Original Jurisdiction

Associates have a role to play in urging their law firms to stand up for the rule of law, according to Rachel Cohen. She recently gave her two-week notice at Skadden Arps after expressing disappointment in the refusal of the firm—and Biglaw more generally—to speak out against the Trump administration. And she garnered significant publicity after making a "noisy withdrawal," announcing her move in a firm-wide email. I interviewed Rachel earlier this week for Original Jurisdiction. She told me that she doesn't think associates need to do what she did—i.e., resign in very public fashion from their firms—but she identified other actions that associates can take within their firms to encourage them to take a stand. Additional executive orders targeting law firms are surely on the way. Will firms sue, like Perkins Coie, or settle, like Paul Weiss? The next few weeks will be very revealing. https://bit.ly/4l7c8ge #law #legal #lawyer #lawyers #Biglaw #attorney #attorneys #ruleoflaw #politics Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Jenner & Block Perkins Coie

We live in an interesting time for Biglaw—in the ironic sense that “interesting” is used in the famous saying, “may you live in interesting times” (whose origin is disputed). Today is a time of unique challenges and opportunities for the world of large law firms. What does it feel like to sit in the chair of a Biglaw leader right now? To find out, I welcomed a guest I’ve been wanting to have on the podcast for a while: Yvette Ostolaza, chair of the management committee at Sidley Austin LLP. I was hoping to ask Yvette about, shall we say, current events. But at the outset of our interview, she explained that she couldn’t comment on recent news developments involving the firm. (She didn’t name specific subjects, but an obvious one would be the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sending letters to 20 law firms—including Sidley—to obtain information about their DEI-related employment practices.) Nevertheless, we still covered a lot of ground. We discussed her journey to the top job at Sidley, the nation’s sixth-largest firm in terms of revenue; her vision for the future of the firm; and how she juggles running a Biglaw firm, litigating on behalf of her clients, and parenting three children. Thanks so much to Yvette for joining me, and thanks to NexFirm for sponsoring! https://bit.ly/3FAYqlB #law #lawyer #lawyers #attorney #attorneys #legalcareer #legalcareers #podcast #podcasts #podcasting #career #careers #careeradvice #AI #GenAI #artificialintelligence #clientlove #professionalservice #Biglaw

Here’s the latest installment of Judicial Notice, the weekly legal news roundup that I send out each weekend to subscribers of Original Jurisdiction, my Substack newsletter. In this edition: a judge’s YouTube dissent, Paul Weiss’s deal with Donald Trump, Kirkland’s latest financials, and a notable new appellate boutique. Thanks to Lateral Link for the Job of the Week, an opportunity for a real-estate finance associate in Orange County. I'll post the information in the comments, and you can send your résumé to Christina Ahn, Esq. at [email protected] if interested. Thanks for your readership, as always. (And sorry to be posting this a bit late; parts of it have been overtaken by events, not unusual in today's crazy news cycle.) https://bit.ly/4kWbiD8 #judge #judges #judiciary #federaljudge #federaljudges #federalcourt #judicial #judicialnomination #judicialnominations #legal #law #lawfirm #lawfirms #lawyer #lawyers #Biglaw #attorney #attorneys #legalnews #legalcareer #legalcareers #SCOTUS #supremecourt #biglaw #DOJ #JusticeDepartment #DepartmentOfJustice Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Kirkland & Ellis

I try not to get too worked up over everything Donald Trump says and does, but this time I feel compelled to speak out: the executive order issued by Trump against Perkins Coie is atrocious and appalling. It lacks any good-faith justification. It sets a terrible precedent. And it deserves strong condemnation from anyone who cares about the rule of law. For a detailed discussion—including evaluation of the arguments in defense of the order, because I always want to hear out the other side—please see my story at Original Jurisdiction (link below). https://bit.ly/4bui5zI #Biglaw #lawfirm #lawfirms #freespeech #academicfreedom #DEI #FirstAmendment #1stAmendment #DonaldTrump #law #lawyer #lawyers #legal #attorney #attorneys

Shortly before 3 p.m. yesterday (Sunday), Brad Karp, longtime chair of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, sent a firmwide email about the agreement he reached last week with Donald Trump. The email explains—and defends—the controversial deal, which resulted in the Trump administration's rescission of the executive order targeting the firm. Here's how the email begins. To read the full thing, check out my post on Original Jurisdiction (link in comments). Dear Members of the Paul, Weiss Community, I wanted to take this opportunity to speak with all of you more fully about the events of recent days. I know that this has been a profoundly unsettling time for all of you. Information gaps have been filled with speculation, concern, and misinformation, and I wanted to take this opportunity to address your concerns directly. Thank you for taking the time to listen. Late in the evening of Friday, March 14, the President issued an executive order targeting our firm. Since then, we have been facing an unprecedented threat to our firm unlike anything since Samuel Weiss first hung out a shingle in downtown Manhattan on April 1, 1875—almost exactly 150 years ago. Only several days ago, our firm faced an existential crisis. The executive order could easily have destroyed our firm. It brought the full weight of the government down on our firm, our people, and our clients. In particular, it threatened our clients with the loss of their government contracts, and the loss of access to the government, if they continued to use the firm as their lawyers. And in an obvious effort to target all of you as well as the firm, it raised the specter that the government would not hire our employees. We were hopeful that the legal industry would rally to our side, even though it had not done so in response to executive orders targeting other firms. We had tried to persuade other firms to come out in public support of Covington and Perkins Coie. And we waited for firms to support us in the wake of the President’s executive order targeting Paul, Weiss. Disappointingly, far from support, we learned that certain other firms were seeking to exploit our vulnerabilities by aggressively soliciting our clients and recruiting our attorneys. We initially prepared to challenge the executive order in court, and a team of Paul, Weiss attorneys prepared a lawsuit in the finest traditions of the firm. But it became clear that, even if we were successful in initially enjoining the executive order in litigation, it would not solve the fundamental problem, which was that clients perceived our firm as being persona non grata with the Administration. We could prevent the executive order from taking effect, but we couldn’t erase it. Clients had told us that they were not going to be able to stay with us, even though they wanted to. It was very likely that our firm would not be able to survive a protracted dispute with the Administration.

Efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), even if well-intentioned, can threaten academic freedom and freedom of speech if taken too far. What I’d call “the spirit of DEI” arguably spurred disruptive protests over conservative speakers at?Yale Law School?in 2022 and Stanford Law School in 2023 that many of us found deeply disturbing. But there are proper and improper ways of dealing with DEI overreach in legal academia. And?Ed Martin, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has himself overreached by attempting to squelch free speech in the classroom. He sent a troubling letter to Dean William M. Treanor of Georgetown University Law Center, asking the dean to disavow "DEI." Dean Treanor responded with a forceful letter of his own—a ringing defense of academic freedom and the First Amendment. You can read more over at Original Jurisdiction (link below). https://bit.ly/41R0nBS #lawschool #lawschools #freespeech #academicfreedom #DEI #FirstAmendment #1stAmendment #DonaldTrump #EdMartin #law #lawyer #lawyers #legal #attorney #attorneys

Here’s the latest installment of Judicial Notice, the weekly legal news roundup that I send out each weekend to subscribers of Original Jurisdiction, my Substack newsletter. In this edition: Trump v. Biglaw, MAGA v. Justice Barrett, Paul Clement v. Emil Bove—and lots and lots of lateral moves, including another big hire by Latham. Thanks to BriefCatch for sponsoring this edition—and congrats to Ross Guberman and his team on the amazing new Bluebooking feature! And thanks to Lateral Link for the Job of the Week, an opportunity for a midlevel ECVC associate in Atlanta. I'll post the information in the comments, and you can reach out to Marion Wilson, Esq.?at?[email protected] for more. Thanks for your readership, and have a great week! https://bit.ly/3XE915s #judge #judges #judiciary #federaljudge #federaljudges #federalcourt #judicial #judicialnomination #judicialnominations #legal #law #lawfirm #lawfirms #lawyer #lawyers #Biglaw #attorney #attorneys #legalnews #legalcareer #legalcareers #SCOTUS #supremecourt #biglaw #DOJ #JusticeDepartment #DepartmentOfJustice U.S. Department of Justice Latham & Watkins Perkins Coie Covington & Burling LLP

If you follow the legal profession and industry, you need to know about legal technology. New innovations have transformed, and continue to transform, the practice of law. And with the arrival of generative AI, the impact of technology upon the world of law will only grow—exponentially. To better understand the implications of emerging legal tech, I interviewed Joe B., one of the most knowledgeable people I know on this subject. Joe is the CEO and co-founder of LexFusion, a top accelerator of tech companies in the legal space—which was recently acquired by Baretz+Brunelle (BAA-retz and BREW-nell) aka B+B, a leading growth advisory firm to elite businesses in the legal sector. Is legal tech finally having its moment—and if so, why? How will AI affect the legal industry, including but not limited to employment opportunities? Which AI-driven products and companies are ones to watch in the years ahead? Listen to my conversation with Joe to learn all of this—and much more. Thanks to Joe for joining me, and thanks to NexFirm for sponsoring! https://bit.ly/3FgQQwd #law #lawyer #lawyers #attorney #attorneys #legalcareer #legalcareers #podcast #podcasts #podcasting #career #careers #careeradvice #politics #political #government #DonaldTrump #DOJ #legaltech #legaltechnology #innovation #tech #AI #GenAI #artificialintelligence

Here’s the latest installment of Judicial Notice, the weekly legal news roundup that I send out each weekend to subscribers of Original Jurisdiction, my Substack newsletter. In this edition: partners charging $3,000 an hour, DOJ drama and departures, lawyers getting sanctioned left and right, eye-popping profits at Paul Weiss, and Cravath’s latest lateral. Thanks to Lateral Link, both for sponsoring this edition and for the Job of the Week, an opportunity for a midlevel to senior oil and gas associate. I'll post the information in the comments, and you can reach out to Wendy Boone Jaikaran at [email protected] to learn more. Thanks for your readership, and have a great week! https://bit.ly/3XkJspN #judge #judges #judiciary #federaljudge #federaljudges #federalcourt #judicial #judicialnomination #judicialnominations #legal #law #lawfirm #lawfirms #lawyer #lawyers #Biglaw #attorney #attorneys #legalnews #legalcareer #legalcareers #SCOTUS #supremecourt #biglaw #DOJ #JusticeDepartment #DepartmentOfJustice U.S. Department of Justice Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Federal government lawyers in search of new opportunities would benefit from expanding their horizons beyond Biglaw white-collar practice. They should consider litigation boutiques, which are handling some of the most interesting cases in the country. And if they have national-security expertise, they should look into anti-terrorism litigation—a field poised for growth over the next few years. This week, Raj Parekh, former Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, joined Sparacino PLLC, a D.C.-based boutique that represents more than 5,000 Americans in civil litigation arising out of terrorist attacks. It’s a natural fit for Parekh, who worked on national-security and terrorism issues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Central Intelligence Agency. Parekh’s docket at Sparacino, where he will lead the firm’s newly created E.D. Va. National Security Practice, will be different from his past work as a prosecutor, despite the shared subject matter. Anti-terrorism litigation on the civil side takes the form of lawsuits for money damages brought by victims of terrorism or their survivors, who are represented by firms typically on a contingency-fee basis. I wrote about this field—which was new to me, and therefore very interesting—for Original Jurisdiction (link below). P.S. Thanks to Raj Parekh, Ryan Sparacino, and Josh Branson of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick PLLC, for guiding me through this fascinating practice area. https://bit.ly/43dVtRX #law #lawyer #lawyers #legal #attorney #attorneys #legalcareer #legalcareers #terrorism #waronterror #AntiTerrorismAwareness #litigator #litigators #litigation