American Bar Association / ABA

* Remember Chris Sevier, the man who, in an effort to protest same-sex marriage, filed suit against Florida, Texas, and now Utah because he alleged he was denied the right to marry his computer? A federal judge has refused to dismiss his case because some of his wild claims ought to be heard in court — and not just for the judge’s entertainment. Surprisingly, this wasn’t an April Fools’ joke. [FOX 13 News]

* “It is plausible that Trump’s direction to ‘get ’em out of here’ advocated the use of force. It was an order, an instruction, a command.’ President Trump once again has his bold language to blame for his lawyers’ inability to get a lawsuit dismissed. Because free speech isn’t a viable defense, a federal judge has refused to toss out allegations that Trump incited violence against protesters at one of his campaign rallies. [NBC News]

* “[W]e do not intend to give any professional organizations special access to our nominees.” Breaking with tradition, the Trump administration has decided to forgo the American Bar Association’s pre-nomination assistance when it comes to evaluating and rubber-stamping candidates for the federal judiciary. We’ll have more on this later. [New York Times]

* Facebook is requiring that women and ethnic minorities account for at least 33 percent of law firm teams working on its matters. In addition, those firms must “actively identify and create clear and measurable leadership opportunities for women and minorities” who represent the social networking giant. Love. ❤ [DealBook / New York Times]

* The ABA may eliminate a requirement that full-time faculty teach at least half of all upper-level courses offered at their law schools. Hmm, if law professors worked half as much, then perhaps their salaries would decrease along with their work load and there would be less of an excuse to keep student tuition so absurdly high. [Inside Higher Ed]

* The ABA has placed Arizona Summit Law School on probation for its poor bar exam passage rates and questionable admissions practices. How will this affect the school’s affiliation with Bethune-Cookman University? Will the Department of Education strip the law school of access to the federal student loan program like what happened with Charlotte School of Law? We’ll have more on this later today. [Arizona Republic]

* More Democratic senators have announced their opposition to the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit, but the White House is calling for a “fair, up-or-down vote.” Hmm, when the previous administration called for a hearing followed by a “fair, up-or-down vote” for Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland of the D.C. Circuit, the request went completely ignored. [Reuters]

* The Eastern District of Texas is home to more than 40 percent of all patent lawsuits, but the Supreme Court may decide to send patent trolls packing to other jurisdictions when it hands down its ruling in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods. This case may not only resolve a Federal Circuit decision that’s at odds with SCOTUS precedent, but it may bring forum shopping in patent cases to an end. [DealBook / New York Times]

* As we mentioned previously, it was rumored that President Donald Trump would be nominating White House deputy counsel Makan Delrahim to lead the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. It looks like Trump finally decided to pull the trigger to elevate Delrahim to the position. He’ll need to be confirmed by the Senate, which should be a relative breeze for him compared to other Trump nominees. [Law 360 (sub. req.)]

* Eric Conn, a Social Security disability lawyer known as “Mr. Social Security,” recently pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government money and one count of payment of gratuities in the largest Social Security fraud scheme in recent memory, submitting false medical paperwork and fake claims to the Social Security Administration to the tune of $550M. He earned himself more than $5.7M in fees as part of the scam. [WSJ Law Blog]

TECHSHOW is more than 30 years old, but the atmosphere felt as fresh and energetic as at any contemporary conference.

There's little point in pondering the future of law when justice is currently under attack.

Dean Amar comments on the big news out of the ABA Midyear Meeting today.

Lawyers are apparently flocking to this state.

This is an absolute nightmare.

* “The Department’s actions violate law and are contrary to basic principles of fairness and deeply damaging to the critical public service missions of these plaintiffs and the ABA.” The American Bar Association has filed suit against the Department of Education, alleging that some public interest lawyers had been indiscriminately dropped from the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. We may have more on this later. [ABA Journal]

* “The American Bar Association forces this young man to litigate all the way to the United States Supreme Court to prove that a blind person shouldn’t draw a picture.” After suing the ABA for discrimination for forcing him to take the LSAT — a test he can’t pass because he can’t draw the diagrams required for the logic games section — a blind Michigan man is hoping that SCOTUS will grant his petition. [Michigan Radio]

* In what’s being viewed as one of President Obama’s last hurrahs before leaving office, he used the Outer Continental Shelf Act to restrict new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The Trump administration will likely be forced to go to court to reverse the Obama administration’s pro-environment actions. [Reuters]

* “I am proud to have played a part in the substantial progress the firm has made toward gender equality.” After years of litigation, Mintz Levin settled a gender discrimination case filed by former associate Kamee Verdrager, who was allegedly demoted for taking disability leave when she developed pregnancy complications. [Am Law Daily]

* Baker McKenzie’s new chair has been with the firm for 30 years, and now that he’s in leadership, he’s sharing with the world why the firm decided to do away with the ampersand that once resided in the firm’s name. Apparently the ampersand’s untimely death was about “freshening up the brand” to appear “agile.” [Big Law Business]

* Are conservative partners giving smaller bonuses to female associates? Per the results of a recent study, political ideology impacts how partners allocate discretionary income to associates based on gender. If you thought this couldn’t happen in Biglaw since bonuses are largely lockstep by class year, think again. The firm studied has 1,000+ lawyers. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily]

* “We’ve got one of the country’s finest jurists, who I happened to have nominated to the Supreme Court and who’s going to continue to serve our country with distinction as the chief judge on the D.C. circuit, Merrick Garland is here.” President Obama hasn’t withdrawn his SCOTUS nomination, but his White House Hanukkah party introduction of the jurist indicates he’s all but given up on Garland’s confirmation. [Washington Post]

* “Just because you didn’t go to law school doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have more time to bond with a new child.” Lowenstein Sandler has adopted a gender-neutral family leave policy that’s being offered to all of the firm’s employees — not just its lawyers. Congrats to the firm on taking an important leap towards parental equality. [Big Law Business]

* According to the latest ABA data, first-year law school enrollment has increased for the first time since 2010. Don’t get too excited over this news, because only 36 more 1Ls were enrolled in law school in 2016 compared to 2015, and one of the schools with the largest enrollment increase (Indiana Tech) is closing for good. [National Law Journal]

* “Once again, public schools have decided that their commitment to diversity does not extend to Christians.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is going to war over a religious Charlie Brown Christmas poster that was banned from a local middle school. AG Paxton has filed suit, but some say he did so as a distraction from his own indictment. [Reuters]

A legal education is a major investment; some modest level of paternalism ought not to be rejected out of hand.

* Many law school deans are opposed to the ABA’s proposal to require 75 percent of graduates sitting for a bar exam to pass it within two years, but this is perhaps one of the more absurd arguments offered against the rule: “Nobody looks at what percentage of Ph.D.s end up as college professors, or […]

* Siding with prosecution and without explaining its reasoning, the Seventh Circuit has delayed the release of “Making a Murderer” subject Brendan Dassey, ordering that he remain incarcerated “pending the outcome of the appeal” in his case. Dassey’s conviction was overturned in August; he was set to be released today. [Reuters]

* According to some sources, we may have a full Supreme Court bench by the end of the current term, but at this point, it’s really a matter of “who President Trump nominates and what kind of ‘payback’ the Democrats decide to exact for having lost the election and for the Senate’s having held up the Merrick Garland nomination.” [Big Law Business]

* For the first time, the ranking Republican and Democratic lawmakers leading the Senate Judiciary Committee will be non-lawyers. Senators Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein will not only review judicial appointments, but they’ll also have Department of Justice, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security oversight. [Wall Street Journal]

* Rather than issuing a grant or denial, the ABA will continue to review the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law’s application for accreditation. What does this mean for the school’s third-year students? The administration hopes the Texas Supreme Court will allow them to take the state bar exam in July 2017. [Dallas Business Journal]

* “[University leadership] need to be ashamed of themselves. … [They showed a] total lack of consideration for the lives of the staff and faculty.” People are pretty angry about the impending closure of Indiana Tech Law School, including its benefactors, and some of them want refunds. We may have more on this at a later time. [Indiana Lawyer]

These schools are now at risk of losing their accreditation if they do not improve.

Lawyers in which practice areas are most likely to have blogs?

* Don’t say we didn’t tell you this, but according to the latest report from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, the great Biglaw salary increase of 2016 is now being cited as a strain on law firm profits. Expenses are now growing faster than revenues at many firms. We’ll have more on this later today. [Am Law Daily]

* This is one promise that President-elect Trump is sticking to: Kellyanne Conway, his campaign manager, has confirmed that he will choose a Supreme Court nominee from the list(s) he released earlier this year: “You’ve seen the list of 21. The list has not changed.” You can see Trump’s shortlist(s) here and here. [Big Law Business]

* “Every good person has an obligation to both to continue being heard and to continue doing the right thing. We can’t afford for a president to fail.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor has spoken out about the results of the presidential election, and she thinks that we must guide President-elect Trump to make the right decisions for the country. [WSJ Law Blog]

* The American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has sanctioned not one, but two law schools for their lax admissions standards. Valparaiso Law has been publicly censured and Charlotte Law has been placed on probation. We’ll have more on this later today. [National Law Journal]

* Judge William Duffin of the Eastern District of Wisconsin has denied a request made by state prosecutors to delay “Making a Murderer” subject Brendan Dassey’s release from prison. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel says he will appeal Duffin’s ruling to the Seventh Circuit. Dassey is scheduled to be released on Friday. [Reuters]

It's easy to be cynical of the ABA and criticize their offerings for lawyers, but Blueprint is on its way to offering lawyers meaningful solutions.

* “You never say no, but I’d rather help him find someone else who can do it. I’m very happy not being in the government.” Word on the street is that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is being considered for attorney general in the Trump administration, but the Greenberg Traurig partner doesn’t exactly seem interested. Hmm, perhaps Governor Chris Christie will be AG after all? [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

* Judge Gonzalo Curiel is now urging litigants on both sides of the Trump University case to settle, noting that “[i]t would be wise for the plaintiffs, for the defendants, to look closely at trying to resolve this case given all else that’s involved.” The judge who President-elect Trump once accused of being biased due to his Mexican heritage is now trying to save Trump from being on trial for fraud early in his presidency. [Reuters]

* The hits just keep on coming for King & Wood Mallesons. The firm’s Australian and Chinese partnerships will likely be bailing out its troubled European and Middle Eastern offices, but Stuart Fuller, its managing global partner, has decided to step down by the year’s end, which has prompted an immediate search for a successor. Fuller will remain a partner with the firm, and will return to full-time practice in 2017. [Am Law Daily]

* Jones Day has teamed up with the American Bar Association to start VetLex, a program that will connect veterans with pro-bono and low-bono lawyers across the country. VetLex will be the first nationwide network dedicated to legal service referrals for veterans. The program will “revolutionize the way we deliver pro bono resources to veterans.” A hearty congratulations to Jones Day and the ABA! [Big Law Business]

* Former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois has been indicted for defrauding the government out of about $100,000 after allegedly submitting false invoices for the costs of redecorating his office with a “Downton Abbey” motif and various personal expenses. Schock’s attorney says the government is “criminalizing a handful of administrative mistakes” made by his client — six figures worth of alleged mistakes. [Chicago Tribune]

There are many good reasons for lawyers to use the cloud, per Bob Ambrogi; just ask the right questions of your vendor.