Affirmative Action
-
Affirmative Action, Law Professors, Law Schools, Minority Issues, Racism
Are You On Team Sander?
The ATL editors record their real-time reactions to the Team Sander story. -
Affirmative Action, Law Professors, Law Schools, Minority Issues, Racism
Racists' T-Shirts On Campus? Only If You Bother To Think About It
Is ignorance an excuse for racism? - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Affirmative Action, Antonin Scalia, Election Law, Fashion, Non-Sequiturs, Richard Posner
Non-Sequiturs: 10.16.13
* Belgium has captured a real-life pirate king! But pirate kings just aren’t what they used to be. Something tells me Blackbeard wouldn’t have gone down because somebody said, “Hey, come back to England so we can make a movie about you.” [The Volokh Conspiracy] * After a roller coaster malfunction killed a passenger, Six Flags responds by pointing the finger at someone else. They didn’t design or build the ride… they just bought it, promoted it, operated it, and profited off it, but they did not design or build it. [Houston Chronicle] * At oral argument, Justice Scalia ripped a lawyer for thinking the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to protect minority rights against a white majority. As Scalia notes, “that was the argument in the early years…. But I thought we rejected that.” Leave it to Justice Scalia to point out that no one makes decisions based on the publicly known original intent of the drafters of constitutional provisions from 150 years ago. That would just be silly. Now, if we’re talking 200 years ago… [Josh Blackman's Blog] * A Texas judge is reprimanded for trying to pull strings for a friend. Unfortunately, it seems like he’s also really bad at pulling strings. [Legal Juice] * Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp has started a fashion industry law blog. Ooh Law Law. Oh, I see what you did there. [Ooh Law Law] * Judge Posner, who authored the decision that framed the entire voter ID debate by casting doubt that the laws could be used to disenfranchise voters, tells HuffPo Live’s Mike Sacks that he was completely wrong. Judge Posner explains that events have confirmed that voter ID laws are really all about disenfranchising poor and minority voters. Ever the empiricist that Posner guy. Full video after the jump… [New York Times]
-
Affirmative Action, Biglaw, Intellectual Property, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Patents, Rankings, Real Estate, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 10.15.13
* Affirmative action is again being put to the test before the Supreme Court, but this time, we’re not so sure the justices will punt the ball like last time. The countdown to one of Elie’s epic rants on race in America starts in 3, 2, 1… [National Law Journal]
* The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is open for business, but the government shutdown has pretty much brought work at both the International Trade Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to a complete standstill. May they live to fight patent trolls another day. [Corporate Counsel]
* Good news, everyone! Many Biglaw firms have changed the way they make their real estate and office space decisions, primarily because “maintaining profitability has become very challenging.” [GlobeSt.com]
* Here’s another list of the law schools where you can get the most bang for your buck — except it neglects to mention what percentage of the class responded to these salary questions. Oops! [PolicyMic]
* Just saying, but if you’re applying to a law school on an early decision basis, it’s helpful if you actually want to go to that law school above all others. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
-
Affirmative Action, Education / Schools, Law Schools, Minority Issues, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Minority Enrollment Plummets Thanks To Michigan's Anti-Affirmative Action Statute
Michigan's anti-affirmative action statute has resulted in anything but a meritocracy. -
Abortion, Alan Dershowitz, Blogging, Constitutional Law, Football, Guns / Firearms, Law Schools, Layoffs, Media and Journalism, SCOTUS, Sports, Supreme Court
Five Stories That Made This an Exhausting Week of Legal News
My this was a busy week. Here's a list of the big-ticket stories that struck my fancy this week. -
Affirmative Action, Anthony Kennedy, Baseball, Biglaw, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Firm Mergers, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Politics, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Small Law Firms
Morning Docket: 06.25.13
* As we wait for the biggest cases of this term, the question that seems to be on everyone’s minds is: “What would Justice Kennedy do?” We might find out the answer today if we’re lucky. [New Yorker]
* At least we know what Justice Kennedy wouldn’t do. He’d never disrespect his elders like Justice Alito did yesterday after rolling his eyes at Justice Ginsburg while on the bench. [Washington Post]
* Meanwhile, although the Supreme Court punted an important affirmative action ruling yesterday, Jen Gratz’s life has been defined by a more meaningful one made about a decade ago. [Washington Post]
* It’s not what you know, it’s who you know: Covington, the firm where ex-DOJ lawyers go to make money, is representing some very big tech companies in their dealings with the NSA. [Am Law Daily]
* Fox Rothschild picked up a small Denver firm to reach a “critical mass” of attorneys in its new office and offer full service. FYI, “full service” in Colorado means weed law now, you know. [Legal Intelligencer]
* “[G]iven the significant decline in law school applications,” Cincinnati Law is pushing for a 30 percent tuition and fees reduction for out-of-state students. That’s a step in the right direction. [WCPO ABC 9]
* This guy had the chance to go to law school, and I bet he’s really kicking himself now after choosing to be a member of the Boston Red Sox bullpen instead. Poor kid, he could’ve had it all. [MassLive.com]
-
Affirmative Action, Anthony Kennedy, David Boies, Jeffrey Toobin, John Paul Stevens, Labor / Employment, Minority Issues, Nina Totenberg, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito, Sandra Day O'Connor, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Ted Olson, Texas
The Wait For Fisher Is Over, And It Was Not Worth The Wait
In case you missed the earlier coverage, here's an eyewitness report on what took place at the Supreme Court today, from Above the Law's SCOTUS correspondent, Matt Kaiser. - Sponsored
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Learn how emerging tools will likely change and enhance the work of lawyers for years to come in this new report. -
5th Circuit, Affirmative Action, Constitutional Law, Education / Schools, Minority Issues, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
Affirmative Action Is Dead In The Water; Diversity Is The 21st Century Fight
SCOTUS ruling today signals the end of the old era of affirmative action, and the birth of a new one. -
Affirmative Action, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Constitutional Law, Education / Schools, Minority Issues, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
The Supreme Court Surprises in Fisher v. University of Texas
The Supreme Court just handed down its opinion in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a landmark affirmative action case. What did the Court rule? -
Affirmative Action, John Roberts, Quote of the Day, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
No Fisher Opinion? Blame the Supreme Court's Astrologer!
Will the stars be properly aligned next week? We can only hope! -
Abortion, Affirmative Action, Baseball, Education / Schools, Gay Marriage, Morning Docket, Nina Totenberg, Prostitution, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 06.20.13
* Today is most likely going to be a banner decision day for the Supreme Court, so in wild anticipation, SCOTUS expert Nina Totenberg was on call to answer some need-to-know questions for the people about the innermost workings of the Court. [NPR]
* One of the opinions we hope will drop at the Supreme Court today is that of the Fisher v. Texas affirmative action case. If you want some hints on how the three justices who attended Princeton (not counting Kagan) might rule, check this out. [Daily Princetonian]
* Justice Samuel Alito is out in Texas where he threw the first pitch — “a bit wide of the plate” — in last night’s Rangers game. Will SCOTUS unleash anything important in his absence? [Washington Post]
* Meanwhile, while we eagerly await decisions in the gay marriage cases next week, consider for a moment the possibility that this is all just but a gigantic train wreck waiting to happen. [New Republic]
* Things are heating up in North Dakota where the battle over abortion regulations continues to rage on. What a shame, especially since we supposedly took care of this stuff in the early 70s. [ABC News]
* “If this is what these women signed up for, who is anybody to tell them differently?” Two pimps were acquitted of sex trafficking after prostitutes testified on their behalf. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
-
Affirmative Action, Federal Judges, Judicial Nominations, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 06.13.13
* Edward Snowden is still in Hong Kong. [Los Angeles Times]
* Obama is a fan of the ladies. [The Blog of the Legal Times]
* Well, if you don’t like what the Supreme Court is doing, you can still sit outside First Street and protest. I doubt it’ll have any effect whatsoever, but knock yourselves out. [National Law Journal]
* Speaking of the Supreme Court, things are still harder for minority law students. Not that such pesky things like facts should stop Chief Justice Roberts from feeling confident about telling us how to end racial discrimination in our time. [National Law Journal]
* As if the curse of Superman wasn’t bad enough, now he needs a lawyer. [Bloomberg Businessweek]
* Lionel Messi is as creative with his tax bill as he is on the pitch. [QZ]
Sponsored
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
This AI-Powered Document Tool Will Meet You Where You Are
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
-
Affirmative Action, Labor / Employment, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, SCOTUS, State Judges, Supreme Court
Non-Sequiturs: 06.07.13
* Crafty trial tactics out of C-Town. A Cuyahoga County prosecutor was fired after he admitted to posing as a woman in a Facebook chat with an accused killer’s alibi witnesses in an attempt to persuade them to change their testimony. [Cleveland Plain Dealer] * If you post on Facebook asking your employer to fire you, you can’t get mad when they, you know, fire you. [IT-Lex] * Yeah. Where the hell is Fisher? [PrawfsBlawg] * It’s a week late, but congratulations to whatever genius is behind UChiLawGo on graduating. [UChiLawGo] * Once again, you can’t pay your bill with pennies just to get revenge. [Legal Juice] * Some tips on turning your basketcaseness into eustress, which apparently means “good stress.” [Associate's Mind] * New York eyes raising the retirement age for judges to 80. [New York Times] -
Affirmative Action, Blogging, D.C. Circuit, Job Searches, John Roberts, Non-Sequiturs, U.S. News
Non-Sequiturs: 06.03.13
* Slave law is still considered “good law” by the courts? Originalism is alive and well! [Post & Found] * For the first time ever, the Washington Post’s scavenger hunt/riddle/prove how pretentious we are competition was won by a single individual. Congratulations to Sullivan and Cromwell’s Sean Memon, an ’08 Duke grad, who prevailed after figuring out that nothing was happening. That makes sense when you read the article. [Constitutional Daily] * Here’s an argument against affirmative action based on the premise that black people at the barest of margins may be hindered by having too good of a résumé. This is, well, wrong, but much more intellectual than the arguments against affirmative action advanced by the Chief Justice. [Ramblings on Appeal] * A San Diego lawyer is seeking a young attorney in L.A. to work for slightly more than peanuts. But the requirements are entertaining, like confidence that “you are going to be the next F. Lee Baily or Johnny Cochran.” The poster is also an “elderly gay man (late 50′s).” Is that really elderly anymore? [Craigslist] * More on the problems facing the D.C. Circuit. Probably a good reason to shrink the complement of the Circuit. [SSRN] * Another look at the business benefits of blogging. Get out there, people! [Likelihood of Confusion] * Hey there, lawyers! The Wall Street Journal would like you to know that you and your ilk are responsible for the student loan bailout. Video after ye olde jump… -
Affirmative Action, Biglaw, Disasters / Emergencies, Election Law, Gay Marriage, Insurance, Job Searches, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Pro Bono, Real Estate, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Morning Docket: 05.29.13
* This year, like every year before it, SCOTUS is saving the best cases (read: most controversial) for last. We’ll likely see opinions on voting rights, affirmative action, and gay marriage in June. [WSJ Law Blog]
* We know of at least one Biglaw firm that will be putting its increase in gross revenue to work. Boies Schiller is planning to open its first office outside of the United States in the “near-term.” [Am Law Daily]
* If you’d like to get paid under a terrorism insurance policy for your damages in the Boston bombings, you’ll have to wait; the bombings haven’t been certified as acts of terror yet. [National Law Journal]
* Mandatory pro bono work is now required for bar admission in New York, but it’s still not enough to close the justice gap. Now Chief Judge Lippman wants to give non-lawyers a chance to provide legal services. [New York Law Journal]
* Arizona Law recently made the announcement that interim dean Marc Miller has been instated as the school’s permanent dean. What’s not to like about a “new” dean and new tuition cuts? [UANews]
* As many of our readers know, the job market is rough, but apparently if you take some compliance classes in law school, you’ll magically become employable. Great success! [Corporate Counsel]
* Brooklyn Law, do you remember what your old dorm looked like? It’s different now that it’s been transformed into an apartment complex that’s no longer stained with the tears of law students. [Curbed]
-
Affirmative Action, Federalist Society, Golf, Guns / Firearms, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Rankings, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 05.09.13
* An analysis of Vijay Singh’s suit against the PGA. Any legal analysis that requires that much use of the phrase “deer antler spray” is worth it. [Sports Law Blog] * The highest paid state employee by state. If you’re a lawyer, you want to live in Maine. [Deadspin] * A visual representation of every Federalist Society event. [UChiLawGo] * Cheez-Its are really, really good. [Legal Juice] * “The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a bear cub with a gun. Or something.” [Bear Lawyer] * Professor Nick Rosenkranz wonders if a 50/50 quota is appropriate to generate intellectual diversity at law schools since Harvard Law seems to think that gender diversity merits a 50/50 quota. The answer is no. Thanks for playing. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Our own rankings guru Brian Dalton sat down for an interview about the new ATL Top 50 Law Schools rankings. [PrawfsBlawg] * And Elie went on Bloomberg to discuss our inaugural rankings, too…. -
Affirmative Action, Biglaw, Deaths, Education / Schools, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Sandra Day O'Connor, SCOTUS, Sports, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
Afternoon Docket: 04.29.13
Ed. note: Apologies for the technical difficulties that have prevented us from posting until now. Thanks for your patience!
* Attention prospective law school applicants: affirmative action, at least as we currently know it, may not be long for this world. A decision in the Fisher v. University of Texas case is expected as early as this week. Stay tuned. [Reuters]
* Justice Stephen Breyer had to get shoulder replacement surgery after having yet another bike accident (his third, actually). Please — somebody, anybody — get this man some training wheels. Justice is at stake! [New York Times]
* “We’re not going to take it, goodbye.” That’s what retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wishes the high court would have said when it came to the controversial Bush v. Gore case. [Chicago Tribune]
* Thanks to the sequester, the Boston bombings case may turn into a “David and Goliath” situation. Sorry, Dzhokhar, but your defense team may be subject to 15 days of furlough. [National Law Journal]
* George Gallantz, the “founding father” of Proskauer’s sports law practice, RIP. [New York Law Journal]
* Leo Branton Jr., the defense attorney at the helm of the Angela Davis trial, RIP. [New York Times]
-
Abortion, Affirmative Action, Antitrust, Baseball, Basketball, Crime, Deaths, Law Professors, Movies, Non-Sequiturs, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 04.04.13
* Roger Ebert has died at the age of 70. A great critic (his audio commentary track on the Citizen Kane DVD is amazing), whose work with the late Gene Siskel basically defined film criticism for a generation. At least now we know how we will be judged when we die — a simple thumbs up, thumbs down from Gene and Roger. [Chicago Sun-Times] * Exploring the link between baseball’s antitrust exemption and Roe v. Wade. It’s more than just saying the Royals are an abortion of a team. [Concurring Opinions] * “Bring me the head of the person who did this”: the best closing to a C & D letter ever. [Popehat] * A Rutgers-Camden 3L breaks down the looming sh*tstorm at Rutgers over basketball coach Mike Rice’s treatment of players. [The Legal Blitz] * If you’ve pulled off a successful robbery, don’t taunt the victim from a traceable phone. I mean, act like you’ve been there before, man. [Legal Juice] * It is a little funny to say that a city is looking for weaker swimmers to serve as lifeguards, but ultimately this represents the simplistic nature of the anti-affirmative-action argument: no one is saying lifeguards shouldn’t be qualified, just that a system that only privileges a strong swimming résumé will always result in affluent white kids with 10 years of swim classes getting these jobs. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Lawyers are often jerks, but this is a new twist. Help out a lawyer trying to make it in the small-batch, artisan jerky business.[Kickstarter] * Maybe there aren’t actual Commies at Harvard Law School, but the ratio of liberals to conservatives/libertarians on the faculty is still extremely high. [Nick Rosenkranz] -
Affirmative Action, Andrew Cuomo, Sonia Sotomayor
Andrew Cuomo Pads His White House Quals By Having Senate Crap All Over His Nominee
The New York Senate has decided to give Andrew Cuomo a taste of the presidency by acting like toddlers and dissing his Court of Appeals nominee.