Recent Headlines from Above the Law
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Biglaw
Biglaw Partner Accuses Small-Firm Litigator Of Using Pregnancy To Delay Trial
No, a woman would not carry a pregnancy to term and bring a child into this world in a sick effort to delay a case. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.28.17
* Third-year students who are still enrolled at the Charlotte School of Law will be graduating in about two weeks, and despite the fact that administrators assured them their funding would be released, they still haven’t received any federal loan disbursements. We’ll have more on this later today. [ABA Journal]
* Yesterday, we gave our readers the big-picture rundown on the 2017 Am Law 100 rankings. This morning, we’ll offer our readers a little fun fact. Three firms were newcomers to the Am Law 100 ranking this year thanks to their outstanding revenue growth: Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Husch Blackwell, and Shook Hardy & Bacon. Congratulations to all three! [Big Law Business]
* As it turns out, President Trump’s losing streak in court when it comes to his would-be travel ban and sanctuary city punishments can be blamed on tactics conservative judges used during the Obama administration to thwart efforts to expand health care, shield immigrants from deportation, and protect transgender students. [New York Times]
* “A president does not have the authority to rescind a National Monument.” Upscale outdoor apparel company Patagonia has vowed to file suit against the Trump administration if any attempt is made to reverse the Obama-era designation of Bears Ears — a 1.35-million-acre tract of land in Utah — as a National Monument. [HuffPost]
* How much is a personal injury claim worth once it’s gone viral globally? After taking “full responsibility for what happened … without attempting to blame others,” United Airlines has reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum with David Dao, the man who was forcibly dragged from an overbooked flight earlier this month. [Reuters]
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Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Money
Ire Grows At Mid-Market Firms Failing To Match Their Peers
After peers offer raises, what's a firm to do? -
Biglaw, Rankings, Summer Associates, Vault rankings
The Best Summer Associate Programs -- Both For Fun Times And For Training
Summer programs have different purposes, and different firms excel at each. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.15.16
* If you’ve been too busy billing, this is the roster of salary movement news from yesterday: Fried Frank, Jenner & Block, Covington, Boies Schiller, Mayer Brown, DLA Piper, and Goodwin Procter. If you’re ever worried that you’ve missed any of our coverage om pay raises, you can check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect all of these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]
* Quit worrying, law students: Per the managing partner of litigation powerhouse Keker & Van Nest, the firm’s billing rates won’t be “dramatically changed” after its adoption of the $180K Cravath salary scale, and it won’t be harder to get a job there because the raises “[won’t] have any influence” on the firm’s hiring plan. [Big Law Business]
* Shook Hardy & Bacon is the latest Biglaw firm to welcome a woman to the highest managing role it has to offer. Madeline McDonough, a 26-year veteran of the firm, will join the small — but growing — clan of female lawyers who serve as the managing partners or chairs of some of the nation’s largest law firms. Congrats! [WSJ Law Blog]
* Andrew Schmuhl, the lawyer accused of slitting the throat of a law firm managing partner, was convicted on all of the charges he faced in the attack. This likely does not bode well for his wife, attorney Alecia Schmuhl, who will stand trial this fall and who is said to have been the mastermind behind the brutal assault. [Washington Post]
* For the first time ever, the ABA is conducting random audits of law school employment statistics from the class of 2015. Ten schools have been randomly selected for audits, along with 382 randomly selected students from 156 schools. Which schools do you hope are audited? We’re sure we could name a few. ::coughInfiLawcough:: [ABA Journal]
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Biglaw, Minority Issues, Rankings
The Best Law Firms For Diversity (2016)
Which firms fared well in three big surveys of diversity within Biglaw? -
Biglaw
Is Your Firm On The 'Most Fun' Summer Programs List? (2015)
Which firms cracked Vault's list of best summer programs? -
American Bar Association / ABA, Anthony Kennedy, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Jury Duty, Law Schools, Layoffs, Morning Docket, Murder, Real Estate, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 06.13.14
* The SCOTUS decision in the Pom Wonderful case could have serious repercussions in terms of deceptive labeling litigation under the Lanham Act. Even Justice Kennedy was misled! [Huffington Post]
* Dewey know when to WARN people? This failed firm apparently didn’t, and now it has to pay a $4.5 million class-action settlement to the employees it laid off without adequate notice. [WSJ Law Blog]
* After getting bumped out of the Am Law 100 after a 17-year run, Shook Hardy & Bacon is letting go of three floors of office space it “no longer needs.” Secretaries Paper takes up a lot of room! [Am Law Daily]
* Minutes after this career criminal was released from jail due to his accidental acquittal, he was stabbed to death with a steak knife. But for the jury’s crazy mistake, he would still be alive. Yikes. [Fresno Bee]
* LMU’s Duncan Law, perhaps better known as the little law school that couldn’t, is still trying to get ABA accreditation. At least this time they’ll be able to use law schools’ national decline as a scapegoat. [WBIR]
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Biglaw, Feminism, Gay, Gender, Minority Issues, Racism, Rankings, Vault rankings, Women's Issues
The Best Law Firms for Diversity (2014)
Which firms demonstrate a true commitment to diversity? Check out the latest rankings from Vault and from Am Law. -
Biglaw, Deaths, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Lindsay Lohan, Money, Morning Docket, Partner Profits, Securities Law
Morning Docket: 02.01.13
* Congratulations to Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft! The firm saw its first revenue increase in three years, with profits per partner jumping up 11.6 percent, yet they didn’t top Cravath’s bonuses. Rude. [Am Law Daily]
* Thanks to the firm’s association with Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, Shook Hardy & Bacon was accused of aiding and abetting in securities law violations and is facing a multimillion-dollar suit. [Miami Herald]
* Lawyer glut? What lawyer glut? Let’s open some new law schools, yayyyy!!! Despite the fact that applications are at their lowest in a decade, new schools are still throwing their doors open wide. [Wall Street Journal]
* With the dean of Seattle University School of Law stepping down, Annette Clark, she of the most epic St. Louis University Law resignation letter, may get a second bite at the proverbial deanship apple. [National Law Journal]
* “Flattery doesn’t get you anywhere in this court.” Wooing the judge won’t work, so Lindsay Lohan’s new lawyer has a tough row to hoe — he had to pick up Shawn Holley’s pieces AND deal with his client. [Fox News]
* Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City and judge of “The People’s Court,” RIP. [New York Times]
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Arnold & Porter, Biglaw, Cozen O'Connor, Gender, Rankings, Women's Issues
Leading Lady Lawyers: Ranking the Am Law 100 By Women in Leadership Roles
You may (or may not) be surprised by how few women sit on the executive committees of the top law firms in the country. -
Arnold & Porter, Biglaw, Feminism, Fenwick & West, Gay, Gender, Minority Issues, Munger Tolles & Olson, Racism, Rankings, Vault rankings, Women's Issues
The Best Law Firms for Diversity (2013)
Which major law firms get top scores for diversity? -
Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Document Review, Law Schools, Small Law Firms, State Judges, Technology
E-Discovery in Law School: Yes, You Need to Learn This Stuff
Do law students need to learn about electronic discovery? Uh, yes. Yes they do. -
Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Dewey Ballantine, Dissolution, JPMorgan Chase, King & Spalding, Kramer Levin, Lateral Moves, LeBoeuf Lamb, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Dewey Partners Get Any Capital Back? Good Luck With That!(Plus more partner moves, including Ralph Ferrara.)
What will happen to the capital contributions of former Dewey partners? And on that subject, who are the latest defectors, and where are they going? -
Admin, Advertising, Announcements, Conferences / Symposia, Dorsey & Whitney, Shameless Plugs, Technology
Legal Technology Leadership Summit: Accepting Nominations for the Corporate Legal Technology Leadership Award
Get excited, because the Legal Technology Leadership Summit is less than one week away. It is set to take place from September 6 – 8, on Amelia Island, Florida. You can access the full agenda here if you’d like to see the interesting programs that are in store for all Summit attendees. It is only […] -
Admin, Advertising, Announcements, Conferences / Symposia, Dorsey & Whitney, Shameless Plugs, Technology, This Is an Ad
Legal Technology Leadership Summit: Accepting Nominations for the Corporate Legal Technology Leadership Award
Get excited, because the Legal Technology Leadership Summit is less than two weeks away. It is set to take place from September 6 – 8, on Amelia Island, Florida. You can access the full agenda here if you’d like to see the interesting programs that are in store for all Summit attendees. It is only […] -
Admin, Advertising, Announcements, Conferences / Symposia, Dorsey & Whitney, Shameless Plugs, Technology, This Is an Ad
Legal Technology Leadership Summit: Get a Ritzy Room Discount
The Legal Technology Leadership Summit will be taking place in three weeks, from September 6 – 8, on Amelia Island, Florida. Rooms are still available at the Ritz-Carlton, and conference attendees will be able to take advantage of our special rate at the hotel for just $199 a night. This extended offer EXPIRES TOMORROW, so […] -
Admin, Advertising, Announcements, Conferences / Symposia, Dorsey & Whitney, Shameless Plugs, Technology, This Is an Ad
Legal Technology Leadership Summit: Last Day to Cash In Your Deal at The Ritz
We are less than a month away from our Legal Technology Leadership Summit. It’s taking place from September 6 – 8 on Amelia Island, Florida. You can check out the full agenda here. It should be an interesting couple of days. You know what else will be fun? Staying at the Ritz off the East […] -
Biglaw, Feminism, Gay, Gender, Minority Issues, Racism, Rankings, Vault rankings, Women's Issues
The Best Law Firms for Diversity (2012)
Given the significance of diversity, it's not surprising that several organizations and news outlets focus on it, especially with respect to large law firms. Vault compiled a list of 25 best law firms for diversity. Which firms made the cut, and is yours on the list?