Steven J. Harper
-
Biglaw, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
The Evolving Law Firm Partnership: Divergent Perspectives
Should Biglaw firms become more like corporations, or should they return to their roots as partnerships? -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.10.16
* “NEW CIVILITY WATCH: Dem Senate candidate and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland: Scalia’s death ‘happened at a good time.'” [Instapundit]
* A Skull and Bones society for top NYC law firms? Professor Rick Swedloff discusses a secretive group whose membership includes some of Biglaw’s biggest names. [SSRN]
* A notable new petition (filed by Professor Orin Kerr and Marcia Hofmann) in a high-profile appeal about the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. [Volokh Conspiracy]
* Donald Trump’s infamous “Second Amendment” quip is protected by the First Amendment — but just barely, according to Professor Noah Feldman. [Bloomberg View via How Appealing]
* Jury consultant Roy Futterman of DOAR wonders: is concern about prejudicing jurors actually driving them to using the internet for decision-making? [Big Law Business]
* Could the ABA someday lose its power to accredit law schools? Steven J. Harper thinks its day of reckoning is coming closer. [The Belly of the Beast]
- Sponsored
Are Small Firms Going Big On Legal Tech?
Please help us benchmark your firm against your peers through this (always) brief and anonymous survey and enter for a chance to win a $250… -
Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Media and Journalism, Partner Issues, Small Law Firms
Reinventing The Law Business: Dear Media – Stop Trying to Convince Us Lawyers That Our Profession Is A Bad Place To Be
Managing partner Bruce Stachenfeld is sick and tired of all the negativity towards lawyers and the legal profession.
-
Job Searches, Law Schools
Using Statistical Caveats To Mislead Students About Law School
An oversight in an earlier article gives rise to some more troubling observations. -
Law Schools, Student Loans
Game Of Loans: Why Are Law Schools Winning?
This is the reason why the legal profession will continue to suffer in years to come. -
Career Files, Law Schools, Pre-Law, Student Loans
We Would Be Better Off If 30 Law Schools Closed
A modest proposal for reforming legal education: cull the herd. -
Law Professors, Law Schools
'Everyone Should Go To Law School' Poster Child Goes Full Tilt
When you think about it, the idea that students should uncritically go to law school is a classic poker bluff. And when someone calls your bluff it can make you crazy. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.06.15
* “It’s unconscionable, and I believe they have breached the fiduciary duty to the law school, to the students and to the public.” Appalachian Law is struggling, and some believe its trustees are preventing the school from saving itself. Will this be the first school to fold? [Inside Higher Ed]
* “We were all running this ATM machine called big law firms.” Before 2008, it was easier for large law firms to make money, but now, there’s an “insurmountable gap” in revenue between the industry’s heavy hitters and the rest of the pack. [Wall Street Journal]
* You’ll pry their job security from their cold, dead hands: William Mitchell Law professors know that layoffs may be coming thanks to the school’s planned merger with Hamline Law, and have filed suit to protect the Tenure Code. [Minnesota Public Radio News]
* Bonus season isn’t the only thing that Davis Polk has cornered the market on. According to the latest Bloomberg M&A rankings, the firm came out on top during the first quarter of 2015 when it came to advising on major deals. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* “Whatever happened to The New York Times’ fact-checker?” Here’s yet another harsh critique of Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon’s cringeworthy defense of law schools, and this time it’s from a fellow law professor. Ouch. [The Belly of the Beast via Am Law Daily]
* Jay Edelson of Edelson PC may be the “most hated person in Silicon Valley,” but he probably doesn’t care about being Liked — after all, he recently filed suit against Facebook over the social networking company’s face recognition software. [New York Times]
- Sponsored
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar on April 10th, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.31.15
* The Supreme Court decided that government-issued GPS trackers violate 4th Amendment. My GPS device is my phone — can we get on protecting that? [Gizmodo]
* More on the subtle differences between the Indiana RFRA and the post-Hobby Lobby landscape. Specifically, the Indiana Act’s provision on private suits, which are the subject of a circuit split at the federal level. [Washington Post]
* Professor Jonathan Lipson reviews what ATL’s Converge conference had to say about the future of law. [The Temple 10-Q]
* The Supreme Court doesn’t want to hear from ever lawyer under the sun on the marriage equality cases. The parties just announced their picks to make the argument. [Lyldennews]
* Another day, another law student busted for sex with a minor. Maybe crim law needs to move up that age of consent lecture to day 1. [The Columbus Dispatch]
* Up and coming Supreme Court challenges to Obamacare for everyone still raging against the dying of the light. [Washington Post / The Volokh Conspiracy]
* Congratulations to Steven J. Harper, who is finally headed home from the hospital after a lengthy stay under apparently Kafka-esque conditions. [The Lawyer Bubble]
-
Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Duval & Stachenfeld, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Partner Issues, Real Estate, Small Law Firms
Reinventing The Law Business: An Ode To Large Law Firms
Do Biglaw firms get a bad rap? Managing partner Bruce Stachenfeld thinks so. -
Defamation, Facebook, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Non-Sequiturs, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Non-Sequiturs: 04.16.14
* ATTENTION LAW STUDENTS: Tomorrow is the last day to enter our annual Law Revue competition. The deadline is tomorrow at 5 so send them in. Entries have been coming in all day, so don't get left out. [Above the Law] * It looks like the Supreme Court just made a decision even worse than McCutcheon. [SCOTUSBlog] * New York's disciplinary procedures for lawyers are "deficient in design and operation." So come to New York if you plan on being a shady lawyer, I guess. [NY Times] * More on the law school apology by Erwin Chemerinsky and Carrie Menkel-Meadow that Lat wrote about yesterday. [The Write Stuff] * And, hey, while we’re at it, here’s Steven J. Harper’s take on the same Op-Ed. [The Lawyer Bubble] * UC Hastings Professor Osagie Obasogie is quoted in this informative piece about the changing nature of collegiate debate as it ventures more and more into the domain of critical race theory. As one of the people who helps run the CEDA tournament discussed in the article, I thought this was an interesting account. [The Atlantic] * FBI makes a cheesy video to teach young Americans not to spy for China. It’s really worth a watch. [National Journal] * A high school teacher in Australia won a defamation suit against a student who said mean things on Facebook. [IT-Lex] * The Legal Broadcast Network interviewed Kyle McEntee of Law School Transparency about how improved tools help law students. [Legal Broadcast Network] -
American Bar Association / ABA, Drinking, Football, Job Searches, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 03.26.14
* The shaming of Professor Rene Reich-Graefe continues, with Steven Harper weighing in. Law professors… so many people are onto your game of creating rosy scenarios to dupe prospective law students. Maybe you could spend more time trying to fix the problem in legal education, and a little less time trying to hide it? [Belly of the Beast] * I enjoy reminding subway performers that their career choices are illegal. [Above the Law: Redline] * Can’t Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker, and Jim Beam settle their differences over a beer? [Wall Street Journal] * I only hope Northwestern’s law students have as much legal success as Northwestern’s football students. [Deadspin] * The ABA wants comment on whether for-credit externships can also be paid. [Faculty Lounge] * I miss Kash. I hate drones. [Forbes] * This isn’t a legal link. There’s no legal standard regarding gender specific displays of pubic hair. There’s just a double standard. [Fashionista] -
6th Circuit, Biglaw, Clerkships, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Hotties, Securities and Exchange Commission, White-Collar Crime, William and Mary School of Law, Williams & Connolly
What Else Dewey Know About Zachary Warren?
Additional information about defendant number 4 in the Dewey criminal case, including testimonials from people who know him and information about his family's finances.
Sponsored
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
Are Small Firms Going Big On Legal Tech?
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How AI Is The Catalyst For Reshaping Every Aspect Of Legal Work
-
Biglaw, Gambling, Gambling / Gaming, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Law Firm Managing Partners Expect A Bad Year -- For Everyone Else
With growth sluggish and no real reason to espouse a positive outlook, cognitive bias afflicts optimistic law firm managers. -
Conferences / Symposia, Law Professors, Law Reviews, Law School Deans, Law Schools
7 Notable Quotes About Law School And Legal Education
Here are 7 funny or interesting comments from a recent conference about legal education reform. -
ATL Career Center Survey, Biglaw, Career Center, Career Files, Job Survey, Lawyers
A Shinier, Happier Biglaw?
What does the ATL Insider Survey tell us about happiness in Biglaw? -
American Bar Association / ABA, Barack Obama, Clerkships, Intellectual Property, Law Schools, Marijuana, Non-Sequiturs, Rape, Tax Law
Non-Sequiturs: 08.28.13
* Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan gets the death penalty. Looks like that gradual end of the death penalty won't be fast enough for him. [CNN] * Man gets 30 days in jail for raping a 14-year-old who later killed herself. The judge explained that he’d already been punished with “the scarlet letter of the internet.” The new sentencing guidelines are really web-literate. [Jezebel] * The “most intimidating man in hip-hop” is a Columbia Law grad. Hip-hop has come a long way from allegedly dangling rappers off hotel balconies. [GQ] * Infilaw is taking over Charleston School of Law eliminating all the pretense. [Post and Courier] * On that note, Steven J. Harper discusses President Obama’s call to eliminate the third year of law school. Simpler Harper: Law schools and the ABA are too vested in ripping off students to listen to reason. [Chronicle of Higher Education] * The Internet Strikes Back: A new crowdsourcing tool tracks IP trolls. [Technology Law Source] * A call for former law clerks to fight for an end to sequestration. [Judicial Clerk Review] * The state-legal yet federal-illegal status of medical marijuana leads to some very complex tax returns. You should smoke up to take the edge off. [TaxProf Blog] * For those beginning law school, here’s some advice from the National Women Law Students’ Organization. [Ms. JD] -
Law Schools, Student Loans
Actually Useful Studies About The Value Of Going To Law School
There is some really good research out there about the value of a law degree. -
Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Layoffs, Litigators, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Severance, Staff Layoffs
The Weil Winnowing: A Closer Look At The Layoffs
The large-scale layoffs at Weil: what does it all mean? -
Biglaw, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Which Firms Have The Biggest Gaps Between Their Highest- and Lowest-Paid Partners?
Here are the ten firms with the biggest income disparities within their partnerships, and the five firms with the most equal distribution of profits.