Deaths
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American Bar Association / ABA, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, California, Deaths, Federal Judges, Food, Gay, Gay Marriage, Intellectual Property, Law Firm Mergers, Law Firm Names, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Movies, Partner Issues, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, YouTube
Morning Docket: 09.20.12
* Are you ready for some Supreme gossip? In remarks delivered at Colorado Law, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg predicted that the Defense of Marriage Act would be argued “toward the end of the current term.” [CBS News]
* Dewey’s version of trying to curry favor for the proposed $72M partner settlement? Filing a deposition transcript noting that others could’ve also been blamed for D&L’s downfall, but weren’t due to time constraints. Gee, thanks. [Am Law Daily]
* Novak Druce + Quigg and Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz will merge to form Novak Druce Connolly Bove & Quigg, the 7th largest IP firm in the U.S. Guess seven name partners was a bit much. [Delaware Law Weekly]
* Michael McShane was nominated by President Obama to fill a judgeship in Oregon. If confirmed, he’d be one of the few openly gay judges on the federal bench, which, of course, would be absolutely fabulous. [Oregonian]
* The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession wants the ABA to amend the Model Rules of Professional Conduct to include a duty to promote diversity. Because we clearly need a rule on that. [National Law Journal]
* Cindy Garcia, an actress from “Innocence of Muslims” is suing, claiming that she was duped into the role under false pretenses. She wants the film removed from YouTube. Everyone else does, too, lady. [Bloomberg]
* A judge refused to issue an injunction against the California ban on foie gras, instead allowing a suit on the same topic to move forward. Oh mon dieu, judge, think of all the poor Francophiles! [San Francisco Chronicle]
* Joshua Morse III, former dean of Mississippi Law who defied segregation, RIP. [New York Times]
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8th Circuit, 9th Circuit, Abortion, Bankruptcy, Barack Obama, Biglaw, Celebrities, Constitutional Law, Copyright, Deaths, Fashion, Kiwi Camara, Law Professors, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Richard Epstein
Morning Docket: 09.12.12
* Good news, everyone! According to Citi’s Managing Partner Confidence Index survey, firm leaders are feeling pessimistic about their business due to an overall lack of confidence in the economy. [Am Law Daily]
* Per the Ninth Circuit, an Idaho statute that essentially criminalizes medication-induced abortions imposes an undue burden on a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy. Really? You don’t say. [Bloomberg]
* Kiwi Camara’s circuitous route to SCOTUS: thanks to the Eighth Circuit, Jammie Thomas-Rasset started and ended her journey with $222K damages for copyright infringement. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* “Fashion law is a real career choice,” says Gibson Dunn partner Lois Herzeca. This niche practice area is one of the hottest new trends in the wonderful world of fashion, and it’s not likely to go out of style any time in the remote future. [Reuters]
* Your clawback suit is a wonderland? John Mayer was named as a defendant in a suit filed by trustees seeking to recover money paid out by Ponzi schemer Darren Berg. [Bankruptcy Beat / Wall Street Journal]
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Crime, Deaths, Education / Schools, Violence
Following Student's Hazing Death, University Officials Argue Protecting Students Off Campus Isn't Their Job
Should Florida A&M be held responsible for a student's death that resulted from a marching band hazing ritual?
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Crime, Deaths, Health Care / Medicine, New Jersey, Weirdness
Penis Embolism: A Bad Way to Die or the Worst?
A woman whose unlicensed penis enhancement procedure allegedly led to a patient's death faces manslaughter charges. -
California, Celebrities, Deaths, Football, Non-Sequiturs, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 09.05.12
* Are you ready for some concussions?! [The Nation] * Sorry, wrong song. How about: I’ve been waiting all day for student athlete’s rights, but Stanford’s getting tough like a prime-time fight. California wants to protect injured scholars in cleats. But Stanford doesn’t care for former athletes. (Go ahead, read the article, listen to the song chorus again, then come back here and tell me my fake lyrics were perfect. I’ll wait.) [Legal Blitz] * Amanda Bynes, charged with hit-and-run. A former child star running afoul of the law, what were the odds? What. Were. The. Odds. [Associated Press] * Stuff falls from the sky and kills a lawyer. That’s not the start of a joke, it really freaking happened. [The London Evening Standard] * Note the URL on Niki Black’s response to Brian Tannebaum’s article yesterday, then remember to keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times. [Sui Generis] * Dealbreaker headline of the day: Bank Of America Makes Policy On Flashing Your Bare Ass At The Office Clear. [Dealbreaker] * Conservatives in California are against deregulation. The party of Reagan is truly dead. [Slate] -
Canada, Deaths, Law Professors, Law Schools, Layoffs, LSAT, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Patton Boggs, Politics, Staff Layoffs
Morning Docket: 08.28.12
* Patton Boggs partner Benjamin Ginsberg serves as the Mitt Romney campaign’s top lawyer, and he’s taking flak for GOP rules revisions that have been likened to “killing a fly with a sledgehammer.” [Am Law Daily]
* “I am still shocked that I did everything right and find myself on the brink of destitution,.” This just in from the Things Everyone Already Knew Desk: even law firms have been hit hard by the recession. [Washington Times]
* The lead lawyer in the inquisition against Madam Justice Lori Douglas turned in a resignation letter. Perhaps he grew tired of being part of judicial farce that’s spread wider than Her Honor’s legs. [Canadian Press]
* Penn State Dickinson School of Law might not be losing its accreditation, but it will be reducing enrollment and consolidating all first-year classes at its University Park campus. [Central Penn Business Journal]
* A would-be law student wants to know if he has a good chance of getting into a top 20 school with a low 150s LSAT and an average GPA. You’ll get in everywhere you apply! [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
* Roger Fisher, Harvard Law School professor and co-author of “Getting to Yes,” RIP. [WSJ Law Blog]
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Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Blank Rome, Breasts, Deaths, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Howrey LLP, Litigators, Money, Morning Docket, Murder, Rape
Morning Docket: 08.22.12
* Dewey know how much it costs to keep this failed firm on life support while its remaining partners try to collect D&L’s unpaid bills? A little more than $2M a month, according to the latest reports. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Former Missouri senators — including two Am Law 200 partners — are asking begging Rep. Todd Akin to step aside so the Republicans chances of securing the Senate seat aren’t legitimately raped. [Am Law Daily]
* Howrey going to explain this one to the judge? The defunct firm is blaming a deadly forklift accident at a document-storage warehouse for hindering its wind-down process. [Bankruptcy Beat / Wall Street Journal]
* “No matter what they said, it’s not material? Is that what you’re alleging?” It figures that a Skadden partner argued that employment statistics were irrelevant in the fraud class action suit against Brooklyn Law School, but at least the judge attempted to set him straight. [National Law Journal]
* Alaska is suing to overturn federal oversight of its elections, because the portions of the VRA aimed at protecting African Americans aren’t applicable if you can see Russia from your house. [Chicago Tribune]
* An official at ICE is suing because his boss, a woman, allegedly “created a frat house-type atmosphere that is targeted to humiliate and intimidate male employees.” Pledging totally sucks, bro. [New York Times]
* Psst, we think we know what Victoria’s secret is, and she’s no angel. According to police, she’s got a very bad temper, and if you deny her money for booze, she may strangle you to death with her bra. [Daily Mail]
* Jerome Richter, former Blank Rome litigation department chairman, RIP. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
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Blogging, Cars, Cheapness, Deaths, Insurance, Money, Reader Polls, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Traffic Accidents, Twittering
Progressive Professes the Insurance Company Creed
After being attacked for allegedly defending the driver who killed one of its insureds, what does Progressive Insurance have to say for itself? Here is their statement. - Sponsored
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Blogging, Cars, Cheapness, Deaths, Insurance, Money, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Traffic Accidents, Twittering
Progressive Insurance Is Inhuman
The internet brouhaha over Progressive Insurance may tell us more about the internet than about Progressive. -
Airplanes / Aviation, Biglaw, California, Deaths, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: Greenberg Attorney Killed In Plane Crash
A well-loved Greenberg Traurig attorney and volunteer medical pilot was killed in a private plane crash. -
Animal Law, Bar Exams, Deaths, Pets, Violence
Dead Cat Mars Usually Lovely Albany Bar Exam Experience
You weren't hallucinating, somebody really did kill a cat outside of the bar exam... -
Bar Exams, Deaths, Education / Schools, Hair, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Television, Women's Issues
Non-Sequiturs: 07.27.12
* And now for some reflection on the just completed bar exam. [Fink or Swim] * Here’s another take on how long your hair should be at the office. Apparently it helps to not be stupid. [Sweet Hot Justice] * Yesterday’s New York thunderstorm had tragic consequences for an area lawyer. [Herald Sun] * I was on Red Eye on Fox last night/this morning. It’s the first plank in the platform I’m using to run for King of the Homeless. [Red Eye] * We also covered this ridiculous story about a high school student suing because he got a C+ in Chemistry. [ABC News] * Uh oh, Mitt Romney has angered Carl Lewis. Now I’m waiting for other relevant 80s athletes to weigh in. Can somebody tell me what Greg Louganis thinks about Romney’s comments? [Politico] -
Deaths, Divorce Train Wrecks, Family Law, Food, Law Schools, Murder, Non-Sequiturs, Police, Sex
Non-Sequiturs: 07.23.12
* The easiest way to stop James Holmes from becoming a celebrity and inspiring copycats is to stop trying to monetize the Aurora killings to turn a profit with ad revenue, but Professor David Kopel says it in more elegant terms. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Of course there’s a law school death watch list. Now, it would be nice to think that these law schools would shut down, but there are still people willing to fill the seats. You should’ve known better than to assume a silly thing like employment statistics would stop people from applying. [Legal Blog Watch] * Divorce for men: it’s “not for women.” These family law practitioners may want to get together with Dr. Pepper for some kind of a licensing deal. [WSJ Law Blog] * A pube sandwich is a very creative culinary treat — unfortunately, the recipe isn’t taught in sandwich artist school. FYI, the price to serve it to a police officer is $13,750. [Gothamist] * The next time your husband complains about your sex life or lack thereof, just tell him that it’s against the law for married women to fornicate. Or that you’ve had a headache for the past few years. [Legal Juice]
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Antonin Scalia, Attorney Misconduct, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, California, Deaths, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Election 2012, Gender, Howrey LLP, Joe Biden, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, SCOTUS, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, Silicon Valley, Supreme Court, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 07.23.12
* Presidential campaigns for Election 2012 are focusing in on the Supreme Court and future appointments to the high court, and Vice President Joe Biden is really not a fan of Justice Scalia. [POLITICO]
* Dewey know what the ramifications of D&L’s $50M insurance policy will mean for the resolution of the failed firm’s bankruptcy proceedings? Well, Steve Davis is probably happy. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* Howrey going to pay off all of our creditors? Probably by dipping into the coffers of the 70 other law firms that took on our defectors. Have fun with all of those subpoenas. [Capital Business / Washington Post]
* The percentage of women in Biglaw partnership positions is up 2.8% since 2003, but the equity gender gap remains. At least some progress is being made. [National Law Journal]
* “I thought your papers were terrific, I just disagreed with them.” Kleiner Perkins isn’t a fan of backhanded compliments, so the firm is appealing a judge’s decision to keep Ellen Pao’s case out of arbitration. [Reuters]
* James Holmes, the alleged shooter in the Aurora movie-theater massacre, is scheduled to make his first court appearance today for an initial advisement. Thus far, he’s facing at least 71 charges. [Denver Post]
* The class action suit filed against Cooley Law over its allegedly deceptive employment statistics has been dismissed, much like the NYLS lawsuit before it. More on the dismissal to come later today. [WSJ Law Blog]
* “Sex isn’t going to buy me dinner.” Michael Winner, the attorney accused of offering “pro boner” assistance to female inmates, claims in an interview that the allegations against him are “just plain false.” [WSB-TV Atlanta]
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Airplanes / Aviation, Deaths, Nauseating Things, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Screening Room Floor
The TSA is at it again, this time allegedly disrespecting a man carrying his grandfather's ashes for the sake of security screening… -
California, Deaths, Facebook, Federal Judges, Free Speech, Jury Duty, Non-Sequiturs, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 06.21.12
* Jerry Sandusky’s lawyer, Joe Amendola, has a very lawyerly license plate — and expired tags, too? [Deadspin] * In other sports law news, Darren Heitner says at least one football helmet manufacturer should be afraid, be very afraid, of concussion litigation. [Forbes] * A pop culture blogger, Jenni Maier, is rudely awakened to the boring, sexless, receding-hairline-filled real world of jury duty. [Crushable] * A pair of former Lawyers of the Day, Michael Tein and Guy Lewis, are in trouble again — this time for allegedly acting “recklessly and unprofessionally” towards the judge in a wrongful death case they were handling. [Miami Herald] * The Minnesota Supreme Court rules that a Mortuary Science student was legally flunked for making fun (on Facebook) of the cadaver she had to dissect. Chalk up another point to the Facebook Fun Police. [City Pages] * Senior U.S. District Judge Robert J. Kelleher, the oldest serving federal judge, died at 99 in California. [Associated Press] -
Bail, Crime, Deaths, Murder, Pranks, Screw-Ups, Violence
Good News and Bad News for Stephen McDaniel, Recent Law School Grad Accused of Murder
Remember the creepy message board posting attributed by prosecutors to Stephen McDaniel, the recent Mercer Law School graduate accused of murder? It seems he didn't write it (you heard it here first).... -
Crime, Deaths, Education / Schools, Law Schools, Murder, Video games, Violence, Weirdness
In Defense of Stephen McDaniel: A Testimonial From A Friend
A college friend of Stephen McDaniel, the Mercer Law School graduate accused of killing a former classmate and neighbor, speaks up in defense of McDaniel. -
Biglaw, California, Deaths, Football, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Police, Silicon Valley, Texas, Trials, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 06.14.12
* Kleiner Perkins responded to Ellen Pao’s gender discrimination suit, and it’s not pretty. Not only does the firm’s answer deny her allegations, but it also calls into question her work product. [San Jose Mercury News]
* Joe Amendola’s preferred strategy at the Jerry Sandusky trial seems to be the use of the “tried and tested technique” of ignoring all of the alleged accusers’ tears and making them cry all over again. [New York Times]
* Who in their right mind would attempt to fake being a lawyer these days? Michelle Fyfe, a 43-year-old woman from Texas, is accused of forging a law degree from SMU Dedman School of Law. [Dallas Morning News (sub. req.)]
* Say hello to Baltimore Law’s new dean, Ronald Weich, the former assistant attorney general who penned the notorious false gun letter to Congress. Surely this ex-DOJ official will stand up to Bogomolny. [The Hill]
* This must be like getting it caught in your zipper — but much, much worse. A Brooklyn man claims that members of the NYPD “strangled his penis,” so he’s suing. [Huffington Post via Courthouse News Service]
* Reuben G. Clark Jr., a founding partner of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering (WilmerHale), RIP. [Washington Post]
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Animal Law, Crime, Deaths, Kids
'Dingo Ate My Baby' Defense Actually Works!
An Australian coroner concludes that a dingo really did eat this woman's baby.