After a weekend during which politicians finally agreed on a bailout bill for Wall Street, the deal fell apart at the last moment when it came time to vote on Monday. 40% of the Democrats in the House of Representatives didn't vote for the bill, while two-thirds of Republicans also refused to back it.
The Dow Jones dived about 777 points in response, while Wachovia got snapped up by Citibank to avert yet another major bank's failure.
For law firms, meanwhile, the toll has been mixed. Markets are now being flooded with the in-house attorneys who used to work at the now-defunct financial firms. Nonetheless, all of these desperate deals have been causing a boom in legal workoverall, temporary though it may be.
And the fallout is not even limited to law firms: A law school in Kentucky filed for bankruptcy late last week as well. The American Justice School of Law, a for-profit school, has called it quits.
And based on Congress's 9% or so approval rating, the banks, law firms, and the occasional law school might not be the only ones feeling unhappy soon.
Congress promises to try again, for what it's worth.
