Pranks

Prosecutors looking into Tyler Clementi suicide indicated yesterday that they might not be able to charge Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei with a hate crime. Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan told the Newark Star-Ledger that his office was trying to see if they could charge Ravi and Wei with a second degree bias crime, but […]

Over the past few days, we’ve learned a lot about Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers college student and talented violinist who killed himself after his roommate streamed, live on the internet, a hidden webcam video of Tyler hooking up with another man. On September 22, a few days after the incident, Clementi committed suicide by jumping […]

No, this isn’t about a lawsuit arising out of the writing of Animal Farm II: Sharks on Retainer — but who knows, my original thought for a post title might be subject to trademark infringement. More on that later; for now, let’s turn our attention to this delicious product offered by ThinkGeek (which went on […]

UC-Berkeley once again topped Michigan in the (leaked so still unofficial) U.S. News law school rankings. Boalt Hall also dominated the Wolverines this month when it comes to secret society activity. Whereas, members of Michigan’s “Barrister’s Society” threw their dirty laundry o’er the rooftops, resulting in campus-wide derision, recent activities by Berkeley’s “Gun Club” have […]

April 1 is a dangerous date. It’s a day when punking people becomes the national sport.  It’s not just traditional pranksters like College Humor marking the holiday. Law firms and law schools have been getting in on the fun today as well. Shortly after your ATL editors got back from lunch, we got an alarmed […]

Have you had the privilege of voluntarily leaving your Biglaw job? I have, and let me tell you, the last day is a special kind of awesome. You kind of walk around, taking a survey of things you no longer have to deal with. Many of your friends and colleagues look at you with envy […]

A few readers have sent along the link to this Craigslist ad for an “ASSociate Attorney” based in midtown Manhattan: Small, congenial law firm needs top notch associate attorney to join our exceptional team. Please do not apply if you do not meet the following requirmenets: [sic] 1. Top half of the class at Harvard, […]

Apparently, many ATL readers are conducting their job searches via Craigslist, because this posting has appeared in our inbox more frequently than lobster references in the comments. We’ve already mentioned it in Non-Sequiturs, but we’re returning to it to beg you to stop sending it to us, and to give you the story behind it. […]

Earlier in the week, this email went out to all the lawyers in the Restructuring Group at Kirkland & Ellis, from the head of the group: 04/01/2008 10:58 AMTo: #FW Restructuring AttorneysSubject: Upcoming Dress Code Program As part of our KIRT [Kirkland Institute of Restructuring Training] programs, I am pleased to announce a “dress for […]

Courtesy of Professor Dan Solove, “a sneak peak at this year’s rankings, as well as some amazing secrets about how US News ranks law schools.” The Official Leaked US News Law School Rankings, Plus Ranking Secrets Revealed! [Concurring Opinions]

Courtesy of Professor Dan Solove, “a sneak peak at this year’s rankings, as well as some amazing secrets about how US News ranks law schools.” The Official Leaked US News Law School Rankings, Plus Ranking Secrets Revealed! [Concurring Opinions]

Sigh. Guess we got a little lax in our factchecking around here (i.e., not doing it at all, since it had been a while since anyone bothered to put together a fake memo). The purported Much Shelist memo that we posted earlier appears to be a fake. Sorry, Chicago. If anyone has a real memo […]

This was forwarded to us by a tipster: April 25, 2007 To: Boalt Community From: Dean Christopher Edley, Jr. It has been a week since the distressing events involving a Boalt student’s threat —a hoax — against the community at Hastings College of the Law. I am writing to let you know that all our […]

* If you’re not spreading your music like herpes, then you’re just paying an extra 30 cents for the same product you’ve always been buying; as a side note, doesn’t Damon Alburn look dreamy these days? [New York Times] * The SEC wants to be more like a friend than a parent, but watch out […]

* Would you drink this if you knew it was named after someone who choked on his own drug and alcohol-induced vomit? Yeah, probably, if you were out of Grey Goose. [TMZ] * I bet it’s Jim and Pam. My best prank? The classic Frozen Underwear I set up in my brother’s room before he […]

It’s only a matter of time before BNA starts publishing a Borat Law Reporter. There have been a few developments in this area since we last checked in. First, a victory for the defendants: Two college fraternity buddies shown guzzling alcohol and making racist remarks in the “Borat” movie have lost their bid for a […]

Still no news. The message boards are quiet (aside from complaints about the “trolls,” and admonitions not to “feed” them). At this point in time, we’re guessing that no major bonus news will break this week. But we’re happy to be proven wrong. As soon as you hear something, please email us. Last night, a […]

The fake bonus announcement memos really aren’t that funny, people. Everybody gets all worked up for an hour or two, and then the ruse is exposed. The purported Willkie Farr bonus memo, which surfaced earlier tonight, is not authentic. From one of our sources at Willkie: This is clearly a fake. FYI, Willkie never sends […]

Update: As explained here, the supposed Willkie Farr “bonus memo” reprinted below is a fake. From: “Matthew A. Feldman” Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 6:29 PM To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Subject: Associate Bonuses We are pleased to announce that the firm will once again award year-end bonuses for associates. Class of 2006 – $40,000 Class of 2005 […]

Back in this post, an ATL reader confessed to playing a little trick on Ann Israel, the legal recruiter who writes NYLawyer.com’s popular Advice for the Lawlorn column. He wrote: Love ATL’s Advice for the Lawlame column. My friends and I have been reading NYLawyer.com’s Advice for the Lawlorn with a sort of amused contempt […]