Above the Law

What Is HHS Proposing In Its New Rule?

HHS proposed changes that would roll back many Biden-era policies, eliminate most health tech certification criteria, and scrap planned transparency requirements for healthcare AI tools.

Distressed Businesses Should Still Pay Their Lawyers

The amount of money a business may owe in legal fees is small in comparison to the pain that could be caused by going without counsel altogether.

Google Built Its Empire Scraping The Web. Now It’s Suing To Stop Others From Scraping Google.

From the the-open-web-is-closing dept...

The Week Before Christmas! — See Also

Boutique Firm Brings The Money!: Rolnick Kramer Sadighi announced bonuses!

A Second Bite At Failure: Lindsey Halligan has plans to go to SCOTUS.

That’s A Fly Bonus!: Alston & Bird announced bonuses!

Behind The Boutique Scenes: Sandra Cohen drops jewels on The Jabot.

This Week On Thinking Like A Lawyer: We chat about the Hogan Lovells-Cadwalader merger, Coca-Cola, and the year’s most memorable stories.

From Sinners To Civil Servants: The Evolution Of Tax Collectors From Jesus’s Time To Today

Modern tax collectors do not profit personally from collections.

Merry Christmas: 2025 Was A Record-Breaking Year For Greed

Greed will keep you in its thoughts and prayers in the new year.

Closing Out The Year With Mergers And Attacks On The Rule Of Law

Ho ho ho...gan Lovells merging.

Small Firm, Big Checks: Boutique Firm Leaves Market Bonus Rate In The Dust

It's the year of the boutique when it comes to law firm bonuses.

Deloitte’s 2026 Healthcare Outlook: Key Findings On Confidence, Digital Health, AI, And Partnerships

Deloitte’s 2026 Healthcare Outlook shows that while more than two-thirds of U.S. healthcare leaders expect to outperform competitors, rising policy uncertainty is pushing greater focus on digital care, AI, and partnerships.

Morning Docket: 12.24.25

* Supreme Court blocks Trump effort to send troops into cities. The countdown to the Insurrection Act begins. [CNN]

* Lawyer representing Epstein victims blasts DOJ release as a complete mess. [Daily Beast]

* … for example, if you highlight redacted portions of the Epstein files there’s a decent chance you can copy and paste the underlying text into a new document. How are lawyers still making this mistake? [NY Post]

* New York’s legal aid system facing major funding shortfall. [AMNY]

* Johnson & Johnson appealing latest massive loss. [Reuters]

* Weil clients talk about the firm’s AI workflow. [American Lawyer]

* Chamber of Commerce fails to block new $100K visa fee. [Law360]

Bonuses Before The Holidays! — See Also

Good Tidings To Everyone At Alston & Bird!: Enjoy the bonus money!

Lessons From The Second ABA Report: Read up on the practical and ethical challenges of AI use.

What Will We Do After AI?: Don’t let your skills atrophy due to AI overreliance.

We Need Your Vote!: Pick your favorite law firm holiday card!

The Operational Signal Legal Leaders Should Pay Attention To In 2026

2026 won’t reward speed for its own sake. It will reward clarity, structure, and operational maturity.

Meme Stocks And The $10,000 Hourly Rate

Much like what happened with GameStop, could there be a perfect storm brewing to drive top rates upward to the unheard-of $10,000 rate?

Top Biglaw Firm Emerges As Go-To Counsel For Law Firm Mega Mergers

DPW is the law firm that everyone wants on their side in these huge multibillion-dollar deals.