Above the Law

SVU is terrible. Are there any good lawyers on TV?

For lawyers working in small firms, it all centers on a single point: awareness.

* "Every single racial slur you can think of for Asian Americans is a trademark right now. And almost any kind of slur you could think of for any group is a registered trademark right now. The law’s not working." Asian-American rock band The Slants will make their debut before the Supreme Court this week, and when all is said and done, trademark law's prohibition on the registration of disparaging marks may be forever changed thanks to their First Amendment argument. [Washington Post]

* Zachary Warren, the low-level Dewey & LeBoeuf employee who wound up being criminally charged along with the failed firm's head honchos, has been cleared of all charges. After completing 350 hours of community service in accordance with the requirements of a deferred prosecution agreement, Warren's indictment has been sealed, and he's now working as an associate at Williams & Connolly. [Big Law Business]

* For all of their talk about wanting to prevent women from leaving the practice of law, many Biglaw firms that once made big promises about onsite day-care facilities have allowed those plans to fall to the wayside after being hamstrung by significant costs and liability issues. Today, about 10 law firms have set up day-care programs for attorneys' children, and for those that have, it's a real "distinguisher in recruiting." [Am Law Daily]

* According to the results of a new study performed by Justice Goodwin Liu of the California Supreme Court in conjunction with students at Yale Law School, while Asian-Americans are plentiful within our country's attorney workforce, very few of them have managed to ascend to the most prestigious leadership roles in the legal profession. What could be causing this to occur? Implicit bias may be playing a role. [Washington Post]

* "[I]t would be your word against mine and nobody will believe you." A Republican politician in Connecticut who "love[s] this new world" because he "no longer [has] to be politically correct" currently stands accused of grabbing a town employee by the p*ssy pinching a town employee's groin. He's been charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, and he's scheduled to appear in court at the end of the month. [Westport Daily Voice]

* The University of Washington at Tacoma is rethinking its plans to create a law school that's separately accredited from the one at the University's Seattle campus. Before moving forward, UWT wants to build up its undergraduate pre-law program to make sure the demand will be there in the future. Unlike some schools, "[t]he last thing [UWT] want[s] to do is to start a law school and it not to be successful early." [News Tribune]

How Cruz And Trump Learned To Like Each Other: Ted Cruz Was Once One Of Donald Trump's Most Vocal Critics; Now He's One Of The President-Elect's Most Important Senate Allies How Appealing Exclusive: SAP Dips Its Toes In The Healthcare Startup World MedCity News Bernie Madoff Is The Hot Chocolate King Of Prison Dealbreaker 2016 – A Bad Year For Bad Guys In Energy Breaking Energy

A former colleague offers warm words of support for one of the two SG finalists.

Which prominent conservative judge just met with President-elect Donald Trump?

It's a two-person contest -- and it has been for weeks....

Ed. Note: We will not be publishing on Monday, January 16th in observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Hope everyone enjoys their long weekend.

* A primer for how the Democrats can play hardball with Trump's SCOTUS pick. [Slate]

* You too can learn to say NO! And here are some tips to do it. [Andie and Al]

* A working phone number can have a tremendous impact on your law practice. [Reboot Your Law Practice]

* The Trump conflicts are piling up. [American Constitution Society]

* Why federal inmates deserve a second chance. [The Hill]

* Does when you file a cert petition impact whether it's granted? [Empirical SCOTUS]