AG Barr Visits Fox To Offer Medical Advice And Threaten To LOCK HER UP Former DOJ Officials

(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In a wide-ranging interview with Laura Ingraham, who clerked for Clarence Thomas but now makes a living pretending not to understand the FirstFifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, Attorney General Bill Barr promised that arrests of those Deep State Obama Justice Department Trump haters are coming soon!

“My own view,” Barr said Thursday when the topic of the Russia investigation came up, “is that the evidence shows that we’re not dealing with just mistakes or sloppiness. There is something far more troubling here, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it. And if people broke the law, and we can establish that with the evidence, they will be prosecuted.”

If people broke the law, one might expect that DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz would have mentioned it in his 400-page report. Instead he found that the investigation was properly predicated and conducted without bias. But never fear, because Barr is priming the pump for an October surprise from Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, whose “primary focus isn’t to prepare a report. He is looking to bring to justice people who are engaged in abuses if he can show that there were criminal violations, and that’s what the focus is on.”

“Without any basis, they started this investigation of his [Trump’s] campaign, and even more concerning, actually is what happened after the campaign,” Barr told Ingraham. “[There was] a whole pattern of events while he was president … to sabotage the presidency … or at least have the effect of sabotaging the presidency.”

Hey, remember when the Trump administration pretended they were firing James Comey because he made public statements about Hillary Clinton’s BUT HER EMAILS in the absence of an indictment? LOL forever!

Barr also had #Thoughts on the firing of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, whom Trump trashed at one of his daily MAGA pressers this week, saying, “He took a whistleblower report, which turned out to be a fake report — it was fake. It was totally wrong.  It was about my conversation with the President of Ukraine. He took a fake report and he brought it to Congress, with an emergency. Okay? Not a big Trump fan — that, I can tell you.”

Unsurprisingly, Bill Barr agreed, insisting that “[Atkinson] is obliged to follow the interpretation of the Department of Justice, and he ignored it.” Nowhere in the statute does an obligation to run investigations up the flagpole for approval make an appearance, but perhaps it’s written in invisible ink that only Federalist Society Members can see.

Having mangled the law, Barr moved on to loyally flogging Trump’s plan to reopen the economy at the end of the month, describing the social distancing measures supported by medical and public health officials as “draconian.”

“We cannot keep for a long period of time our economy shut down just on the public health thing. It means less cancer. Cancer researchers are at home. A lot of the disease reaches researchers who will save lives in the future. That’s being held in abeyance,” he said, confusingly. “The money that goes into these institutions, whether philanthropic sources or government sources, is going to be reduced. We will have a weaker health care system if we go into a deep depression. So it just measured it in lives. The cure cannot be worse than the disease.”

Look, the “public health thing” is all well and good, but if you don’t let Donald Trump kill you with covid, you’re going to die of cancer, okay?

“It’s very disappointing because I think the president went out at the beginning of this and really was statesmanlike, trying to bring people together, working with all the governors,” Barr rhapsodized. “Keeping his patience as he as he got these snarky, gotcha questions from the White House media pool and the stridency of the partisan attacks on him has gotten higher and higher.”

Remember when Donald Trump joked about being “under” a model, but not like a coronavirus model, HAR HAR? Why can’t the press be less snarky when confronted with such gravitas and statesmanship, that’s what Bill Barr wants to know!

And then the nation’s top law enforcement officer accused the media of being on a “jihad” against the unproven antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. Because, on top of everything else, Bill Barr is a doctor now.

This is your brain on Fox News. Clearly the only way we’re going to survive this pandemic is through collective action. Quick, take your mask and gloves, sneak into your parents’ house, switch the channel to PBS, and STEAL THE REMOTE. It’s our only hope!

Barr says Trump was right to fire intel watchdog, calls Russia probe ‘one of the greatest travesties’ [Fox]

Barr disappointed by partisan attacks leveled at President Trump, says media on a ‘jihad’ against hydroxychloroquine


Elizabeth Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

Baker McKenzie Announces There Will Definitely Be COVID-19 Cuts. But Exactly What They Are, Who The Hell Knows.

Talk about amping up the anxiety! I’m sure the folks at Baker McKenzie are trying for transparency, but the effort leaves something to be desired.

According to multiple tipsters, the North American offices of Baker McKenzie had an all-hands conference call today. The message was clear — pay cuts are coming. But the specifics weren’t revealed, and firm leadership said exactly how much their paychecks would be impacted would be revealed next week. And tipsters aren’t happy at this partial reveal:

The rather tactless announcement left everyone reeling over the lack of specifics…which will no doubt carry over into every employee’s holiday weekend.

The amount of the planned salary cut is plainly important. During the course of the COVID-19 austerity measures, we’ve seen a wide variety of pay cuts implemented — some as low as 5 percent and others as high as 30 percent. The difference in take-home pay between those extremes could easily be the difference between being able to make your mortgage payment and being unable to swing living expenses.

While the exact pocketbook impact remains a question, we do know that both staff and attorneys making over $100,000 are on the chopping block. But as a tipster revealed, at this point, the firm intends to institute true-up bonuses when this whole mess is over and has kept the door open for high-biller bonuses.

The town hall also revealed the firm has no current plans for economic layoffs. But, in the opinion of one tipster, the phrasing of the announcement leaves the door open for the dreaded stealth layoffs:

Also mentioned that this should result in no layoffs “for pure economic reasons”… wording and emphasis on that felt suspicious to me that layoffs for other reasons may be coming.

We reached out to the firm, but they did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Hopefully those at the firm will be able to weather the coming salary cuts, no matter how large they may be.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.


headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. 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).

NY Bar Exam Encounters New Hurdle — Not Enough Space To Test Everyone

Right… you can’t do this now.

Things just keep getting worse for bar examiners around the country.

After struggling to figure out a suitable time to reschedule the canceled summer administration of the exam, they’ve hit a new obstacle. Specifically, where are you going to cram all these people to ensure that everyone’s a nice six feet distance from each other? It’s sure not the Javits Center!

And that’s why NY is teasing a monumental twist — maybe the bar exam is going to run a lot longer than two days.

The examination has been rescheduled to WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9-10, 2020. The application period for the rescheduled examination is presently scheduled to open on May 5, 2020 at 12:00 AM and to close on May 30, 2020 at 11:59 PM.

HOWEVER, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE BOARD DOES NOT EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO USE THE LARGE VENUES IT TYPICALLY USES TO ADMINISTER THE EXAM, THE BOARD WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TEST ALL THE CANDIDATES WHO WOULD TYPICALLY APPLY TO TAKE A JULY BAR EXAM. THE BOARD WILL BE REQUIRED TO PRIORITIZE GROUPS OF CANDIDATES AND EXPECTS TO ANNOUNCE A STAGGERED SCHEDULE FOR AND NECESSARY LIMITATIONS ON APPLICATIONS.

Staggered schedule. Are we going to be having administrations every week for a month or something? How is that going to dovetail with other states? They are also reporting that the New York law schools are offering up space for test-takers. That’s nice and all, but even with the extra real estate that’s still going to require a lot of dates to get through everyone and eventually those schools are going to have to go back in session.

Or are we just going to tell large swaths of the application pool that they’re just going to have to wait until February… or even next July? That’s a terrific burden to drop on students who are going to have to go find work in the meantime and then find some way to study while holding down a legal gig.

It sure seems like a diploma privilege plus regime would solve all these problems. But, as Kermit would say, that’s none of my business.

On the other hand, we may all be overreacting here. While it’s commendable that the Board of Law Examiners is thinking ahead about how it’s going to pull off this logistical nightmare, realistically game-planning this all out seems like overkill. Because let’s be clear: if we’re still social distancing like this in September, I’m not positive we’ll still be a nation of laws.


HeadshotJoe 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 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.

Summer Associate Programs Canceled At Firms That Needed To Delay Merger Due To COVID-19 Outbreak

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This decision arises out of our conclusion that, given current and expected conditions, we cannot provide for a meaningful summer experience that allows our students to perform to their full potential.

— a spokesperson for Pepper Hamilton, commenting on the firm’s recent decision to cancel its summer associate program alongside that of its merger partner, Troutman Sanders. Both firms have extended full-time job offers to the affected law students who would have spent their summers at the firms, offering “financial assistance” to them as well. The merger between Pepper Hamilton and Troutman Sanders is being postponed until July 1, 2020, due to the coronavirus.


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 Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

A New Program for Laid Off Attorneys | Lateral Link

Those who remember the 2009 recession will recall the mass layoffs that left more than 4,000 Biglaw attorneys jobless, and altered the career trajectory of thousands more. It’s unclear yet whether we are gearing up for another round of mass layoffs, or careful pruning. So far a large number of firms have announced both cost-cutting salary reductions and some are already resorting to layoffs. Regardless, much like we did in 2009, we are readying ourselves to implement additional services for our attorney clients who are, or may soon be, out of work. 

The aptly named Bridge Year Program we launched in 2009 was a temporary program that provided a bridge between Biglaw and the attorney’s next endeavour. The goal was to provide a buffer from the attorney’s exit out of Biglaw, and possibly a route back in. Indeed many of our candidates resumed working at Biglaw firms after the crisis abated. 

We are still finalizing the details, but the new program would be much more robust than our 2009 offering and provide attorneys with much more flexibility and stability thanks to our increased footprint, and synergies with our sister companies Cadence Counsel and Bridgeline Solutions. If you are interested in learning more about the program, register at Lateral Link and we will email you once the full details of the program are finalized. 

We’re all in this together. We hope for your continued health and safety, and we aim to be an instrumental resource in helping you through this pandemic as smoothly as possible.

Firms looking for top temporary talent should contact the Managing Principal of Bridgeline Solutions, Craig Brown.

Even A Billion Dollars In Revenue Can’t Stop COVID-19 Layoffs

By all accounts, Goodwin Procter is a pretty successful law firm. In 2018, the most recent year for which full financials are available, they joined the Billion Dollar Club. With gross revenue of $1,198,625,000 that year, the firm takes the 26th spot in the 2019 Am Law 200 ranking. But even those impressive financials can’t stop the economical upheaval caused by the novel coronavirus.

According to Above the Law tipsters, ~50 staff members were laid off by the Biglaw firm. A Goodwin Procter spokesperson confirmed the cuts and provided the following statement:

We recently reviewed the performance and size of our global operations team given the current and anticipated effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy. As a result of our analysis, we made the difficult decision to ask a limited number of our global operations team members to leave the firm. We are providing severance packages, based on tenure, to impacted employees. In addition, we will make continued contribution to healthcare benefits through September 30, 2020 for all affected personnel. Our global operations team continues to play a key role in supporting the firm’s operations, lawyers and clients across the business of law.

And while the firm certainly seems to be doing the best they can by these now former employees, from the tips we’ve received, folks aren’t impressed. One tipster reported being “shocked” and these are a sampling of the more choice comments ATL has received:

Gave blood and sweat to this firm for [XX} years and this is how we get treated.

They made one billion last year and they just laid off 50 people in the middle of this virus. Corporate greed.

We here at Above the Law wish the best to all those who find themselves without work during this global health crisis.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can  or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.


headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. 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).

Law Firm Advertisement Brings Some Good-Natured Levity To The COVID-19 Pandemic

Arkansas law firm Mostyn Prettyman put together a new advertisement to alert their clients and potential clients that they’re adapting to the COVID-19 outbreak the same way everyone else is.

It starts out with the standard, way-too-stilted delivery style we’re accustomed to from years of legal advertisements, but the firm has a little fun streak as the ad goes on to help put a wry smile on your face.

Take care out there.


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 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.

Am Law 200 Firm Introduces Pay Cuts For All, Furloughs For Some

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As we get deeper into the thick of the economic upheaval that’s been caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Biglaw firms have been faced with a cruel sort of choose your own (mis)adventure game. From cuts to partner draws and distributions, associate and staff salary cuts, benefits cuts, employee furloughs, and employee layoffs, everything is on the table.

Which will your law firm choose?

We recently heard about an Am Law 200 firm that seems to have taken a bit of a smorgasbord approach to its pandemic reductions. We’ve been told that equity partners at Hodgson Russ almost immediately reduced their draws by more than 30 percent as soon as they had to leave the office environment to do work. Sources say that the following cost-cutting measures at the firm will take effect next week:

  • Compensation for all employed attorneys will be reduced by 15 percent;
  • Compensation for all executives/director positions will be reduced by 15 percent;
  • Compensation for all other employees will be reduced by 15 percent;
  • Employees with little/no work who cannot work remotely will be furloughed; and
  • All 401(k) matching for employees are indefinitely suspended.

Managing partner Rick Kennedy confirmed these measures, noting the following:

While partner compensation was immediately reduced by more than 30% at the outset of the pandemic, we have, until April 13, kept our entire work force in place at full compensation. We view today’s steps as measured, prudent, and necessary to remain resilient for our clients and colleagues. We hope the pandemic subsides and the world returns to some sense of normalcy very soon. In the meantime, all of our attorneys are fully operational and working remotely. Our clients remain of paramount importance, and clients should expect the same excellent service they are accustomed to despite the current challenges.

We wish the best of luck to the firm as they work through these trying times.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.


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 Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Remember This Is A Physical And Emotional Job, Too

We may feel like we are drowning in news, and articles, and thoughts, and social media pieces about the virus (since we are). I’ll try not to add too much to that but use the virus for a point I’ve made before: while we may be in a so-called “thought” profession, we are not beings of pure intelligence, like some race from the original Star Trek series. Those minds are in bodies, and we have emotions, and we need to tend to them. One of the things which my colleagues and I often discuss is the physical reality to our job. Ordinarily, that might mean making sure to take a quick walk every hour, or to actually use our standing desks, or just making sure that quick and healthy snacks are available when we’re in the middle of a crazy day.

The present not-so-ordinary reality where some, like we lawyers, are able to do a lot of work from home, makes this point painfully clear. At least if you go to the office, you might walk a bit to the train, or to go out to get lunch, or even down some long hallways in your office building. When the commute for many of us now can involve collapsing from our bed to the desk in our bedroom, we have to take extra care to find a way to maintain our physical health. If you are able to go outside, do it. Yes, be safe, stay at least six feet from people, wash your hands, all that. But if you can, take walks — a lot — or run, or maybe hike or bike if that’s available. If you are not able to leave home, then find some way to exercise indoors. This could be the time to invest in a treadmill or stationary bike (if you have the space and money). But even if not, walk up and down the halls of your apartment or around your backyard. I take most of my calls while walking or at least pacing back and forth, so without thinking about it I somehow end up with 15,000 steps, even these days.

But there is more than our physical health. There’s our mental or emotional health. If you’re fortunate enough to be a parent, you have to care for your children’s emotional health in a special way these days, and that can make you really feel the obligation to maintain a good attitude, not swim in the negative news. This requires a choice that life before maybe didn’t demand of us. Whether you yield to hope or despair is a straight-up choice. We can make it easier to choose wisely: as noted, you don’t need to check a news app every 20 minutes just to read the same bad news; you can maintain a routine so that you give yourself down time (a problem with not having the routine and working from home is that it can feel like you really should be working every free moment from when you wake until you fall asleep). Do what you need to do to make the choice easier, but keep in mind you have a choice to be hopeful and maintain a good attitude.

If you’re even reading this entry you are very likely among the blessed, who are able to keep working, will hopefully not lose your job, and are able to take steps to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Be grateful for that, but also be sure you take care of your whole self during this time.


john-balestriereJohn Balestriere is an entrepreneurial trial lawyer who founded his firm after working as a prosecutor and litigator at a small firm. He is a partner at trial and investigations law firm Balestriere Fariello in New York, where he and his colleagues represent domestic and international clients in litigation, arbitration, appeals, and investigations. You can reach him by email at john.g.balestriere@balestrierefariello.com.

Colorado Accidentally Sent Out Bar Results, Said They Were Fake, But They Were Real

It’s been quite the whirlwind for Colorado. After telling everyone that bar results would be out at the end of the month, the state accidentally informed everyone through an email blast earlier in the week. After yanking down the results and informing everyone that it was all a Beta test and the results were fake, they’ve now gone ahead and released the real results.

Which, tipsters inform us, appear to be the same results from before.

After toying with the emotions of examinees, officials released this statement assuring folks that the results were not “reliable or accurate.”

This no doubt produced terror in those who thought they’d passed and elation in those fearing that they failed. We argued at the time that keeping people in limbo for another 20 days would be cruel at this point and that if the state was lying about these results being fake, they should come right out and release everything immediately. So at least they’ve done that.

But why the lies? Don’t these folks deserve some candor? As one tipster put it:

At bottom, if an attorney lied to the public like this, they would face serious discipline. Therefore… the attorney regulation counsel should resign, or be fired.

It’s hard to argue with that logic.

State Sends Out Fake Bar Results As Part Of Beta Test


HeadshotJoe 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 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.