Morning Docket: 04.26.16

* John LaTorre, the former chief financial officer of Barry Law School, recently pleaded guilty to second-degree grand theft after spending tens of thousands of dollars on school corporate card to finance his Hooters outings and pay his utilities bills. LaTorre faces up to 10 years of probation and will have to pay the school $24,838 in restitution in monthly payments of at least $175. [Orlando Sentinel] * Professor Sujit Choudhry may have resigned from his position as dean of Berkeley Law School after being accused in a sexual harassment scandal, but now he says the school is trying to strip him of his tenure, and he's not going to go down without a fight. In a grievance letter, Choudhry claims school officials smeared him in the press and violated his due process rights. We'll have more on this development later today. [WSJ Law Blog] * This "sets back every blind person who wants to be a lawyer out there": Three blind law students have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against BARBRI, alleging that the bar exam test preparation company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to properly accommodate them with usable study materials, thereby "preventing them from fully, equally, and adequately preparing for the bar exam." [Dallas Morning News] * Just when you thought this ugly legal dispute couldn't get any messier, one of Dennis Hastert's sexual assault accusers decided to sue the former Speaker of the House for breach of contract. Identified as James Doe in his pleadings, he alleges that Hastert agreed to pay him $3.5M in hush money for keeping quiet about the abuse he endured when he was a teen, but thus far, he's only seen $1.7M of those funds. [CBS Chicago] * It's late April, and if you're still looking for advice on your personal statement for your law school applications, then you're probably already in trouble. However, if you're desperate for a helpful hint even this late in the game and your law school of choice has a late submission deadline, you may want to try including a thesis -- it'll keep your essay from becoming a regurgitation of your résumé. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

Hooters_logo_2013.svg* John LaTorre, the former chief financial officer of Barry Law School, recently pleaded guilty to second-degree grand theft after spending tens of thousands of dollars on school corporate card to finance his Hooters outings and pay his utilities bills. LaTorre faces up to 10 years of probation and will have to pay the school $24,838 in restitution in monthly payments of at least $175. [Orlando Sentinel]

* Professor Sujit Choudhry may have resigned from his position as dean of Berkeley Law School after being accused in a sexual harassment scandal, but now he says the school is trying to strip him of his tenure, and he’s not going to go down without a fight. In a grievance letter, Choudhry claims school officials smeared him in the press and violated his due process rights. We’ll have more on this development later today. [WSJ Law Blog]

* This “sets back every blind person who wants to be a lawyer out there”: Three blind law students have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against BARBRI, alleging that the bar exam test preparation company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to properly accommodate them with usable study materials, thereby “preventing them from fully, equally, and adequately preparing for the bar exam.” [Dallas Morning News]

* Just when you thought this ugly legal dispute couldn’t get any messier, one of Dennis Hastert’s sexual assault accusers decided to sue the former Speaker of the House for breach of contract. Identified as James Doe in his pleadings, he alleges that Hastert agreed to pay him $3.5M in hush money for keeping quiet about the abuse he endured when he was a teen, but thus far, he’s only seen $1.7M of those funds. [CBS Chicago]

* It’s late April, and if you’re still looking for advice on your personal statement for your law school applications, then you’re probably already in trouble. However, if you’re desperate for a helpful hint even this late in the game and your law school of choice has a late submission deadline, you may want to try including a thesis — it’ll keep your essay from becoming a regurgitation of your résumé. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]


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Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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