Morning Docket: 02.18.15

* Could it be? Did Justice Clarence Thomas ask a question during oral arguments at SCOTUS? No, but he did ask a question at Yale Law during a presentation, noting that he doesn't ask "irrelevant, useless questions" at the high court. [Legal Times] * Per NALP, gains were made by women and minorities in law firms for the first time in years, but be careful, because Jim Leipold is watching you: "Individual law firms should not be allowed to hide behind the national figures." [National Law Journal] * Meet Judge Robert C. Brack of the District Court of New Mexico, who recently earned quite the accolade. Judge Brack has sentenced more defendants than any other federal judge in the past five years. He won't be celebrating his achievement. [WSJ Law Blog] * This Georgetown Law professor, who happens to be the cofounder of one of the country's largest litigation finance firms, wants to see a law firm IPO, but others wonder if lawyers would be able to ethically practice while reporting to shareholders. [Washington Post] * A Chadbourne & Park employee has been banned from ever working for another law firm again following his theft of $15,360 from C&P's coffers. Not to worry, no client money was pilfered from the firm -- the cash was taken from an open office account. [Am Law Daily] * If you haven't heard, David Lat wrote a book called Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), and "[w]riting the novel was almost therapeutic for [him] in a way" -- he's "kind of over" the fact that his résumé doesn't include a SCOTUS clerkship. [Chicago Daily Law Bulletin] * Martha Africa, name partner of Major Lindsey & Africa, RIP. [San Francisco Chronicle]