Sunday morning comics were a staple of my childhood. Garfield complaining about Monday, Calvin confronting the existential challenges of youth, Mary Worth delivering sage advice — all the fun an 8-year-old could hope for. While Doonesbury generally confused me, as a completist, the strip had to be read every week. The satire hit harder as the years went on. Now in its 54th year, the strip is still out there tackling politics.
So it’s not really a surprise that Doonesbury got into Biglaw surrendergate, with yesterday’s strip namechecking Skadden and Willkie as “cowardly and craven.” Apaprently eight panels isn’t enough room to name Paul Weiss, Milbank, Kirkland, Latham, Simpson, A&O Shearman, and Cadwalader, but they’re there IN SPIRIT.
Like that “Not Me” character from Family Circus.
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It’s tough to be a principled attorney on the lateral market. Maybe Ginny should consider launching her own firm.
The strip, available here, sees series regular Joanie meet up with her law school roommate Ginny to discuss current events in Biglaw. Ginny has decamped from both Skadden and Willkie over the pro bono payola deals. Now she works for the fictional Grandison firm who also caved to Trump to the tune of $100 million, but with a twist. (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO READ THE STRIP WITHOUT ANY HEADS-UP).
It seems Grandison’s approach to meeting their $100 million pro bono commitment to help the Trump administration defend police brutality is their new invention: the $50 million billable hour. Hey, they’re already talking about the $10,000 hour so how far-fetched is it really?
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Anyway, congratulations to the nine surrendering firms. You’re the butt of all our jokes and now you’ve officially made it into the funny pages.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.