American Bar Association / ABA

Morning Docket: 02.16.15

Ed. note: Due to the Presidents’ Day holiday, we will be on a reduced publication schedule today. We will still be publishing, but less frequently than usual. We will be back in full force tomorrow. * The news is in, and it seems that Davis Polk's financial numbers were at record highs. The firm's revenue beat the $1 billion mark for the first time ever, and its PPP rose to $3.29 million. No wonder its 2014 bonuses were so awesome! [Am Law Daily] * Yes, we know that William Mitchell Law and Hamline Law are merging to survive as a result of a quickly disappearing applicant pool. We'd really love to know how many other law schools are considering this as an alternative to closing their doors. [Star Tribune] * How are Nebraska and Oklahoma, which neighbor Colorado, where marijuana has been legalized, handling the situation? Not well. Their AGs want SCOTUS to rule the weed law in the state where you can get Rocky Mountain High is unconstitutional. [PBS NewsHour] * Thanks to a recent ABA rule change, schools are beginning to admit students without LSAT scores. One of those schools is Iowa Law (ranked in the top 30 by U.S. News), but those students need to have done really well on other standardized tests. [Daily Iowan] * "How have I done as a judge today?" "Not bad, but you could do better." Judge John Hurley had a run-in with an 80-year-old criminal defendant who wouldn't stop calling him sweetheart. Flip to the next page to see the entertaining video. [NBC 6 South Florida] https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mEQp33kr2O8#t=0

Does The ABA Care More About ‘Access To Justice’ Than It Cares About Members’ Access To Jobs?

The mere fact that the ABA needs to deliberate at all over the issue of LLLTs is a sharp reminder that the ABA is not fully committed to advancing the interests of new lawyers.

Back In The Race: Joining Bar Associations In Search of Employment

When you're looking for an attorney job, it's not what you know, and it's not who you know. It's who knows what you know.

Morning Docket: 12.09.14

* Whoa, the American Bar Association shockingly deferred action on giving InfiLaw its blessing on the takeover of Charleston Law. Perhaps the ABA is turning over a new leaf as to saving law schools? [National Law Journal] * Nevermind. The American Bar Association decided to grant provisional accreditation to the beleaguered LMU Duncan School of Law. Perhaps the ABA's new slogan should be, "Accredit all the law schools!" [Claiborne Progress] * Like it or not, despite their financial constraints, it's likely that many law schools will never close, no matter how terrible they are -- so as long as ABA regulation remains lax and the government keeps feeding students loan dollars to attend. [Daily Caller] * If you read one piece of long-form journalism today, let it be this special report on the Supreme Court's "echo chamber," perhaps better known as the elite members of the SCOTUS bar who hoard all of the cases on the docket for themselves. [Reuters] * In other law school-related news, fewer law school graduates are passing the California bar exam. California's pass rate for the July exam was just 48.6%, and it's been almost a decade since the pass rate was that low. Ouch! [Los Angeles Times]

Morning Docket: 12.02.14

* White & Case just named its youngest partner ever -- in fact, he's the youngest partner out of every international Biglaw firm in London. Joshua Siaw is just 30 years old, and he'll be rolling around in money with the best of them. [Forbes] * OMG, you guys, due to precipitous drops in applications, it's a buyers market out there for law students, and the New York Times is ON IT! Thanks for shedding light on this new info no one's heard about before. [DealBook / New York Times] * Quack quack: Justices Antonin Scalia and Elena Kagan are heading to the Mississippi delta to exercise their Second Amendment rights and go duck hunting. They'll also be making a stop at Ole Miss Law to discuss constitutional issues. [National Law Journal] * Concordia School of Law will not be accredited by the American Bar Association before its first class graduates, meaning that no one in the class of 2015 will be able to take the bar exam this summer. Gah, what a gigantic waste of money. [KIVI FOX9] * If you go to law school, you may be able to start a career in government when you graduate. You can look forward to all sorts of exciting experiences, from a smaller paycheck than your classmates to no paycheck at all. [U.S. News & World Report]

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?

Non-Sequiturs: 11.10.14

* Huge Net Neutrality development: President Obama believes the FCC should reclassify the Internet as a utility. Will his three appointees listen to him? [Vox] * Rick Springfield’s butt faces retrial. [Lowering the Bar] * The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar is recommending the sale of Charleston Law School to InfiLaw. Well, now we should feel secure in knowing this is a great plan. [TaxProf Blog] * An interview with famed mob lawyer turned mayor, Oscar Goodman. [Coverage Opinions] * In Alabama, if a jury misbehaves and doesn’t sentence a murderer to the death penalty, the judge has full power to overrule them. Delightful. [The New Yorker] * A white former prosecutor has to work really, really hard to get himself arrested, along the way exposing just how racially stilted the criminal justice system is. [The Atlantic]

Morning Docket: 10.08.14

* How are Nevada and Idaho officials reacting to yesterday’s Ninth Circuit ruling striking down gay marriage bans in those states, and how soon might marriages get underway? [BuzzFeed] * In other LGBT legal news, New York City is likely to make it easier for transgender individuals to amend their birth certificates. [New York Times] * Good news for Joan Orie Melvin, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice turned convicted felon: her unorthodox sentence has been stayed (again). [How Appealing] * Eduardo Leite, who has led Baker & McKenzie since 2010, gets another two years at the helm of Biglaw’s biggest firm. [American Lawyer] * Cravath associate Micaela McMurrough scores a victory in tax court for artists. [New York Times] * The ABA has issued a new opinion addressing ethical issues raised during the sale of a law practice. [American Bar Association] * Why do lawyers blog? Tim Baran of Rocket Matter talks to 23 of us. [Legal Productivity]

The ABA Doesn’t Care If Law Students Are Poor

Law students would be better off if they could receive pay for academic internships, but the ABA doesn't care.

The ABA Changes The Way We Do Law School

How will law schools be spending their money starting next year?

Morning Docket: 08.13.14

* “I’m 98, and I don’t want to depart this world with this thing hanging over me.” Miriam Moskowitz was convicted more than 60 years ago, and now Baker Botts is trying to help clear her name before she dies. [WSJ Law Blog] * “Get a lawyer, you know how this works.” Boston Scientific’s chief counsel was killed earlier this week, and police think that they may have identified a suspect — his former flame — in the brutal murder. [Minneapolis Star-Tribune] * According to a recent study, California’s affirmative action ban has done some damage to minority admissions rates at both Berkeley Law and UCLA Law, and now things like this happen to their minority students. It’s quite sad. [Daily Californian] * The ABA has delayed taking action on Concordia Law’s bid for accreditation, and instead appointed a fact-finder. We’ll help you with this fact of the day: we don’t need more law schools. [National Law Journal] * If you’re thinking about signing up for a JD/MBA, then congratulations, at least one of those degrees may prove to be useful to you in some way, someday. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

Morning Docket: 08.12.14

* “No person, no matter how high, is above the law.” It would seem Chief Judge John Roberts is unfamiliar with many of the attorneys we write about on a daily basis. [Associated Press] * Considering many Americans can’t name a single justice, whether the high court issues 9-0 or 5-4 opinions likely matters little, but Cass Sunstein has a study on it. [New York Times] * Judge Mark Fuller (M.D. AL) spent a night in jail this weekend after an alleged domestic violence incident with his wife. He paid $5,000 bond before he was released. Uhh… Roll Tide? [CNN] * The ABA moved forward with reforms to help students gain clinical and distance-learning opportunities. Alas, being paid for work was too controversial this time. [National Law Journal] * A woman who was trapped inside a law firm as a gunman opened fire before killing himself is now suing everyone for damages. You’d probably sue, too — it must’ve been terrifying. [Times-Picayune] * Robin Williams, the beloved actor who recently played a very disgruntled lawyer, RIP. [ABC News]

Morning Docket: 08.11.14

* Baker & McKenzie was bumped from the top spot in the Global 100 last year when DLA Piper swooped in to steal the firm’s glory. This year, B&M is back with a vengeance, and richer than ever. Take that, DLA dopes. [Am Law Daily] * “I’m pretty sure I just got fired.” Before the bud business was big enough for Biglaw, the mere suggestion of going green was allegedly enough to warrant some pretty major disciplinary action from a leading law firm. [National Law Journal] * Judge Thomas Griesa is toying with holding Argentina in contempt for saying that it didn’t default. Argentina struck back with the social media hashtag #GrieFault. Clever. [DealBook / New York Times] * Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense team has an expert who says that any jury in Massachusetts will be tainted because of the “inflammatory” news coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing. [WSJ Law Blog] * The ABA’s new Task Force on the Financing of Legal Education held its first public hearing to try to figure out why law school tuition is high. The ABA is so late to the party it’s not even funny. [ABA Journal]

Morning Docket: 08.04.14

* All work and no play makes summer associates sad, but they had a really great time this year, what with the lucky law students attending Broadway shows, sporting events, and Russian cabarets. Sounds like fun! [Am Law Daily] * Alas, not everyone was getting wined and dined this summer. Some lawyers can’t even find a place to work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal services sector lost ~200 jobs during the month of July. [WSJ Law Blog] * It may be the “worst time in the history of legal education to go to law school,” but because of new programs being launched, at least some of our recent graduates will be less screwed. [New York Times] * “The ABA is used as a whipping boy for standing in the way of innovation,” but soon it’ll vote on revisions to its accreditation standards. Welcome to the party, ABA, thanks for being late. [National Law Journal] * It took 15 doses of lethal injection drugs to execute Joseph Wood when it should’ve taken one. Don’t worry, it wasn’t cruel and unusual punishment — the Arizona Department of Corrections says so. [CNN]

Morning Docket: 07.30.14

* When it comes to bans on same-sex marriage, for Justice Anthony Kennedy, animus is a “doctrinal silver bullet” — the fact that there was no animus involved in the enactment of many of them may be problematic at the high court. [New York Times] * Relying on some obscure Supreme Court precedent, the Fifth Circuit saved Mississippi’s lone abortion clinic after striking down as unconstitutional a state law that would have required doctors to have hospital admitting privileges. [National Law Journal] * Given the situation over at Bingham McCutchen, people are starting to wonder about whether all the guaranteed contracts to members of merger partner McKee Nelson’s partnership helped to shape the firm’s current financial plight. [Am Law Daily] * Hot on the heels of Cooley Law canceling its first-year class at Ann Arbor and announcing tentative plans to close the campus, the ABA approved the school’s affiliation with Western Michigan. Yay? [MLive.com] * Here’s one way to become a lawyer without racking up massive amounts of debt: you could try to “read” the law like Abraham Lincoln, and work as a law firm apprentice. That sounds delightful. [New York Times]