New York City
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Contests, Grade Reform, Law Schools, Reader Polls
What's The Worst Law School In New York?
There are 11 ABA accredited law schools in New York City and Long Island (including Pace, even though the law school is in White Plains). It's a bit douchy to argue over who's best, but it's pretty fun to argue over which law school is the worst. Nobody thinks that they go to the absolute worst law school in the city. But that means one student body is dead wrong. Let's find out who.... -
Free Speech, Wall Street
Breaking: Judge Stallman Rules Against Occupy Wall Street Protesters
Mayor Michael Bloomberg can have his way with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. According to the Associated Press, Justice Michael Stallman of New York Supreme Court just shot down the Temporary Restraining Order sought by the protesters against Mayor Bloomberg. Let’s hope everybody keeps their cool. The ruling on the TRO appears below… - Sponsored
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Free Speech, Religion, Wall Street
On The Train With Occupy Protesters As They Roll Toward Trinity Church
Elie bumped into some would-be Occupy Wall Street protesters looking to join the movement after the main group was evicted from Zuccotti Park under the cover of darkness early yesterday morning. The people on the train asked for my legal advice. He laughed -- then told them he could do them one better. Let's see if we can't crowdsource a legal recourse for the Occupy protesters now that big bad Bloomberg has put his jackboot on the movement....
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Celebrities, Food, Gay Marriage, Hair, Hotties, Kids, Morning Docket, Old People, Pregnancy / Paternity, Texas, Weddings, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 11.15.11
* Deborah Batts, the first openly gay judge to serve on the federal bench, got married this weekend. We hope she doesn’t become the first openly gay federal judge to get divorced. [New York Times] * Things are getting hairy for Kim Kardashian, and not just because she’s Armenian. A hair removal company is suing […]
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Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
New York to $190K? Actually, It's About Time.
There's an interesting post up on Constitutional Daily by The Philadelphia Lawyer. It's a repack from a 2007 article arguing that salaries for first-year associates should go up to $190,000 a year. And he's right. Yet the associate salary scale hasn't seen a raise for almost five years. And bonuses are down compared to 2007. Is it time for firms to start sharing the wealth? -
Biglaw, Minority Issues, Racism, S.D.N.Y., Staff Attorneys / Discovery Attorneys, Yolanda Young
Staff Attorney Claims Discrimination at Quinn Emanuel
We're starting to think that staff attorneys are being discriminated against because they are staff attorneys. A racial discrimination lawsuit has been filed against Quinn Emanuel by a former staff attorney. We're not sure if racism really fits into Quinn's work hard/play hard firm culture. We feel like the only color Quinn cares about is green.... -
Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Money, NALP, National Association for Law Placement (NALP), Texas
NALP 'Buying Power' Index Says Everything Is Bigger in Texas
The National Association for Law Placement has produced an extremely useful chart for people trying to figure out where to start their Biglaw careers. They've listed the cities that give you the most bang for your buck if you land a high paying Biglaw job. And boy, are New York City associates going to feel stupid.... -
Biglaw, Cheapness, Divorce Train Wrecks, Hotties, Money, Partner Issues, Pictures, Slideshows
A Cadwalader Partner, His Deaf Daughter, and His Playboy Bunny Ex-Fiancée
Ira Schacter is back in the news. He's accused of refusing to pay for his teen daughter's $12,000 hearing aids, while dropping $215,000 on a diamond engagement ring for his Playboy-bunny fiancée. If true, that's pretty shoddy behavior -- the very embodiment of cheapness, from a big-time Biglaw partner who can easily afford twelve grand.... - 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… -
Bad Ideas, Breasts, Dubious Defenses, Holy Crap, Nude Dancing, You Go Girl
The Naked Truth Always Comes Out in Court (But Not Like This)
Holly Van Voast has grinned and bared it all -- in Times Square, on the Staten Island Ferry, and most recently, in the middle of Grand Central Station. One of these public displays of middle-aged nudity landed her in Midtown Community Court last week, where the naked truth was revealed. WARNING: This post contains a photo of a topless Van Voast -- tastefully redacted, of course.... -
Free Speech, Money, Student Loans, Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street Needs To Occupy A Library
No mob has ever changed the course of history. For the last two weeks, the Occupy Wall Street people have been a mob. A leaderless, unfocused, and harmless mob. They're not even violent. And so they are (for some) easy to dismiss, ignore, and deride. The Occupy Wall Street people have no frame of reference; they're just out of their element.... -
Food, Pro Bono, Ridiculousness
Fordham University: Teaching Kids How to Ignore the Homeless, One Beet or Carrot at a Time
Michael Zimmerman, a 3L at Fordham Law, founded a farm-share program called Farm to Fordham. Amazingly, we're not talking about a Facebook program. Zimmerman did this in real life. For a small fee each semester, students, faculty, and staff were able to purchase a share of fresh produce from a farm in central New York. Nearly 100 pounds of vegetables were donated to a local soup kitchen with every delivery. This sounds like a wonderful program, right? That's probably why Fordham University decided to shut it down.... -
Biglaw, Jeremy Pitcock, Kasowitz Benson, Labor / Employment, Lawsuit of the Day, Litigators, Pro Se Litigants
Berry v. Kasowitz Benson: The Empire Strikes Back
Kasowitz Benson comes to bury Berry, not to praise him. The firm has moved to dismiss the $77 million lawsuit filed against it by Gregory S. Berry, the former first-year associate at Kasowitz who claimed that the firm wrongfully terminated his employment due to its inability to handle his "superior legal mind." The firm's brief is fairly straightforward, advancing the arguments you'd expect it to make. Let's have a look, shall we? -
9/11, Brown Rudnick, War on Terror
And Then It Was 9/12
This weekend, we (and every other media outlet) ran our solemn 9/11 remembrance post. In any event, yesterday was the predictable day where the media took a closer look at the aftermath of 9/11. And by "closer look," we mean "report on everything that's gone horribly wrong since 9/11." Elie Mystal has got a really heartwarming story from a law firm that he wants to share before he "takes a closer look" at the week after 9/11....
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9/11, Violence, War on Terror
Remembering 9/11: Open Thread
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Throughout today, people have been looking back and reflecting on the tragic events of 9/11, as well as remembering and praying for the thousands who perished on that day. Scanning the Twitter and Facebook feeds of my friends, I’ve seen competing impulses. Most people’s posts […] -
Admin, Announcements, Health Care / Medicine, Real Estate
Help Elie Sue
After being out sick for a week, we now know that ATL's editor, Elie Mystal, is alive. And, more importantly for our readers, he can see. Which means he can resume some of his writing duties. But before we get back to our regular reindeer games, he needs to ask our readers for some help.... -
Crime, New York Times, Quote of the Day, Rape, Scott Turow
Quote of the Day: A Passing Grade for Cyrus Vance
Mr. Vance performed well. The collateral damage to the career of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who resigned in disgrace from the I.M.F., was clearly unfair, but that was caused largely by his sensational arrest, which Mr. Vance had no choice about effecting…. Given the attention paid to Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, Mr. Vance deserves enormous credit for pulling […] -
Crime, Money, Morning Docket, Pornography, Rape, Real Estate
Morning Docket: 08.25.11
* From one “evil” and “pathetic” woman to another: Dominique Strauss-Kahn is leaving the U.S., but he’ll say bonjour to another rape complaint when he returns to France. [Bloomberg] * Casey Anthony is probably going to owe Florida law enforcement agencies more than a quarter of a million dollars, but even porn companies won’t touch […]
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Biglaw, Kasowitz Benson, Litigators, Music, Pro Se Litigants, Ridiculousness, Summer Associates
In Defense of Gregory Berry (Plus a few more funny stories.)
One of the most compelling characters to populate our pages lately is Gregory S. Berry. As you surely recall, Berry is the ex-associate at Kasowitz Benson who is now suing his former firm for a whopping $77 million. Thus far, reader sentiment doesn't seem favorable towards Berry, but now a source has contacted us to defend Berry -- and to criticize Berry's former employer, Kasowitz Benson.... -
American Bar Association / ABA, Biglaw, Cardozo Law School, Disasters / Emergencies, Fat People, Holy Crap, Law Schools, UVA Law
The Aftermath of the East Coast Earthquake of 2011
In the wake of the east coast earthquake of 2011, the legal world seems to be back to its regularly scheduled programming. Courts are back in session, law firms have reopened, and government agencies are fully functioning. We received a lot of tips from our readers about their earthquake experiences, but more importantly, we have the final results from our reader poll. We now know who we can blame for moving the earth and disrupting our day. And no, it wasn't Obama's Fault.... -
Disasters / Emergencies, Holy Crap, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, UVA Law
The D.C. Earthquake of 2011!
Yesterday, a 5.9 earthquake hit Washington, D.C., and tremors were felt from the Carolinas all the way up to Maine. The White House was evacuated, courts closed, and law firms stopped operating. This thing literally rocked the legal world. Where were you when the east coast earthquake of 2011 hit?