The Associate Pirate

Legal Blog Watch just posted about my post on ATL today:

If you’re trying to figure out which practice areas are hot, why not go to the source: the law firm associates who work in those areas. And that’s what Above the Law’s David Lat has done. Last week, he asked readers to describe the current state of work at their firms, and today he offers this summary of the 550 responses received. According to the survey’s results, real estate and structured finance are slow, as are other transactional practices. But commercial litigation is heating up, as is bankruptcy work as I described in an earlier post. And nationwide, patent litigation is booming.

Woohoo! I’m in the news! I’m in the news! I’m in the — wait a sec. Dave Lat?

Crap.

Actually, though, I’m pretty honored that anybody confuses my writing for Dave’s. He’s a serious talent, and a great guy, too. And it seems like only yesterday that readers were reading my posts and asking “Who the f*ck is Justin Bernold?” So, I’m glad that at least Carolyn Elefant has seen the improvement in my style.

But, for future reference, if you’re ever wondering if a post is by me or Dave, here’s a rule of thumb:

• Dave’s a world-class debater who went to Regis, Harvard, and Yale, clerked on the Ninth Circuit, worked for Wachtell and the DOJ, and blogged on Underneath Their Robes and Wonkette before starting ATL. If Dave writes a post, it will usually rock, and will likely encourage other posts to go to $190K and 18 weeks.

• I’m a recovering nerd who went to Fairfield High, Harvard, and UVA (although my middle name is, actually, Yale), clerked in the Eastern District of New York, worked at various firms and in-house in Boston, and wrote for Let’s Go before going to law school. If I write a post, it will probably be a bit long-winded and contain all sorts of information about Interlaken (which has an awesome fireworks display on August 1, by the way).

Oh, crap.

Ok, fine. New rule of thumb: I have a beard. Dave doesn’t. (Also, I’m probably responsible for any ugly charts, and Dave’s probably responsible for any good pictures.)

Update: Cool! ABA Journal and JDBliss have been mentioning the surveys, too! I’m totally famous! (In an unnamed sort of way.)