ABA
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Bar Exams, Law Schools
First Monday Musings By Dean Vik Amar: Tightening Bar Pass Standards And The 'California Problem'
Dean Amar comments on the big news out of the ABA Midyear Meeting today. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.06.17
* Team Trump secures another victory. [ESPN]
* When Joe Scarborough is your voice of reason, you’ve slipped into the wrong timeline. [Washington Post]
* ABA education proposal pushed off. Remember, we’re right here and ready to go. [National Law Journal]
* Intellectual property practice is moving to Biglaw. [Am Law Daily]
* Meanwhile, most other work continues to move away from Biglaw. [Forbes]
* Behind the scenes of Facebook’s virtual reality loss. [Litigation Daily]
* It’s cute when non-lawyers have to learn what a “Ninth Circuit” is. [CNN]
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How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
American Bar Association / ABA, Law Schools
Stat Of The Week: Law School Self-Reported Data Batting .500
The first independent audit of law schools' ten-months-after-graduation employment surveys didn't go so great.
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.31.16
* The ABA Forum on Communications Law will publish First Amendment lawyer Susan Seager’s Donald Trump “libel bully” article, despite its reservations about doing so — reservations that resulted in a media firestorm. The ABA said the following: “Hopefully, this matter will shine a light on the problem of frivolous lawsuits that turn the justice system into a weapon that has a chilling effect on free speech.” [ABA Journal]
* Uh-oh! Following the abrupt departure of four of its senior partners, King & Wood Mallesons has opted to pause its partner recapitalization plan in order to reassess its financial footing. The firm believes it will take about four weeks to complete that process. “If I was a partner there I would be pretty worried,” said a former partner. [Legal Week]
* “I never thought that my restroom use would ever turn into any kind of national debate.” The Supreme Court has taken up its first true transgender rights case. Many fear that the justices may return a 4-4 deadlock decision that will not create a nationwide precedent, but in that case, the Fourth Circuit’s decision would be left in place. [Reuters]
* “If these guys think they’re going to stonewall the filling of that vacancy…, then a Democratic Senate majority will say, ‘We’re not going to let you thwart the law.'” Vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine says that should he and his running mate win the election, then his party will try to eliminate SCOTUS filibuster rules. [Huffington Post]
* The Justice Department and “election year sensitivities”: Some people are wondering why FBI Director James Comey decided to announce he’d essentially reopened the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails — but had he waited to disclose the information, the FBI’s credibility could have been called into question. [WSJ Law Blog]
* James Gilliland Jr., Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton intellectual property litigation partner, RIP. We’ll have more on his untimely death later today. [CBS San Francisco]
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Law Schools
American Bar Association Thinks Crappy Law School Is Crappy
Let's hope these law students can pass the bar exam. -
Law Schools, Texas
Accreditation Woes For Dallas's First Public Law School
This isn't Jim Bob's Law School, but that doesn't mean the ABA will rubber-stamp accreditation. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.09.16
* Did Cadwalader make the wrong move in canceling its summer program? [Law and More]
* The American Bar Associate needs to embrace change or be “left in the dust,” ABA executive director Jack Rives declared at the organization’s annual meeting. [ABA Journal]
* If your legal practice includes international arbitration, get ready to head to India. The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) begins proceedings this month and hopes to attract corporations as a popular arbitration destination. [Forbes]
* The Paul, Weiss investigation into Roger Ailes that has grown in scope is uncovering all manner of interesting tidbits about the cable news giant. [Vanity Fair]
* Looking to elevate your Foreign Corrupt Practices Act skillz? [FCPA Professor]
* How did this Supreme Court Term fare in terms of transparency? [Fix the Court]
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Career Center, Career Files, Lawyers
From The Career Files: 'Pay+ Credit' -- Be Careful What You Wish For
The ABA has expended considerable effort working on the dual problems of employment for new lawyers and inadequate access to justice. - Sponsored
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar on April 10th, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.19.16
* According to Harry Reid, Obama should have a Supreme Court nominee within the next three weeks. As everyone knows, the senior Senator from Las Vegas sets the official line on these things. [Huffington Post]
* Cravath people bitching about their jobs is now the leading cause of insider trading. [Law360]
* Students using the moniker of “Reclaim Harvard Law School” have occupied the student center to protest the school’s continued use of the family crest of a slave trader and the lack of faculty diversity. I’d be sympathetic, but it was Harvard’s terrible diversity policy that brought some of my favorite professors to NYU Law so it worked out pretty well for me. [Daily Princetonian]
* Sir Nigel Knowles is stepping down as the global co-chair of DLA Piper. I would say it’s time to relax and take a cruise, but that sounds like work for DLA Piper people. [Am Law Daily]
* The ABA has pulled out of its joint venture with Rocket Lawyer to provide a cheap initial consult service. [Am Law Daily]
* Hey, hey, hey. Lawyer claims that Bill Cosby comes off as a bully for suing his accuser. [Associated Press via Trib Live]
* The ACLU is challenging a Kansas voter suppression law requiring proof of citizenship. Seems like now is a good time to bring that case. [New York Times]
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Drinking
Stat Of The Week: Lawyers More Hungover Than Surgeons
This just in: a new study finds that the legal profession has a drinking problem. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 01.04.16
* Guess what? Science says political incorrectness is an insincere sham. Sounds about right to me. [The Denver Post]
* How are Law and Order: SVU and law school exams the same? The both desperately try to wedge current events into their same old, boring fact patterns. In related news, expect both to soon feature the issue of spousal privilege when the wife of a celebrity accused of rape is forced to give testimony against him. [The Guardian]
* Can the Netflix show Making a Murderer actually lead to a pardon? Probably not, but it’ll make you feel better about the binge watching you did over the holidays. [Time]
* This is why China’s new counterterrorism law is terrifying for tech companies doing business there. [Slate]
* The ABA has released the full, school-by-school bar passage rates for 2014. Which school was the best? More interestingly, which was the worst? [Bar Exam Stats]
* Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York State Court of Appeals is retiring. He took a larger view of the law, where getting justice was not about money. [Guile Is Good]
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Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners, Technology
ATL APP: Panel & Workshop Lessons
Here are 10 key lessons for lawyers on technology, document storage, and billing. -
Small Law Firms
ABA Listserv Devolves Into Racist Insults
This is supposed to be a forum for attorneys to discuss the common issues they face, not a forum to trade insults.
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.13.15
* The legal battle over the AIG bailout rolls into the Federal Circuit. [DealBook / New York Times]
* What does a lawyer say when he gets caught swapping fees for oral sex? Claim sex addiction, of course! [Legal Profession Blog]
* The New Orleans public defender office is a testament to underfunding. [Buzzfeed News]
* Charleston School of Law loses a dean right before school resumes. Yep, nothing wrong here! [South Carolina Lawyers Weekly]
* Neighbors sue 8-year-old girl for being kind to animals (or sues her parents anyway). [KIRO]
* A friend remembers John Ralston Pate. [What About Clients?]
* A counterargument to the suggestion of suspect classification for poverty (final item). [PrawfsBlawg]
* The ABA is diving into the world of legal publishing, riding the success of Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). [Chicago Tribune]
* A domestic violence defendant got the first name of his judge tattooed on his neck. Paul Clement has similar ink that reads “Nino.” Check out the pic. [North Carolina Lawyers Weekly]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.31.15
* TSA officials in Houston are checking hundreds of sorority girl bags because the convention book — that all of them have — keeps raising red flags. Now, Underhill thinks TSA should have figured this out and stopped checking. But that’s just what those girls from ΙΣΙΣ are banking on. [Lowering the Bar]
* Don’t recommend people on the grounds that they “don’t have enemies.” It’s not a compliment unless you immediately follow it with, “… anymore.” [What About Clients?]
* The ABA tries to make it harder to game the U.S. News rankings. That doesn’t sit right with law schools. [TaxProf Blog]
* The tech industry doesn’t understand labor law. Which is weird, because you can Google that s**t. [PrawfsBlawg]
* Venable not liable for alleged puffery. The firm is just glad it can go back to being the greatest lawyers on the face of the Earth. [The Blog of the Legal Times]
* The intellectual property concerns of cosplay. Remember if you get sued, the people dressed like Daredevil and She-Hulk aren’t actually able to help you. [IP Watchdog]
* Elie discusses the Samuel DuBose killing and Pell grants. [Legal Broadcast Network via YouTube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5IFKRZoT6g
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Job Searches, Law Schools, Media and Journalism
What Doesn’t The Media Get About The State Of Law Hiring?
Columnist Renwei Chung offers his thoughts on the latest job data from the ABA. -
Minority Issues, Technology
The ABA TECHSHOW: A White Man Affair
The ABA TECHSHOW has a white people problem. There is very little racial diversity. -
Law Schools, Money, Student Loans
Good Grief: These Law School 'Debt Per Job' Numbers Are Ugly
For every job obtained by a graduate of these law schools, an extraordinary debt burden has been accrued. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.06.15
* The law prof who sent anal-bead porn to her students is making headlines beyond the legal media. [Inside Higher Ed; Total Frat Move]
* You’ve been served — via Facebook. How do you “Like” them apples? [New York Daily News]
* Making a federal — or at least state — case out of teaching yoga to schoolchildren. [ATL Redline]
* Bad idea: taking someone’s identity and accepting money on their behalf. (Or: the dangers of launching a startup without legal advice.) [Associate’s Mind]
* Also a bad idea (if the allegations are true, that is): a men-only golf retreat at a large law firm. [ABA Journal]
* “Sperm Donor Scandal Lawsuit: How One Man with Schizophrenia Allegedly Fathered 36 Children.” [People]
* Getting revenge on a revenge-porn magnate: an 18-year sentence for Kevin Christopher Bollaert. [Los Angeles Times]
* How can healthcare startups protect their intellectual property? [MedCity News]
* Debt-saddled law students love free stuff — so how about free membership in the ABA? [American Bar Association]
* In addition to our April 23 reception, I’ll also be doing an event on April 25 for Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), to which you are all most cordially invited. [Seminary Co-Op Bookstore; Facebook]
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American Bar Association / ABA, Legal Ethics, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners, Technology
Back In The Race: Protecting Autonomy
Outsiders are putting out proposals that will alter the autonomy and livelihoods of solos and small firms -- who are they, and what are they proposing?