July 2008

To everyone who is done with the bar exam: CONGRATULATIONS!!!Go get yourself a well-deserved drink — or two, or three. That’s what we’re going to do, and we didn’t even take the bar. We’re heading off now for drinks with some friends who just took — and, hopefully, passed — the bar. Here’s an open […]

Here’s some news of a rather odd move, from the WSJ Law Blog: Bruce McLean, the head of Akin Gump, sent an e-mail to all the attorneys at the firm informing them of a “substantial reshaping and enhancement of several practices,” and a “change” in the firm’s “geographical footprint.” That change involves “withdrawing from Taipei […]

Nope, we’re not done covering yesterday’s bloodbath over at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. If the powers-that-be at CWT think they can lay off almost 100 lawyers and have everyone forget about in a day, they’re sorely mistaken. We intend to stick with this story for quite some time (in part because you can’t get enough […]

[Ed. note: This post is by EXLEY, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the “reality blogging” competition that will determine ATL’s next editor. It is marked with Exley’s avatar (at right).] As anyone remotely familiar with the law knows, the devil is in the details. Similarly, it’s the little things that can sometimes make […]

[Ed. note: This post is by SOPHIST, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the “reality blogging” competition that will determine ATL’s next editor. It is marked with Sophist’s avatar (at right).] This is why people hate lawyers. This is why lawyers hate lawyers. Scrabulous was too much fun for lawyers to leave it alone. […]

Thanks to the Inspector General’s report shedding full light on the DOJ’s politicized hiring, Monica Goodling and company have become “stars” outside of the legal insider world. Welcome to Comedy Central, Monica Goodling! Jon Stewart sets his sights on the hiring scandal and ATL’s favorite DOJ diva in this “news report:” Click to the 2:50 […]

[Ed. note: This post is by FROLIC & DETOUR, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the “reality blogging” competition that will determine ATL’s next editor. It is marked with Frolic & Detour’s avatar (at right).] Sadly, some of the juiciest summer scandals in Biglaw history occurred prior to the advent of Above the Law. […]

[Ed. note: This post is by ALEX, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the “reality blogging” competition that will determine ATL’s next editor. It is marked with Alex’s avatar (at right).] Biglaw lawyers: Every single one of your non-lawyer friends and family members think that you know “the law” because you’re lawyers. You don’t. […]

[Ed. note: This post is by MARIN, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the “reality blogging” competition that will determine ATL’s next editor. It is marked with Marin’s avatar (at right).] Ever wonder what happened to Kory McFarren, the (literally) crappy boyfriend who stood by for a month while his girlfriend, Pam Babcock, grew […]

Willie Gary is a high-profile Florida attorney who is fighting a sexual battery civil suit. Check out his inventive defense strategy, described by Legal Blog Watch: Prominent Florida attorney Willie Gary has released two sex tapes that he says help disprove claims made in a sexual battery suit against him… This week, in a bid […]

Every now and then, we entertain requests for advice from our readers (even though, as we reminded you yesterday, we’re not career counselors — so take what we say with several grains of salt). Here’s what we found in the mail bag today; I’m a summer associate at a BigLaw firm in DC. Our exit […]

[Disclosure: This post is authored not by the Asia Corporate Lawyers, but by the Asia Recruiting Team at Kinney Recruiting — sponsor of the Asia Chronicles, and an ATL advertiser. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past two years. You can reach them […]

To: Attorneys All From: Marc Edelman Re: A Hearty Farewell Dear Friends: Today marks the end of my six-month externship as sports editor at Above the Law. On Monday, August 18, I will begin the next stage of my career as a visiting assistant professor at Rutgers School of Law in Camden, NJ. I will […]

* Will work for laid-off Cadwalader attorneys be hard to find? [Am Law Daily] * Legislation allowing FDA to regulate tobacco moves through House, heading towards veto. [Washington Post] * Turkish court allows president and PM to remain in politics. [CNN] * Former Thai PM’s wife found guilty of tax evasion, sentenced to three years. […]

Here it is, folks — the daily bar exam open thread. You know what to do. To those of you who are done (e.g., people taking New York only): congratulations. To those of you with another day to go: good luck. If you’re one of those people suffering through three days of bar examination hell […]

Back to the big story of the day: the massive lawyer layoffs, almost in the triple digits, at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. We thought now might be a good time to put up a fresh post, since the prior thread is getting a bit unwieldy (with 200+ comments — selected excerpts, after the jump). So […]

Bloggers tend to be so hyper-connected that being away from Internet service for more than two hours can feel like an eternity. Due to the numerous e-mails flying around law firms, and the expectation of rapid response, lawyers tend to have a similar connectivity addiction. The Blackberry is the sweet, sweet drug that feeds the […]

Last month, an ATL / Lateral Link survey found that roughly 28% of associates were afraid that they could lose their jobs this year, up from just 10% of associates in December. That number might be even higher today, given recent events. But should 28% of associates be afraid? On the one hand, there are […]

Here’s the second half of the “head-to-head” round of ATL Idol. If you’re not up to speed on what’s going on, background information is available in this prior post (or just scroll down the front page). You can check out the second half of the head-to-head round, featuring the blogging of FROLIC AND DETOUR, SOPHIST, […]

Welcome to the first half of what we’re calling the “head-to-head” round of ATL Idol, the reality-TV-style talent search for Above the Law’s new editor. The second half will published later this afternoon. To refresh your recollection, here’s how this round will work: We’ll publish the contestants’ different takes on the same story (actually, a […]