May 2014

When trying to be prudent just isn't enough.

* Confessions of a litigious mind: Trial attorney admits he was trained as a spy. [What About Clients?] * A Fordham Law professor running for governor. [New York Times] * Are messenger bags unprofessional for lawyers? My firm bought us messenger bags with firm logos so this wasn’t a question for me. [Corporette] * New carbon regulations on the horizon and industry is already gearing up for a fight. [Breaking Energy] * FTC charging Jerk.com with deceiving customers. What a paradox, because if the FTC is right this seems like truth in advertising. [IT-Lex] * Larry Klayman is suing the entity he founded, Judicial Watch, for defamation. Somehow Orly Taitz is involved. [South Florida Lawyers] * Hey recent grads! Do you need to frame your shiny new diploma? Mountary is offering a 20 percent discount to ATL readers. Just enter the code “atl20″ at checkout. [Mountary] * Bruce Allen Murphy has a new biography on Justice Antonin Scalia that proposes that far from forging a conservative Court, Justice Scalia's actions have undermined building a conservative team of justices. Also he reminds us that Scalia was totally an affirmative action hire. Video after the jump.... [YouTube]

And how well did Snowden think through his options before acting?

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day life of a lawyer. And the longer you are a lawyer, the more it will come to define you – if you let it. But it is a limiting definition, even for the best and brightest of lawyers. Take Marcus Tullius Cicero, likely the most famous lawyer in history. […]

Make sure you are prepared by taking some common sense and low-cost precautions.

Ian E. Scott offers 10 valuable pieces of advice for Biglaw summer associates.

Chris Christie offers a bizarre defense for keeping weed illegal in New Jersey.

Who knew a U.S. Attorney could be so entertaining?

If you haven't changed your mind yet about your Biglaw career path, now would be a good time to do it.

We're not talking about a group of law students celebrating the end of finals like the law nerds that they are.

Divorce litigation reveals the partner pay structure at one leading law firm.

A giant media conglomerate realizes it's a good thing when everyone is talking about their product.

* As you may have heard, Apple is buying Beats Electronics for $3 billion. Apple is being represented by Weil, but don’t worry, no one forgot about Dre — he’s got Munger Tolles and Skadden Arps on his side. [Am Law Daily]

* Haynes and Boone will have a new managing partner as of January 1, 2015, and to make sure he fulfills the good old Texas stereotype of things being bigger, he wants to grow the hell out of the firm’s Houston office. [Dallas Business Journal]

* Stephanie Avakian, a WilmerHale partner in the New York office, was tapped by the Securities and Exchange Commission to become its deputy director of enforcement. Yay! [DealBook / New York Times]

* “We can’t turn law schools into graduate school for the study of law,” says a law prof who thinks legal education is straying from being professional education. Aww, write a paper about it. [Harvard Crimson]

* A Los Angeles couple has been accused in the hit-and-run death of Judge Dean Pregerson’s son. The judge isn’t “looking for blood,” but some jail time would probably help. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times]

Ronan Farrow leads a charmed life; check out his $1.5 million apartment.

* A court in India has been asked to decide if a Hindu guru is dead or in a really, really deep meditation. In related news, Mike Myers is arguing to studios that The Love Guru was just “deeply meditating” at the box office. [The Telegraph] * Patton Boggs, or Squire Patton Boggs more accurately, is losing its health care policy group to Akin Gump. Remember when Patton Boggs had lobbyists? [Legal Times] * Take the “doctor” out of Juris Doctor and make law an Associate’s Degree. Sound crazy? Well, there are some good points in this quasi-satirical look. [The Legal Watchdog] * A crocodile was injured by an overweight accountant. That is all. [TaxProf Blog] * We’ve written before about the ongoing effort in Dallas to overturn wrongful convictions, but now that model is starting to pick up steam and reach other cities. [Christian Science Monitor] * Aspiring writers: don’t miss the AAWW Publishing Conference, taking place in New York on Sunday, June 8 (discount code for ATL readers: “aawwfriends”). [Asian American Writers Workshop]

In today's bad news for black people, they're not going to make partner.

What are some of the questions you should be asking before you accept that offer?

"Please don't steal our client's intellectual property. K thanks!"

Why climb a mountain? Because it's there... and to spark litigation.

Tech guru worked as a first-year associate in Biglaw just to figure out how to code a program to automate first-year tasks.