editor’s legal news picks

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Talk It Out: The Best Dictation Tools for Lawyers

Ben Schorr's tips for using Microsoft Windows' built-in dictation tools for lawyers — and a few familiar add-ons — to capture work at the speed of thought. The post Talk It Out: The Best Dictation Tools for Lawyers appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law...

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Boutique Firm Matches The Susman Scale — See Also

Boutique Firm Matches The Susman Scale — See Also

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg Pay Their Associates Handsomely: Associates are starting at $240,000! Where Are The Rest Of You!: Biglaw firms should be matching the new market salaries. Where are they? Being A Judge Means Saying Sorry. Kinda?: Judge Eleanor Ross’s...

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The 2026 Salary Wars Are On… So Where Is Biglaw?

The 2026 Salary Wars Are On… So Where Is Biglaw?

It has been more than a week since Milbank fired the starting gun on the 2026 salary wars, and the compensation scorecard is filling up fast. Recruiters predicted a rapid wave of matches. And they were right — with one notable catch: the firms doing the matching are...

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It’s Still A Good Time To Be A Lawyer. So Far.

It’s Still A Good Time To Be A Lawyer. So Far.

It’s a good time to be a lawyer and for law firms if you believe the latest information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But you have to wonder what exactly is going on here. All we hear is how legal technology and AI will replace much of the work lawyers do, so...

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The NextGen UBE Drops Next Month

The NextGen UBE Drops Next Month

When it comes to the bar exam, more is less. In an ideal world there wouldn’t be one; law schools would be so adept at teaching their students the ins and outs of being a lawyer that Biglaw firms would be eager to pay them $235K a year as soon as they waltz across the...

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Chaos Is Part Of The Job

In early 2025, I wrote about professional life feeling like a raging wildfire. I encouraged in-house lawyers to stop wrestling with what they cannot manage and to focus on navigating forward instead. That message still holds true. I have since been thinking more about...

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The Disastrous Impact Of Biglaw Pre-Recruiting

The Disastrous Impact Of Biglaw Pre-Recruiting

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! According to a recent survey by Law School Admission Council and the National Association for Law Placement, what percentage of 1Ls said the rushed timeline of Biglaw recruiting (into 1L year,...

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This Week Saw A Slew Of New Legal Tech CEOs. But Why?

This Week Saw A Slew Of New Legal Tech CEOs. But Why?

In all my years of covering legal tech, I cannot remember a week quite like this. And I say that for a very specific reason: This week brought an unusual concentration of leadership changes at legal tech companies. Four companies announced new chief executives, and a...

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Whistleblower Sues xAI, SpaceX Ahead of Historic IPO Debut

Whistleblower Sues xAI, SpaceX Ahead of Historic IPO Debut

A former engineer for xAI, the artificial intelligence firm founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against xAI and Musk's spaceflight company, SpaceX, just days ahead of an initial public offering that is poised to be the biggest on...

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Boutique Firms Beat The Market — See Also

Boutique Firms Beat The Market — See Also

Wins In The Courtroom And The Salary Race: So much money! Kellogg Feeds Their Associates’ Wallets: They even included a special bonus! Boutique Starts Their First-Years At $255K!: Desmarais LLP is showing off their generosity in a big way! Quick And Speedy...

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Trouble For Midsize Law Firms: Is The Titanic Sinking?

A law firm economic theory has been expressed by people like Professor Ben Barton in his 2015 book “Glass Half Full: The Decline and Rebirth of the Legal Profession” and others. The basic premise is that in the future, large firms will survive and prosper because of...

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Legal Ethics Sure Can Get Sticky

Legal Ethics Sure Can Get Sticky

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! Cape Fear, the psychological thriller, is getting an Apple TV remake. What book is it based on? Hint: The remake (as well as the award winning 1991 film) is centered on questionable ethical choices by...

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Cloudflare Showers New Legal Chief with $13M in Stock Awards

Cloudflare Showers New Legal Chief with $13M in Stock Awards

Alissa Starzak will receive $8 million in restricted stock units that vest quarterly over four years and $5 million vesting over two years       Alissa Starzak will receive $8 million in restricted stock units that vest quarterly over four years and $5 million vesting...

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Dead Lawyering Theory: Too Much Of Litigation Is Fake

Dead Lawyering Theory: Too Much Of Litigation Is Fake

Social media started as a tool that would make it easier to connect you with your friends. By that I mean rate the women of your dorm by relative attractiveness, but let’s not get too granular here. The internet, known to everyone as a series of tubes, intended to...

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The Emersonian Lawyer: The Compass And The Resume

The Emersonian Lawyer: The Compass And The Resume

Auth. note: This is the first essay in The Emersonian Lawyer, a series about what Ralph Waldo Emerson’s philosophy has to say about the specific pressures, compromises, and possibilities of a legal career. The series draws on Emerson’s core essays, Self-Reliance,...

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Meeting Clients Where They Are In An AI World

What do you do when your client knows more about the law and strategy than you do? Or at least thinks they do. That’s the dilemma a lot of lawyers and legal professionals face these days. Clients come into the office armed with all sorts of advice and information they...

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Biglaw Partner Headed For The Federal Judiciary

Biglaw Partner Headed For The Federal Judiciary

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! Senator John Fetterman returned the “blue slip” for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania nomination of Antonio M. Pozos, allowing the nom to move forward. Which Biglaw firm counts Pozos among its...

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Small Firm, Big Compensation — See Also

AZA Bumps Up Their Pay Scale: Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing P.C. pay their associates for their excellence! You Get What You Pay For: Trump’s lawyers keep missing easy deadlines. Fired Law School Dean Files Sexual Discrimination Suit: Despite clear successes, he was...

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5th Circuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt to Take Senior Status

5th Circuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt to Take Senior Status

Engelhardt, whom President Donald Trump elevated to the Fifth Circuit in 2018, wrote in a letter that he will retire from active service on Dec. 31 or upon confirmation of a successor.       Engelhardt, whom President Donald Trump elevated to the Fifth Circuit in...

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8am, Parent to LawPay, MyCase and Others, Has A New CEO

8am, Parent to LawPay, MyCase and Others, Has A New CEO

8am, the parent company of LawPay, MyCase, CasePeer and other law practice technology products, has a new CEO: Jeff Hughes, a member of 8am’s board since 2024 and recently its executive chairman. Hughes succeeds Dru Armstrong, who joined the company formerly known as...

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Is Your Intake Ready When It Matters Most?

Nick Werker and Tony Prieto break down the high stakes of time-sensitive legal emergencies and explain how to ensure your firm never misses a life-changing case. The post Is Your Intake Ready When It Matters Most? appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law...

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Ken Paxton Can’t Even Get His Own Lawyer’s Vote

Ken Paxton Can’t Even Get His Own Lawyer’s Vote

Texas Attorney General turned GOP candidate for Senate Ken Paxton has had a rough go of it when it comes to loyalty from the people closest to him (which, honestly should give anyone considering voting for him pause). His wife is divorcing him, and her endorsement...

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Biglaw’s Talent Wars Are Getting More Expensive

Biglaw’s Talent Wars Are Getting More Expensive

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day. The firms at the very top of the echelon have separated themselves from the rest and they’re competing for the same talent. Firms are now sometimes even going down market to pull someone up who has clients who...

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Temple Law Gifted $5M To Study The Rule Of Law

Temple Law Gifted $5M To Study The Rule Of Law

Combating the attack on the rule of law means fighting back on several fronts. Advocacy and legal push back are the obvious progs to resisting, but there also needs to be study. Attention to the rule of law, people’s (justified) belief in the efficacy of courts and...

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Legal Ethics Roundup: Supervising Clerks Scrutinized In Wake Of Sex Scandal, High-Profile Discipline, Gifts For Judges, Lack Of Candor From DOJ, Lawyer Reprimanded For Faking Dementia & More

Legal Ethics Roundup: Supervising Clerks Scrutinized In Wake Of Sex Scandal, High-Profile Discipline, Gifts For Judges, Lack Of Candor From DOJ, Lawyer Reprimanded For Faking Dementia & More

Ed. note: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup, here. Welcome to what captivates, haunts, inspires, and surprises me every week in the world of legal ethics. Happy Monday! The past...

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Trump And The Day After

Trump And The Day After

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Everyone’s worried about Election Day.   What will Donald Trump do? Executive actions against mail-in voting? Restrictive federal voting rules? Weakened election security? Intimidation at polling places? I’m only slightly worried...

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Biglaw’s Lockstep Partner Compensation Is Dying

Biglaw’s Lockstep Partner Compensation Is Dying

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! According to reporting by Law.com, which is the only Wall Street firm that appears to still pay partners with a pure lockstep system (and even this firm is stretching out its partner pay ratios)? Hint:...

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Giving The Kennedy Center A Bad Name — See Also

Giving The Kennedy Center A Bad Name — See Also

Trump’s Kennedy Center Benchslapped Over Loser Of A Lawsuit: You think they’d point to an actual contract in a breach of contract suit! Groom Law Adopts The Milbank Scale: Setting their associates up for success! Zealous Advocacy Has Its Limits: Ken Paxton’s own...

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Rewarding Your Referral Sources

You can do plenty of things to stay in the good graces of your referral sources, even if you can't always refer back work. Here are a few good ideas from law firm business development expert Sally Schmidt. The post Rewarding Your Referral Sources appeared first on...

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