Sullivan & Cromwell
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Biglaw
Opening Up Sullivan & Cromwell's Bonus Black Box
This is what S&C associates think about their bonuses -
Biglaw
Diversity Initiatives Fail To Make Minority Partners: But Still Work Out Well For White Women
The pattern of white women benefiting from affirmative-action, continues. - 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… -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.19.17
* Hot on the heels of the news that Amazon would be purchasing Whole Foods, legal nerds wanted to know which firms would be handling the $13.7B transaction. SullCrom is representing Amazon and Wachtell is representing Whole Foods in Bezos’s bid to sell asparagus water on Prime. [Texas Lawyer]
* Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated Appellate Division Justice Paul Feinman to replace the late Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam on the New York Court of Appeals. If confirmed, Feinman will be first the first openly gay judge to be seated on the bench of New York’s highest court. Congrats! [Journal News]
* But
herhis emails! The state of Indiana will be paying “small-town firm” McNeely Stephenson $100K to handle a backlog of public records requests having to do with the contents of then Governor Mike Pence’s private AOL account from which he conducted state business over email. [Chicago Tribune]* Shortly after a mistrial was declared in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case, his spokesman had some sarcastic remarks to share with those who represented the comedians accusers: “For all those attorneys who conspired — like Gloria Allred — tell them to go back to law school and take another class.” [FOX News Insider]
* Legal documents related to the dissolution of annoying jingle firm Cellino & Barnes are currently under seal, but several media outlets are trying to convince a judge to unseal the records because the “litigation over the dissolution of [the firm] is an issue of local and national importance.” [New York Daily News]
* “They’ve been great at dodging this. But they know they’re not going to be able to dodge it for much longer.” New York City may finally do away with its nearly century-old ban on dancing in restaurants, bars, and clubs thanks to a proposed a bill seeking the repeal of the city’s 1926 “Cabaret Law.” [New York Post]
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Biglaw, Justice, Politics
The Biglaw Firms That Said No To Trump
Guess which big firms had no interest in representing the president... -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.17.17
* “I hope you can let this go.” Former FBI director James Comey was writing memos detailing his conversations with Donald Trump to document what he believed were the president’s improper attempts to influence the Michael Flynn investigation. Comey, a damn good lawyer, likely knew that an FBI agent’s notes are admissible in court as credible evidence. [New York Times]
* The Securities and Exchange Commission just got a Biglaw-style facelift: SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, formerly of Sullivan & Cromwell, has asked Willkie Farr partner Robert Stebbins to serve as his general counsel and SullCrom associate Sean Memon to serve as his deputy chief of staff. [Big Law Business]
* Rolling your eyes and calling a federal judge’s ruling on an objection “f*cking bullsh*t” will certainly do you absolutely no favors in Judge Amy St. Eve’s courtroom. In fact, it just might get you suspended from practice for three months and barred from being a lead trial attorney for a year. [Chicago Tribune]
* “I’m an attorney in a capital case!” In videos introduced into evidence during Dylann Roof’s mental competency hearings, the convicted killer said his attorneys were “evil,” “the spawn of hell,” and “liars,” and only wanted to keep them while representing himself “so I can abuse them.” [Post and Courier]
* Drake Law School has entered into an agreement with three historically black colleges and universities to increase its diversity. Entering students will be guaranteed a scholarship to cover at least half of their tuition. Drake’s first-time bar pass rate in Iowa was 82 percent in July 2016. [Iowa Public Radio]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.04.17
* Harvard Law wants students to defer admission. Tuition deferral program still a no go apparently. [New York Times / Dealbook]
* Trump signing executive order to let the IRS choose when to enforce the Johnson amendment. I’m old enough to remember when conservatives had a meltdown over exaggerated allegations of IRS selective enforcement. Now it’s actually going to be legal and I doubt I’ll hear anything about it. [CBS News]
* Want to know how much a Sullivan & Cromwell partner takes home? Thankfully Donald Trump can tell us. [National Law Journal]
* Alabama enacts law allowing adoption agencies to reject gay couples. Alabama has one of the worst economies in America, but this was the issue that they really needed to address. Roll Tide. [Alabama]
* ABA President Linda Klein testifies on behalf of Legal Services Corporation. funding. Question: Is the ABA President job more or less difficult today? One could say “more” because she has to devote considerable energy to fighting a hostile government. Or you could say “less” because the most difficult argument she has to make is, “please don’t be monsters.” [ABA Journal]
* FAMU fired its dean. [Orlando Sentinel]
* New trend in litigation finance: buying portfolios of cases instead of investing in individual matters. We’ve reached the fund stage people! [Law.com]
* Former Guinea mining minister convicted of taking bribes. How did they know? Perhaps they thought he was a Dickensian throwback when he kept saying “Guinea” all the time. [Law360]
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Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Pick Jay Clayton Promises To Do His Job
What else would you expect from a Goldman(ish) guy? -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.16.17
* What does the future hold for the U.S. Supreme Court? Analysts (including yours truly) opine. [Bloomberg BNA via Storify]
* Another prediction of ours has come to pass: congrats to Sullivan & Cromwell partner Brent McIntosh on his nomination as general counsel for the Treasury Department. [Corporate Counsel]
* Is it time to break up the Ninth Circuit (as President Trump recently called for)? Professors John Eastman and Brian Fitzpatrick say yay; Judges Sidney Thomas, Carlos Bea, and Alex Kozinski say nay. [House Judiciary Committee]
* Anthony Kronman: from dean of Yale Law School to “born-again pagan” (affiliate link). [New Yorker via How Appealing]
* Looking for smart, timely takes on the Trump Administration, from an all-star cast of law professors and legal experts? There’s a site for that. [Take Care]
* Guess who: “Cat-loving judge makes case that has nothing to do with cats all about cats.” [Chicago Tribune]
* Professor Orin Kerr chats with Professor Barry Friedman about Friedman’s latest book, Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission (affiliate link). [Volokh Conspiracy]
* The current SCOTUS Term isn’t super-sexy — but there are a few interesting cases on the docket, as Adam Feldman points out. [Empirical SCOTUS]
* Attention 2Ls & 3Ls, here’s a cool contest — with $100K in scholarships as prizes! [PR Newswire (press release)]
- Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Biglaw, Money, Politics
A Peek Inside Sullivan & Cromwell Partner Pay
A financial disclosure form gives us hints about the wealth of S&C partners. -
Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Chairman-Designate Pretty Much Gonna Take His First Year On The Job Off
Clayton acknowledges it all makes for some pretty bad optics. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.09.17
* S&C may be Trump’s second favorite law firm, but don’t count your chickens on SEC nominee Jay Clayton yet — the Office of Government and Ethics has flagged some potential conflicts of interest. [Law360]
* Law schools often discriminate against women by undercompensating positions that skew female. Sure this is important, but is it as egregious an act of discrimination as not valuing originalist scholarship? [Law.com]
* Three firms admit to overbilling for temp and staff attorneys. [Am Law Daily]
* Ninth Circuit says Dodd-Frank provides broad whistleblower protection, which sets up an intriguing circuit split for the roughly three weeks Dodd-Frank remains a law. [National Law Journal]
* Key cybertrends of 2017. [Legaltech News]
* Fried Frank has its best year ever while the rest of you experienced 2016 as a runaway train of sadness. [Am Law Daily]
* Robot lawyer assisting refugees, making it official that even cyborgs have more of a heart than some politicians. [BBC News]
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Biglaw, Politics
More Sullivan & Cromwell Lawyers Joining The Trump Administration
After Jones Day, is S&C the biggest "feeder firm" to the Trump Administration? -
Biglaw, Securities and Exchange Commission
President Trump Probably Having Second Thoughts About His Biglaw SEC Pick
What are these “conflicts of interest” and “ethics” of which you speak, anyway?
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
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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Biglaw, Mergers and Acquisitions
Stats Of The Week: New Global M&A Law Firm Leaders
Despite a geopolitically tumultuous 2016, the U.S. M&A market had a robust year. -
White-Collar Crime
Is Trump The End Of FCPA Enforcement?
The white-collar defense gravy train may be coming to an end. -
Biglaw, Politics, Securities and Exchange Commission
Trump Nominates Sullivan & Cromwell Partner To Lead SEC
The president-elect really can't get enough of Biglaw partners. -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Sullivan & Cromwell Finally Speaks!
The firm sure took its sweet time to announce bonuses this year. -
Biglaw, Partner Issues
More About Making Partner At Sullivan & Cromwell (Part 2)
Is the partner track getting longer at the elite firm? -
Biglaw, Minority Issues, Partner Issues, Women's Issues
More About Making Partner At Sullivan & Cromwell (Part 1)
Some women at S&C feel that their firm can -- and must -- do better at promoting women. -
Biglaw, Minority Issues, Partner Issues, Women's Issues
Sullivan & Cromwell's New Partners: Impressive, Yes; Diverse, Not So Much
Five white males -- could this partner class be any less diverse?