QI just read a post on Lawyerist on the Future of Law Practice and am trying to research the best areas of law for a future law practice and where in the country they will be centered. Although I have been out of school for almost ten years and have ten years experience in business and as an entrepreneur, I am considering law school. As such, I am trying to get a feel for what the next top five booming industries will be, and where they will be centered, so that I may consider applying to law schools with that expertise or regional location. Or perhaps I should be seeking which fields of law practice (as opposed to general industry) will be the most prolific. In any case, I’m doing my due diligence to match my life experience with the right school in the right region for the right reason.
I currently live in California. I have a B.S. in economics and practiced commercial real estate for three years (and still have the license). For the past six years I have been working with an aviation start-up company, so I’m interested in real estate, aviation, M&A work, entertainment law, and possibly aerospace law. I’d appreciate any thoughts you would be willing to share.
Many big firms today take pride from employing well-rounded associates who can fit in at the opera just as easily as at the theatre. But outside of the traditional activities of a highly-paid professional, what are good hobbies for big firm associates? What should they do to burn off the extra half-hour at the end of the week? Competitive eating and reality television show appearances are now passe. Luckily, at Big Legal Brain Analytics, we’ve studied the hobbying habits of law firm associates and have compiled the top five acceptable hobbies for big firm associates.
After the recent release of the list of highest paid general counsel, we though it would be appropriate to put money making in perspective. Some our readers may now think there is a light at the end of the tunnel, hope for a future of riches. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re way less likely to be on this list than you are to make partner at your firm. But you can always dream. After all, the number 1 man on the list, Russel Deyo made over 4 mill and, everyone one of the 100 members of the list earned 1 million and that list didn’t include some high ranking GC’s like Goldman’s Gregory Palm because his salary wasn’t disclosed. According to Above the Law, he’s cashed in to the tune of around $10 mill a year for the past decade. Considering how much damage Goldman has done to this great country, we’d say he might be a tad overpaid. However, we wanted to put things in perspective, so we came up with a list of similarly overpaid people in other professions.
This piece by a “38-year-old partner at a prestigious firm” resulted in a four-part impromptu Partner v. Associate debate with frequent Bitter Lawyer commenter BL1Y, who is a recently laid-off BigLaw associate.
One Man’s Squatter is Another’s Possessor: In honor of bar exam week, we kick off with this delightful attempt at textbook adverse possession happening in Texas. The man learned that the Lone Star State requires only three years and, finding an abandoned home in foreclosure with a bankrupt mortgage lender, he may have found the ideal property to give it a spin. Neighbors are shocked and appalled, but we appreciate that he took time to learn the law rather than blab about how “fair” things are.
We sat down with Howard Stern Wack Packer “Elegant” Elliot Offen and talked about his $21 million dollar lawsuit against a Miami hotel for malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Elegant claims that he was a guest at the hotel and that while in the hotel lobby he was thrown out because he was dressed as a woman.
So this is totally predictable and cliché (half the hellishness of BigLaw is that there are never any surprises), but this past week I got to take an actual vacation for the first time since I passed the bar—to go to my Nonna’s funeral. On my outbound flight, I nursed a whiskey and diet coke and repeated lines straight from the cynical associate script. I half-sketched a bitter rant about the pathetic state of life at my firm, which is so suffocating that it takes death for a litigation associate to be permitted to take some freaking time off, and the twisted irony of being permitted a much-needed vacation only because a loved one died.
That, however, was before I spent the entire weekend with my family.
Frank: Unfortunately, this reminds me of my first BJ. After getting a taste of me, I couldn't get the woman to leave me alone for weeks... May 20, 7:09 AM
