5th Circuit
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Politics, Sex
Ted Cruz Is No Fan Of Dildos
Ted Cruz really argued the important issues while Solicitor General of Texas... -
5th Circuit, Benchslaps
Lawyer Writes Stupid Brief, Fifth Circuit Lets Him Know
Lawyer tries to get cute in his briefing and gets mocked hard. - Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Federal Judges, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Why This Judge May Be One Of The Only Supreme Court Nominees Worth Considering
This judge is so above partisan reproach that it would be, frankly, embarrassing for the Senate Republicans to stand in the way of holding a confirmation hearing.
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7th Circuit, Benchslaps
Judge Posner Drops Truth Bombs Like It Ain't No Thang
Judge Richard Posner is the Republican-appointed judge we need on the Supreme Court. He may not be the one we deserve, and will almost certainly not be the one we get, but it is fun to imagine. -
Public Interest
Will Taylor Bell Make His Way Into The Con Law Casebooks?
Student free speech case inches closer to the Supreme Court. -
5th Circuit, Free Speech
En Banc Fifth Circuit Erodes Student Speech Rights
Off-campus speech gets kid punished and the Fifth Circuit thinks that's just fine. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.30.15
* Donald Trump’s lawyer responds to the flap over his spousal rape comments. Sort of. Not really. [Funny or Die]
* Does the Supreme Court need an ethics code? And yes, yes it does. [The Faculty Lounge]
* James Woods is suing a Twitter troll for claiming the actor is a “cocaine addict.” They probably just misspelled “hypersensitive blowhard.” [Gawker]
* In baseball, does the “tie go to the runner”? Are you sure? [PrawfsBlawg]
* Tom Brady provides that rare opportunity for sports fans to care about forum selection clauses. But the best part of this story is the comment: “Out of habit, the NRA filed an amicus brief on behalf of the NFL when they heard ‘Clinton’ & ‘Brady’ in the same sentence.” It’s refreshing when commenters are funny. [Deadspin]
* Keeping up with Supreme Court is hard. Even the Fifth Circuit struggles with it (though they’ve since seen the error of their ways). [Huffington Post]
* If you think academia can be a cushy job, you should see what retiring from academia looks like? [TaxProf Blog]
* Can you quit your job without another one lined up? Leigh Abramson has thoughts. [CNN Money]
* A comprehensive snapshot of the business record of the Roberts Court. [Constitutional Accountability Center]
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Will A Change In Amicus Practices Make Immigration Courts A Little More Fair?
Which court was asking for amicus briefs from identified hate groups? - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.26.15
* A divided Fifth Circuit panel delivered bad news for President Obama on immigration today. [How Appealing]
* Want to track the Dewey & LeBoeuf criminal case in real time? Dewey have a resource for you: the liveblog of Law360. [Law360]
* Benchslap of the Day (from Judge Beth Bloom): “A rose by any other name may smell as sweet…. People, not so much.” [Southern District of Florida]
* Another must-read graduation speech: at Seton Hall, outgoing dean Pat Hobbs surprised each graduate with a gift package: a McDonald’s happy meal gift card, a Mega Millions lottery ticket, and a quarter for calling him if times get tough. (For other graduation gift ideas, see our ATL gift guide.) [Seton Hall Law School]
* Why lawyers shouldn’t take the “kitchen sink” approach to their clients’ affirmative defenses. [Angry Asian Man]
* Is San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe going easy on a sheriff’s deputy accused of wrongdoing? [San Jose Mercury News]
* Need something to listen to for your next commute or trip to the gym? Check out my chat with Shearman & Sterling partner Richard Hsu about Above the Law, Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), and more. [Hsu Untied]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.19.15
* Yeah he told a client he’d waive his legal fees “in exchange for a sexual encounter with Client and her daughters” (emphasis added), but you know, he was “just teasing.” [Legal Profession Blog]
* Hipster lawyers. Seriously. That’s how they market themselves. Their office is even a repurposed factory. They’re in LA now, but you know they’re just dying to move to Portland. [LA Weekly]
* Are you following these Biglaw managing partners on Twitter? Because LOL totally RT worthy. [Bloomberg BNA / Big Law Business]
* Three Wisconsin Supreme Court justices skipped out on Marquette’s swearing in ceremony. One more development in the ongoing bats**t insane happenings on that court that previously included “[conservative Justice] Prosser put his hands on the neck of [liberal Justicee] Bradley in front of four of the other justices as they argued about a case.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
* I get called out for being clickbaity. But I’m really just indirectly teaching lawyers lessons in marketing they really should learn. [Law and More]
* What would an interview with Tom Brady about Deflategate look like? [Coverage Opinions]
* Bloomberg BNA introduced a new corporate law product that’s “set to dramatically change the workflow for transactional lawyers.” [Dewey B. Strategic]
* President Obama’s immigration executive action should have kicked in today. It didn’t because the Fifth Circuit are a bunch of layabouts. [Constitutional Accountability Center]
* The Irish same-sex marriage referendum hit a snag when someone realized the Irish language version would probably render heterosexual marriages unconstitutional. If you can’t write a neutral version of the law without encountering this problem… kind of proves a point, doesn’t it? [The Irish Times]
* R.I.P. Bob Foster, former dean of University of South Carolina School of Law . [The State]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.27.15
* Nina Totenberg reviews past opinions to divine how the Court might rule on marriage equality. Or she could have pointed to Windsor and said, “That way.” [NPR]
* The media attention focused on the two and a half hours of oral arguments over marriage equality coming this week have inspired some to ask just what goes into preparing an oral argument anyway? [Cincinnati Enquirer]
* Loretta Lynch sworn in as Attorney General. So now the House finally knows which address to send frivolous subpoenas to. [USA Today]
* What skills do you need to get hired as a lawyer? It’s a sign of the economy that “dad be managing partner” isn’t the top line. [Associate’s Mind]
* The Fifth Circuit rules that the family of a teenager killed when a Border Patrol agent shot from the U.S. into Mexico cannot sue in U.S. courts. “The border agent’s lawyer said the opinion vindicated his client.” I mean… you killed someone in cold blood and got off on a ludicrous technicality, but yeah, “vindicated.” [Yahoo]
* Richard Hsu chats with Bill Gross, Caltech Trustee and Chairman and Founder of Idealab[Hsu Untied]
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5th Circuit, Death Penalty, Federal Judges, Legal Ethics
Speaking Truth To Power Is Only Noble When You Are Actually Speaking The Truth: The Failed Complaint Against Judge Edith Jones
For Judge Jones, the victory must be bittersweet. -
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
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5th Circuit, Civil Rights, Edith Jones, Federal Judges, Federalist Society, Judicial Divas, Legal Ethics, Quote of the Day
A Judicial Diva, Cleared Of Wrongdoing
A high-profile judge prevails against her critics. -
5th Circuit, Abortion, Biglaw, Celebrities, Crime, Election Law, Eric Holder, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Student Loans, Texas, U.S. Attorneys Offices, United Kingdom / Great Britain, Weddings
Morning Docket: 10.15.14
* The Fifth Circuit is allowing the Texas voter ID law to be enforced during the upcoming election, even though it was recently struck down by a federal judge. After all, “preserving the status quo” is very important down south. [Bloomberg]
* We suppose that’s why the Supreme Court stepped in to make sure that abortion clinics in Texas were allowed to reopen following their shut down. Take that, Fifth Circuit. [New York Times]
* AG Eric Holder is showing off some fancy legal footwork before he walks out the door. Federal prosecutors can no longer ask defendants to waive their IAC claims when pleading guilty. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Davis Polk & Wardwell is a Biglaw firm where hotties roam, and it looks like this top Justice Department prosecutor who started his career there is returning home there to roost. [DealBook / New York Times]
* It’s the debt: With headlines like “Law school applications plummet – at U of L too,” the University of Louisville School of Law can’t even convince alums from its undergrad school to attend. [Courier-Journal]
* Amal Alamuddin changed her name to Amal Clooney on her firm’s website. It’s as if she wants to rub the fact that she’s a human rights lawyer who just got married in everyone’s face. [New York Daily News]
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5th Circuit, Abortion, Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Law Schools, Lindsay Lohan, Mergers and Acquisitions, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
Morning Docket: 10.10.14
* This just in: Now that the Fifth Circuit has refused to hear the Texas abortion case en banc, it looks like we may see a viable case about a major social issue being brought to Term before SCOTUS after all. [National Law Journal]
* Skadden came out on top of the Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, and Mergermarket league tables for the highest transactional value of its mergers and acquisitions deals in 2014. Congrats on kicking the competition’s ass. [Am Law Daily]
* Per HBR Consulting, clients are winning the war when it comes to getting legal services on the cheap. Consider this a “call to action for law firms to reconsider the way they do business.” [WSJ Law Blog]
* The Elon University School of Law is completely revamping its academic offerings in order to offer a law degree that can be earned in 2.5 years, and for about $14,000 less. Nice work! [Triad Business Journal]
* Lindsay Lohan’s attorneys filed an amended complaint in her case against Grand Theft Auto’s publisher, this time going to far as to spell their client’s name correctly. [Hollywood, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter]
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5th Circuit, Fast Food, Food, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Schools, Lesbians, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
Morning Docket: 10.07.14
* Since SCOTUS punted on same-sex marriage, people in states where gay marriage bans still exist are wondering when it will be their turn. It’s just a waiting game from here on out. [USA Today]
* Babies wait for no one: a pregnant lesbian couple fighting the Texas ban on gay marriage filed an usual request asking that the Fifth Circuit hurry up and schedule arguments. [WSJ Law Blog]
* The “puff, puff, pass” defense? Robel Phillipos, friend of accused Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, claims he was so high during the aftermath he can’t remember a thing. [Bloomberg]
* When should you apply to law school? When you can get into a top school, have clear career objectives, and won’t have to take out loans. You’re preaching to the choir. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
* A Burger King customer is suing because he claims the restaurant’s manager attacked him with a knife and a Taser. This all allegedly happened over some cold onion rings, of course. [New York Daily News]
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5th Circuit, Abortion, Health Care / Medicine, Politics, Texas
Ebola And Abortion: Two Words No One Likes To Hear But Everyone Can Learn From
What do abortion and Ebola have in common? -
5th Circuit, Abortion, Biglaw, Gay Marriage, Job Searches, Lateral Moves, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 10.03.14
* SCOTUS justices added 11 cases to this term’s docket yesterday following their megaconference earlier this week. Alas, no same-sex marriage cases have been added yet. [New York Times]
* The Fifth Circuit allowed Texas to enforce its new abortion clinic restrictions. The only thing that will stop its “devastating impact on abortion access” is SCOTUS intervention. [MSNBC]
* Two more women just joined the ranks of the highest tier of Biglaw firm leadership. Congrats to Jami Wintz McKeon of Morgan Lewis and Therese Pritchard of Bryan Cave. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Gibson Dunn poached a prominent partner from U.K. firm Ashurst following his fall from grace as its leader last year. He’s thrilled to work for “one of the strongest U.S. firms around.” [Am Law Daily]
* The Thomas Jefferson School of Law may be “California’s worst-performing law school,” but it certainly performs well in terms of providing entertainment for those who are big fans of schadenfreude. [City Journal]
* Many schools pay their grads to count them as employed — but not UNC Law. Its career services office is aware that “jobs don’t grow on trees,” but hey, at least they’re trying to be transparent. [Daily Tar Heel]
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5th Circuit, Abortion, Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Shira Scheindlin, Supreme Court
Stop Your Freakout -- Justice Ginsburg Absolutely Shouldn't Recuse Herself
Conservatives are up in arms because Justice Ginsburg talked about abortion. They need to chill out.