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Legal Consultant Says Biglaw May See “Wave” of Job Cuts Following Layoffs at Weil Gotshal
July 5, 2013
As you may have heard, NYC white-shoe law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced yesterday that it was laying off 60 associates, 110 support staff and reducing the pay of some partners due to a decline in business. In an article covering the story in the New York Times, the Chairman of the Citi Private Bank law firm consulting group noted that Biglaw in general has not fully recovered from the Great Recession and that there are still too many lawyers chasing too few jobs. He predicts we'll...
July 5, 2013
As you may have heard, NYC white-shoe law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced yesterday that it was laying off 60 associates, 110 support staff and reducing the pay of some partners due to a decline in business. In an article covering the story in the New York Times, the Chairman of the Citi Private Bank law firm consulting group noted that Biglaw in general has not fully recovered from the Great Recession and that there are still too many lawyers chasing too few jobs. He predicts we'll...
Rise Of The Machines
July 5, 2013
Researcher Dreams Up Machines That Learn Without Humans | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com. What will happen when the machines can learn from data they haven't seen before? What will happen when you don't have to train the machines? This researcher in deep learning has created algorithms which allow the computers to learn from data they have never seen before. On a large scale, this means that SkyNet is in our future. Thank goodness we will all be dead by that time.
July 5, 2013
Researcher Dreams Up Machines That Learn Without Humans | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com. What will happen when the machines can learn from data they haven't seen before? What will happen when you don't have to train the machines? This researcher in deep learning has created algorithms which allow the computers to learn from data they have never seen before. On a large scale, this means that SkyNet is in our future. Thank goodness we will all be dead by that time.
The Fifth Circuit Accepts Judicial Estoppel as a Basis for Discovery
July 5, 2013
In its dispute with Chevron Corporation regarding the Lago Agrio litigation, the Republic of Ecuador has frequently been on the losing end of discovery applications filed by Chevron pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 1782. In Republic of Ecuador, et al. v. John A. Connor, Chevron Corporation, et al., Nos. 12-20122/20123, 2013 WL 539011 (5th Cir. February 13, 2013), Ecuador filed its own section 1782 application in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, seeking discovery from an individual...
July 5, 2013
In its dispute with Chevron Corporation regarding the Lago Agrio litigation, the Republic of Ecuador has frequently been on the losing end of discovery applications filed by Chevron pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 1782. In Republic of Ecuador, et al. v. John A. Connor, Chevron Corporation, et al., Nos. 12-20122/20123, 2013 WL 539011 (5th Cir. February 13, 2013), Ecuador filed its own section 1782 application in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, seeking discovery from an individual...
When is Litigation Like Las Vegas ?
July 5, 2013
When is litigation like Las Vegas? The more cynical among us might answer “Always,” arguing that the outcome of any trial is a crapshoot. But for the rest of us, “always” is not the right answer. Most believe there is a relationship between the outcome of a trial and the hard work that went into preparing for it. Most believe that our actions influence the outcome. But there is an aspect of litigation that is almost exactly like Las Vegas, at least from a mathematical perspective, and that...
July 5, 2013
When is litigation like Las Vegas? The more cynical among us might answer “Always,” arguing that the outcome of any trial is a crapshoot. But for the rest of us, “always” is not the right answer. Most believe there is a relationship between the outcome of a trial and the hard work that went into preparing for it. Most believe that our actions influence the outcome. But there is an aspect of litigation that is almost exactly like Las Vegas, at least from a mathematical perspective, and that...
Psychology for Lawyers
July 4, 2013
I want to recommend a book for your law library, Psychology for Lawyers by Jennifer Robbennolt and Jean Sternlight. (ABA 2012). Here’s the abstract: Lawyers who can harness the insights of psychology will be more effective interviewers and counselors, engage in more successful negotiations, conduct more efficient and useful discovery, more effectively persuade judges and others through their written words, better identify and avoid ethical problems, and even be more productive and happier....
July 4, 2013
I want to recommend a book for your law library, Psychology for Lawyers by Jennifer Robbennolt and Jean Sternlight. (ABA 2012). Here’s the abstract: Lawyers who can harness the insights of psychology will be more effective interviewers and counselors, engage in more successful negotiations, conduct more efficient and useful discovery, more effectively persuade judges and others through their written words, better identify and avoid ethical problems, and even be more productive and happier....
Dean Nancy B. Rapoport on Legal Education Reform
July 4, 2013
Rethinking U.S. Legal Education: No More 'Same Old, Same Old'. Abstract: "In this Essay, I suggest that we should think about how to create a curriculum that encourages students to develop a variety of skill sets. Law students simply don’t need three years of Socratic questioning regarding the fine details of court opinions. They need a wide range of experiences, preferably building on skill sets (like the twenty-six Berkeley factors) that effective lawyers have developed. A law school’s curriculum...
July 4, 2013
Rethinking U.S. Legal Education: No More 'Same Old, Same Old'. Abstract: "In this Essay, I suggest that we should think about how to create a curriculum that encourages students to develop a variety of skill sets. Law students simply don’t need three years of Socratic questioning regarding the fine details of court opinions. They need a wide range of experiences, preferably building on skill sets (like the twenty-six Berkeley factors) that effective lawyers have developed. A law school’s curriculum...
Vermont Law School Cuts Faculty by 17% Due to Declining Applications
July 4, 2013
The move is not entirely unexpected in light of the staff cuts announced last November. According to a VLS spokesman, these most recent faculty cuts were made through a combination of attrition and converting some full-time positions to part-time. The downsizing affects both tenure/tenure-track faculty as well as contract faculty which I presume includes legal writing and clinical professors. Here are the details courtesy of the Tax Prof blog (the story was first reported by the Vermont...
July 4, 2013
The move is not entirely unexpected in light of the staff cuts announced last November. According to a VLS spokesman, these most recent faculty cuts were made through a combination of attrition and converting some full-time positions to part-time. The downsizing affects both tenure/tenure-track faculty as well as contract faculty which I presume includes legal writing and clinical professors. Here are the details courtesy of the Tax Prof blog (the story was first reported by the Vermont...
Our Founding Fathers: Who Were They and What Happened to Them?
July 4, 2013
Transcript RAY SUAREZ: The Fourth of July has come to be known as a day for picnics, fireworks, rest and relaxation. It was a tense and risky day for the 56 men who attached their names to the document that became America's Declaration of Independence from British rule. ARTICLE TOOLS Print Email Share Journalists and authors Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese uncover the social, political and financial gamble signers faced in the aftermath of their decision...
July 4, 2013
Transcript RAY SUAREZ: The Fourth of July has come to be known as a day for picnics, fireworks, rest and relaxation. It was a tense and risky day for the 56 men who attached their names to the document that became America's Declaration of Independence from British rule. ARTICLE TOOLS Print Email Share Journalists and authors Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese uncover the social, political and financial gamble signers faced in the aftermath of their decision...
Wolfram|Alpha Apps: Your Guide to Summer
July 4, 2013
Wolfram|Alpha apps are your guide to summer! Whether you’re interested in sunbathing, traveling, boating, stargazing, or fitness,...
July 4, 2013
Wolfram|Alpha apps are your guide to summer! Whether you’re interested in sunbathing, traveling, boating, stargazing, or fitness,...
The Declaration of Independence
July 4, 2013
The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that...
July 4, 2013
The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that...
