Attorney Headcount

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.04.17

* Two-time presidential candidate and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton will travel to Wales next weekend to receive an honorary doctorate degree from Swansea University, but that's not the only honor she'll receive while there. Swansea's law school is being renamed, and will soon be known as the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law. Congratulations! [Wales Online] * Special counsel Robert Mueller has added an appellate lawyer from the Justice Department's criminal division to his team. Per a spokesperson, Scott Meisler, who had not been previously identified as being involved, joined the effort in mid-June. Meisler is a 2005 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. [Reuters] * Winston & Strawn may have more than 900 lawyers, but according to the firm's managing partner, that's still not good enough. You can soon expect the firm's corporate transactions practice in New York to expand, its D.C. office to grow in size, and its West Coast presence to double or triple. [Big Law Business] * According to Altman Weil’s MergerLine, law firm mergers are now on pace to break a 2015 record. Thus far in 2017, 76 tie-ups have been announced, which may lead the industry to surpass its previous high of 91 mergers. The number of law firm combinations could even exceed 100 this year. Exciting times... [Am Law Daily] * Retired U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson Jr. will be retiring as founding dean of the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law as of June 30, 2018. Why is Furgeson planning to retire with only five years as dean under his belt? He's almost 76, and "plan[s] to do a lot of things when [he's] 80 -- but not this job." [Law.com]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.12.15

* If you're having girl problems, he feels bad for you son, he's got 99 problems, but an aggravated pimping charge ain't one. Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was acquitted on his latest sex scandal charges by a French court. [Bloomberg Business] * “Justice may be blind, but she still sees it our way 88.4% of the time.” Humblebrag? Quinn Emanuel may kick ass at winning trials, but its percentage of "wins" advertised on airport signage has gone down by 3.9% since 2008. [WSJ Law Blog] * Which Biglaw firms had the greatest percent changes in headcount in the first half of 2015? With a 29.2 percent drop, McKenna Long & Aldridge is leaking lawyers like a sieve. Irella is in second place, with attorney headcount down by 22.8 percent. [Am Law Daily] * Say hello to the National Cannabis Bar Association, an organization that'll help you get some higher education as you navigate through the haze of marijuana laws. If you want to learn more, then come to our marijuana law event next week in Denver. [ABA Journal] * If you'd like to strengthen your law school application, then you may want to consider getting to know some current professors and alumni from the school of your choice. That way, you can suck up while you're sucking up. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 09.19.13

* Leading litigatrix Kathryn Ruemmler will leave her position as White House counsel and return to private practice. Perhaps she’ll have more time (and money) to build her shoe collection. [Blog of Legal Times] * If you care about the business end of the law, you’ll want to see which firms are representing Corporate America. This is a list that matters. We’ll have more on this later today. [Corporate Counsel] * Biglaw firms in Chicago are shrinking, with headcount at the 25 largest firms dropping by 15 percent since 2008. Don’t worry, this is the “new normal,” everything’s fine. [Crain's Chicago Business] * Show me your poker face: UNLV Law’s dean wants to raise the school’s profile in the eyes of new students by bulking up its gaming law program and letting the chips fall where they may. [Las Vegas Sun] * It looks like the wage and hour ruling against Rick’s Cabaret has started an avalanche of lawsuits filed by angry, underpaid strippers. Now, they want $10 million inserted into their g-strings. [New York Daily News]

By Staci Zaretsky