John O’Brien
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Law Schools
Dean Builds 146th Best Law School And Retires With $5.3 Million Package
It may look easy to run a school with numbers this bad... but it's also lucrative! -
Biglaw
Biglaw Lawyers Behaving Badly: The Elite 8 (Part 1)
So, we are mid-March madness... is your bracket busted? - 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… -
Biglaw, Crime
Who Is The Worst-Behaved (Former) Biglaw Attorney?
Enjoy our Lawyers Behaving Badly Bracket.
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American Bar Association / ABA, Law School Deans, Law Schools
ABA To Honor Law Dean Who Has Done The Most To Embarrass Legal Education
Is the ABA trying to troll all of us? -
Attorney Misconduct, Biglaw, Books, Career Alternatives, Disasters / Emergencies, Gay, Gay Marriage, House Judiciary Committee, Law Firm Mergers, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Patents, Sandra Day O'Connor, SCOTUS, Sex, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 10.30.13
* Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has joined Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in being one of the only justices to perform a same-sex marriage. No divas here: the wedding ceremony was held at the high court because “[t]hat’s where she was.” [BuzzFeed]
* “Proceed with caution.” David Kappos, the former director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, isn’t too keen on the latest patent reform bill that’s currently before the House Judiciary Committee. If only the man still had a say. [National Law Journal]
* Dentons and McKenna Long & Aldridge have released a joint statement to ensure the public that the proposed merger is still on. Good news, everyone! The firm won’t be named McDentons. [Am Law Daily]
* Ralph Lerner, formerly of Sidley Austin, has been slapped on the wrist suspended from practice in New York for one year’s time after improperly billing car service to clients to the tune of $50,000. [Am Law Daily]
* It’s been a year since Superstorm Sandy, and lawyers are still counseling their clients on how to muddle through the mess. Volunteer some pro bono hours and help out those in need. [New York Law Journal]
* After threatening to cut faculty positions, New England Law Dean John O’Brien is taking a 25 percent pay cut. He’ll only earn $650,000. Wow. I think we’re supposed to be impressed. [Boston Business Journal]
* Career alternatives for attorneys: rescuer of nerd relics. Head to this Brooklyn book store (of course it’s in Brooklyn) if you’re desperately seeking long lost science fiction tales. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]
* We bet that folks in Australia would like to tell the the High Court to bugger off after overturning this ruling. Sexual injuries that occur during work-related trips don’t qualify for workers’ compensation. [Bloomberg]
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Law School Deans, Law Schools, Student Loans
What, You Thought Law School Deans Worked for Free?
A law school dean makes an obscene amount of money, and now everybody is outraged. -
Adam Liptak, American Bar Association / ABA, B for Beauty, Biglaw, Deaths, Law Professors, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Mergers and Acquisitions, Money, Morning Docket, Reality TV, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Suicide, Supreme Court, Technology, Television, Texas, You Go Girl
Morning Docket: 01.14.13
* “I’m a New Yorker, and I jaywalk with the best of them.” Don’t be fooled by the rocks job that she’s got — she’s still, she’s still Jenny Sonia from the block. The Supreme Court’s very own wise Latina, author of a new memoir (affiliate link), is proud of her city. [New York Times; 60 Minutes]
* If you’re looking for an M&A adviser, you’d be wise to seek out counsel from Skadden Arps. The firm sweeped three separate rankings lists based on the total value of its clients’ 2012 M&A transactions. [Am Law Daily]
* Only in the world of legal education could the dean of a law school that isn’t even numerically ranked by U.S. News have the highest salary of all law deans nationwide. (We’ll likely have more on this later.) [Boston Globe]
* Arizona schools will allow 3Ls to take the bar exam, but New York schools may soon do away with 3L year altogether. Of course, the ABA will find a way to muck it up, but still, hooray for progress! [National Law Journal]
* Remember “Made in Jersey,” the show about a stereotypical Jersey girl who made the jump to Biglaw? Yeah, neither does anyone else. Hopefully “Staten Island Law” won’t face the same fate. [New York Daily News]
* “Sexiness is all about being a woman of character.” Our congratulations go out to DaNae Couch, the Texas Tech law student who advanced to the Top 10 of the Miss America competition. You go girl! [Lubbock Online]
* Aaron Swartz — Reddit co-founder, friend of Larry Lessig, felony hacking defendant — RIP. [New York Times]
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Attorney Misconduct, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Boalt Hall, Copyright, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Drugs, Health Care / Medicine, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, SCOTUS, Senate Judiciary Committee, Sex, Supreme Court, Tax Law
Morning Docket: 06.20.12
* It’s not just media groups that are urging the Supreme Court to allow live coverage of the announcement of the ACA decision. Senators Patrick Leahy and Chuck Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee have joined the club. [Blog of Legal Times]
* Dewey know whether this failed firm’s former partners will be settling their claims any time soon? Team Togut hopes to reach a deal in the next six weeks, and claims that cooperation will absolve D&L’s deserters of all future liability. [Am Law Daily (sub. req.)]
* From Biglaw to the big house: former Sullivan & Cromwell partner John O’Brien, who is serving time for tax evasion charges, has been suspended from practicing law in New York. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* A Stradling Yocca partner and his wife, a Boalt Hall graduate, stand accused of planting drugs on a school volunteer who supervised their son. Looks like the only thing they’re straddling now is jail time. [OC Register]
* Dharun Ravi was released early from jail yesterday after completing a little more than half of his 30-day sentence. Funny how bad behavior got him into the slammer, but good behavior got him out of it. [CNN]
* “Why would somebody so smart do something so stupid?” Kenneth Kratz, the sexting DA from Wisconsin, claims that the answer to that question is an addiction to sex and prescription drugs. [Herald Times Reporter]
* Jay-Z’s got 99 problems and this bitch is one. He’s been accused by Patrick White of plagiarizing parts of his own best-selling memoir, “Decoded,” and slapped with a copyright infringement suit. [New York Daily News]
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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Biglaw, Crime, Gay, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Sentencing Law, Tax Law, Weirdness, White-Collar Crime
Former S&C Partner Gets Sentenced for Tax Offenses
Last August, John J. O'Brien, who was once a highly regarded and well-liked partner in the celebrated M&A practice of Sullivan & Cromwell, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor tax offenses. In the end, he pleaded guilty to failing to file taxes relating to $9.2 million in partnership income, for tax years 2003 to 2008. Earlier this week, O'Brien was sentenced. So is O'Brien trading Biglaw for the Big House? And if so, how long a sentence did he receive? -
Biglaw, Crime, Gay, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Real Estate, Tax Law, Weirdness, White-Collar Crime
Ex-Sullivan & Cromwell Partner Failed To Pay Taxes on Millions
Remember John J. O'Brien? Back in April 2009, we wrote about his mysterious departure from Sullivan & Cromwell, where he was a well-regarded and well-liked partner in the M&A department. Yesterday brought news that O'Brien was hit with federal tax-related charges.... -
Biglaw, Crime, Partner Issues, Tax Law, Weirdness, White-Collar Crime
Mystery Departure Solved: Ex-Kirkland Partner Hit With Federal Criminal Charges
Last fall, we wrote about prominent bankruptcy lawyer Ted Freedman's unexplained departure from Kirkland & Ellis. Now we learn that he has been indicted on federal tax-fraud charges, for allegedly hiding millions in income. -
Biglaw, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues, Weirdness
Musical Chairs: Is Ted Freedman Out at Kirkland?Plus a request for updates on ex-DPW and S&C partners.
Theodore Freedman is — or was — a prominent bankruptcy and restructuring partner at Kirkland & Ellis, based out of the firm’s New York office. Freedman has been practicing law for almost 40 years; he graduated from Northwestern Law in 1972 and is admitted to the bars of D.C. (1973), Illinois (1976), and New York […] -
Biglaw, Money, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues, Real Estate, Tax Law, Weirdness
Why Did John O'Brien Leave Sullivan & Cromwell?
Back in April, we wondered about the departure from Sullivan & Cromwell of John O’Brien, a highly regarded and well-liked corporate partner who focused on M&A work. This development captured our interest because it’s unusual for lawyers to leave the (highly lucrative) partnership of a top firm like S&C. When partners leave a place like […]
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Biglaw, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues, Weirdness
Another Sullivan & Cromwell Partner Has Left the Building
This year has been an interesting one so far for Sullivan & Cromwell. There has been happy news, like firm chairman H. Rodgin Cohen — banking M&A god, and a contender for a top Treasury Department post, before he withdrew — being named Dealmaker of the Year. There has been tragic news, like the killing […]