Biglaw
Biglaw Firm Exceeds Associates' Bonus Expectations
It's always nice to get a little extra for a job well done!
* “[W]e will do whatever we have to do to properly protect his rights vis a vis the company.” Film producer and accused rapist Harvey Weinstein has hired Hollywood power lawyer Patricia Glaser to represent him in his fight against his own company. [Hollywood Reporter]
* Hogan Lovells has been in the legal press a lot lately for its decision to shut things down, like careers. Now, the firm has decided to shut down an office in a far away land called Ulaanbaatar that you’ve likely never heard of before. [Legal Week]
* What’s the easiest way to get a new practice group running? By acquiring a boutique firm that’s got an “innovative approach.” That’s what LeClairRyan did when it swallowed up Pizzo & Haman, a workers’ compensation firm which is unique in that… its attorneys charge more than others in the same practice area. [Am Law Daily]
* Enrollment has gone up in a major way at the Appalachian School of Law. The school’s new 1L class is about 86 percent larger than last year’s entering class, and its overall enrollment has increased by almost 40 percent. Considering that the school has been struggling in recent years, this must be nice for everyone in Grundy. [WCYB]
* “What Could Equifax CLO John Kelley Have Done Differently?” Literally, anything. [Corporate Counsel]
* The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to toss the travel ban case on mootness grounds — and to scrub the lower-court rulings against it from the books. [How Appealing]
* Meanwhile, the District of Columbia won’t take the fight over its concealed-carry law to SCOTUS, fearing that the Court might just make the situation worse if called to rule on gun rights. [Washington Post]
* At age 86, Marty Lipton of Wachtell Lipton is still in the mix, issuing influential client memos on important issues of corporate law. [Big Law Business]
* Does the emperor have no clothes robes? Zoran (Zoki) Tasic, a former Seventh Circuit staff attorney, calls out Judge Richard Posner over alleged errors in the judge’s new book (affiliate link) about the treatment of pro se litigants. [How Appealing]
* Support staff at Hogan Lovells seem to love the firm’s buyout offers; the firm’s voluntary-retirement program attracted even more interest than expected. (Expect more on this later.) [Law.com]
* What does the future hold for the Obama administration’s proposed changes to overtime rules? Senators seek guidance from Cheryl Stanton, the former Alito clerk and Ogletree Deakins partner who enjoyed smooth sailing at her recent confirmation hearings to serve as head of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. [Bloomberg BNA]
* In other news about the fate of Obama-era regulations, it looks like the Trump administration will be rolling back the federal requirement for employers to include birth control coverage in their health insurance plans, expanding exemptions for religious objectors. [New York Times]
* Hogan Lovells shows the love to its support staff — as long as they head for the exits — by offering voluntary retirement to 400 employees. [Legal Week]
* Another jailhouse pal of Sigfredo Garcia, one of the defendants in the Dan Markel murder case, claims that Garcia acknowledged participating in the killing. [Tallahassee Democrat]
* The Texas-sized drama over those open Fifth Circuit seats shows no signs of being resolved anytime soon. [BuzzFeed via How Appealing]
* One of outgoing dean Daniel Rodriguez’s biggest achievements at Northwestern Law: bringing down average student indebtedness by roughly a third. [Law.com]
* The gold that Donald Trump is showering upon his lawyers in the Russia probe reportedly comes from donations to his re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee. [Reuters via ABA Journal]
* Speaking of the Russia inquiry, can White House counsel Don McGahn claim attorney-client privilege to withhold information from special counsel Robert Mueller? [Reuters via How Appealing]
* Unintended consequences: the high cost of Biglaw associates is driving entry-level hiring of in-house lawyers. [Am Law Daily]
* What’s behind the trend of women leaving Biglaw to start their own boutiques? [Big Law Business]
* Could this be the case that puts the nail in the death penalty’s coffin? Justice Breyer probably hopes so. Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells has asked the Supreme Court to hear an Arizona death row inmate’s case, arguing that the state’s death penalty law is unconstitutional and that it must be struck down. [BuzzFeed]
* “[T]he Tiffany trademark is not something to be trifled with.” Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York has ruled that Costco must pay more than $19 million after selling rings and attempting to pass them off as a luxury brand by using and infringing upon the Tiffany trademark. Treble damages are a bitch, and Costco plans to appeal. [New York Law Journal]
* After a special Senate primary, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was once removed from his post and later suspended from it, and Senator Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill the seat formerly occupied by AG Jeff Sessions, will face each other in a runoff for the state’s GOP nomination. Voters seem thrilled with their options. [New York Times]
* A former law firm partner who is accused of creating a fake Match.com account using the name of a real female attorney and allegedly signing her up for emails from a weight loss surgery company, the Obesity Action Coalition, and Pig International — all from his law firm computer — is facing discipline before the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission [Law.com]
* Joseph Amico, who was arrested back in April after threatening to blow up a Manhattan attorney who he allegedly referred to as a “n****r lover” has been rearrested, this time for allegedly harassing the judge in his divorce case. Amico, who was free on $50,000 bail, has an optimistic attorney who’s confident his client will receive a “favorable bail disposition.” [New York Daily News]
* If you’re searching for a job to take after law school that doesn’t necessarily involve practicing law, then you may want to consider a career in policy work. After all, having a law degree when working in the policy world likely amounts to some sort of a JD Advantage-type job. [U.S. News & World Report]
Miguel A. Zaldivar, Jr., CEO
University of Miami, JD
