Who’s the hottest young female lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom? Last week that question sent the New York firm into a bit of a tizzy.

On Feb. 4, Skadden Insider, a blog written by two anonymous firm employees and dedicated, unofficially, to all things Skadden, announced the winner of its weeklong poll to decide the firm’s "Hottest Female Associate."

The American Lawyer notes that the contest was hardly Skadden Gone Wild - most of the photos of the eight contestants were relatively innocuous head shots. The winner, a blond litigator, drew 400 votes from Skadden cognoscenti.

The firm, however, was not amused. On Feb. 7, Henry Baer, the firm’s employment adviser, sent an e-mail to all Skadden lawyers in the United States, chastising the blog.

"Numerous attorneys at the firm have expressed their concern and, in some cases, embarrassment at such contests," wrote Mr. Baer, who said the competition was "inappropriate" and inconsistent with Skadden’s "values and standards of behavior."

The bloggers responded in a post titled "Not So Hot": "Damn, we feel like we were called to the Vice Principal’s office today and had our knuckles wrapped."

"The contest, although sophomoric, was done all in good fun," the writers continued. " We’re sorry if anyone was embarassed by it. We wish you had just chuckled, rolled your eyes or merely clicked away."

However, the lawyerly bloggers didn’t seem entirely abashed by the firm’s stern response.

"We’re not quite sure what Skadden’s "values" are (or, for that matter, the Firm’s "standards of behavior")," they said, adding that they had suspended nominations for the Hottest Male Associate.