Elie here. For today’s installment of The Decision, in which we advise prospective law students about where to enroll, we head out west. We talk about the military. We talk about the LDS community. Put another way, I’m about to talk completely out of my ass about things I don’t know a whole lot about. […]
* At least a dozen professors from UT Law have had their identities stolen, and they only found out about it after their tax returns were rejected. As it turns out, the data thief had already filed their returns for them. Law profs' tax refund checks must be tasty. [American-Statesman] * If you've been wondering what kind of salary it'd take to woo away the dean of one of the top law schools in the nation to become your university's president, wonder no more. The answer is $660K per year. Way to go, Dean Schill! Play on, playa. [Register-Guard] * If you thought the list of the legal profession's luminaries was looking like a giant sausage party, then you should check out this new ranking of the "most accomplished female attorneys working in the legal profession today." [National Law Journal] * Biglaw, bigger egos? Law firm managing partners aren't feeling as confident as they once were about economic and legal industry growth, but they're totally jazzed about their own firms' potential for revenue growth and the demand for their services. [Am Law Daily] * Another law school makes big changes thanks to legal academia's rocky road: Loyola Law in L.A. is planning a 25% enrollment cut and is taking $20 million from its university's endowment to entice students to attend with fat scholarships. [Los Angeles Loyolan]
LexisNexis sat down with John Ursin, Managing Partner at Schenck Price, to learn how the firm is using legal AI to strengthen client service and daily legal work.
A good problem to have. What advice would you give to this prospective law student?
Did you oust your leaders last weekend?
Law schools have a vested interest in keeping the powerful happy -- they bring prestige, donations, and possible jobs for grads. But does any other school have a roster of students like this?
The worst Law Revue submissions for 2014.
Once you’ve got your law degree, how do you keep your professional skills up to date? Share your perspective in this brief survey, and you may be eligible to win a $250 gift card.
Where should these two aspiring law students matriculate?
Combative Joe Jamail and his role in Mack Brown's inevitable firing.
* Lawyers are too lonely. Well, it’s not easy to find friends when you’re the most despised profession in the world. [Law and More] * A prosecutor managed to shoot out the window of the D.A.’s office while playing with another prosecutor’s gun. The boss is mad, but really, what’s the point of having guns if you can’t treat them like toys? [Waco Tribune] * Typical traffic stop turns into anal cavity search because clenching your buttocks during a pat down is probable cause for a prostate exam. [KOB 4] * Lawyer informed by judges that “not everything on the internet is reliable.” [IT-Lex] * It’s release day for Keith Lee’s new book The Marble and the Sculptor: From Law School to Law Practice (affiliate link). [Associate's Mind] * Texas has hired Texas Law grad Steve Patterson as its new athletic director, poaching him from the same position at Arizona State. I wonder if Todd Graham will slimily bail on another school and join his old boss at Texas when Mack Brown is unceremoniously fired. [CBS Sports] * Michelle Mumford, the former Milbank associate who went public with her negative experience of being pregnant working in the firm’s litigation department, is now the admissions dean at BYU Law. If any institution is sympathetic to pregnancy, it would be the Mormon Church. [The Careerist] * Professor Pamela Karlan explains how political gridlock is the result of the Framers’ failure. I refuse to believe a gathering of slaveholding farmers didn’t construct a perfect system. [Boston Review] * Judge tells lawyers they can’t withhold their fee structure as confidential when he can look it up in other cases. Was their theory that the judge was stupid? [South Florida Lawyers]
Looking at five notable stories of the week that was.
Legal work isn’t slowing down, and the firms that win won’t be the ones working harder — they’ll be the ones working smarter.
University regent talks smack about ousted dean. Ousted dean does not take kindly to those comments.
Another look at the ATL Top 50 Law Schools, broken out by individual data points. Is your law school on any of these top five lists?
* “Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey. Chim chim cher-ee! A sweep of a law firm has found a body!” Dead body found in law firm chimney at Moody and Woolley Solicitors in England. [BBC] * Reddit joins the new trend of writing terms of service that can be read by real-life people. [Associate's Mind] * Defense Distributed, the arms dealer fronted by Texas law student Cody Wilson, announced today that they have completed a fully 3D printed gun, with the added benefit of avoiding metal detectors. Yay? [Gizmodo] * In honor of May the Fourth: a legal analysis of the Chewbacca defense. [The Legal Geeks] * A Howard Law School grad has set up a new business allowing companies to hire bike messengers through their smartphone. So now there’s an app for THAT. [DCist] * Is the legal profession poised for a comeback? Not sure I buy the argument. Just because more litigation kicks up, doesn’t mean firms will go on a hiring spree because litigation doesn’t need a glut of associates anymore. Document management companies are smothering future associate jobs in the cradle and they’re not going anywhere. [TaxProf Blog] * A review of ATL’s Top 50 Law School Rankings. In the interest of complete modesty, this is the most accurate review ever. [Adam Smith, Esq.]
* The DOJ is seeking treble damages against Lance Armstrong over his USPS sponsorship funds, alleging the athlete was “unjustly enriched.” This lawsuit is clearly on steroids; the bike dude’s got an eye for that sort of thing. [NBC News] * Dewey know how much Steven Davis had to fork over to the firm’s estate to settle its mismanagement claims against him? It’s pocket change compared to what some former partners had to pay into the partner contribution plan. [Am Law Daily] * “Golden handcuffs,” law school style: the Texas attorney general’s office is looking into the UT Law School Foundation. Apparently giving out forgivable loans to law profs like candy is a big no-no. [Austin Business Journal] * Duncan Law hopes to get ABA accreditation through its conflict resolution center, which will “attract more students.” Yep, because more students equals more job opportunities. [Knoxville New Sentinel] * The accused ricin guy might’ve been a whackjob, but the charges were dropped. His lawyer believes he was framed by a guy who was recently arrested on child molestation charges. Cray! [Bloomberg] * Edward de Grazia, defender of sexually explicit novels in Jacobellis v. Ohio, RIP. [New York Times]
Are you thinking about going to law school? With this new series, we hope to be able to guide you on your way.