Last night’s Colbert Report was a bonanza for law nerds. The featured guest was Jeffrey Toobin, who spoke about his new book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. Toobin and Colbert had a relaxed and easy rapport, and their conversation was highly entertaining — perhaps the best CR appearance since Neal Katyal. You can check out Stephen Colbert’s interview of Jeff Toobin by clicking here.
Before turning to the SCOTUS, they discussed the most recent legal troubles of O.J. Simpson. As you may recall, Toobin was one of the lead correspondents on the original O.J. trial, as well as the author of a bestselling book about it, The Run of His Life. Toobin summarized the defense strategy in the armed robbery case against Simpson as follows: “If it’s his s***, you must acquit.”
But that’s not all! There was a special shout-out to Bingham McCutchen, during the ThreatDown.
More details, plus a video clip, after the jump.
Videos
- Advertising, Bingham McCutchen, Books, Colbert Report, Jeffrey Toobin, O.J. Simpson, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Television, Videos
A Colbert Report for Legal Geeks
By David LatIn the wake of the Nixon Peabody theme song controversy, several of you emailed us about the recruiting video prepared by the ill-fated, now-defunct law firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist. One reader drew this interesting connection:
A few years ago, the now defunct law firm of Jenkins & Gilchrest made a recruitment video that made the rounds because it was very ridiculous. Here is a link to the video and a story about it.
The interesting thing is that apparently after Jenkins folded, a number of its lawyers started the Chicago office of Nixon Peabody. See here.
Probably just a coincidence (since the Jenkins tape was definitely made in Austin), but it does appear that corny promotional videos follow these people around. And it does give us another opportunity to laugh at bad law firm recruiting videos.
Correction: As noted in the comments, and confirmed by this article from the American Lawyer, the video wasn’t a recruiting tool per se. Rather, it was the firm’s (winning) submission for a “Most Spirited Company” video competition, sponsored by the Austin Business Journal.
As we previously observed, the video is “mortifying.” But we don’t think it’s as bad as the painfully earnest Nixon Peabody song, since the Jenkens video is arguably tongue-in-cheek.
That’s just our opinion. Check it out for yourself:
Jenkens & Gilchrist – Where Every Day is Game Day [Google Video]
Lawyer video (safe for work, especially if you’re at Jenkens & Gilchrist) [Law.com: Inside Opinions - Legal Blogs]
Jenkens & Gilchrist’s Video Pep Rally Pumps Up Controversy [American Lawyer]
- Bad Ideas, Copyright, Music, New York Times, Nixon Peabody, Peter Lattman, Videos, WSJ Law Blog, YouTube
Nixon Peabody ThemeSongGate: A Synopsis
By David LatRight now some of you are probably thinking: “Enough already about Alberto Gonzales and Michael Vick! Isn’t there anything else you can write about?”
Of course. Let’s go back to the story of Nixon Peabody, and its ridiculous law firm theme song!
(In preemptive response to those of you who are sick and tired of this story: relax. It’s on its last legs. But if the New York Times writes about us, of course we’re going to acknowledge it. Capice?)
For those of you were on vacation last week — and we know many of you were, based on all the “Out of Office AutoReply” messages we received — you missed a fun story here at ATL.
But don’t worry. If you don’t have time to read our voluminous coverage of the Nixon Peabody theme song, here are some cheat sheets.
You can read this New York Times story, by Michael de la Merced, which nicely summarizes the saga. Or this post, by Peter Lattman, over at the WSJ Law Blog.
Best of all, for those of you who can watch videos — some of you can’t, ’cause you don’t have a private office — check out this awesome video. It appeared over the weekend, but we’re reposting it, because many of you don’t visit ATL on the weekend (and it would be a shame for you to miss it).
Unauthorized Enjoyment of Song Irks Law Firm [New York Times]
Everyone’s a Winner at Nixon Peabody! [WSJ Law Blog]
Re: Nixon Peabody [YouTube]
Please see the short parody video posted below. Is this a casebook-ready example of “fair use,” or what?
To ChurchHatesTucker, who produced the video: You are a genius and a god.
(Please note that we had no hand in making this video. ChurchHatesTucker acted sua sponte, after reading this Techdirt story.)
Update: Blawg Review, quoting from Nixon Peabody’s own Copyright & Internet Law Glossary, explains why the video is fair use over here.
Re. Nixon Peabody [YouTube]
These days it seems every other post on ATL is about summer associates. But if you haven’t tired of the topic — and maybe you haven’t, since many of you are summers yourselves — then check out a recent webcast we did, for ABC News, on the summer associate phenomenon:
Summer Associate: Best Legal Gig? [ABC News: Law & Justice Unit]
Breaking news, from NBC (via Drudge):
Chief Justice John G. Roberts was hospitalized Monday after falling while on vacation in Maine, the Supreme Court told NBC News. Roberts, 52, fell at his summer home off Port Clyde [previously profiled in Lawyerly Lairs]. The court said he was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
The nation’s top judge was fully awake and coherent both at his home and later at the hospital, the court said.
Lyle Denniston has a few more details over at SCOTUSblog.
The upshot: JGR is doing just fine. But it’s a reminder that anything can happen — that life is full of unpredictability.
Because if any member of the Supreme Court were to star in a Lifealert commercial — and utter those famous words, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” — wouldn’t it to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Or maybe John Paul Stevens, who bears a reasonably strong resemblance to the man who cries out, “I’m having chest pain!” If you disagree, refresh your recollection here:
Chief Justice Roberts hospitalized [MSNBC]
Chief Justice falls [SCOTUSblog via How Appealing]
Lifecall/Lifealert – Commercial [YouTube]
Earlier: Lawyerly Lairs: Chief Justice Roberts’s Island Hideaway
We’re guessing you’ve all seen this video of 1,500 Filipino prisoners dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” It has been discussed all over the blogosphere and MSM. E.g, Gawker; Concurring Opinions; Times of London.
(We’re just surprised that sentencing guru Doug Berman — who, by the way, moderated a great panel on the federal sentencing guidelines at the recent ACS convention we attended (and will write about later) — hasn’t weighed in on this innovative approach to criminal punishment.)
In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the clip:
Pretty cool, eh? Professor Charles Nesson of Harvard Law School quipped, “I want to meet the warden.”
Well, Professor Nesson, we can help. As it turns out, Byron Garcia — the prison official who came up with this idea, and uploaded the video clip to YouTube — is our uncle!
You can read our correspondence with Tito Byron, after the jump.
Continue reading “Sentencing Reform: Dancing Will Set You Free”
* We say: Ignorance is bliss. [Althouse]
* The Genarlow Wilson case: let’s go to the videotape! Oh wait… [Concurring Opinions]
* If you’re going to drop the d-word, at least spell it correctly. [PrawfsBlawg]
* Every time an unlawful, creepy houseboat is sunsetted out of existence, a little piece of America dies. [Never Yet Melted via Overlawyered]
* Is Quiznos about to get burned? [Akron Beacon Journal]
* Someday sex-change operations may be tax-deductible. (Can we take a deduction for blogging as a woman?) [MSNBC]
The reader tips about Peter Barta, the Legal Aid Lawyer who allegedly made surreptitious videos of his female co-workers getting changed, are starting to flow into our inbox. From a former colleague:
I used to work at the Criminal Defense Division (CDD) in Manhattan with Peter Barta. He would sidle up to female co-workers, bragging about his fluent Hungarian: “Did you know that the only language related to Hungarian is Finnish?”
Uh, yeah, I’m not an idiot. And if I didn’t know that already, I would have remembered from the seventeenth time you told me.
He would then mention, with no apparent self-consciousness, that he lived with his mother. Finally, he’d try to ask the girl — not me, I was too rude to him — out.
We’re repulsed. But at the same time, we can’t help wondering: Was Peter Barta just lonely and misunderstood? Could Judd Apatow, writer of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, write a screenplay that would make Barta appear sympathetic — a lovable schlub, a la Ben Stone (Seth Rogen)?
Even our tipster has a soft spot for her former colleague:
Creepy as he was/is, what a sad way to end one’s legal career. (Though I suppose he should have thought of that before he recorded “bare breasts and buttocks” on a nannycam.)
Ah, the Bartameter. We hardly knew ye …
Food for thought: Would Peter Barta’s clock / camera be covered by the Skadden technology allowance?
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Peter Barta (scroll down)
Yesterday we named Peter Barta our Lawyer of the Weekend. Here’s what he allegedly did to earn this distinction, according to the NYDN:
A nerdy legal aid lawyer used a spy camera to videotape female colleagues changing their clothes — until the women turned the tables and caught him red-handed, officials said.
Peter Barta, 32, bought a $179 gizmo from Sharper Image that looked like a desk clock but contained a motion-activated camcorder, prosecutors said.
He allegedly planted the clock in co-workers’ offices and downloaded the racy images onto a tape seized at his Queens home.
We solicited information on Peter Barta from people who know him personally. One high school classmate had this to say:
I guess I’m not surprised that he resorted to these sorts of antics; he always seemed a bit strange. So sad that it’s come down to this in his 30s!
I feel badly. He wasn’t a bad guy, but I guess he was a bit off.
Peter Barta was described in news accounts as a master debater (hehe) at New York’s elite Stuyvesant High School. Another ex-debater chimed in as follows:
Please point out to your readers that Peter Barta was a POLICY debater. Those of us who did L-D [Lincoln-Douglas] debate do NOT want the good name of our event tarnished.
If you have firsthand information about The Bartameter, please email us (subject line: “Peter Barta”). Thanks.
Update: More about Peter Barta appears here.
Earlier: Lawyer of the Weekend: Peter Barta
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