Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP recently stepped into the spotlight -- not for a high-profile settlement or the latest big-stakes corporate merger, but for something decidedly more risqué.
The Skadden Insider is a blog that gleefully catalogues the precise aroma of every whiff of scandal that wafts its way through the wood-paneled halls of that prestigious, multinational law firm.
This is taken from the blog's own manifesto:
Have a rumor, some gossip or news you'd like to share?....The "Insider" is two people, both employed by the firm. We're not disgruntled and we don't have an axe to grind. We just thought a Skadden blog would be fun. Hopefully it will be.
In the same vein of cheeky impudence, in early January, the blog announced that it would be accepting nominations for " Skadden's 'Hottest Female Associate .'"
After a hotly contested race, the Skadden Insider announced that one of the New York office's finest was the winner of this dubious honor.
No doubt, with Skadden's own untarnished reputation for political correctness as an inspiration, the Skadden Insider announced its intention to hold another "Hottest" competition, this time for the men. But before the male associates even had an opportunity to submit their best poses, a memo was circulated throughout the firm, scolding the Skadden Insider for its antics:
The Firm recognizes that blogs are prevalent in today's culture and that blogs about Skadden are to be expected. Nonetheless, we believe that the "contests" on one of these blogs is inappropriate and does not reflect our values and standards of behavior. Numerous attorneys at the Firm have expressed their concern and, in some cases, embarrassment at such contests. We urge the authors of the blog to consider both the privacy and feelings of the affected attorneys and to discontinue the contests
The Skadden Insider suspended the competition shortly thereafter.
And all along we thought we were edgy with our "Pizza Fridays."
