Above the Law

Sullivan & Cromwell Has A Civil War On Its Hands — See Also

The Red Line Bob Giuffra Drew For Himself Didn’t Last: Sullivan & Cromwell said it would never touch the Carroll cases… Sullivan & Cromwell is now touching the Carroll cases.

Law School Laptop Ban: Chicago wants to get ahead of AI and decided banning laptops from classrooms was the way to do it.

What Is Biglaw Waiting For?: Just announce raises already. Associates are tired of this waiting game.

Trump’s Supreme Court Redo Requests: Twice in one week, Trump has suggested the Supreme Court give him another shot despite nothing having changed.

Small Law Success: Smaller law firms are doing better on collections, but AI isn’t saving them any time yet.

Stat(s) Of The Week: ‘Soft Skills’ Are All The Rage

But are young lawyers learning?

Some Practice Areas Are More Stressful Than Others

Lawyers who practice in some areas of the law are often made of tougher stuff than the rest of us.

The Death Of Organic Reach On Social: What Lawyers Can Do

Position your law firm as an approachable source of quality information, and showcase your legal expertise.

‘Adventures In Legal Tech’: You, Too, Can Tame Your ESI. Here’s How. 

Law firms and legal departments sit on mountains of electronically stored information. And many have no real system for dealing with it. 

Lawyers Do Not Need An AI Ban. They Need An AI Duty Of Care.

Lawyers must remember that ethical responsibility cannot be delegated to software.

Associate Compensation Scorecard: Are Biglaw Firms On Vacation When It Comes To Paying Associates?

Boutique firms are winning the salary wars this time around. How much longer can Biglaw wait?

Building A Judicial Legacy

This is how you use your robe.

Fifth Circuit Says Gov’t Can Violate Migrants’ Due Process Rights… But Only For 90 Days

From the rights-aren't-rights-if-they're-delayed dept.

Morning Docket: 07.10.26

* OpenAI accused of hiding evidence in NY Times copyright case. Reached for comment, ChatGPT said, “I’m sorry, you’re right, I was supposed to produce that.” [Law360]

* Lawyer dressed as police officer to spy on ex-girlfriend at Nando’s. [Roll on Friday]

* Ninth Circuit judge Ryan Nelson will have his parking lot tussle with another motorist heard by the Fourth Circuit. Here’s a helpful guide for him. [LA Times]

*Every federal judge in the Middle District of Tennessee recused themselves from defamation case against Candace Owens. No reason given. [MSN]

* After killing Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, ICE says there’s no bodycam footage because of “back-to-back Democrat shutdowns.” [Houston Chronicle]

* And now the federal government is pressuring witnesses to Araujo’s killing to quickly self-deport — which is what we generally call witness tampering. [Eliza Orlins]

*ABA successfully connected a death row inmate to pro bono attorneys who got him freed. [ABA Journal]

* Accounting firms see problems with SEC’s proposal to drop quarterly reporting. Like, you know, the fraud. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Simpson Thacher heading to malpractice trial in Florida. [Reuters]

* Judge wants to hear more about how the DOJ suddenly decided to drop its case against Sullivan & Cromwell client Gautam Adani as soon as he promised investment projects. [Bloomberg]

Donald Trump Doesn’t Understand The Adage About Catching Flies With Honey — See Also

Discovery Really Is The Best Part Of Litigation: ABA wants the deets on the Trump Biglaw executive orders.

The World’s Best Law Schools: Of course the USA features prominently on this ranking.

CSI Agentic: Exterro releases an agentic AI tool for forensics. Courts will take a while to come to grips with this.

Born To Lose: Donald Trump asks Supreme Court for big favor by calling them insane.

The Biglaw Associates Billing The Most

These are some pretty busy associates.

On The Other Side Of The 4th

Legal and ethical issues abound after 250 years.

Lawyers’ Use Of AI Notetakers And Client Conversations: Ethics Rules, Risks, And Best Practices (2026 Update)

Now with guidance from NYC Opinion 1270 on ethical issues related to attorneys using AI transcription, and more.

Trump Calls Supreme Court ‘Absolutely Insane’ And Then Asks For Birthright Citizenship Do-Over

Bold strategy Cotton, let's see if it pays off for 'em.