company town

Some Lawyers Are Sad

LAW
• Know a troubled lawyer? If you work in the law, you probably do — some estimates put the ratio of depressed attorneys at 20 percent — and a few new Websites are trying help them out. [Law Blog/WSJ, WSJ]
• How not to get out of your marijuana arrest: When the judge lets you off easy, pull out a driver’s license covered in pot. [New York Law Journal]
• So just how lame was Cadwalader’s Wild Wild West holiday party last night? Wildly. [Above the Law]

FINANCE
• There’s no “I” in Goldman — except when, like Michael Swenson, Josh Birnbaum, and Dan Sparks, you almost single-handedly save the firm from an industry-wide mortgage meltdown. The three are set to take home $5 to $15 million apiece; Blankfein, of course, gets $70 million. [WSJ, Deal Journal/WSJ]
• Vikram Pandit’s been getting some great press back in India, and one of his first moves at Citi is the retirement of COO Bobby Druskin, who rocks a seriously awesome mustache. [DealBook/NYT, Fortune]
• What to get the Master of the Universe who already has everything? We suggest this tasteful $36 T-shirt: “F$#! Me, I’m a Hedge Fund Manager.” [Radar]

MEDIA
• Which late-night host will go scab first? Insiders predict Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno will be back on the air by January 7. Meanwhile, the directors’ guild initiated early negotiations with the producers, making the writers’ position even more difficult. [Variety, NYT]
• Murdoch dropped by the Journal a few hours after completing the Dow Jones buyout and gave a speech to the whole newsroom: “We do know and understand the tremendous values of Dow Jones and particularly, of course, the Wall Street Journal and the very high bar you have set yourselves … If anything, you will find us trying to set a higher bar. So we want to see a better paper.” We can’t tell if they were meant to be offended or not. [NYO]
• One good reason Business Week suddenly cut twelve staffers: The magazine has lost $20 million on the year. [NYP]

FASHION
• Tim Gunn had a conflict of interest in his OK! advice column when he recommended Liz Claiborne jeans. [WWD]
• Macy’s is staying open round the clock till Christmas. You know, in case you get the urge for some Estée Lauder at 4 a.m.. [Fashion Week Daily]
• The new Crocs flagship is now open, though we’re not sure this item should be filed under “Fashion.” [Racked]

Some Lawyers Are Sad