Survivor

Survivor: The Lawyer and Law Student Edition

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law students lawyers Survivor montage.jpgThe cast for the latest season of Survivor, which premieres on September 17, has been announced. This season, the show’s nineteenth, takes place on the tropical island of Samoa.
Four of the 20 contestants, or a fifth of the field, are either lawyers or law students. Is appearing on a reality television show the best way to wait out the recession?
We believe this to be the highest number of law-related contestants in a single season. We reached out to Charlie Herschel — the former Survivor contestant and current Weil Gotshal associate, who has encyclopedic knowledge of the show — and he said that, as far as he knows, four would be a record. Herschel explained:

Lawyers are making a better showing than bartenders for once on Survivor! There was a lawyer on the first Survivor who sued producers for rigging the show. Word was that they avoided casting lawyers after that.

Also, it’s generally difficult for lawyers to drop everything at a moment’s notice for the casting process and also for the show (which is required), so they have trouble casting lawyers. Most of the lawyers on survivor dont practice anymore.

Perhaps you know one of these four. Let’s learn more about them, shall we?

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ATL Party Crash: The Survivor Premiere Party

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1a Charlie Herschel David Lat.JPG
Lawyer turned Survivor contestant Charlie Herschel, right, with your above-signed writer (in the yellow Survivor do-rag).

As previously reported in these pages, Charlie Herschel — a 29-year-old, openly gay associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York — is a contestant on Survivor: Gabon, which had its two-hour season premiere last night. We’re pleased to report that Charlie is still in the running for the one million dollars. To read more about our handsome hero, including details of his friendship with fellow gay Clay Aiken, check out this interesting interview with Herschel in The Advocate.

Last night, we headed over to Professor Thom’s in the East Village, to attend a “Survivor” premiere party in Charlie’s honor. It was hosted by his employer, Weil Gotshal — which is doing well in the downturn, thanks in large part to its top-flight bankruptcy practice.

Correction: The party was not officially hosted by Weil, although many WGM attorneys were in attendance.

More discussion, plus a slideshow of party pics, after the jump.

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Another Law Firm ‘Survivor’: Meet Charlie Herschel

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Charlie Herschel Charles Herschel Weil Gotshal Manges Survivor.jpgThings are looking good these days for Weil, Gotshal & Manges. For the sixth year in a row, it made the top 10 of the Vault 100. It took fourth place in the American Lawyer’s A-List rankings, and turned in a strong showing in the magazine’s midlevel associate survey (#11 out of 80+ New York firms).
And Weil attorneys are an interesting crew, too. Some plunge into rapping careers. And some compete on reality shows!
Meet first-year associate Charlie Herschel. He’s a contestant on the latest season of Survivor, premiering on September 25. From his bio:

Charlie Herschel has been a fan of SURVIVOR since the first season and has been training for it ever since. A lawyer for one of the top 10 most prestigious law firms in the world, Herschel is ready to try his persuasion skills on a different type of jury.

This 29-year-old, marathon-running attorney and University of Pennsylvania graduate says he is above nothing when he gets to the island. Charlie’s strategy is to be authentic but with a twist. “With high risks, come high rewards, but the risks must be calculated.” The middle son of three boys and a native New Yorker, the Ivy Leaguer is not afraid to claw his way to the top.

Charles Herschel WGM headshot.jpgIf Herschel can survive in the Biglaw jungle, Gabon should be a piece of cake. And there’s precedent for lawyers faring well on Survivor. E.g., Yul Kwon (winner of Survivor: Cook Islands, and a year behind us at YLS).
Now, large law firms can be a bit stodgy. Some don’t react well to their associates’ forays into reality television. See, e.g., David Otunga (from I Love New York 2, and no longer at Sidley); Jeremy Anderson (from The Bachelorette, and no longer at Hunton & Williams). But see Denise Gitsham (welcomed back by K&L Gates, after appearing on The Bachelor); Stacy Rotner (still at Sidley, after appearing on The Apprentice; guess it’s more respectable than I Love New York 2).
What was Weil’s response to Charlie Herschel going on Survivor? Find out — and ogle photos of a shirtless Herschel — after the jump.

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Surviving Stereotypes: Yul Kwon Returns To Yale Law School

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yul kwon yul kwon survivor yule kwon yul kwan yul kwon pics pictures.JPG
“Survivor” champ and YLS grad Yul Kwon made a triumphant return to his law school alma mater last week. In a speech entitled “How I Survived Survivor and Other Professional Challenges,” Kwon, who was introduced by YLS Dean Harold Koh, spoke about breaking down negative stereotypes about Asian Americans.

At this point in his speech, Kwon suddenly went off-script and tried to bestow his wisdom on the crowd of predominantly law students.
“Make the best of it,’ he said. “Think outside the box.”

Profound. We can only hope that when he worked for McKinsey, his paying clients got a little more than that kind of “wisdom.”
Speaking of stereotypes, someone did research on how much money men of various races need to make if they’re trying to attract a woman of a different race:

For equal success with a white woman [relative to a white man], an African-American needs to earn an additional $154,000; a Hispanic man needs $77,000; an Asian needs $247,000.
For equal success with an Asian woman [relative to an Asian man], an African-American needs no additional income; a white man needs $24,000 less than average; a Hispanic man needs $28,000 more than average.

So Yul can take that $1 million he won on “Survivor” and buy four white women.
Just kidding! This serves as a good reminder that studies are all about averages. On one side of the Asian-American male spectrum you have Yul, who was in People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue, and on the other hand you have… well, let’s just say that at least one Asian-American associated with YLS is known more for his “impressive body of work” than his impressive body.
(Thanks to the VC for the survey link.)
Earlier: “Congratulations to Yul Kwon — Who Says You Don’t Learn Anything at Yale Law School?”

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Oh Those Crazy Harvard Law School Kids

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Alex Angarita Harvard Law School Survivor Above the Law blog.JPGThis has nothing to do with Sectiongate. It’s actually about something of greater significance, if that can be believed.
Alex Angarita — a Harvard Law School graduate, former associate at O’Melveny & Myers, and star of the “Survivor: Fiji” reality TV show — has been arrested. From TMZ.com:

“Survivor: Fiji” star Alex Angarita faced off with a judge in Los Angeles County Superior Court today after cops claim he attacked a peace officer who responded to a 911 call on February 9.

According to the felony complaint, Angarita, a Harvard Law grad, “used threats and violence to deter and prevent” two officers from performing their duties. The 28-year-old reality star was charged with two felony counts of resisting arrest, one felony count of battery with injury on a peace officer and one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana. It is unclear why the police were called, but the National Enquirer reports that Angarita was involved in a “brawl” with his girlfriend.

Angarita spent three hours behind bars at a Los Angeles County Jail, before he was released on $20,000 bail.

This explains why Yale Law School perennially edges out Harvard in those U.S. News and World Report surveys. YLS grads who compete in Survivor play to win — and stay out of trouble with the law.
(Hey Yul — don’t forget to declare the $1 million on your tax return.)
Cops Outwit, Outlast, Arrest “Violent” Reality Star [TMZ.com]
Alex Angarita bio [Survivor / CBS]

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ATL Week in Review: December 18-22

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kwanzaa happy kwanzaa kwanza candles.gifThe week before a major holiday is usually pretty slow. And the Friday before the holiday weekend is usually dead — the perfect time for Mike Nifong to announce he’s dropping the rape charges against the Duke lacrosse team defendants.
Other highlights from the past week in legal news and ATL:
* Get to know this year’s Alito clerks!
* And help us get to know the current Breyer clerks.
* Dean Harold Koh’s Christmas gift to Yale Law School conservatives: newfound warmth and friendliness.
* Speaking of Yale Law School, YLS grad Yul Kwon just won Survivor. Congrats, Yul!
* Stuff you knew already: Supreme Court clerks are cooler than you. Lawyers have mediocre sex lives. Pro se litigants are insane.
* Last week dragged in a few more law firm bonus announcements, but nothing exciting. To skim the coverage, click here, then scroll down through the headlines.
* On the subject of bonuses, Biglaw associates: Please take our 2006 bonus poll (first announced here):

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pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

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Congratulations to Yul Kwon — Who Says You Don’t Learn Anything at Yale Law School?

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yul kwon yul kwon survivor yule kwon yul kwan yul kwon pics pictures.JPGApparently you learn how to survive on a desert island. And how to beat out your fellow competitors for a $1 million cash prize, on one of America’s biggest reality television shows.
Yul Kwon, the newly crowned winner of “Survivor: Race Wars” “Survivor: Cook Islands,” is a lawyer, former Second Circuit law clerk, and 2000 graduate of Yale Law School. This makes him one of the best-credentialed reality show contestants EVER.
We realize that Yul was working as a management consultant at McKinsey before joining the show. But he’s still a member of the California and D.C. bars, so we’ll claim him as one of our own. Congratulations, Yul!
P.S. Yul certainly has the best body of any YLS grad we’ve ever met. Not that we’ve seen so many Yalies shirtless. But you know what we mean — Yul Kwon is formidable competition.
P.P.S. Ann Althouse was rooting for Ozzy. But she also thought that Yul was cool, and sends her congrats as well.
Update: In response to this comment, we did some fact-checking. We can now confirm, as previously suggested, that Yul Kwon clerked for Judge Barrington D. Parker, Jr., on the Second Circuit.
Yul Kwon Survivor bio [CBS]
Survivor: Yul Kwon of San Mateo “represents” in win [Mercury News]
Kwon tops `Survivor’ heap: Brains beat brawn in `Cook Islands’ finale [Chicago Tribune]
Earlier: “First Thing We Do, Let’s Vote Off All the Lawyers”

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ATL to Justice Breyer: “What Kind of Tree Would You Be?”

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stephen breyer stephen g breyer jeffrey toobin jeff toobin.JPGActually, no, we didn’t ask him that. But the question we did pose was just about as goofy. It felt sort of like Punk’d: Supreme Court Edition.
First, some background. As previously discussed, this past weekend we attended Jeffrey Toobin’s interview of Justice Stephen G. Breyer, part of the New Yorker Festival. It was an interesting talk, even if it may not have met our (perhaps unrealistic) expectations.
We may write even more about the interview later (because it did go on for about an hour and a half). For now, though, we’ll share with you what happened when we got up during the Q-and-A session and posed a question to Justice Stephen Breyer.
Check it out, after the jump.

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ATL Week in Review

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erisa beauty queen.jpg* Our first annual ERISA Hotties Contest is over, and America’s hottest pension and employee benefit lawyers have been crowned. Some other great candidates were passed over; but hey, not everyone can win.
* The new season of Survivor: an exotic Cook Islands setting, interracial conflict — and hot Asian lawyers.
* Practice pointer: When preparing a witness for a deposition, advise him not to drop the F-bomb.
* Wachtell Lipton just doled out midyear bonuses to its lucky (and hard-working) associates.
* Summer associates: still as wild and crazy as ever. And occasionally moronic, too.
* Law firm nicknames: Is your firm on the list?
* Sorry, right-wing gunners: Justice Scalia is done hiring his clerks for October Term 2007.
* Viet Dinh, the Georgetown law prof and former OLP kingpin advising VC god Thomas Perkins in L’Affaire HP, really loves hugs — and nice real estate.
* Outstanding discovery requests: Fashion Victims, Internal Memos, Legal Celebrity Sightings, Skaddenfreude.

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“First Thing We Do, Let’s Vote Off All the Lawyers”

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survivor logo.JPGAttention reality TV junkies: the new season of Survivor debuts tonight.
This edition is formally called “Survivor: Cook Islands.” But as some have noted, you may know it better by its nickname: “Survivor: Race Wars.”

Tonight, CBS kicks off the social experiment/ratings gimmick that is executive producer Mark Burnett’s latest and brashest attempt to give his reality show an attention boost.

This time, blacks, whites, Hispanics and Asians will initially be separated into four tribes. That’s 20 contestants divided along racial and ethnic lines, an idea that’s stirred up a hot stew of outrage and curiosity.

We’ve never been that into “Survivor” (despite a general weakness for reality television). But maybe we’ll tune in tonight. Why? Because two of the contestants are lawyers — including a guy we went to law school with!
The two attorney contestants are both Asian-American — and ridiculously good-looking. This is interesting, since (1) law isn’t a profession widely associated with Asians, and (2) not many lawyers are ridiculously good-looking (ERISA hotties excepted).
Their names are Becky Lee and Yul Kwon. You can read more about them — and check out their photos — after the jump.

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