It's the Friday afternoon before Labor Day, and we're ready to pack it in. We might put up another post or two -- e.g., Legal Eagle Wedding Watch -- but basically we are done for the day. (Our colleagues over at DealBreaker checked out hours ago.)
Before we sign off, we'd like to point out that yesterday was Above the Law's first anniversary -- or blogiversary, as some say. ATL launched one year ago, on August 30, 2006.
During the span of a year, ATL has grown in leaps and bounds. Traffic has been tremendous, far outstripping expectations. Even though ATL is in its infancy, it's already one of the most widelyread legal blogs. The site has become quite well-known, garnering a number of media mentions.
We thank you, our readers, for making this success possible. Thanks for faithfully visiting ATL (and refreshing your browsers so frequently), for spreading the word about this website, and for sending us great tips and information.
Happy Labor Day! Enjoy the long weekend. You deserve it!
P.S. Are you on Facebook? If so, please join the ATL Facebook group. Yay!
Yesterday we were away from the blogosphere. We had several meetings to attend in the morning. Then, in the afternoon, we did a webcast for ABC News. We spoke with Mary Fulginiti, the former AUSA who now covers legal affairs for ABC News, about L'Affaire Nixon Peabody:
(The last time we did a webcast for ABC News, some of you opined that we looked too shiny. And you were right. So this time around, we stopped at the make-up department before entering the studio. Thanks for the constructive criticism!)
Employer: A rapidly growing general corporate law firm (New York)
Description: A senior-level attorney to build the firm’s fund formation practice. Although portable business is not required, the successful candidate must be willing to work very hard to get the practice started. The firm will provide access to major hedge fund and investment banking clients, but he/she will have take the lead on developing the business.
Requirements: The ideal candidate has seven plus years (7+) forming and advising hedge funds and/or private equity funds and wants the challenge of developing a practice group.
What? You're still here? Shouldn't you be at the beach right now, enjoying what remains of the summer? Or maybe at a barbecue (goat head sold separately)?
For those of you who are still stuck in front of computers, let's face it: you're not getting any work done today. So you might as well sit around and gossip online about law firms, as we finish up our series of open threads on Vault 100 law firms.
Ted Olson seems like a solid, non-controversial choice. Terwilliger would definitely be the most fun name to have as AG. Senator Hatch is an interesting choice, but I'm not sure he's interested. We took a class from Thompson in Anti-Terrorism and Criminal Procedure at UGA Law, and we liked him well enough. Clement is a logical choice I suppose as the current acting AG.
Here's hoping that it is one of these guys, and not one of the crazy names being thrown around on Monday, like Michael Chertoff. Let's try to go with somebody with a history of, I dunno....competence.
Thursday, August 30, 2007 3:50 PM - By Billy Merck
Last week we wondered whether conditions in the stock and credit markets might lead to layoffs or affect bonuses. The situation has continued to deteriorate, particularly in the credit market. Now others are starting to join us in the rampant speculation about layoffs.
The current turmoil in the credit market has some law firm leaders predicting future layoffs of associates, according to The Legal Intelligencer.
Those who would be most likely to receive pink slips are those working in what have been the most lucrative practice groups over the last four years or so — structured finance, real estate and corporate mergers and acquisitions.
“Future layoffs are a realistic possibility, and they would come in the areas of corporate finance and real estate,” Duane Morris’s chairman, Sheldon Bonovitz, told The Intelligencer. “This is by reason of the turmoil in the debt markets, which has made finance of many transactions in the pipeline problematic or not feasible.”
We're into the high eighties of the Vault 100 law firms. But even if there may be 85 firms ranked ahead of these next five firms, don't forget that they are still incredibly prestigious and profitable places to work.
The American Tort Reform Association has posted Weird Al’s “I’ll Sue Ya” on its Web site, suggesting that the tune be “adopted as a theme song by America’s personal injury lawyers.”
“It’s been awhile since I’ve personally kept up with Weird Al’s work, but it’s nice to know he hasn’t lost his genius,” ATRA director of communications Darren McKinney said.
“Like all good comedy, Weird Al builds on a foundation of truth,” he added.
What foundation of truth, that there are too many lawsuits in this country, or that Korn sucks?
Check out the music video for Weird Al's tune after the jump.
Thursday, August 30, 2007 12:44 PM - By Billy Merck
The Phil Spector trial is almost at its end, but Spector has nevertheless just added a lawyer to his legal team: San Francisco attorney Dennis Riordan.
Riordan comes on as Bruce Cutler departs, though presiding Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler took pains to clarify that Riordan is not replacing Cutler as lead counsel for Spector:
"I think that was a little bit of hyperbole," Fidler said when asked by the prosecution if there was a new chief defense counsel.
"Mr. Rosen is the chief counsel, the one we rely on as I understand it," Fidler said of attorney Roger Rosen, who effectively became leader of the defense while Cutler was often absent for several weeks to tape a TV judge show.
"Mr. Riordan is here to work on jury instructions," Fidler said. He said Riordan would be considered a member of the defense team while assisting with jury instructions.
Riordan, asked if that was his understanding, replied: "As far as I know, 'chief' refers to a Native American. I am not chief counsel."
Yeah, I guess it does, in that it's a racist, derogatory term for a Native American. Could he not have settled for a simple "Yes, your Honor"? Jeez.
At any rate, since Riordan is known as an appellate lawyer, we suspect he's ultimately there for more than the jury instructions.
As stated above, Cutler left because Spector wasn't too happy with him missing so much of the trial, which he was apparently doing to film a TV judge show. Which will be better, his or Larry Seidlin's?
Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:42 AM - By Billy Merck
This week marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The news has been full of reports about the status of the affected areas, particularly New Orleans, two years later. Most of them have not been good; here are a few examples:
"Bitterness lingers 2 years after Katrina" [AP via Yahoo!]
"Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast Struggling 2 years later" [CNN]
"Hope, skepticism mark Katrina anniversary" [USA Today]
But this is a legal blog, and so we want to know specifically about the state of the legal community in New Orleans two years post-Katrina. Immediately following the hurricane, the New Orleans legal system was "devastated." Has it recovered?
We'd like to hear from associates in New Orleans about their current experiences. Are the courts up and running? What is the backlog like? What about associate pay; is it back to normal?
And this has little to do with biglaw, but when is New Orleans going to get a handle on the murder situation?
Share your perspectives on the state of the New Orleans legal community in the comments.
In the earliest version of yesterday's open thread dedicated to discussing Vault 100 law firms, we put up the wrong firms at first. Sorry about that.
So now is the time to talk about Howrey (which was the subject of some brief discussion yesterday, before we corrected the post). Here are this morning's five firms (with Vault prestige scores in parentheses):
Thursday, August 30, 2007 8:45 AM - By Billy Merck
It's Billy Merck again, your favorite person to shoot spitballs at fill-in for Lat, who's got a full day away from the blogosphere today.
We start today with some stray Larry Craig news.
First, we certainly don't mean to imply anything about the deceased chief justice, but there is a creepy resemblance here.
Next, Craig has been forced out of his committee assignments [New York Times], and some of his fellow Republican Senators are calling for his resignation altogether [New York Times].
Finally, we have a couple of takes on the actual criminality, or not, of Craig's airport restroom activities. The WSJ Law Blog talks with Minnesota law prof Barry Feld about, among other things, whether the sting was entrapment and whether Craig can undo his plea (likely no and no, Feld concludes). And coming to us from LawBeat via the Legal Blog Watch, Mark Obbie wants to know about the kind of evidence usually used to demonstrate criminal intent in these kinds of cases.
Personally, we're still kind of hung up on the "wide stance" defense. We've never heard anyone talk about a wide stance outside of the context of batting in baseball or the line in football. And how wide does a stance have to get before it becomes probable cause? We guess exiting the boundaries of your own stall and making contact with someone else's foot are good indicators.
* Some of you have asked for more Larry Craig coverage. Here you go. [Blogonaut]
* The latest developments in the bizarre Gene Plotkin insider trading case. You remember -- the one involving "a Merrill Lynch junior analyst, a 63-year old retired Croatian underwear seamstress, an exotic dancer, and two former employees from the Wisconsin branch of a BusinessWeek printing press." [DealBreaker; NYT]
* Here's a list of "The Ten Worst U.S. Prosecutors" for 2007. If Alberto Gonzales is #1 and Mike Nifong is #3, who’s #2? (Yes, we realize this link is from last week. But thanks for pointing that out to us.) [Bennett Law Firm]
* Speaking of AGAG, what took him so long to leave? Dan Markel speculates that he didn't want to leave until we were done with our Shanetta Cutlar coverage. But if she gets promoted to head the Civil Rights Division, to replace the outgoing Wan Kim, expect our coverage to resume. [PrawfsBlawg]
* Why would you want to avoid a circus-like atmosphere? Isn't that the whole point of a celebrity trial? [Daily Business Review]
We realize that it’s still summer. Many of the justices are still traipsing around Europe (or hanging out in the Hampshire, as in the case of Justice David Souter).
It’s also the last week of August, leading into the Labor Day holiday weekend – traditionally one of the slowest, most dead weeks of the year. As some of you have noticed, we’ve been phoning it in taking it easy here at ATL, too.
But even though nothing is supposed to be happening, it appears that some things are afoot. We’ve been hearing all sorts of cryptic rumors about recent Supreme Court clerk hiring. As former SCOTUS clerk Michael Chertoff might say, we have a “gut feeling” that some hiring has been going on.
Our last open thread on this subject didn’t yield much, but that was over a month ago. Have you heard any Supreme Court clerk hiring news that hasn’t already appeared on ATL? If so, please contact us, by email (subject line: "Supreme Court clerk hiring"). (You can also post a comment, but we prefer email for this subject, so we can pose follow-up questions to you if we have them.)
What's up with all these federal judges seeking to leave their life-tenured quarters? We understand that the pay's not great (which is why we urge them to marry rich). But being an Article III judge is still nice work if you can get it.
Despite the power and prestige, two federal judges are moving on -- temporarily or permanently. First, from the Daily Business Review:
In a highly unusual move, U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins [N.D. Cal. (at right)], a life-tenured federal judge in San Francisco, is prepared to give up his seat and has applied for an opening on the California State Court of Appeal bench.
Jenkins, 54, a moderate Democrat and former state trial court judge in Oakland, Calif., was appointed by President Clinton a decade ago. He confirmed rumors that he has submitted an application with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for the vacancy.
We understand the allure of an appellate over a trial court gig. But still, giving up the federal bench for a state court is "highly unusual" -- especially since the state court in question isn't even the California Supreme Court (the move that Judge Morrison England (E.D. Cal.) was contemplating, before he withdrew his name from consideration).
U.S. District Judge Sam Kent [S.D. Tex.] will take a four-month leave from his Galveston bench for unspecified reasons, according to an order made public Monday.
No one involved would comment on the order, but students of the federal judiciary said it is unusual.
We smell a story here. A little more about Judge Kent, after the jump.
Our series of open threads on Vault 100 law firms is nearing its conclusion. Here are this afternoon's firms (with Vault prestige scores in parentheses):
Collectively these firms have made several appearances in ATL. We know that Schulte Roth & Zabel partners have nice apartments. And Stroock & Stroock & Lavan has an interesting first-year associate, who sent out this email.
Correction: Initially we had the 2007 Vault 76-80 firms on this list. We have since fixed the post. Sorry about that!
Please discuss these five firms in the comments. Thanks!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 11:50 AM - By David Lat
If the Nixon Peabody song were lawyer advertising -- which, of course, it is not -- it would be the best lawyer advertisement ever.
And this, which a helpful reader emailed to us, would be second best:
In case you can't read the fine print at the bottom -- which offers some helpful tips on staying out of trouble with the law, but which should NOT be construed as legal advice -- here's a close up:
Right now you're probably thinking: This CANNOT be for real.
But it is, dear readers, it is. We confirmed the authenticity of this advertisement with Mr. Peter John himself.
You can check out our short interview with him, after the jump.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 10:40 AM - By David Lat
As you know, we've been doing a series of fall recruiting open threads on the Vault 100 law firms -- which, of course, tend to represent large corporate defendants in litigation matters.
But lately plaintiffs' firms have been on our mind. Like Hewes & Associates, the fictional firm headed by Glenn Close in the new FX show, Damages. Or Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins -- which will drop "Lerach" from its name as of August 31st, after the departure of the colorful and controversial Bill Lerach (whose over-the-top farewell message can be accessed here).
We're not alone in thinking about plaintiffs' lawyers. The crew over at Illegal Briefs sent in this request:
We've been enjoying your recent recruiting posts/threads. We'd be curious to read about folks' take on plaintiff-side recruiting and work experiences.
We're curious too. To kick things off, here are some questions:
1. What are associate salaries (and bonuses) like at the big plaintiffs' firms, like Lerach Coughlin or Milberg Weiss?
2. Law students (a) want to make money, so they can pay off their student loans, and (b) generally have liberal or left-of-center political views. So why do they all go trooping off to firms that defend big corporations? Why not do plaintiffs' work, where they can stand up for "the little guy" -- and make good money, too?
And, from a different reader, an inquiry about another ATL favorite subject:
You should consider including in your updated clerkship bonus coverage the bonuses being paid by a large plaintiff firm such as Lerach. It would be interesting to see if they are matching their corporate adversaries.
So, does anyone have information or opinions to share on plaintiffs' firms? If so, please do so in the comments. Thanks.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 10:15 AM - By David Lat
Here's a random legal / political celebrity sighting, sent to us last night, in real time (at around 8 PM):
I'm riding the Philly-to-DC Acela, and who should be in first class but the original don of the Homeland, Tom Ridge, Esq. A dark horse candidate coming down to be reviewed as a potential AG?
The former governor is looking dapper, in a double-breasted, navy pinstripe suit (although the bluetooth earpiece is too much). He's carrying only a small leather bag.
Tom Ridge for AG? Not as predictable as, say, Mike Chertoff. But when it comes to picking a new attorney general, we're all in favor of outside-the-box thinking.
Oh wait, sorry, an update and correction:
Upon de-training, it is clear that Ridge's bag is a black nylon duffel -- not leather. I catch his attention and ask him if he prefers "Governor Ridge" or "Secretary Ridge," and he responds the former, although "Tom is fine."
Have you recently seen a legal luminary around town? Please send "Eyes of the Law" sightings to us by email. Thanks.
So whatever happened to people caught up in the recent, ill-fatedadministration of the New York bar exam? One test taker wrote us:
"I imagine you're getting a slew of forwards on these cold-comfort NYBOLE [New York Board of Law Examiners] emails, but just the same, here you go. I didn't have laptop problems myself (knock on wood), but for those applicants who claimed to have their essay answers swapped or overwritten, this might just be salt in the wound."
And the message:
From: New York Bar Exam Administration Date: 23 Aug 2007 13:05:43 -0400 Subject: Your July 2007 Bar Exam Essays have all been received. To: [redacted]
BOLE ID:B1000xxxx
This will confirm that we are in receipt of all of your printed (and/or handwritten) answers to essay questions 1 through 5 and the MPT
Sincerely
New York State Board of Law Examiners
But apparently some exam takers weren't so lucky. From a second source:
Any updates on Laptopgate? A friend of mine that took the NY bar at the Javitz got an email yesterday saying that additional information is needed from their computer. That doesn't sound promising.
We haven't seen one of these "more information please" emails. Have you? If so, we'd be grateful if you could send it to us by email. If we get one, we'll post it here. Thanks.
Update: The text of the cryptic email appears after the jump.
We linked to this interesting MSNBC article, about possible replacements for outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in Morning Docket.
We'd now like to link to it again, and draw your attention to the very end of the article. Doug Kmiec, a top Justice Department official in the Reagan and Bush I administrations, is quoted as follows:
"[T]he president might be well advised to pick a senior court of appeals judge appointed by Reagan; perhaps, Diarmuid O’Scannlain of the Ninth Circuit, Kenneth Ripple of the Seventh Circuit, or Edith Jones of the Fifth."
[Kmiec] said, "The integrity of these individuals is unquestioned; by virtue of judicial office, they have been freed of partisanship for some time, yet, by virtue of appointment, would be acceptable to the base of the President’s party."
Judge O'Scannlain for Attorney General? What a fabulous idea!
Having clerked for Judge O'Scannlain, we're admittedly biased. As we previously wrote:
During two decades of distiinguished service, Judge O'Scannlain has established himself as a shining star in the federal judicial firmament. We had the honor and pleasure of clerking for Judge O'Scannlain during the 1999-2000 judicial year. He was a wonderful boss to us and our co-clerks, and he continues to be a great mentor and friend to this day. (He's also quite handsome, in a Paul Newman sort of way; see photo at right.)
But you don't need to be a former O'Scannlain clerk to recognize the soundness of Kmiec's reasoning. (As for the other two judges Kmiec mentions, we're not that familiar with Judge Ripple. Judge Jones, while diva-licious, she might be a tough sell to a Senate controlled by the Democrats.)
So we hereby issue this official ATL endorsement: Judge O'Scannlain for Attorney General!
(Psst, Nixon Peabody peeps: Can you do up a theme song?)
Lawyers are living large, not just in Miami and New York, but in Washington, too.
The Luxury Homes column, in the current issue of Washingtonian magazine, features the recent real estate purchases of two prominent lawyers. First up: political and legal commentator Laura Ingraham, who has a pretty amazing resume (UVA Law, Clarence Thomas clerkship, Skadden), especially by radio personality standards:
Conservative pundit and radio host Laura Ingraham sold a three-bedroom, four-bath Colonial rowhouse on 28th Street in Woodley Park for $1.3 million. Built in 1922, the renovated home has an in-law suite, two kitchens, and a skylit master bedroom. The Laura Ingraham Show is broadcast on 340 radio stations nationwide.
Very nice. Next up: another conservative legal celebrity, Fred Fielding:
White House counsel Fred Fielding and his wife, Maria, sold a five-bedroom, six-bath Colonial in Arlington's Country Club Hills for $1.8 million. The house has embassy-size entertaining rooms. Before joining the Bush administration in January, Fielding was a senior partner at Wiley Rein (formerly Wiley Rein & Fielding).
Despite the "embassy-size entertaining rooms," a sub-$2 million house seems a tad underwhelming, especially for a former name partner of 2006's most profitable law firm. Are the Fieldings trading up to bigger digs?
Using a combination of internet resources, we tracked down what we believe to be the houses in question, on Zillow. You can check out the listings, with pics, after the jump.
The latest post in our series on perks / fringe benefits isn't a "perk" per se. But it is, like true perks, a non-monetary factor that some people may take into account when choosing between law firms.
The topic: eco-friendliness, or how "green" a law firm is. From a tipster:
I think you should do a feature on which law firms are promoting eco-friendly office environments / business practices. With the country's increased environmental awareness, I think it could help both law students and attorneys decide where to work. Here are two examples:
Have you heard anything on this subject that we haven't previously reported? If so, please note it in the comments, or email us (subject line: "Clerkship Bonus Watch").
Bonus question: With respect to the Dewey Ballantine / LeBoeuf Lamb merger, whose clerkship bonus policy will the new entity adopt? Dewey pays a flat $50,000 clerkship bonus, while LeBoeuf pays a $50K bonus for one clerkship and a $70K bonus for two years of clerkship experience.
We press on with our open threads on Vault 100 law firms. Sure, these next five firms are ranked by their Vault prestige scores (indicated parenthetically). But in our opinion, every one of them is a winner:
Please accept our apologies. After breaking the story on Friday afternoon, we kinda dropped the ball on the merger of Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf Lamb.
We'll write more about this transaction later. Sadly, we have to head offline for a bit. But in the meantime, here's an open thread for people to discuss the merger.
We'll get the ball rolling with a press-release-type statement that was sent to DB interviewees:
After receiving a callback from Dewey, the recruiting department sent me and all similarly-situated recruits the heads up: The new firm, to be dubbed “Dewey & LeBoeuf,” is set to roll out, “subject to approval by the partners in both firms.”
Below is the email that I was sent. I apologize if you've already been notified.
The email, from Dewey Ballantine partner Henry Ricardo, appears after the jump.
Congratulations to Nixon Peabody. All of the "winners" at that venerable law firm are winners once again. VH1's Best Week Ever just named the firm's non-theme-songsong its Favorite Jam of Summer '07!
“Everyone’s a Winner at Nixon Peabody” is officially our Favorite Jam of Summer 07! The type of tune that makes you want to get out the Bartles & James, brush n’ braid your long gray hair, tear off your stirrup pants and miniature horse cardigan, and make out with your 77-year-old husband on a nude beach somewhere in Pueto Vallarta.
You can read the full post here. Once again, congrats to NP!
We're way behind on this story. Last night, from Roll Call (via Blogonaut):
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.
Craig’s arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.
A spokesman for Craig described the incident as a “he said/he said misunderstanding”....
As our friends at Wonkette quipped, "it was all just a simple he said/he said misunderstanding! Because Larry Craig was under the impression that the other gentleman wanted to have anonymous sex with him in an airport bathroom."
Okay, we have to go chase after a bunch of other stories right now. But you can follow the Larry Craig sex scandal at Wonkette. And Matt Drudge is having a field day with the story, too:
Time for a walk down ATL memory lane. On April 20, we opened a poll about how much longer Alberto Gonzales would serve as Attorney General.
In light of yesterday's announcement that Gonzales will be stepping down as AG effective September 17, the correct answer would have been five months. But it looks like almost all of us were wrong, since the closest answer -- six months -- received less than one percent of the vote:
The world is full of surprises. Well, at least we now have something to talk about, during what is traditionally one of the slowest and sleepiest weeks of the year (thanks to everyone taking pre-Labor Day, pre-back-to-school vacations).
* Oh, those crazy French people. They eat the darnedest things! [Conglomerate]
* A shameless (and belated) plug: we were interviewed last week by NPR's Mike Pesca, for an interesting story about Jonathan Lee Riches and his wacky pro se lawsuits. (We appear around the 2:30 mark.) [NPR]
Our open threads on Vault 100 law firms seem to be drawing fewer comments. But we'll finish what we've started. We don't want to give you a case of these.
So here is this afternoon's set of Biglaw shops (with Vault prestige scores in parentheses):
Judge Loretta K. Preska (S.D.N.Y.) has it all: a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, a rich husband, and killer shoes.
As well as, it appears, no patience for lawyers who play fast and loose with the rules. From the WSJ Law Blog:
Cleary Gottlieb conjures images of Ivy League bookishness and international savoir faire, not bare-knuckled litigation tactics. But last week a federal judge sanctioned the firm and found them to have acted in bad faith. “Civil litigation is not always civil,” began a ruling by Loretta Preska, a federal judge in Manhattan. Here’s the opinion (PDF).
The judge concluded that Cleary tried to dissuade a witness from attending a deposition, in part because of a concern the witness would testify adverse to the firm’s client. Preska ordered Cleary to pay the plaintiff’s attorneys fees and costs ─ an amount to be determined ─ and ruled that “the sanction is imposed as a formal reprimand and should be circulated to all attorneys at Cleary.”
And Cleary partner Jean-Pierre Vignaud was ordered to write "I will not interfere improperly with the discovery process," five hundred times, on a dry-erase board in a firm conference room.
Cleary Gottlieb -- which, by the way, picked fellow white-shoe law firm Simpson Thacher to represent it -- said in a statement that it intends to appeal.
(In preemptive response to those of you who are sick and tired of this story: relax. It's on its last legs. But if the New York Times writes about us, of course we're going to acknowledge it. Capice?)
For those of you were on vacation last week -- and we know many of you were, based on all the "Out of Office AutoReply" messages we received -- you missed a fun story here at ATL.
But don't worry. If you don't have time to read our voluminous coverage of the Nixon Peabodytheme song, here are some cheat sheets.
You can read this New York Times story, by Michael de la Merced, which nicely summarizes the saga. Or this post, by Peter Lattman, over at the WSJ Law Blog.
Best of all, for those of you who can watch videos -- some of you can't, 'cause you don't have a private office -- check out this awesome video. It appeared over the weekend, but we're reposting it, because many of you don't visit ATL on the weekend (and it would be a shame for you to miss it).
Lots and lots of press conferences today. President Bush, at a Waco airport, about to board Air Force One, gave a brief statement on Alberto Gonzales's resignation as attorney general.
Bush said that he "reluctantly" accepted AGAG's resignation.
Gonzales was subjected to "months of unfair treatment" that has "created harmful distraction at the Justice Department."
[Of course, one might argue that Alberto Gonzales has "created harmful distraction at the Justice Department."]
"[H]is good name has been dragged through the mud for political reasons"
Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as Acting AG.
Michael Vick, dressed in a sober charcoal suit and gold tie, just made a short public statement about his case. He took no questions. Here are some excerpts.
"For most of my life, I've been a football player, not a public speaker.... I'd like to take this opportunity to speak from the heart."
He apologized to Commissioner Roger Goodell, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, and Vick's teammates, for "not being honest" in "previous discussions we had."
"I was ashamed. I've disappointed in myself, to say the least."
"I'd like to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts. What I did was very immature, so I need to grow up."
[Dogfighting is inhumane, brutal, despicable -- but immature? It's not the first word that comes to our mind. And given the content of ATL, we consider ourselves experts in immaturity.]
"I take full responsibility for my actions."
"Dogfighting is a terrible thing and I do reject it."
"Through this situation I've found Jesus, and I dedicate my life to God."
[Of course -- so predictable. Why can't we have disgraced public figures pledge themselves to the principles of Wicca?]
"I've got a lot to think about in the next year or so.... I've got a lot of down time to think about how to make Michael Vick a better person."
[That's for sure -- and as just noted, Judge Hudson isn't bound by the parties' recommendations or the 12 to 18 month sentencing guidelines range. He's bound only by the five-year statutory maximum.]
The plea hearing for the embattled star quarterback took place this morning. One of Michael Vick's lawyers, Billy Martin, spoke to reporters on the courthouse steps. He stated that "this matter is concluded until December 10th, when Judge Hudson will sentence Michael Vick according to the plea agreement." He also announced that Vick will make a statement of his own at 11:30 AM today.
At the hearing, Judge Henry Hudson told Michael Vick something along these lines: "You know you're taking your chances here. I'm not bound by the recommendations [of the parties]."
A correct statement of the law, especially after Booker? Yes. A smart thing for a judge to do at a plea hearing, to prevent the defendant from later claiming he was blindsided? Sure.
But, reading the tea leaves a bit, we'd hazard a guess that Judge Hudson might give Vick significantly more than the 12 or so months that the parties will recommend (per the plea agreement). Stay tuned.
(We'd guess that the parties will recommend a year and a day, which will make Vick eligible for certain "good time" credits applicable only to sentences over a year.)
There's a lot going on this morning, including the resignation of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general and the Michael Vick plea hearing. But none of this will prevent fall recruiting from going forward, full speed ahead. So let's continue with our open threads on Vault 100 law firms.
Here are the Biglaw shops to talk about this morning. Two of them -- Alston & Bird and Bingham & McCutchen -- are, along with Nixon Peabody, on Fortune's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.
In addition to a story on the Nixon Peabody song controversy -- which we'll do a full post on later, so save your comments until then -- the New York Times has this big scoop:
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.
Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.
Any thoughts on a successor?
Update: We liveblogged the (extremely short) press conference by Alberto Gonzales announcing his resignation. See here.
We apologize for the tardiness of this edition of LEWW. We've been in the thick of a real estate transaction and various related matters, and we haven't been able to devote our usual amount of attention and energy to wedding criticism. But fear not -- the nuptial machine grinds on, and we have three impressive couples to examine this week:
* How could we NOT link to a post entitled "Do Faculty Have a Constitutional Right to Sleep With Their Students?" [TaxProf Blog]
* A very interesting installment of The Glenn and Helen Show, in which they speak with Professor Richard Epstein about drugs and health care. [Instapundit]
Sadly, the humorless crew over at Nixon Peabody has had their fabulous law firm song -- which, mind you, is NOT a theme song -- pulled from YouTube. See here.
Even if it's gone from YouTube, you can still access "Everyone's A Winner" as a plain-vanilla MP3 file. Just click here. We incorporate by reference all of our prior commentary on the song.
This memorable tune will also live on in the blogosphere. Numerous fine websites and blogs picked up on the story of the Nixon Peabody song controversy. Here are a few links:
People in the offices of both Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf Lamb have been gossiping about a possible merger between their firms.
Here's some circumstantial evidence in support of the rumors. If you go to Whois.Net and enter the domain name DeweyLeBoeuf.com, you get this info:
We have a call and an email in to Michael Groll. We'll let you know if and when we hear back from him.
Update: Might this be a practical joke, as one commenter suggests? Quite possibly. That's why we've reached out to Mr. Groll for comment.
Further Update (4:45 PM): No, this is the real deal. About an hour after our post went up, the WSJ Law Blog chimed in with this write-up: "LeBoeuf Lamb and Dewey Ballantine are in merger talks, with an announcement of a deal expected as early as Monday, according to people familiar with the situation."
Further Further Update (8/25/07): The New York Times has an article on the merger talks here.
We have another article, in the current issue of Washingtonian, about summer associate programs here in Washington, DC. Much of it will be familiar to regular ATL readers, since we cover SA programs extensively here. But if you'd like to check it out, you can do so by clicking here.
The plea agreement (PDF) for star quarterback Michael Vick has been filed in federal court. In the statement of facts (PDF) accompanying the agreement, Vick admits involvement in the dogfighting conspiracy (including funding it), but declines to admit a number of other allegations. According to ESPN, Vick claims that he "did not place side bets and did not receive proceeds from purses from the fights."
Here's what the agreement provides with respect to sentencing:
Assuming zero criminal history, an adjusted offense level of 13 gives you an imprisonment range of 12 to 18 months. Of course, and as noted in the agreement, the sentencing judge is not bound by the guidelines (thanks to Booker).
Vick, 27, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday, where he is expected to plead guilty before a judge. The judge in the case will have the final say over the plea agreement.
Presiding over Vick's case is Judge Henry Hudson, a Bush II appointee to the bench and a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (under Bush I). He has an impressive resume, but we don't know much about him personally. We welcome your thoughts on Judge Hudson in the comments.
Here's a tale from the fall recruiting trenches, from a 2L at Columbia Law School:
I got my first rejection yesterday, from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. It was not through your typical form letter; it came via mass email.
And by "mass email," I mean "the email address of everyone who got rejected is listed in the 'to:' field."
CLASSY. Maybe WSGR wanted all the "rejects" to know each others' identities, so they can from a support group?
To its credit, the firm realized that it screwed up:
They then left a voicemail apologizing and explaining that it was an "honest mistake," and they hope it doesn't affect my opinion of the firm. Personally, it doesn't bother me -- we all had lots of interviews, which lead to lots of rejections (and lots of callbacks).
But I can see why other people would be bothered by it, and I think the firm deserves some attention for (1) not putting in the effort to send actual rejection letters (this was even signed by "Attorney Recruiting Department") and (2) not knowing the difference between "to:" and "bcc:."
We concur. Hence this shout-out to Wilson Sonsini -- and the reject-o-bots in its "Attorney Recruiting Department."
A relationship between a prisoner -- falsely accused, natch -- and a compassionate woman on the outside, crusading for his release. What could be more romantic?
Well, if the woman happens to be a court clerk, with responsibility for handling prisoner filings, the situation goes from romantic to problematic. From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
A deputy clerk at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has been fired after striking up a romantic relationship with - and trying to help win the release of - a Washington man serving life in federal prison, court documents show.
Jane Cross, 57, came under scrutiny in June, after she filed a Washington State Bar Association complaint against Kurt Hermanns, an assistant U.S. attorney in Tacoma who handled the prosecution of William G. Moore on methamphetamine and other charges in the mid-1990s. She was placed on leave and subsequently fired last week.
Our most recent post about Nixon Peabody -- which has a song, but NOT a theme song -- is about to scroll off the ATL front page. And we couldn't allow that, now could we?
So here's an update. A few brief points:
1. Some of you have described a fabulous video that accompanied "Everyone's A Winner at Nixon Peabody." Sadly, we've never seen this video. If you have a copy, please send it to us.
2. We received the song, from multiple sources, as an MP3 file. It was being widely disseminated by email ("FW: FW: FW:"). As far as we know, it was not sent to us by a disgruntled ex-Winner (contrary to the quasi-paranoid speculation of NP brass).
3. As of now, the song remains on YouTube. It has been viewed almost 14,000 times and garnered several accolades, including #26 - Most Viewed (Entertainment) and #11 - Most Linked (Entertainment).
4. In case the song gets yanked from YouTube, you can now access it directly on ATL, as an MP3 file. Just click here. Enjoy!
5. Some of you have inquired into the identities of the NP representatives with whom we spoke yesterday. These individuals expressly asked not to be identified by name (quelle surprise), and we agreed to that request. But we can tell you that they were in-house reps, not external PR people. One is a firm spokesperson, and one works on the business side of the firm. As far as we know, neither is a lawyer.
We haven't heard more from the firm since yesterday afternoon's phone call. If we do hear from them again, rest assured that we will let you know.
The subject of today's Biglaw perk post is short and sweet. From a tipster:
Will you do a thread on a private office as a Biglaw perk -- i.e., whether first and/or second year associates have to share an office?
This subject may not be sexy, but it's important. Having an officemate makes it harder for you to gossip on the phone with your friends, or gaze at photos of some random guy's nether regions.
Please discuss when associates at your firm get a private office. And please name the firm and city; comments aren't very useful without this info. Thanks.
(We had some prior discussion of this topic in the comments to this post, but only a handful of firms were mentioned. We can do better, people.)
Each week we highlight an exciting job opportunity available through Lateral Link, ATL's career partner.
Here's the latest listing. No word on whether or not they have a theme song. But for two-fifty large, we think you can live without one.
Position: Counsel
Employer: Multi-Billion Dollar Hedge Fund
Description: Large, prominent hedge fund based in Manhattan seeks a lawyer with 3-5 years of experience to work closely with a senior attorney and new General Counsel. Ideal candidate will have excellent academic credentials and come from a large law firm. Responsibilities include working on private equity deals, PIPE transactions, bond offerings, drafting and negotiating various agreements including subscription documents, organizational documents, vendor contracts, etc. Will interface extensively with senior management and outside counsel. Extremely collegial environment and varied and interesting work.
Compensation: Pay is $250,000 - $300,000 with bonus.
Law firm mergers have transformed the Biglaw landscape over the past decade. Several of the five firms in our latest open thread on Vault 100 firms have been involved in merger mania.
Pillsbury Winthrop is the product of Pillsbury Madison & Sutro (San Francisco), Winthrop Stimson Putnam & Roberts (New York), and Shaw Pittman (Washington). Goodwin Procter swallowed up Shea & Gardner, just as Cooley gobbled up Kronish Lieb.
Please exchange information and opinion about these five firms in the comments. Thanks.
* Man, Paris got screwed; 1 day in jail for Lohan in plea deal. [CNN]
* It does seem anecdotally that more lawyers are making juries. I was not chosen my only time summoned as an attorney; it probably didn't help that I was working for another judge in the same courthouse at the time. [WSJ Law Blog]
We're deep into the lazy days of August -- and today is Friday. So of course there's news of a high-profile resignation from the Department of Justice.
The head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division announced Thursday that he was resigning, the latest in a long string of departures from the department in the midst of a furor over the leadership of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.
The department said that the resignation of the official, Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim, had nothing to do with the recent controversies over Mr. Gonzales’s performance, and that Mr. Kim had been planning his departure for months.
We can confirm that. Kim's resignation, effective at the end of this month, does not come as a surprise to DOJ insiders. Recall what we wrote in these pages almost two months ago:
Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim, who oversees the Justice Department's important (and controversial) Civil Rights Division, will step down from his post before the end of the year. He was sworn in as AAG in November 2005, so by this fall he will have held the job for two years -- a long-enough stint in that position.
So stick with us, kids. We bring you the legal news as -- and sometimes even before -- it happens.
(Another DOJ departure: Bradley J. Schlozman, who preceded Kim in heading the CRD (on an acting basis). We hear that Schlozman won't exactly be missed, even by fellow conservatives at Main Justice.)
Sadly, the music-loving law firm of Nixon Peabody is not on this afternoon's list of five Vault 100 firms to talk about. And don't hold your breath -- we won't reach NP until we hit the 70's.
We note the presence of Cahill Gordon on this list. Even though Cahill routinely lands near the top of the profits per partner rankings of the American Lawyer -- in 2006, they were #6, with PPP of $2.575 million -- the firm's prestige seems to lag behind its profits. Any thoughts on why?
Please chatter away about these five firms in the comments. Thanks.
We've been in touch with representatives of the Nixon Peabody law firm about the musical composition that we posted (mp3) and wrote about this morning. First they sent us a statement by email:
"This song was put together in celebration of Nixon Peabody's Fortune100 'Best Places to Work' recognition. Nixon Peabody aims to be the best law firm to work with and the best law firm to work for. Fun is not prohibited here."
Fair enough. But then we spoke with two firm spokespersons by telephone. They called us.
It wasn't a very "[f]un" conversation. They weren't happy campers. Even if they may be winners, since "everyone's a winner at Nixon Peabody."
They emphasized that the song was internal to the firm and is protected by copyright. They also insisted that it is NOT a "theme song" -- in any way, shape or form.
They demanded to know who sent the song to us. We informed them that we don't reveal our sources, unless served with a subpoena (and maybe not even then -- a Judy Miller-style jail stint might be good publicity for ATL).
They asserted copyright over the song and asked us to take it down, from our site and from YouTube. We stated our view that posting and commenting on the song constitutes fair use. It also falls within our newsgathering mission as a media organization.
We explained that our site is all about law firms and the legal profession. They said: "We know what you're about."
They claimed the person who leaked this song is "in a fight" with Nixon Peabody, and menacingly stated that they (meaning NP) "don't intend to let this thing lie." We informed them that we have no desire to get involved in the firm's purported dispute with this unnamed individual. And that's where we left things.
Our posts on the perks or fringe benefits of law firm life continue to generate interest and good comments. Here is today's topic:
Why don't you guys do an open thread on working abroad? I know of several firms that send their associates for some period of time to work [overseas].
For example, Allen & Overy has a program in which they send their senior associates to London to work for something around six months. A friend of mind who worked for Shearman went to Asia, and some others from Baker McKenzie have been sent to other offices around the world.
One advantage of working abroad: a generous cost-of-living allowance. Last month, Cravath raised its London COLA:
Cravath Swaine & Moore has raised the cost of its living allowance (Cola) for London office associates from $85,000 (£41,000) to $110,000 (£53,000), The Lawyer can reveal. The 30 per cent hike at the elite firm takes remuneration for the most junior lawyers in Cravath's City office to potentially in excess of £150,000.
At current exchange rates, that works out to a starting salary of $300,000. Not bad. And a Cravath source tells us that the firm is eager for people to head over there: "[T]hey are super busy and trying to get more people to go and stay longer.... [T]hree hundred grand is a lot of dough, no matter how expensive London is!"
Your thoughts on overseas Biglaw gigs are welcome, in the comments.
As we have previously bitterly lamentedobserved, sometimes it seems like all the blessings of life are reserved for Supreme Court clerks. And they include not just $250,000 signing bonuses and top-shelf legal jobs, but luxury real estate, too.
New York is a city of poshly-housed public servants.
The mayor owns two mansions in the East 70’s; the governor goes rent-free in a terraced Fifth Avenue apartment (it’s owned by his dad); development chief Robert Lieber has a new $7.25 million condo at Trump International; and even Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is in the Beresford.
Now Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has bonus space on Park Avenue. He and his wife Nicole Seligman, a Sony executive vice president (and an ex-lawyer for both Oliver North and Bill Clinton) have paid $1.7 million for their second apartment at 95-year-old 565 Park Avenue.
Yes, that's right -- their second apartment in this venerable building. The couple already own the unit directly above their new acquisition. Hello, duplex!
(C'mon, get real: Did you really expect Klein and Seligman to slum it in a sub-$2 million apartment? As people have observed countless times in these pages, $2 million doesn't buy you much in NYC.)
We're surprised that the firms in this latest group of Vault 100 law firms aren't ranked more highly. Some of them are quite profitable (Dechert),* prestigious (Munger), or high-profile (Boies Schiller, home of legendary litigator David Boies).
But who are we to argue? For communal discussion, here is this morning's batch of Biglaws:
Please trade thoughts on these firms in the comments. Thanks.
* Dechert's 2006 profits per partner clocked in at just under $2 million. But it should be noted that the firm has multiple partnership tiers and only 169 equity partners (out of 898 lawyers).
The horror! The horror! Multiple sources have forwarded us the MP3 of the frightening Nixon Peabody "theme song," which is now making the rounds by email.
We didn't receive it directly from a source at the firm, so it's theoretically possible that it's fake. We have contacted Nixon Peabody for comment and will let you know if and when we hear back from them. But in the meantime, we're inclined to agree with this tipster:
"I wanted to believe it wasn't real, but it's so professional. Hard to believe that this wasn't the product of a misguided recruiting effort and wasted bonus dollars."
Update (12:05 PM): We've been in touch with a Nixon Peabody spokesperson about the song (which is real). We'll be posting a statement from the firm shortly.
On the musical merits, the song itself is just as horrific as the idea of a law firm theme song. Yes, we miss the eighties, but not this much. The lyrics include such gems as "Everyone's a winner at Nixon Peabody" (the chorus) and "It's all about the team, it's all about respect, it all revolves around integri-tee yeah."
Check it out for yourself below. But we're warning you: even though the Nixon Peabody anthem is dreadful, it's as catchy as HPV. If that "everyone's a winner" chorus gets stuck in your head for the rest of today, don't blame us.
But if you're a plaintiff's lawyer who wants to file a class action against Nixon Peabody, on behalf of all listeners who do get earworm from this song, please include us in the plaintiff class. Thank you.
(The reason the screen says "Digital Media Converter Trial Version -- Please Download" is because we converted the mp3 file to video using a free trial of this file conversion program.)
Update / Correction (2:55 PM): This song is NOT a "theme song." It was prepared for internal use only, and it was sent to us without the firm's prior knowledge or consent. The firm objects to all non-internal use of the song. More details here.
Further Update: The YouTube link below is now dead, but you can access the MP3 by clicking here. Or better yet, check out this awesome video.
A Milwaukee woman who became verbally abusive to jury management staff and walked out of the Milwaukee County Courthouse without serving her jury duty time has been charged with violating a seldom-used state law.
According to a complaint, Zandra Rodgers, 40, was initially summoned to jury service in November 2006. She postponed the service four times before she showed up May 21.
According to a statement of Milwaukee County sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey Paape, he was summoned to the jury room to deal with a "disgruntled juror." According to Paape, Rodgers was loud and profane, prompting him to ask her to step into the hallway to discuss her issues privately. She declined to discuss the matter and left the courthouse, according to the complaint....
Clerk of Courts John Barrett said most people realize the importance of jury duty, referred to in state law as the "most cherished constitutional right."
Jury duty might then also qualify as the "most eagerly relinquished constitutional right."
(Don't get us wrong -- we'd love to serve on a jury (and came thisclose to doing so). But most people view jury duty as a hassle and a burden.)
* Barry Ostrager of Simpson Thacher bills out at $1,000 an hour? Well, just keep him away from your bathroom. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Eager to soak the rich (hedge fund kings)? Good luck with that. [DealBreaker]
* Remember the wacky Stephen Dunne, who blames the gays for his bar failure? Not being admitted may be the least of his problems. [Keeping Up With Jonas]
* A funny parody? Or a disturbingly accurate account of how the law review submission process works? [Concurring Opinions]
* Truth in advertising? This was probably well-intentioned, but ultimately unwise. [copyranter]
As we previously mentioned, and as Lawrence Hurley of the Daily Journal reports here, Congress is considering a proposal that would raise federal judges' salaries by a significant margin. Here's what the new scale would look like (with current salaries indicated parenthetically):
District Court Judges: $247,800 (up from $165,200) Court of Appeals Judges: $262,700 ($175,100) Associate Justices of the Supreme Court: $304,500 ($203,000) Chief Justice of the United States: $318,200 ($212,100)
This proposal would cost millions in taxpayer dollars. So we have a better solution to the problem of federal judicial pay, which Chief Justice John Roberts has dubbed a "constitutional crisis."
Here's our brilliant idea: Require all federal judges to marry rich!
Don't you just love couples in which one spouse is a judge, with all the power and prestige of judicial office, and the other spouse is rolling in dough? Off the top of our head, we can name a number of federal judges who have married well -- or at least wealthy. (Like Judge Kimba Wood, above right, with her well-heeled hubby, Frank Richardson.)
We list some judges who have married into money, and we invite additional examples from you, after the jump.
We understand there are various websites -- websites that we won't mention by name or link to here -- in which people seeking hook-ups or other sexual encounters can meet similarly minded individuals. Site visitors typically post pictures or images of certain body parts, in order to entice other visitors into arranging an encounter.
Anyway, by clicking on the box below, you can see a funny photograph that was posted on one such site. We're inferring that the individual depicted is (1) horny and (2) a law student (maybe even a law review editor).
Please note that this image is NOT completely safe for work. Although it probably won't set off automated porn filters, since it's not a link to a pornography site, you do NOT want your co-workers to be around when you access it. Be sure to do so in the privacy of your own office. If you're in a cubicle, wait until nobody else is around.
Also, please note that this image was sent to us by a reader. We did NOT find it on our own, and we do NOT visit the website from which it was taken. Thank you. [FN1]
[FN1] Yes, we fully expect this to be received with skepticism by the peanut gallery of commenters. That's okay; serving as a piñata for anonymous commenters is part of our job description.
Update: In response to this comment, yes, the usual rules apply: please don't identify this individual in the comments (if, for some disturbing reason, you actually recognize him).
We're pressing on with our series of open threads on Vault 100 law firms. We know that some of you are eager to discuss firms ranked in the 70's, and we don't want to disappoint you.
"Lateral Link provides free access to the Vault firm information/career guides. Readers can get free access to the full information on our site as part of our career center."
Without further ado, here are the five firms for this afternoon (in Vault 100 order, prestige scores in parentheses):
"It's a bit grim, but since it's a slow news day, perhaps you can use this story about a man who apparently murdered his wife, after he failed the Texas bar 4 times. As noted in the article, the alleged perpetrator had lobbied the Texas Supreme Court to lift the rule that limited law graduates to five attempts to pass the bar exam."
You can say whatever you like about her, but Paulina Bandy handled her thirteen bar exam failures in a much more healthy manner.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 12:45 PM - By David Lat
A few weeks ago, we were getting bombarded with rumors of supposedly imminent New York pay raises. Davis Polk to $180K! Simpson Thacher to $190K! The gossip was runningrampant.
But in the last two weeks or so, with all of the turmoil in the stock market and tightening in the credit market, pay raise rumors have died. And now we're hearing very different things. Like this:
[Y]ou are missing one of the bigger stories of the past week or two: to a large degree, the corporate departments of many of the major NY law firms have basically come to a halt. Plenty of people have nothing to do - at all.
At my firm, in the top 5 of the Am Law 100 rankings, things have gotten really slow. So far, few think it will be a long term problem, but people are beginning to wonder.
Why is this so big? If the corporate departments of these firms go downhill, everybody can kiss their pay raise to $190,000 goodbye. Will we go from 190 rumors to lay-off rumors?
That, dear friends, is the $160,000 question. More after the jump.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 11:30 AM - By David Lat
Multiple readers sent us this article, from Bloomberg News:
Bruce Masterson, chief operating officer of Socrates Media LLC, asked his outside counsel to customize a residential lease for all 50 U.S. states in 2003. The firm's estimate: about $400,000. He rejected that price tag and hired QuisLex, in Hyderabad, India, which did it for $45,000.
``It was good quality,'' said Masterson, whose Chicago-based company publishes legal forms on the Internet. ``We've been working together ever since.''
Clients are pushing law firms like Jones Day and Kirkland & Ellis to send basic legal tasks to India, where lawyers tag documents and investigate takeover targets for as little as $20 an hour. The firms are reacting to a trend that will move about 50,000 U.S. legal jobs overseas by 2015, according to Boston- based Forrester Research Inc.
Biglaw partners may soon be telling associates: "If you don't think $160,000 is enough to review documents for 2200 hours a year, fine. We'll just ship your job off to India, where 'Biff' and 'Jenny' will be happy to be document drones -- for under $9,000 a year. And if I have a problem with my laptop, they can help me with that too!"
You'll note that one of these firms is Linklaters, which we recently wrote about. We reprint two emails from Linklaters sources, taking issue with our prior coverage, after the jump.
Q. If it's natural to rest in the afternoon, why don't more companies tolerate napping?
A. A few companies do offer nap rooms as a perk. And in some businesses where safety is paramount, some companies have seen the wisdom of permitting naps, Dr. Turek said.
Does anyone know of a law firm with a "nap room"? When we worked at a firm and got tired, after pulling an all-nighter or something close to one, sometimes we'd close our office door and take a brief nap in our chair. When we were stuck in the office all night, and waiting for something from Word Processing or Duplicating, we'd nap on our office floor (which was carpeted, thankfully).
But there has to be a better way. If medical residents who are on-call get nap rooms, why can't Biglaw lawyers?
We've now covered over a third of the Vault 100 law firms in open threads. But that means we still have two-thirds to go (assuming we follow through to the end).
The next five firms are colorful. They include one firm that was featured in the Transformers movie, and another that used to employ a high-priced escort.
For your consideration (in Vault 100 order, prestige scores in parentheses):
Sadly, we'll probably never learn whether former Clifford Chance partner Michael Bryceland was asked to "bend over" (a la Aaron Charney). Unlike Sullivan & Cromwell, CC settled the case quietly, for an undisclosed amount.
Of course, if you have any details, please feel free to send them to us by email (subject line: "Clifford Chance"). Thanks.
Last week we described the Honorable Marian Shelton, of Bronx Family Court, as "a true judicial diva." Here's more about her, from the New York Post:
A Bronx judge had a court clerk's wife handcuffed and tossed in a cell for contempt - because she whispered "a**hole" after her husband was kept late at work, a state panel has charged.
Family Court Judge Marian Shelton screamed at the woman, "He'll leave when he's finished his work, not when you tell him!" before ordering court officers to take her to a holding cell for the weekend....
Pretty awesome. Should we be surprised to learn that Judge Shelton's wedding was presided over by another colorful and cantankerous New Yorker, then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani?
Interesting enough, Judge Shelton is being eyed for elevation -- but not to an appellate court. Details after the jump.
Can you wear white after Labor Day? Or drink a gin and tonic? Or tell a summer associate story?
August is almost over, and our series of SA stories is winding to a close. If you have an anecdote to share, please review our submission guidelines, and then email us.
1. Superhero name: Loose Lips
2. Special power(s): Ability to broadcast his sexual misadventures from coast to coast -- in the pre-internet age.
3. Summered: A Los Angeles Biglaw firm, summer 1988. (As we've said before, we're happy to post old stories; this is a "greatest hits" compilation.)
4. Claim to fame: From our tipster:
"Two summers from top-10 east coast schools, one female, one male, were working at the main office of an LA Biglaw firm. The firm had just installed an elaborate door-locking system. When the office door was locked, a red 'Do Not Disturb' light appeared outside the office. An unlocked office, door closed or open, had a green light."
"Late in the day, after the support staff had left, these two associates slipped into the office of one of them. (They had private or semi-private offices.) After they closed (but didn't lock) the door, the female associate began pleasuring the male associate."
"A senior associate, seeing the green light, walked into the office -- and got an eyeful."
Learn the fate of our star-crossed lovers hook-up participants, after the jump.
We alluded to this briefly last week (item #3). But since a number of you have emailed us about it, let's take a second look.
Judge John Plough, of Portage County, Ohio, is our hands-down Judge of the Day. From the Law & Justice Unit of ABC News:
Portage County Judge John Plough had assistant public defender Brian Jones arrested for contempt of court last week after Jones refused to begin a misdemeanor assault trial because he said he was unprepared. Jones was assigned to the case one day earlier....
Plough's ruling prompted an outcry from defense lawyers, both in Ohio and across the country. Carmen Hernandez, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said in a statement that defense lawyers have an ethical obligation not to start trial if they are not prepared.
"Asking a lawyer to go to trial without preparation is like asking a doctor to perform surgery before diagnosing the patient," she said.
Well, look on the bright side. At least the defendant's speedy trial right is being vindicated!
We think this latest Vault 100 law firm thread will be a good one. Here are the five firms now on the table for discussion (in Vault 100 order, with prestige scores in parentheses):
We expect (formerly bedbug-infested) Cadwalader to generate a fair amount of discussion, since we hear associate morale over there ain't so hot. Consider this comment, from the morning's open thread on happy hours:
At my anonymous law firm they pour water in a trough and hang a feed bag in a conference room daily, they then ring a bell and let us know we have 2 minutes to eat and drink before we must get back to work ... Man, I love working at Cadwalader... Oops.
And we also expect interesting stuff about Mayer Brown. From a tipster:
Would you consider running a piece on the troubles at Mayer Brown? You've already reported on their partners being fired/leaving, the Refcomess, and their unhappy associates. I think some open speculation on where their firm is going would be very enjoyable at this point.
Since the tireless Howard Bashman is in transit, we'll temporarily assume his role as super-timely provider of appellate litigation news.
This just in: A divided Seventh Circuit panel has affirmed the criminal convictions of former Illinois Governor George H. Ryan and his associate, Lawrence Warner. The majority opinion is by Judge Diane Wood (who is a judicial hottie); the dissent is by Judge Michael Kanne (who is reportedly not fat).
This is especially bad news for Winston & Strawn. As some of you may recall, the firm reportedly blew $20 million on defending Governor Ryan, on a pro bono basis.
Many of the hours that Biglaw attorneys are familiar with are of the billable (and unhappy) variety. But some firms try to make up for the misery by plying their employees with alcohol. Welcome to the latest perk to be discussed in these pages: happy hours. [FN1]
A few questions, from an associate-to-be:
This fall I'll be starting at a firm that advertises the fact that it has regular happy hours. Do these things actually occur? Does anyone go to them? Will I look like a boring schmo if I don't attend?
We know of a number of firms that have happy hours (although we're missing some of the specifics). For example, Cahill Gordon in New York is said to have monthly happy hours. Here in Washington, DC, Kirkland & Ellis has happy hours at Old Ebbitt Grill. At least during the summer, Arnold & Porter has a weekly happy hour each Friday, on the premises -- they have an on-site bar set up in one of their conference or reception rooms.
Does your firm sponsor a "happy hour"-type gathering? Will this associate "look like a boring schmo" if he skips out on them? Please opine in the comments.
[FN1] We previously had an open thread about firm retreats and "other company-sponsored social events," but in the ensuing discussion, only one comment mentioned happy hours.
It's fall recruiting season, and rumors are flying about every law firm under the sun. Here's something from the ATL mailbag about Linklaters:
I'm going through [the on-campus interview program at my law school] and each day I kept hearing the same thing. Apparently Linklaters's summer associates had such a terrible time the last few months that many of them have not yet accepted their offers.
Despite the salary, they are going through EIW hoping to get hired by someone else, because they
hated being at Link. Can you confirm this?
We hadn't heard about this. We do know that morale in the Stockholm office of Linklaters is pretty high (in an "I'll have what he's having" kind of way).
Anyway, we contacted the firm for comment. Josh Berick, Co-Hiring Partner in New York, had this to say:
In 2007, Linklaters had its largest and strongest summer associate class ever. The firm is thriving, and many of our summer associates have been able to work on some of the largest cross-border transactions of the year.
It is anticipated that all of our summer associates will receive offers to join us, once the program is concluded. Linklaters traditionally has had a very high acceptance rate, and we are confident that the vast majority of our 2007 summer associates will accept their offers.
As always, we welcome any tips by email (subject line: "Linklaters"). Thanks.
Over on AutoAdmit (via Concurring Opinions), folks have been talking about Wikiscanner. This neat application allows you to see recent edits to Wikipedia and who made them, in terms of the editor's IP address (which often reveals their employer).
As Professor Dave Hoffman notes at Concurring Opinions, law firm lawyers seem to love playing with Wikipedia. A tipster is more specific:
Apparently members of Vault 15 law firms have been making, umm, questionable edits to wikipedia. For example:
-- Vandalizing Ann Coulter's page -- Shameless self-promotion -- Editing articles on BDSM (WTF?) -- Hiding links to Skull and Bones -- Taking shots at Noam Chomsky -- Taking shots at other firms
Eric Turkewitz, over at the NY Personal Injury Law Blog, zeroes in on edits made from computers at Wachtell Lipton (where we once worked). He accuses the firm of "duplicity," since someone at WLRK is making (flattering) edits to the firm's page, even though the firm claims it doesn't engage in advertising or marketing.
But what if the edits were made not by Wachtell firm management, but by a mere associate? Would that be as problematic? Should Wachtell, or any other law firm, prohibit firm employees from touching up firm write-ups in Wikipedia (at least from law firm computers)?
With respect to the Wachtell Wikipedia edits, we have some interesting speculation. Check it out, after the jump.
The lead attorney for pro football star Michael Vick said Monday that the Atlanta Falcons quarterback will plead guilty to dogfighting and related charges and will "accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made."
Billy Martin, heading up Vick's legal team, issued the following statement:
"After consulting with his family over the weekend. Michael Vick ask that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with Federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him. Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of Guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologizes again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."
Especially all the poor pooches, God rest their doggie souls.
But wait -- are we sure about this?
The statement apparently took federal officials by surprise.
Jim Rybicki, a spokesman for U.S. States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg, said he had not heard of an agreement in the Vick case, and that he was trying to reach prosecutors.
We'll keep you posted.
Update: This looks solid; CNN has this report. Apparently a status conference is taking place this afternoon.
In Lawyerly Lairs, the ATL feature that takes you inside the luxurious homes of legal luminaries, we focus a lot on New York City. We've previously peeked inside the residences of Schulte partner Rick Presutti, ex-S&C associate Aaron Charney, Cravath partner John Beerbower, Columbia law profs Hans Smit and Sarah Cleveland, and lawyer-turned-TV-personality Greta Van Susteren (to name a few).
Our obsession with Gotham isn't surprising, since NYC is one of the nation's biggest and most expensive legal markets. But today, to mix it up a bit, we take you down south, to another town where real estate is an obsession: MIAMI.
Miami real estate has taken a tumble lately. But that hasn't stopped one top lawyer from wheeling and dealing. From the Daily Business Review:
A prominent attorney has sold one waterfront estate and bought another along the Venetian Causeway linking Miami and Miami Beach.
Dale Hightower, founder and managing partner of Hightower & Partners, and his wife, Anna, sold their San Marino Island property on Biscayne Bay for $6.9 million.
El Popular publisher Marco Laureti and his wife, Giovanna, bought the 5,982-square-foot bayfront Mediterranean-style estate at 205 E. San Marino Drive (at right).
As you may recall, earlier this year there were rumors about there not being enough work to go around in the San Francisco office of Bingham McCutchen. Some of these rumors were prompted by the firm offering buyouts to some associates.
The rumors of slowness are starting to resurface:
I am a 2L at [a top ten law school], and we are mid-EIP. Early this summer I bid for Bingham's San Francisco office, only to receive an email after bidding closed that they would not be coming to EIP and my bid was cancelled.
I just spoke to a friend who bid for their DC office and received an interview. She got an email (last week I believe) saying Bingham DC would not be attending either, and her interview was cancelled.
What's up? Sinking ship? Not enough work?
Not so, according to firm spokesperson Claire Papanastasiou:
We carefully assess our hiring needs and annually review our OCI approach to maintain a balance of entry-level attorneys in all of our offices. Class sizes change from year-to-year, and we adjust our on-campus schedules accordingly.
For example, in San Francisco and D.C., we had a higher-than-anticipated acceptance rate for this past summer. To maintain the appropriate balance of entry-level lawyers in those offices, we've adjusted next summer's class size.
If you have more light to shed on the situation, please feel free to email us (subject line: "Bingham McCutchen").
Update: Remember the Fried Frank policy on entering one's billable time? Bingham is also anxious about time entry (even if their policy is more forgiving). Memo after the jump (or click here).
Although the pace seems to be slowing, our open threads on Vault 100 firms continue to generate a decent quantity (and quality) of comments. So we'll press on, for the benefit of those of you who are now in the throes of the law firm application process.
Please pose questions about and share insights into these five law firms (in Vault 100 order, with prestige scores in parentheses):
16. Williams & Connolly LLP (7.234) 17. Sidley Austin LLP (7.232) 18. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (7.158) 19. O'Melveny & Myers LLP (7.105) 20. White & Case LLP (7.092)
It's easy if you try.
No billable minimum below us.
Above us only sky (high bonuses).
The billable hour has its critics. See, e.g., this great piece by Scott Turow. Alternatives to the billable hour are slowly emerging. But nobody seems to think it's going away anytime soon.
If you're a first-year associate at Ford & Harrison, however, the billable hour is already history for you. From the National Law Journal (via WSJ Law Blog):
Ford & Harrison, a 190-attorney labor and employment firm, has tossed out billable-hour requirements for first-year associates. The program aims to close the practical-skills gap of law school education and increase value to clients. The firm also hopes it will enable associates to handle meatier matters more quickly.
Overall, Ford & Harrison's leaders expect the new program to help retain beginning lawyers and appease clients.
"Everyone sits around and complains about the problems," said C. Lash Harrison, managing partner of the law firm. "I figured, what the heck, maybe we can try something."
To all of you who have been complaining about the clerkship bonus policy of Latham & Watkins, the firm has heard your pleas. And it has taken action. But if you're starting at the firm in 2007, you might not reap the benefits of your whining advocacy.
An LW offeree passed along this information to us:
Beginning in 2008, L & W will award on year of partnership progression credit plus $50,000 to clerks at federal court, the highest court in any state and the District of Columbia, and Delaware Chancery Courts. The firm will pay $70,000 to attorneys who clerk for more than one year in eligible clerkships.
We contacted a firm spokesman for confirmation. His comments appear after the jump.
Update: Also after the jump, for those of you who are curious: Latham & Watkins's Policies, Benefits & Compensation for US-Based Associates.
[Ed. note: This is basically a repost of a prior posting. But the deadline has been extended until 5 p.m. today, so if you missed out last week, here's your chance.]
As some of you already know, Above the Law offers a daily newsletter, via email. We encourage you to subscribe.
You can sign up by entering your email address in the "Daily Newsletter" box, which appears in the grey box on the lefthand column of ATL, and clicking "Subscribe." In case you're wondering, we won't sell your email address to a third party, spam you, etc.; it's just the newsletter.
As a special thanks, if you subscribe today (before 5 p.m. Eastern time), you'll receive a promotional code that's good for a free month of Sunday Silver. In case you're not familiar with it, Sunday provides you with the services of a personal assistant -- which we think the overworked Biglaw lawyers among you will appreciate.
More details about the service, including the fine print for this offer, after the jump.
Some of you have been asking for updates on Shanetta Cutlar, the high-powered Department of Justice lawyer who has generated some colorful stories in the past. If you're not familiar with her, click here, and browse through the archives.
We don't have anything terribly new to report on her. We hear that she has been on her "best behavior" ever since we started writing about her.
But since this is ATL Wayback Weekend, we're happy to pass along something from back in June, which we never got around to writing up back then. A reader drew our attention to this Washington Post Career Track live web chat:
Washington, D.C.: I am a young attorney for the federal government. I loathe my current position because of a very moody and difficult supervisor (the situation is so horrible that half of my office is currently looking for new employment). I am desperate to leave this position, I am extremely stressed because of the work environment created by this supervisor. I have applied for 11 other federal positions.
While I wait to (hopefully) hear about one of those positions, can you recommend any other possible job search options? I really want to leave this position as soon as possible and I've only worked for the federal government (two years since law school).
Hmm... We wonder who this person's boss might be. Any suggestions?
We briefly mentioned that Carol Lam, one of the controversial U.S. Attorney firing victims, is now the interim general counsel of Qualcomm. If you'd like to know about the scandal that caused her predecessor, Lou Lupin, to resign, check out the WSJ Law Blog:
It’s something no lawyer wants to get — a ruling from a federal magistrate saying, essentially: “come on down to court and explain to us why you don’t think you should be sanctioned for your behavior.” But that’s what lawyers at Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder, based in Cupertino, Calif., received earlier this week from San Diego federal magistrate Barbara Major.
The ruling was essentially a follow-up to a separate ruling made last week by San Diego federal judge Rudi Brewster. Judge Brewster held that wireless giant Qualcomm and its trial counsel, which included lawyers from Day Casebeer, committed “gross litigation misconduct” by withholding crucial evidence in a patent dispute brought by Broadcom. He ordered Qualcomm to pay legal fees to Broadcom, which could amount to $10 million.
Maybe the judge was biased against a firm whose name is a little too close for comfort to "case of beer."
U.S. District Judge Adrian Duplantier, who as a lawyer, lawmaker and jurist was a force in New Orleans life for more than a half-century, died Wednesday of cancer at Ochsner Medical Center. He was 78....
A lifelong New Orleanian who graduated from Jesuit High School and Loyola University's law school, Judge Duplantier was a Civil District Court clerk, the first assistant to District Attorney Leon Hubert, a state senator and a Civil District Court judge. In 1978, President Carter appointed him to the federal district bench.
Okay, different Loyola -- Loyola in New Orleans. But the point remains that you don't need to attend a top ten law school to have a successful legal career.
Judge Duplantier had a robust sense of humor:
In 1981, he conducted a trial involving ownership of "Mr. Bill," the clay figure who yelled, "Oh, nooooo!" on "Saturday Night Live" as one calamity after another, usually involving loss of limbs at the hands of the evil Mr. Sluggo, befell him.
A settlement was reached. When Judge Duplantier appeared in court, he wore a "Judge Sluggo" name tag, and he sliced up a version of Mr. Bill, tossing bits to people who had claimed authorship. The courtroom was filled with cries of "Oh, nooooo!"
Judge Duplantier never stopped smiling, even when he was battling cancer, Berrigan said. "He considered himself blessed. He had a wonderful life."
Update: Ernie Svenson, who clerked for Judge Duplantier, has some personal reflections on the judge over here.
After we wrote about Aaron Charney flipping his condo for a tidy profit, a reader emailed us:
Do some research on Noble Black, Charney's agent at Corcoran. I remember reading an article several years ago where he left a New York Biglaw firm to go into residential real estate because the money just wasn't good enough.
I wonder what the connection was to Charney that Charney hired him. Maybe Noble and Aaron dated?
Reader, please keep your fantasies in check. Noble Black may be ridiculously good-looking, and he and Aaron would make a cute couple -- but we have no idea about Noble's sexual orientation. Just because he enjoys "gallery openings," as noted in his Corcoran bio, doesn't make him gay.
But this reader was correct about the article. We unearthed the February 2005 New York Times piece, entitled Six Figures? Not Enough! Those of you feeling poor on $160,000 a year may be able to identify with the plight of Noble Black, as well as the others quoted in the article.
We tend not to write much over the weekend -- usually just a post here or there. But this weekend we'll try something new.
Some radio stations have what they call "wayback weekends," during which they play music from past decades. We're going to borrow this idea and declare today and tomorrow to be ATL's own Way Back Weekend.
What does this entail? We're going to write about items that are no longer timely -- things that we meant to write about at an earlier time, but somehow never got around to. As it turns out, there are many such items. Lately we haven't been able to keep up with all the news that's been breaking and all the tips that you've been sending in (for which we thank you).
Some of these posts are going to be short, even cryptic -- in the manner of Instapundit. The main purpose of this is to clear the backlog in our email account a little, and to clear our conscience. We hate the feeling of falling behind (even though we always are playing catch-up).
So here goes. If you don't like reading about things that happened a while ago, just skip these posts. It's the weekend, and the weather is glorious (at least on the East Coast). Go out and enjoy it!
(But if you're stuck in the office for some reason, then we'll be here to keep you company, at least for a few hours. Check back soon for more procrastination fodder.)
The person maintaining this Atlanta List of Shame needs to update it. The starting salary in the Atlanta office of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan is now $145,000 (effective January 1, 2008). The firm has also raised first-year salaries to $160,000 in Houston and Washington, DC (effective September 1, 2007).
For more senior associates, things are a little trickier. The firm will be using a "deferred salary" model, a la Vinson & Elkins.
For details, consult the memo, which appears after the jump.
* Ann Althouse is a visiting professor at Brooklyn Law School this year -- and they've put her up in an apartment with some pretty sweet views. (Perhaps she can see 125 Broad Street, home of Sullivan & Cromwell, where she once worked as an associate.) [Althouse]
* Pope Benedict: Tax evasion is sinful (in case you didn't know that already). [TaxProf Blog]
* Judge to public defender: What, you're not ready to go to trial on a case you've had for less than a day? I'm holding you in contempt! [Record-Courier]
* Courtesy of Orin Kerr, pointers for how to talk about the Jose Padilla verdict at the next cocktail party you attend. [Volokh Conspiracy]
Things aren't look so hot for football star Michael Vick right now. See here and here.
Despite the incriminating statements of his co-defendants, Vick still hasn't reached a plea agreement with the government. Rumor has it that there's a split among Vick's lawyers about whether to take a plea deal.
After the jump, we post an analysis from a reader suggesting that, under the applicable Sentencing Guidelines (which are of course advisory post-Booker), Vick shouldn't necessarily serve prison time.
But we suspect that the feds wouldn't allow Vick to get off without some prison time (at least a year). And if Vick doesn't plead guilty to the current indictment, they'll nail him with a superseding indictment that includes RICO charges (which will vastly ramp up his exposure if convicted).
Even if you have a possible justification for doing so -- 'cause it might be illegal. From the ABA Journal:
Proceedings have been delayed in a California misdemeanor case in which the defense is claiming that police brutalized their client with a stun gun during his arrest at a shopping mall last year.
That's because the defense team is now being criminally investigated for allegedly violating human experimentation laws by repeatedly using a stun gun on their client themselves during an evidence-gathering effort in a law office.
Additional details here. Our tipster, a criminal defense lawyer, observes:
"I can't decide which I like better:
(1) imagining those nervous, sweaty-palmed, study-group types from law school, wringing their hands and saying, 'C'mon, guys, we have to be PREPARED! How are we gonna know what he looked like when he was writhing in agony unless we shock him AGAIN?' or
(2) the idea of defense lawyers seizing the opportunity to taser a client -- which we have ALL dreamed of doing."
The subject of today's perk post may not jump to mind as a perk or fringe benefit, but we think it's important and worthy of inclusion here. From a reader:
Please do a “perks” thread on pro bono work. What kind of opportunities are presented? How are the hours counted (if at all), both de jure and de facto?
Speaking for myself, it’s the main thing that makes White & Case different from other firms. The hours are counted 1:1, without limitation. I am permitted to seek my own pro bono assignments, and function at a very high level on those cases. I have “billed” 200-300 hours to pro bono every year I’ve been here, and received no feedback but encouragement (although my “real” hours have always been in the defensible range without consideration of the pro bono).
That's impressive. We had a friend at a top 10 firm who spent hundreds of hours on pro bono work (which got the firm some nice publicity in the New York Times). But at a certain point, she got called in for a talk about how she was spending too high a percentage of her time on pro bono.
Federal prisoner Jonathan Lee Riches, whose "$63,000,000,000.00 Billion dollar" lawsuit against Michael Vick was discussed in these pages last month, has a new celebrity athlete in his sights. From a tipster:
Got to think you've seen this by now: the guy suing Michael Vick for a bazillion dollars or whatever it is now realizes that the real culprit is Barry Bonds. See here.
Question: Where can we file amicus briefs on these?
More description of Riches's latest Complaint, alleging "Fraud Against Mankind" and "Batman and Identity Robbin," from the Smoking Gun:
Riches, who is doing a decade in prison for fraud, is at it again, this time filing a loony -- though quite funny -- complaint again Barry Bonds, baseball commissioner Bud Selig, and Hank Aaron's bat.
In his lawsuit, Riches weaves an intricate conspiracy theory involving television ratings, steroids, the cracking of the Liberty Bell, Colombian narco-terrorists, and secretly recorded conversations for which journalists Robert Novak and Judith Miller have transcripts.
Sounds like the plot to Syriana or Babel. Might Riches -- a/k/a "Secured Party" d/b/a "The White Suge Knight" -- have a future as a Hollywood screenwriter?
As it turns out, Jonathan Lee Riches is an old hand at crazy lawsuits -- a veritable pro at proceeding pro se. More after the jump.
Since our last twothreads on Vault 100 law firms have generated healthy (and generally enlightening) discussion, we'll continue to move on down the list.
Please pose questions about or share insights into these five law firms (in Vault 100 order, with prestige scores in parentheses):
A source at Jones Day has confirmed for us the rumor that the firm's Atlanta office has raised starting salaries to $150,000. Here's more detail:
First years are at $150,000, and senior classes are to be paid commensurate with Jones Day's goals to pay at the top of each market in which it operates. There is also a bonus available starting in 2008, which is allegedly not to be based on hours, but is performance based.
I think it's a nice move in this market. It doesn't necessarily address compression, but I still think I am and will be paid pretty well for a great quality of life, relatively speaking. I've got no complaints.
But we're sure that other Atlanta associates have complaints. You can voice them in the comments.
We fondly remember this episode of 90210: "Brenda gets into a car accident. The woman involved in the accident claims she has whiplash and threatens to sue the Walsh family."
But then, when Brenda visits the woman at home to apologize, she looks through the living room window -- and sees the woman jazzercising in front of her TV!
An appeals court judge was indicted on charges of scamming $440,000 from insurers by claiming he suffered debilitating injuries in a car crash, even while he golfed, skated and went scuba diving, federal prosecutors said....
"The bodily injury he says he sustained we believe was fraudulent," U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said.
According to the indictment, Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Thomas Joyce "received $390,000 from his insurer, Erie Insurance Group, and $50,000 from State Farm Insurance, which insured the other driver." But maybe the insurers should have been a little suspicious:
Prosecutors said Joyce's car was rear-ended at about 5 mph in August 2001, and no police or medical personnel were called.... [Yet] Joyce complained of debilitating injuries, anxiety and difficulty sleeping and claimed they prevented him from pursuing higher judicial office, prosecutors said.
Being indicted on federal fraud charges might "prevent[] him from pursuing higher judicial office," too.
Each week we highlight an exciting job opportunity available through Lateral Link, ATL's career partner.
Company: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. Position: Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs
Responsibilities include:
(1) Review and analyze clearance issues/approvals , including music, for special features, including featurettes, DVD menus, audio commentaries, bloopers, etc.
(2) Negotiate and draft talent approval letters and releases.
(3) Negotiate and draft marketing and promotion agreements.
(4) Negotiate and draft clip licenses and other clearance documents.
(5) Coordinate with internal guild counsel regarding guild requirements/claims.
(6) Provide legal services and advice to creative, marketing, operations and sales clients.
(7) Attend internal department meetings.
(8) Review and advise on promotional materials.
(9) The lawyer will report to the Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs with status reports and on issues or questions.
Ideal candidate will have 3 to 6 years experience in corporate law.
Courtesy of WTOP, we now know more about the close working relationship between the Akin Gump Escort and the D.C. Madam:
"Why did you do this to me? I never did anything to you."
That accusatory two-sentence e-mail from alleged D.C. madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey to an escort she considered her "little sister" and one of her most trusted confidantes came moments after Palfrey realized her assets had been frozen by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
"My first thought because of the timing was that (Jennifer) was working with the government," writes Palfrey, in a series of e-mails to WTOP.
"Jennifer" was the name escort customers knew for a legal secretary at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a prominent D.C. law firm. The woman was fired in May 2007, shortly after revealing to the firm that she had moonlighted for Palfrey's Pamela Martin & Associates between 2002 and 2006.
Fired? She should have been promoted, due to her intimate knowledge of servicing clients.
We were pleasantly surprised by the robust and intelligent discussion in the comments to our earlier open thread, Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 1-5. There were over 100 comments, and many of them were quite informative. So we will press on.
The next five firms up for bids, in Vault 100 order (prestige scores in parentheses):
* Benchslappery, West Virginia style. [Overlawyered]
* A gay TV judge? It's about time. And this guy seems pretty funny (check out the video). [Towleroad]
* Liveblogging the Jose Padilla verdict, by lawyer-blogger Davis Oscar Markus, who was in the courtroom. [Southern District of Florida Blog]
* Law firms are learning this the hard way: representing hedge funds isn't always a bowl of cherries. [New York Law Journal; WSJ Law Blog]
* The Bush Administration is looking for a new U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, to replace Roslynn Mauskopf, nominated to the E.D.N.Y. bench. What's Monica Goodling up to these days? [New York Sun]
Since the lastcoverage of her on ATL, the Energizer-bunny-esque Judge Elizabeth Halverson has been ordered on the inactive list by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal published a story this morning that basically places the final nail in the 425 500 lb jurist’s cavernous coffin career:
District Judge Elizabeth Halverson's former bailiff testified that she fell asleep daily in court and frequently told him to shoot her husband, according to transcripts of a closed-door hearing that were made public Wednesday.
Yes, you read that right: "frequently told him to shoot her husband."
(Dozing off on the bench is no big deal. Some highly regarded judges do it all the time.)
As some of you already know, Above the Law offers a daily newsletter, via email. We encourage you to subscribe.
You can sign up by entering your email address in the "Daily Newsletter" box, which appears in the grey box on the lefthand column of ATL, and clicking "Subscribe." In case you're wondering, we won't sell your email address to a third party, spam you, etc.; it's just the newsletter.
As a special thanks, if you subscribe in the next 24 hours, you'll receive a promotional code that's good for a free month of Sunday Silver. In case you're not familiar with it, Sunday provides you with the services of a personal assistant -- which we think the overworked Biglaw lawyers among you will appreciate.
More details about the service, including the fine print for this offer, after the jump.
Jose Padilla: committed al-Qaida terrorist, or harmless (and not very good) student of Arabic?
After a three month trial, the jury deliberated for a day and a half. Now they've reached a verdict.
We'll bring you the details as soon as we have them. A day and a half isn't very long given the length of the trial. Is that a bad sign for the prosecution or the defense?
Update: A bad sign for the defense: Jose Padilla has beenconvicted of federal terrorism support charges. Next time around, Jose, don't fill out a written application to join the terrorists.
Sure, the divorce proceedings of LeroyGreer won't be pretty.
But hopefully it won't get as ugly as Nancy Tauck v. Peter Tauck. That litigation, which has dragged on for some two years, has earned these dubious distinctions:
-- a new national record for the longest divorce trial ever (some 86 days and counting);
-- $12 million in legal fees and expenses;
-- allegations that the husband molested the kids and downloaded child pornography on his computer; and
-- allegations that the wife made up said allegations about her husband, and planted the kiddie porn on his laptop to incriminate him.
Twelve million in legal bills, for a divorce? Maybe our late grandmother was on to something when she urged us to go into matrimonial law.
The U.S. Supreme Court Coloring and Activity Book. Crayons included!
Here's the product description, from the ABA website:
Have fun and learn about the Supreme Court! It's a coloring book with a surprising educational twist. This 32-page coloring book features expertly rendered illustrations depicting significant Supreme Court Justices of the United States to color in--including all current sitting Justices.
The U.S. Supreme Court Coloring and Activity Book is perfect for the children of lawyers and judges, or for teachers looking for a new resource for Law Day or Constitution Day. Law Firms will want to purchase to book in bulk for their employees--especially for "Take Your Child to Work Day"!
The book also includes Supreme Court related activities and puzzles such as, matching, word-search, and connect-the-dots games for slightly older children. Suitable for all ages, this book is perfect for teachers and young children, law firms and lawyers looking for client or visitor give-aways, and makes a great gift, too!
There are also a number of celebrity testimonials, from stars of the SCOTUS bar. Raves former Solicitor General Ted Olson: "A colorful introduction to a cherished American Institution."
(Note to the ABA's book publicist: Please send us a copy. We'd love to review it for these pages.)
Update: We've been told that our copy is on its way. Thanks, ABA folks!
We think this book sounds cool, and we look forward to reading (and coloring) it. But some of you disagree:
"I don't care how surprisingly educational this is, my kids want to color horses, princesses, and trucks, not pictures of pruney old people. If your child wants this coloring book, you may as well just give the money directly to the playground bully."
"I was hoping that in being 'educational' it would have scenes depicting famous moments in SCOTUS history... a back alley abortion for roe, a segregated set of RR cars for Plessy, and then, of course, a picture of a piece of paper sitting in a drawer for Marbury! Alas, I guess we are just left with pictures that will tell us in fact what Justice Stevens would look like with bubblegum pink hair (don't tell me you haven't always wondered)."
Here's an idea that we liked, from a thoughtful and helpful reader:
I was a big fan of your recruiting threads by city. Same goes for the firm benefits/perks threads. One problem, however, is that people often say what it's like at their firm but fail to mention which firm those perks apply to. I understand the need for confidentiality, but it defeats the purpose of finding out what certain firms are like.
One possible way to remedy this is to do similar posts, but to list just a handful of firms to discuss for that day. Probably the best way would be to go down the Vault 100, since most people consider this gospel. For instance, the first day you could start a thread about the top 5 firms on Vault, to discuss perks, hours, recruiting, firm life, etc.
This way, if someone who posts does not want to discuss which firm they are at, people can still have a general idea [of what firms in that tier are like]. There aren't too many differences between the top 1-5 firms, and same goes for the next five and the next five.
We like this idea, and we like Vault. They publish a great guide to law firms, they advertise on ATL, and they have a shout-out to us in their write-up of Wachtell Lipton (which you can see after the jump).
So we'll give this a try. If the discussion is anemic and/or insipid, then we'll just write it off as a failed experiment. But if the discussion is robust and informative, then we'll keep on going. Here is today's quintet of law firms (with Vault prestige scores indicated parenthetically):
Chehalis, Washington -- The tomcatting of the elected prosecutor in this conservative rural town has jeopardized as many as four cases brought by his office and prompted a complaint to the state bar association.
Liam Michael Golden, a Republican who ran unopposed for Lewis County prosecutor last November, is facing allegations that he did not properly disclose past sexual relationships with the mother of a victim in one case and the mother of a defendant in another. His office also charged someone with cyberstalking a woman Golden had slept with, though Golden recently turned that case over to a prosecutor from neighboring Thurston County.
Maybe Golden should start looking for dates in "neighboring Thurston county." It's tough being a lothario if you're the top prosecutor in a small town.
"Mike's got a lot of explaining to do," said Mark Anders, chairman of the county Republican Party. "I have some heartburn about him having affairs here, there and yonder, just from a personal moral standpoint. But in this post-Clintonian era, your personal life is your personal life, and you have to ask, 'Well, was it legal? Was it ethical?'"
The individual who ran this Google search presumably isn't at Sidley Austin. Because if he were, he wouldn't have gotten fleeced on his massage. From a tipster:
Sidley is now going to have chair massages every Friday. They come by on Fridays for 5 hours; you have to make an appointment.
While it's not free, $1/minute isn't a bad price at all. I can see myself having a regular 20 minute massage to end my week.
We agree. A dollar a minute, or $60 an hour -- not that you'd have a 60-minute chair massage, it's just for purposes of comparison -- is much cheaper than what you'd pay at a halfway decent day spa.
A dollar a minute is also less expensive than calling a 900 number (which Cravath lawyers are known to do). But then again, the Sidley chair massages probably don't include happy endings.
Does your firm offer massages or other forms of stress relief? Please discuss, in the comments.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 10:30 PM - By David Lat
There has been some discussion already, but here's a dedicated thread for a topic that there's no shortage of opinions on: Rutgers basketball player Kia Vaughn's defamationlawsuit against radio host Don Imus.
Thus far, reactions seem to be similar. From our tipster:
It seems like a likely loser, because I don't see a false statement of fact. I don't think anyone really believes Imus was trying to impute unchastity to the Rutgers basketball team (i.e., calling them prostitutes); rather, he was making a really inappropriate and racist joke, and everyone understood it as such.
Nevertheless, although it's a legal loser, I predict Imus will settle as a gesture of goodwill. Perhaps a scholarship will be set up.
It's hard not to be distracted by Imus's large pile of money. Would it kill him to share? But I'd hate to think one could win defamation suits on a theory like this.
Imus's comments might have been nasty and uncalled for, but calling someone a 'nappy headed ho' is not defamatory unless it is interpreted as an actual accusation that the person is a prostitute.
Fine, the claim based on "ho" may be a no-go. But what about the allegation of nappy-headedness? As one commenter notes: "[A]ll of the women on the Rutgers team had straightened hair."
Good point. And to some people -- e.g., Glamour editors -- alleging that someone has nappy hair is defamatory per se.
In case you're wondering what happened to the litigation support guy at Quinn Emanuel, who sent around an office-wide email reprimanding an associate for allegedly rude treatment, here's an update:
The lit support guy got his walking papers almost immediately. The litigation associate to whom he directed the email was baffled by the entire event.
Apparently, he just told the guy that there was a mistake and that it needed to be fixed ASAP. Knowing this associate pretty well, I say it's pretty inconceivable that he would treat someone like a "dog," or even unprofessionally.
So maybe the associate didn't do anything wrong, and the litigation support guy was just a bit unhinged -- a beleaguered support staff member, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Cf.The Patton Boggs librarian.
Since the litigation support guy got fired over his email, we hope he derived a lot of satisfaction from sending it.
Zina and John -- currently public servants in the chambers of Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Antonin Scalia, respectively -- finished 16.7 percentage points ahead of the surprising second-place winners, the non-SCOTUS team of Jennifer DeLeonardo and Adam Frey.
First, it's the right thing to do. Second, if you're mean or rude to support staff members, they might start talking trash about you behind your back -- not good for your reputation at the firm. They might also handle your projects with less care or speed in the future.
If you REALLY piss them off, they might tell you off directly. And cc everyone at the firm, just to make you look like a total d-bag (even if you're generally known as a nice guy among your colleagues).
The following email was sent out this morning by a litigation support team member at Quinn Emanuel to a litigation associate. Copied on the message were (1) the entire New York office and (2) litigation support firm-wide.
From: [Litigation Support Guy] To: [Litigation Associate] Cc: [New York Office]; [All Litigation Support] Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:15:46 -0700 Subject: Respect
[Litigation Associate],
I don't care who you are and what your title is...
Have respect for people when you speak to them. Education should teach you such life lessons. No one is your dog. If you want a dog go buy one or visit the zoo.
Sorry I did not see your wonderful screen shot as Trial Graphix did not see it either. People are human and make mistakes and I am sure you have made a few such as not providing the Bates number for us to cross reference.
Enjoy, [Litigation Support Guy]
We like this cheeky message, but we have a quibble. The zoo? Dogs aren't really exotic enough to be in the zoo. Maybe try Michael Vick's house?
Oh, sorry -- you want a live one...
(The usual rules apply. Please don't identify either the sender or the recipient of this message. Thanks.)
It's the Friday afternoon before Labor Day, and we're ready to pack it in. We might put up another post or two -- e.g., Legal Eagle Wedding Watch -- but basically we are done for the day. (Our colleagues over at DealBreaker checked out hours ago.)
(21) Comments
Good stuff. Check it out 
* Some of you have asked for more Larry Craig coverage. Here you go. [
We realize that it’s still summer. Many of the justices are still traipsing around Europe (or hanging out in the Hampshire, as in the case of Justice David Souter). 
In a highly unusual move, U.S. District Judge 
Remember the "spicy pony head" comedy 
As you know, we've been doing a series of fall recruiting open threads on the 
Here's a random legal / political celebrity sighting, sent to us last night, in real time (at around 8 PM):
So whatever happened to people caught up in the recent, 
We linked to this interesting MSNBC 
Lawyers are living large, not just in 
The latest post in our series on 
A week has passed since our last bit of 
Congratulations to Nixon Peabody. All of the "winners" at that venerable law firm are winners once again. VH1's 
* Oh, those crazy French people. They eat the darnedest things! [
Our open threads on 
Judge Loretta K. Preska (S.D.N.Y.) has it all: a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, a 
Right now some of you are probably thinking: "Enough already about Alberto Gonzales and Michael Vick! Isn't there anything else you can write about?"
Lots and lots of press conferences today. President Bush, at a Waco airport, about to board Air Force One, gave a brief statement on Alberto Gonzales's resignation as attorney general.
Michael Vick, dressed in a sober charcoal suit and gold tie, just made a short public statement about his case. He took no questions. Here are some excerpts.
The plea hearing for the embattled star quarterback took place this morning. One of Michael Vick's lawyers, Billy Martin, spoke to reporters on the courthouse steps. He stated that "this matter is concluded until December 10th, when Judge Hudson will sentence Michael Vick according to the plea agreement." He also announced that Vick will make a statement of his own at 11:30 AM today.
Wow, that was short. We were prepared to liveblog the Alberto Gonzales resignation announcement, but it was over before it began.
There's a lot going on this morning, including the 
In addition to a 
We apologize for the tardiness of this edition of LEWW. We've been in the thick of a real estate transaction and various related matters, and we haven't been able to devote our usual amount of attention and energy to wedding criticism. But fear not -- the nuptial machine grinds on, and we have three impressive couples to examine this week:
When we aren't busy 
Here's a tale from the fall recruiting trenches, from a 2L at Columbia Law School:
A relationship between a prisoner -- falsely accused, natch -- and a compassionate woman on the outside, crusading for his release. What could be more romantic?
The subject of today's Biglaw perk post is short and sweet. From a tipster:
Law firm mergers have transformed the Biglaw landscape over the past decade. Several of the five firms in our latest open thread on 
* Atlanta seeks to ban droopy drawers. [
We're deep into the lazy days of August -- and today is Friday. So of course there's news of a high-profile resignation from the Department of Justice.
* The best argument for immigration reform: qualified (i.e., hot) fashion models are being kept off American runways. [
Sadly, the 
They emphasized that the song was internal to the firm and is protected by copyright. They also insisted that it is NOT a "theme song" -- in any way, shape or form.
Our posts on the perks or fringe benefits of law firm life continue to generate interest and good comments. Here is today's topic:
As we have previously 
We're surprised that the firms in this latest group of Vault 100 law firms aren't ranked more highly. Some of them are quite profitable (Dechert),* prestigious (Munger), or high-profile (Boies Schiller, home of legendary litigator David Boies).
Or if you do, be discreet about it. From the 
* Barry Ostrager of Simpson Thacher bills out at $1,000 an hour? Well, just keep him away from your 
As we previously 
We're pressing on with our series of open threads on Vault 100 law firms. We know that some of you are eager to discuss firms ranked in the 70's, and we don't want to disappoint you.
The tipster who sent this to us wrote:
A few weeks ago, we were getting bombarded with rumors of supposedly imminent New York pay raises. Davis Polk to $180K! Simpson Thacher to $190K! The gossip was 
Here are this morning's firms (in 
Lawyers work long hours. They end up sleep-deprived. Do their employers care to do anything about it?
* Nurse sues Pacman. [
We've now covered over a third of the Vault 100 law firms in open threads. But that means we still have two-thirds to go (assuming we follow through to the end).
Sadly, we'll probably never learn whether former Clifford Chance partner Michael Bryceland was asked to "bend over" (a la 
Last week we 
Can you wear white after Labor Day? Or drink a gin and tonic? Or tell a summer associate story?
We alluded to this briefly 
Since the tireless Howard Bashman is 
Many of the hours that Biglaw attorneys are familiar with are of the billable (and unhappy) variety. But some firms try to make up for the misery by plying their employees with alcohol. Welcome to the latest perk to be discussed in these pages: happy hours. [FN1]
Okay, folks, you know what to do. Here are the next five law firms up for discussion (in 
It's fall recruiting season, and rumors are flying about every law firm under the sun. Here's something from the ATL mailbag about 
Over on 
In 
As you may recall, earlier this year there were 
Although the pace seems to be slowing, our open threads on Vault 100 firms continue to generate a decent quantity (and quality) of comments. So we'll press on, for the benefit of those of you who are now in the throes of the law firm application process.
It's easy if you try.
To all of you who have been complaining about the 
Some of you have been asking for updates on 
We briefly 
Removing all that duct tape must have hurt like hell. Why not just wear a ski mask?
Attention Loyola 2L: Someday you might serve on the federal bench. From the 
After we wrote about Aaron Charney 
We tend not to write much over the weekend -- usually just a post here or there. But this weekend we'll try something new.
The person maintaining this Atlanta 
Proceedings have been delayed in a California misdemeanor case in which the defense is claiming that police brutalized their client with a stun gun during his arrest at a shopping mall last year.
The subject of today's perk post may not jump to mind as a perk or fringe benefit, but we think it's important and worthy of inclusion here. From a reader:
Federal prisoner 
Since our last 
A source at 
We fondly remember 
Earlier this year, 
We were pleasantly surprised by the robust and intelligent discussion in the comments to our earlier open thread, 
Jose Padilla: committed al-Qaida terrorist, or harmless (and not very good) student of Arabic?
Sure, the divorce proceedings of 
Here's an idea that we liked, from a thoughtful and helpful reader:
The individual who ran 
There has been 
In case you're wondering what happened to the litigation support guy at 
LEWW offers a seven-gun salute to newlyweds