9th Circuit

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.15.17

* Credit where credit is due: Attorney General Jeff Sessions wins qualified praise for his forceful condemnation of the Charlottesville violence. [New York Times] * Donald Trump needs all the legal help he can get -- so he's surely pleased and proud about daughter Tiffany Trump starting up at Georgetown Law this month. (More on this later.) [Washington Post] * And wouldn't it be incredibly awkward interesting to have Tiffany as a classmate in your Con Law class this semester? [New York Times via How Appealing] * The ABA will reconsider its controversial, much-criticized changes to how law schools report graduate employment data. [Law.com] * Taylor Swift prevails in her lawsuit accusing DJ David Mueller of groping her during a photo op. [Law360] * Merger mania spreads -- from Biglaw to boutiques. [Law.com] * Tech company DreamHost will resist -- a Justice Department effort to acquire information about visitors to an anti-Trump website set up to coordinate Inauguration Day protests. [Washington Post] * An investors' lawyer claims that his lawsuit against Duane Morris "could bankrupt that firm." [Law.com] * There are reasonable arguments for and against splitting up the Ninth Circuit, but the ABA's position is clear: firmly opposed. [ABA Journal]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.02.17

* As I noted in my last nominations roundup, the Trump administration is actually ahead of the Bush and Obama administrations when it comes to judicial appointments -- especially with yesterday's confirmation of Kevin Newsom to the Eleventh Circuit. [How Appealing] * With Republicans in charge of the presidency and Senate, could breaking up the Ninth Circuit return to the agenda? [Law360] * And here's an interesting argument against a split, from the Republican point of view (by Wyatt Kozinski, following in his father's footsteps). [SSRN] * Capital punishment: yet another issue where it's all about Justice Kennedy. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Thoughts from Joel Cohen on the Trump/Sessions troubles. [The Hill] * How NOT to escape from your law school loans. [Gizmodo] * If a pizza party isn't your thing, here are some other ideas for what to eat when working hard at the law firm. [Cater2me] * Litigation that lawyers can love: Mel Gibson files suit over a dictionary (okay, actually a movie about a dictionary -- the Oxford English Dictionary). [Deadline] * Congratulations to Judge Lorna G. Schofield (S.D.N.Y.) on receiving the Liberty Award from the ABA! [American Bar Association]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.14.17

* The Second Circuit vacates the corruption convictions of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Congratulations to his counsel, the high-powered litigation boutique of MoloLamken (which handled the appeal as well as the trial). [How Appealing] * And congrats to federal judicial nominees John K. Bush (Sixth Circuit) and Kevin Newsom (Eleventh Circuit), who just got voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. [Washington Examiner] * In other nomination news, the White House seems to be taking its time in announcing a Ninth Circuit nominee from Oregon. Delay may strengthen the case for frontrunner Ryan Bounds; his main competition, Chief Judge Michael Mosman, gets older by the day (turning 61 later this year). [Portland Tribune] * Meet Michael Murray, an ex-SCOTUS clerk and Jones Day alum, who is the Justice Department's new point person on pot. (Fun fact: Kevin Newsom, Ryan Bounds, and Michael Murray all clerked for my former boss, Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain of the Ninth Circuit.) [U.S. News] * Former Ropes & Gray COO Hugh A. Simons wonders: "Are Law Firms Too Sophisticated for Their Own Good?" [Am Law Daily] * Will law school applications see a "Trump Bump," as idealistic aspiring attorneys seek law degrees to join the resistance? We might have more on this later. [Law.com] * Yes, lawyers should stand up for their beliefs -- but they also can (and must) understand the arguments on the other side, as new Yale Law dean Heather Gerken explains. [Time] * The Ninth Circuit has ruled in the Case of the Tweeting Judge. We might have more on this later as well. [How Appealing] * Congratulations to Stephen Kane, an alum of O'Melveny & Myers and Lex Machina, on securing $1.8 million in funding for his FairClaims startup -- which he describes as "a virtual Judge Judy." [TechCrunch]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.07.17

* Another day, another notable immigration ruling from the Ninth Circuit (by the great liberal lion, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, joined by his brilliant ideological protégé, Judge Marsha Berzon). [How Appealing] * The sexual assault case against Bill Cosby, which previously ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked, will be retried in November. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * Why do associates leave Biglaw, and what can be done to reduce attrition? Insights from NALP and from Major Lindsey & Africa's Tina Cohen and Jennifer Henderson. [ABA Journal] * Law firm merger mania continues -- and much of the action is taking place abroad. [Law.com] * Senator Kamala Harris, prominent prosecutor turned politician, might get interrupted on occasion -- but she will not be stopped. [New York Times] * Linda Greenhouse wonders about Justice Neil Gorsuch: "How could the folksy 'Mr. Smith Goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee' morph so quickly into Donald Trump’s life-tenured judicial avatar?" [New York Times via How Appealing] * Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledges that the Republicans might not be able to repeal Obamacare right now -- and that an interim solution might be needed. [The Hill] * For interested readers, here's the "origin story" of Above the Law, which turns 11 next month. [Yale Alumni Association of New York]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.13.17

* Professor Ann Althouse wants to know: What's the theory that take-home exams redress gender inequity? [Althouse] * Legal analytics versus legal research: what's the difference? Owen Byrd of Lex Machina explains. [Law Technology Today] * Professor Noah Feldman is not a fan of the Ninth Circuit's recent ruling on Trump Travel Ban 2.0. [Bloomberg View via How Appealing] * And Professor Sam Bray is not a fan of nationwide injunctions in the travel ban litigation. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * My colleague Elie Mystal yesterday offered an ideological critique of Justice Ginsburg's opinion in Morales-Santana; Professor Will Baude has a technical one (and I think he might be right). [PrawfsBlawg] * Mollie Hemingway respectfully dissents from the James Comey lovefest. [The Federalist]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.02.17

* Let's get ready to rumble: the Trump administration seeks Supreme Court review -- and rescue -- of its travel ban. [New York Times] * In other federal judicial news, the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that courts cannot routinely shackle defendants during proceedings; Judge Alex Kozinski wrote the majority opinion, and former Kozinski clerk Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote the dissent. [How Appealing] * Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) -- who isn't shy about telling lawyers how he really feels -- has a new bee in his Article III bonnet: "I’m sick and tired of lawyers from white-shoe law firms marching into my courtroom and getting a deferred-prosecution agreement for their clients." [ABA Journal] * Why did President Donald Trump hire Marc Kasowitz to represent him in the Russia inquiry -- and could DJT already be second-guessing that decision? [Weekly Standard] * Speaking of the Russia probe, Robert Mueller is getting some high-powered help: outgoing Justice Department official Andrew Weissmann joins his former boss's team. [Law360] * Interesting new data from our friends at NALP: the $180K starting salary might not be as widespread as you think. [Law.com] * President Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate deal -- but withdrawal can't be finalized until near the end of his term because of the accord’s legal structure and language. [Washington Post]

By David Lat