There Are Puppies in SmallLaw
What do you do if you need puppies to handle stressful situations? Try SmallLaw.
Pot For Pets: Snake Oil Or The Real Deal?
You should probably think twice before giving pet store CBD to your beloved dog or cat...
AI Is Killing Legal’s Billable Hour. It’s Also Repeating Its Worst Mistake
Law firms and legal departments are writing the future of the profession in separate rooms. What happens when they actually work together?
The Strangest CLE Courses You Didn’t Know Existed
Roll out your yoga mat and get your game face on: There’s more to learn from CLE than transaction tips. Discover five out-of-the-box courses.
Texas Supreme Court Lays Down The Law Of Dog Care
Some say law has gone to the dogs...
SeaWorld Won’t Free Willy, But Will Stop Making New Ones
A triumph of public persuasion over brute force regulation.
Monkey See, Monkey Do? Not When It Comes To Copyright Law
Enough of this monkey business!
Schenck Price Competes Smarter With Lexis+ With Protégé
LexisNexis sat down with John Ursin, Managing Partner at Schenck Price, to learn how the firm is using legal AI to strengthen client service and daily legal work.
The Introduction To A Motion That You Really Must Read
Insert Ninth Circuit joke here.
Morning Docket: 10.13.15
* Zimbabwe officials won't charge Dr. Walter Palmer in the slaying of Cecil the lion since he had proper paperwork, but he likely won't be allowed to hunt if he ever returns. This will not stand. It's now time for the American vigilante animal-lover justice team to assemble. [Reuters] * Per the results of two new surveys, Biglaw firms can stop worrying about their work drying up thanks to in-house law departments keeping matters in-house. Outside spending on legal counsel is flat as opposed to in the negative, and that's apparently something to celebrate. [WSJ Law Blog] * This school puts the "duh" in Flori-duh: As we mentioned previously, Ave Maria School of Law was the caboose on the trainwreck that was the July 2015 administration of the Florida bar exam, and now people can't stop staring at the wreckage. [Naples Daily News] * The Cannabis Law and Policy Project, a new group at the University of Washington School of Law, will spend the next year researching existing and emerging markets for marijuana. We can't wait for them to puff, puff, pass on their knowledge. [UW Today] * If you're planning to take the LSAT with testing accommodations, there are a few things that you need to know. Find out what types of accommodations are available, and be sure to file your -- OMG, SQUIRREL! [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
Goat-Sacrificing Lawyer Making Headlines Again
Longtime readers were not surprised by the recent controversy surrounding a Florida lawyer.
What’s The Upside When PETA Sues A Wildlife Photographer?
Sometimes it's hard to figure out what public interest a public interest lawyer serves?
AI Is Reshaping Legal Practice—But Tools Aren’t The Real Differentiator.
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
Morning Docket: 09.29.15
* PETA's general counsel swears his organization isn't monkeying around when it comes to asserting the IP rights of Naruto the selfie-taking monkey, but he may have to deal with a jungle of jurisdictional issues first. [Motherboard / VICE] * Mmmm, Dewey smell a mistrial? On the eighth day of deliberations in the criminal trial of D&L's former leaders, the jurors likely made defense counsels' hearts skip a beat when they asked the judge for instructions on what to do concerning their undecided colleagues. [WSJ Law Blog] * Chief Justice John Roberts, who has voted conservatively in 85 percent of the Supreme Court's most divisive 5-4 decisions, apparently isn't conservative enough for our conservatives. It's the damn Affordable Care Act. Thanks, Obama. [New York Times] * According to the latest Acritas Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index 2015, for the sixth year running, Baker & McKenzie has the most recognizable Biglaw brand in the world. DLA Piper will continue to "churn [those] bill[s], baby!" in second place. [PR Web] * Take the deal: Ex-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who's accused of hiding large sums used as hush money to conceal his prior sexual misconduct, is negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors. If he were convicted at trial, he'd face up to 10 years in prison. [Reuters]
Could The Ninth Circuit Fall For This Monkey Business?
What to make of this legal theory -- fascinating, or frivolous?
Non-Sequiturs: 08.19.15
* Unsurprising: Donald Trump does not understand the U.S. Constitution and its Amendments. Surprising: Bill O'Reilly comes off as a defender of the 14th Amendment. [Politico] * On the subject of Donald Trump and birthright citizenship: here's a primer on the history of the law. [The Guardian] * An analysis of the laws and contracts that govern student athletes. You already know they get screwed, right? [Legal Blitz] * Apparently animal trials -- actual animals on trial -- were a real thing. Mind blown. [Slate] * Even famous people have to deal with legal technicalities. [Jezebel] * Is Hillary blowing it when it comes to her tone? Is her legal training to blame? [Law and More]
Morning Docket: 08.18.15
* Talk about Texas justice: After an elderly couple called animal control on a family with four dogs and caused them to be assessed a $121 fine, the dog-owning family posted this eloquently worded sign on their lawn. [San Francisco Chronicle] * Chicago Blawkhawks hockey player Patrick Kane has been accused of rape, so naturally, his lawyer took to Facebook to defend his client in a hat trick of idiocy by engaging with bloggers, commenters, and witnesses, as one does. [CBS Chicago] * Just when you thought you'd memorized all of the hearsay exceptions, the judiciary says it's thinking of tossing one out. It may be popular on the bar exam, but it's time to say goodbye to the otherwise rarely used ancient documents rule. [National Law Journal] * British firms are borrowing "record sums" to fund expansion, and many have increased associate pay to compete with the U.S. firms with higher pay scales across the pond. Perhaps Biglaw firms ought to consider spreading the wealth over here. [Financial Times] * After having served 10 months in prison for killing his girlfriend, a law school graduate turned model, Oscar Pistorius is ready to move on to "mansion arrest" for the remainder of his sentence. Man, it must be nice to be a wealthy convict in South Africa. [Reuters]
Morning Docket: 08.05.15
* “There are no bathrooms, no air-conditioning, no good food. You don’t usually get good cellphone reception, either, and you can’t just quit and go somewhere comfortable.” Surprisingly, this Biglaw partner isn't talking about his firm's working conditions. [Miami Herald] * It's going to be difficult for U.S. authorities to prosecute Walter Palmer, the dentist who killed Zimbabwe's beloved lion, Cecil. Bringing this guy down under the Lacey Act is going to be a real task. If only this were a Pixar movie with a happy ending. :( [Reuters] * SCOTUS justices are jet-setting across the world this summer, with RBG in South Korea and Vietnam, Roberts in Japan, Scalia in Italy, Kennedy in Austria, and Breyer in England. Let's hope no one has to evacuate a plane via emergency chute. [National Law Journal] * If you're considering applying to law school and you decide to visit one this summer, aside from students huddled in dark corners of the library who are crying over their employment prospects, there are a few things you should be looking for. [U.S. News] * The mother of Sandra Bland, the woman who hanged herself in a Texas jail cell last month, has filed a wrongful-death suit, alleging that her daughter shouldn't have been arrested in the first place and was improperly supervised by guards. [New York Times]