Above the Law

* "Please Stay, Justice Kennedy. America Needs You." The editorial board of the paper of record has penned a moving letter to Justice Anthony Kennedy, pleading with him not to retire from the Supreme Court during a moment in history when the high court -- and the country at large -- faces "an institutional crisis." [New York Times]

* Par for the course? In order to be hired for her job, Attorney General Jeff Sessions's top spokeswoman apparently had to swear fealty to President Donald Trump because she had criticized him during the 2016 Republican primaries. [Washington Post]

* House Republicans want to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a punishment that was last used against an executive branch employee 122 years ago. FYI, "[i]t's not meant to use to go after officials who don't share your policy views or your political goals," so it's not likely to happen, but good luck with that. [USA Today]

* T-Mobile has agreed to buy Sprint (again), and this time, they think that the Trump administration will allow the deal to go through because they want Make America's 5G Great Again. To paraphrase what Sprint spokesman Paul would say, all law firms are great, but we wonder which ones are on this deal. [Wall Street Journal]

* The first lawsuit has been filed against Southwest Airlines by a survivor of the deadly flight where a passenger was partially sucked out of the window following an engine explosion. The suit was filed by Lilia Chavez, who "prayed and feared for her life" after she "witnessed the horror" of the disaster, and now claims she has PTSD. [ABC News]

* Judge Robert F. Chapman, senior judge of the Fourth Circuit, RIP. [Fourth Circuit]

* Kirkland & Ellis raiding Cravath is now officially "a thing"; it's been covered in the newspaper of record. [New York Times]

* Extension requests: not just for law school papers, but for cert petitions too (and there's no shame in seeking them; they're often requested by prominent practitioners). [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Want to talk intelligently about the Michael Cohen mess case with your friends? Start by reading this primer on "privileged" versus "confidential" client communications, by Joel Cohen (no relation) and Dale Degenshein. [Law and Crime]

* Boycotts have a venerable history in terms of the law and the First Amendment -- but they might be losing their effectiveness in the digital age, as noted media lawyer Charles Glasser explains. [Daily Caller]

* Eugene Volokh flags this interesting issue (and opinion): under what circumstances does denying a felon the right to own a gun violate the Second Amendment? [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy]

* Has the whole "emotional support animal" phenomenon gone too far at Yale? [Yale Daily News via Instapundit]

David Lat is editor at large and founding editor of Above the Law, as well as the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.

DO NOT FALL FOR THE JUDICIAL CRISIS NETWORK SCAM: Joe Patrice breaks down this farce.

WHO HAS 16 CELL PHONES? If Cohen and Trump get tripped up because Cohen couldn't part with his old Blackberry, it'll be glorious.

SEND US YOUR LAW REVUE VIDEOS: Seriously.

CAN THE PATENT OFFICE JUST ADMIT WHEN IT SCREWS UP? The Supreme Court thinks it can.

DON JR. MET WITH A RUSSIAN SPY: I wonder if President Trump could make the whole Russia investigation go away if he just admitted that his son is an idiot?

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.