* Short list of possible attorney general nominees includes George J. Terwilliger III and Judge Laurence H. Silberman (D.C. Circuit). [Washington Post via WSJ Law Blog]
* “Sen. Larry Craig should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea… because he was under extreme stress after being hounded by journalists asking questions about his sexuality, his lawyer argues.” Umm, okay. [Associated Press]
* Judges of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court hike up their robes a little more, show the world about national security. [Sidebar / New York Times via How Appealing]
* Prominent Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu flipped out on train, “at one point stripping off his shirt and shoes,” before his crazy ass got arrested. [San Francisco Chronicle via Drudge Report]
* Uproar over Missouri Supreme Court culminates with Gov. Blunt offering a half-hearted endorsement of his own appointee. [Kansas City Star via How Appealing]
Latest Stories
- Department of Justice, Federal Judges, Larry Craig, Laurence Silberman, Morning Docket, Politics, State Judges
Morning Docket: 09.10.07
By David Lat
* Call us heartless, but we’re kinda intrigued by — and looking forward to — that Kid Nation reality show. And if a torts professor is impressed by the waiver signed by the parents, who are we to second guess? [TortsProf Blog]
* “You Must Tell Jeff Skilling He’s a Money Laundering Criminal At Least Two Times Before He Will Believe You.” [DealBreaker]
* The U.S. News law school reputation survey: a dog chasing his own tail? [PrawfsBlawg]
* Speaking of chasing tail… you can take the girl out of Hooters, but you can’t take the Hooters out of the girl. Talk about flying the friendly skies. [ABC News]
* We haven’t been doing much on the Larry Craig saga — but it’s a scandal that speaks for itself. What’s left to add? [Blogonaut]
Greedy law firm associates view ATL as a helpful resource. But what about Biglaw partners? They’re greedy too, y’know.
Well, here’s something for all you partners out there. A tipster alerted us to this audio conference, taking place later this month:
*************************************************
IOMA AUDIO CONFERENCES!ASSOCIATE COMPENSATION:
STRATEGIES TO ATTACK PAY PLANS THAT DRAIN PARTNER PROFITS
September 20, 2007 * 2:00 – 3:30 PM
REGISTER TODAY!
*************************************************
The full conference description, plus commentary, after the jump.
Continue reading “A Primer for Partners: How To Screw Associates Out of Pay Raises”
Pretty much every time there’s a mainstream or legal media article about associate pay raises, we’ll link to it. So of course we’re linking to this article, from the Texas Lawyer, which reports as follows:
All levels of associates at Houston- and Dallas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp may start their holiday shopping early since receiving news that their compensation just rose significantly. First- and second-year associates at the 403-lawyer firm already knew their salaries increased as of Aug 1. But, according to an Aug. 28 memo Locke Liddell managing partner Jerry Clements sent to associates, more-senior associates also are receiving pay increases retroactive to Aug. 1.
Locke Liddell first-year associates in Texas earn a $160,000 base annual salary, and second years earn $170,000. Third-years earn $172,500; fourth-years $175,000; fifth-years $180,000; sixth-years $185,000; seventh-years $190,000; and eighth-years $195,000. The firm has 138 associates in its three Texas offices.
So that’s the second half of the Locke Liddell pay raise. Back in July, we wrote about their raises for first- and second-year associates, with details for more senior classes to be determined. Consider them determined.
You can read the rest of the article, which also discusses salaries in the firm’s D.C. and New Orleans offices, over here.
All Levels of Locke Liddell Associates Getting Raises [Texas Lawyer]
Earlier: Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Locke Liddell Has Raised
From a little bird, er, law clerk:
A friend going to Dechert in Philly informed me that this year’s incoming class is receiving a $50k clerkship bonus.
Hearsay? Sure. But we then checked the Dechert website, which provides official confirmation:
Judicial Clerkship Bonus
Effective September 2007, we will pay a $50,000 clerkship bonus to incoming associates who join the firm upon completion of a federal court clerkship.
Are you aware of clerkship bonus news that we haven’t previously reported? If so, please email us (subject line: “Clerkship Bonus Watch”). Thanks.
Careers: U.S. Laterals: Benefits [Dechert LLP]
LEWW is surrounded by packing boxes at the moment, and the cable guy is about to take away our modem, so you’re going to have to wait till we arrive at our new HQ to read about this week’s super-impressive newlyweds.
In the meantime, please help us crown August’s Couple of the Month. If you need to read up on last month’s four finalist couples, click on the link below. Otherwise, here’s the poll:
Continue reading “Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: Couple of the Month for August”
A tipster sent us this article, with a special request for our ongoing series on law firm perks:
“How about a story on REAL perks? It’s football season, and Foley & Lardner has a suite at Camp Randall, home of the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers.”
“Can we compare the perks at The Garden, Fenway, Yankee Stadium?”
You can get tickets to sporting events from your friends at the printers. Or you can pay for them out of your ample salary (if you’re in Biglaw).
But what firms, in addition to Foley & Lardner, have suites at stadiums, or season tickets to top sports teams? And if your firm does have these perks, how can you avail yourself of them?
Please discuss this subject in the comments. Thanks.
UW football: Suite seats for charity [Wisconsin State Journal]
Why did you go to law school? So you could consider the exciting career opportunities we post here each week, in our Job of the Week series — that’s why!
Via Lateral Link, ATL’s career partner, here is this week’s offering:
Position: Senior Counsel
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Position Description: A privately-held holding company, whose businesses collectively generate approximately $1.5 billion in annual revenues, is seeking a Senior Counsel to join the nine-lawyer (seventeen-person) legal department. Position reports to Vice President/Deputy General Counsel.
More details, after the jump.
As Clarence Darrow once said, “Inside every lawyer is the wreck of a poet.” Indeed, many lawyers harbor frustrated creative ambitions. Sure, they went to law school, and now they’re out practicing. But they could have been novelists, or painters, or pastry chefs.
Or successful jazz musicians. From NJ.com:
Joshua Redman is quite the brainy guy, who very easily could have been some hot-shot attorney — or judge, perhaps?– living lavishly in New York City.
But the music bug took a big bite out of the summa cum laude Harvard grad, who scored a perfect 180 on his Law School Admissions Test to earn entrance into Yale Law School.
“I had moved to New York City and was on my way to law school,” Redman says. “But during that year I had this incredible opportunity to play with some great musicians. The encouragement and support I got from them motivated me to continue. So, I decided not to go to law school.”
And he’s never looked back:
Almost 16 years later, it isn’t a decision the acclaimed saxophonist has regretted.
“I probably wouldn’t have been such a good lawyer,” he jokes. “At the time, I essentially went to law school because, like others, I kind of didn’t know what I wanted to do.”
We can relate — and we’re guessing that many of you can, too. Law school was once described to us by Tony Kronman, then the Dean of Yale Law School, as “the great American default option.” He added that law school is a popular path for smart and motivated young people “who can’t stand the sight of blood.”
So why did you go to law school? Are the reasons that you articulated for going — in, say, your law school application essays — ones that continue to motivate you today? Are you happy with your decision?
He’s smart enough to skip law, and choose music [Hudson County Now via NJ.com]
Do You Believe in Life After Law? [New York Observer]
* Patriot Act struck down in part. [New York Times]
* Bush announces two nominations to the Fourth Circuit. [How Appealing; WSJ Law Blog]
* Jury has Spector case. [BBC]
* Georgians will need photo ID to vote; no word on whether ID will be required to service the Diebold machines. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
* God’s law. [Chicago Tribune via How Appealing]
* Suspended sentence? Yes, suspended sentence. [Jurist]
- Books, David Souter, Election Law, Jeffrey Toobin, Media and Journalism, Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Bush v. Gore: Enough to Make a Grown Justice Cry?
By David LatAnother day, another controversy involving New Yorker scribe Jeffrey Toobin and his eagerly anticipated book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (to be published on September 18).
Yesterday we wrote about Toobin weighing in on who deserved the blame for Harriet Miers. Today we bring you a new drama (first noted earlier this week by Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin, over at Yeas & Nays).
We begin with a juicy excerpt from Toobin’s book, concerning Justice Souter’s reaction to Bush v. Gore:
David Souter alone was shattered. He was, fundamentally, a very different person from his colleagues. It wasn’t just that they had immediate families; their lives off the bench were entirely unlike his. They went to parties and conferences; they gave speeches; they mingled in Washington, where cynicism about everything, including the work of the Supreme Court, was universal.
More discussion, including JT’s juicy revelation about Justice Souter, after the jump.
Continue reading “Bush v. Gore: Enough to Make a Grown Justice Cry?”
Here’s an amusing anecdote from a West Coast reader:
Went to visit a dentist in Palo Alto for a routine cleaning the other day. When I told him I was an attorney, he quipped: “So, do you grind your teeth? Lawyers are notorious for grinding teeth.”
And then, unprompted and somewhat gratuitously, he added, “Especially those guys at Wilson Sonsini — they’re the worst.”
Granted, my dentist’s views could be somewhat skewed given WSGR’s major presence in Palo Alto. Nevertheless, I hope WSGR has a good dental plan.
And that recruiting has figured out how to use the bcc field.
-
Sponsored Content
Business Is Booming in Hong Kong and China and What It Means for U.S. Associate Lateral Hiring There
Presented by Kinney Recruiting
Ed. note: The Asia Chronicles column is authored by Kinney Recruiting. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates, counsels and partners in Asia than any other recruiting firm in each of the past six years. You can reach them by email: [email protected].
Since late last year, things have been booming in Hong Kong / China in cap markets, especially Hong Kong IPOs. M&A deal flow has recently been getting a bit stronger as well. Although one can’t predict such things with any certainty, all signs are pointing to a banner entire 2014 for the top end US corporate and cap markets practices in Hong Kong / China. This is not really new news, as its been the feeling most in the market have had for a few months now and things continue to look good.
The head of our Asia practice, Evan Jowers, has been in Hong Kong for about 10 days a month (with trips every other month to both Shanghai and Bejing) for the past 7 months (Robert Kinney and Evan Jowers will be in Hong Kong again March 15 to 23), and spending most of his time there meeting with senior US hiring partners at just about all the major US and UK firms there, as well as prospective candidates at all associate levels and partner levels, and when in the US, Evan works Asia hours and is regularly on the phone with such persons, as our the other members of our Asia team. Our Yuliya Vinokurova is in Hong Kong every other month and Robert is there about 5 times a year as well. While we have a solid Asia team of recruiters, Evan Jowers will spend at least some time with all of our candidates for Asia position. We have had long standing relationships, and good friendships in some cases, with hiring partners and other senior US partners in Asia for 8 years now.
Keep reading »Sponsored Content
Considering Mobile Law Practice? Here’s Your User Guide
Presented by Thomson ReutersAre you challenged by the costs and logistics of maintaining your office, distracting you from the practice of law?
Many small firms are successfully moving part—or even all—of their practice to a virtual setting. This even includes multi-jurisdictional practice spanning several states and practice areas, although solo and small partnerships are still the largest adopters of virtual law.
Can you do the same? The new article Mobile in Practice, Virtual by Design from author Jared Correia, Esq., explores how mobile technology bring real-life benefits to a small law firm. Read this new article—the next in Thomson Reuters’ Independent Thinking series for small firms—to explore how a mobile practice:
Keep reading »Sponsored Content
How Do You Social?
Presented by Good2BSocial
Everyone is talking about the importance of Social Media in Corporate America. But it is relatively safe to say that most law firms and lawyers are slightly behind the social curve. Most lawyers, at minimum, use LinkedIn, for networking. Some even use Twitter for pushing out short, pithy content, while many have Blogs, where they write their little hearts out. The adage “it is better to give than to receive” is not always true though in the world of Social. In the Social World – it is best to listen, give back and engage.Social Media is a communications tool that can deeply educate you about the needs and wants of your clients and prospects when used in conjunction social media monitoring and sharing tools.
Take this quick quiz and see if you know how to use Social to help you engage more with your clients or to better service the ones you have.
Keep reading »
