Category: News Feeds

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.

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:

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
(subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus”)
or
text
us
(646-820-8477).
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
Salary
&
Bonus
Alerts,
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.

---

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.

---

---

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
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.

---

---

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.

A
week
after
Milbank

got
the
bonus
party
started,
and
only
a

couple
of
days
since
Cravath
got
on
board,
Biglaw
firms
are
starting
to
come
around.
So
far,
it’s
mostly
Am
Law
50
firms,
and
the
latest
addition
to
the
associate
bonus
party
is
no
exception.

Today
Dechert,
#39
on
the
ranking
with
$1,293,528,000
in
gross
revenue
last
year,
announced
bonuses.
The
base
bonus
schedule
should
look
familiar
—
it’s
a
match
of
the

Milbank
special
and
year-end
bonuses.

Associates
that
bill
a
total
of
1,950
qualifying
hours
(client,
pro
bono
and
community)
are
eligible
for
these
bonuses,
payable
before
the
end
of
January
2025.
Associates
that
hit
higher
billable
thresholds
are
eligible
for
even
more
cash.
At
the
2,200
mark
associates
can
expect
an
extra
30%.
At
2,400
associates
are
looking
at
a
40%
bump.
Full
details
on
the
bonuses
are
available
in
the
firm’s
memo,
available
in
full
on
the

next
page.

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!

---

Kathryn
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
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email

her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter

@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon

@[email protected].

---

---

For
a
very
long
time,
taking
the
LSAT
was
the
thing
you
did
if
you
were
serious
about
attending
law
school.
Now
there’s
a
lot
more
wiggle
room.
The
ABA
recently
voted
to
create
a
process

that
will
let
law
schools
bypass
evaluating
standardized
testing
scores
altogether.
That
said,
law
school
applicants
may
find
it
beneficial
to
still
take
a
standardized
test
in
case
the
score
strengthens
their
resume.
The
LSAT
is
still
the
tried
and
true
evaluator,
but
competing
test
options
like
the
GRE
and
JD-Next
may
one
day
usurp
the
top
spot.
But
these
experimental
options
aren’t
just
changing
what
applying
for
law
school
looks
like,
they’re
also
changing
hands.
JD-Next
is,
at
least.

Reuters
has
coverage:

Aspen
Publishing
has
bought
alternative
law
school
admissions
program
JD-Next
from
the
University
of
Arizona
James
E.
Rogers
College
of
Law,
the
company
said
on
Tuesday.

Aspen
purchased
the
program,
developed
at
the
Arizona
law
school
in
2019
as
an
alternative
to
the
widely
used
Law
School
Admission
Test,
for
an
undisclosed
amount.
So
far,
56
law
schools—more
than
a
quarter
of
all
American
Bar
Association-accredited
campuses—have
received
ABA
permission
to
use
JD-Next
test
scores
when
admitting
students.

The
change
in
ownership
may
be
the
push
Aspen
needs
to
grow
JD-Next
as
a
competitor
to
the
LSAT.
It
is
also
happening
at
a
time
that
the
importance
of
standardized
testing
may
be
on
the
decline.

LSAT
Competitor
Sold
Amid
Push
For
Alternative
Law
School
Admissions
[Reuters]

Earlier:

And
Then
There
Were
57:
5
More
Schools
Accept
JD-Next

Got
Good
Grades?
You
Might
Not
Even
Have
To
Bother
With
The
LSAT
Anymore!

---

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.

We’d
already

heard
from
Paul
Hastings
about
annual
bonuses
and
now
we’re
closing
the
loop
with
word
from
the
other
half
of
Biglaw’s
version
of
the
Paul
brothers.
Just
don’t
make
us
decide
which
is
Jake
and
which
is
Logan.

Paul
Weiss,
21st
on
The
American
Lawyer’s
2024
Am
Law
100
ranking
having
put
up
over
$2
billion
in
gross
revenue
in
2023,
will
be
joining
the
annual
bonus
party.

And,
as
expected,
the
firm
will
match
the
special
bonus
amounts
that
Milbank
handed
out
over
the
summer.

Bonuses
will
be
paid
on
December
20.

It’s
been
a
busy
year
for
Paul
Weiss
from
a
business
perspective.
They’ve
got
a

new
non-equity
tier,
gone
deep
in

a
lateral
partner
hiring
streak,
embarked
upon
an
effort
to

move
into
the
booming
Houston
market,
and

never
gave
up
on
expanding
its
associate
ranks.
Matching
the
market
is
just
one
more
component
of
a
firm
operating
at
the
top
of
Biglaw.

Memo
recreated
on
the
next
page…

Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
this
stuff.
So
when
your
firm
matches,
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’ll
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.

---

Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of

Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or

Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a

Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.

---

---

It
was
22
years
ago
yesterday
that
I

launched
this
blog.
For
its
continued
existence,
I
owe
four
debts
of
gratitude:

• To
  you,
  the
  readers,
  without
  whom
  this
  blog
  would
  have
  no
  reason
  to
  exist,
  and
  whose
  feedback
  and
  engagement
  over
  the
  years
  has
  been
  the
  greatest
  reward.
  There
  are
  still
  a
  handful
  of
  you
  who
  have
  been
  with
  me
  from
  the
  beginning.
• To
  the
  advertisers,
  who
  have
  been
  generous
  in
  sponsoring
  this
  blog
  over
  the
  years.
• To
  everyone
  at
  Justia,
  to
  whom
  I
  will
  be
  forever
  grateful
  for
  
  rescuing
  this
  blog
  from
  near-demise
  in
  2010
  and
  for
  continuing
  to
  host
  this
  blog
  to
  this
  day,
  not
  to
  mention
  helping
  us
  launch
  the
  
  LawNext
  Legal
  Technology
  Directory.
• To
  the
  innovators
  and
  entrepreneurs
  of
  legal
  tech,
  who
  consistently
  amaze
  me
  with
  their
  ingenuity
  and
  creativity
  and
  make
  every
  day
  of
  covering
  legal
  tech
  more
  exciting
  than
  the
  one
  before.

For
more
of
the
story
of
why
I
started
the
blog
and
how
it
evolved,

see
this
post.

As
the
end
of
2024
approaches,
I
find
myself
reflecting
on
the
year
that
has
been.
This
past
year
has
been
unique
for
me
not
because
of
any
extraordinary
achievements
or
career-defining
moments.
The
year
has
been
unique
because
I
have
done
something
I
have
never
allowed
myself
to
do
before.
I
made
a
conscious
decision
to
take
a
pause
and
just
be
present.

As
lawyers
—
especially
those
of
us
in-house
—
the
pressure
to
do
more
and
to
prove
our
value
by
how
busy
we
are
is
often
present.
Meetings,
emails,
reports,
crisis
management
—
it
can
feel
endless.
But
this
year,
I
realized
that
I
don’t
always
have
to
hustle.
I
don’t
have
to
be
busy
for
the
sake
of
being
busy.
I
don’t
have
to
accept
every
opportunity
that
comes
my
way
to
write,
to
speak,
to
host,
or
to
moderate.
The
legal
profession,
in
general,
often
rewards
constant
activity
but
is
that
really
the
best
way
to
work?
Or
to
live?

This
year
I
decided
to
stop
buying
into
the
busy
to
be
busy
mindset.
I
stopped
rushing
through
each
task
just
to
get
to
the
next
one.
I
took
time
to
breathe
and
to
appreciate
where
I
am
and
what
I
have.
I
didn’t
just
fill
up
my
after-work
hours
with
“productive”
activities
—
I
made
space
for
the
things
that
really
matter.
That
change
in
mindset
allowed
me
to
spend
more
time
with
my
colleagues,
my
friends,
and
my
family.

• It
  gave
  me
  the
  chance
  to
  support
  colleagues
  (and
  their
  families)
  who
  were
  faced
  with
  personal
  and
  professional
  challenges.
  We
  attended
  events
  together.
  We
  ate
  together.
  We
  were
  present
  for
  each
  other.
• It
  gave
  me
  the
  chance
  to
  get
  to
  reconnect
  and
  spend
  time
  with
  old
  friends
  and
  deepen
  bonds
  with
  new
  friends.
• It
  gave
  me
  the
  chance
  to
  be
  with
  my
  family
  as
  we
  said
  goodbye
  to
  my
  grandmother
  and
  as
  we
  welcomed
  two
  more
  babies
  into
  the
  family.

These
moments
—
the
sad
ones
and
the
happy
ones
—
they
matter.
In
the
legal
profession,
we
are
taught
to
compartmentalize,
to
stay
professional
no
matter
what
and
to
go,
go,
go.
The
problem
is
when
you
are
always
on
the
go,
you
are
constantly
thinking
about
the
next
deadline
and
you
find
yourself
missing
the
important
moments
that
truly
shape
your
life.

Here’s
the
thing
about
those
important
moments
—
they
are
fleeting.
You
never
know
how
long
those
moments
will
last.
This
year
reminded
me
of
the
immense
value
in
simply
being
still,
in
allowing
yourself
to
experience
life
without
the
constant
hum
of
busyness.

2024
wasn’t
about
climbing
the
ladder
or
hitting
new
career
milestones.
It
was
about
living.
It
was
about
stepping
back,
taking
things
in,
and
appreciating
the
here
and
now.
I
didn’t
burn
out
this
year.
Instead,
I
gave
myself
permission
to
simply
be
—
and
it’s
made
all
the
difference.
I’m
grateful
for
the
time
I
spent
with
my
loved
ones
and
for
the
lessons
that
this
quieter
year
has
taught
me:

• I
  have
  learned
  that
  success
  isn’t
  all
  ways
  measured
  in
  productivity
  or
  how
  many
  tasks
  we
  complete.
• I
  have
  learned
  that
  success
  can
  be
  measured
  by
  the
  richness
  of
  the
  relationships
  we
  nurture,
  the
  personal
  growth
  we
  experience,
  and
  the
  balance
  we
  bring
  into
  our
  lives.

The
work
will
always
be
there,
but
the
people
you
love
won’t
be.
The
deadlines
will
come
and
go,
but
the
memories
you
make
—
those
are
the
things
you
will
want
to
hold
on
to.
As
lawyers,
we
do
have
choices.
We
do
not
have
to
live
in
a
perpetual
state
of
hustle.
We
can
find
those
quiet
moments,
and
we
can
embrace
them.
And,
for
that,
I
am
truly
grateful.

Giving
ourselves
permission
to
pause,
reflect,
and
be
present
in
the
moment
is
one
of
the
most
valuable
choices
we
can
make
—
for
our
well-being
and
for
those
we
care
about.

Sometimes,
the
greatest
gift
you
can
give
yourself
is
the
space
to
enjoy
the
journey.

For
this,
I
am
also
grateful.

---

Lisa
Lang
is
an
in-house
lawyer
and
thought
leader
who
is
passionate
about
all
things
in-house. 
She
has
recently
launched
a
website
and
blog
Why
This,
Not
That™
(www.lawyerlisalang.com
)
to
serve
as
a
resource
for
in-house
lawyers. 
You
can
e-mail
her
at




[email protected]


,
connect
with
her
on
LinkedIn 
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawyerlisalang/)
or
follow
her
on
Twitter
(@lang_lawyer).