2nd Circuit

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.24.16

* On the subject of raises, yesterday we heard -- a mixed bag of news -- from Linklaters (technically the night before), Barack Ferrazzano, Chadbourne & Parke, Pryor Cashman, Tensegrity, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and Reed Smith. [Above the Law / 2016 Salary Increase] * If you're an associate serving in your firm's London office, I sure as hell hope you're getting paid in dollars. [BBC] * UK legal experts explain why this vote isn't legally binding. [Legal Cheek] * On the other hand, could this be a boon for lawyers? [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Who's on first in front of Second. [Law360] * Dentons global government sector co-chair leaves for boutique. As you're statutorily obligated to say to every Biglaw lawyer moving to a small firm: "you're not going to have the same support services... are you ready for that?" [The Am Law Daily] * Penn State's former general counsel testified that at least he understood that the school needed to report Jerry Sandusky back in 2001 and told the school as much. Which is impressive, since he told the New York Times in 2011 that he'd never even heard of any allegations against Sandusky. [Fox News] * Former law firm executive sentenced to prison. [Atlanta Journal Constitution] * A deep look at the horrific side of criminal justice: a long-form account of four months as a private prison guard. Think of it as "Orange Is The New Black" without having to listen to Piper prattle on. [Mother Jones]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.17.16

* Happy Friday! Let's start by giving props to the firms that announced pay raises yesterday: Morgan Lewis, Andrews Kurth, Ashurst, Crowell & Moring, Orrick, and Dechert. [Above the Law / 2016 Salary Increase] * Speaking of the Great Pay Raise of 2016, law firm leaders want to reassure irate in-house counsel: don't worry, you won't see this (directly) reflected in your rates. [Big Law Business] * Biglaw Game of Thrones: who are the leading contenders to succeed Jeffrey Stone and Peter Sacripanti as co-chairs of McDermott? [American Lawyer] * The Second Circuit plays a sad song for record companies in a closely watched copyright case. [How Appealing] * And in other copyright news, SCOTUS (sorta) clarifies the standards for awarding attorneys' fees in copyright cases. [New York Times] * Look for indictments to issue from the grand jury in the Dan Markel murder case. [News4Jax] * Noam Scheiber of the Times takes a close look at struggling Valparaiso Law -- and it's not a pretty picture. (Expect more on this later.) [New York Times] * Ex-prosecutor gone bad: a Cleveland criminal defense attorney just got convicted after agreeing to launder thousands of dollars for someone he thought was a cocaine dealer. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.30.15

* The National Association for Law Placement released slightly improved jobs numbers for the law school class of 2014, so yay? [National Law Journal] * The battle royale that pits local musicians versus Biglaw heavyweight Skadden continues to rage on. [Washington Post] * Guess what? Prosecutors don't like the Second Circuit's higher threshold for insider trading cases and now they'd like the Supreme Court to do something about it. [Wall Street Journal] * A group of merchants including Amazon, Wal-Mart and Starbucks want the $7 billion settlement negotiated over interchange fees with Visa, Mastercard and American Express in an antitrust case vacated due to attorney Gary Friedman's alleged misconduct. [Law360] * Don't cha love it when media scandals become real life litigation? All your deflategate legal questions answered. [Stradley Law]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 07.09.15

* If Taylor Swift doesn't like a photographer she just shakes it off... and then roughs him up according to her contract. [Gawker] * Bankers commit crimes for the dumbest reasons. [Dealbreaker] * Chadbourne closes its Beijing office, leaving the firm with no more boots on the ground in Asia. It's like the Asian Pivot... but backward. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * The Florida Supreme Court just ordered the legislature to redraw some of the state's congressional districts before 2016. All that hard gerrymandering work for nothing, huh? [Reuters via Yahoo News] * Richard Hsu of Shearman & Sterling and the host of the Hsu Untied podcast finds himself on the other side of this interview. [One-400] * Massively underpaying lawyers. It's not just for Massachusetts any more. [Legal Cheek] * Katten Muchin is back in hot water after the Seventh Circuit revived a malpractice suit. [Law 360] * Judge Rakoff relishes an opportunity to sit by designation on the Second Circuit. [Dealbreaker] * A reminder that Bloomberg BNA is hosting its inaugural Big Law Business Summit next week to hear from in-house counsel about the evolving relationship between Biglaw and its clients. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.22.15

Ed. note: Above the Law will not be publishing on Monday, May 25, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. * The settlement deal between Target and Mastercard over the 2013 data breach is dead after failing to garner the requisite issuer support. Proposed settlement: $19 million. Years of protracted litigation: Priceless. [Credit Union Times] * High school teacher who admitted she and another teacher had a threesome with a 16-year-old student got off -- well, legally -- with a slap on the wrist. Folks are starting to wonder if her dad being a sitting district judge had anything to do with that. [Times-Picayune] * On a similar note, Mama June of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo... fame? Is she famous? Whatever. The point is Mama June is toying with suing the TLC Network because they canceled her show over a child molester, but haven't nuked 19 Kids and Counting in the wake of its brewing molestation scandal. When you consider these hit shows starring inbred hillbillies with molestation issues, remember that TLC stands for "The Learning Channel." [TMZ] * Lawmakers pushing back against Governor Cuomo's proposal to appoint an independent monitor to investigate police-related civilian killings. One skeptical State Senator proclaims, "What I do know is that it treats police officers different than other citizens." Yes, because right now the police get the same kid gloves grand jury presentations the rest of us do. [Capital New York] * Texas prosecuted 115,782 truancies in a year, levying hefty fines and doling out jail time to kids as young as 12. Well hello there prison-industrial complex! [Al Jazeera America] * Are the Yankees and A-Rod gearing up for arbitration... or settlement? I don't know, why wouldn't you want to put a warm, likeable guy like him in front of a panel? [Concurring Opinions] * Judges must be the loneliest people on social media... [The Daily Record] * Merely complaining to your boss is enough to trigger anti-retaliation provisions according to the Second Circuit. So feel free to call up that partner you hate... [JD Supra]

By Joe Patrice