Recent Headlines from Above the Law
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Law Schools
Law School Offers Program Teaching Corporate Executives To 'Not Be Criminals'
The LLX program moves legal education into a new market. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.27.17
* Is SCOTUS walking back its landmark commitment to equal rights for the LGBTQ community? Considering what could happen in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case and the high court’s refusal to grant cert in Pidgeon, it seems like it. It’s not as if this hasn’t happened before. ::coughBrownvBoardcough:: [New Republic]
* A federal judge ruled that an American ISIS suspect who’s been detained as a “enemy combatant” in Iraq for the last three months is, in fact, entitled to a lawyer, and called the Trump administration’s quest to deny counsel in this case “both remarkable and troubling.” [New York Times]
* Everything really is bigger in Texas: According to the ABA, there are just 0.8 percent more first-year law students this year than last year, but entering classes at law schools in the Lone Star State were 4 percent larger than they were last year. Hopefully all these students will be able to lasso themselves jobs. [Texas Lawyer]
* Lawsuits have been rolling out ever since Apple admitted that it was slowing down iPhones with older batteries, and one of them was filed by two students who currently attend USC Law and hope to get the suit certified as a class-action. This is an absolutely awesome use of winter break. [RT]
* Which states are likely to legalize marijuana in the new year? Vermont, New Jersey, and Michigan may soon end their prohibitions on cannabis, either through legislative means or by puff-puff-passing a voter referendum. [Forbes]
* If you’re a journalist with three years of experience and cover the legal profession in your reporting, consider applying to be a fellow at Loyola Law School’s annual Journalist Law School. There is no cost to attend. The application deadline is February 9, 2018. [Journalist Law School]
* Judge Thomas Griesa, the Southern District of New York jurist who oversaw the Argentine debt battle in federal court, RIP. [New York Law Journal]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.25.17
* Fresh off his six-month stint as White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus will be returning to Am Law 200 firm Michael Best and Friedrich, where he’ll serve as president and chief strategist. He’ll lead the firm’s government affairs practice group, and he plans to help clients with their Trump problems. Best of luck, those clients might need it. [POLITICO]
* Sorry, consumers, but the Senate had to call in VP Mike Pence in the middle of the night to kill the the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule banning mandatory arbitration clauses in credit card and checking account agreements. Damn all those “frivolous lawsuits by special interest trial lawyers”! [The Two-Way / NPR]
* Author John Grisham was inspired to write his latest novel, The Rooster Bar (affiliate link), after reading an article in The Atlantic by Paul Campos about for-profit law schools and the student loan crisis. Well, at least someone is going to make some money after learning about a for-profit law school. [CBS News]
* Biglaw firms are trying to reduce the amount of their leased square footage. According to the CBRE Group, on average between the first quarter of 2016 and the second quarter of 2017, firms in 26 markets were able to shrink their office space by about 27 percent. But did their headcount shrink along with it? [Wall Street Journal]
* Major lateral hire alert: Paul Basta left Kirkland & Ellis this summer, and now he’s landed at Paul Weiss, where he’ll be working as the co-chair of the firm’s corporate restructuring practice. Alan Kornberg, the practice group’s current chair, called Basta’s arrival at the firm “sort of a dream come true in a way.” [Big Law Business]
* According to a study conducted by Professor Carlos Berdejó of Loyola Law School, prosecutors tend to give white defendants better plea deals than black defendants. We needed a study to confirm that some prosecutors discriminate based on race? [Slate]
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Law Schools, March Madness
ATL March Madness: Best Law School Scandal
It's time to get voting in ATL's annual March Madness bracket! -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.16.15
* At least a dozen professors from UT Law have had their identities stolen, and they only found out about it after their tax returns were rejected. As it turns out, the data thief had already filed their returns for them. Law profs’ tax refund checks must be tasty. [American-Statesman]
* If you’ve been wondering what kind of salary it’d take to woo away the dean of one of the top law schools in the nation to become your university’s president, wonder no more. The answer is $660K per year. Way to go, Dean Schill! Play on, playa. [Register-Guard]
* If you thought the list of the legal profession’s luminaries was looking like a giant sausage party, then you should check out this new ranking of the “most accomplished female attorneys working in the legal profession today.” [National Law Journal]
* Biglaw, bigger egos? Law firm managing partners aren’t feeling as confident as they once were about economic and legal industry growth, but they’re totally jazzed about their own firms’ potential for revenue growth and the demand for their services. [Am Law Daily]
* Another law school makes big changes thanks to legal academia’s rocky road: Loyola Law in L.A. is planning a 25% enrollment cut and is taking $20 million from its university’s endowment to entice students to attend with fat scholarships. [Los Angeles Loyolan]
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Email Scandals, Law Schools, Privacy, Screw-Ups, Student Loans, Technology
Oops! Law School Screw-Up Reveals Personal Data Of Entire Graduating Class
Sorry Loyola, but we don't think "law school transparency" means what you think it means... -
Breasts, Fashion, Gender, Law Schools, Shoes, Women's Issues
Law School Sends Memo About Inappropriate Student Cleavage, Hooker Heels
How many times do women in the law need to be told not to dress like streetwalkers? Enough already… -
2nd Circuit, Fashion, Intellectual Property, Loyola Law School, Non-Sequiturs, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Shira Scheindlin, Supreme Court, Trademarks
Non-Sequiturs: 11.01.13
* In 1967, Hunter S. Thompson explored the wild and crazy world of the Hell’s Angels. In 2008, FX premiered Sons of Anarchy. In 2013, the Hell’s Angels are filing intellectual property suits. Hard. F**king. Core. [Houston Chronicle] * Who’s your favorite Disney princess? I’d say RBG. [Women You Should Know] * Some folks are scared that recent FERC settlements are too aggressive and could “unravel the entire power market.” That’s either hyperbole or the scariest thing in the universe ever. [Breaking Energy] Loyola Law School started a fashion law program to serve this burgeoning industry. Pretty interesting stuff. And if you want to meet Staci Riordan, the woman responsible for setting up this program, join our Staci Zaretsky in L.A. on November 12, when she hosts a panel of fashion law experts including Riordan . It’s dueling Stacis! [Fashionista] * The discriminating woman’s guide to buying pearls. I figured y’all just pulled identical necklaces out of a drawer like Marge Simpson. [Corporette] * In cases of sex abuse, the expert witness is incredibly important. [The Expert Institute] * Here’s a look at what may be next for Judge Scheindlin, who gave interviews revealing her bias because she said stuff like the government is not entitled to deference and should be forced to make its case. Oh my God, IMPEACH!!! [Ramblings on Appeal] * Speaking of Judge Scheindlin, Elie was on HuffPo Live today discussing the ruling. Video embedded after the jump (around 11:08)…. -
Law Professors, Law Schools, Pictures, Weirdness
What Is This Creepy Law Professor Doing???
Um, this is really strange. -
Cardozo Law School, Law Schools, Loyola Law School, Rankings, U.S. News
Open Thread: 2014 U.S. News Law School Rankings (53 – 68)
Do you have something to say about your law school's U.S. News ranking? This is the place to do it! -
Gay Marriage, Guns / Firearms, Law Professors, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Rankings
Non-Sequiturs: 12.14.12
* Joe Patrice reposted this on his site and I’m linking to it because it’s a great look at the rhetorical weaknesses of the pro-gun argument. It’s old, so you can’t say that he’s being reactionary to the current tragedy. [Recess Appointment] * Here’s a very good takedown of the self-serving law school rankings from Loyola Law School (LA) Professor Theodore Seto, who magically finds that Loyola Law is the 25th best law school for becoming a Biglaw partner. [Witnesseth] * Is the procedural posture of same-sex marriage sexy? [Opinionator / New York Times] * The jury system is dumb. [The Republican] * Here’s some kind of ridiculous, anti-transparency argument for why posting rate-increase memos would be counterproductive. Lat gets a shout out for not acting like this. [Legal Rebels / ABA Journal] -
California, Fame Brief, Fashion, Hotties, Law Schools, Reality TV, Television
Fame Brief: The Sun Sets On Jokes About AIDS
Lilly Ghalichi, a pseudo-celebrity with a law degree, said something offensive on reality TV. Now she has to apologize... -
Airplanes / Aviation, Crime, Lawyer of the Day, Loyola Law School, Nauseating Things, Rudeness
Lawyer of the Day: No, a Man Cannot Just Have 'His Fly Undone'
Our Lawyer of the Day apparently needs to learn to keep his tiger in its cage, especially on an airplane… -
Law Schools, Loyola Law School, Quote of the Day, Theodore Seto
Quote of the Day: Wait, So All of a Sudden It's a Great Time to Go to Law School?
Law school is good… law school is bad… make up your mind! -
California, Fabulosity, Lawyerly Lairs, Litigators, Loyola Law School, Money, Partner Issues, Real Estate
Lawyerly Lairs: Litigator Laps Up Malibu Mansion(For A Cool $10 Million)
The seller of this $10 million Malibu mansion is a famous music mogul. But we're more interested in the lawyer-purchaser. Who is he? -
Biglaw, Drinking, Letter from London, Magic Circle, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: 'I Thought Freshfields Was a Supermarket'
“I thought Freshfields [Bruckhaus Deringer] was a supermarket when I got here,” says Kirsty Grant, a fourth-year associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Happily, Grant -- a fast-learner who got through law school in L.A. while working full-time during the day -- quickly figured out that the Anglo-German law firm, a member of the Magic Circle, wasn’t the place to fulfill her grocery needs. Not that Grant, 33, has oceans of spare cash to splash on her grocery needs. How do her finances as an American abroad compare to those of her Biglaw counterparts back home? -
Bar Exams, Boalt Hall, California, Law Schools, Loyola Law School
California Bar Passage Rate Holds Steady; Shame For Underperforming Schools Deepens
California has released some macro-level results from the July 2011 administration of the bar exam. The California bar is notoriously difficult, and every year we like to take a look at which schools prepared their students well for the exam, and which schools did not. You might be surprised at which California law school had the best passage rate on the California bar. Hint: it's not Stanford, or Boalt Hall, or UCLA.... -
Biglaw, Books, Career Alternatives, Email Scandals, Kids, Litigators, Loyola Law School, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Weirdness
A Farewell to Remember: One Partner's Dramatic Departure Memo
Every now and then, you'll come across a colorful farewell message penned by a partner. One such email, sent out last Friday by a longtime partner leaving a major law firm, is now making the rounds. Here's a teaser: "I have realized that I cannot simultaneously meet the demands of career and family. Without criticizing those who have chosen lucre over progeny, let me just say that I am leaving the practice of law." Wow. So who's the partner in question, which firm did he just leave with such flair, and what's he planning to do next? -
5th Circuit, Abortion, California, Clarence Thomas, Law Professors, Loyola Law School, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Pregnancy / Paternity, Reality TV, Supreme Court Clerks, Trendspotting
Morning Docket: 11.02.11
* “Rising tuition. Misleading employment statistics. Inadequate skills training.” So what are legal educators doing about it? Blogging, of course. [Law School Review] * Trendspotting: cute judges on the federal bench? The Senate has confirmed Loyola Law professor Stephen Higginson for a seat on the Fifth Circuit. [National Law Journal] * People in New Jersey […]
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California, Job Searches, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Loyola Law School
Loyola Law - L.A. Tries to Placate Disgruntled Recent Graduates
On Friday, we told you about the angry recent law school graduate who emailed a scathing letter to the alumni officers at his alma mater, Loyola Law School – Los Angeles. The graduate, whom we nicknamed “Loyola 6L,” called out the school’s career services office and the dean, Victor Gold. Loyola 6L sent out his […]