Hertz Continues To Be Hertz, Threatens Customer With Arrest For Using Too Many Of His ‘Unlimited’ Miles – Above the Law

Somehow,
Hertz
continues
to
be
an
ongoing
concern,
in
both
senses
of
the
word.
The
company
that
made itself
infamous
 by
repeatedly
trying
to
get innocent
renters
arrested
 for
car
theft
tried
to
put
all
of
that
behind
it
with
$168
million
 class-action
lawsuit
settlement
in
2022.

The
company
then
pledged
to
do
better
going
forward.
It
didn’t
say how it
was
going
to
do
this,
since
it
apparently
wasn’t
going
to
address
underlying
issues,
like
branches’
willingness
to outsource
vehicle
retrieval
 to
law
enforcement
and
the
extremely sloppy
inventory
control
 procedures
that
led
to
employees
filing
theft
reports
for
vehicles
that were
parked
in
their
parking
lots
.

Since
then,
Hertz
has
found
new
ways
to
be
awful, like
charging
Tesla
renters
fees
 to
refill
their
returned
rentals
with gasoline.
Then
there’s
this
incident, first
reported
by
travel
site
One
Mile
at
a
Time
,
which
details the
ridiculous
interaction
one
renter
 had
with
the
company
when
a
Hertz
rep
tried
to
charge
him
$10,000
for
driving
“too
many”
miles
with
his
Unlimited
Miles
rental.


Long
story
short,
it
would
appear
that
someone
rented
a
Hertz
car
for
a
month,
and
the
rental
allowed
unlimited
miles.
The
man
drove
25,000
miles
on
the
car
over
the
course
of
that
month,
and
the
agency
wasn’t
happy
about
it.


Given
the
number
of
miles
driven,
the
Hertz
representative
stated
that
he
would
charge
the
man’s
credit
card
an
extra
$10,000.
As
the
interaction
goes:


Hertz
representative:
“You
need
to
leave,
sir.”
Customer:
“But
you’re
going
to
charge
this
to
$10,000
to
my
credit?”
Hertz
representative:
“Yes.”
Customer:
“When
this
literally,
that’s
not
even
allowed.
I
never
signed…”
Hertz
representative:
“You
show
me
where
it
says
I
can’t
charge
it.”
Customer:
“Right
here,
it
literally
says
I
won’t
get
charged
anything,
it
says
miles
allowed,
free
miles,
it
literally
says
to
refer
to
this
if
there’s
anything
extra.
I’ve
never
signed
anything
saying
I
can
only
go
100
miles
a
day,
or
anything
like
that,
or
that
I
would
have
to
pay
more.”
Hertz
representative:
“But
you
also
never
signed
anything
saying
you
were
going
to
be
allowed
to
drive
25,000
miles
in
a
month.”
Customer:
“No,
unlimited
is
100,000
miles.”
Hertz
representative:
“No
it
is
not.”

While
25,000
miles
seems
like
a
literally
impossible
number
of
miles
to
drive
in
30
days,
nothing
in
the
contract
stated
the
“unlimited
miles”
the
customer
was
entitled
to
was
actually
limited
in
any
way.

What
made
this
worse
is
that
the
Hertz
rep
told
the
man
he
was
going
to
ding
his
credit
card
for
$10,000.
Then
he
told
him
to
leave.
Understandably,
the
renter
didn’t
leave,
because
doing
so
meant
he’d
soon
be
out
$10,000.
When
he
refused
to
leave
before
this
was
resolved,
the
rep
told
him
he
was
going
to
have
him
arrested.

As
One
Mile
at
a
Time
points
out,
there’s
nothing
in
Hertz
Unlimited
Miles
contracts
that
puts
a
limit
on
miles.
Nor
is
there
any
clause
that
allows
them
to
charge
customers
just
because
the
company
(or
the
rep
handling
the
return)
might
feel
the
number
of
miles
driven
is
excessive.
Hertz
is
free
to
refuse
to
rent
cars
to
customers
who’ve
put
“too
many”
(whatever
that
means)
miles
on
the
vehicles
they’ve
rented,
but
it
can’t
pretend
the
contract
says
something
it
doesn’t
just
because
someone
has
accomplished
the
astounding
feet
of
racking
up
four
months
worth
of
mileage
in
a
single
month.


Hertz
has
since
issued
a
statement
 about
this
incident.
And,
considering
the
source,
it’s
a
pretty
ok
apology
for
an
insanely
ridiculous
incident.


“Customer
satisfaction
is
our
top
priority
at
Hertz,
and
we
sincerely
regret
this
customer’s
experience
at
one
of
our
franchise
locations,”
Hertz’s
statement
reads.
“Per
the
terms
of
the
contract,
the
customer
will
not
be
billed
for
mileage.
Our
franchisee
is
addressing
the
employee’s
conduct
and
reinforcing
our
customer
service
standards
and
policies
to
ensure
they
are
understood
and
followed
consistently
across
our
locations.” 

Never
mind.
It’s
not
even
really
an
apology.
It
simply
says
Hertz
will
not
charge
someone
$10,000
for not violating
the
terms
of
the
rental
contract.
That
there’s
some
“addressing”
going
on
at
the
franchisee
level
means
this
sort
of
thing
likely
won’t
happen
again
at
that
particular
branch,
but
it’s
clear
the
company
needs
to
do
far
more
than
react
if
it
ever
hopes
to
distance
itself
from
the
bad
press
the
company
and
its
employees
seem
to
be
intent
on
generating
on
a
regular
basis.


Hertz
Continues
To
Be
Hertz,
Threatens
Customer
With
Arrest
For
Using
Too
Many
Of
His
‘Unlimited’
Miles


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2.0

Top Biglaw Firm Offers Stacks Of Cash To Associates In Latest Milbank Match – Above the Law

One
by
one,
Biglaw
firms
are
now
falling
in
line
to
announce
bonus
scales,
which
now
include

special
bonuses

on
top
of

year-end
bonuses
,
courtesy
of
compensation
leader
Milbank’s
generosity.

The
latest
firm
to
unleash
Milbank
moolah
upon
eager
associates
is
Weil
Gotshal
&
Manges,
a
firm
that
brought
in
$1,829,486,000
gross
revenue
in
2023,
putting
it
at
No.
26
on
the
most
recent
Am
Law
100.

Here’s
what
the
bonus
bonanza
looks
like
at
the
firm:


Class
Year

2024
Overall
Strong
Bonus

2024
Special
Bonus
2024 $15,000
(prorated)
$6,000
(prorated)
2023 $20,000 $6,000
2022 $30,000 $10,000
2021 $57,500 $15,000
2020 $75,000 $20,000
2019 $90,000 $25,000
2018 $105,000 $25,000
2017
and
more
senior
$115,000 $25,000

Congratulations
to
everyone
at
Weil!


(Flip
to
the
next
page
to
read
the
full
memo
from
the
firm.)

Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
compensation
updates,
so
when
your
firm
announces
or
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us
 (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus/Matches”).
Please
include
the
memo
if
available.
You
can
take
a
photo
of
the
memo
and
send
it
via
text
or
email
if
you
don’t
want
to
forward
the
original
PDF
or
Word
file.

And
if
you’d
like
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s
Bonus
Alerts
(which
is
the
alert
list
we
also
use
for
salary
announcements),
please
scroll
down
and
enter
your
email
address
in
the
box
below
this
post.
If
you
previously
signed
up
for
the
bonus
alerts,
you
don’t
need
to
do
anything.
You’ll
receive
an
email
notification
within
minutes
of
each
bonus
announcement
that
we
publish.
Thanks
for
your
help!



Staci ZaretskyStaci
Zaretsky
 is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to

email

her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
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and

Threads

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.


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Davis Polk Enters The Associate Bonus Chat – Above the Law

Historically,
there
are
only
a
handful
of
Biglaw
firms
willing
to
stick
their
necks
out
and
raise
associate
compensation,
whether
in
terms
of
base
salary
or
bonuses.

Davis
Polk
&
Wardwell
is
one
of
that
small
number
.
So,
as
the
2024
bonus
season
heats
up,
everyone’s
wondering
what
move
DPW
is
going
to
make.

Like
all
those
firms
that
have
announced
bonuses
thus
far,
Davis
Polk
is
matching
the
numbers

established
by
Milbank
.

The
full
memo
is
available
below,
but
the
increasingly
familiar
bonus
scale
is
as
follows:

  • Class
    of
    2024

    $15,000
    (pro-rated)
  • Class
    of
    2023

    $20,000
  • Class
    of
    2022

    $30,000
  • Class
    of
    2021

    $57,500
  • Class
    of
    2020

    $75,000
  • Class
    of
    2019

    $90,000
  • Class
    of
    2018

    $105,000
  • Class
    of
    2017+

    $115,000

Plus
there’s
the

Milbank
special
bonus
scale
,
which
is
also
being
matched
at
DPW:

  • Class
    of
    2024

    $6,000
    (pro-rated)
  • Class
    of
    2023

    $6,000
  • Class
    of
    2022

    $10,000
  • Class
    of
    2021

    $15,000
  • Class
    of
    2020

    $20,000
  • Class
    of
    2019

    $25,000
  • Class
    of
    2018

    $25,000
  • Class
    of
    2017+

    $25,000

Bonuses
will
be
paid
on
December
27.

So
is
your
firm
matching
*both*
the
year-end
and
special
bonuses?
Let
Above
the
Law
know!
We
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
important
bonus
updates,
so
when
your
firm
matches
(or
if
they
fail
to
do
so),
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or

email
us
 (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Matches”).
Please
include
the
memo
if
available.
You
can
take
a
photo
of
the
memo
and
send
it
via
text
or
email
if
you
don’t
want
to
forward
the
original
PDF
or
Word
file.

And
if
you’d
like
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s
Bonus
Alerts
(which
is
the
alert
list
we
also
use
for
salary
announcements),
please
scroll
down
and
enter
your
email
address
in
the
box
below
this
post.
If
you
previously
signed
up
for
the
bonus
alerts,
you
don’t
need
to
do
anything.
You’ll
receive
an
email
notification
within
minutes
of
each
bonus
announcement
that
we
publish.
Thanks
for
all
of
your
help!

Read
the
full
memo
below.

DPW 2024 bonus




Kathryn Rubino HeadshotKathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of

The
Jabot
podcast
,
and
co-host
of

Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer
.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
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her.
Feel
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her

with
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&
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Increase
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Elite Boutique Drops Big Bucks On Associates With Milbank Bonus Match – Above the Law

A
rising
tide
of
Biglaw
bonus
bucks
lifts
all
law
firm
boats

including
the
elite
boutiques.
With

Cravath’s
blessing

over
the
Milbank

year-end

and

special

bonus
scale,
leading
law
firms
are
rushing
to
make
their
own
compensation
announcements.
As
usual,
commercial
litigation
boutique

Holwell
Shuster
&
Goldberg

is
ready,
willing,
and
able
to
match
Biglaw’s
best
when
it
comes
to
bonuses.

The
firm

founded
in
2012
by
former
Southern
District
of
New
York
Judge
Richard
Holwell,
along
with
former
White
&
Case
colleagues
Mike
Shuster,
Dan
Goldberg,
and
Dorit
Ungar
Black

is
a
destination
for
litigators
who
want
to
be
paid
well
and

gain
trial
experience
early
in
their
careers
.
A
leader
when
it
comes
to
early
bonus
announcements,
HSG
is
matching
the
prevailing
bonus
scale
set
by
Milbank.
This
is
what
that
looks
like
at
the
firm:

HSG Bonus 2024

Here’s
a
kind
note
to
associates
that
was
included
in
the
firm’s
bonus
memo:

We
are
proud
of
our
continued
delivery
of
top-notch
legal
services
and
impressive
victories
on
behalf
of
our
clients.
You
are
all
a
big
part
of
what
makes
the
firm
successes
possible
and
why
HSG
remains
a
very
special
place
to
practice
law.

Money
will
land
in
associates’
bank
accounts
on
or
before
December
31.

Congratulations
to
everyone
at
Holwell
Shuster
&
Goldberg!


(Flip
to
the
next
page
to
read
the
full
memo
from
the
firm.)

Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
compensation
updates,
so
when
your
firm
announces
or
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us
 (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus/Matches”).
Please
include
the
memo
if
available.
You
can
take
a
photo
of
the
memo
and
send
it
via
text
or
email
if
you
don’t
want
to
forward
the
original
PDF
or
Word
file.

And
if
you’d
like
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s
Bonus
Alerts
(which
is
the
alert
list
we
also
use
for
salary
announcements),
please
scroll
down
and
enter
your
email
address
in
the
box
below
this
post.
If
you
previously
signed
up
for
the
bonus
alerts,
you
don’t
need
to
do
anything.
You’ll
receive
an
email
notification
within
minutes
of
each
bonus
announcement
that
we
publish.
Thanks
for
your
help!



Staci ZaretskyStaci
Zaretsky
 is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to

email

her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on

X/Twitter

and

Threads

or
connect
with
her
on

LinkedIn
.


Bonus Time

Enter
your
email
address
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s

Bonus
&
Salary
Increase
Alerts
.


Morning Docket: 11.22.24 – Above the Law

*
Forcing
Google
to
spin
off
Chrome
faces
uphill
battle…
which
is
why
monopolies
always
win.
[Reuters]

*
Pam
Bondi
becomes
new
AG
nominee.
[CNN]

*
Partners
put
“difficult”
client
on
emails.
[Roll
on
Friday
]

*
Democrats
give
up
circuit
court
nominees
in
exchange
for
less
important
district
court
seats…
apparently
to
break
a
record?
Seems
like
a
great
reason.
[Bloomberg
Law
News
]

*
Gensler
stepping
down
from
SEC
in
the
transition.
[Law360]

*
As
Article
II
clearly
states…
winning
a
presidential
election
means
all
crimes
committed
before
the
election
are
legal.
Or
something.
[Slate]

Matt Gaetz Isn’t The Only Attorney General Nominee To Go Down – Above the Law

(Photo
by
Saul
Loeb-Pool/Getty
Images)



Ed.
Note:

Welcome
to
our
daily
feature

Trivia
Question
of
the
Day!


Today,
following
an
ongoing
sexual
misconduct
scandal,
Matt
Gaetz
withdrew
from
consideration
for
Attorney
General.
Who
was
the
last
president
that
had
their
AG
nominee
scuttled
after
a
scandal
broke?


Hint:
This
president
actually
had
two
AG
candidates
felled
by
scandal,
though
only
one
was
formally
nominated
for
the
position.



See
the
answer
on
the
next
page.

Oodles Of Money And Matching At This Biglaw Firm! – Above the Law

(Image
via
Getty)

Another
Biglaw
firm
has
joined
the
bonus
train,
and
this
time
it’s
O’Melveny
&
Myers!
They
reported
$987,798,000
gross
revenue
and
profits
per
equity
partner
of
$2,749,000
in
2023
according
to
the
most
recent
Am
Law
100.
Employees
at
the
firm
just
received
a
voicemail
announcing
that
the
firm
is
matching
the
market
bonuses
and
special
bonuses!
Here’s
the
scale:

Screenshot 2024-11-21 at 3.09.26 PM

We
like
hearing
about
bonuses
almost
as
much
as
you
enjoy
spending
them.
As
soon
as
your
firm’s
memo
comes
out,
please email
it
to
us

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Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
 He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
cannot
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor
,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.


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Not Just A ‘One Off’ Anymore: Biglaw Firms Are Finally Matching Milbank’s Special Summer Bonuses – Above the Law



Ed.
note
:
Welcome
to
our
daily
feature,

Quote
of
the
Day
.


I’m
actually,
to
be
honest,
surprised.
I
thought
that
when
the
special
summer
bonuses
were
not
matched
when
there
was
just
resounding
silence
from
the
market
that
it
was
going
to
be
a
one
off.





Kate
Reder
Sheikh
,
a
recruiter
for
Major
Lindsey
&
Africa,
in
comments
given
to

Bloomberg
Law
,
on
the
spate
of
special
bonuses
that
have
accompanied
the

year-end
bonus
announcements

that
Biglaw
firms
have
released
thus
far.
Back
in
August,
Milbank
announced
a
round
of

special
summer
bonuses

that
went
largely
ignored
by
other
firms,
leaving
associates
wondering
about
their
compensation
and
whether
they’d
be
made
whole
come
bonus
season.



Staci ZaretskyStaci
Zaretsky
 is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to

email

her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on

X/Twitter

and

Threads

or
connect
with
her
on

LinkedIn
.


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Trump Too Busy Presidenting For Criminal Process, Still Finds Time To Sue All Media – Above the Law

(Photo
by
Ali
Shaker/VOA)

This
week,
future
deputy
attorney
general
Todd
Blanche
and
principal
deputy
attorney
general
Emil
Bove

informed

Justice
Juan
Merchan
that
the
safety
of
the
republic
requires
him
to
dismiss
the
criminal
charges
against
Donald
Trump.

“Immediate
dismissal
of
this
case
is
mandated
by
the
federal
Constitution,
the
Presidential
Transition
Act
of
1963,
and
the
interests
of
justice,
in
order
to
facilitate
the
orderly
transition
of
Executive
power
following
President
Trump’s
overwhelming
victory
in
the
2024
Presidential
election,”
they
huffed,
adding
that
“dismissal
is
necessary
here”
because
“the
Constitution
forbids
‘plac[ing]
into
the
hands
of
a
single
prosecutor
and
grand
jury
the
practical
power
to
interfere
with
the
ability
of
a
popularly
elected
President
to
carry
out
his
constitutional
functions.’”

That
quote
is
from
an
Office
of
Legal
Counsel

memo

from
2000
opining
that
a
sitting
president
is
immune
from
criminal
indictment
or
prosecution.
Of
course,
Trump
has
already
been
indicted
and
convicted,
and
he
won’t
be
the
president
again
until
January.
But
in
his
telling,
the
pendency
of
his
appeals
bars
the
state
judge
from
sentencing
him.
Also,
he’s
basically
president
now,
since
he’s
in
the
middle
of
the
transition
and
has
to
go
find

another
sex
crimer

to
serve
as
Blanche
and
Bove’s
boss.

Whodathunk
that
these
guys
would
demand
that
sentencing
be
moved
until
after
the
election
to
avoid
looking
political,
and
then
turn
around
and
claim
that
the
entire
case
must
be
dismissed
because
of
politics!

DA
Bragg

objects

to
dismissing
the
case,
requesting
instead
that
it
be
stayed
until
the
end
of
Trump’s
presidency.
But
he
knows
he
got
outmaneuvered
here
by
sitting
on
this
prosecution
for
two
damn
years.

Meanwhile
across
the
street
in
federal
court,
Trump’s
lawyers
are
singing
a
different
tune.
There
the
president-elect
is

suing

Bob
Woodward
and
Simon
and
Schuster
for
copyright
infringement
over
an
audiobook
using
tapes
made
during
his
first
term.
He’s
alleging
a
conspiracy
to
“collate
and
cobble
together
more
than
eight
hours
of
‘raw’
interviews”
and
demanding
$50
million
to
make
him
whole.
In
November
of
2023,
Trump
filed
an
opposition
to
the
defendants’
motion
to
dismiss
his
second
amended
complaint

third
time’s
a
charm!

after
which
everyone
wandered
off
to
do
literally
anything
else.
But
now
Trump
is
hot
to
trot.

In
a

letter

to
Judge
Paul
Gardephe,
his
counsel
Robert
Garson
wrote
yesterday
that
Trump
is
eager
to
pursue
this
case:

The
Court
is
aware
that
President
Trump
is
soon
due
to
be
inaugurated
as
the
47th
President
of
these
United
States
of
America.1
The
issues
in
this
case,
namely
the
unlicensed
for-profit
use
of
President
Trump’s
voice
that
was
recorded
in
an
unofficial
interview,
is
both
timely
and
ripe,
for
fear
of
further
unaccounted
for
profit
being
made
from
the
President’s
voice.
In
addition,
we
trust
that
the
Court
can
accommodate
a
discovery
process
that
will
cause
minimal
interference
with
the
President’s
impeding
obligations.

Indeed,
Trump
continues
to
vigorously
pursue
civil
litigation
against

ABC

and

CBS
,
while

threatening

to
sue
the
New
York
Times
and
Penguin
Random
House
for
$10
billion.
He’s
got
time
for
that,
of
course.
And
he’s
got
time
to
hawk
merch
from
the
businesses
he’s
not
even
pretending
to
divest
from
this
time
around.

But
criminal
process?
That’s
a
threat
to
a
democracy.





Liz
Dye
 lives
in
Baltimore
where
she
produces
the
Law
and
Chaos substack and podcast.