American Apparel

* Following a concession call from Hillary Clinton last night, and in a “stunning repudiation of the establishment,” Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States. Congratulations to President-elect Trump. How do you like them apples? This historic election wasn’t “rigged” after all! [New York Times]

* Marijuana also won big in the polls last night. Voters in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Maine approved recreational marijuana initiatives, with Arkansas, North Dakota, and Florida approving medical marijuana initiatives, but “[t]here are various ways in which a hostile White House could trip things up.” We’ll have more information on this news later today. [Washington Post]

* As we saw in the ATL electoral law school poll, many practicing lawyers voted for Hillary Clinton, but alas, it was all for naught. For example, Lisa Blatt, head of Arnold & Porter’s appellate and Supreme Court practice, had this to say when asked who she voted for in the election: “Duh! Clinton; early voting; and seriously?” [Big Law Business]

* Despite UCLA Law Professor Richard Sander’s pleas to use the data to support his opposition to affirmative action, the California State Bar need not disclose the race or ethnicity of those who took the bar exam since 1972 because it would amount to an invasion of privacy for those promised confidentiality. [San Francisco Chronicle]

* Per an ALM survey, revenue per partner slipped in 2015 to an average of $468,511, down from an average of $491,729 in 2014. This 4.7 percent decline is the largest ALM has seen since it first started tracking the metric. Why is this happening? “Demand is soft. Quite a few firms still have more lawyers than work for them.” [Am Law Daily]

* This must be an interesting situation for the clothing company’s GC-cum-CEO: After deciding to ignore its own reorganization plan and announcing that it would be winding down its U.K. operations, American Apparel is desperately attempting to stave off another bankruptcy filing and has now resumed talks with potential buyers. [Reuters]

* After all the legal trouble he’s gotten into, has Maricopa County’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio finally reached the end of his reign? [Salon]

* If we all got Election Day off, would more people vote? [Slate]

* Are copyright law and cease and desist letters being used in the service of some questionable ends? [Jezebel]

* Be messy — it could be the key to your success. [Law and More]

* No, the GOP cannot send extra poll watchers to Philadelphia rules Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Gerald Pappert. [Huffington Post]

* American Apparel is ignoring its own bankruptcy reorganization plan. [The Fashion Law]

* Epic interview by a very drunk Theo Epstein (San Diego Law alum) after being the GM that finally brought a World Series championship to the Cubs after the 108 year drought. [Twitter]

https://twitter.com/iamjoonlee/status/794054997088628737

 

* “It would have been disastrous for the whole country.” Following Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s screening of “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” the infamous smut peddler at the center of the film received a standing ovation after speaking to an audience about what would have happened if the Supreme Court hadn’t ruled in Hustler’s favor in the landmark First Amendment case. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million in bonus and stock awards in the wake of the lender’s sham accounts scandal. As we mentioned previously, the bank’s board was looking to Shearman & Sterling for guidance on whether it would move forward with clawback actions against executives considering the severity of the misconduct and fraud that occurred. [CNN]

* Sorry, Lynn Tilton, but the Supreme Court isn’t going to rescue you: the “Diva of Distressed” applied to the high court for a stay of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s action against her, arguing that the agency’s use of in-house judges was unconstitutional, but the Court flat-out rejected her request, without even so much as a dissent. Tilton could be barred from further work in the securities industry. [Bloomberg]

* Chelsea Grayson, who currently serves as general counsel of American Apparel, is moving up in the company to take on an even bigger and better role. She will assume the position of chief executive officer next month as the company considers a sale. She’s guided the company through controversies in the past, so a potential sale should be no problem for this former Loeb & Loeb partner. Congratulations! [Big Law Business]

* A former investigator for the Illinois Appellate Defender’s Office is receiving a major windfall after alleging that she was forced to resign for complaining about a salary cut. Alice Washington is set to receive more than $1 million dollars for her retaliation claim, but State Appellate Defender Michael Pelletier says he plans to appeal the judgment due to the fact that he “cannot in good conscience settle with this woman.” [ABA Journal]

* Michael Fahy, lawyer turned firefighter, RIP. [New York Daily News]

American Apparel's General Counsel shares her insights from being a top in-house attorney and provides advice for ATL’s law school audience.

* Bob McCulloch, the prosecutor who handled (mishandled?) the Michael Brown / Darren Wilson case in Ferguson, Missouri, was recently named as “Prosecutor of the Year” by the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. This probably wasn’t a good idea. [Slate]

* American Apparel filed for bankruptcy, and rather than Biglaw firms representing the embattled clothier, they’re trying to snatch up fees. Skadden, White & Case, and Paul Hastings are each owed quite the pretty penny. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* Which law school dean was just named as senior counsel at Dentons, the largest law firm in the world? That would be Nicholas Allard of Brooklyn Law School. Perhaps this law dean’s academic cash flow wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

* “Unless the industry cleans itself up, we can expect more lawsuits like this in the future.” In an interesting turn of events, the marijuana industry is now seeing its first product liability suit. A protip for growers: No one wants to smoke fungicide. [Los Angeles Times]

* Just when you thought patent trolls couldn’t get any worse, they started to harass members of the fashion industry. Copyright trolls (i.e., Stephen Doniger and Scott Alan Burroughs) are suing over textile prints left and right, and that’s so last season. [Fortune]

Dov Charney learns what it's like on the other side of a slap.

* Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl, the husband-and-wife lawyer duo accused of treating a law firm managing partner and his wife to a “torture session,” had a hearing this week where it was revealed that Andrew allegedly slit the managing partner’s throat. [Washington Post]

* ‘We’re asking you to choose life. Yes, even for the Boston Marathon bomber.” Jurors began deliberating in the death penalty phase of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial late yesterday afternoon. It’s worth noting that the last time someone was executed in Massachusetts was 70 years ago. [Boston Globe]

* “Explaining these persistent gender disparities in income … has proven to be much more difficult than simply identifying them.” Per a study conducted by Harvard Law, the wage gap for women in the law has been growing since 1975. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* The deadly Amtrak derailment hit too close to home for attorneys in the Northeast who travel frequently on the Acela line. In fact, some of our best tips have come from Acela trips. Our thoughts are with those who were affected by the crash. [National Law Journal]

* A sexy little spat: Dov Charney, the ex-CEO of American Apparel, filed a $20M defamation suit against the company, claiming that despite what employees were told, he never agreed that he’d stay away from American Apparel for good. [Los Angeles Times]

* DEA Agent thinks legalized pot will get rabbits high. Do you know how quickly they reproduce? This could lead to a terrifying Dorito’s shortage. [Lowering the Bar]

* Facebook lands a guy in prison after he “Likes” his own Wanted poster. [Jonathan Turley]

* The billable hour is a recipe for law firm failure. [The Legal Intelligencer]

* Dov Charney really really wants to get back control of American Apparel. Guy can’t seem to take no for an answer. In any event, his legal maneuvers may have set the stage for the intentional death of the company. [Dealbreaker]

* In honor of Star Wars Day, here are lessons lawyers can learn from Star Wars. Don’t go Jar Jar. [The Nutmeg Lawyer]

* The $140 million suit brought against Proskauer Rose by the Johnson & Johnson heirs will go forward. So… more tears for Proskauer. [Reuters]

* Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s Brooklyn spin class turns into a celebration. [Wall Street Journal / Metropolis]

* “Maybe in the future you could let us know when something as definite as that comes [at the last minute.]” It would appear Chief Justice John Roberts has yet again been angered terribly by a lawyer from the Department of Justice over policy changes. [CNN]

* G’day, mate! Perhaps Peter Kalis was telling the truth about his firm, because everything really is great at K&L Gates after last night’s announcement. Partners at the Biglaw firm just approved a merger with Australian firm Middletons. [WSJ Law Blog]

* The commission overseeing the revisions to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code will focus their energies on labor and benefits. Aww, how nice of them to think of the little people. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]

* The suit over job stats against Thomas Jefferson School of Law lives to fight another day. The school was “disappointed,” but probably not as disappointed as the students it allegedly duped. [National Law Journal]

* And speaking of disappointment, people are still pissed off about Case Western Law Dean Lawrence Mitchell’s defense of going to law school, aka “a full-throated defense of the indefensible.” [New York Times]

* If you’ve made a mistake on your law school application, fret not, because there’s a way to correct it. (Note: some would say the real mistake was applying in the first place.) [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

* Another day, another lawsuit filed against the much-sued and oft-creepy Dov Charney. This time, an ex-store manager alleges the American Apparel CEO choked him out and tried to rub dirt in his face. [Huffington Post]

* I know you don’t want to be evil, but I don’t think “privacy” means what you think it means. Google users have filed a class action suit against the company in New York over its new complete and utter lack of privacy policy. [Bloomberg]

* So you made some anti-war comments, touched Dick Cheney, got arrested, claimed your First Amendment rights were violated, and your case made it all the way to SCOTUS. Greatest accomplishment? Not getting shot by Cheney. [Huffington Post]

* Whoa, whoa, whoa. You mean to tell me that Wachtell’s name partner, Martin Lipton, the man who created the “poison pill,” supports staggered boards? Consider my mind blown. [DealBook / New York Times]

* M&A maven Dennis Block and real estate rock star Jeffrey Feil each donated $1M to their alma mater, Brooklyn Law School. See, you don’t need to go to a T14 school to make bank. [National Law Journal]

* Protip: not even Dov Charney’s world-renowned creepiness can save you from an arbitration agreement. A former employees $260M sex slave suit has been tossed out of court. [New York Daily News]

* “Ten Worst Things for a Law Prof To Put on a CV.” [The Faculty Lounge] * Think of this as another warning against taking sexually explicit photos of yourself. Or buying suspiciously cheap used computers. [Not-So Private Parts / Forbes] * Musical Chairs: Sri Srinivasan, chair of the appellate and Supreme Court practice at […]