Bad Ideas
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Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Bar Exams, Law Schools, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics, Pro Se Litigants, Traffic Accidents, Trials
Would-Be-Lawyer of the Day: Don't Put ☺ in a Court Filing
Here’s some good news for lawyers who enjoy blogging or instant-messenger services like Gchat. It’s right in the headline of this here National Law Journal story: Smiley face, snark, don’t render law grad unfit to practice. Many of us get snarky in our personal writing, and many of us employ emoticons in email messages or […] -
Bad Ideas, Drinking, Law Schools, Minority Issues, Parties, Racism, UVA Law
Do You Really Need Confederate-Flag Decor at Your Law School Party?
On Friday we wrote about the settlement agreed to by Cure Lounge, a club in Boston that was accused of discriminating against African-American patrons. In the comments, it seemed like some of our Southern readers where all too happy to point out that this example of racist behavior took place in the North. Lord knows […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Bad Ideas, Law Schools, Rank Stupidity
A Miami Law Student Wants a 'Student Bill of Rights.' Really?
Usually I’m happy to stand with law students against the slings and arrows of outrageous law school administration. But not this time. This time, instead of a noble law student fighting the good fight, I see an annoying whiner who wants law school to be about teddy bears and rainbows. A student at the University […]
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Bad Ideas, Craigslist, Job Searches, Money, Nude Dancing, Women's Issues
Ladies: A J.D. Will NOT Prevent You From Fulfilling Your Stripper Dreams
Well, I think we are officially at the point in the legal economy where servicing law school debts is just like servicing an expensive drug habit. The parallels between the two are too great to ignore: Is it something you started because everybody else was doing it? Is it something you initially thought was a […] -
Bad Ideas, Crime, Law Schools, State Judges
Massachusetts Law Student Engages in Epic Judicial Intimidation
I don’t know where Ray Wolfe goes to law school, and I don’t want to know. This guy seems unhinged and dangerous. You don’t have to take my word for it; you can look at the letters this guy sent to judges in Missouri. According to court documents, Wolfe was a law student in Massachusetts, […] -
Bad Ideas, Email Scandals, Law Schools, Social Networking Websites
Networking 101: Don't Send Networking Emails Like This One
Here at Above the Law, we’re still enjoying the awesomeness of 1Ls and 2Ls going to war over the appropriate use of a listserv. Today we’ve got an email more mundane in subject matter, but no less objectionable. It’s from a 1L (of course), who is trying to “network” with fellow 1Ls. And it’s written […] -
Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Cellphones, Partner Issues, Rudeness
Acela Bob, Meet Acela Jim: Kelley Drye Managing Partner Conducts Confidential Conversation on Packed Train
Here at Above the Law, we’re trying to help you. We write about lawyers who do embarrassing things so that you can learn from their examples. Heck, you should get ethics CLE credit for reading this site. One of our most widely-used lessons — now part of new employee training at a Wall Street firm, […] -
Bad Ideas, Food, Minority Issues, Racism
I Thought I Liked Fried Chicken Because It Is Delicious
Many of you know that the headline is the punchline to an awesome Dave Chappelle joke about black people and chicken. As far as I know, it is the only joke about black people and chicken (fried or otherwise) that is acceptable for white people to retell in 2010 America. I say again, it’s the […] - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Email Scandals, Labor / Employment, Screw-Ups, Sex, Sex Scandals, Sexual Harassment
A Racy (But Fake?) Email About An Associate's One-Night Stand With A Married Female Partner
Last week, we started hearing about an amazing email making the rounds. In this email message, a male associate at a large law firm allegedly described, in excruciating detail, a supposed sexual encounter with a married female partner at the firm. Apparently the raunchy email was making like an STD and going viral within the […] -
9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Bad Ideas, Federal Judges, Lunacy, Pro Se Litigants, Rudeness
Pro Se Litigant of the Day: Deborah Frisch, Ph.D.Practice pointer: don't refer to judges as 'frocked cowf**kers.'
For a long time, Jonathan Lee Riches reigned as Craziest Pro Se Litigant in America. But at a certain point, JLR jumped the proverbial shark. His handwritten complaints, making bizarre allegations against everyone from Michael Vick to Martha Stewart to the late Benazir Bhutto, were just too clever by half. And once he passed the […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Federal Judges, Legal Ethics, Lunacy, Solo Practitioners
Taj Oladiran's 'Motion of the Year' Earns Him Sanctions
Arizona attorney Tajudeen “Taj” Oladiran came onto our radar back in 2009, when he filed one of the craziest motions we’ve ever seen. Solo practitioner Oladiran, a former associate at Greenberg Traurig, filed a racketeering lawsuit against “Suntrust Bank and its pimps” for allegedly suckering him into predatory housing loans. The motion that caught our […] -
Bad Ideas, Craigslist, LSAT
Would-Be LSAT Cheat Places Craigslist Ad for 'LSAT Stand-In'
There’s nothing like cheating on the LSAT to start off your legal career. Sure, even if you manage to get into and graduate from law school, you’re going to have serious problems when it comes to the MPRE. Or the Character and Fitness interview. Or the “following the law” part of being a lawyer. But […] -
Affirmative Action, Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Federal Judges, Minority Issues, Plaintiffs Firms, Racism, Securities Law
Racial Quotas? So Ordered! (Or, Judge of the Day: Harold Baer)
We’ve come a long way from the days when federal courts issued orders banning racial discrimination. Now federal judges hand down orders mandating, or at least encouraging, race-based discrimination. As reported in the American Lawyer, earlier this week Judge Harold Baer (S.D.N.Y.) issued an unusual order. On Monday, Judge Baer directed two firms serving as […]
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so…
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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Bad Ideas, Craigslist, Job Searches
Would You Work for a New York Law School Student... For Free?
Self-awareness: it’s a really important character trait. As you go about your day, your life, and your life’s work, it’s important to have an understanding of who you are and how you are perceived. But what if your self-perception is grossly misaligned with objective reality? Well, then things could get tricky. You might make a […] -
Bad Ideas, Lawyer of the Day, Politics, Romance and Dating, Sexual Harassment
The Sexting District Attorney, Ken 'I Am the Prize' Kratz:Does He See Dead People -- On a Date?
Thanks to the internet, your memory is probably getting worse. But surely you remember our recent Lawyer of the Day honoree, District Attorney Kenneth Kratz of Calumet County, Wisconsin. A domestic violence victim who turned to Kratz’s office for help claims that the DA sexually harassed her via numerous text messages, trying to convince her […] -
Bad Ideas, Cocaine / Crack, Drugs, Lawsuit of the Day, Trials
Lawyer of the Day: Taking a Performance Enhancement During Trial Lands a Lawyer in Jail
Would you want your lawyer to do everything in his power to zealously represent you during your trial? What if doing all he can involves snorting a line during your trial? Hey, don’t be too quick to judge. Coke heads tend to be alert and aggressive — and those are good qualities for a trial […] -
Bad Ideas, Crime, Lawyer of the Day, Politics, Sex, Sexual Harassment
Lawyer of the Day: The Sexting District Attorney - 'You may be hot... but I am the prize!'
Everyone thinks of Midwesterners as so wholesome. Perhaps this perception is unfounded. For example, why are Wisconsin lawyers so darn horny? First there were the Biglaw Bad Boys, accused of sexual assault. Now we’re hearing about a government lawyer — an elected district attorney, in fact — who apparently let his libido get the best […] -
Bad Ideas, Craigslist, Job Searches
Duke Law Turns to Craigslist to Fill Key Administrative Role
If I reported that Duke Law School was turning to Craigslist to find its next dean, the U.S. News people would issue “revised” rankings to knock Duke out of the top tier. Heck, if I told you that Duke Law was looking for a new 1L contracts professor on Craigslist, at the very least that […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Lawsuit of the Day, Legal Ethics, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Lawsuit of the Day: Why is This Guy So Angry with Avvo?
Ed. note: This post is by “The Gobbler,” one of the two writers under consideration to join Morning Dockette as a Morning Docket writer. As always, we welcome your thoughts in the comments. Lawyers tend to define their careers by numbers (school rank, class rank, firm rank) – at least when the numbers are to […] -
Bad Ideas, Blogging, Food, Law Schools, Student Loans
Hunger Striker Revealed: Scambloggers Unimpressed
A couple of weeks ago, we reported on “Ethan Haines,” a law school grad who is allegedly on a hunger strike to support the cause of law school transparency. Today, Ethan has outed herself in USA Today, as Zenovia Evans (pictured). Here’s the USA Today report about her hunger strike: One recent grad even went […]