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PODCAST

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer

Legal Talk Network

Thinking Like A Lawyer is a podcast featuring Above the Law"s Joe Patrice, Kathryn Rubino, and Chris Williams. Each episode, the hosts will take a topic experienced and enjoyed by regular people, and shine it through the prism of a legal framework. This will either reveal an awesome rainbow of thought, or a disorienting kaleidoscope of issues. Either way, it should be fun.

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All Episodes

38:07

Layoffs & Mergers Highlight A Bumpy Year Ahead

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2023/01/11

It’s only the beginning. While Goodwin Procter announced a major round of attorney layoffs, Holland & Knight announced a blockbuster expansion by adding Waller Lansden. Two different paths both driven by industry uncertainty: should firms cut or grow their way out of declining demand? Also, Ginni Thomas kept doing Ginni Thomas things.

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32:35

Biglaw Closes Out The Year With Some Shenanigans

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2023/01/04

Always waiting until the last minute. The week between Christmas and the New Year is usually pretty dead for legal news, which makes it the perfect time for a firm to try to slip some shady stuff past the goalie. Shearman started telling associates that they would not be getting bonuses for a variety of previous unannounced reasons. Foley Hoag tried to retroactively apply next year's hours requirement to this year's bonuses (they did the right thing and retreated within 48 hours). And Nelson Mullins

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50:04

2022 Legal Year In Review

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/12/28

The gang breaks down the biggest trends across the legal industry this year. From the Supreme Court's leaking to major ethical lapses, 2022 came in with a bang (raises) and leaves with a whimper (stealth layoffs). Did we learn anything? Probably not. Are we going to talk about it anyway? Of course. What else are we going to do?

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35:39

Biglaw Firm Seeks Its Pound Of Bar Prep Flesh

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/12/21

It's all about optics. When an associate left Jones Day before serving a full two years, the firm billed for pro-rated bar study expenses. Once again, just because an agreement allows a firm to do something, doesn't mean it should. It's just not a good look for a firm. Speaking of optics, we also talk about Justice Brett Kavanaugh partying with Matt Gaetz and Alex Acosta -- and more importantly, parties with business before the Court this Term -- all while Supreme Court legitimacy sinks like a

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35:30

Dickensian Law Firms

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/12/14

Also the country may have dodged a constitutional bullet. If Ebeneezer Scrooge ran a law firm, he would probably bill associates for his own lack of work. It turns out, there's a law firm in North Dakota doing that right now. Also, the Supreme Court heard argument on the independent state legislature theory, a tortured reading of the Constitution designed to give Republicans a permanent federal electoral advantage, and it seemed to be a bridge too far for three conservative justices. All that and a

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38:41

Sam Alito Successfully Deploys The Shaggy Defense

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/12/07

But they caught me with some contemporaneous third-party emails? We discuss the crackerjack investigation the Supreme Court performed into allegations that Justice Sam Alito has a history of leaking decisions. After a religious leader confessed to lobbying efforts that included leaks from Alito concerning key decisions, Alito told the Court "it wasn't me" and, remarkably, they just accepted that and called it a day. Speaking of decisions, the Eleventh Circuit finally put a stop to Judge Aileen

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36:11

To Test Or Not To Test

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/11/30

ABA poised to eliminate standardized testing requirement... but should it? Taking the LSAT is the first step in the law school journey. But it doesn't have to be. The ABA is considering dropping its requirement that accredited schools employ standardized testing as part of admissions. Some argue that the LSAT is a critical tool in promoting diversity in both law school and the profession. Others claim that the test's value as part of the process is overemphasized and that affording admissions more

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37:40

Driving A Stake Through U.S. News

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/11/23

Elite law schools are withdrawing from the U.S. News & World Report rankings one by one, but what does it all mean? We've never loved the USNWR methodology, but the reasons these schools cite for departing the rankings don't seem all that great. Maybe the schools would like to help a certain alternative ranking get better results! And the Biglaw bonus cycle has kicked off even amid an uncertain business environment.

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38:41

Game Of Owns: The 2022 FedSoc Convention

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/11/16

Annual gathering aims to silence woke heretics... misses spectacularly. The Federalist Society national convention kicked off with Judge William Pryor mocking Above the Law for insinuating that the organization is a bunch of ideological hacks in a monologue that was "funny" to the extent it amounted to a quarter hour of self-owns. A day later, FedSoc proved its hackery when the Board voted to bar its founder and co-chair from identifying himself to the media as either a "founder" or "co-chair" -- a

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34:45

The Drumbeat Of Layoffs Getting Louder

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/11/09

It's not 2009 all over again, but it's not great. Layoffs are continuing to percolate through the legal industry. Will they stay contained to a few firms with hard hit clients or are we seeing the beginning of widespread firings. Meanwhile, Jones Day has another brush with the Streisand Effect, leading the panel to have to explain who Barbra Streisand is to our youngest member.

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35:46

Ye's New Single Should Be "Biglaw Walks"

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/11/02

Also, hybrid work models show strain. While Ye (née Kanye West) continues to bring new meaning to his song Black Skinhead with a flurry of antisemitic remarks, Biglaw firms are being Heartless and leaving his stable of representation a Ghost Town. But are they Stronger for making the move? Meanwhile, work from home policies remain in their infancy, but firms are already frustrating associates with tweaks. Cravath's originally announced policy has added a wrinkle and Ropes & Gray has folks positively

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34:06

Donald Trump Trying To Use The Courts For His Petty...

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/10/26

Donald Trump is threatening a dumb lawsuit against the Pulitzer committee, but is it dumb like a fox? Because the right certainly has New York Times v. Sullivan in their crosshairs. There's still no information about the Supreme Court's investigation into the Dobbs leak. Color me utterly unsurprised. Steve Bannon is heading to jail, but that might not be the end of his legal woes. Maybe that federal pardon wasn't all that and a bag of chips.

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33:46

Bar Exam Cheating Tale Almost Too Stupid To Believe

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/10/19

Also lawyers don't make enough money... maybe. An anonymous Illinois bar applicant took to Reddit to confess to cheating on the exam. Perhaps "anonymous" should be placed in quotes because the author proceeded to provide a ton of identifying details triggering a bar examiner investigation. Also, new data suggests lawyers should raise rates, but is that really true? And merger mania is back in Biglaw with two top-tier mergers. All that and a brief aside about Liechtenstein admiralty law. Your

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21:38

Clio Conversations

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/10/13

Joe went to a conference... here's what went down. The crew couldn't convene this week because of the Clio Cloud Conference, but here's Joe's interview with Pamela Smith talking about lawyer public relations.

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33:09

It's Not A Lie If You Believe It.

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/10/05

But it might make you a sociopath. Ginni Thomas testified to the January 6 committee that she still believes the election was stolen from Donald Trump. They wouldn't call it the "big" lie if it went down easy! But she also testified that she and Clarence don't talk about work, which might be even less believable than her stolen election claim. Also, an attorney billed 277 hours to review 20 documents... that seems like something the firm should've stopped earlier. And Judge James Ho is trying to

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33:52

Playing Stupid Games

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/09/28

Receive The Appropriate Prizes. Did you know that it's not a good idea to keep two sets of accounting ledgers in order to scam banks and skimp on taxes? It's true! And the majority of the Trump family is finding that out as the NY Attorney General files a lawsuit. Have you considered putting your very freedom in the hands of a judge with decades of experience based on your own misunderstanding of one incident in their lives? Trump did that too, proposing Judge Dearie as special master, apparently on

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28:59

Dueling Speeches Spice Up Supreme Court Offseason

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/09/21

And we speak of mermaids and copyrights. There are people out there planning to digitally replace Ariel in the new Little Mermaid movie with a computer generated white character. This is great news... if you're Disney's outside IP enforcement counsel! Meanwhile, the SCOTUS offseason heats up with Chief Justice Roberts complaining that the public questions the Court's legitimacy and Justice Kagan indirectly points out that it's his fault. Also, maybe ACB forgot whole parts of the First Amendment

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34:56

Law School Reform Gets Some Unlikely Support

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/09/14

Also, judges need to get their act together. Did you ever think we'd hear a Supreme Court justice questioning the law school model? Well, it happened! Sandwiched between some nonsense about the Dobbs leak, Neil Gorsuch mused that the United States may not need to force students through 7 years of higher education to practice law. We may not have all the answers, but at least people are talking about it. Also we have a couple of horror stories about judges refusing to respect lawyers with families

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34:53

Telling My Grandkids Judge Aileen Cannon Was Just...

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/09/07

See, it was an elaborate art piece to demonstrate the futility of law. We breakdown the shenanigans involved in the latest Trump search warrant order... which is in a civil matter... with a different judge... invoking privileges Trump doesn't have... granting relief he didn't even ask for. What does any of that even mean? Good luck to the judge's clerks in their future endeavors after getting handcuffed to this! We also discuss debt relief and how it impacts law students. And we discuss Jones Day

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30:14

Trump Judge's Crim Pro Choose Your Own Adventure

Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer ·

2022/08/31

Um... 28 U.S.C. Section... Why Not? The Donald Trump warrant fight provides a scattershot of weird challenges to unravel for the non-lawyers in our lives. We've got collateral attacks and special masters and still no clear sense of how there's any jurisdiction for any of it. But he's found a judge seemingly willing to play along. As a reminder, the job of finding judges like these belongs to Leonard Leo, the guru behind the Federalist Society who now has a billion in shadowy money to play with

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434 results

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