Friday, August 29, 2008 12:16 PM - By Kashmir Hill
Facebook just got a lot less cool, and a lot more LinkedIn. Watch out, for your firm may be coming to F-book soon.
The ABA Journal reports that Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle has launched a Facebook page to aid in its recruiting efforts:
Looking for a way to better promote itself to the next generation of lawyers, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle has launched a Facebook page as part of its broader law school recruiting efforts."We are pleased to be capitalizing on the popularity of the most widely used social networking site," Nancy Delaney, a Curtis partner who is a member of the firm's personnel committee, says in a release (PDF) about the page. "As a Firm, we recognized the power of this format of communication and the wide use being made of it by future lawyers."
Their page has 55 fans at the moment. We would pooh-pooh that, but the Above the Law fan page currently has just 96 fans.
(The ATL group page on Facebook, however, has more robust ranks, with over 800 members.)
Facebook Page is New Twist in Biglaw Recruiting [Robert Ambrogi's LawSites]
BigLaw Firm Recruits on Facebook [ABA Journal]
Curtis, Mallet, Prevost, Colt & Mosle Facebook Page [Facebook]
CURTIS DEPLOYS FACEBOOK PAGE TO HELP ATTRACT TOP LAW STUDENTS [Curtis, Mallet, Prevost, Colt & Mosle Press Release - PDF]
Friday, August 29, 2008 9:32 AM - By Kashmir Hill
This marks the end of our review of the firms in the Vault 100. This is the final bunch up for discussion (with prestige scores in parentheses):
91. Lovells (4.494)
92. Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP (4.489)
93. Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP (4.478)
94. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP (4.459)
95. Kilpatrick Stockton LLP (4.452)
96. Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP (4.439)
97. Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP (4.421)
98. Seyfarth Shaw (4.399)
99. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC (4.394)
100. Fenwick & West LLP (4.373)
Discuss. Dissect. Compare. Contrast. Most of all, enjoy.
Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009
Friday, August 29, 2008 8:33 AM - By Kashmir Hill
* The Democratic love fest peaked last night. Senator Barack Obama addressed more than 80,000 people in a Denver football stadium. Our favorite line was his take on "it's not me, it's you." [New York Times]
* A reporter for ABC News wasn't feeling the love at the Democratic convention this week. Denver police arrested him Wednesday for trespassing while he tried to get interviews on a public sidewalk. His attorneys and the ACLU want all charges dropped. [The Blotter/ABC News]
* Under new Justice Department rules, "federal prosecutors will no longer be able to strong-arm corporate targets to reveal protected conversations with their attorneys." [CNN]
* Florida lawyers acting badly may make it hard for workers to file overtime violation suits. [National Law Journal]
* Embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is suing to stop the hearing that would remove him from office. [Washington Post]
* ... We hope his lawyers are making him prepay for that. An attorney has filed suit against Mayor Kilpatrick for allegedly stiffing him on a $79,000 legal bill. [Detroit Free Press]
* Tom Cruise is being sued for $11 million by a bunch of German actors who say they were injured in the filming of his last movie. Show me the money! [Onlinewire]
Thursday, August 28, 2008 10:14 AM - By Kashmir Hill
Our Vault 100 series is winding down. We hope that the insiders have enjoyed the opportunity to brag (or to vent) about their firms. And that the curious have appreciated insights into life at various firms in the top 100.
Here is the next bunch up for discussion (with their prestige scores in parentheses):
81. Crowell & Moring LLP (4.763)
82. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (4.754)
83. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP (4.735)
84. Arent Fox PLLC (4.726)
85. McGuireWoods LLP (4.697)
86. Venable LLP (4.676)
87. Dorsey & Whitney LLP (4.575)
88. Dickstein Shapiro LLP (4.554)
89. Baker & Hostetler (4.531)
90. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P (4.503)
Are the following statements true or false?
Venable attorneys like bocce ball.
Katten attorneys need Weight Watchers.
Having your tupperware washed denotes a "notable perk."
Getting to leave early and have the firm respect your personal time is the best perk of all.
Okay, you know the drill.
Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009
Thursday, August 28, 2008 9:19 AM - By Kashmir Hill
* Barack Obama and Joe Biden accept the love of the Democratic Party. [Washington Post]
* Sobering news for the lovefest: "A potential conflict of interest involving Biden and one of the nation's biggest asbestos litigation law firms." [Politico]
* Bad Citibank! It owes 53,000 credit card customers $14 million for stealing their positive balances. According to one executive, "Stealing from our customers is a business decision, not a legal decision." [Courthouse News Service]
* Child killer smiles as he hears death sentence. [CNN]
* Mexican Supreme Court upholds Mexico City's abortion law. [Guardian]
* A Nepalese family is suing Iraq contractor KBR for human trafficking. [BBC News]
* Beach nudists sue for the right to be naked. [New York Times]
*... Fortunately for them, Orange County Superior Court Judge Shelia Fell likes nudity. [San Diego Union-Tribune]
* Expect McCain's Veep pick today. [Politico]
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 5:07 PM - By Kashmir Hill
The Vault 100 march continues! In this series of open threads, we list the firms, and you all discuss their upsides and downsides. We'll be wrapping this puppy up this week.
Here are the next ten (with prestige scores in parentheses):
71. Nixon Peabody LLP (5.218)
72. Hunton & Williams LLP (5.208)
73. Perkins Coie LLP (5.119)
74. Reed Smith LLP (5.057)
75. Patton Boggs LLP (5.050)
76. Chadbourne & Parke LLP (4.997)
77. Bryan Cave LLP (4.969)
78. Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP (4.967)
79. Howrey LLP (4.926)
80. Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (4.910)
Usually, we have fun with the "notable perks" chosen by Vault. But as we move down the list, the perks are becoming distinctly less notable -- e.g., gym membership discounts, free parking, and "good views." Oh well.
You know what to do! Have at it in the comments.
Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 11:57 AM - By Kashmir Hill
Judging from our traffic, readers are enjoying this rundown of the Vault 100. We do aim to please here at ATL. We appreciate those who have offered insights about firms in the comments.
Moving on to the next group (with prestige scores in parentheses):
61. Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP (5.608)
62. Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP (5.583)
63. Bingham McCutchen LLP (5.583)
64. Greenberg Traurig, LLP (5.478)
65. Holland & Knight LLP (5.416)
66. Heller Ehrman LLP (5.346)
67. Foley & Lardner LLP (5.266)
68. Steptoe & Johnson LLP (5.252)
69. K&L Gates LLP (5.242)
70. Kaye Scholer LLP (5.230)
As we move down the Vault list, "notable perks" are becoming less elaborate. This group is dominated by tales of free food, from endless soda at Greenberg Traurig to weekend doughnuts and muffins at Foley. And it appears that Pillsbury lacks a monopoly on cookie benefits; over at Cahill, lawyers are plied with "twice daily cookie trays."
We note this food-related perk at Bingham: "If any lawyer takes out a more junior lawyer for drinks/dinner, he/she can submit the expense to the mentoring budget AND the senior person can get creditable hours." Can you expense the roofies?
We invite you to compare and contrast these firms' work, lifestyle, benefits... and cookies, in the comments.
Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 8:33 AM - By Kashmir Hill
* Those Bratz got a spanking, but not as severe a spanking as Mattel hoped. The jury awarded Mattel $100 million, rather than the $1 billion Quinn Emanuel's John Quinn had requested. [CNN]
* U.S. District Judge John D. Bates rules Harriet Miers must testify before Congress. The big moment could come as early as next month. [Washington Post]
* Eight of the sixty judges sacked by former Pakistani president Pervez Musharaff have been reinstated. The others are still twiddling their thumbs. [BBC News]
* Barry Bonds wants to knock his case out of the park. His lawyers have moved to dismiss most of the government's case against him for lying to a grand jury about steroid use. [Associated Press]
* In Mexico City, abortion is legal in theory, but not often in practice. Now the Mexican Supreme Court is considering overturning the one-year-old abortion law. [International Herald Tribune]
* Colorado U.S. attorney files charges in the Obama murder plot. The last name of one of the accused is Adolf. [Smoking Gun]
* How is Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick still in office? [Washington Post]
* Update in the case of the alleged half-ton murderess. Her attorney says she's too fat to have killed her nephew. [CNN]
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 1:14 PM - By Kashmir Hill
The makers of KNOW: The Magazine for Paralegals have another legal publication in the works. A tipster forwarded us an e-mail about a "new magazine for women professionals in litigation."
Imagining the love child of Glamour and the American Lawyer, we expected to see planned articles on hot courtroom studs and legal fashion faux pas. But it sounds like this publication will be more strait-laced. The email announcement claims the magazine will "be chock full of work style and life style balance articles; address women's issues in the law firm and in-house legal environment and offer informative pieces on current topics in technology, litigation and e-discovery."
They're in the naming phase, and are considering the following. Which two are not like the others?
* Women in Litigation
* Chill
* Woman Litigator
* Trial Mama
* American Litigator
* Spirit, The Magazine for Women in e-Discovery
* Equality, The Magazine for Women Litigators
* Legal Women, A Workstyle & Life Balance Magazine
We're not excited by the bland "Women in Litigation" options, or anything with "e-Discovery" in the title. But "Chill" and "Trial Mama" are truly ridonculous. ATL Idol Exley's "Clitigator", or Lat's beloved "Litigatrix", would blow all the other entries away. We welcome better title suggestions in the comments.
Among the options offered, we can't decide which is the worst. What do you think?
Earlier: We Don't KNOW How This Magazine for Paralegals Will Do
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 10:26 AM - By Kashmir Hill
We're entering the second half of the Vault 100. This is part of a series of open threads to discuss the firms considered to be the profession's most prestigious. Because we know you love prestige. And the opportunity for "TTT" accusations. [FN1]
Here's the next bunch of firms, with prestige scores in parentheses:
51. Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP (5.851)
52. Dechert LLP (5.838)
53. Vinson & Elkins LLP (5.822)
54. Goodwin Procter LLP (5.815)
55. Jenner & Block LLP (5.778)
56. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (5.728)
57. Alston & Bird LLP (5.715)
58. Fish & Richardson P.C. (5.706)
59. Cooley Godward LLP (5.692)
60. Irell & Manella LLP (5.635)
Vault notes that attorneys at Pillsbury are treated to "freshly baked cookies." But they also have to put up with being referred to as "Pillsburians" by Vault.
Compare, contrast, discuss... and if you're at Pillsbury, have a chocolate chip cookie for us.
Earlier: Vault 100 Open Threads - 2009
[FN1] We periodically get e-mails asking for the definition of "TTT," which appears so often in comment threads. As the uninitiated have surely gathered, it's a derogatory term. Likely originating on AutoAdmit, it stands for "third tier toilet." For more, see Urban Dictionary.