Recent Headlines from Above the Law

  • Morning Docket: 03.13.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.13.17

    * South Texas College of Law will not change its name to “Houston.” If they’re still looking at new names, here are some thoughts. [Houston Chronicle]

    * Legal sector losing jobs in latest labor report. And this wasn’t even counting Preet! [Law360]

    * Chipotle gets big win in shareholder food poisoning case. [Litigation Daily]

    * DLA Piper saw revenue fall due to currency fluctuations. Don’t worry, they still turned a profit by firing people. [Am Law Daily]

    * What’s the ideal pay gap between your most and least compensated partners? [Law.com]

    * Lawyer’s wife took welfare while he worked at Mayer Brown. [NBC Washington]

    * The “pants on fire” attorney tells his side of the story. [Associated Press via WPXI]

  • Morning Docket: 01.13.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.13.17

    * The University of Houston Law Center and the South Texas College of Law Houston (formerly known as the Houston College of Law and the South Texas College of Law) still haven’t been able to resolve their trademark tiff. A judge has encouraged both law schools to “keep at it” to avoid a trial. [Houston Chronicle]

    * Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, a bill ending Chevron deference — perhaps the most important principal of administrative law. Apparently it will be much better for job creation and economic growth if judges ignore regulatory agencies’ legal interpretations. [Law360 (sub. req.)]

    * Leslie Caldwell, the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, will be stepping down from her post today. She has no idea what’s ahead of her aside from a trip to the Caribbean next week. As far as her prospective successor is concerned, she thinks accessing data on encrypted devices will be “problem No. 1 to address.” [WSJ Law Blog]

    * A New Jersey judge has refused to dismiss a gubernatorial candidate’s criminal complaint against Governor Chris Christie over the Bridgegate scandal, noting that a lower court judge “improperly denied counsel [to Christie] at a critical stage” of the case. If probable cause is found, Christie may face charges, just like his colleagues. [Reuters]

    * “Even if we could justify the need … it is far from clear that the funding case could be made….” Given the turmoil at Charlotte Law, people are wondering whether it would be a good idea for UNC Charlotte to open a law school. Just because one law school may be closing, it doesn’t mean that another needs to open in its place. [Charlotte Observer]

  • Morning Docket: 10.17.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.17.16

    * Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may have vowed to “open up our libel laws” if wins the election, but it turns out that despite his many threats to do so, he hasn’t actually sued a newspaper for libel in more than three decades. The last time he sued a newspaper for libel was in 1984, and his suit was ultimately dismissed. [Reuters]

    * “If Billy had been passive or responded ‘Shut the f— up’ to Trump, Billy would have been out of a job the next day.” Billy Bush, formerly of Access Hollywood, has hired Orrick partner Marshall Grossman as he tries to negotiate his exit deal from NBC and further defend himself in light of his role in the now infamous Donald Trump “grab them by the p*ssy” tape. [Hollywood Reporter]

    * New Jersey Governor Chris Christie wants to bring sports gambling to his state. He’s asked Ted Olson to take the fight to the Supreme Court, where he’ll argue that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act is an unconstitutional assault on state sovereignty. What’s your over/under bet on this split decision? [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Where do the members of Wall Street’s secret society of in-house lawyers for the world’s most powerful banks meet for their yearly gathering? Reportedly organized by Shearman & Sterling partner Robert Mundheim, the 2016 soirée was held at the Trianon Palace Versailles, a place opulent enough to discuss banking woes. [Big Law Business]

    * A federal judge has temporarily enjoined the Houston College of Law (formerly known as South Texas College of Law) from using its new name because it’s confusingly similar to the University of Houston Law Center’s name, and has created a “substantial threat of irreparable injury” to the school. We’ll have more on this later. [Houston Chronicle]

  • Morning Docket: 09.12.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.12.16

    * “We believe the magistrate judge’s decision that Brendan Dassey’s confession was coerced by investigators, and that no reasonable court could have concluded otherwise, is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law.” Prosecutors in Wisconsin have appealed the overturned conviction of “Making a Murderer” subject Brendan Dassey. He’ll remain in prison pending the outcome of the appeal. [New York Times]

    * A Canadian judge is facing possible removal from the bench after asking this question to the accuser in a rape trial: “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?” The judge also made other inappropriate remarks during the trial, and blames it on his failure to understand changes to the country’s sexual-assault laws. [ABC News]

    * Desperate times sometimes call for really desperate measures? California-based Prism Patents is cutting its executives’ compensation by two-thirds in an attempt to come up with some cash. Its general counsel’s salary fell from $240,000 to $90,000, and the company’s CEO now makes $12 (not a typo), down from $300,000. [Big Law Business]

    * The battle between Houston Law School and the Houston College of Law (formerly South Texas Law) rages on, and now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is involved. Thanks to a complaint lodged by U. Houston, the USPTO has suspended Houston College’s trademark application for its new name. [Houston Chronicle via TaxProf Blog]

    * It doesn’t matter if Romy and Michelle invented Post-It Notes or if serial inventor Alan Amron did, because your lawsuit against 3M is likely to be dismissed — especially if you’ve already settled a prior $400 million suit over the product’s inventorship for $12,000 and released the company from all of your future claims. [CBS Minnesota]

  • Morning Docket: 08.29.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.29.16

    * Sixth Circuit decides farmers don’t need the Internet. It’s your move now, FarmersOnly.com lobbyists! [NY Times]

    * The latest in the “Houston” law school showdown. [Houston Chronicle]

    * In Trump U. litigation news, there’s a battle over who gets to be called an “expert” in a case about whether unqualified people pretended to be experts. [Courthouse News Service]

    * Remember Kim Dotcom? He wants to livestream his legal battle, which seems a lot less interesting than what he used to put up. [USNWR]

    * HSBC paying $13M in suits alleging improperly recorded debt-collection calls. [Law360]

    * Robot lawyering spreads: The parking ticket battling algorithm moves to Seattle. [WTSP]

    * “How do you cross-examine a computer?” I dunno, Ctrl-Alt-Delete? [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

  • Morning Docket: 07.15.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 07.15.16

    * “No one I know likes law school. It was a bad experience. I wouldn’t wish it on a dog I didn’t like.” Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s likely vice-presidential running mate, is an attorney whose law license is listed as “inactive in good standing,” and though he had a B average, he apparently hated law school — just like the vast majority of law students. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Faiza Saeed, who on January 1, 2017, will not only become Cravath Swaine & Moore’s first female presiding partner, but the first female to manage any Wall Street firm, will be joining a “sorority” of about 25 women who lead or serve as co-heads of some of the nation’s largest law firms. Congratulations on this historic appointment! [Law.com]

    * Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may have issued a “mea culpa” with regard to her remarks about presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, but legal scholars say her non-apology “does not unring the bell.” At the very least, she may be forced to recuse if Election 2016 turns into a Bush v. Gore situation. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * The American Civil Liberties Union has pledged to file constitutional challenges to many of Donald Trump’s would-be political policies should be be elected president and try to enact them. Specifically, the ACLU finds Trump’s stances on immigration, American Muslims, torture, and freedom of speech to be problematic. [ABA Journal]

    * The University of Houston Law Center and the Houston College of Law (formerly the South Texas College of Law) will face off in court today to resolve an emergency motion. The original Houston Law seeks to ban the new Houston Law from using its name or logo on merchandise, brochures, and promotional materials. [Houston Chronicle]

  • Morning Docket: 07.12.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 07.12.16

    * How would a Gingrich VP run impact Dentons? Because Gingrich getting a 4-month vacation is the most pressing question about the Trump ticket at this point. [The Am Law Daily]

    * North Carolina enacts legislation to keep police cam footage out of the public record in a move that isn’t a cynical cover up effort at all. [ABC 11]

    * International arbitration panel rules against China’s claims to South China Sea territory. It’s like that apocryphal story about Andrew Jackson saying of John Marshall “let him enforce it” if Andrew Jackson was armed with nuclear weapons. [Huffington Post]

    * The Department of Justice is going to bat to protect the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule as plaintiffs beg judge to take a bat to the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule. [The National Law Journal]

    * In a pending gender bias suit, Bank of America denies having a “Bro’s Club” culture. I’m fuzzy on the regulations, but I’m pretty sure in that statement BofA just forfeited its status as a “bank.” [Law360]

    * Did you know prison laborers are planning to go on strike on September? Me neither, but there you go. [Occupy]

    * Straightforward review of the CFTC’s proposed Regulation AT aimed at the practice of automated trading. [Morrison Cohen]

    * University of Houston Law Center professor and former dean Stephen Zamora died last week. He was 72. [UH Law Center]

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