Public Interest
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Abortion, Exercise, Food, Google / Search Engines, John Edwards, Morning Docket, Patents, Pro Bono, Prostitution, Public Interest, Technology, Trials
Morning Docket: 05.24.12
* Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan apologized before a Senate panel for his agency’s prostitution scandal. We bet that you’d be “deeply disappointed” too if your employees were caught stiffing a hooker on her bill. [Miami Herald]
* Day four of jury deliberations in the John Edwards campaign finance trial closed yesterday without a verdict. The former presidential candidate is probably just waiting to pack it in, get this jury declared hung, and call it a day. [CNN]
* “This case is maybe something like a near disaster for Oracle.” A jury ruled unanimously that Google didn’t infringe Oracle’s Java patents in developing its Android software. Maybe they weren’t evil after all. [Bloomberg]
* A record low of 41% of Americans call themselves “pro choice” when it comes to abortions, and only a little more than half think it should be legal under “certain circumstances.” What is this, Roe v. World? [Reuters]
* Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman put together a task force to make recommendations on how to implement New York’s new pro bono prerequisite. Please let them take law school clinic hours. [Corporate Counsel]
* Remember the lawyer who sued his posh fitness club over its failure to provide free breakfast? Not only is his suit now toast, but he also has to fork over some cash to the club’s lawyers. [New York Daily News]
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Bar Exams, Pro Bono, Public Interest, State Judges, Ted Frank
New York Forces Pro Bono Requirements Upon Would-Be Lawyers Because No One Else Cares About Poor People
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals announced yesterday that a new bar admission hurdle would be foisted upon would-be lawyers in the state, in the form of a 50-hour pro bono requirement. What does it mean for you? - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Public Interest, Small Law Firms
The Practice: Finding Meaning
So many among us are miserable and wondering why — and what — we are doing. How can you find meaning as a lawyer?
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Biglaw, Harvard, Job Searches, Law Schools, Public Interest
The Commendable Yet Futile Harvard Law Campaign To 'Just Say No' to Biglaw
The Harvard Law campaign to get people to turn down Biglaw is cute but doomed to failure... -
In-House Counsel, Money, Public Interest
Goodie Two-Shoes
You're taking the high road, escaping the pervasive cynicism and greed. You've got your sights set on a not-for-profit institution, dedicated to the promise of a better tomorrow. Will it work? Can a lawyer escape pervasive cynicism and greed? -
Abortion, Animal Law, Money, Pictures, Public Interest, Women's Issues
PETA Offers to Spay and Neuter Tucker Max
Another organization that is certainly worthy of Tucker Max’s half-million has stepped up to the plate. This organization wants Max’s money badly, so badly that its executives have turned around to take it like a desperate dog in heat.... -
Abortion, Books, Money, Public Interest, Texas, Women's Issues
The Trials and Tribulations of Tucker Max: Did He Try to Pull a Fast One on Planned Parenthood?
Why did Tucker Max wait so long to start spreading the news about his Planned Parenthood donation fiasco? Maybe it’s because he was scamming us all along…. -
Abortion, Money, Public Interest, Texas, Women's Issues
Tucker Max: Too Douchey for a $500K Donation?
Why doesn't Planned Parenthood want Tucker Max's money? - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Election 2012, Politics, Public Interest, Small Law Firms
The Practice: Political Networking
There, of course, is a natural path from lawyer to legislator. But the low pay, travel, time commitment, and mud slinging that we see on TV and the internet turn many lawyers away from public service.The current political landscape also causes lawyers to be uninterested in participating in politics at any level, whether it means lobbying, running campaigns, fundraising, or attending political functions. It’s a mistake... -
New Orleans, Politics, Pro Bono, Public Interest, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge Orders Random Lawyers To Defend Poor People
There is a judge in New Orleans who doesn't want poor people to just go away. There is a judge in New Orleans who wants the larger community to not only see but also defend poor people who appear in his court. He hopes that if some prominent people have to get some skin in the game, maybe they won't be so eager to cut essential legal services to indigent defendants.... -
Law Schools, Public Interest, Student Loans
Yale Law School Makes It Slightly Harder to Get Loan Forgiveness
Yale is making a slight change to its low-income loan forgiveness program, and it’s going to make it a little harder for people who leave Yale Law School and take low-paying jobs. Now, this isn’t anything to yell and scream about. Yale is still committed to making loan repayment feasible for people who don’t take […] -
Email Scandals, Hotties, Job Searches, Public Interest, Quote of the Day, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Twittering
Tweet of the Day: Try Applying to Chippendales
Landing a Summer Public Interest Legal Job: hotsexyskippy@yahoo.com is not an appropriate email address to have on your résumé. LOL. — PSLawNet, offering job search advice over Twitter. -
Cars, Deaths, Election Law, Law Schools, Minority Issues, Non-Sequiturs, Public Interest
Non-Sequiturs: 01.17.12
* So, just so we’re all clear, Republicans running for President are no longer on board with the Voting Rights Act. Happy Martin Luther King Day. [Election Law Blog] * It’s not like there are no more voting issues where we might want to have federal oversight of state laws that affect the electoral power […]
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
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Admin, Civil Rights, Holidays and Seasons, Public Interest
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
Yesterday, January 15, was the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the great American civil rights leader and Nobel laureate. As noted on the Nobel website, Dr. King was just 35 years old at the time he was honored, making him the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. Please take some […] -
Biglaw, Boalt Hall, Fabulosity, Law Schools, Pro Bono, Public Interest
Congratulations to the 2012 Skadden Fellows
It's time for celebration of a different sort -- time to celebrate, and congratulate, the latest class of Skadden Fellows. The winners of these prestigious public interest fellowships were just announced, as they are every December. Who are the Skadden fellows for 2012? Which law schools produced the most fellows? And what's different about this year's program compared to past years? -
Biglaw, Job Searches, Law Schools, Public Interest
The Best Worst Person to Take Law School Advice From Is Someone Who Didn't Attend Law School
Regardless of the brand name quality of the law schools the editors of Above the Law attended, we can each express our opinions about the costs and benefits of going to law school because we've been there ourselves. But what happens when someone who didn't attend law school -- someone who apparently doesn't even know how long law school lasts -- starts giving out career advice to prospective law students? Ridiculousness, and lots of it.... -
American Bar Association / ABA, New York Times, Pro Bono, Public Interest, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: Leave the Law to the Lawyers
[A] rush to open the practice of law to unschooled, unregulated nonlawyers is not the solution [to the justice gap]. This would cause grave harm to clients. Even matters that appear simple, such as uncontested divorces, involve myriad legal rights and responsibilities. If the case is not handled by a professional with appropriate legal training, […] -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Pro Bono, Public Interest
And the Associates Rejoiced: Now Almost Everything Is Billable at Jenner & Block
Lawyers like to complain about the billable hours requirements at their firms. A common question seems to be what will count and what won't. In this line of work, time is money, and many associates want to know if they're wasting their time. Read on for some good news on billable hours from Jenner & Block.... -
American Bar Association / ABA, New York Times, Pro Bono, Public Interest, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: A Modest Proposal
State bar associations could help address [low-income Americans’ need for legal services] by requiring lawyers to report their pro bono service — such disclosure would likely increase many lawyers’ service to the recommended 3 percent to 5 percent of their paid work. Another step is to allow nonlawyers into the mix. The American Bar Association […] -
Education / Schools, Law Schools, Money, Public Interest, Student Loans
Can't Get a Job? Lacking Lawyer Skills? Try Working for Your School's Law Firm
There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about how law schools are failing to adequately prepare recent graduates for the working world. Law schools have also been under fire for their apparently inability to employ recent graduates in the legal work force. And in the spirit of killing two birds with one stone, law schools may soon have a solution for both of these problems....