Unpaid Internships
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Department of Justice
DOJ Seeks To Exploit The Unpaid Labor Of An Experienced Attorney
You're worth more than that. -
Law Schools
Law School 'Hiring' New Faculty, But They Aren't Going To Pay Them
Just how badly do you want to be a legal academic? - Sponsored
How AI Is The Catalyst For Reshaping Every Aspect Of Legal Work
Findings from the "Future of Professionals Report," based on a survey of 1,200 professionals from North and South America and the UK. -
Football, State Judges
NFL Player Has Unpaid Summer Internship With State Judge
Will he get bitten by the law school bug?
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.26.16
* As a teenager, Richard Posner was fond of the phrase “The Poze knows.” In other news, Richard Posner was an insufferable teenager. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Layoffs are coming! At least that’s what this analyst thinks. [Am Law Daily]
* Law school dean beats charges that he beat professor. Or “squeezed” him anyway. [Law.com]
* The evolution of the Fourth Circuit. [MSN]
* Alabama passes a law requiring students to learn cursive. Tough educational stance for a state that continues to call evolution controversial. [NPR]
* France’s top court will hear the stupid Burkini ban case. [Yahoo!]
* Another day, another humiliating loss for unpaid interns. [Courthouse News Service]
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Labor / Employment, Legal Ethics
Law Firms Can Bill Out Unpaid Labor Because Why Not Make Money For Nothing?
The New York State Bar Association tells lawyers to go right ahead and bill for that unpaid employee. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.11.15
* The two-tiered partnership model turns out to be much more complicated than firms expected. That’s why we’re seeing moves like BakerHostetler’s proposed elimination of non-equity partners. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Graffiti artist files suit claiming fashion designer violated his copyright in his work. [The Legal Artist]
* On the unpaid internship front, the Olsen twins have been sued by a former intern who claims she clocked 50-hour weeks and didn’t earn a penny from her multimillionaire bosses. [New York Daily News]
* Before the 25th Amendment, the ill-defined line of succession could have landed one of these guys in the White House. [Constitution Daily]
* Who said it: Justice Scalia or a YouTube commenter talking about Magic Mike XXL? [Suited Gladiators]
* There’s a big gap between law school graduates and practice-ready skills. Somewhere the ABA is scheming about how to turn this into the case for four-year law schools. [LexisNexis]
* California is removing the word “Alien” from the labor code. Because symbolic gestures are still important gestures. [Associated Press via NBC]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.21.15
* There’s a “small but organized minority of law professors” trying to keep students from getting paid. Go tell the ABA not to listen to them. [Professor Bainbridge]
* Taking the bar exam in New York? Want a pre-ordered lunch? These folks have your back. They’re extending their deadline for ordering. [Custom Gourmet NY]
* Line up to buy your “.law” address! [Adjunct Law Prof Blog]
* Estimating the cost of eDiscovery. In monetary terms, not in the souls of contract attorneys. [Logikcull]
* Kansas Governor Sam Brownback needs money, and he’s apparently not above asking officials with business before his office for cash. [Topeka Capital-Journal]
* Questions not to ask in an interview. Forgot to include, “Does this look infected?” [JD Supra]
* When you want to close a sale, be present in the moment. [Law and More]
* Want to join a college faculty? Here’s where to work. Spread that anti-law-school hate to the next generation. [TaxProf Blog]
* David Lat joins Sam Glover to discuss the future of Biglaw and SmallLaw. [Lawyerist]
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Labor / Employment
Second Circuit Takes Firm Stance On Educational Value Of Being Poor
The Second Circuit takes the war to unpaid interns. Poor kids never had a chance. - Sponsored
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Legal document automation is no longer only for the exclusive few. -
Law Professors, Law Schools
Free Market Law Professor Seeks Unpaid Help
Putting the "free" in "free market." -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 02.10.15
* 12 Things Every Lawyer Should Learn From Saul Goodman. [LinkedIn]
* The 10th Circuit had so much trouble wading through a federal statute they had to diagram the sentence. As the opinion notes, “[t]hat bramble of prepositional phrases may excite the grammar teacher but it’s certainly kept the federal courts busy.” If you want to see the whole opinion, it’s here. [Lowering the Bar]
* Meet your King v. Burwell plaintiffs! It’s actually kind of sad. Like the guy paying $655/month on health insurance who could be paying $62.49/month but won’t because Obama is a secret Muslim or something. [Jezebel]
* A guide to cybersecurity for lawyers. If this interests you, come to our conference March 18, to see the author, Leeza Garber, participate in a panel on privacy. [Capsicum Group]
* Speaking of cybersecurity, hackers hit Anthem Insurance pretty bad. At least the company is handling the data breach well. [LXBN]
* New evidence reveals that the victims of lynchings in the South were much higher than previously assumed. Thankfully, racism is over according to the Supreme Court. [Gawker Justice]
* After introducing you to J.Ko, the Harvard Law rapper, it seems his website is now password protected. Aw. Come back, J.Ko! This is what free publicity looks like. [Harvard Rapper]
* Maybe there is a role for Millennials to play in ending unpaid internships. They won’t take it of course, but there’s a role out there to be played. [Law and More]
* Geopolitics explained simply. Shearman’s Richard Hsu talks to Dr. Pippa Malmgren, author of Signals (affiliate link). [Hsu Untied]
Meanwhile, that sentence diagramming opinion discussed earlier is available on the next page….
https://www.scribd.com/doc/255322959/United-States-v-Rentz
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Labor / Employment
This Lawyer's Unpaid Internship And The Worst Generation
That a successful celebrity lawyer wants an unpaid intern to basically be his publicist says a lot about Millennials. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 02.02.15
* D.C. Circuit upholds FTC decision that Pom Wonderful deceived consumers with disease-fighting claims. Next thing you know they’re going to say Red Bull doesn’t really give you wings. [Chronicle of Higher Education]
* Macklemore is looking for an intern. Probably going to find a lawsuit instead. [LXBN]
* Now that the Super Bowl is over, Glendale can get back to focusing on how they’re going broke because of that stadium. Once again, publicly funded stadiums are a terrible idea on par with running a quick slant instead of running the best back in football up the gut for one yard. [Americans For Tax Reform]
* In case you were interested, Sheldon Silver’s former employer makes serious bank. [Page Six / New York Post]
* A quick and easy summary of amici briefs filed in King v. Burwell. [Balkinization]
* Dean Chemerinsky in a wide-ranging interview about the Supreme Court and its failings. As you’d expect from the author of The Case Against the Supreme Court (affiliate link). [Concurring Opinions]
* Richard Hsu talks to Kelly Perdew, who won the Apprentice back when the show was about finding competent businesspeople instead of helping Jose Canseco squeeze out 15 more minutes of fame. [Hsu Untied]
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American Bar Association / ABA, Law Schools, Money, Quote of the Day
The ABA Doesn't Care If Law Students Are Poor
Law students would be better off if they could receive pay for academic internships, but the ABA doesn't care.
Sponsored
Document Automation For Law Firms: The Definitive Guide
Are Small Firms Going Big On Legal Tech?
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Sponsored
How AI Is The Catalyst For Reshaping Every Aspect Of Legal Work
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
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Copyright, Fashion, Legal Ethics, Non-Sequiturs, Reader Polls, Television, Weddings
Non-Sequiturs: 09.08.14
* David Letterman and CBS got smacked with the latest internship class action. To think, poor Paul Shaffer’s been working for free all those years. [Deadline] * Class action could be on the horizon over high-frequency trading. [Wall Street Journal] * Frankly, I don’t know what the problem is. [Washington Post] * You may have been following the story of Justice Ginsburg’s officiating a wedding in New York this weekend. Well, if so, here’s the Times write-up. [New York Times] * The federal courts are looking at tightening the word limits on appellate briefs. How do you feel about this move? I’m with the author that “The number of cases where attorneys think they need a word extension is greater than the number of cases that actually warrant one.” [New Mexico Appellate Law Blog] * Scott Brown, formerly of both Massachusetts and the Senate, is threatening to sue Harvard’s Larry Lessig after Lessig labeled the Nixon Peabody “advisor on governmental affairs” a “lobbyist.” Lessig asks if the campaign preferred he write the more technical, “sold his influence to a DC lobbying firm.” Ha. [Time] * Fordham professor Susan Scafidi, founder of the Fashion Law Institute and designer Narciso Rodriguez make the case for strong legal protection for fashion designs. [Room for Debate / New York Times] * On Friday, Keith Lee wrote about a lawyer who billed a client for sanctions. We’ve written before about lawyers billing for the time spent boning their clients. A law professor who teaches professional responsibility asks: “Is billing for sanctions better or worse than billing for sex. I say sanctions. Can we have a survey on this?” Of course you can. Poll after the jump…. -
10th Circuit, Bar Exams, Gay Marriage, Health Care / Medicine, Labor / Employment, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Supreme Court
Non-Sequiturs: 06.30.14
* For all of you gearing up for the bar exam, take heart that failure isn’t the end of the world. At least if you fail with a last name like “Roosevelt” or “Kennedy.” [Buzzfeed] * Hobby Lobby may be behind us, but there are still anti-ACA cases on the horizon. [The Advisory Board Company] * Morning Docket noted Neal Katyal’s op-ed suggesting the Supreme Court was less divided these days. Consider this a detailed response. [mitchellepner] * Thoughts on Kitchen v. Herbert. [Pollvogtarian] * The great unpaid internship revolt is on. And based on Harris, we should expect the working stiff’s got a great chance here. [Capital New York] * Some right-wing college paper is bent out of shape that a full law professor teaching one class (and running a clinic) is paid over $200,000. That salary actually doesn’t sound all that shocking. Now what would be interesting (though these folks probably wouldn’t care) is how that salary stacks up to his female colleagues’ pay. [The College Fix] * Ever see Jimmy Kimmel’s “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” sketch? Here’s video of professors reading mean evaluations… [TaxProf Blog] -
Copyright, Labor / Employment, Legal Ethics, Music, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Student Loans
Non-Sequiturs: 06.06.14
* Beastie Boys prevail in another intellectual property fight. This time winning $1.7 million from Monster Energy — the drink that guarantees you’ll get no sleep until Brooklyn. [Grantland] * Law school hands out the wrong exam. To the whole class. [Legal Cheek] * Best politico defense of taking a bribe: I was too drunk to realize I was being bribed! [New York Post] * Lawyer wrote “go ahead and disbar me” to Departmental Disciplinary Committee. Sometimes there’s no just bluff to call. [Legal Profession Blog] * One more problem with high student debt: debt alone can nix your character and fitness approval. [Arizona Law Review] * A celebration of courtroom illustrators in light of the release of The Illustrated Courtroom: 50 Years of Court Art (affiliate link) [Illustrated Courtroom] * Vice Media is doing tremendous work exposing injustices. Perhaps they need to look into their own office… [Capital New York] * In a comical bout of karma, a landlord sued its blogger resident for alleged defamation. Next thing you know, HUD inspection records come to light. Let’s just say the landlord should be very unhappy that truth is a defense. [Columbus Dispatch] * Check out the conclusion of ReplyAll’s conversation with John Grisham. [Above the Law] * Do you think someone is not happy with Jones Foster’s billing practices? -
Crime, Football, Health Care / Medicine, Non-Sequiturs, Racism, Technology
Non-Sequiturs: 05.16.14
* Who is the “Man In Black?” If you said, “Johnny Cash” you’d have been wrong in this instance. But right in life. [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Oh screw these guys. Hospital fires a radiation therapist who helped the mother of a cancer patient get in touch with the kid’s favorite football team. [Courthouse News Service] * The latest on Net Neutrality. [LXBN] * More news in the struggle to end unpaid internships — plaintiffs suing Warner Bros. have been granted the right to invite more people to a class action party. [Inside Counsel] * There’s a quirk of the criminal justice system unfairly hurting African-Americans. I’m sorry, I thought that was all the criminal justice system. [PolicyMic] * We’ve been wondering where Ed Siskel would land after leaving the Office of White House Counsel. Well, now we know. Congratulations WilmerHale. [Main Justice] -
Food, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Sexual Harassment
Non-Sequiturs: 04.18.14
* This law school will only accept students who want to be lawyers for the “right” reasons. In other words they’re admitting everyone because literally no admissions essay ever says, “I want to be a lawyer so I can make bank covering up a Ponzi scheme.” [Huffington Post] * Sexually harassing unpaid interns with the full protection of the law was fun while it lasted in New York. [Slate] * Mark Herrmann shows you how to write articles that are not only boring but that actually deter anyone from trusting you as a lawyer. [The Young Lawyer / ABA] * How do you deal with political talk in the office? Booze helps. [Corporette] * More on the wackadoo pro se legal theory that having fringe on an American flag merits an automatic dismissal. [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * The rent is too damn high! [Lawyers, Guns & Money] * Remaining calm when your client can’t. [Katz Justice] * Lawyer makes cookies out of vegetables. It sounds gross to me, but I’m willing to try anything once. [Globe & Mail] -
American Bar Association / ABA, Contempt, In-House Counsel, Job Searches, Jury Duty, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Sports, State Judges
Morning Docket: 04.07.14
* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector added 2,300 jobs in 2014. Our sincere condolences go out to all those who are still “too overqualified but too under-experienced,” all at the same time, to get hired. [Am Law Daily]
* This lawyer protested jury duty by emailing the judge to say she’d “blame the plaintiff” for making her work nights and weekends for her client, but she can only blame herself for having to spend the night in jail. Oopsie! [Daily Report (reg. req.)]
* “Would it be great if all unpaid internships paid really well? Sure. It would also be great if my dog made breakfast for me every morning, but I am not going to file a lawsuit over it.” Yep. [Los Angeles Times]
* The law school transparency movement has come quite far since its inception, but there’s a lot of room for improvement. Encourage your school to hurry up and “publish what it has at its fingertips.” [Law.com]
* UVA Law held its Softball Invitational this weekend. A Duke Law dude emailed us to say his school sucks at basketball, but it’s awesome at law school softball. Sweet accomplishment, brah. [Newsplex]
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6th Circuit, Animal Law, Biglaw, Job Searches, Non-Sequiturs, Technology
Non-Sequiturs: 04.03.14
* Corporette tackles the thorny question of what to do with your email when you leave a firm. Personally, I used my email to offer my firm’s services to a whole panoply of Nigerian princes on my way out the door, but her advice is good too. [Corporette] * Cursing out someone in court in a foreign language will not protect you from criminal contempt. Well, my investment in Rosetta Stone Romanian just went down the drain. [Southern District of Florida Blog] * Requiring wild animals to be microchipped is not a regulatory taking. Besides, as I read this NSA stuff, it seems like we should be more concerned about humans being microchipped than some Ocelot (named Babou, obviously). [IT-Lex] * This is just awful. There’s no joke here. Well, there is, but I’m not going to make it. [Fox News] * A little late, but this is a fun April Fools’ Day riff on Biglaw expansion efforts. I’m not saying they’re making fun of DLA Piper, but they’re totally making fun of DLA Piper. [Green Patent Blog] * If you’re looking for a public records request to make of the City of Philadelphia, try getting every document surrounding the decision to go after unpaid labor at the expense of giving paying work to lawyers. Screenshot here in case they get wise to the bad publicity. [Philadelphia Bar Association] * Kent Zimmerman discusses how some law firms are finding growth in the challenging market. Check it out after the jump…. [Mimesis]