Select Page

editor’s legal news picks

stay current with all the latest legal topics 

Stat(s) Of The Week: Biglaw’s Office Space

Stat(s) Of The Week: Biglaw’s Office Space

Back at the start of office reentry, we asked our audience to compare their desire for higher pay with their desire for remote flexibility.  We learned that it would take a 30% pay increase to persuade over half of our readers to voluntarily abandon remote work.  Four...

read more

This Biglaw Firm Lost 42% Of Its Attorneys Last Year

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! According to data collected by the National Law Journal, which Biglaw firm saw the largest percentage decrease in head count in 2024? Hint: The firm saw a 42% decrease in head count, from 293 lawyers...

read more

Willkie Partners Are Walking Away! — See Also

To Cooley, That Is!: They are leaving in favor of a firm with a backbone. Skadden De-Fangs Their Distinguished Fellows Program To Keep Trump Happy: How will they reconcile helping the poor and “conservative ideals”? Back And Worse For You!: The injunction restriction...

read more
Down the Rabbit Hole: Bankruptcy Practice In Uncertain Times

Down the Rabbit Hole: Bankruptcy Practice In Uncertain Times

The world — and particularly the U.S. economy — is navigating unprecedented and turbulent times. For bankruptcy professionals, it may feel as though we've fallen down Alice's rabbit hole, where the rules we've long understood and accepted no longer apply. In this new...

read more
In Wake of Trump Deal, Willkie Loses 7 Litigators to Cooley

In Wake of Trump Deal, Willkie Loses 7 Litigators to Cooley

The group includes San Francisco managing partners Simona Agnolucci and Benedict Hur, both of whom were formerly partners at Keker, Van Nest & Peters.       The group includes San Francisco managing partners Simona Agnolucci and Benedict Hur, both of whom were...

read more
Lawyer Hiring Is Down, But There’s No Need To Panic

Lawyer Hiring Is Down, But There’s No Need To Panic

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day. One minute the recession was imminent, the next minute the stock market has rebounded to where it was at the beginning of Q1. So things can change at the drop of a hat. And we did see strong hiring numbers for...

read more
The Incredible Growing Biglaw Firm

The Incredible Growing Biglaw Firm

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! According to data collected by the National Law Journal, which Biglaw firm grew its headcount the most in 2024? Hint: The firm added 314 full-time lawyers last year. See the answer on the next page....

read more

A Huge Thanks To Our Advertisers On ATL

We’d like to express gratitude to our fantastic sponsors here at Above the Law: AffiniPay Aon Axiom Brightflag CobbleStone Software CosmoLex doeLEGAL Filevine FINRA iManage Kinney Recruiting Lateral Link LawPay LexisNexis LINK Linksquares Litera Mercator Mitratech...

read more
Pay Frustrations Prompting More GCs to Move On

Pay Frustrations Prompting More GCs to Move On

Legal chiefs are taking on more responsibilities at the same time companies are tying more of their compensation to achieving performance targets.       Legal chiefs are taking on more responsibilities at the same time companies are tying more of their compensation to...

read more
Weinstein Retrial Ends With Mistrial on Final Count

Weinstein Retrial Ends With Mistrial on Final Count

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber declared a mistrial on the outstanding charge of third-degree rape after the jurors indicated they were at an impasse. The panel found Weinstein guilty of one count but acquitted him on another on...

read more
Judge Wears ‘Palestine’ Hat to Court Training Session

Judge Wears ‘Palestine’ Hat to Court Training Session

A judicial ethics expert says the judge was wrong to wear such attire at a judges' meeting but any discipline should be lenient to survive First Amendment scrutiny. However, one observer noted, "The phrase 'Free Palestine' is not hate speech."       A judicial ethics...

read more

So Long And Thanks For All The DEI — See Also

Kirkland Boots Their DEI Staff: Surprise surprise, everyone. If It Looks Like An Arrest And Smells Like An Arrest: Call it something else! Then the Marines can do whatever they want! Elon Musk Still Blames Collusion For Advertisers Wanting Nothing To Do With Twitter:...

read more
Fixing The Clerkship System

Fixing The Clerkship System

This week, thousands of clerkship hopefuls apply broadly for federal clerkships via the Online System for Clerkship Application and Review (OSCAR). Then, over a several-day period, judges extend interview offers, and students hop on planes or trains with as little as...

read more
So Long And Thanks For All The Bonuses

So Long And Thanks For All The Bonuses

Paul Weiss fancied itself clever when it offered Trump pro bono payola in exchange for dropping an illegal executive order. Instead, it keeps hemorrhaging senior lawyers with more departing to join the recent rainmaker spinoff and associates reportedly high on the new...

read more
Kirkland Axes A Bunch Of DEI Staff, Because Of Course

Kirkland Axes A Bunch Of DEI Staff, Because Of Course

Donald Trump began his second (and hopefully last) term by attacking Biglaw firms and the rule of law. Trump nominally used Biglaw’s commitment to DEI as a pretext to pursue his personal vendettas, even using the EEOC to further his goals. Nine yellow-bellied Biglaw...

read more
3 Takeaways From The Lex Machina 2025 Patent Report

3 Takeaways From The Lex Machina 2025 Patent Report

For the fifth year in a row, it is time for this column to share some thoughts on the release of the Lex Machina Patent Report. As always, I highly recommend that readers register for the report and give it a read, as there may be more relevant information in the...

read more
Morning Docket: 06.11.25

Morning Docket: 06.11.25

* Kirkland cuts diversity leader and staff in ongoing cowardice campaign. [American Lawyer] * Elon Musk’s Twitter strategy remains “threatening to sue anyone who doesn’t give us money.” It’s been his play for a year now, but he’s getting a new assist from the FTC....

read more