Antonin Scalia

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  • Morning Docket: 03.16.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.16.18

    * Vanessa Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, filed for an uncontested divorce against Donald Trump Jr. Apparently Jr.’s controversial tweets destroyed their marriage. At least they’re not destroying a country. [Page Six]

    * Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was forced to plead with senior officials at the Justice Department not to fire him just days before his expected retirement. This man has a pension, and he wants to keep it, even if he has to beg. Let’s see if he was able to change anyone’s mind. Cross your fingers… [Washington Post]

    * The late Justice Antonin Scalia’s judicial legacy is being quietly erased each time members of the Supreme Court examine legislative history. The legal legend absolutely, positively hated using legislative history to interpret laws, and it’s been happening more frequently since his death. [New York Times]

    * Never could’ve seen this coming: Mossack Fonseca, the law firm behind the Panama Papers, will be closing by the end of the month. “The reputational deterioration, the media campaign, the financial siege, and the irregular actions of some Panamanian authorities have caused irreparable damage” to the firm. [American Lawyer]

    * If you haven’t been following @LadyLawyerDiary on Twitter, you should start. It’s a community for women lawyers to talk about exactly what’s going on behind closed doors in the legal profession by “outing stupid sexist stuff” and celebrating women’s successes. It’s a great place to find support, so join up soon. [Big Law Business]

  • Morning Docket: 02.14.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.14.18

    * “Plaintiffs’ claim to being the only ones in the world who can refer to players playing and haters hating is frivolous.” Taylor Swift has successfully shaken off an absurd copyright infringement lawsuit thanks to her lawyer’s player-hating. [THR, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter]

    * President Trump has nominated 87 judges thus far, and of those nominees, 80 are white, five are Asian-American, one is Hispanic, and one is African-American. Trump’s nominees are 92 percent white, which “turns the clock back on years of work and effort that went into promoting judicial diversity.” [USA Today]

    * Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! What better way for a law firm to celebrate the special occasion than to offer a free divorce? We may have more on this later. [UPI]

    * Yesterday was the second anniversary of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, and [t]hanks to [his] disruption, the Supreme Court may never be the same.” Admirers, critics, and clerks share their memories of the man, the myth, the legend. [National Law Journal]

    * Elizabeth Rose, a former employee of Vice Media, has filed a proposed class-action suit against the company, alleging that women were “systemically and intentionally” paid less than their male counterparts in violation of equal pay laws in New York and California, as well as in violation of the Equal Pay Act. [Los Angeles Times]

    * Judge Sandra Townes, the first African-American woman to be appointed to the Eastern District of New York, has died of cancer at 73. RIP. [New York Law Journal]

  • Morning Docket: 10.09.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.09.17

    Ed. note: In honor of Columbus Day (and Canadian Thanksgiving), Above the Law will be on a reduced publication schedule. We’ll be back in full force tomorrow.

    * Justice Neil Gorsuch’s arrival as a member of the Supreme Court hasn’t been the most graceful, and word on the street is that some of his new colleagues on the bench may bear some ill will towards him. A rift might even be developing between Gorsuch and Chief Justice Roberts. [CNN]

    * Because Gorsuch is the Supreme Court’s newest justice, he has to share his office with Leroy. He’s being hazed by Scalia from beyond the grave. [Associated Press]

    * As part of its new legal strategy in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian election interference investigation, the Trump administration has decided to — gasp! — be cooperative. Trump’s lawyers think that maybe if they play nice, Mueller will publicly clear the president’s name a little more quickly, or at all. [New York Times]

    * In other news, President Trump took to Twitter this weekend to invoke the Federal Communications Commission’s equal time rules because he’s sick and tired of “unfunny” late-night TV hosts making fun of him without an opportunity to respond in kind. Perhaps you ought to stick with Twitter, Mr. President. [Fox News]

    * Much like what happened with Traci Ribeiro’s case against Sedgwick, Winston & Strawn is trying to push Constance Ramos, a partner who left the firm amid allegations of gender bias and discrimination, into arbitration. [Am Law Daily]

    * Lisa Bloom has been criticized left and right for taking on Harvey Weinstein as a client. Even her own mother, Gloria Allred, objected. Because mother knows best, Bloom resigned as counsel. Lanny Davis has also left the producer’s legal team. Down two lawyers, Weinstein was fired from his own company. [New York Times]

    * A Michigan judge recently awarded joint legal custody and parenting time to a rape victim’s attacker. The child involved in this case is an 8-year-old boy, and the fellow who sexually assaulted his mother also happens to be a convicted sex offender. According to the victim’s attorney, “[t]his is insane”; she’s not wrong. [Detroit News]