David Lat
Posts by David Lat
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Small Law Firms
Being Focused And Fearless To Achieve The Impossible
Some inspiration to achieve the impossible -- and some practical advice on how to do it. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.06.17
* The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to toss the travel ban case on mootness grounds — and to scrub the lower-court rulings against it from the books. [How Appealing]
* Meanwhile, the District of Columbia won’t take the fight over its concealed-carry law to SCOTUS, fearing that the Court might just make the situation worse if called to rule on gun rights. [Washington Post]
* At age 86, Marty Lipton of Wachtell Lipton is still in the mix, issuing influential client memos on important issues of corporate law. [Big Law Business]
* Does the emperor have no clothes
robes? Zoran (Zoki) Tasic, a former Seventh Circuit staff attorney, calls out Judge Richard Posner over alleged errors in the judge’s new book (affiliate link) about the treatment of pro se litigants. [How Appealing]* Support staff at Hogan Lovells seem to love the firm’s buyout offers; the firm’s voluntary-retirement program attracted even more interest than expected. (Expect more on this later.) [Law.com]
* What does the future hold for the Obama administration’s proposed changes to overtime rules? Senators seek guidance from Cheryl Stanton, the former Alito clerk and Ogletree Deakins partner who enjoyed smooth sailing at her recent confirmation hearings to serve as head of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. [Bloomberg BNA]
* In other news about the fate of Obama-era regulations, it looks like the Trump administration will be rolling back the federal requirement for employers to include birth control coverage in their health insurance plans, expanding exemptions for religious objectors. [New York Times]
- Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Conferences / Symposia, Small Law Firms
4 Trends Shaping The Future Of The Legal Profession
Trends to watch if you want to succeed as a lawyer in a rapidly changing environment.
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See Also
See Also: Go Big Or Go Home
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks softly, but she carries a big stick — which she just used to rap her most junior colleague, Justice Neil Gorsuch, on the knuckles.
Did the Trumps escape criminal prosecution thanks to their big bank accounts and some big campaign contributions by Marc Kasowitz? Joe Patrice makes the case.
Special counsel Robert Mueller isn’t afraid of going after big game in the Russia investigation — and a battle over the scope of the pardon power might ensue.
Is the U.S. Supreme Court a possible ally in the battle against gun violence? Actually, according to Elie Mystal, the big court is more likely to be a big obstacle to gun control.
Do you have huge student loans to repay? New columnist Jordan Rothman urges you to go Biglaw, or go home.
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Federal Government, U.S. Attorneys Offices
Preet Bharara's 5 Secrets To Success In The Law
What is the difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer? -
Justice, Law Schools, Racism
Was UVA Law Alum Johnathan Perkins Pressured By The FBI Into Recanting His Account Of Racial Profiling?
This is Perkins's claim, and here's the evidence in support of it. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.29.17
* Justice Neil Gorsuch delivers a speech on civility in public life at a lunch held at the Trump International Hotel — and meets with protests. [How Appealing]
* Congratulations to Makan Delrahim, just confirmed as head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. [Bloomberg via Big Law Business]
* MoloLamken adds another star federal prosecutor to its roster, bringing aboard Megan Cunniff Church in Chicago. [Law360]
* Speaking of stars, the Supreme Court clerks from October Term 2007: where are they now? [Excess of Democracy]
* Don’t say we didn’t warn you: the list of law schools with the highest loan default rates is dominated by staples of Above the Law’s pages. [ABA Journal]
* Harvard Law School graduate Tamara Wyche, who failed the bar exam twice and lost her job at Ropes & Gray, can proceed with parts of her federal lawsuit against the New York State Board of Law Examiners. [Law.com]
* Shocker: lobbyists go into high gear to try and save some cherished tax breaks from the scourge of tax reform. [New York Times]
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Federal Judges
A Surprising Turn In The Fifth Circuit Sweepstakes (Plus Seven Other Federal Judicial Nominees)
Congratulations to the two Texas nominees, including a celebrity tweeter! - Sponsored
Law Firms Now Have A Choice In Their Document Comparison Software
Six months on since its launch, over 200 firms worldwide are now using Draftable Legal for accurate and reliable document comparison, including UK Top 50… -
See Also
See Also: Better Late Than Never
The Cravath pay raise hits the heartland. Associates, here’s some extra cash to cuddle up with on those cold Midwestern nights.
When will this Biglaw partner get confirmed as director of the Patent and Trademark Office? Well, maybe Andrei Iancu of Irell & Manella is in no rush — he’s taking a YUGE pay cut.
Equality in marriage rights versus equality in parenting rights: It took years for marriage equality to go nationwide — but equality in parenting rights could happen more quickly (at least if other states follow Arizona’s lead, as discussed by columnist Ellen Trachman).
Innovation comes slowly to the legal world, but is Atrium going to speed up that process? Columnist Joe Borstein interviews co-founders Augie Rakow and Bebe Chueh.
This pro se litigant’s lawsuit against “the Jews” got dismissed within a day — and even that was a day too long.
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Biglaw, Layoffs
Another Law Firm Merger That Could Lead To Layoffs
As many as 32 positions could be affected. -
See Also
See Also: Unsolved Mysteries
Why was an unarmed Case Western law student shot by a police officer? Friends and former classmates of Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri want answers — and a federal investigation.
Did lbullying lead a recent law school graduate to take her own life? A former classmate believes so.
Will the Utah Supreme Court recognize the right of married gay couples to become parents? If not, expect some intervention from SCOTUS, according to columnist Ellen Trachman.
Will Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein end up recusing himself in the Russia probe? He hasn’t yet — but he has been interviewed by the team of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Whatever happened to the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules? The Trump administration will likely act in this area fairly soon — so employers need to get ready, as columnist Evan Gibbs explains.
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.20.17
* Hogan Lovells shows the love to its support staff — as long as they head for the exits — by offering voluntary retirement to 400 employees. [Legal Week]
* Another jailhouse pal of Sigfredo Garcia, one of the defendants in the Dan Markel murder case, claims that Garcia acknowledged participating in the killing. [Tallahassee Democrat]
* The Texas-sized drama over those open Fifth Circuit seats shows no signs of being resolved anytime soon. [BuzzFeed via How Appealing]
* One of outgoing dean Daniel Rodriguez’s biggest achievements at Northwestern Law: bringing down average student indebtedness by roughly a third. [Law.com]
* The gold that Donald Trump is showering upon his lawyers in the Russia probe reportedly comes from donations to his re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee. [Reuters via ABA Journal]
* Speaking of the Russia inquiry, can White House counsel Don McGahn claim attorney-client privilege to withhold information from special counsel Robert Mueller? [Reuters via How Appealing]
* Unintended consequences: the high cost of Biglaw associates is driving entry-level hiring of in-house lawyers. [Am Law Daily]
* What’s behind the trend of women leaving Biglaw to start their own boutiques? [Big Law Business]
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Books, Federal Judges
Lead Yourself First: An Interview With Judge Raymond M. Kethledge
Enjoy these insights and career advice from a prominent judge (and possible Supreme Court justice).
Sponsored
AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
How Transactional Lawyers Can Better Serve (And Maintain) Their Clients
Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Law Firms Now Have A Choice In Their Document Comparison Software
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Law School Deans, Law Schools
A Leading Law School Dean Announces His Departure
Dean Daniel Rodriguez was an innovator and reformer in legal education. -
Books, Constitutional Law
A Debt Against The Living: An Interview With Biglaw Associate And Author Ilan Wurman
Originalism: do you really understand what it's all about? -
Federal Judges
The Seventh Circuit Responds To Judge Richard Posner
Chief Judge Diane Wood disputes Judge Richard Posner's claims about pro se litigants and cameras in the courtroom. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.15.17
* Yes, it’s true: Jeff Sessions came thisclose to resigning as attorney general, after Donald Trump berated him following the appointment of special counsel Bob Mueller in the Russia probe. [New York Times]
* Bye-bye to blue slips? It wouldn’t exactly be “nuclear,” since their treatment has varied greatly over the years. [BuzzFeed]
* The State Bar of California tries to cut down the arguments in favor of a lower cut score on the bar exam. [ABA Journal]
* Technology platforms are driving an increase in transparency that’s having profound consequences for the employer/employee relationship (as I recently discussed on the podcast of Akerman employment-law partner Matt Steinberg). [Akerman]
* Embattled Equifax has turned to Phyllis Sumner and King & Spalding for much-needed legal help in the wake of its massive data breach. [Law.com]
* Statutory interpretation question: can you be both the victim and the perpetrator in a child pornography case? [How Appealing]
* The ranks of nonequity partners continue to grow; has this trend gone too far? [Big Law Business]
* Prosecution of individuals in cases of corporate wrongdoing (aka the Yates Memo), and Justice Department policy on enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states where it has been decriminalized — both are “under review” at the DOJ, according to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. [Law.com]
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Federal Judges
Judge Posner, Uncensored: 'I Don't Really Care What People Think'
The recently retired Richard Posner has lost none of his famous candor. -
See Also
See Also: #WednesdayWisdom
Want your own iPhone X? Then this great law firm is the place to be.
What a difference a justice can make: The Supreme Court, over the objection of its four liberal members, stayed lower-court rulings striking down Texas’s redistricting maps.
The law is still playing catch-up with social media — and shady behavior on such platforms. See, e.g., Instagram.
Fun with fact patterns: That Awkward Moment When Your Twin Brother Is A U.S. Citizen At Birth, But You’re Not.
Judge Richard Posner’s surprise retirement continues to generate commentary. Columnist Jill Switzer argues that age is just a number, even for judges, while columnist Shannon Achimalbe thinks the Posner retirement shows that it’s never too late to embark on a new adventure.
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Deaths
Edith Windsor, Victor In A Landmark Marriage Equality Case, R.I.P.
All LGBT Americans -- and all Americans, period -- owe this crusader for justice a debt of gratitude.