Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group

  • Morning Docket: 11.17.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 11.17.16

    * Don’t say we didn’t tell you this, but according to the latest report from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, the great Biglaw salary increase of 2016 is now being cited as a strain on law firm profits. Expenses are now growing faster than revenues at many firms. We’ll have more on this later today. [Am Law Daily]

    * This is one promise that President-elect Trump is sticking to: Kellyanne Conway, his campaign manager, has confirmed that he will choose a Supreme Court nominee from the list(s) he released earlier this year: “You’ve seen the list of 21. The list has not changed.” You can see Trump’s shortlist(s) here and here. [Big Law Business]

    * “Every good person has an obligation to both to continue being heard and to continue doing the right thing. We can’t afford for a president to fail.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor has spoken out about the results of the presidential election, and she thinks that we must guide President-elect Trump to make the right decisions for the country. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * The American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has sanctioned not one, but two law schools for their lax admissions standards. Valparaiso Law has been publicly censured and Charlotte Law has been placed on probation. We’ll have more on this later today. [National Law Journal]

    * Judge William Duffin of the Eastern District of Wisconsin has denied a request made by state prosecutors to delay “Making a Murderer” subject Brendan Dassey’s release from prison. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel says he will appeal Duffin’s ruling to the Seventh Circuit. Dassey is scheduled to be released on Friday. [Reuters]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.30.15

    * According to the Law Firm Group of Citi Private Bank’s year-end predictions for the legal profession, profit growth for this year and next is once again going to be anemic. This is the “new reality for the foreseeable future.” [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “[T]hese guerilla marketers believe they are above the law.” Uh-oh! What has The Biebs done now? Pop star Justin Bieber has pissed off the San Francisco, California, legal community with sidewalk graffiti ads promoting his new album. [San Francisco Chronicle]

    * If you thought that the highest ranked law school in Virginia would’ve fared the best on the state’s July 2015 administration of the bar exam, you’d be wrong. With a 93 percent passage rate, congratulations to Jerry Falwell’s finest at Liberty Law! [One News Now]

    * Ay dios mio! Escándalo! In a recently filed lawsuit, a former faculty member at Amherst College claims that teaching assistants in her department were encouraged to “prostitute themselves” to increase enrollment in Spanish classes. [Washington Post]

    * “Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur…” The ear worm lullaby featured on The Big Bang Theory is now at the center of a copyright dispute, and it seems like this kitty could actually win. Showrunners probably wish they left this one in the litter box. [USA Today]

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  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.13.15

    * Biglaw leaders aren’t feeling so hot about the future of the profession. What else is new? [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Villanova Law School whining about its fall in the U.S. News rankings after admitting it had artificially inflated its numbers. Listen, it’s this stupid fascination with U.S. News that got Villanova busted in the first place. It’s high time the school stops preening for U.S. News and starts touting its admirable position in the rankings based on what’s best for students. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

    * It’s time for the Supreme Court to hear the important cases! Enough of these poor people railroaded by the system, where’s justice for disgraced former Governor Bob McDonnell? [Washington Post]

    * Everything should be legal! At least when it comes to BS NCAA violations. [Adequate Man / Deadspin]

    * Women make less than men when it comes to in-house work. Sort of like all other work. [Law360]

    * Hillary was hailed as the big winner last night, but her biggest victory was knowing that Bernie Sanders was going to pull his punches. [Redline]

    * Sara Randazzo with the Twitter observation of the day yesterday: lawyer for ex-Dewey chair Steve Davis trolled the jury with his tie pattern. [Twitter]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.30.15

    * Paul Walker’s daughter, 16-year-old Meadow Walker, filed a wrongful death suit against Porsche, alleging the automaker was negligent and strictly liable because the car her father died in had several design defects, namely that it was too fast, too furious. [CNN]

    * The jury on the Dewey & LeBoeuf criminal trial is having a really difficult time this week. Yesterday, on the eighth day of deliberations, jury members asked for the definition of the word “deliberation” and clarification on what their jobs were as jurors. [Am Law Daily]

    * If you’d like to know why Hughes Hubbard likely conducted layoffs last week, then look no further than the commentary of this City Private Bank Law Firm Group analyst. Times have officially changed for litigators at large law firms. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

    * In news that no one should find particularly shocking, Albany Law School has announced an affiliation with the University at Albany. Both schools are struggling with enrollment and hungry for cash, so it’s a match made in heaven. [Albany Times Union]

    * “There are 35,000 museums in the U.S. … [b]ut the great legal profession hasn’t gotten around to establishing one.” Spoke too soon: Say hello to the American Museum of Tort Law, Ralph Nader’s house of personal injury horrors. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.08.15

    * We mentioned earlier this week that Charleston School of Law may suspend enrollment of first-year students next year. Perhaps the law school’s ultimate failure wouldn’t be a bad deal for students — a closed school loan discharge would actually be a blessing for them. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * With law school graduation right around the corner, you can kiss your dreams of a Supreme Court justice delivering your commencement speech goodbye. Thus far, not a single SCOTUS jurist will deliver remarks at a 2015 ceremony. [National Law Journal]

    * Per the latest report from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, law firm expenses outpaced revenue in the first quarter of 2015. Some of the biggest expenses are salaries, so maybe this is another reason why some firms are resorting to layoffs. [Am Law Daily]

    * They should’ve just watched The Wire? Under Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s leadership, the Department of Justice is going to launch an investigation into whether the Baltimore Police Department has been involved in any discriminatory police work. [NPR]

    * If you’re still trying to decide which law school to attend, you may want to consider one that has robust practicum offerings. Being “practice ready” after graduation supposedly does wonders for your job prospects. (Just kidding.) [U.S. News & World Report]

  • 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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  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.13.15

    * Amanda Knox, everyone’s favorite convicted/acquitted/convicted murderess, just got engaged to a musician she’s known since middle school. Aww, that’s cute and nice, but what we’d really like to know is where she’s registered for cutlery. [People]

    * Loretta Lynch’s confirmation vote was postponed because per Chairman Chuck Grassley, she apparently submitted dissatisfying answers to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s post-hearing questions. Some says that she’s being held to a double standard… likely because she is being held to a double standard. [National Law Journal]

    * Yesterday afternoon, Judge Callie V.S. Granade ordered that probate judges in Alabama issue same-sex marriage licenses. Sorry Chief Justice Roy Moore, but you better get ready, because the tide of gay marriage is gonna roll. ROLL TIDE ROLL! [National Law Journal]

    * Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she’s not going to give up on women’s rights cases at the Supreme Court, despite the fact that she’s got male colleagues who “don’t fully appreciate the arbitrary barriers that have been put in women’s way.” [Bloomberg]

    * According to the latest report from Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group, Biglaw firms, “across the board,” are doing better than they were last year, but the biggest Biglaw firms are doing the best, of course. We’ll have more on this later today. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * A Texas lawmaker has proposed a bill that would appoint legal representation to a fetus if its mother is brain dead. “You’ll hear what the family wants, and you’ll also give the pre-born child a chance to have a voice in court at that same time.” [Dallas Morning News]

    * New York Law School is launching a two-year law degree program, and students will only have to pay two-thirds of the $147,720 that they normally would have had to. For the record, not all two-year degree programs are cheaper. [Crain’s New York Business]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.11.14

    * According to the results of the latest Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group survey, law firm managing partners are slowly but surely growing more confident with how the legal industry is turning out as time goes by. Hooray! [Am Law Daily]

    * For what it’s worth, Ben Edelman’s threatening emails to Sichuan Garden weren’t his first time at the rodeo of douchebaggery. A few years back, the Harvard-educated lawyer sent similar emails to a sushi restaurant. Fun times. [Boston.com]

    * The American Bar Association would like to know what you think the most successful law firm merger in history is. There are so many fantastic failures to rule out, but so few true triumphs in comparison. What’re your thoughts? [ABA Journal]

    * The Senate has delayed the confirmation of Michelle Lee as the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office until next year. Thus far, Lee’s would-be position has been open for almost two years. Wow, way to go, slowpokes. [Corporate Counsel]

    * Started from the bottom now we’re here: this lawyer started out in the records department of his firm, and now, after 15 years of working there as an employee, he’s going to become a partner. Congratulations, dude! [Tex Parte Blog / Texas Lawyer]

    * There are 3 types of logic games on the LSAT, and more power to you if you’re able to whiz your way through them. If you suck at logic games, learn how to conquer the mathiest part of the test. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 11.26.14

    * Indiana Tech Law has yet another new dean after a little more than a year of operations — he currently serves as a dean at the second-best law school in the nation, Cooley Law. [Journal Gazette]

    * A Pennsylvania lawyer allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old girl in his office, and prosecutors have already reserved a “special place in hell” for him, and possibly a jail cell. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

    * “We feel like we’ve been left hanging in a really stressful time.” While Bingham McCutchen partners and top staffers made moves, less senior staffers were left crying and without a clue. 🙁 [Am Law Daily]

    * Since a grand jury failed to indict Darren Wilson in Michael Brown’s death, people are counting on the DOJ to come through for them. “I just don’t think Ferguson has a leg to stand on,” says one negative nancy law professor. [National Law Journal]

    * After being down in the dumps for a while due to the recession, according to Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group, law firm leaders are feeling more confident and optimistic about the economy — as one can see from these bonuses. [WSJ Law Blog]

  • BARBRI, Biglaw, Christopher Christie, Football, Job Searches, Labor / Employment, Law Schools, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Public Interest, Technology

    Morning Docket: 05.07.14

    * According to the latest Citi report, Biglaw was looking pretty good during the first quarter of 2014. Revenue was up by 4.3 percent — the best first quarter results since 2008. Hooray! [Am Law Daily]

    * Nice work if you can get it: Gibson Dunn, the firm hired to handle New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s “Bridgegate” investigation, billed about $1.1 million for roughly two weeks of work. [NJ.com]

    * A “perfect storm” of too many grads and not enough jobs caused the decline in law school enrollment. The solution is obviously online learning instead of lowering tuition. Yep. [New Hampshire Public Radio]

    * Spend your summer in a “nontraditional” job setting. This is some great advice to prepare yourself for not being able to get a job at a firm after graduation. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

    * Our congratulations go out to Catherine Wauters of George Mason Law, winner of BARBRI’s inaugural public interest fellowship! (Our very own managing editor, David Lat, served as one of the judges.) [CNBC]

    * The latest football franchise to face the wrath of underpaid cheerleaders is the New York Jets. Members of the team’s “Flight Crew” say they make less than minimum wage to shake their pom poms. [Bloomberg]