Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: A Biglaw Firm Moves To Market Across America
Does this mean anything for the broader Biglaw market? Only time will tell.
Morning Docket: 04.22.16
* Prince will forever be remembered as a pioneering musician who mastered multiple genres, including rock, soul, pop, and funk, but members of the legal profession will always remember him as a ferocious defender of his music's copyright protections. [WSJ Law Blog] * Per a recent study that's being referred to as the Glass Ceiling report, Wall Street Biglaw firms rarely promote women to partner. In fact, out of the 8,549 attorneys practicing at the 300 large law firms surveyed, only 3.9 percent are female partners. [Law360 (sub. req.) via ABA Journal] * Hunton & Williams recently launched a new practice group dedicated to dealing with legal issues related to 3D printing. The innovative team will work on legal questions involving everything from intellectual property and product liability to insurance and tax. The firm now joins Reed Smith in this unique practice area. [3DPrint.com] * Anna Alaburda's case against Thomas Jefferson Law over its allegedly deceptive employment statistics may have ended in defeat, but there's still one more law school lawsuit fighting its way through the courts. A case that was filed against Widener Law was appealed to the Third Circuit, and a decision is expected soon. [News Journal] * Thanks to a ruling issued by Judge John A. Ross of the Eastern District of Missouri, the 42 lead plaintiffs in the Ashley Madison privacy hack case will not be allowed to proceed anonymously. It may be embarrassing, but as class representatives, they've got special roles. They must identify themselves, or proceed as mere class members. [Reuters]
Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
What Even Is AI ‘Competence’? It Depends.
Takeaways from a Legalweek panel on evolving malpractice risks.
Morning Docket: 11.13.15
* Steven Metro, an ex-managing clerk at Simpson Thacher who was accused of passing insider info about mergers and other business transactions to his law school buddy in a $5.6 million insider trading scheme, has pleaded guilty. He faces up to 20 years in prison. [Reuters] * Remember Keila Ravelo, the Willkie Farr partner who allegedly stole millions from that firm and her prior firm, Hunton & Williams? It turns out her involvement in the $5.7 billion MasterCard/Visa antitrust settlement could ultimately become its kiss of death. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Chief Judge Morrison England (E.D. Cal.) says he and his colleagues are incredibly overworked, sometimes putting in more than 80 hours per week. It's too bad it doesn't make a difference -- the court is at a "crisis point" in its backlog of cases. [WSJ Law Blog] * Last summer, a federal judge ruled the death penalty was unconstitutional in California because an appeals process with the "slight possibility of death" was cruel and unusual. Here's a real shocker: the Ninth Circuit overturned the decision. [New York Times] * Embattled Pennsylvania AG Kathleen Kane is well past the point of having 99 problems, but there's no end in sight. Former prosecutors have filed suit against her, alleging she retaliated against them for exposing her alleged criminal misdeeds. [Tribune-Review]
Morning Docket: 08.26.15
* Melvin Feliz, husband of Keila Ravelo, the partner who allegedly bilked Hunton & Williams and Willkie Farr out of millions to lead a life of luxury, pleaded guilty in the fraud case brought against him. Is she a prospective Real Housewife of Cellblock D? [Bergen Record] * Sorry, Southwest passengers, but the Seventh Circuit says you're stuck with your free drink vouchers, and the lawyers who represented you in this class-action suit are stuck with their $1.65 million. No one is happy up in the unfriendly skies. [Associated Press] * China's economy may be on the brink, but that doesn't matter to Dentons. The firm is as happy as ever about its proposed merger with Dacheng because it really wants a horde of lawyers, so it's gonna get one. It's "almost absurd" to think otherwise. [Am Law Daily] * As we mentioned yesterday, lawyers work too damn much -- so much, in fact, that they're quitting their Biglaw jobs, starting competitor practices, and poaching talent from top firms by offering them a sense of work-life balance. [Harvard Business Review] * Kevin Fagan, perhaps better known as Juror 83 in the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial, is speaking to the media about his experience, and says he might've changed his death penalty vote if he had known the youngest victim's parents opposed it. [WSJ Law Blog]
Partner Allegedly Steals Millions From Biglaw Firms To Lead Luxurious Lifestyle
If these allegations are true, perhaps partners aren't being paid enough?
Morning Docket: 11.25.14
* "Have a taste of this. It will do you good in so many ways." Louisa Moritz, one of Bill Cosby's alleged victims, is interested in filing a class-action lawsuit against the comedian. [Fox News Latino] * If you're interested, here's all of the testimony and evidence that was presented to the grand jury that resulted in no true bill for Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting. [Associated Press] * HBO hired a team of 160 lawyers to look at its film adaptation of Lawrence Wright's book about Scientology. The power of thetans compels them to keep churning that bill, baby. [Hollywood Reporter] * "The Constitution is not a math problem," but it seems like the Supreme Court is playing a numbers game when it comes to its decisions having to do with same-sex marriage. What's the magic number for SCOTUS to take a case? [New York Times] * It's official: Morgan Lewis has gobbled up most of Bingham McCutchen ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Stick a fork in it, because Morgan Lewis is done -- it's now stuffed full of more lawyers than any other firm in the country. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * Emerson Briggs III, an ex-partner at Hunton & Williams, is facing disbarment in D.C. over the child pornography he downloaded at work. Oh, how the mighty have fallen: he's been working as a paralegal since being disbarred in New York. [Legal Times] * Patricia Nesci, a law firm secretary, allegedly forged a judge's signature on an order to show cause to keep herself from being evicted from her home earlier this month. She apparently did not get a Biglaw-style bonus from her former firm. [Syracuse.com] * Before you submit your applications, you should try creating a budget to see just how financially screwed you'll be during and after law school, and then compare it to your pre-law school budget. Try not to cry. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
Most Law Firms’ AI Strategies Have a Big Blind Spot. Here’s How One Am Law 200 Firm is Solving It.
Most law firms, big and small, that have adopted AI are making the same mistake: they bought a tool for their lawyers and called it a strategy.
Non-Sequiturs: 11.13.14
* The 25 most influential people in legal education. [TaxProf Blog] * Shell preemptively suing environmental groups over its Arctic drilling program. Nothing says, "we're on the up and up" like hyperactive declaratory judgment motions. [Breaking Energy] * I’m not normally in the “America is overlitigious” camp, but the idea that we’re scaling back corn mazes to accommodate people too dumb to find their way out is ridiculous. [Daily Mail] * What does the Fox say? I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it involves peeing in this guy’s Super Soaker. [Legal Juice] * Hunton & Williams has formed a new multidisciplinary practice to assist clients with legal issues surrounding Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or drones. Good idea. I hear those things fly by themselves. [Hunton & Williams] * The career services director at LSU Law School got married over the weekend… in the stands during the Saints-49ers game. I’m guessing the reception had to wait until after overtime. [The Times-Picayune] * Um. If this is how you want to steal that thing, more power to you. [Slate] * “A distinguished panel of former and current judges including John Cleland, John Jones, Nathaniel Jones, Jed Rakoff, and Marjorie Rendell join Joel Cohen to for a discussion drawing inspiration from his new book, “Blindfolds Off.” Video available after the jump… [National Constitution Center]
Crain’s 2013 ‘Best Places To Work In NYC’ List Includes Seven Law Firms
Which law firms are considered tops in the city that never sleeps? Let's find out...
Morning Docket: 10.16.13
* Stop bullying the judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. They don’t cave to just any government data request — they make changes to about 25 percent of them. But uh… they don’t like to talk about the other 75 percent. [Bloomberg] * Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the number of Biglaw firms with […]
Tipsy Partner Tipped Insider Trading Defendant, SEC Alleges
The SEC alleges that an attorney disclosed inside information after way too much wine.
Legal Is Changing. And NeoSummit Is Where The Future Is Being Built.
Legal and operational leaders are gathering May 6–7 in Fort Lauderdale to confront the questions the industry hasn't answered—with a keynote from Amanda Knox setting the tone.
Morning Docket: 09.10.13
* Even at the top of the in-house food chain, women lawyers are still paid less than their male counterparts. But hey, at least they’re not being forced to cry poverty like their in-house staff attorney brethren. [Corporate Counsel] * Neil Barofsky, the former King of TARP in the United States, is making the move to Jenner & Block, specifically because as opposed to all other firms, “Jenner took the side of really getting to the truth of the matter.” [Reuters] * Luxury fashion is fun: four Biglaw firms, including Cleary Gottlieb, Cravath, Torys, and Proskauer Rose, all took Tim Gunn’s mantra to heart to make it work for the $6 billion sale of Neiman Marcus. [Am Law Daily (sub. req.)] * If you want to try some lawyer, we hear that they taste great when poached this time of year. Speaking of which, Troutman Sanders just reeled in three attorneys from Hunton & Williams. [Richmond BizSense] * Law schools in the Dakotas are renovating their buildings in the hope of enrolling more students. Luckily, South Dakota has that sweet indentured servitude plan. [Prairie Business; National Law Journal (sub. req.)] * If you’re thinking of applying to law school, here’s a plan of attack for the month of September. That’s right, friends, you can start gunning right now! [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report] * Are you ready for some tax law?! The NFL and other professional sports leagues might lose their nonprofit status if new tax reform legislation makes it through the House and the Senate. [Businessweek]
Morning Docket: 11.19.12
* Billable hours in Biglaw are down 1.5 percent, and 15 percent of U.S. firms are planning to reduce their partnership ranks in early 2013. Thanks to Wells Fargo for bringing us the news of all this holiday cheer! [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * Hostess may be winding down its business and liquidating its assets, but Biglaw will always be there to clean up the crumbs. Jones Day, Venable, and Stinson Morrison Hecker obviously think money tastes better than Twinkies. [Am Law Daily] * How’s that “don’t be evil” thing working out for you? Google’s $22.5M proposed privacy settlement with the FTC over tracking cookies planted on Safari browsers was accepted by a federal judge. [Bloomberg] * Greenberg Traurig and Hunton & Williams face a $7.2B suit from Allen Stanford’s receiver over a former attorney of both firms’ alleged involvement in the ex-knight’s Ponzi scheme. [Houston Business Journal] * Perhaps the third time will be the charm: ex-Mayer Brown partner Joseph Collins was convicted, again, for helping Refco steal more than $2B from investors by concealing the company’s fraud. [New York Law Journal] * H. Warren Knight, founder of alternative dispute resolution company JAMS, RIP. [National Law Journal]
Dewey Have A Way To Stop The Partner Hemorrhaging? Energy Lawyers Exit
Partners continue to depart Dewey & LeBoeuf. What's the latest news?
Dewey Know How To Do The Taxes?
Dewey know how to do the partnership's taxes? Some D&L partners are confused by the updated K-1 tax forms issued to them by the firm. And, speaking of Dewey partners, defections continue....
Non-Sequiturs: 03.06.12
* There is a woman on my block who walks her inconceivably yappy dogs every damn day at 4:45 PM. Do I routinely go outside and yell at her to shut her dogs up? Yes. Do I pepper spray her pitiful excuses for K-9 companions, like this Hunton & Williams partner allegedly did? No. At […]