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Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Election Law, FTC, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Sexual Harassment, White-Collar Crime
Morning Docket: 07.02.14
* The New York Court of Appeals put the hurt on defunct firms seeking unfinished business fees from former partners who left for greener pastures. Sorry, I didn’t follow ATL protocol: “Dewey think firms should collect unfinished business fees?” [Wall Street Journal Law Blog]
* We reported on the Tinder lawsuit yesterday. Here’s a collection of all the messed up texts involved. [Valleywag]
* Facebook’s lawyer is now calling the emotional manipulation study it recently conducted “customer service.” Dear Internet: Despite all your rage, you’re still just rats in a cage. [The Atlantic]
* So if you’re studying for the MPRE, blow jobs aren’t the preferred legal fee. [Legal Profession Blog]
* How did your last cell phone bill look? Because the FTC says T-Mobile knowingly added hundreds of millions of charges on. At least that girl in pink was cute, huh? [USA Today]
* BNP Paribas is confident it can pay its record fine. [Dealbook / New York Times]
* Meanwhile, Putin accused the U.S. of trying to use the BNP fine to blackmail France into turning its back on Russia. Because conspiracy theories are awesome. [Bloomberg]
* Lawsuit filed because right-wingers totally miffed that black people voted for a Republican. [Sun Herald (Mississippi)]
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Crime, Facebook, Guns / Firearms, Holy Crap, Hotties, Quote of the Day, Social Media
A Smooth Criminal: Behold, The Sexiest Felon Alive!
Women of the internet are drooling over this man. - Sponsored
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… -
Facebook, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Rankings
ATL vs. Law Dean vs. Common Sense
What weight should be given to solo practice and to "JD Advantage" jobs in law school rankings?
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Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Facebook, Legal Ethics, Rape, Social Media
Pro Tip For Lawyers: Don't Threaten To 'Anally Rape' Adversary
Has civility gone out of the legal profession? -
Affirmative Action, Facebook, Free Speech, Quote of the Day, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court
Florida Prosecutor Unapologetic About Sotomayor Affirmative Action Rant Posted On Facebook
These are some pretty insane blatherings from a state official! -
Facebook, Law Schools, Romance and Dating, Social Media, Social Networking Websites
Annoying Lovesick Humblebrag From Law Student
A law student in love on Facebook is the worst. -
Biglaw, Fabulosity, Facebook, General Counsel, Goldman Sachs, In-House Counsel, Twittering
Just How Rich Is Twitter's General Counsel?
The current and former general counsels to companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Goldman Sachs earn eight-figure sums. -
Facebook, Jury Duty, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Student Loans, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Non-Sequiturs: 04.17.14
* Cheerios is claiming that “Liking” them on Facebook constitutes a waiver of the right to sue. Let’s take this moment to encourage everyone to Like Above the Law on Facebook. [NY Times] * New study determines that the United States is an oligarchy instead of a democracy. You're telling me a government explicitly founded on the principle that only a handful of wealthy men should have a voice grew into an oligarchy? Quelle surprise! * Oh look, John Edwards is back. [Slate] * In the continuing saga of NYU’s allegedly shady spending, there are now reports that former NYU Law Dean and current NYU President John Sexton used school funds to convert two apartments into a duplex for his son. His son was married to an NYU Law employee and as I’ve said before, a school located in housing-scarce Manhattan should be able to do something to house professors, but as they say, “the optics” aren’t good. [Chronicle of Higher Education] * Musings on what it’s like to clerk in the midst of “flyover country” (presumably like my early childhood home of Des Moines). It makes a valiant effort to redeem itself at the end, but this article is exactly why most parts of the country think New Yorkers are elitist dicks. Which, we kind of are, but you don’t want to broadcast that. [Ramblings on Appeal] * The government is profiting handsomely from law students. Is that really a bad thing? [Law & Economics Prof Blog] * A D.C. law professor is now a movie star. [Washington City Paper] * The judge in the New Orleans Affordable Housing case may know the real identity of one of the anonymous commenters in the case. And if one of the anonymous trolls was a federal prosecutor poisoning the well in the case — like everyone suspects — it could aid the defense. [Times-Picayune] * For those of you across the pond, there’s a one-day event for lawyers on the business case for Corporate Social Responsibility. It’s in England because American companies have already passed on the idea of corporate responsibility. [International Law Society] - Sponsored
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Defamation, Facebook, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Non-Sequiturs, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Non-Sequiturs: 04.16.14
* ATTENTION LAW STUDENTS: Tomorrow is the last day to enter our annual Law Revue competition. The deadline is tomorrow at 5 so send them in. Entries have been coming in all day, so don't get left out. [Above the Law] * It looks like the Supreme Court just made a decision even worse than McCutcheon. [SCOTUSBlog] * New York's disciplinary procedures for lawyers are "deficient in design and operation." So come to New York if you plan on being a shady lawyer, I guess. [NY Times] * More on the law school apology by Erwin Chemerinsky and Carrie Menkel-Meadow that Lat wrote about yesterday. [The Write Stuff] * And, hey, while we’re at it, here’s Steven J. Harper’s take on the same Op-Ed. [The Lawyer Bubble] * UC Hastings Professor Osagie Obasogie is quoted in this informative piece about the changing nature of collegiate debate as it ventures more and more into the domain of critical race theory. As one of the people who helps run the CEDA tournament discussed in the article, I thought this was an interesting account. [The Atlantic] * FBI makes a cheesy video to teach young Americans not to spy for China. It’s really worth a watch. [National Journal] * A high school teacher in Australia won a defamation suit against a student who said mean things on Facebook. [IT-Lex] * The Legal Broadcast Network interviewed Kyle McEntee of Law School Transparency about how improved tools help law students. [Legal Broadcast Network] -
American Bar Association / ABA, Antitrust, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Crime, Cyrus Vance, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Facebook, Job Searches, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, U.S. News
Morning Docket: 03.25.14
* Demand is down, but fees are up. The good news is that Am Law Second Hundred firms saw gains in billable hours purchased by corporate clients — and that’s about it for the good news. [Am Law Daily]
* OMG, Dewey want to see the unsealed case records against D&L’s ex-leaders. DA Cy Vance wants our prying eyes to see all but one document. Secret seven identities… incoming! [Bloomberg]
* It looks like that time Sheryl Sandberg refused to lean in is really paying off in court. Facebook is a witness, not a defendant, in an antitrust case about non-poaching agreements between tech giants. [Reuters]
* Gaming the rankings for dummies? Law school deans are now pushing the ABA to require that law schools post their transfer students’ LSAT and GPA credentials. [Capital Business / Washington Post]
* The easy way to decide whether you should be working in law school is to determine what you like more: money or grades. One will help you get the other later in life. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
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English Grammar and Usage, Facebook, Law Reviews, Law Schools, Social Media, Social Networking Websites
LOL Cooley Law School
Making law review doesn't help one's grammar on Facebook. -
Biglaw, Contracts, Crime, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Facebook, Kids, Layoffs, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Partner Issues, Patton Boggs, Trials
Morning Docket: 03.10.14
* Dewey know who Zachary Warren is? Per this failed firm’s insiders, he seems to be a “man of mystery” who apparently worked in the “bowels of the bureaucracy” that ultimately led to D&L’s demise. [Am Law Daily]
* “You can cross-examine the witness. You can’t cross examine an email.” Defense of the Dewey defendants may be tough when it’s time for trial — and you can bet your ass there’ll be a trial. [New York Law Journal]
* Fear not, friends, because Patton Boggs has found a way to weather the storm. It’s the same way most barely buoyant firms stay afloat: more layoffs. Expect more on this news later today. [National Law Journal]
* Paul Ceglia, the man who claims he owns half of Facebook’s fortunes, can’t toss his criminal charges. Sometimes wheeling and dealing with allegedly faux contracts will land you in the clink. [Bloomberg]
* Because no father wants to see his daughter become “tabloid fodder”: Rachel Canning, the New Jersey schoolgirl who sued her parents, is being “savaged” by the public. Aww, poor little Millennial. [Daily Record]
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Facebook, Screw-Ups, Social Media, Social Networking Websites
Daughter's Facebook Overshare Costs Dad $80,000
Facebook girl doesn't know what 'confidentiality' means.
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Crime, Facebook, Gay, Insider Trading, Non-Sequiturs, Patents, Supreme Court, Tax Law
Non-Sequiturs: 02.20.14
* Congrats to Weil Gotshal and Fenwick & West for getting in on Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp, the biggest Internet deal in a decade. [The Recorder] * In South Carolina, you can get arrested for crimes that aren’t even things any more. Like “failure to return a VHS tape.” [Lowering the Bar] * Drunk lawyer at heart of alleged insider trading scheme. [Dealbreaker] * Did LBJ colossally screw up the Supreme Court? [Concurring Opinions] * Were you curious about who would be on the Mount Rushmore of Tax Law professors? No? Well, here they are anyway. [TaxProf Blog] * The so-called “trial penalty” is really a myth and empirical data confirms that defendants who reject plea deals and go to trial actually garner a “trial discount.” Yep, prosecutors aren’t overreaching at all. [PrawfsBlawg] * President Obama called for patent law reform in the State of the Union address. Now we have some insight into what he’s thinking about. [Patently-O] * Congratulations to Matthew Skinner, the next executive director of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York! [LeGal] -
Bad Ideas, Facebook, Labor / Employment, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology, Twittering
Wait Until The Courts Get Hold Of This Vague, Stupid Facebook Law
Do you use Facebook for business? A court will have to decide. -
Conferences / Symposia, Crime, Drugs, Facebook, Murder, Privacy, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology, Twittering, Violence, YouTube
LegalTech 2014: The Internet Is For Porn (And Drugs, Contract Killings, And Other Illegal Activity)
How is technology shaping the world in which we live, affecting legal and illegal activities alike? Some thoughts from Jason Thomas of Thomson Reuters. -
Facebook, Small Law Firms, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Solo Practitioners, Technology, Twittering
Social Media Matters For Solo And Small-Firm Lawyers
Here are three ways to use social media to get the most out of traditional, in-person networking, and to create new opportunities. -
Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology, Tort Reform
File Your Own Frivolous Lawsuit Here!
A fun new app lets you generate absurd fact patterns with the click of a button. -
Bad Ideas, Cars, Facebook, Law Professors, Law Schools, Quote of the Day, Rudeness
This Is Why You Shouldn't Give Your Law Professor The Finger
Flip off the person who grades you, great idea! -
Biglaw, Crime, Divorce Train Wrecks, Facebook, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Morning Docket, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Morning Docket: 01.28.14
* Morrison & Foerster just snagged a major government player for its global anti-corruption practice. Congrats to the firm on adding Charles Duross, formerly of the DOJ’s FCPA program, as a partner. [Washington Post]
* General counsel are keeping more and more work in-house, “presumably in order to minimize outside counsel spend.” In the alternative, it could be because the lawyers from the firms are too arrogant. [Corporate Counsel]
* If you dare to reject the Facebook friend request of the judge who’s presiding over your divorce case, then you can count on some retaliation in court. You can also count on the judge getting removed. [WSJ Law Blog]
* If you postponed applying to law school, please think long and hard about why you stopped applying the first time. Only take this advice if anything’s actually changed — like your grades, your LSAT score, or the job market. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
* “This is a case to restore faith in the old-fashioned idea that divorce is something that lasts forever.” Steven A. Cohen is getting off when it comes to his ex-wife’s RICO claims, but not much else. [Reuters]