Career & Practice

2 BigLaw firms reject routine special bonuses as several boutiques match or surpass market rate

Above the Law’s bonus tracker continues to expand, as an increasing number of boutique law firms announce associate bonuses that match or surpass market rates set by Milbank. But some BigLaw firms are not falling in line with the standard special bonuses.

Dec 19, 2024 11:00 AM CST

Litigating the Tower of Pisa fiasco

I have always been interested in mistakes, also known as errors, blunders or, in my best legalese, boo-boos. I am especially interested in historical iconic mistakes. I just read that the city of Bologna, Italy, has two towers, “le due torri,” both closed to visitors because they also are now…

Dec 19, 2024 9:04 AM CST

Federal judge offers ‘unreserved apology’ after order says his Alito criticism violated ethics rules

Senior U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor of the District of Massachusetts is offering an “unreserved apology” and a commitment to “scrupulously avoid” future transgressions after he was found to have violated the judicial code of ethics for criticizing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in an op-ed in the New York Times.

Dec 18, 2024 12:09 PM CST

Law school diversity persists after affirmative action ban, new ABA report finds

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-conscious affirmative action policies did little to impact the makeup of 2024’s first year law students, according to the 2024 Standard 509 Information Report data overview from the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Dec 18, 2024 9:20 AM CST

‘Hot-tubbing’ and ‘coffee badging’ among top 2024 words in law

Top words in law for 2024 include catchy ways to describe minimal workplace attendance and expert-witness conferences, according to the list recently unveiled by Burton’s Legal Thesaurus.

Dec 18, 2024 8:47 AM CST

4th Circuit judge’s ‘unretired’ decision leads to ethics complaint by conservative group

A conservative group has filed a judicial misconduct complaint against a third judge who revoked plans to take senior status after it became clear that a successor would not be confirmed before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

Dec 17, 2024 3:25 PM CST

Has constitutional-convention threshold already been met? It happened in 1979, GOP lawmaker says

The 34-state threshold for calling a constitutional convention has already been reached, if the U.S. Constitution’s Article V counts any state request for a convention, no matter what the topic, according to a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Dec 17, 2024 2:15 PM CST

Stalled 3rd Circuit judicial nominee, a Muslim, criticizes ‘performative McCarthyism’ of review process

A Muslim judicial nominee for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Philadelphia has asserted that the process for picking federal judges is “fundamentally broken” and based on “performative McCarthyism before video cameras.”

Dec 17, 2024 10:27 AM CST

The legal tech trends that defined 2024

The year 2024 was one of change. In the midst of a largely unpopular back-to-office push, technological innovation and development occurred at a rapid clip. Legal professionals approached technology with a newfound curiosity and appreciation gained as a result of pandemic-era remote work experimentation. The increasing demand for generative artificial…

Dec 17, 2024 9:47 AM CST

CEO Roundtable With Ari Kaplan: Legal industry CEOs reflect on vibrant 2024, look ahead to 2025

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with the following CEOs in his annual Ari Kaplan Advisors CEO roundtable about the opportunities of 2024 and the expectations for an industry in perpetual change in 2025.

Dec 17, 2024 8:44 AM CST

Florida Bar drops diversity and inclusion language from its internal policy

The Florida Bar’s board of governors on Friday eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion language from its organizational policy, a move that follows the Florida Supreme Court’s February mandate for the bar to stop funding diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Dec 16, 2024 10:07 AM CST

Jones Day has hired nearly 100 SCOTUS clerks in a dozen years; how many are in this year’s class?

Jones Day has hired 10 former U.S. Supreme Court law clerks from the October 2023 term, adding to an “already-deep bench of talent,” according to Noel Francisco, the partner in charge of the law firm's Washington, D.C., office and a former U.S. solicitor general.

Dec 12, 2024 12:43 PM CST

California judge admonished for doing this after telling newbie attorney to stop shaking her head

A California judge has received a public admonishment partly for flinging court papers at a newbie defense lawyer because he thought that she was shaking her head at him.

Dec 12, 2024 10:21 AM CST

Federal judge will no longer tolerate lawyers’ barbed briefs and ‘expletive-laden phone calls’

A federal judge in Seattle is fed up with "hyperbole and bluster" in a lawsuit alleging that State Farm failed to pay full policy benefits to homeowners after a house fire.

Dec 12, 2024 9:00 AM CST

Meet the lawyer who created the food nutrition label

It is hard to imagine any lawyer whose work has been seen by more people—or, for some, more derided. While the ubiquitous nutrition label is now taken for granted, getting it onto products wasn’t so simple. It called for creative legal maneuvering. Peter Barton Hutt shared his recipe with the ABA Journal, as well as a place to get a great hot dog.

Dec 12, 2024 8:58 AM CST