AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Associate’s Death Raises Questions About Work/Life Balance at Law Firms

We tend to think of the biggest Biglaw firms as “sweatshops,” while we view small firms, midsize or regional firms, or even Am Law 200 firms as “lifestyle” shops. The thought is that the big bad firms that service Wall Street clients will grind you up and spit you out, while somewhat smaller firms will […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week: Wild Alleged Love Triangle at Edwards Wildman

In Machiavelli’s masterpiece, The Prince, chapter 19 — “That One Should Avoid Being Despised And Hated” — contains Machaivelli’s only suggested restrictions on the Prince’s absolute power. Machiavelli essentially argues that the Prince must not take the people’s sheep (“sheep” being a metaphor for the ability of peasants to have enough food) or their women […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week: The Evidence Exam at Harvard Law That Requires No Evidence to Pass

If this were any other school, if this were any other professor, I’d probably be screaming about this in my sleep. But I can’t get mad at Professor Charles Nesson of Harvard Law School. He’s old. He’s kooky. He’s got a personality and tenure. What’s not to like? A tipster forwarded a copy of the […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week: Northwestern Law ‘Bro’ Offends Most Of Law School, All Of Thailand

We’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of the “PC Police” at Northwestern Law School. The school seems to have a number of students who are easily offended. Some of the kids there overreact at the slightest provocation. Do you want to see how they react when something actually offensive happens? Read more on AbovetheLaw.

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week: If This Is the Kind of Law Student Who Supports Obama’s Debt Relief Plans, the President Is in Trouble

The other day, President Obama announced a “new” plan to help ease the burden of student debts, except it wasn’t really new, and it didn’t really help. The mainstream media parroted the administration’s spin on the proposal, but it makes sense that the White House would want to find some students who were also excited […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week: 1Ls Hold Tryouts For Study Group Slots, Charge Application Fee

In some imperceptible yet significant way, the experience of American legal education has reached a new low. We all feel this. Between tuition that is out of control, deans who don’t tell the truth, and students who are willing to fight other students to the death to get jobs in a market where there aren’t […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Brand New Racist Blog From Harvard Law Student

Most people around here will remember the story of Stephanie Grace (a.k.a. Crimson DNA). She wrote a racist — albeit private — email to a frenemy that eventually got out and went viral. The general public tends to be surprised when allegedly intelligent Harvard students spew racist tripe, and I think that’s why the Grace […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – New Tulane 1L Is An Advocate, A Writer, And A Murderer

Which of the nouns in the headline caught your attention? If you are a student at Tulane Law School, I’m sure it was the murderer part. Most of you have probably never heard of Charles Russell, but he was a professor at the Community College of Rhode Island who was murdered in 1992. His attacker […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – The D.C. Earthquake of 2011!

Okay, I’m sitting on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and I just felt the ground shake. And we’re getting reports that it was felt in Boston and Akron, Ohio. Television news reports are saying that a 5.8 earthquake just hit Washington, D.C. We also felt it here in New York. UPDATE (2:07 PM): The […]

AbovetheLaw Story of the Week – Law Schools That Make Partners

Now here are rankings worth paying attention to. Professor Theodore P. Seto of Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) has published a research paper showing the law schools that produce partners at large law firms. This list seems useful in at least two ways. First and most obviously, if you want to make Biglaw partner money, […]