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Facebook's IPO is one step closer, thanks to the company's in-house lawyers and two large law firms with Silicon Valley offices.

Facebook filed its Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, naming the attorneys and firms who've been working on its much-anticipated IPO. You can read Facebook's S-1 filing in its entirety at FindLaw's Courtside blog.

The firms and attorneys named in Facebook's filing are:

The National Jurist has released its ranking of the top 60 Best Value Law Schools, and the results aren't exactly that surprising.

Only three private schools made the list, one of which may or may not game the system. And there seems to be a concentration of schools located in regions with a low cost of living.

You know, like the Midwest, South and other places without many BigLaw firm offices.

For these reasons, attending one of these schools would probably reduce your student loan debt. But if you value free food and city culture, the discount might not be worth it.

Most of you graduated law school with dreams of big cities, big salaries and Big Law.

Sorry. If it hasn't happened yet, it isn't happening anytime soon.

But if you're still intent on raking in a six-figure salary, the ABA Journal is touting 10 smaller legal markets that pay just as much, if not more, than their regional metropolis counterparts.

Though a six-figure income can go a long way in these fly-over cities, the list represents an odd mixture of Southern hicksville, Midwestern small town, and Western nothingness. A few also seem to have crime rates that rival Detroit.

So much for Cravath being the high-water mark in the 2010-2011 associate bonus season. Quinn Emanuel will be paying its hard-working associates a bonus of up to $82,500. And there's more.

Other firms kept pace with Quinn, including Susman Godfrey and Cahill Gordon & Reindel, which the ABA Law Journal reports announced associate bonuses topping out at $75,000. However, reportedly, Boies Schiller & Flexner bonuses this year take the proverbial cake reaching over $200,000 for a few chosen associates and with an average of $75,000 for those at the firm more than a year.

Even judges aren't above the law. At least not when they push it to the extreme.

So learned U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous who was convicted by the U.S. Senate on four articles of impeachment. It was the first impeachment trial since the 1999 trial of President Clinton. G. Thomas Porteous joins a dubious list of judges as only the eighth removed though the impeachment process. Porteous was the first judge removed in over 20 years. Among other things, that means no more cushy $174,000 a year pension for the disgraced former Louisiana federal judge, The Times-Picayune reports.

Impeachment is a fundamental constitutional power belonging to Congress, used to charge, try, and remove public officials for misconduct while in office.

How much does a BigLaw associate receive when they bring in a big client? According to an ex-associate at Nixon Peabody, 5% of the fees they bring in. Not so, said the firm, contending that the bonus was only discretionary.

Noah Doolittle began work at Nixon in 2002 and said that he brought in a big client in 2005. Doolittle expected that bringing in the client was going to mean big money for him down the road.

Teach for America can offer loan forgiveness through federal programs to participants who support society by teaching in schools where their help is needed. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice has set aside funds to do something similar for those hardworking attorneys in the nation's DA and PD offices. Announced on Friday, September 17, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) will allocate almost $10 million to support federal and state public defenders and state and local prosecutors.

According to CNBC, the funding has become available under the John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act. For the first time under the act, funds will be given out in all 49 states and the District. The money will provide loan repayment assistance for attorneys working in prosecutors and defenders offices and who agree to remain in their positions as for a minimum of three years.

Many law students enter law school anxious, but excited about the future prospect of working for a big law firm, doing exciting work and making serious bank. As many have recently found, reality tends to be a far cry from the picture painted by law school admissions programs. For one, very few students end up working at big law firms. Further, the graduates "fortunate" enough to land big law jobs tend to hate them.

In fact, three reports released last week found that associate job satisfaction is at a six year low. According to the survey, which included more than 5,000 third, fourth and fifth year associates found that a huge number of such attorneys are unhappy with their careers.

1. Civil Legal Assistance Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program (CLAAP)

For: Public interest lawyers, non-legal public service employees, law students, law school professionals, financial aid advisors, public service employers

Description: New loan repayment assistance program for civil legal aid attorneys. The Civil Legal Assistance Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program (CLAAP) will repay a portion of eligible federal student loan debt for civil legal assistance attorneys who are employed full-time.

Application: Apply here.

 

2. Equal Justice Works Student Debt Relief Webinars

For: Public interest lawyers, non-legal public service employees, law students, law school professionals, financial aid advisors, public service employers

Description: Learn about student debt relief programs and the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Attend free, live webinars to learn more about public service loan forgiveness, income-based repayment and how to qualify.

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you should speed-click over to the ABA's Annual Essay competition sponsored by the the American Bar Association and San Francisco law firm Long & Levit LLP.

And though love may take time, this contest demands a February 19th submission or postmark, so think fast and act faster. Here are a few facts to get you started: