Public Interest
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Layoffs, Public Interest, Staff Layoffs, State Judges
Nationwide Layoff Watch: The Connecticut State Judiciary
Layoffs at law firms have slowed to a trickle (although we still hear the occasional rumor; email us with your tips). In the public sector, however, layoffs continue — and may even accelerate, as state governments and the federal government grapple with contentious budget issues. Today brings word of major layoffs in Connecticut. In a […] -
Breasts, Crime, Hotties, Pictures, Pornography, Pro Bono, Prostitution, Public Interest, Sex, Sex Scandals, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
All Rise! Reema Bajaj's Bajayjay Is Now In Session
A source has provided Above the Law with what appear to be two nude photographs of Reema Bajaj.... - Sponsored
Gain An Instant Understanding Of New Complaints With LexisNexis Snapshot
AI-powered complaint summaries to help you spot new lawsuits, new challenges, and new business. -
Biglaw, Deaths, Money, Partner Issues, Pro Bono, Public Interest, Trusts and Estates
How Much Was Joe Flom Worth? Some Clues From His Will
Back in February, Joseph Flom — name partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and one of the nation’s most successful and prominent lawyers — passed away, at the age of 87. During his life, Flom earned well-deserved renown as an attorney, philanthropist, and mentor. He was also a wonderful father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, […]
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Law Schools, Money, Pro Bono, Public Interest, Student Loans, Summer Associates
Should Working Students Pay for Their Pro Bono Classmates?
Incoming summer associates, would you donate one day of your summer salary to help other students at your school who did not get summer jobs? Would you donate that money for a pro bono or public interest cause? Would you donate that money so your law school could fund the pro bono interests of other […] -
Pro Bono, Public Interest, Small Law Firms
Size Matters: Good Deeds Can Come In Small Packages
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. I have written this column from many places: my parents’ couch, my local Starbucks, my bed, etc. I have yet to try it from atop a soapbox, but here goes. It is common knowledge that […] -
Biglaw, Disasters / Emergencies, Holland & Knight, Pro Bono, Public Interest
More Law Firms Contributing to Japanese Relief Efforts
On Tuesday we told you that McGuireWoods, Dewey & LeBoeuf, and Weil Gosthal were all contributing to the relief efforts under way in Japan. The response has been pretty great. While some people seem to think Japan’s status as a rich nation means it doesn’t need any international aid, I don’t see how the country’s […] -
Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Disasters / Emergencies, Pro Bono, Public Interest
Biglaw Firms Poised To Help Japanese Relief Efforts
After the Haitian earthquake last year, we saw law firms step up in a big way to support relief efforts down there. Hopefully we will see the same reaction to the ever-increasing tragedy unfolding in Japan. Given an 8.9 a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, a massive tsunami, and a nuclear disaster that is already the second-worst nuclear […] -
Law Schools, Money, Pro Bono, Public Interest, Student Loans
The University of Chicago Law School Unveils Its Enhanced Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)
Numerous applicants to law school claim that they want to become lawyers in order to serve the public interest — and some of them are telling the truth. Alas, after burdening themselves with six figures of law school debt, they find it difficult to follow through on their public-interest dreams. The path of least resistance, […] - Sponsored
AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
How solo lawyers, midsize firms, and global large law firms have an opportunity to adjust the way they work. -
Biglaw, Career Alternatives, Money, Public Interest, Student Loans, Travel / Vacation, Weirdness
The Skadden Associate Who Picked Up and Moved to Nepal: An Update
On Wednesday we wrote about the great departure email sent out by Brian Emeott, a former corporate associate at Skadden in Chicago. Emeott, a 2004 graduate of Harvard College and 2008 graduate of Harvard Law School, picked up and moved to Kathmandu, Nepal. Brian’s wife, Claudine Emeott, resigned from her own job in December and […] -
Admin, Civil Rights, Holidays and Seasons, Public Interest
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
Today we honor the birthday of the late great civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929 (so he would have been 82 today). The holiday of MLK Day is observed on the third Monday of January. Legislation for a holiday honoring Dr. King was first introduced […] -
Biglaw, Litigators, pls hndle thx, Public Interest
Pls Hndle Thx: Are Non-Lawyer Jobs Career Suicide for JDs?
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. Dear ATL: I am a graduate of a T3 law school. I was on a law journal, successfully competed in moot court competitions (regional and national) and loved my clinical experience during my third year of law school. Basically, I love the […] -
Biglaw, Fabulosity, Law Schools, Pro Bono, Public Interest
Congratulations to the 2011 Skadden Fellows
Biglaw isn’t all about high-stakes mergers and bet-the-company litigation. Many Biglaw firms take their commitment to pro bono very seriously. Obviously, these firms need to pay the bills, first and foremost. But when they can, many firms do try to give back. As many of you already know, Skadden takes that commitment quite a bit […] -
Job Searches, Public Interest
Columbia Students Take to the Streets Sign Petition Over Public Interest Opportunities
As T-Fifty wisely noted this morning, getting a public interest legal job is a lot harder than it looks. You can’t spend two years of law school trying to get Biglaw to notice you, and only turn on your public interest charm after Biglaw rejects you. You can’t treat public interest jobs like the ugly […]
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AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
How solo lawyers, midsize firms, and global large law firms have an opportunity to adjust the way they work.
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Diving Into Generative AI: A Practical Guide For Law Firms Starting From Scratch
NetDocuments’ Michelle Spencer on where to start, what to ask, and considerations for implementing generative AI tools in your organization.
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Law Firms Now Have A Choice In Their Document Comparison Software
Six months on since its launch, over 200 firms worldwide are now using Draftable Legal for accurate and reliable document comparison, including UK Top 50…
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Gain An Instant Understanding Of New Complaints With LexisNexis Snapshot
AI-powered complaint summaries to help you spot new lawsuits, new challenges, and new business.
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Why Do AI And Legal Professionals Make The Perfect Partnership?
For many legal departments, generative AI is the technology they’ve been waiting for.
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Pro Bono, Public Interest
Mississippi: Finally Doing Something Right, or Still Unhappy with 13th Amendment?
Can Mississippi force lawyers to do pro bono work? That’s the question state bar officials are thinking about, as reported in the ABA Journal. A number of Mississippi lawyers are objecting to a proposal that would require them to either (1) spend 20 hours a year representing the poor or (2) contribute $500 to the […] -
Biglaw, Blog Wars, Federal Government, Job Searches, Public Interest, Summer Associates
The World Hates Lawyers: Mainstream Media Manages to Criticize Biglaw Summers AND Public Sector Lawyers in the Same Breath
Earlier this week, Conor Friedersdorf, writing for The Atlantic, poured a big bottle of haterade all over the legal profession. More specifically, he criticized the way “Ivy League” lawyers are recruited, and the “palpable sense of entitlement” they exhibit even when they don’t take Biglaw bucks and instead work for the government. Here’s the set […] -
Job Searches, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Public Interest, Southern New England School of Law/Umass, Student Loans
UMass Law School is Open: Law Dean Robert Ward and I Talk About It
UMass School of Law (fka Southern New England School of Law) is open for business. Orientation happened last week, and students started classes yesterday, at Massachusetts’s first public law school. As has been well-documented in these pages, I’m unimpressed. Put simply: there isn’t enough of a demand for new lawyers right now to justify a […] -
Biglaw, Deferral Stipend, Pro Bono, Public Interest
Should Biglaw Deferral Programs Become Permanent?
With apologies to Langston Hughes, we have to ask: What happens to an associate deferred? Does he dry up, like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore — and then run? Run, run — away from Biglaw. That seems to be what at least some deferred associates are doing, as reported last […] -
Public Interest, Weirdness
Why Public and Private Defense Lawyers Shouldn't Date Each Other
Usually, we find conversations with lawyers to be very engaging. But in this video short, Ron Livingston does not: The video was produced as part of a corporate undertaking — The Responsibility Project — devoted to “exploring what it means to do the right thing.” So, what is it trying to say exactly? -
Craigslist, Job Searches, Public Interest
'The Job Market Is Even Worse Than Many of Us Thought'
Desperate times call for measures to take advantage of the desperate. Why pay California lawyers $10 an hour when they’re willing to work for free? And not just willing, but eager to provide their services on a volunteer basis. We wrote before about the public sector utilizing the unpaid legal workforce when the Marin County […] -
Layoffs, Public Interest
Nationwide Layoff Watch: A Dozen Down at the Bronx DA's Office
Working as a lawyer for the government is regarded by many as the life raft for riding out the recession. But thanks to shrinking budgets, attorneys in the public sector are also losing their jobs. Yesterday the Bronx District Attorney, Robert T. Johnson, issued a letter announcing a layoff of 12 assistant district attorneys in […]