Above the Law

I’m So Old I Remember A Time When People Would Occasionally Get Fired For Being Bad At Their Jobs

Lots of systems are in place for holding people accountable for bad behavior that are not employers showing them the door.

House Intel Committee Props Up FY26 Funding For NRO Commercial Imagery Buys

The bill also directs the Director of National Intelligence to appoint a single official to oversee the acquisition of commercially available information by all IC agencies.

Morning Docket: 09.17.25

* Utah seeking death penalty in Charlie Kirk case. [Courthouse News Service]

* Legislators raise concerns over the proposal to force JAG officers to serve as immigration judges. Because it’s stupid. [AP]

* DOJ just removed a report confirming that white supremacist and far-right violence “continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism.” [404 Media]

* Harvard Law School’s incoming class includes more Black students after last year’s decline. So prepare for the White House to slash more Harvard funding. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Judges looking beyond monetary fines to police AI hallucinations. [Reuters]

* A&O Shearman losing more partners. [Law.com International]

* Fun exercise: what are the most overused words in law firm press releases? [ABA Journal]

A Promise Made, A Promise Kept — See Also

Biglaw Partner Gets Ear Pierced In Courtroom After Saving Claire’s From Bankruptcy: Fancy lawyering, fancier jewelry!

Trump Sues NYT For Doing Their Jobs: Again. Get a new hobby, man.

Luigi Mangione’s Terrorism Charges Dropped: Judge finds the charges wouldn’t have held up at trial.

Perfectionism Can Be A Downer: Has our expectation of perfection from associates become maladaptive?

AI, An Unexpected Tool For Communication: With the time it helps you save, you can hone in on making sure your message is heard.

What No One Tells You About Running A Law Firm (Part I)

Many people continue to turn to law firm ownership as a means to afford themselves control alongside flexibility. Here's some advice.

Trump Sues NYT For Tortious Journalisming. Again.

Making the ad damnum clause great again.

Biglaw Partner Gets His Ear Pierced During Court Hearing To Celebrate Saving Claire’s From Bankruptcy

Everyone gets their ears pierced at Claire's -- including Biglaw partners.

Rule By Lawsuit: Inside 2025’s Executive-Order Wars

In a year of headline executive orders, the fastest-moving branch wasn’t the presidency -- it was the judiciary, which turned bold directives into courtroom tests almost overnight.

How Litera Is Turning Lawyers Into Legends

Chief Product Officer Adam Ryan shares the latest in AI tools at ILTACON 2025.

Fear, Loathing, And Perfectionism In Biglaw

A study says that the cult of perfectionism is making lawyers depressed and anxious. But does Biglaw care?

Lawyering In The Age Of AI: Why Artificial Intelligence Might Make Lawyers More Human

AI could rehumanize the legal profession.

Industry Groups Warn CMS’ 2026 Fee Schedule Could Undermine Value-Based Care

Healthcare groups are pushing back on CMS’ proposed physician fee schedule for next year, raising concerns over payment cuts, administrative burdens and mandatory participation in a new value-based model.

Morning Docket: 09.16.25

* D.C. Circuit blocks attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor. [NBC News]

* Trump files $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times for malicious reporting of stuff he doesn't like. [CNN]

* Two different people claim to be Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft and no one could figure out the correct answer. This is what happens when you run on Microsoft Teams. [Corporate Counsel]

* Brett Kavanaugh's getting protested in Waco, if you want a sense of how unpopular this Court has gotten. [Texas Lawyer]

* Prosecutors argue that Tom Goldstein can't pay his fees with his house since his house is the subject of one of the charges. [Law360]

* Trump administration calling its politically motivated federal cuts as contract breaches in order to shunt them into the Court of Claims where litigants can't get equitable relief. If you're wondering, yes, this is the bonkers baby-splitting solution Justice Barrett recently pitched. [Bloomberg Law News]

* China accuses Nvdia of antitrust violations. [Investopedia]

Biglaw Firm Fires Employee Over Charlie Kirk Post — See Also

Feelings Matter More Than Facts To The Right: Can you point out where the associate said anything inaccurate in the post?

Sorry Kilmeade, You Can’t Just Kill Homeless People: Makes you wonder how far the Supreme Court is from changing that.

Whoa There, Partner!: Biglaw partner gets benchslapped due to entitlement.

Maureen Comey Is Fighting To Get Her Job Back: Best of luck to her.

It Really Pays To Be At The Top Of The Legal Department

General Counsel compensation is trending up!