Recent Headlines from Above the Law
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Law Schools
Car Rental Company Jerked Around The Wrong Law School Professor
St. John's professor spends holiday weekend tangling with Hertz. -
Law Schools
Law School Deans Call For Major Changes To Bar Admission
Deans think this is a good time to make some needed long-term changes. -
Law Schools
Law School Graduation Speaker Who Stepped Aside Amid Protest Delivers Speech That Could Have Been
Jeh Johnson spoke to law school graduates this weekend about the importance of sticking to standards. -
Law Schools
Law Student Dies On The Way To Study For Last Final Exam Of The Semester
Our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time. -
Law Schools
Look At This Crap: Law Students Are Ranking Female Classmates Based On Their Attractiveness
There's no amount of 'boys will be boys'ing that changes how messed up this is. -
Law Schools
Stats Of The Week: Job Outlook Looking Up For Lower-Tier NYC Schools
NYC law school grads seriously outperformed the national average in job outcomes. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.31.15
* Good news if you’ve made it to midlevel associate — survey says you’re happier than ever. [American Lawyer]
* Amal Clooney lost a case in Egypt, her client was one of three Al-Jazeera journalists sentenced to prison for their coverage of the 2013 uprising. Clooney warned the sentence sends a “dangerous message.” [People]
* More and more Pennsylvania firms are getting on-board with the $160k pay scale. [Legal Intelligencer]
* Chalk another victory up for the Amazing Schneiderman — that’s New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. This time, retail giant Gap Inc. has fallen in line. [Fashionista]
* A happy ending for David Powers, whose admission to St. John’s Law was revoked after officials there found out about a drug conviction. He’s starting at Pace Law today. [New York Times]
* When a client announces a new general counsel, law firms should consider that a wake-up call — or get fired. [Corporate Counsel]
* In truly horrific news, two Indian sisters were sentenced to be gang raped as punishment for their brother eloping with a woman of a different caste. The (hopefully) good news is the women have appealed to the Indian Supreme Court for protection. [Jezebel]
* What do in-house counsel need to know about the recent NLRB decision expanding the concept of joint-employers? [Law360]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.20.15
* Thus far, five law schools — Hawaii, Iowa, St. John’s, Drake, and Buffalo — have decided to drop the LSAT for top-performing applicants, and it’s no surprise that all five law schools have watched their enrollment numbers take traumatic tumbles. [Bloomberg Business]
* “[E]veryone calls colleagues for advice, particularly when we get gnarly jury notes.” As it turns out, judges in the Southern District of New York are big proponents of the “phone a friend” lifeline for their trickier cases. FYI, those friends are never law profs. [New York Times]
* Well, that was incredibly quick! Josh Seiter, the 2013 graduate of Chicago-Kent Law who’s built a successful career stripping, working as an escort, and appearing on reality TV shows, didn’t even make it past the first rose ceremony on The Bachelorette. [Heavy]
* Without WARNing? Butler & Hosch, one of the largest foreclosure firm’s in the country, decided to abruptly close up shop, leaving hundreds of attorneys and staff members of out work. Sources have told us that the firm was unable to make payroll. [Orlando Sentinel]
* Sorry, boutiques, but according to Lexis/Nexis CounselLink’s Enterprise Legal Management Trends report, the biggest of all Biglaw firms are controlling the market when it comes to performing specialized IP litigation work. [DealBook / New York Times]
* As we mentioned previously, Sam Kamin of Denver Law is the first professor to hold a pot law professorship. Here’s an interesting Q&A with the law firm partner who came up with the idea. See Prof. Kamin at our marijuana law event in June. [National Law Journal]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.03.15
* Even more law schools are doing away with their LSAT requirements. Let’s give a great big welcome to Drake Law and St. John’s Law, who are joining the likes of SUNY Buffalo Law and Iowa Law. Woohoo, welcome aboard the bandwagon, folks! [U.S. News & World Report]
* Judge James W. Haley Jr. of the Virginia Court of Appeals held a drunk intruder at gunpoint while he waited for the police to arrive. This unwanted houseguest was only wearing one shoe as he wandered through the judge’s home. Oopsie! [Free Lance-Star]
* Well, that was quick. Fried Frank has hired away James “Jamie” Wareham, DLA Piper’s $5 million man, about four years after he lateraled to the firm from Paul Hastings. April Fools’ Day was his last day at the firm… or was it? J/K, it was for real. [Am Law Daily]
* J. Michael Farren, the ex-White House lawyer who was convicted of attempting to murder his wife and sentenced to 15 years in prison, is now facing the loss of his law license. This should really be the very least of his worries. [Connecticut Law Tribune]
* The U.S. Marshals Service has increased the reward for tips related to the shooting of U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg. Now you’ll get $50,000 if you’ve got information that’ll lead to arrests and convictions of the suspects who shot a federal jurist. [Detroit News]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.02.15
* We’ve seen the future and it’s drones shoving commercialism down your throats 24/7. Get ready America! [DigiDay]
* Federal judge mistaken for a maid because she’s black and everything is awful all the time. [South Florida Lawyers]
* While everyone focuses on the Supreme Court, the fight for marriage equality is still raging in the state courts. [Huffington Post]
* Yesterday marked the 45th anniversary of Attorney General Robert H. Jackson’s “The Federal Prosecutor” speech. Among many quotable admonitions against prosecutorial abuse: “While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.” Perhaps he shouldn’t have given this speech on April Fools’ Day. [John Q. Barrett]
* The New York Court of Appeals has upheld St. John’s Law’s decision to rescind the admission of a student who admitted that he’d pleaded guilty to possession because he’d been arrested for intent to distribute. But only after taking three semesters worth of his money of course. [Legal Profession Blog]
* A law professor invites colleagues to break the mold of legal scholarship to build a “more authentic ethos.” In entirely related news, congratulations on tenure. [TaxProf Blog]
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Law Professors, Law Schools, Screw-Ups
New And Improved Finals: Now With All The Answers In The Exam!
The first exam FAIL of the season is a doozy. -
Law Professors, Law Schools, Quote of the Day, Technology
Third-Year Class Wish List: Sesame Street And The Law
Sesame Street and law students? One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong... -
Biglaw, Bloomberg, Career Alternatives, Holidays and Seasons, Videos, YouTube
Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Greeting Card Maker
Looking for greeting cards that are a little out of the ordinary? A Biglaw associate turned entrepreneur is here to help. -
Law Schools, Rankings, U.S. News
Open Thread: 2014 U.S. News Law School Rankings (76 – 98)
Do you have something to say about your law school's U.S. News ranking? This is the place to do it! -
Biglaw, Crowell & Moring, Deaths, Insurance, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Securities and Exchange Commission
Morning Docket: 03.07.13
* Mary Jo White isn’t the only Debevoise partner who will face high scrutiny while being vetted for the SEC. Andrew Ceresney may be up for co-chief of enforcement. [DealBook / New York Times]
* The Crowell & Moring ethics complaint alleging the firm suggested Appalachians have family circles instead of family trees was chalked up to an “inbreeding memo mishap.” [Am Law Daily]
* A panel of the Appellate Division, Second Department will hold court at St. John’s School of Law next month. Perhaps the students will be a little less embarrassed happier with the school now. [New York Law Journal]
* Patrick Fitzgerald, ex-U.S. attorney and current Skadden partner, will teach a course in national security law at Chicago Law School. Attend his class, lest his “extraordinary brilliance” go to waste. [National Law Journal]
* Looks like somebody forgot about Dre. The rapper’s headphones company, Beats By Dr. Dre, is now going after people for trying to register anything with “beat” or “beats” as trademarks. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]
* Ross Ehlinger, a litigator who died while competing in the Alcatraz triathlon, RIP. [San Francisco Chronicle]
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Cardozo Law School, Career Center, Career Files, Law Schools, Law Students, Pre-Law
Who Are the Happiest Law Students in New York City?
Tales from the ATL Insider Survey: where can you find the law students with the biggest smiles on their faces in NYC? -
Bar Exams, BARBRI, Law Schools, Videos, YouTube
Mr. Bar Exam: Bar Exam Is A Big Party, If You Don't Need To Know The Answers
Mr. Bar Exam tells about girls who like to study for the bar and party... -
Bar Exams, BARBRI, Law Professors, Law Schools, Music, Videos, YouTube
Mr. Bar Exam: The Dumber the Better?
Do people who went to lower-ranked law schools have an edge on other bar examinees in terms of subject matter mastery? -
Cars, Litigators, Rudeness, Trials
Law License Plates: The Verdict Is In
Today, we’ll be writing about lawyers who spend so much time in the courtroom that they’ve decided to slap a verdict on their license plates — literally... -
Deaths, Football, Law Schools, LLMs, Morning Docket, Student Loans, Twittering, U.S. News
Morning Docket: 03.23.12
* Joe Amendola has filed a motion to dismiss the child sex abuse charges against his client, Jerry Sandusky. And if he actually thinks that’s going to happen, then he definitely needs to call 1-800-REALITY. [Associated Press]
* @AllenStanford’s motion for a #newtrial has been denied. The Ponzi schemer’s “conviction by journo tweet” argument has failed. Major props to Judge David Hittner for issuing a ruling in less than 140 characters. [Bloomberg]
* Everyone’s obsessed with the U.S. News law school rankings, but here’s a ranking that people should actually be paying attention to: the law schools that lead to the most debt. [The Short List / U.S. News and World Report]
* This defunct firm’s homeless Halloween party just won’t be as fun this year. Steven J. Baum P.C. has to fork over $4M to settle a probe over its alleged foreclosure abuses. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* St. John’s Law is planning to launch two new LL.M. programs, neither of which is in tax. This is newsworthy because people will apply anyway, and then bitch about the “value” of their degree. [National Law Journal]
* John Payton, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, RIP. [NAACP LDF]