Above the Law

Merck Breathes Life Into Its Respiratory Prospects With $10B Deal To Buy Verona Pharma

Verona Pharma brings to Merck the inhaled drug Ohtuvayre, which is FDA approved as a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Stat(s) Of The Week: Legal Marketing In The AI Age

How are budgets trending? 

Starting A Law Firm Can Have Negative Career Consequences

There are many reasons why people choose to start their own law firms, but lawyers need to carefully consider this option.

Beyond The Billable Hour: How Scope-Based Pricing is Reshaping Legal Support

Legal departments want measurable impact, efficient delivery, lower costs, and proactive insights. Scope-based contracts create the foundation for those results.

Summer Associate’s Naughty Toddler Impression Gets Her Bounced From Biglaw

She really sunk her teeth into Biglaw.

How Consistency Builds Business Growth And Brand Visibility 

The power of persistence in legal marketing, on this episode of "Be That Lawyer."

How Appealing Weekly Roundup

The week in appellate news.

Someone Spliced Elle Woods Into A Few Good Men And It Should Not Be As Funny As It Is

What, like you can’t handle the truth?

Litigious Company Demands Removal Of A Tweet Linking To An Article About How Litigious They Are

From the clown-innovation dept

Morning Docket: 07.11.25

* Justice Jackson says “state of our democracy” keeps her up at night. Girl, same. [NY Times]

* Litigation finance survived the big tax bill. But threats still loom. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Judge blocks birthright citizenship order, taking advantage of Supreme Court class action workaround until they inevitably decide to there’s a problem with the class. [CBS]

* “Clarence Thomas leading SCOTUS charge to gut Voting Rights Act.” That’s not really fair to John Roberts who has really given it his all to gut voting rights. [CNN]

* Kellogg bought in $3.1B deal courtesy of Davis Polk and Kirkland. The new owner is the Ferrero Group so start your morning off with a big bowl of “Special F.” [Law360]

* Backlogged courts resisting AI. Why? It’s worked out so great everywhere else! [Law.com]

* “A judge has delighted barristers with his sketching skills….” [Roll on Friday]

Another Day, Another Firm Bumping Up The In-Person Quota — See Also

This Time It’s Duane Morris: Which Biglaw firm will be the next to hop on the trend?

Never A Bad Time To Call Out Stupidity: Marc Randazza wrote a response to a cease and desist you can only dream of sending out.

About Harvard’s Negotiations With Trump: They scrubbed diversity mentions from several of their undergrad websites.

Midsize Firms Have Prestige Rankings Too!: Check out the best of the best by region here!

Is This A Pulpit Or A Political Rally?: If the Johnson Amendment isn’t being enforced, what’s the difference?

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Biglaw Firm Dominating ‘Mega’ Bankruptcy Cases

The firm's bankruptcy lawyers are already having a great 2025.

State AG Angry That AI Doesn’t Love Trump More, Will Waste Taxpayer Money Until It Does!

Missouri consistently ranks in the toilet on crime, but its top law enforcement officer is busy... demanding ChatGPT be nicer to Donald Trump.

Biglaw Firm’s Leader Seems To Shrug Off Partner Departures, Including That Of Former Name Partner

He's not terribly concerned about people leaving the firm.