LLMs
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Law Schools
The LL.M. Honor Roll: Ranking The Nation's Best Specialty Degree Programs In Law (2023)
When it comes to tax law, you may be surprised by which schools made the grade. -
Law Schools
Stepping Into The LL.M. Transfer Portal
Foreign attorneys who wish to earn a J.D. instead of an LL.M. should be thinking about added costs and employment issues. - Sponsored
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Legal document automation is no longer only for the exclusive few. -
Law Schools
Uh-Oh! T14 Law School Email Screw-Up Reveals Grades, Application Decisions For All LLM Candidates
This is quite the accidental data dump. Which law school did it?
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Law Schools
How To Choose Where To Get Your Tax LL.M. Degree
Remember that which school is right for you depends on your professional goals. -
Law Schools
Is Getting A Tax LL.M. A Good Idea?
A Tax LL.M. can be a good investment depending on what you are expecting out of the degree. -
Prestigious Law School Launches Exciting New LL.M. Program
Students will be able to complete the degree in about six months. -
Law Schools
Advice For LL.M. Students Who Want To Enjoy The U.S. And Work Here After Graduation
Steps international LL.M. students can take beyond working with their Career Services Office to fully utilize and maximize their time in an American law school and in the U.S. in general. -
Law Schools
Essential OCI Advice For LL.M. Students
A close relationship with your Career Services Office will help maximize your chances of landing a position. - Sponsored
How AI Is The Catalyst For Reshaping Every Aspect Of Legal Work
Findings from the "Future of Professionals Report," based on a survey of 1,200 professionals from North and South America and the UK. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.23.17
* Statues of Chief Justice Roger Taney may have been removed in his native Maryland, but don’t expect his bust to be removed from the Supreme Court’s Great Hall or his portrait to be taken down from the high court’s East conference room in the near future. The visage of the Dred Scott opinion’s author will remain. [National Law Journal]
* The Charlotte School of Law may be dead, but that doesn’t mean that former students’ proposed class-action lawsuits against the school have been put out to pasture. Though the bulk of the claims were dismissed, two such cases with allegations of unfair and deceptive trade practices have survived motions for summary judgment. Best of luck against Infilaw’s first fallen school. [Law.com]
* Much to his defense attorney Benjamin Bratman’s chagrin, the names of the jurors who convicted Martin Shkreli of securities fraud have been released. They’ve been talking to the press about the disgraced pharma bro, and one of them referred to him as “his own worst enemy.” [DealBook / New York Times]
* Meanwhile, Martin Shkreli’s ex-lawyer, former Kaye Scholer partner Evan Greebel, remains charged with wire fraud conspiracy, a charge on which Shkreli was acquitted by a jury. Greebel’s defense attorneys at Gibson Dunn have called this “a Kafkaesque scenario,” that is “frightening for every corporate lawyer in America simply doing their jobs representing clients.” [New York Law Journal]
* Berkeley Law is planning to launch a hybrid online/on-campus LL.M. program for foreign-educated attorneys. Students will be able to complete their fall and spring semesters online, but must attend classes on campus at the law school during the summer months. Tuition is a whopping $57,471. [The Recorder]
* Earlier this week, a California jury handed down the largest verdict thus far in a talcum powder cancer case against Johnson & Johnson. The plaintiff, Eva Echeverria, who had used J&J baby powder since the 1950s and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, was awarded $417 million. [Consumer Affairs]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.19.17
* Did anyone really expect Biglaw associates to jump ship so quickly for in-house jobs after the huge raises they got this past summer? According to Michelle Fivel of Major Lindsey & Africa, these days, associates “have increased standards for what they’re willing to throw their hat into the ring for, mostly based around compensation.” [Law360 (sub. req.)]
* “This is so important to us from an income point of view.” Thanks to President Donald Trump’s “America First” immigration policies, law schools are worrying about whether their cash-cow LL.M. programs will suffer. These programs typically bring in about $350 million each year, so this is definitely something worthy of concern. [Legal Intelligencer]
* Texas law school graduates from the class of 2016 performed better in the job market than their classmates who graduated just one year prior. This data comes from the latest employment information gathered by the American Bar Association, which we imagine will be made public soon. How do you think your law school did? [Houston Chronicle]
* “I was honored to be the chair, but there is no requirement for one in the partnership agreement.” Tony Valukas has stepped down as the chair of Jenner & Block, and he doubts anyone will replace him since his title was honorary in nature. [Big Law Business]
* Pedro Hernandez, the man who murdered Etan Patz — the first child to appear on the side of a milk carton — has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. [Reuters]
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Antitrust, Bar Exams, Law Schools
BARBRI And 11 Law Schools Get Hit With A $50 Million Antitrust Lawsuit
This ain't BARBRI's first time at the antitrust rodeo. -
Law Schools, LLMs
Student Wastes Time Pursuing Law Degree He Was Ineligible To Receive, Tries To Sue School, Fails Miserably
Considering the law school allowed this charade to go on for so long, that's got to sting. -
B for Beauty, Law Schools
Law Student Turned Pageant Queen With A Purpose
For her efforts this law student won a shiny new saddle and an LLM.
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Sponsored
How AI Is The Catalyst For Reshaping Every Aspect Of Legal Work
Are Small Firms Going Big On Legal Tech?
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.05.15
* Seton Hall Law Professor Michael Simkovic — he of the million-dollar law degree study — is back with a vengeance. Pay no attention to that law school scam op-ed in the New York Times; very few law school graduates are actually defaulting on their crushing loan debt. [ABA Journal]
* The U.S. Senate is finally looking into what’s going on with predatory pharmaceutical pricing at companies like Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Turing Pharmaceuticals, both of which have recently hiked up the price on lifesaving drugs to an absurdly exorbitant degree. [Reuters]
* Judge Arnold Ogden Jones II, a North Carolina state court jurist, has been accused of attempting to bribe an FBI agent with “a couple of cases of beer” in exchange for information. It better have been some damn good beer, Your Honor. [News & Observer]
* Complaints about tuition be damned, because law schools are still churning out pricey LL.M. programs like its their job. Fordham Law’s compliance program may be useful for some, but it comes with a $53,000 price tag. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Law schools have been in a “death spiral” since applications started to drop along with admissions standards and student debt started to increase exponentially, but some will survive if the ABA steps in and polices accreditation and gainful employment. [Forbes]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.28.15
* Good news, everyone! Legally Blonde 3 is supposedly in the works, and Reese Witherspoon says that the movie may involve Elle Woods becoming a Supreme Court justice or some kind of an elected official. It’s really too bad that SCOTUS robes aren’t pink. [Washington Post]
* Biglaw firms aren’t the only ones that are downsizing when it comes to their headcount. Case in point, Lear Corporation’s in-house legal department has dropped from 20 attorneys to 11, but its GC Terry Larking says it’s working for the company. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Cornell Law School will be teaming up with Cornell Tech to launch a new LL.M. degree in law, technology, and entrepreneurship. Like most LL.M. degrees, we imagine that it will cost a pretty penny, but that its overall value on the market will be low. [Cornell Chronicle]
* “Do we really need to protect people from trying to achieve their dreams?” Professor Noah Feldman of Harvard Law thinks we shouldn’t coddle law school applicants who are unlikely to pass a bar or try to “save” them from a lifetime of debt. [Bloomberg View]
* She shoots, she scores? An ex-cheerleader filed suit against the Milwaukee Bucks under the Fair Labor Standards Act because she alleges she was paid less than minimum wage to cheer for the team. The suit is the first of its kind filed against an NBA team. [ABC News]
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Career Center, Career Files, Law Students
From The Career Files: Rainbow Vomit And Law Professor Advice (Part 1)
The normal bromides on how to succeed in law school from law profs follow a predictable template: Go to class! -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.14.15
* With sagging enrollment and disappointing job statistics, offering students some tuition reimbursement if they’re still unemployed nine months after graduation is a great way to put asses in seats. We’ll have more to say about this news later today. [New York Times]
* Testimony in the Dewey & LeBoeuf criminal trial got a little more interesting when jurors learned that the plan to cook the firm’s books to the tune of more than $50 million was hatched after a pricey steak dinner at Del Frisco’s. Don’t all evil Biglaw plans come together after an expensive steak dinner? [DealBook / New York Times]
* These people just won the criminal justice reform lottery: In case you missed it, President Barack Obama commuted the sentenced of 46 nonviolent drug offenders in order to shine a light on punishments that didn’t fit the crimes committed. [POLITICO]
* Pay close attention to this information, gunners, because it probably applies to you. Per a new study conducted by two Colorado Law professors, LSAT scores are an “overvalued predictor” of future law school grades and résumé builders don’t matter. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Osvaldo Miranda Diaz, the lawyer who called Cuba’s criminal justice system “disgusting” during a presentation he gave to visiting U.S. lawyers, secured a full ride for Duke Law’s LLM program thanks to one of his audience members. Congrats! [Daily Business Review]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.23.15
* Hillary Clinton is making a mad dash for Biglaw bucks to support her presidential run. This week, she’ll be at an event hosted by Sullivan & Cromwell, and next week, she’ll be at an event hosted by a Chadbourne & Park partner. Ooh la la, fancy schmancy! [Bloomberg Politics]
* Dewey know why this firm failed? Back before D&L declared bankruptcy, the firm’s most successful rainmakers were asked to give up half of their gigantic salaries in an attempt to stave off the worst… but they didn’t want to. We suppose that’s the way the cartel crumbles. [Am Law Daily]
* Bickel & Brewer, the fearsome Texas litigation boutique, recently broke up, and now it’ll simply be known as Brewer. John Bickel, who invoked the firm’s partnership retirement clause, is now ensconced as senior counsel at Fish & Richardson. [Texas Lawbook]
* This career services dean is here to tell you a tale about law school job stats. You see, law schools don’t have an unemployment problem — instead, they have a “J.D. Advantage” problem (aka, jobs they took because they couldn’t get lawyer jobs). [Huffington Post]
* This is yet another reason why people are considering Fordham’s Fashion Law LL.M.: “Every designer should have a minimum degree of legal literacy, if only to know when to seek a legal opinion — and to avoid being sent to sit at the kids’ table.” [New York Times]
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Fashion, Law Schools
Which Law School Is Bringing Fashion Law Mainstream?
Is this LL.M. in Fashion Law worth the high cost? -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 06.04.15
* New developments in everyone’s favorite soap opera of a case: Faruqi & Faruqi LLP is cross-appealing the $140,000 judgment in favor of former associate Alexandra Marchuk. [Law360]
* Whoa. There’s one SEC Commissioner actually doing her job! So retro. Stay strong, Commissioner Stein. [Guile Is Good]
* Congress is working on a bill to prevent companies from foisting non-compete clauses on employees making less than $31,200/year. But, but, then someone else might learn the important trade secret of the Colonel’s 11 secret herbs and spices! [Lawyers, Guns & Money]
* Senior and junior lawyers speak a different language. This article comes to us from the U.K., but the sentiment is universal, even if the phrase “bugger off” isn’t. [Legal Cheek]
* Prosecutor called Asian Americans “greedy foreigners.” That goes over about as well as you’d expect. [Angry Asian Man]
* David spoke with the Legal Talk Network about “the importance of friendship and family and the psyche of young lawyers who often compromise personal relationships for career ambitions.” If you guessed they were discussing Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), then you’re right. [Legal Talk Network]
* Where are LL.M.s valuable? [LLM-Guide]
* Lawyer sues EFF for calling his patent stupid. We here at Above the Law would like to reiterate that this patent is brilliant and probably the most Earth-shattering invention since the light bulb. [Corporate Counsel]
* Maybe legalizing drugs doesn’t solve all the violence. [Seattle Times]