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1st Circuit, Bankruptcy, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Disasters / Emergencies, Facebook, Law Schools, LSAT, Morning Docket, Sex, Sex Scandals, Texas
Morning Docket: 11.13.12
* Deep in the heart of Texas, plans are in the works for the state’s secession from the nation via online petition. The most likely White House response? Probably something like this: “HAHAHAHAHAHA!” [Hillicon Valley / The Hill]
* Paula Broadwell, better known as ex-CIA director David Petraeus’s side piece, has officially lawyered up. This guy had better watch out, because he kind of looks a little bit like her former flame. [Washington Post]
* And then they came for the Steves, but there was no one left to speak for them. The day of reckoning has finally come for the men who are being blamed for cooking Dewey’s LeBoeuf. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* Law firms in Manhattan are still recovering from Hurricane Sandy. Not for nothing, but all of the staff members at WilmerHale who were tasked with getting rid of all of the rotten food in the firm’s cafeteria should get a double bonus. Just saying. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Good news, underemployed law school graduates baristas! The First Circuit just affirmed your $14.1M tip-sharing judgment. Maybe now they’ll be able to afford the Starbucks diet. [National Law Journal]
* “This lawsuit is a massive fraud on the federal courts and defendants. It has now descended into farce.” Facebook is yet again seeking dismissal of Paul Ceglia’s ownership claims. [Threat Level / Wired]
* There may be five deciding factors when it comes to law school admissions, but serious candidates should focus on the two most important ones: LSAT and GPA. [Law School Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
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Biglaw, Eric Holder, Facebook, Health Care / Medicine, Insurance, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Money, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Morning Docket: 11.09.12
* Since Obamacare’s here to stay, states are scurrying to meet the health care law’s deadlines. Better hurry up, they’ve only got a week left to make a decision on insurance exchanges. [New York Times]
* “It’s been an interesting and tough four years. I just really don’t know. I don’t know at this point.” Two days after the election, it looks like Barack Obama may have to replace Eric Holder after all. [Blog of Legal Times]
* Managing partners at midsize firms are feeling good about about business in the coming fiscal year, and they’re even projecting higher profits per partner. And unicorns, too! [National Law Journal (reg. req.)]
* Where did a portion of the money behind Harvard Law professor and Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren’s Massachusetts race come from? Biglaw firms like Nixon Peabody and Mintz Levin. [Corporate Counsel]
* Apparently a convicted abortion doctor killer is trying to intervene in Paul Ceglia’s ownership case against Facebook via kooky letter. Sorry pal, but there can be only one Jonathan Lee Riches. [Wall Street Journal]
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Bar Exams, Facebook, Social Media
New York Bar Exam Results Are Out; Congratulations To Everyone Who Passed!
The results of the July 2012 New York bar exam have been released early. Congratulations to all passers!
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Crime, Defamation, Facebook, Non-Sequiturs, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Non-Sequiturs: 10.31.12
* Paul Ceglia lost ANOTHER lawyer, this time after Ceglia got arrested on fraud charges. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * A Las Vegas family court judge has been charged with conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering, for allegedly devising and participating in a $3 million investment fraud scheme. So much for that whole “lest you be judged” thing. [8 News Now] * Hunter Moore, the patron saint of creepy revenge porn sites, has been sued by Storage Wars star Brandi Passante for defamation. [Los Angeles Intellectual Property Trademark Attorney Blog] * Speaking of creepy sex, happy Halloween!… unless you’re a registered sex offender. [ABA Journal] * This discrimination ruling may have established a new judicial precedent: the Jersey Shore test. God help us. [Legal Blog Watch] * Remember to send us pictures of your legally themed Halloween costumes for our contest! [Above the Law] -
Breasts, Facebook, Pornography, Privacy, Sex, Sex Scandals, Technology
A Takedown Of The 'Takedown Lawyer' (If He's Even A Lawyer, That Is)
A new amateur porn site works with a shadowy lawyer who may not be what he seems... -
Crime, Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking Websites
Paul Ceglia Has Been Arrested
The chickens come home to roost for the Man Who Would Be King of Facebook... -
Advertising, Cyberlaw, Facebook, Free Speech, FTC, Kids, Privacy
Facebook Protests Proposed Child Privacy Rule Revisions on Scuzzy Free Speech Grounds
Why does Facebook all of a sudden care so deeply about the free speech rights of children? -
Drinking, Facebook, Law Schools, Murder, Non-Sequiturs, Patents, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Technology
Non-Sequiturs: 10.02.12
* A case of alleged murder by legal form. Christ, this sounds like a bad Twilight Zone episode. [Lake Expo] * A novel reason why teenagers should still refrain from posting party pictures on Facebook, future job concerns be damned. [ABA Journal] * Kirkland & Ellis donated $5 million to the Northwestern University Law School. I think some celebratory key jangling is in order. [Northwestern News Center] * Con law nerds, you can now check out the audio from the Supreme Court’s announcement of its ruling in the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. the Obamacare case. [Oyez] * What do the naked Kate Middleton pictures mean for modern privacy law? Other than the fact that all famous people should just become nevernudes, obviously. [LinkedIn] * A judge blocked the controversial Pennsylvania Voter ID law, at least until election season ends. [WSJ Law Blog] * Although law school application rates are falling across most of the country, application numbers have spiked at the extraordinarily prestigious Kansas University School of Law. Wait, what? [LJWorld] * Oh lord, here we go again. Samsung sued Apple for patent infringement in the iPhone 5. Let’s begin round #72,354. Ding! [CNET] - Sponsored
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Biglaw, California, Facebook, Fenwick & West, Google / Search Engines, New York Times, Privacy, Technology
Biglaw Firms Join the San Francisco Start-up Gold Rush
Which Biglaw firm faces more competition in the race to represent exciting new startups? -
Contests, Facebook, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Ennui. Rhymes With Crap Tea.
A lawyer thought he had found a way to escape the daily grind -- until he got stopped by some pesky rules. -
Education / Schools, Facebook, Free Speech, Kids, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Federal Court Rules: 'We Don't Need No Facebook Control; Hey Teacher, Leave Them Kids Alone!'
A federal court hands down a ruling restricting how schools can use social media against students. -
Facebook, Lawyer of the Day, Murder, Rank Stupidity, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Trials
Lawyer of the Day: Miami PD Posts Pictures of Client's Underwear on Facebook, Causes Mistrial
A Miami public defender caused a mistrial and potentially scuttled her career by posting photos of a client's underwear online. -
Facebook, Job Searches, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: I Can Believe That
Working at an electronics store is TOTALLY the same as working as a lawyer...
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Antitrust, Biglaw, Canada, Crime, Facebook, Federal Judges, FTC, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Perverts, Romance and Dating, Ursula Ungaro, Violence
Morning Docket: 08.23.12
* Little known fact of the day: the late comedienne Phyllis Diller apparently had a storybook romance with Paul Hastings name partner, Robert Hastings. She once said that her longtime Biglaw beau was the “love of [her] life.” [Am Law Daily]
* The Federal Trade Commission has closed its antitrust review of Facebook’s proposed Instagram purchase, clearing the way for the social networking site’s users to post grainy pictures to their hearts’ content. [Bloomberg]
* A former Vancouver lawyer serving a 15-year sentence for money laundering claims that one of the Mounties who investigated his case played a game of “hide the Canadian bacon” with Judge Ursula Ungaro. [Province]
* A judge who resigned in April has been retroactively removed from office for admitting to having sexual contact with his five-year-old niece. He presided over family court matters. Figures. [New York Law Journal]
* Which accomplishments and activities should you leave off your résumé? A) law review editor in chief; B) second in the class; C) 4.05 GPA; D) nonprofit executive director; E) child porn aficionado. [Willamette Week]
* Stabbing your lawyer is so last season. Another criminal defendant reportedly attacked his defense attorney in court, but this time chose to whack his own counsel in the head with his handcuffed hand. [Boston Globe]
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California, Facebook, Federal Judges, Plaintiffs Firms, Privacy, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
I Don't Think Class Action Settlement Means What You Think It Means
Why did a federal judge say a recent Facebook settlement agreement may have been "plucked out of thin air"? -
Benchslaps, Facebook, Kasowitz Benson, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Is Paul Ceglia a Glutton for Benchslaps?
Paul Ceglia, the plaintiff in long-lasting litigation against Facebook, is on the receiving end of yet another benchslap... -
Abortion, Biglaw, Facebook, Intellectual Property, Labor / Employment, Morning Docket, Murder, Privacy, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, State Judges, Technology
Morning Docket: 08.02.12
* Global agribusiness group Monsanto Co was awarded $1 billion in a patent infringement case against DuPont for improperly duplicating some kind of crazy seed technology. [New York Times]
* For particularly thick-headed employers who don’t understand it’s a bad idea to ask employees for Facebook passwords, now Illinois will fine them $200 for doing so. [Chicago Tribune]* A federal judge in Washington sanctioned well-known plaintiff’s attorney Joy Ann Bull for filing grossly inflated fee statements. She was consequently asked to resign her partnership at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd. Welcome to the breadline! [LegalNewsline]
* Should a trial judge who is a Brooklyn Law grad recuse himself from a case against Brooklyn Law filed by Brooklyn Law alumni? Meh… [National Law Journal]
* As Ralph Baxter nears retirement, who will be chosen to lead Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe? [Am Law Daily]
* The Ninth Circuit already issued an injunction against Arizona’s new late-term abortion ban. Like they say, it’s all about shakin’ hands and killing kissin’ babies. [Denver Post]
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Cyberlaw, Facebook, FTC, Kids, Privacy, Quote of the Day, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Quote of the Day: Yes, We Should Probably Go Ahead and Do That
A proposed FTC rule update would fix a loophole in a rule designed to protect children's online privacy. -
Department of Justice, Facebook, Google / Search Engines, Insider Trading, Intellectual Property, Morning Docket, Technology, Trials
Morning Docket: 08.01.12
* In the Apple-Samsung trial yesterday, Apple’s attorneys accused Samsung of intentionally copying the iPhone. Samsung’s attorney was like, Bro, step off. And then Judge Lucy Koh and all the members of the gallery and the jury crowded around in a circle and started yelling Techno-fight! Techno fight! [Wall Street Journal]
* Matthew Kluger, formerly of Wilson Sonsini and more recently convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for insider trading, gives an interview about what motivated him to commit his crimes. [Bloomberg]
* France is not happy that Google did not delete all its Street View information from the country after it promised to. Shockingly, some parts of the world apparently still value data privacy. How quaint! [New York Times]
* Former Perkins Coie partner Harold DeGraff must arbitrate his compensation battle with his former law firm. But the process will not have to be kept confidential. [Thomson Reuters]
* I’m pretty sure at this point the DOJ is just consulting a Ouija board in its increasingly feeble attempts to prosecute Megaupload. [Wired /Threat Level]
* UBS is not happy that it lost $356 million on the Facebook IPO. Now it’s suing NASDAQ over the snafu. [CNNMoney]
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Bad Ideas, Facebook, Free Speech, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Former Prosecutor Allegedly Threatened His Boss on Facebook, Now Faces Criminal Charges
A former Virginia prosecutor allegedly threatened his boss over Facebook. Now, big surprise, he's facing criminal charges.