Above the Law

The Latest In Iran And An Update In The Anthropic Saga

This week on The Weekly Break Out, we talk Iran developments and the latest in the back-and-forth between Anthropic and the Pentagon.

Morning Docket: 03.11.26

* Ed Martin formally charged by D.C. disciplinary authorities. In case you were wondering why the DOJ is so adamant about banning local licensing authorities from investigating ethical breaches. [CNN]

* Journalists from Law360 join sibling publication writers in protesting parent company RELX signing a LexisNexis deal with ICE. Reuters journalists also asked about the various deals Thomson Reuters has with Homeland Security. [ABA Journal]

* Berkeley now has a month-long 1L course on dealing with early recruiting. Hey, offer it for the whole year! Just move Torts and Contracts to 2L… it’s not like the firms care about those grades anyway. [The Recorder]

* Judiciary plans to make electronic filing and records system upgrades a priority after hacking incident. With this decision to fast-track an overhaul we could be looking at a truly modern PACER in… I don’t know… 10 years or so. [Reuters]

* Judiciary sit down continued long-running discussion of lower court judges needing more security and the Chief Justice… not really doing anything about it. [Law360]

* NASDAQ changing its rules to bring on SpaceX, and historically, great things happen when the financial industry throws out all its standards to appease billionaires! [CNBC]

* Lawyer convicted of stalking legal blogger sentenced to community service and plans to appeal. [Legal Cheek]

Shadow Docket Sock Fest — See Also

Jackson And Kavanaugh Go Head To Head On The Shadow Docket: Special treatment or “short memories”? Read and find out!

Rutgers Law Sued Over Firing Former Dean: Alleging a discriminatory firing, he wants his job back and punitive damages.

Is Two Too Little?: Only two federal law clerks filed complaints under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act. Progress or broken process?

Billion-Dollar Lessons From Medical Settlements: Here are some takeaways from the Moderna v. Arbutus battle.

Super Settlement Spike

Setbacks, perhaps coupled with jury research that may have suggested that a huge verdict against Moderna was possible, clearly contributed.

A ‘Seat At The Table’ For Law Departments Isn’t Enough Anymore

Influence is just the starting point.

Just 2 Federal Law Clerks Filed Complaints Against Judges Last Year

Most misconduct isn’t formally reported.

The Path To AI Maturity: What Leaders Should Consider In The Coming Year

AI is rapidly becoming an everyday reality. This CLE webinar will provide insights on how to get ahead of the transforming AI legal landscape.

Navigating Law Firm Mergers: Communication, Culture, And The Marketer’s Influence

Mergers are far more than a press release, and they reverberate through every layer of the firm.

Clio Launches Clio Capital to Provide Fast, Low-Friction Financing For Law Firms

The product, which went live Feb. 26, provides eligible law firms with pre-qualified access to working capital through a streamlined application process directly within the Clio platform.

GenAI: A Slippery Slope Of Too Much Kool-Aid?

How much GenAI writing is too much GenAI writing?

It Took Years For Congress To Enact PBM Transparency, Delinking. What About Vertical Integration?

Experts say the bipartisan Break Up Big Medicine Act — aimed at breaking up vertically integrated healthcare companies — faces slim chances of passing despite recent PBM reforms.

Morning Docket: 03.10.26

* Anthropic sues over Defense Department blackballing with WilmerHale’s help. [BBC]

* Court rules that the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to be run by illegal appointees. [Reuters]

* Ballard Spahr enjoys healthy boost following merger. [American Lawyer]

* Ticketmaster trial thrown for a loop as administration settles its antitrust claims. [Courthouse News Service]

* AI law firm founder says she’s working harder now than she did in Biglaw. [Fortune]

* Brett Kavanaugh claims anyone suggesting that the Supreme Court is issuing far more shadow docket opinions in support of the administration have “short” memories. Brett Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court because he spent his nomination hearings swearing he didn’t recall anything about his past. [Law360]

* ChatGPT sued for telling a woman to fire her lawyer. [Forbes]

Fright Makes Right — See Also

DOJ Argues Scared Biglaw Firms Show They Did Something Right!: That’s not how the Founders expected EOs to work.

The Former Director Of The DOJ’s Departmental Ethics Office Weighs In: The weakening of the Hatch Act will have long lasting consequences.

These Law Schools Fight To Expand The Legal Pipeline: Check out the Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll!

These Millions Are Ear Marked For Full Rides: The University of New Mexico Law School just got a huge gift!

You Know Exactly How The War In Iran Will End

Trump never loses anything.

Multimillion-Dollar Donation Will Let Law School Offer More Students Full Rides

Free law school sets you up for one hell of an ROI!