Above the Law

Todd Blanche, Attorney General? — See Also

“I Think He Will, Yeah”: Trump thinks his former criminal defense attorney is doing a “very good job.”

Explaining Is For Lower Courts: SCOTUS opts out of justifying Alabama’s use of racist election maps.

I’m Busy, Go Talk To Me*: Biglaw firm launches AI partners for associates to interact with.

The Biggest Of The Big: These are the country’s 500 largest law firms!

This Week On Thinking Like A Lawyer: Judicial chambers hook ups and AI sleuthing!

Why Fewer People Are Voting For Judges And Why That Might Be A Good Thing

Fewer people vote in judicial elections for good reason: most voters lack sufficient information about the candidates.

20 Nonfiction Book Recommendations To Jumpstart Your Summer Reading Season

Read. Your mind will thank you. Maybe not your clients, whose messages you're ignoring, but your mind, yes.

‘Who’s On Your Board?’: Reflections From LMA26

These insights offer a glimpse of what can shape the second half of the year for the LMA community.

In-House Professionals: Did You Take Our Compensation Survey Yet?

Tell us how much you make and help us share valuable benchmarking information.

The 500 Largest Law Firms In America (2026)

Size matters in the legal profession. Which is America's largest law firm?

The Race To Match Milbank’s New $235K Salary Scale May Be Faster Than Anyone Expected

Recruiters predict a rapid wave of salary matches as firms invest in associates amid a strong financial outlook.

CMS Finalizes Rule To Simplify Payer-Provider Disputes Under No Surprises Act 

Provider groups largely welcomed the reforms — though some industry leaders said additional changes are still needed to address alleged misuse and improve transparency.

Morning Docket: 06.03.26

* In another shadow docket order, Supreme Court allows Alabama to move forward this cycle with new maps that John Roberts thought were too racist until he decided Republicans needed help in the midterms. [CNBC]

* Note that Alabama needed the Supreme Court to bend every rule for them because they missed the deadline because… they were celebrating the birthday of Jefferson Davis, which is a holiday there. [Courthouse News Service]

* Free PACER bill is back! [Law360]

* AI already beginning to unsettle the billable hour. [LA Times]

* Todd Blanche testifies that the “Anti-weaponization fund” is dead. At least the people this decision disappoints have never turned their grievances into violent riots. [PBS]

* Unqualified judicial nominee confirmed. [Reuters]

* Compensation suit against Kasowitz forced into arbitration. [New York Law Journal]

Milbank Bumped Salaries! — See Also

We Love To See The Associate Compensation!: And Milbank loves setting the scale.

We Have A Match!: McDermott Will & Schulte the first to match the Milbank scale!

Todd Blanche Got Mossed: The DOJ’s Comey 86 prosecutions comes up with goose egg.

Law Firms Are Buying Up Real Estate: Remarkable! Not sure why they’ll need all that space with AI adoption, though.

Might As Well Skip Office Hours: Double blind study suggests AI may be more helpful than your professors at answering questions.

The Biglaw Sports Law Powerhouse

Congrats for taking the top spot yet again.

Ironclad Founder Jason Boehmig Joins OpenAI To Develop Products For The Legal Sector

The legal industry is turning into a battleground for the two dominant frontier AI companies.

The Associate Compensation Race Is On With Latest Set Of Raises

Hueston Hennigan steps up fast, and they're doing it on top of already-announced summer bonuses.

[A]ll [I] Could Ask For

Thoughts on what to do as a practitioner as AI creeps into IP work.

Did Chat GPT Just Replace Law School Office Hours?

Surprising results from a double blind study!