Ban Signed into Law [CNN]
DC Smoking Ban Approved [Washington Post]

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“Special Courts,” Vaccines, and Autism

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The government acknowledged that a link exists between autism and the routine vaccines which one girl from Georgia was given as a child:

The cases are before a special “vaccine court” that doles out cash from a fund Congress set up to pay people injured by vaccines and to protect makers from damages as a way to help ensure an adequate vaccine supply. The burden of proof is lighter than in a traditional court, and is based on a preponderance of evidence. Since the fund started in 1988, it has paid roughly 950 claims _ none for autism.

Although the government didn’t say that the vaccines cause autism, they did concede that, in this single case, the vaccines worsened the girl’s existing condition and caused her to develop symptoms of autism.

We’re wondering about this “special ‘vaccine court.’ To our readers: what are some other interesting cases in which “special courts” were set up for a specific type of claim (not military tribunals; that’s too obvious)?

UPDATE: We’re asking about interesting cases when “special courts” set up for strange or unorthodox reasons.

Government Concedes Vaccine Injury Case [WaPo]

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‘Hillary Clinton’s a monster.’

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Power.jpgThat statement was made by Samantha Power, a top foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama and new-ish love interest of Professor Cass Sunstein. Sunstein recently accepted a position at Harvard Law, leaving behind in Chicago his ex, philosopher Martha Nussbaum. Bossman David Lat posted all the gossip about the academic love triangle here.

Power, pictured, let her words slip during an interview in London with The Scotsman yesterday. Other tasty bits from that interview:

“We f**ked up in Ohio,” she admitted.

“You just look at her [Clinton] and think, ‘Ergh’.

Apparently Power was under the impression that her remarks were “off the record,” and therefore couldn’t be attributed to her. The interview was actually totally on the record, and The Scotsman gives an explanation at the bottom of the link.

UPDATE: Power has resigned from the Obama campaign, effective immediately. See here.

‘Hillary Clinton’s a monster’: Obama Aid Blurts out Attack in Scotsman Interview [The Scotsman]

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Morning Docket: 03.07.08

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Eve.jpg
* UNC student body President Eve Carson (pictured) was shot and killed yesterday in Chapel Hill. [CNN]
* NYC Assemblyman popped for DUI with a passed out woman in the backseat, and that’s not all. His sullied past includes allegations (plural) of rape and corruption. But, of course, he’s innocent until proven guilty. [CNN]
* Greece proposes new restrictions on blogs. Who blogs in Greece, anyway? About 40,000 people, apparently. [Spero News via This is Not my Country]
* If you use BitTorrent, you might want to hurry up and download all those Seinfeld episodes before it’s too late. NBC Universal has filed with the FCC arguing that efforts to impede BitTorrent use are justified. [WebTVWire.com]

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Non-Sequiturs: 03.06.08

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* Feddie really, really likes Dahlia Lithwick. [Southern Appeal]

* Pretty smells may reduce stress in the workplace. We doubt it would work in law schools. [Neuromarketing]

* What would Obama ice cream taste like? Slate.com readers go crazy naming a Ben and Jerry’s flavor after the political hero. [Slate]

* The legality of laptop and electronic searches when you’re traveling. [WaPo]

* New York Magazine compiles a directory of the best lawyers in NYC. Are you on the list? [New York Magazine]

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  • 06 Mar 2008 at 4:21 PM
  • Police

First Amendment Tangles with KKK (Again)

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Dan Slater at the WSJ Law Blog posted on an interesting First Amendment case about a state trooper’s involvement with the KKK. The trooper was subsequently fired, and now he’s arguing for his job back:

In 2004, Robert Henderson, then a state trooper in Nebraska, joined an organization called the Knights Party after his wife left him for a hispanic man. The Knights Party is an affiliate of the Ku Klux Klan. In 2006, following a state patrol disciplinary hearing in which Henderson told the investigator he joined the Knights Party to vent his frustration, he was fired from the force. An arbitrator then overturned Henderson’s firing, saying that it violated his First Amednment rights. Nebraska’s Attorney General, John Bruning, then appealed that decision and won in a lower Nebraska State Court. Yesterday, Henderson and his lawyer, Vincent Valentino, appealed to Nebraska’s Supreme Court to have Henderson reinstated.

At the link, Slater delivers a great summary of the relevant law, courtesy of Stanford con law Professor Derek Shaffer.

State Trooper, Fired for Associating with KKK, Argues for Job Back [WSJ Law Blog]

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