Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer

Free speech is rarely pretty. But there was no shortage of hand-wringing last week over Yale Law students who -- checks notes -- protested an event and then left promptly when asked by faculty. If that doesn't sound bad, but that's because you're not vested in the ongoing effort to redefine free speech as protecting the people with microphones and punishing dissent. We also talk about a wildly inappropriate in-house counsel and the story of a town that ticketed an elderly couple to the tune of $30K and the federal judge who was not pleased about it.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC.

Before its fight with AT&T is over, One America News will owe Vedder Price a good deal in billables. But is it worth it for Vedder Price? The gang discusses the pros and cons of taking on civil work -- especially questionably winnable work -- for unpopular clients when other clients are begging for a squeaky clean counsel reputation. Meanwhile, law enforcement routinely pushes probable cause to the limit, but arresting 64 people for an ounce of weed proved too far. Finally, remember to vote in the annual Above the Law bracket!Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC.

Joe and Chris discuss the latest nonsensical efforts to derail Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination and ask the audience to guess which baseless attack comes next. They also breakdown the happenings between ABA TECHSHOW and Legalweek 2022, which marked Chris's first foray into the wild world of legal technology. And Joe has a nasty non-COVID cold that he caught at these shows so don't let that throw you off.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC.

Cravath proved they’re still the Biglaw compensation leader by coming over the top of Davis Polk’s raises. Now the question is — who will follow them? Which lawyers are still working for Russia? A British politician goes ahead and NAMES NAMES. The dog whistles are getting LOUD: it sure is interesting that the only Supreme Court nominee that is fielding questions about her LSAT score is a Black woman.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC.

As it happens, all three of your hosts competed on high school or college debate teams. So did Ketanji Brown Jackson. This is why you should just turn over your whole governance to the people making jokes about "uniqueness." We also talk about law firms disentangling themselves from Russia and the retrograde nonsense of the Virginia Bar Exam.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC.

After weeks of waiting, Davis Polk enters the salary increase game and re-raises, offering higher numbers for mid-level and senior associates. Is this the new normal, or could the market sustain one more shock to the system? Meanwhile, "Hobbit Law" aficionado Paul Davis gave Business Insider an interview that reads suspiciously like a rehabilitation attempt from a thoroughly embarrassed lawyer. Finally we discuss the latest Voting Rights Act case out of Arkansas and the trouble with judges getting too big for their robes.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC.

The Supreme Court returned to the shadowy depths to issue a 5-4 ruling allowing a racial gerrymander to continue through the next election. The Chief Justice dissented, lamenting the idea that a shadow docket ruling could effectively rubberstamp a "freebie" violation of the Voting Rights Act. You know... we used to have a mechanism to prevent this sort of thing, JOHN. We also discuss the latest Georgetown Law racial slur incident, which mercifully didn't end in bad "academic freedom" takes. And we talk about Kirkland's return to office announcement, which landed with a thud when the firm didn't package it with some market matching raises.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC.

Taking its lead from Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court shenanigans, a Fifth Circuit panel told attorneys to go maskless. In Louisiana. The state that just edged past New York in COVID deaths per million. Though at least some of its judges care enough about freedom to respect the judgment of counsel. Joe Rogan is still, unfortunately, in the news and he's basically the poster child for how little people seem to understand about free speech. Meanwhile, the Milbank raises still have a lot of notable holdouts. When is the market going to catch up?Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC.

Stephen Breyer plans to step down at the end of the Term. But we didn't get much time to celebrate his legacy before the national conversation shifted to denigrating his hypothetical replacement. Georgetown Law found itself thrust into the center of the story when its newest hire branded Breyer's not-yet-chosen successor as a "lesser Black [woman]." Speaking of law schools dealing with racism, Penn Law professor Amy Wax says she's not retiring amid a disciplinary inquiry into what the dean describes as her increasing "promotion of white supremacy." Meanwhile, Goodwin instituted a new vacation policy that should help associates actually unplug for a little bit.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC

Just when you thought law firm salaries had settled into a nice equilibrium, Milbank announced another round of base salary hikes and the whole cycle began again. But with some notable hold-outs, the industry is left wondering if this is the last word on the matter or if another raise is on the horizon. We also talk about Elon Musk's effort to get a law firm to fire an attorney for being mean to him when he was back pushing the envelope of SEC regulations, and a state judge who refused to get vaccinated and an unvaccinated former VP candidate who sunk her high profile trial by catching COVID.