Magic Circle
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Biglaw, Drinking, Screw-Ups, United Kingdom / Great Britain, Videos, YouTube
Should This Indiscreet Young Lawyer Get A Second Clifford Chance?
A young lawyer's ill-considered remarks could cause him to lose his job. -
3rd Circuit, Anthony Kennedy, Bankruptcy, Barack Obama, Biglaw, Cozen O'Connor, Deaths, Fashion, Fashion Is Fun, Gay, Gay Marriage, General Counsel, International Law, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Magic Circle, Military / Military Law, Morning Docket, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Supreme Court, Technology, Twittering, United Kingdom / Great Britain, Weddings
Morning Docket: 09.03.13
* We bet you never thought you’d be spending Labor Day weekend debating with your relatives the legality of a U.S. military strike on Syria and the intricacies of international law. Gee, thanks President Obama. [CNN]
* Over the long holiday weekend, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served as officiant at the gay wedding of John Roberts. No, not that John Roberts, but what an incredibly apropos coincidence that was. [Washington Post]
* Speaking of same-sex marriage, even though “[n]o one told [him] it was an easy job when [he] signed on,” Justice Anthony Kennedy revealed himself to be an ally of the gay rights movement. [New York Times]
* Two days after filing an appeal with the Third Circuit, the parents of a deceased Cozen O’Connor partner have ended their battle to deny their daughter’s profit-sharing benefits to her wife. [Law360 (sub. req.)]
* Twitter’s general counsel deactivated his account position with the social media giant, and looks forward to “goofing off.” Congrats to Vijaya Gadde, who will head up the company’s IPO. [Bits / New York Times]
* Biglaw’s latest scapegoat for the culling of the associate herd is the decline of Chapter 11 filings, otherwise known by industry insiders as the “bankruptcy recession.” [New York Law Journal (sub. req.)]
* Without any rabbits left to pull out of hats, it’s been predicted that by 2018, the Magic Circle will be no more. This is one disappearing act lawyers obsessed with prestige hope will never happen. [The Lawyer]
* If you want to learn more about fashion law, check out this interview with Barbara Kolsun, a woman who literally wrote the book on it (affiliate link) while serving as general counsel at Stuart Weitzman. [Corporate Counsel]
* So what has Kenneth Randall been up to since he left the deanship at Alabama School of Law? He’s working to “train law students for jobs that don’t require a bar license” over at InfiLaw. Awesome. [Tuscaloosa News]
* Legal commentators like Elie and Lat would be ecstatic if law school were two years long, but because so many others have a “vested interest in the status quo,” change will come at approximately half past never. [CNBC]
* Ronald H. Coase, influential legend of law and economics and Nobel prize winner, RIP. [Chicago Law]
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Allen & Overy, Books, Depositions, Magic Circle, Ridiculousness, Sex, Sex Scandals, Sexual Harassment, United Kingdom / Great Britain, Videos, YouTube
50 Shades of Biglaw: Watch This Managing Partner Read Erotica Out Loud
Based on his videotaped deposition, this retired managing partner could have a second career as a reader of erotic audiobooks.
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Allen & Overy, ATL Career Center Survey, Biglaw, Magic Circle, United Kingdom / Great Britain
ATL Law Firm Ratings: Magic Circle in NYC Edition
How do the Magic Circle firms stand up in the ATL Insider Survey? -
Allen & Overy, Biglaw, Defamation, Federal Judges, Magic Circle, Minority Issues, Morning Docket, Racism, Trials, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Morning Docket: 07.11.13
* Thanks to the slow transactional markets in Western Europe, Magic Circle firms like Allen & Overy, Linklaters, and Clifford Chance are struggling to pull a rabbit out of a hat in terms of gross revenue and profits. [Am Law Daily]
* If at first you don’t succeed because of John Ashcroft, try, try again. Former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White is once again being considered for the federal bench in St. Louis. Good luck! [Missouri Lawyers Weekly]
* In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to murder charges. He’s looking at life in prison or the death penalty. [Bloomberg]
* Target, if you’re wondering why you’re getting sued, it’s because of this alleged memo explaining that not all Hispanic employees eat tacos, dance to salsa, and wear sombreros. [Huffington Post]
* “Please don’t be hung” is a solemn prayer that’s only useful to a woman whose case is on re-trial. Ex-Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones’s defamation suit was sent to the jury. [Associated Press]
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Allen & Overy, Biglaw, Layoffs, Magic Circle, Outsourcing, Partner Issues, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Staff Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Magic Circle Firm Makes Lawyers and Staff Disappear
Staffers and lawyers are heading out the door, in the wake of a management change. -
Immigration, Labor / Employment, Magic Circle, Non-Sequiturs, Pepper Hamilton, Privacy, White-Collar Crime
Non-Sequiturs: 02.21.13
* A study finds that over 93 percent of attorneys, judges, and legal writing professors think the writing they’re reading is bad. One could argue this is evidence of a crisis in writing skills. Or one could argue that lawyers are a**holes who think every voice other than their own is wrong. It’s a 50/50 […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2012, Biglaw, Bonuses, Magic Circle, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Clifford Chance
Bonus news for U.S. associates at one of the world's top law firms. - 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… -
In-House Counsel, Lawyerly Lairs, Magic Circle, Money, Partner Issues, Real Estate, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Inside Straight: London Partners Can't Afford Homes . . .
In-house columnist Mark Herrmann now lives in London -- and he can't believe the real estate prices over there. Partners at major law firms in London can't afford to live in the city itself.... -
Allen & Overy, Biglaw, Lateral Moves, Magic Circle, Partner Issues
Musical Chairs: From One Magic Circle Firm to Another
More lateral movement, this time from the New York office of one Magic Circle firm to another. Who's moving, from where to where? -
Bail, Biglaw, Bonuses, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Education / Schools, Job Searches, John Osborn, John Roberts, Law Schools, Magic Circle, Money, Morning Docket, Murder, Scott Rothstein, SCOTUS, Sun Microsystems, Supreme Court, Texas, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Morning Docket: 07.06.12
* Chief Justice John Roberts might “enjoy that he’s being criticized,” but that’s probably because he’ll get the chance to show his true conservative colors this fall when issues like affirmative action and same-sex marriage are before SCOTUS. [Reuters]
* Dewey know why this failed firm thinks a bankruptcy judge is going to allow it to hand out $700K in “morale” bonuses? You better believe that Judge Martin Glenn is going to tell D&L where it can (indicate). [Bankruptcy Beat / Wall Street Journal]
* It seems like attorneys at Freshfields may actually need to get some sleep, because it was the sole Magic Circle firm to report a decline in in revenue and profitability in its latest financial disclosure statements. [Financial Times (reg. req.)]
* Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. didn’t do George Zimmerman any favors when he set his bond at $1M. Watch how quickly the defense fund Zimmerman concealed from the court disappears as he struggles to post bail. [CNN]
* Whatever it takes (to count you as employed): 76% of law schools report that they’ve now changed their curriculum to include more practical skills courses in light of the dismal job market. [National Law Journal]
* Texas Christian University is expanding its graduate programs, but a law school isn’t necessarily in the works, because TCU is only interested in “programs that promote employability.” Well, sh*t, y’all. [TCU 360]
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Magic Circle, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Former Freshfields Barrister Wonders If Your Biglaw Job Is Making You Sick
The question isn't "is your job making you sick," the question is, "do you care?" -
Allen & Overy, Biglaw, Magic Circle, Sex, Sex Scandals, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, Videos, YouTube
The Latest Plot Twist in Deidre Dare v. Allen & Overy
What's the latest news in sexy expat Deidre Dare's never-ending litigation against her former employer, Allen & Overy?
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Antitrust, Letter from London, Litigators, Magic Circle, Money, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: The Queen's Lawyers
What does it mean when a British lawyer has the letters "QC" after his name? What are the advantages to being designated a "Queen's Counsel"? And what are the disadvantages of the QC system? -
Allen & Overy, Job Searches, Letter from London, Magic Circle, Student Loans, Unemployment, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: Can Jobless U.S. Law Grads Find Work in Britain?
What happens when you put thirty American lawyers in a London pub where the drinks are free for the evening? Well, let’s just say it’s rather different to what happens when thirty British lawyers are assembled in equivalent conditions. The attendees at last week’s inaugural Benedict Arnold Society meeting for young and young-ish American lawyers […] -
Allen & Overy, Biglaw, Crime, Letter from London, Magic Circle, Sentencing Law, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: Prison for Biglaw Partner With Fabricated Kidnapping Story
“Oh, What a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive,” said Judge Guy Anthony, quoting Sir Walter Scott’s poem Marmion, as he sentenced British Biglaw attorney Francis Bridgeman to 12 months in prison on Friday. The former Allen & Overy (A&O) and Macfarlanes partner, who had already had his membership of the latter firm's limited liability partnership terminated, then collapsed in the dock.... -
Biglaw, Drinking, Letter from London, Magic Circle, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: 'I Thought Freshfields Was a Supermarket'
“I thought Freshfields [Bruckhaus Deringer] was a supermarket when I got here,” says Kirsty Grant, a fourth-year associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Happily, Grant -- a fast-learner who got through law school in L.A. while working full-time during the day -- quickly figured out that the Anglo-German law firm, a member of the Magic Circle, wasn’t the place to fulfill her grocery needs. Not that Grant, 33, has oceans of spare cash to splash on her grocery needs. How do her finances as an American abroad compare to those of her Biglaw counterparts back home? -
10th Circuit, Cars, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Election 2012, Election Law, Elena Kagan, FCC, LLMs, Magic Circle, Mergers and Acquisitions, Morning Docket, Politics, Religion, SCOTUS, Student Loans, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 01.11.12
* “It seems no one can use dirty words, except Steven Spielberg.” Well, sh*t, I’ll be damned. Is Elena Kagan going to be the voice of reason in the Supreme Court’s FCC profanity case? [Los Angeles Times] * Ken Cuccinelli filed an emergency motion to get Virginia’s primary ballots printed. You can’t wait three days […]
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Biglaw, Layoffs, Letter from London, Partner Issues, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: Expelled from Linklaters's Gilded Cage(Layoffs at Linklaters, at the partner level.)
A few months ago, one of the public relations staff at Linklaters invited me to have lunch with him in the firm’s canteen. Now, I know that if I was a client, or even a journalist of greater rank, my PR acquaintance would have probably deemed me worthy of a trip to a restaurant on […] -
American Bar Association / ABA, Biglaw, Letter from London, Magic Circle, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter From London: Beware Of The Innovative Lawyers
The Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards ceremony, held in London last Wednesday, was most notable for the contrast between the puppy-like excitement of the lawyer nominees and the auto-pilot professionalism of the host, FT editor Lionel Barber, whose aura was of a man who’d rather be at home watching TV. This was a shame, not […]