AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Departure Memo of the Day: Leaving Is Its Own Reward

We love Biglaw departure memos. It’s so much fun to take a glimpse into the mind of somebody who is on their way out of the Biglaw racket. Sure, we like the epic ones. And we even like the quirky ones that hint at a future full of adventures. One thing we don’t see a […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Law Dean Gives Worst Advice To Minorities Since Someone Told Native Americans To Have A Drink

Occasionally, people will tell me that the calculus for attending law school is different for African-Americans than it is for any other kind of American. The proponents of this theory (and people who believe this come from all races) start with the objective fact that African-Americans are underrepresented as members of the bar. They view that […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Nationwide Layoff and No-Offer Watch: Winston & Strawn

The first half of 2012 was not great in terms of the financial performance of Biglaw. It wasn’t disastrous — we’re not talking about late 2008 and early 2009 — but it was certainly sluggish. This has caused some legal industry observers to wonder: Might we see a return of layoffs? We’ve already seen significant […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Texas Teacher on Trial for Allegedly Participating in a Gang Bang With Students

Ever since Mary Kay Letourneau’s illicit relationship with an underage student hit the news in 1995, our country has been fascinated with sex scandals involving female teachers. Teacher-student sex scandals have earned a permanent place in our national news coverage, because as we all know too well, there seems to be a new incident each […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Law School Dean Blasts University In Passionate Resignation Letter

Law School Deans, rise. At some point, the deans of law schools will have to stand up and stand against the way universities use law schools as cash cows. At some point, law deans are going to have to tell their bosses that university programs cannot be funded on the backs of law students who […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Who Are America’s Best-Paid General Counsel? (2012 Rankings)

Last year, all things considered, wasn’t a bad year for Biglaw. The law firms of the Am Law 100, for example, experienced decent growth. In 2011, for the Am Law 100 as a whole, gross revenue grew by 5.3 percent, revenue per lawyer grew by 1.9 percent, and profits per partner grew by 3 percent. […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Nick Saban’s Daughter Accused Of Beating Up Her Sorority Sister

Did you hear the one about the sorority sisters who get drunk, start crying, and get into catfights that result in one of them needing a nose job? I know, it’s a tale as old as time, but this one has a fantastic twist. This time one of the alleged participants is the daughter of […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Former Sullivan & Cromwell ‘Mailroom of Death’ Associate Promoted to Partner at Baker & McKenzie

We’ve previously written about Sullivan & Cromwell’s so-called mailroom of death. To make a long story short (see our previous coverage here, here, and here for the full background), a Biglaw mailroom mixup caused Cory Maples, a Alabama death-row inmate, to miss a deadline for filing an appeal. The Supreme Court intervened, and ruled that […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Elderly Sports Law Professor Accused of Unsportsmanlike, Penile Conduct

It’s not every day that you hear about a law professor who allegedly exposed himself to a law student, but today’s just one of those days. A criminal complaint has been lodged against Clark Calvin Griffith, a former adjunct law professor at the William Mitchell College of Law. Griffith is 70 years old, but he […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – A Law Firm Partner and His Boalt Hall Wife Stand Accused of Planting Drugs on an Elementary School Volunteer

Parenting can be an extremely difficult task, but an even more difficult task is proper helicopter parenting. It’s got to be an intense job to keep an eye on your child’s every move, day and night, wherever he may roam. In fact, some people have started to call these people lawnmower parents — after all, […]