Whoops
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Bad Ideas, Benchslaps, Document Review, Federal Judges, Screw-Ups, Technology
D.C. Lawyers Screw Up E-discovery So Badly, It’s 'Literally Unheard Of'
If you read a lot of e-discovery articles — and I know y’all do — you know that judges are quickly losing any patience for attorneys who don’t have their act together during e-discovery (or even regular old discovery). I know that nothing about the process is simple or easy. I know e-discovery is expensive […] -
Crime, Murder, Privacy, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Prosecutorial Misadventures with MySpace Evidence
The practice of “oversharing” on social networks has been a boon for law enforcement. Investigations regularly involve checking out people’s Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn profiles. Thus, it’s probably unwise to post about your involvement in a crime. Or about threatening a witness set to testify against your boyfriend. While investigating Antoine Griffin, a murder suspect […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Bad Ideas, Facebook, Health Care / Medicine, Privacy, Screw-Ups, Social Networking Websites, Technology
ER Doc Forgets Patient Info is Private, Gets Fired for Facebook Overshare
I’m done whining about Facebook privacy issues. Everyone should know by now that Facebook and privacy are basically mutually exclusive. But every once in a while, someone does something stupid relating to Facebook privacy in a new, exciting way — like stealing a computer and posting photos of yourself on the owner’s page, or uploading […]
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Cyberlaw, Privacy, Screw-Ups, Technology
Hackers Probably Stole Your Email Address Last Weekend
Raise your hand if you are a JPMorgan Chase customer. Now raise your hand if you’ve shopped at Best Buy. How about Citibank, Target or Walgreens? Has everybody in the world raised their hands yet? Congratulations — your email address may have been stolen. There was a data breach at Epsilon, a Texas-based marketing firm, […] -
Grade Reform, Law Professors, Law Schools, Screw-Ups
Professor Discovers 2010 Grading Errors; Mistake Is Fixed in April 2011
You know, given the fact that most law school professors act like they are doing you a favor by grading your exams, it’s a wonder this kind of thing doesn’t happen more often. Of course, since it doesn’t happen more often, this is a noteworthy occurrence. A criminal law professor out in California figured out […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Murder, Small Law Firms, Trials
Mistrial After Judge Is 'Astonished' By Touro Grad's Incompetence
Look, Touro Law students and alumni, please don’t get mad at me. I’m just the messenger. The Washington Post is reporting that a D.C. Superior Court judge, William Jackson, declared a mistrial in a murder case on Friday so that the defendant could fire his lawyer. The attorney, Joseph Rakofsky, a 2009 graduate of Touro […] -
Cars, Law Schools
SUV Smashes a Hole Into Pitt Law School
I feel bad for Pittsburgh Law students. Just ten days ago, career services embarrassed them by offering students jobs putting fliers on parked cars. And now today, an out-of-control driver punched a hole into their law building. Literally. Last night an SUV crashed into the Barco Law Building and punched a hole in the wall. […] -
Antonin Scalia, Cars, Federal Judges, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
The Wheels of Justice (Scalia): Will Nino Fight His Traffic Ticket?
In my earlier story about Justice Antonin Scalia’s fender-bender on the George Washington Parkway, I tossed out a question: What kind of car does Justice Scalia drive? A few years ago, Justice Scalia drove a BMW. Is Nino still partial to Bimmers, or has he switched his automotive allegiances? Now we know the answer — […] - 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… -
Antonin Scalia, Cars, Federal Judges, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Justice Scalia Gets Caught in a Fender-Bender
The wheels of justice might have taken a wrong turn today. It seems that Justice Antonin Scalia had some minimum contacts — with another vehicle, on a highway outside D.C. According to a Supreme Court spokesperson, Justice Scalia was involved in a minor car accident this morning, while heading in to One First Street to […] -
Biglaw, Email Scandals, listserv, Partner Issues, Rudeness, Screw-Ups
More Proof That Lawyers Will Fight Over Anything
Sometimes you just have to whip it out and wait for somebody to bring over a ruler. That’s just a part of life. But some lawyers seem to sit around all day just waiting for an opportunity to drop drawers and call for the chains. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this guy from […] -
7th Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Litigators, Quote of the Day, Richard Posner
Quote of the Day: The Best Brief Is a Brief Brief
We add that the appellants’ brief is rambling, and would be more effective if compressed to 14,000 words. — Judge Richard Posner, in a benchslap that denied appellants’ motion to file an oversized brief — and summarily affirmed the district court (full opinion here, via How Appealing). -
Biglaw, Colbert Report, Partner Issues, Privacy, Technology, Television
Hunton & Williams Gets Colbert Report'ed
The cutting-edge information and security practice of Hunton & Williams is getting the firm lots of media attention these days — but not of the positive variety. The firm’s lawyers are getting coverage due to their information becoming insecure after a hacktivist group leaked emails they exchanged with security firm HBGary. Last night, the firm’s […] -
Biglaw, Partner Issues, Privacy, Technology
Hunton & Williams Gets WikiLeaked
Hunton & Williams is having an uncomfortable week, and will get its very own page in the WikiLeaks saga. Thanks to a feud between hacktivist group Anonymous and a security firm, emails that Hunton lawyers exchanged with that security firm were leaked in a major document dump last week. Journalist (and lawyer) Glenn Greenwald of […]
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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…
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
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Courtship Connection, Romance and Dating
Courtship Connection: A Rocky Start in Washington, D.C.
With Valentine’s Day swiftly approaching, now seems like a great to time to relaunch ATL’s Courtship Connection — our well-intentioned but only sporadically successful program for hooking up our single legal-eagle readers. Like the Real World, the series is back and in a new city. Judging from the date we’ll now recount, our matchmaking adventures […] -
Divorce Train Wrecks, Family Law, Screw-Ups, Sports
Law Firm Screw-Up Reveals Allegations About Gilbert Arenas
Full disclosure: Gilbert Arenas is one of my favorite basketball players. Sure, he’s a selfish, me-first player. And he seems to be one of the gun-nut whackos I would never want as a neighbor. But the man is the author of one of the best quotes of all time. Check out Deadspin for Gilbert’s full […] -
Bad Ideas, Email Scandals, Law Schools, Social Networking Websites
Networking 101: Don't Send Networking Emails Like This One
Here at Above the Law, we’re still enjoying the awesomeness of 1Ls and 2Ls going to war over the appropriate use of a listserv. Today we’ve got an email more mundane in subject matter, but no less objectionable. It’s from a 1L (of course), who is trying to “network” with fellow 1Ls. And it’s written […] -
Bad Ideas, Lawsuit of the Day, Videos, YouTube
Potential Lawsuit of the Day: 'Fountain Lady' Might Sue the Mall
Hopefully everybody had a chance to see “Fountain Lady” before YouTube removed the clip. It’s the kind of thing that made YouTube famous: a woman is texting and walking and she falls right into a fountain at a mall. It’s funny. And the woman walks away soaked, but unharmed. Normally, that would be the end […] -
Law Professors, Law Schools, Screw-Ups
Penn Law Professor Too Lazy To Come Up With New Multiple Choice Questions Causes Exam SNAFU
As David Lat said earlier this week, “Here at Above the Law, we’re trying to help you.” Honestly, think of Above the Law as the MPRE, but for situations people in the legal community are actually likely to face. Don’t conduct sensitive firm business on a crowded train. Don’t offer hand-jobs in school-wide emails. And […] -
Education / Schools, Law Schools, Media and Journalism, New York Times, Student Loans
A Notable Correction to the New York Times Article on Law School
It isn’t easy to wring a correction out of the New York Times. The Gray Lady is notoriously stingy when it comes to confessing error. [FN1] But David Segal’s very interesting and widely read article about the perils of going to law school — which still sits at the top of the NYT’s list of […] -
Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Cellphones, Partner Issues, Rudeness
Acela Bob, Meet Acela Jim: Kelley Drye Managing Partner Conducts Confidential Conversation on Packed Train
Here at Above the Law, we’re trying to help you. We write about lawyers who do embarrassing things so that you can learn from their examples. Heck, you should get ethics CLE credit for reading this site. One of our most widely-used lessons — now part of new employee training at a Wall Street firm, […]