Cravath

In figuring out which Biglaw firm will bring us the next pay raise, it's important to consider the concept of leverage.

A Biglaw pay raise will happen (someday); when it does, who will be the first mover?

As Biglaw begins to run itself more like a “business,” vestiges of the traditional law partnership have started to fall away.

How much might the responsible recruiter have earned for making this placement?

How major a move is this, and how much might he make at his new firm?

* “Say you’ll remember me, standing in a black robe, waiting for a hearing, babe. Begging the SJC, say you will confirm me, even if it’s just in my wildest dreams, ah-ha ohh.” SCOTUS nominee Judge Merrick Garland has something in common with an overwhelming number of teenage girls: he loves Taylor Swift sing-alongs. That’s cute! [People]

* “A judge does not check his First Amendment rights at the courthouse door.” Judge Olu Stevens has filed suit against the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission on free-speech grounds in an attempt to stave off an ethics sanction for publicly commenting on Facebook about all-white juries and their “disproportionate and disparate impact on black defendants.” [Courier-Journal]

* Hardly any partners leave Cravath, but a very important one just did, and his exit is making people talk. Scott Barshay, once a top M&A partner at the firm that tends to set the associate bonus scale, has defected to Paul Weiss, where he’ll become its global head of M&A. Which clients will he take to the “dream team”? [DealBook / New York Times]

* This plaintiff’s antitrust allegations against Uber’s CEO may be “wildly implausible” and representative of an “impossibly unwieldy conspiracy,” but in Judge Jed Rakoff’s eyes, they were enough to overcome a motion to dismiss that was filed by Boies Schiller. Something tells us Uber’s legal bills are going to see some surge-pricing. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Per a study by Ravel Law, in a new index that tracks federal judges by their rulings and subsequent citations to those rulings, Michigan produces the most influential judges on the federal bench, followed by Chicago, Harvard, and Yale. Harvard has finally gotten one over on Yale — but for a measly bronze trophy. [Crain’s Detroit Business]

* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector gained 1,200 jobs in March. On top of that positive news, February’s numbers were revised from a loss of 1,500 jobs to a gain of 100 jobs. In any case, what with the huge discrepancy, we’re happy to see Dewey’s bookkeepers found new work. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* According to a statement released by the RIAA, hundreds of musicians and songwriters — like Katy Perry, for example — have called on Congress to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Safe-harbor clauses are absolutely killing the artists’ bottom line, and something must be done. [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter]

* “[M]any law firms have had breaches, which they’ve kept quiet.” Following the news that Cravath and Weil Gotshal had been victims of data breaches, Edelson, a plaintiff’s side firm, announced it would be filing class-action suits against 15 major Biglaw firms with cybersecurity problems. We can’t wait to find out which ones will be on the receiving end of these complaints. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* Being the world’s first publicly traded law firm has turned out to be quite the debacle for Slater & Gordon. First, the Australian firm announced market losses of about $740 million, citing “underperformance in U.K. operations,” and now its general counsel has decided to throw in the towel after only two months on the job. Ouch. [Am Law Daily]

* “I have lost my faith in the potential for the Law School or its curriculum to put out people who care deeply about things.” Members of Harassment/Assault Law-School Team, a student group that advocates for sexual assault victims, aren’t impressed with Harvard Law’s inaction on educating students about sexual assault. [Harvard Crimson]

* How can we guarantee educators are being honest about graduates’ job prospects? Based on the results of the Corinthian Colleges fiasco and the Alaburda v. TJSL trial, it seems like “[s]trict disclosure rules for all schools would be better than lawsuits and government aid as a way to ensure educator honesty.” [DealBook / New York Times]

* “I’d hope they’d see reason but I wouldn’t bet the family farm on it.” Senate Republicans may be stomping their feet about confirming one of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominees, but it may behoove them to do it now before Hillary Clinton takes office with a Democrat-controlled Senate. [Common Sense / New York Times]

* Sincere congratulations to Damaris Hernández, who recently achieved a seemingly impossible feat at her Bigfirm. The 36-year-old attorney is the first Latina to become a partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore. She joins the 46 other Hispanic women who are partners at just a few of America’s largest law firms. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Lawmakers from the Garden State have demanded that Gibson Dunn and digital forensics firm Stroz Friedberg repay $2.8 million in legal fees in the Bridgegate case, the bulk of which were e-discovery charges to the tune of $2.3 million. Welcome to the absurdity that is document review, New Jersey! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* It looks like Apple isn’t the only tech company that’s dueling with the DOJ right now. Since “[t]he interest in secrecy does not last forever,” Twitter is mounting a First Amendment case against the Feds over its ability to publicly release data that allegedly contains details related to the government’s terrorism investigations. [WSJ Law Blog]

* The 10 customers who filed a class-action lawsuit against Subway over the sub shop’s less-than foot-long footlong sandwiches will only be able to afford 100 $5 footlongs each, because the lawyers on the case are walking away with $520,000 out of $525,000 settlement dollars — that’s 99 percent of the settlement. Fair? [Dayton Daily News]

* According to Harry Reid, Obama should have a Supreme Court nominee within the next three weeks. As everyone knows, the senior Senator from Las Vegas sets the official line on these things. [Huffington Post]

* Cravath people bitching about their jobs is now the leading cause of insider trading. [Law360]

* Students using the moniker of “Reclaim Harvard Law School” have occupied the student center to protest the school’s continued use of the family crest of a slave trader and the lack of faculty diversity. I’d be sympathetic, but it was Harvard’s terrible diversity policy that brought some of my favorite professors to NYU Law so it worked out pretty well for me. [Daily Princetonian]

* Sir Nigel Knowles is stepping down as the global co-chair of DLA Piper. I would say it’s time to relax and take a cruise, but that sounds like work for DLA Piper people. [Am Law Daily]

* The ABA has pulled out of its joint venture with Rocket Lawyer to provide a cheap initial consult service. [Am Law Daily]

* Hey, hey, hey. Lawyer claims that Bill Cosby comes off as a bully for suing his accuser. [Associated Press via Trib Live]

* The ACLU is challenging a Kansas voter suppression law requiring proof of citizenship. Seems like now is a good time to bring that case. [New York Times]

* Has the dearth of law school applicants finally pinched Harvard Law? [Bloomberg Business]

* Meanwhile, New York Law School is doing just fine… thanks to its savvy real estate moves. [Crain’s New York Business]

* Amal Clooney sighting in D.C. [Washington Post]

* For those keeping score, only Scalia, Thomas, and Alito skipped the State of the Union last night, which was not really surprising. [CBS News]

* Former Cravath attorney Robert Miranne talks about the movie “Joy,” chronicling the life and times of his mother, Joy Mangano. [The Am Law Daily]

* In July, China arrested Wang Yu, a top women’s rights lawyer for creating a disturbance. They got around to notifying her mother of this… on Monday. In fairness, they’ve really been swamped over there with the sabotaging the global economy thing. [Reuters]

* FLSA class actions expected to hit record high this year. “I keep waiting — because I’ve been studying it for 15 years — for the number of wage-and-hour lawsuits to crest or go down” said Seyfarth’s Gerald Maatman Jr. And I keep waiting for companies to dutifully pay employees the money they actually owe them, yet here we are. [Law 360]

Welcome to the 2015 Biglaw bonus season!

Sign up for ATL's bonus alerts, which will alert you by email each time bonus news breaks.

Bonuses should be arriving soon -- perhaps as early as today -- and they should be as good as, or even better than, last year's.

Opponents of Mary Jo White's tenure at the SEC have taken to the streets -- in a sense -- to protest the Commission's perceived protection of Wall Street institutions.

* After two laid-off professors sued Charleston School of Law, a judge has issued an injunction reinstating professor Nancy Zisk. Things really aren’t going Charleston’s way, but remember to look on the bright side: they may get a Starbucks! [SC Lawyers Weekly]

* Attorney’s hit and run did not constitute a crime of moral turpitude because he was blackout drunk. One more reason to stay thirsty, my friends! [Legal Profession Blog]

* Lawyers can’t speak English good. [Lawyerist]

* What should be required to vote on a Supreme Court decision? [Concurring Opinions]

* There’s never really a good excuse for handcuffing an 8-year-old like this school rent-a-cop did. Also, did you know the only way to handcuff an 8-year-old is to cuff his upper arms? You do after reading this. [Daily Mail]

* As we hear more about the labor conditions building stadiums in Qatar, this white paper focuses on the unfortunately still modern challenge for in-house lawyers with an international reach: expanding due diligence to uncover slavery rings. [Thomson Reuters]

* Douglas Kennedy’s lawyers were disqualified for trying some funny business with their medical experts. [New York Personal Injury Attorney Blog]

* Cravath partner turned screenwriter and playwright. As the play says, “the first thing we do, let’s give giant bonuses to all the lawyers.” [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* Useful practice tip: strive for excellence, not perfection. [What About Clients?]

* Richard Hsu chats with Mark Cuban about something other than how terrible the NBA refs are. [Hsu Untied]

https://soundcloud.com/hsu-untied/mcuban

Did the firm seriously think anyone would be willing to pay for that?

The revolving door spins again at Cadwalader, this time with a firm leader taking his leave.

So what other leading law firms will follow the Davis Polk bonus scale?

Is there something fishy about the reported salaries of first-year associates in Biglaw?

So did Cravath, the usual first mover on associate bonuses, beat the Simpson Thacher scale?