National Association for Law Placement (NALP)
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Conferences / Symposia, Health / Wellness, Job Searches, National Association for Law Placement (NALP)
The Touchiest-Feeliest Law Jobs Conference Of The Decade
Now that you have a job, how do you feel about it? -
Biglaw, Minority Issues, Partner Issues
Diversity In The Legal Profession Has Flatlined Since The Great Recession; Who Is To Blame?
When it comes to diversity, it doesn't just get better; we must make a real and sustained effort. - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.06.17
* What’s it like to be the “tweetingest judge in America”? Justice Don Willett of the Texas Supreme Court tells us what it’s like to live a week in his life in this endearing column. From letting us know where he spends much of his time (the local Chick-fil-A) to revealing the reason he Tweets so much (to get reelected) to describing his love for his children, Justice Willett is a true gem of the judiciary. [Wall Street Journal]
* Judge Timothy Parker of the Carroll County District Court in Arkansas has resigned from his post and agreed to never serve as a judge again to avoid being charged with ethical misconduct. Judge Parker was accused of arranging for defendants’ pretrial releases in exchange for sexual favors, but says he never contested the allegations on the record because he has kids and “[didn’t] want them exposed to that kind of crap.” [AP]
* The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund has threatened to file suit against the National Park Service for “stonewalling and refusing to release permits that are vitally needed by organizers in order to plan and execute peaceful, lawful free-speech activities” — that is, protests and rallies — of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Only three groups out of 26 have received permits, and the inauguration is in two weeks’ time. [Reuters]
* “While it is encouraging to see small gains in most areas this year, the incredibly slow pace of change continues to be discouraging.” The most recent National Association for Law Placement report has revealed that as usual, women and minorities are just barely making progress at the nation’s largest law firms when it comes to their representation as a whole and their presence in firm partnerships. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Per Altman Weil’s latest report on law firm mergers, there were six fewer mergers in 2016 than in 2015. Although just 85 deals were announced last year compared to 91 in 2015, they were “better” than those announced in years prior, and in fact, some of the biggest names in Biglaw agreed to combine, including the Eversheds and Sutherland Asbill merger and the Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer merger. [Big Law Business]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.18.16
* A Brazilian judge ordered that Olympic swimmers Ryan Lochte and Jimmy Feigen surrender their passports and remain in Rio until investigators can determine whether they filed a false police report of being robbed at gunpoint. There’s one problem: Lochte is back in America. Jeah! [USA Today]
* As we mentioned yesterday, according to NALP, law school graduates in the class of 2015 landed fewer jobs in private practice than any other class in the past 20 years. There is a bright side, though: Biglaw firms are hiring in droves and the median starting salary for new lawyers has risen to $100,000, which is 5 percent higher than it was for the class of 2014. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Graduates who sued Widener Law in 2012 over the school’s allegedly deceptive employment statistics lost a federal appeal to overturn a denial of class certification. A three-judge panel of the Third Circuit — one which included Donald Trump’s sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry — rejected a class-wide theory of damages. [Law.com]
* Legal ethics professor Ronald Rotunda of Chapman Law wrote an op-ed striking out against the ABA’s adoption of a new professional misconduct rule which seeks to combat discrimination and bias in the law. He refers to the new rule as a misguided “foray into political correctness,” and thinks the ABA overstepped its bounds. [WSJ Law Blog]
* “At best he was doing something profundity stupid with the hopes of meeting someone he will never get to meet in his lifetime.” A lawyer for Stephen Rogata, the teen who scaled Trump Tower, says her client should receive psychiatric treatment instead of jail time. He’s being held on $10,000 bail bond or $5,000 cash. [New York Daily News]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.01.16
* If you thought you were going to be making $180K after graduation, then you better lower your expectations by quite a bit. Be prepared to make less than $65K! The National Association for Law Placement has released its annual edition of the bi-modal salary distribution for recent law school graduates, and the wide chasm between peaks on the bell curve looks more unhealthy than ever. [Big Law Business]
* In the wake of the Democratic National Convention, everyone wants to know the names on Hillary Clinton’s Supreme Court shortlist. It might surprise you that insiders say President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, is at the top of Clinton’s list of eleven potential candidates. We’ll have more information on this later today. [The Hill]
* “What we’re seeing is a sort of shift around social norms. Kennedy is the best Geiger counter. He’s a very good instrument for measuring that.” SCOTUS seems to be cutting back on its defense of religious freedom in favor of supporting government regulators, and the high court’s swinger has led the way in the wake of Scalia’s passing. [USA Today]
* Federal prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DOJ are now investigating whether Mossack Fonseca, the infamous firm behind the Panama Papers, knowingly assisted its clients in laundering money and/or evading taxes. A firm spokesperson has denied all accusations of criminal wrongdoing. [Wall Street Journal]
* “You can sentence me to whatever you want, I guess. This sentence, I won’t outlive it.” Convicted murderer Drew Peterson was sentenced to an additional 40 years in prison in a murder-for-hire plot to kill prosecutor James Glasgow. In 2047, Peterson will be 93 years old, and he’ll be up for parole for the murder of his third wife. [Chicago Tribune]
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Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Law Schools, Money
Did Firms Raise Salaries High Enough?
Is $180,000 high enough? -
Biglaw, Job Searches, National Association for Law Placement (NALP)
Now That There Aren't As Many Law Students, Hiring Has Stabilized (NALP 2016)
That state of the legal hiring market is... fine? - 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… -
Biglaw, Job Searches, National Association for Law Placement (NALP)
The Brain Drain Hasn't Destroyed Biglaw... Yet (NALP 2016)
Whether you think the problem is a brain drain or a pipeline problem, the talent flow has been interrupted. -
Biglaw, Law Schools, National Association for Law Placement (NALP)
NALP 2016: Nobody Really Likes The New OCI, But Nobody Can Change It
The new OCI is good for the best students and no one else. -
American Bar Association / ABA, Law Schools
The Fall Of Systemic Deception At Law Schools
We long ago declared victory for law school transparency. Here's why. -
Biglaw, Reader Polls
Do You Have A Mentor? Do You Want One?
Take the Above the Law mentoring survey. -
Biglaw, Reader Polls
Do You Have A Mentor? Do You Want One?
Law schools and law firms invest a lot of blood and treasure in recruitment, but how are they doing on mentoring?
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Law Schools
Law Schools More Transparent Than Ever
Our profession needs affordable, transparent, and fair entry. It starts with something as simple as law schools doing the obvious. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.20.15
* Jared Fogle, Subway’s former spokesman, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to sex with minors and child pornography, and was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison. His creative defense? Losing weight on the Subway diet made him choose to erm… “eat fresh.” Yuck. [Washington Post]
* Biglaw firms have been announcing their new partnership classes over the past few weeks, and it goes without saying that the vast majority of new partners attended highly ranked law schools. Take a wild guess at which school was the most represented. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Per the latest report from the NALP, women and African-Americans continue to falter in their career progress at Biglaw firms. James Leipold says it’s “troubling” that the numbers are “reversing course.” We couldn’t agree more. [DealBook / New York Times]
* UnitedHealth recently announced that it expects to suffer in terms of its insurance sales under the Affordable Care Act, and has gone so far as to threaten that it may pull out of the exchange. Here are five things you need to know about that. [WSJ Law Blog]
* One of the members of Survivor filed a copyright infringement suit against Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign after the song “Eye of the Tiger” was played during a rally held for Kentucky clerk Kim Davis. Now it’s stuck in your head. Welcome! [Reuters]
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Biglaw, Job Searches, Lateral Moves
6 Tips For Smarter Lateral Hiring
Practical advice from experienced recruiters about the increasingly important process of lateral hiring. -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, In-House Counsel
Beyond The Billable Hour: 6 Key Insights
What does the rise of alternative fee arrangements mean for both law firms and their clients? -
National Association for Law Placement (NALP), Technology
How To Conquer Your Inbox: Tips From The NALP Conference
If you check your email 100 times per day and lose two minutes each time, that’s over three hours a day you’re losing to your inbox. -
Clerkships, Federal Judges, Job Searches
The Current State Of Clerkship Hiring: 5 Points Worth Noting
If you're interested in clerking or in helping someone else land a coveted clerkship, here's some information you should know. -
Biglaw, NALP, Summer Associates
What Law Schools And Firms Really Think About Summers
Firms seem to be dealing with some unprofessional summers.