* A rave review for Saira Rao's Chambermaid. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

* How could we NOT link to a post entitled "Do Faculty Have a Constitutional Right to Sleep With Their Students?" [TaxProf Blog]

* A very interesting installment of The Glenn and Helen Show, in which they speak with Professor Richard Epstein about drugs and health care. [Instapundit]

(And if you're REALLY good, we'll reward you with more Nina Totenberg stories. Ask and you shall receive!)

Another day, another blog post about Chambermaid, the controversial clerkship novel by lawyer-turned-writer Saira Rao. The latest post is by Professor Scott Burris, who clerked for Third Circuit Judge Dolores K. Sloviter -- Rao's former boss, widely rumored to be the basis for the central villain of Chambermaid, the tyrannical Judge Helga Friedman.

But Burris -- unlike, say, fellow law prof and ex-Sloviter clerk Mike Rappaport -- takes issue with the scuttlebutt equating Sloviter and Friedman:

What I really object to in the whole affair is the way Rao and some of her blogging readers have negotiated the delicate question of Judge Friedman’s correspondence with Judge Sloviter, and the rationale offered in several quarters for “outing” mean judicial bosses....

Aside from a couple of tics, Helga Friendman is not a portrait, nor even a recognizable caricature, of Dolores Sloviter. Hell, I didn’t even recognize Rao’s Center City Philadelphia.

Additional discussion -- if this issue doesn't interest you, just stop reading here -- appears after the jump.

Just a quick follow-up to our recent post about Saira Rao and Chambermaid, her novel about a law clerk's challenging year clerking for a federal judicial diva. A tipster writes:

I just left a lunch where Saira Rao spoke to the South Asian Bar Association of Delaware, and she clarified something [from the recent Philadelphia Inquirer article].

I believe the article said something to the effect that she was pushed out of Cleary once people found out what her book was about. [Ed. note: Here's the quote from the Inquirer: "[Rao] left her New York law firm, Cleary Gottlieb, in November when the subject of her book became known, and, she said, the firm made her feel unwelcome."]

According to her, it appears the opposite was true. She mentioned that the firm was actually accommodating to her needs as a writer and essentially created a new position for her so that she could concentrate more on the book. She also said she received two months off to allow her to finish up some edits on the book as well. She actually said she loved the firm and had a wonderful experience.... [Ed. note: For more, see this comment.]

In addition, she also mentioned that the book was recently optioned to be turned into a television series, so be on the lookout. No word yet on how involved she will be beyond the title of "consultant".

With respect to the account of Rao's departure from Cleary, our understanding is that the "firm made her feel unwelcome" statement wasn't based directly on anything said by Rao herself, but reflected the article writer's interpretation of events.

We love to engage in juicy speculation about workplace departures as much as (if not more than) the next guy. But it's best when the scuttlebutt is actually accurate.

Update: We have an email in to Carlin Romano, the Philly Inquirer book critic who wrote the article. We'll let you now if and when we hear back from him.

Lifetime raises Sunday stakes [Variety]

Earlier: Chambermaid: Judge Sloviter Speaks

Today is our lucky day in terms of media coverage. In addition to the great WaPo shout-out, Above the Law is also mentioned in the Philadelphia Inquirer (front page, above the fold).

The article, by Inquirer book critic Carlin Romano, is all about Chambermaid, the highly entertaining debut novel of Saira Rao, loosely based on her clerkship for Judge Dolores Sloviter of the Third Circuit. You've probably already read tons of blog posts and articles about this buzz-generating book.

But this piece is different. It includes some choice comments from Judge Sloviter herself -- who, until now, has remained silent about her former clerk's literary endeavors (as far as we know).

More discussion, after the jump.

Check out the woman at right. She is the Honorable Dolores K. Sloviter, and she sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Judge Sloviter seems like a kindly old lady, doesn't she? We've seen her on the bench, at multiple oral arguments. Based on her grandmotherly appearance, we once quipped to a colleague: "She seems so nice! When is she going to descend from the bench and feed us homemade cookies?"

Answer: not anytime soon (unless the cookies are laced with arsenic). From one of Judge Sloviter's former clerks, Professor Mike Rappaport:

In 1985, having just graduated from law school, I arrived for my first day of work as a law clerk to Dolores K. Sloviter of the Third Circuit....

My two co-clerks, who had arrived a week earlier, took me to lunch. I asked how things were going, and they looked kind of uncomfortable. They explained that on their first day, a week earlier, they had gone to lunch with the holdover clerk, and had asked her, almost making small talk, how her year had been. [T]hey listened as she spent the next hour and a half detailing the horrors of the experience, and how she wasn't sure how she had gotten through it.

That law clerk's year of hell turned out to be quite similar to our year....

(That's just an excerpt. You can read the entire post by clicking here.)

But should any of this come as a surprise? As regular ATL readers surely recall, Dolores Sloviter is the alleged inspiration for the nightmarish Judge Helga Friedman, central villain of Saira Rao's delightful new novel, Chambermaid.

Additional thoughts on hellacious clerkships, plus a call for reader tips, after the jump.

Judicial junkies, here are two quick items about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit:

1. New Novel. The eagerly anticipated Chambermaid -- a roman a clef novel set in the Third Circuit by Saira Rao, a former law clerk to the totally terrifying Judge Dolores Sloviter (3d Cir.) -- is now in bookstores. It has arrived a few weeks ahead of its original publication date of July 10. Our earlier discussion appears here.

A very interesting interview with Saira Rao, followed by a comments clusterf**k lively reader discussion, appears at the WSJ Law Blog.

We recently read Chambermaid, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We'll probably review it in the near future, either here at ATL or for a print publication.

(Shameless plug: If you're an editor in need of a book review, please email us.)

Law Blog Q&A: Saira Rao [WSJ Law Blog]
Chambermaid by Saira Rao [official website]

Earlier: A 'Devil Wears Prada' for the Law Clerk Set

2. New Nominee. After Judge Noel Hillman (D.N.J.) was mysteriously pulled as the presumptive nominee for Justice Samuel Alito's former Third Circuit seat, we wondered: What's up with that Third Circuit seat?

Now we know (or think we do). According to media reports, the likely new nominee is Shalom Stone (at right). Here's a brief bio:

Stone, a former chairman of a state bar committee on federal practice and procedure who handles a wide swath of issues, including insurance, RICO, real estate and ethics, has been practicing for 20 years. He's now a partner at the Roseland firm of Walder Hayden and Brogan.

More discussion, after the jump.

Last week was short, thanks to the New Year's holiday; but it sure was busy. Here are some highlights from a very momentous week:

* No more jokes about Harriet Miers: the ill-fated ex-SCOTUS nominee has resigned as White House counsel. Speculation about her successor abounds.

* No more jokes about the Dewy Orifice: the ill-fated merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has been called off.

* Turns out that Chief Justice Rehnquist was a painkiller junkie. Once, while suffering withdrawal symptoms, he tried to bust out of a hospital in his PJs.

* Chief Judge David Levi, of the Eastern District of California, will be the new Dean of Duke Law School.

* All About Jan? Just as the aging Margo Channing's reign over Broadway was threatened by the comely Eve Harrington, the aging Linda Greenhouse's reign over One First Street is being threatened by the comely Jan Crawford Greenburg.

* Who knew? Law professors and legal bloggers sure know how to party! Photos of drunken legal academics available here and here.

* Cravath partner John Beerbower has enjoyed some amazing apartments over the years. Cravath partnership + Wealthy wife = $20 million, Park Avenue pad.

* Who's your favorite First Circuit judge? Cast your vote here.

* If you're a right-winger hoping that Justice Stevens will step down soon, don't hold your breath.

* Today's D.C. Circuit: Despite the occasional catfight, it's not as bitchy as it used to be. Sigh.

* Oppressed law clerks, your Devil Wears Prada is on its way. Coming soon to a bookstore near you: Chambermaid, by former Third Circuit clerk Saira Rao.

Saira Rao, who wrote the New York Post article we discussed this morning, has a juicy debut novel coming out this summer. Check out the blurb for Chambermaid:

The devil holds a gavel in this wickedly entertaining debut novel about a young attorney’s eventful year clerking for a federal judge. Sheila Raj is a recent graduate of a top-ten law school with dreams of working for the ACLU, but law school did not prepare her for the power-hungry sociopath, Judge Helga Friedman, who greets her on her first day. While her beleaguered colleagues begin quitting their jobs, Sheila is assigned to a high-profile death penalty case and suddenly realizes that she has to survive the year as Friedman’s chambermaid — not just her sanity, but actual lives hang in the balance.

With Chambermaid, debut novelist Saira Rao breaks the code of silence surrounding the clerkship and boldly takes us into the mysterious world of the third branch of US government, where the leaders are not elected and can never be fired. With its biting wit and laugh-out-loud humor, this novel will change everything you think you know about how great lawyers, and great judges, are made.

Saira Rao is well-equipped to write about the world of the federal judiciary. She previously clerked on the Third Circuit for Judge Dolores Sloviter -- who has been described as a "judicial diva" and a "tough cookie".

After clerking for Judge Sloviter, Saira worked at Cleary Gottlieb. She's a graduate of UVA and NYU Law School.

"Chambermaid" sounds delicious. We're counting down the days until July 2007!

Chambermaid: A Novel [Amazon.com]
Saira Rao bio [Findlaw]
Saira Rao profile [Friendster]

Update (4:55 PM): The WSJ Law Blog has put up a post that also links to Saira Rao's NYP article and the Amazon blurb for her forthcoming novel.

Earlier: Biglaw Associates: Take the Money and Run