Recent Headlines from Above the Law

  • Morning Docket: 01.10.19
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.10.19

    * It’s probably sociopathic to make “I just killed a deer” part of your online dating banter, but it’s downright stupid when you make it part of your online dating banter while trying to woo a game warden. [CNN]

    * Ahoy maties! Maritime firms Jones Walker and Fowler Rodriguez merge. [Daily Business Review]

    * Coming legal developments that could revolutionize the law. [Law.com]

    * Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law now covers police officers shooting innocent people in the back. [Slate]

    * Federal judge calls for “bone-crushing” discovery. Hopefully the sets a new precedent and judges start asking for “disemboweling” briefing and “waterboarding” voir dire. [Law360]

    * Another online J.D. program — and this one’s bringing in students with higher LSAT scores than the residential program. [New York Law Journal]

    * The good and bad news for employers when it comes to workplace class actions. Isn’t the good news for employers always, “the Supreme Court is about to make these illegal”? [Corporate Counsel]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 02.21.17
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 02.21.17

    * Hope you weren’t counting on Don McGahn to tell President Trump “no.” [Slate]

    * This is a much better reason to go to law school. [The Family Center]

    * The secret to Syracuse Law’s bar success. [TaxProf Law]

    * Tips for keeping your practice from getting stale. [Reboot Your Law Practice]

    * A look at the attorneys arguing before the Supreme Court this Term. [Empirical SCOTUS]

    * Get up to speed on all the legal issues brought about by the Trump administration in this new podcast. [Planet Lex]

    * The legal implications of the definition of “food.” [LawSci Forum]

    * This should infuriate you. [New Republic]

  • Morning Docket: 04.13.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.13.16

    * You may think that your law school graduation speaker is cool, but you should think again, because your law school graduation speaker probably isn’t Vice President Joe Biden. This spring, the Veep will be delivering the commencement address at Syracuse Law, his alma mater. [Syracuse.com]

    * Bill Mateja, one of Polsinell’s finest white-collar criminal defense attorneys, will be representing Texas AG Ken Paxton in his latest foray into the wrong side of the justice system. How do we know Bill Mateja is good at getting his clients off? “Unlike many attorneys, Bill Mateja does not expect repeat business.” [Big Law Business]

    * The Supreme Court may be behind the times when it comes to technology (cellphones are typically banned inside the courtroom’s walls), but the justices will allow a group of about a dozen deaf and hard-of-hearing lawyers to use them to see a live transcript during their swearing-in ceremony next week. Congratulations to all! [ABC News]

    * FBI Director James Comey acknowledges similarities between arguments made in the gun-control debate and Apple’s quest to maintain privacy through encryption, but says “[w]e can’t resolve these really important issues that affect our values — technology, innovation, safety and all kinds of other things — in litigation.” [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “There’s a plaintiff who’s sure, his tunes could’ve made gold, and he’s buying a lawsuit in C.D. Cal.” Ever seen a cause of action for the falsification of rock n’ roll history? It’s taken about 40 years to happen, but now Led Zeppelin is going to trial over a copyright claim to its hit song “Stairway to Heaven.” [THR, Esq. / The Hollywood Reporter]


    Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

  • Animal Law, Copyright, Crime, Labor / Employment, Law Schools, Music, Non-Sequiturs, Sex, Technology

    Non-Sequiturs: 12.16.13

    * Mayor Bloomberg is filing suit to overturn New York’s Living Wage law, because wasting a bunch of money pursuing a lawsuit for the last two weeks of his term is the kind of efficiency he brings to the table as a biznessmun. [DNAInfo] * Judge Richard Leon puts the NSA metadata surveillance program on ice. Looks like someone's going to get bugged. [Slate] * Someone’s asking for a fake college transcript in Baton Rouge. Pretty sure LSU’s athletic department could give you a hand. [Law and More] * Considering the polygamy ruling in Utah, here’s an interesting analysis of the constitutionality of bestiality laws. This seems like an appropriate place to link this song about a guy who broke into the Lincoln Park zoo in Chicago. [The Volokh Conspiracy] * Here’s a fun game: replace the name of the school and the course of study and marvel at how easily it could pass for an article Elie wrote. [Huffington Post] * These folks got smacked with a cybersquatting charge because they used a logical domain name to publicize an ongoing dispute. It’s a lot easier to sue people than to build a solid home. [IT-Lex] * In sad news, the victim in a recent carjacking-related killing was Dustin Friedland, a Syracuse law grad who worked with Adam Leitman Bailey. Our thoughts are with the Friedland family. [NY Daily News] * The Beastie Boys are suing GoldieBlox over the latter’s viral ad set to a parody of “Girls.” Unlike GoldieBlox, NYU Law professor Chris Sprigman doesn’t need an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine to burst the Beastie Boys’ bubble. Video embedded after the jump… [Bloomberg Law via YouTube]
  • 2nd Circuit, ACLU, David Boies, Golf, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, New Jersey, Non-Sequiturs, Sports, Videos

    Non-Sequiturs: 12.09.13

    * Good news if you’re a better golfer than your buddies: if you play in New Jersey, you’re not liable when another member of your group injures someone with an errant ball hit into the proverbial lumber yard. On the other hand, you’ll have to be in New Jersey. [The Legal Blitz] * Hank Greenberg continues his effort to throw roadblocks in the way of the NY AG investigation into AIG. Now he’s accusing the AAG on the case of ethical lapses, which is only fair since that’s what everyone else is accusing Greenberg of. [NY Daily News] * It’s official: Biglaw fees are unreasonable. At least by South Florida standards. [South Florida Lawyers] * A Nevada judge was charged with misdemeanor manslaughter in the death of a bicyclist. If convicted, he could spend up to six months in jail. I’d like to imagine this would play out a lot like when Rorschach went to prison. [Associated Press] * Congratulations to Jennifer J. Johnson on being named the new dean of Lewis & Clark. Try to avoid any censorship scandals! [Lewis & Clark] * If you’re in NYC tomorrow evening, the New York City Bar Association is hosting a free event titled “The First Amendment in an Age of Terror” featuring Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall University School of Law; James Goodale of Debevoise & Plimpton; Judge Robert D. Sack; Spencer Ackerman, the U.S. National Security Editor for The Guardian; and Jameel Jaffer, Deputy Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union. [New York City Bar Association] * Syracuse College of Law students have an early Law Revue video for us. Strap in for a Mariah Carey parody that involves a baby getting a hatchet to the face. That sounds way darker than it really is. Video embedded below….
  • Bar Exams, Celebrities, Constitutional Law, Education / Schools, Labor / Employment, Law School Deans, Law Schools, LLMs, Money, Morning Docket, Pro Bono, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas, Trademarks

    Morning Docket: 09.16.13

    * You skip over the footnotes when you’re reading for class, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg doesn’t think you should. She’s a proponent of the most important footnote in all of constitutional law. [New Yorker]

    * New York will modify its pro bono requirement for LL.M. students to allow public service completed outside the country. Well, so much for closing the state’s justice gap. [New York Law Journal (sub. req.)]

    * Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the government-initiated trademark infringement actions over “Don’t Mess With Texas.” Like “I <3 NY," the Lone Star State's slogans are off limits. [New York Times] * WUSTL Law Dean Kent Syverud didn’t mind advocating for halving professors’ salaries. He just stepped down to become Syracuse University’s president — for much higher pay. [National Law Journal (sub. req.)] * You can sue Lady Gaga for overtime pay all you want, but you do not want to face her wrath. The pop star is due in court in early November where she’ll tell a judge “exactly what f**king happened.” [Daily Mail]

  • Biglaw, Christopher Christie, Civil Rights, Department of Justice, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Health Care / Medicine, Insurance, Law Schools, Layoffs, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Politics, Staff Layoffs

    Morning Docket: 05.11.12

    * Dewey seriously have one chairman again? Good Lord, this law firm is literally falling apart! Martin Bienenstock had “no plans to file bankruptcy” because he knew he was taking the first life raft off this sinking ship. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * When Dewey WARN people? When it’s already too late. In case you missed it last night, the firm was served with its first suit following its en-masse layoffs. The more the merrier, because it’s a class action. [Bloomberg; WSJ Law Blog]

    * Elizabeth Warren can’t decide whether she’s white or Native American. Apparently it depends on her geographic location, because she was white at UT Law, but a minority while at Penn Law. [Boston Globe]

    * Racial profiling still ain’t easy, but Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio “will fight this to the bitter end.” The Department of Justice has filed a civil rights suit against the no-nonsense Sheriff and his department. [Associated Press]

    * New Jersey Governor Chris Christie must be gearing up for his inevitable 2016 presidential run, because yesterday he vetoed an online insurance marketplace required by the Affordable Care Act. [New York Times]

    * Syracuse Law recently broke ground on a $90M building that will serve as its new home. May political plagiarizers continue to grace the law school’s halls for years and years to come. [National Law Journal]

  • American Bar Association / ABA, Cardozo Law School, Law Schools

    Breaking: Thomas Jefferson School of Law's Motion to Dismiss DENIED -- And Twenty More Law Schools to Be Sued

    Today, the lawyers leading the law school litigation squad announced that they are planning to target 20 more law schools for class action lawsuits over their allegedly deceptive post-graduation employment statistics. This time around, you may be surprised by some of the law schools that appear on their list....
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