For a lot of law students heading back to school, the Career Services Office is the most important place on campus. Yet many don’t understand what CSO has to offer. Learn more in this article, presented as part of the Thomson Reuters Law School Series, designed to share essential tips for law students.
For a lot of law students heading back to school, the Career Services Office is the most important place on campus. Yet many don’t understand what CSO has to offer. Learn more in this article, presented as part of the Thomson Reuters Law School Series, designed to share essential tips for law students.
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
* In case you've been sleeping under a rock, Brendan Dassey -- one of the subjects of the Netflix hit documentary "Making a Murderer" -- had his conviction overturned on Friday. In his ruling, Judge William Duffin cited the misconduct of Dassey's trial lawyer as "indefensible." He'll be released from prison within 90 days. [Reuters] * "I wasn't a pedophile. I wasn't a preferential sex predator. I wasn't the monster I was made out to be." Seeking a new trial, ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky is arguing ineffective assistance of counsel thanks to his lawyer's decision to keep him off the stand and allow him to take a televised interview with Bob Costas. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * Uh-oh! Even after an enormous partner capital call of $18.1 million, it seems that King & Wood Mallesons may not be out of the woods just yet. The firm failed to make any partner profit distributions at the end of the month in July, and it's "not painting a particularly positive picture" as to the overall health of the firm. [Big Law Business] * ASU Law's new school is set to open today in Phoenix, Arizona, and there will be a few special appearances from political and judicial hotshots to commemorate the very special occasion, including speeches from Senator John McCain and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the law school's namesake. Congratulations! [Downtown Phoenix Journal] * Meet Jerry Guerinot, the Texas defense attorney who's earned the honor of being referred to as the "worst lawyer in the United States." He's represented about three dozen capital murder defendants over the course of 40 years and he has a perfect record -- in that not a single one of his clients has been found innocent. [Houston Chronicle]
This law school had an overall pass rate of 28.4 percent on the latest bar exam.
The results of the February 2016 Arizona bar exam are truly frightening.
It's February, so why not defrost via a doubleheader: catch up on the latest e-discovery tools and strategies (and garner continuing legal education credits), and cheer for your favorite baseball team!
Legal work isn’t slowing down, and the firms that win won’t be the ones working harder — they’ll be the ones working smarter.
* Kid gets caught trying to buy skin mag with his dad's money. Not one copy, but the whole magazine. Proving there are some fantasies too big even with $8 million and a Bryan Cave lawyer in your pocket. [Law360] * Chris Christie is taking a strong stand against bestiality. There you go, buddy -- it's these sorts of courageous, controversial positions that will get you back in the prime time debates. [Associated Press] * Congratulations to Neal Katyal, who has now argued more cases before the Supreme Court than any male minority lawyer save Thurgood Marshall. With his argument in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, Katyal passed Drew Days and Wade McCree in this accounting (No, not that Wade McCree). [Supreme Court Brief] * Hollywood hotshot gives $5 million to UCLA School of Law. [National Law Journal] * Supreme Court ignores all lower courts and expands qualified immunity to cops who base their decisions on well-established action movie tropes. [Huffington Post] * Biglaw faces slowdown. [American Lawyer] * One law school is taking a stab at the access to justice problem in this country. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Ellen Pao, formerly of Cravath, won't be appealing her gender discrimination case against Kleiner Perkins. Did she settle? Hell no! "Settlement might have provided me with financial benefits, but only at the great cost of silence.” [Re/code]
* During a time when first-year law school applications are still low, Arizona State Law claims to have just welcomed its "largest class" in law school history. Spoiler alert: The school is counting all of its LL.M. students in that figure. [ASU News]
* BU Law teamed up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for clinic offerings that will provide entrepreneurs from both schools free legal advice. MIT students might "change the world," and BU Law students might... get jobs? [Boston Business Journal]
* Per the latest report from the Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform, East Texas is the nation's “least fair and reasonable litigation environment." With its huge tort awards, this pro-business lobby thinks it's simply the worst. Go figure. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Leaford George Cameron, a man who allegedly practiced law without a license for more than a decade, has been indicted on federal charges. The "scary man" would-be lawyer reportedly defrauded clients across the country. [Daily Delco / Philadelphia Daily News]
A good problem to have. What advice would you give to this prospective law student?
* Loretta Lynch, America’s would-be attorney general, has been flying under the radar for years, and now senators are searching to find something, anything at all really, that could possibly be wrong with her. [Legal Times] * “[T]his is the best period of time that we have seen in a long time.” According to Wells Fargo Private Bank’s Legal Specialty Group, Biglaw’s revenue, hours, and profits all rose in the first nine months of 2014. Nice work! [Am Law Daily] * Biglaw mergers and acquisitions are now on pace to meet or beat last year’s record, and company legal departments are pretty pissed off about it, especially since “[l]arge firm views on conflicts [tend to] drive [GCs] crazy.” [Reuters] * Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor attended the groundbreaking of Arizona State Law’s new campus, and even shoveled some dirt in honor of the school named after her. [Arizona Republic] * What’s the price on being blackballed? Condé Nast settled its unpaid intern class-action lawsuit yesterday for $5.8 million, which will result in $700 to $1,900 payouts per aggrieved intern. [Fashionista]
Grounded in authoritative content and verified at every step, Protégé is the only legal AI tool that delivers work you can trust—without exception.
* Per the First Circuit, plaintiffs who successfully challenge the Defense of Marriage Act in court aren’t entitled to attorneys’ fees. The Department of Justice had no comment. [National Law Journal] * Florida Coastal Law finished second-to-last in bar passage for the July 2014 exam, with 58% of grads passing. It was one of Florida Coastal’s worst performances to date. [Florida Times-Union] * ASU Law got a $10M donation, its largest ever. “The remarkable thing about it is we didn’t ask him for it,” says the dean, which is a slightly better response than Drexel’s dean had. [The Republic] * Much to his defense team’s chagrin, accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial will remain in Boston. The media spectacle is set to begin in January 2015. [New York Times] * Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino of Jersey Shore fame was indicted on tax fraud charges to the tune of $8.9M. He pleaded not guilty yesterday afternoon. There aren’t tanning beds in jail. :( [Asbury Park Press]
A Canadian perspective on what U.S. law schools need to do to survive in a challenging market.
A BAR/BRI lecturer creates a "trailer" for a film highlighting criminal procedure issues. Is it absolutely insane? You bet!
* An attorney from Orrick with two SCOTUS clerkships under his belt will now be arguing a case before the high court. Seems standard, but the exciting part is that this guy’s still an associate. Congratulations! [Am Law Daily] * From Biglaw to Boutique, the Finnegan edition: five IP lawyers, including a member of the firm’s management committee, will be starting their own practice. We may have more on this later. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * Calling all wannabe government lawyers! Screw the sequester; the Department of Justice is planning to add more than 100 positions in 2014. Let’s hope these budget requests are approved. [Legal Times] * “I actually felt sick working him for him.” If you were a paralegal and your boss was allegedly trying to recruit you to be his “third wife,” you’d feel the same. Expect more on this on this later. [New York Post] * Here are 25 Northeast law schools ranked by employment rate. At least my school wasn’t ranked dead last on this list, and that’s something to be excited about… right? [Boston Business Journal] * Maybe more people will care about law schools when their credit ratings tank. Speaking of which, thanks to a 14% drop in enrollment, Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Albany Law. [Times Union] * Joseph Feller, an environmentalist and beloved professor at ASU College of Law, RIP. [ASU Law]
* Another year, another round-up of the year’s legal highlights from the National Law Journal. Perhaps after a year that was wracked with destruction for this supposedly noble profession, we’ll actually see some substantial change in 2013. [National Law Journal] * Meanwhile in Iowa, failure to sleep with your horndog boss is “like having a Lamborghini in the garage and never driving it,” so if he’s irresistibly attracted to your exotic lady parts car, you better be ready, willing, and able to find yourself a new job. [Washington Post] * People were so pissed off about Instagram’s new terms of service that someone filed a class action suit. The app’s litigation filter must make exasperated attorneys and wasted dollars look shiny and happy. [Reuters] * “It is not the perfect path to wealth and success that people may have envisioned.” As we’ve been stating here at Above the Law for years, being a lawyer is no longer the golden ticket that it once was. [Bloomberg] * ASU Law will now offer a North American Law Degree that’ll prepare graduates to practice in the U.S. and Canada. Yes, ship your jobless grads north where there’s an articling crisis, great idea! [Associated Press] * Still thinking about applying to law school? That’s a funny joke. But if you’re interested in being a punchline in three years, follow this application season timeline. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report] * Jack Klugman, noted actor whose roles included that of Juror #5 in Twelve Angry Men, RIP. [New York Times] * Richard Adams, a plaintiff in the first suit seeking federal recognition of gay marriage, RIP. [New York Times]