Underneath Their Robes Blog Back on Federal Judiciary’s Case
Screen shot of Underneath Their
Robes.
Above the Law founder David Lat actually entered the legal blogosphere in 2004 as the anonymous “Article III Groupie” via the legal blog Underneath Their Robes. The blog continued after he came out in a November 2005 New Yorker interview, but petered out in the fall of 2007.
In September, a post went up stating that UTR was “toying with the idea” of letting the right volunteer take over the site who, of course, intended to stay true to UTR’s original subject matter: news and gossip about federal judges.
And last week, “Clerquette,” described as a onetime clerk for a federal judge who now works “in the formerly lush, still well-heeled (but tragically dull) vineyards known as ‘Big Law,’ ” logged on for the first time and acknowledged how things have changed since UTR was last active:
“This blogress can barely swing last year’s handbag without hitting an underemployed lawyer,” Clerquette writes. “Lucky are those who need nothing more than the air that they breathe, and to bask in their love for our new president. The rest of us need some frolic and detour.”
Lat—who assured the ABA Journal that the writer behind “Clerquette” is indeed a woman—has also contributed some posts in the past week under his old “Article III Groupie” pseudonym. He said he is “delighted” with Clerquette but open to bringing still more writers on board. The relaunch took some time: Some writers who initially expressed interest in the September announcement ended up backing out.
“Two were associates at large law firms, and they decided that they needed to focus all their attention on their day jobs—and keeping them,” Lat said.
Why did Lat decided to revive the blog? “I do think that no blog—not even Above the Law, which covers the judiciary a fair amount—quite fills that gap left by UTR,” he said. “The audience for the site is not huge—it’s a fraction of ATL’s—but those who follow federal judges are very, very devoted.”
Related ABA Journal coverage:
Scuttlebutt Central (2006)
Updated at 4:44 p.m. to include comments from David Lat.
