Careers

$20K For Associates Who Find Success on Jobs Site

The Internet job placement site Lateral Link has some competition from a new venture called Legal Recruiting Authority. Lateral Link pays up to $10,000 to associates who find a job though its website, while Legal Recruiting Authority pays $20,000, the American Lawyer reports. Both recruitment sites allow associates at top…

Jun 19, 2008 1:32 PM CDT

These Associates Say It’s Never Too Early to Start Rainmaking

Their techniques may differ, but these associates are focused on the same goal: Working on rainmaking early in their careers. The Recorder interviewed several California associates about their business development efforts and found they actively sought out networking opportunities and sought to develop ties to potential clients. Connie Merriett said…

Jun 19, 2008 12:32 PM CDT

Judge Certifies Non-Wisconsin Law Grads, Axes Bar Admission Class Action

Not law graduates for nothing, a small group of juris doctor degree holders have successfully sought federal class action status over Wisconsin’s policy of allowing only graduates of in-state law schools to practice without passing the bar exam. But, at least for now, they have lost their U.S. commerce-clause case…

Jun 18, 2008 6:22 PM CDT

Legal Blogger Auditions for ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’

Legal blogger and lawyer Howard Bashman traveled to New York yesterday to audition for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Bashman writes on his How Appealing blog that he passed the written test for trivia knowledge and then met with a producer who evaluated his personality. He’ll learn whether he…

Jun 18, 2008 1:49 PM CDT

Law Student, 77, Looks Forward to Practicing in California

Alice Thomas is the only student at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento who has previously worked as an elevator operator. Perhaps the oldest law student in the country, she is now 77 and will be close to 80 by the time she earns her juris doctor degree. However, Thomas…

Jun 17, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Life in the Law: Longtime Ga. Practitioner Tries New Challenge

Practicing law is a family affair for Franklin Horne Jr. The 63-year-old real estate attorney and developer has his own firm in Macon, Ga., where he practices with his son, Stebin Horne and daughter-in-law, Christi Horne, as his cocker spaniel, Lucy, sleeps in a bed beside his desk. A former…

Jun 16, 2008 8:35 PM CDT

Understanding Business of Law Helps Summer Associates

Most law firms don’t make as much effort to teach summer associates the financial basics of the legal business as they should. But understanding the business realities that underlie their jobs helps summer associates succeed and potentially win offers of permanent employment, points out Regina Robbins, professional recruitment manager for…

Jun 16, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

‘Daddy Track’ is a Major Concern for Male Law Grads, Study Says

It isn’t just women graduating from law school and young female attorneys who worry about whether they can successfully balance the demands of the legal profession with children and a happy family life. According to a recent study of those at New York University School of Law, their male counterparts…

Jun 13, 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Risque Images, Music Tied to 9th Circuit Chief’s Site Raises Ethics Questions

As this week’s revelations about Judge Alex Kozinski’s porn-laden personal website continues in all manner of news stories and blog entries, a less spectacular but possibly just as damaging matter has so far remained in the background with the mute button on: The site contained copyrighted music mp3 files that…

Jun 13, 2008 7:46 PM CDT

UK Clients Rap ‘Unsustainable’ Plan to Raise Billable Rates

Apparent plans by many London law firms to increase the billable rates they charge corporate clients this year by an amount exceeding inflation, in order to fund pay raises for lawyers, have hit a nerve. Clients say their attorneys are living in a dream world if they think corporations are…

Jun 13, 2008 4:06 PM CDT

New Steptoe & Johnson Diversity Partner Schmoozes Undecided Summers

Daryl “Sandy” Chamblee, the newly appointed diversity partner at Steptoe & Johnson, recently did a little schmoozing to help the law firm attract female summer associates. Chamblee, an African American, was recently appointed the first-ever diversity partner at the law firm. She told The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times…

Jun 13, 2008 3:28 PM CDT

US Has More Artists Than Lawyers

Ever dreamed of giving up your legal career to become an artist? If you did, you would find yourself in a more popular occupation, at least in terms of numbers (and perhaps in terms of public sentiment). The National Endowment for the Arts has studied the U.S. census data and…

Jun 13, 2008 12:42 PM CDT

‘Champions of Justice’ Share $500,000 Prize

The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation has announced that two renowned human rights lawyers will share its $500,000 Gruber Foundation International Justice Prize for 2008. Thomas Buergenthal, an American judge on the International Court of Justice who co-authored the first international human rights law textbook in the U.S., and Jerome…

Jun 13, 2008 3:58 AM CDT

Internationally Known Lawyer Patricia Wald to Get Top ABA Honor

Patricia Wald, a lawyer internationally known for her work as a judge and on public interest projects, is this year’s recipient of the American Bar Association Medal, the ABA’s top honor. Wald, who was the first woman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, served 20…

Jun 12, 2008 8:23 PM CDT

‘It’s Chic to Buy Used Clothes,’ Prominent Lawyer Says

The lure of expensive designer clothes hasn’t lessened. But some well-to-do women have found a way to cut their cost. Instead of buying at retail, they purchase their prized fashion finds pre-owned at consignment shops. Or they save a few dollars by reselling their own designer clothing to others, reports…

Jun 12, 2008 7:52 PM CDT