Careers

Best Law Firms for Women Named; Survey Shows Increase in Women Leaders, But No ‘Critical Mass’

The best law firms for women are showing gains in family friendly policies and women in leadership positions, with room yet for improvement. Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers have named their 2012 50 Best Law Firms for Women, honoring them for “leading the way in attracting, retaining and promoting women…

Nov 13, 2012 4:40 PM CST

Why Ms. X Is Leaving BigLaw: Busy Mom Details Untenable Schedule in Departure Memo

If you’ve ever wondered why it can be so difficult to juggle motherhood and BigLaw, a Clifford Chance associate dubbed Ms. X explains it in a departure memo with a blow-by-blow account of her untenable daily routine. Above the Law blogger Elie Mystal, himself a new father, posted the memo…

Nov 13, 2012 12:15 PM CST

The Legal Field Attracts Psychopaths, Author Says; Not That There Is Anything Wrong with That

CEOs and lawyers are among the professions with the most psychopaths—evidence that psychopathic traits aren’t all bad, according to a new book by an Oxford research psychologist. The book is The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What saints, spies and serial killers can teach us about success. The Washington Post and the…

Nov 13, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Judge Dismisses Alumni Lawsuits Against Two Chicago Law Schools

A judge has dismissed class-action lawsuits against two Chicago law schools by graduates who alleged that they were tricked into attending by the schools’ misleading post-graduation job prospects. Cook County, Ill., Circuit Judge Mary Mikva, in a pair of rulings Friday, threw out the alumni suits against John Marshall Law…

Nov 12, 2012 9:02 PM CST

Sotomayor Returns to Sesame Street with Career Advice that Includes Definition of the Word

Would-be princesses got some sobering news when Justice Sonia Sotomayor appeared recently on Sesame Street. It’s time to think about a real career, they learned. Sotomayor defines the word “career” in an exchange with Abby, described by Time as a “pink, perky, uber-feminine character.” When Abby tells Sotomayor she would…

Nov 12, 2012 12:26 PM CST

A Majority of Surveyed Midsize Firms Plan to Add Lawyers

Managing partners at 26 midsize law firms are in an optimistic mood. A majority of the surveyed partners expect to add lawyers, to increase billing rates, and to post increased profits per partner, the National Law Journal (reg. req.) reports. The NLJ sent the survey to law firms with fewer…

Nov 9, 2012 5:43 PM CST

Telecommuters Kept Patent Office at 70% Productivity During Hurricane Sandy

Thanks to a liberal telecommuting policy, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office remained productive during a two-day government shutdown for Hurricane Sandy. Patent office director David Kappos says patent and trademark teams averaged productivity of more than 70 percent during the storm, the Washington Post reports. The employees “showed an…

Nov 9, 2012 4:13 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Ideas on Fixing Long Lines at Polling Places; America’s Funniest Lawyer

How Should Obama ‘Fix That’? University of Califorina, Irvine, law professor Richard Hasen wrote at Election Law Blog about how he thinks President Barack Obama could make good on his promise to ‘“fix” the problem of outrageously long lines at polling places. “I am thinking that a bipartisan commission should…

Nov 9, 2012 2:30 PM CST

Law Firm Recruits Lawyers to Provide a la Carte Divorce Services in Cafe Setting

A Georgia law firm is opening a storefront office in Atlanta to offer a la carte divorce services to walk-in clients who will pay $75 an hour for the help. The firm, to be called the Justice Café, will provide free coffee and sell sandwiches from a restaurant next door,…

Nov 9, 2012 12:00 PM CST

Video: Dramatic Pay Disparity for Non-Equity Partners; Barclays Under Fire; Photos of Ballots Legal?

Editor’s Note: We’re experimenting with using more video on ABAJournal.com and will be bringing you this short weekly legal news brief from Bloomberg Law for the next few weeks. Thanks for the feedback so far. Please note that adding video would not mean eliminating text-based stories. Rather, we’re exploring adding…

Nov 8, 2012 6:45 PM CST

Median GC Compensation Is $1.4M, and the Perks Are Also Decent

General counsel compensation is on the upswing at the same time that in-house lawyers are taking a more strategic role at their companies. The median compensation for surveyed general counsel in the Fortune 1000 is $1.4 million, an increase of 2.4 percent for the respondents who also participated in the…

Nov 8, 2012 12:14 PM CST

Lawyer’s 5th Hole-In-One Wins Him a Cadillac; His Wife, Who Plans to Drive It, Is Thrilled

A golfer since he was 14 years old, Atlanta area attorney George Lawson says he has been fortunate enough to hit multiple hole-in-one shots in his lifetime. But the fifth, a “totally unexpected” 185-yard drive over water, hitting into the wind, during an Oct. 19 golf tournament co-sponsored by the…

Nov 7, 2012 7:09 PM CST

Ten Commandments Judge Makes a Comeback as Alabama Chief Justice

The man known as the Ten Commandments judge has regained his position as Alabama chief justice. Roy Moore won election “in a triumphant political resurrection,” Al.com reports. A state judicial panel had removed Moore from his position as chief justice in 2003 because he refused to obey a judge’s order…

Nov 7, 2012 2:11 PM CST

Nine-Month Job Stats Don’t Measure Value of Law Degree, Retiring Dean Says

The news media is underestimating the value of a law degree, according to America’s longest-serving law dean. You can’t measure the value of a law degree by your job at graduation, or even your job nine months later, according to Rudy Hasl, who will retire in June as dean of…

Nov 7, 2012 11:59 AM CST

Judge Theodore Jones of NY Court of Appeals Dies of Apparent Heart Attack

Judge Theodore T. Jones Jr. of the New York Court of Appeals died of an apparent heart attack after being taken to a nearby hospital from his Rockland County home on Monday night. He was 68 years old. In a written statement provided to the New York Law Journal on…

Nov 6, 2012 5:55 PM CST