Antonin Scalia

Ed. note: Due to the Labor Day holiday, we will be on a reduced publication schedule today, and observing the holiday on Monday. Hope everyone has an enjoyable, restful, and long weekend. * Fans are demanding that Los Angeles bill the Rams for increased police expenditures. So… where will the Rams threaten to move next year? […]

This is what happens when you have horny kids and a recalcitrant Congress...

The end of a most unexpected Term.

* “NEW CIVILITY WATCH: Dem Senate candidate and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland: Scalia’s death ‘happened at a good time.'” [Instapundit]

* A Skull and Bones society for top NYC law firms? Professor Rick Swedloff discusses a secretive group whose membership includes some of Biglaw’s biggest names. [SSRN]

* A notable new petition (filed by Professor Orin Kerr and Marcia Hofmann) in a high-profile appeal about the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. [Volokh Conspiracy]

* Donald Trump’s infamous “Second Amendment” quip is protected by the First Amendment — but just barely, according to Professor Noah Feldman. [Bloomberg View via How Appealing]

* Jury consultant Roy Futterman of DOAR wonders: is concern about prejudicing jurors actually driving them to using the internet for decision-making? [Big Law Business]

* Could the ABA someday lose its power to accredit law schools? Steven J. Harper thinks its day of reckoning is coming closer. [The Belly of the Beast]

Where does the Notorious RBG stand on what constitutes a 'golf tip'?

These laws were passed under the assumption that the conservative Supreme Court would provide legal cover to the efforts at racial disenfranchisement.

* In case you haven’t been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Duval & Stachenfeld; Seyfarth Shaw; and Foley & Lardner. If you’re worried you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]

* Lawyers are “the best-paid writers in the world,” so grammar god Bryan Garner suggests they emulate one of the greatest language snoots of them all: the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Garner identifies with Scalia’s textualism because “[he] believe[s] that words have meaning, and that we should take them seriously.” [Wall Street Journal]

* According to constitutional law scholar Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of UC Irvine Law, SCOTUS may be at a turning point since the next president will likely be able nominate up to four justices. “Whether you see yourself as conservative or liberal … this affects all of us, our most intimate and important aspects of our lives.” [Los Angeles Times]

* Lawyers for Led Zeppelin are seeking about $800K in costs and legal fees for their defense of the seminal rock band in the “Stairway to Heaven” copyright infringement suit. Peter Anderson, the band’s lead counsel in the case, claims that his $330 per hour rate is “actually below” the going rate for this caliber of high-profile work. [Ars Technica]

* Venezuelan authorities have arrested a woman connected to Mossack Fonseca, the firm at the center of the Panama Papers scandal, for allegedly being “in charge of seeking customers to invest illicit funds in outsourcing-type business arrangements.” She’s been charged with illegally obtaining funds in violation of banking regulations. [Reuters]

* In case you haven’t been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Kaye Scholer, Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst, and Kasowitz Benson. If you’re worried you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, you can check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]

* Brexit isn’t just the financial undoing of a nation anymore: Boston Beer, the brewer of Sam Adams Boston Lager, has filed an intent-to-use trademark application to turn Brexit into a hard cider made from apples sourced in the UK. Just close your eyes, think of England, and take a swig before the next time you look at your 401(k). [WSJ Law Blog]

* This term at the Supreme Court was a big letdown for conservatives. First, Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, and then the high court continued to shift leftwards, leading liberals to prevail in some of the Court’s most influential decisions, from affirmative action to abortion rights. Better luck next term, conservatives. [Washington Post]

* Even though the school has offered buyouts to all of its tenured faculty and laid off staff, Dean Andrea Lyon says the worst is over for Valparaiso Law. Meanwhile, the school’s former dean says it could close, but doesn’t think it’s likely. Right now, he’s more worried about whether Valpo’s former students will survive. [Indiana Lawyer]

* Trinity Western University may have to take its law school aspirations to the Supreme Court of Canada. As it stands, there are three provinces that refuse to accredit the law school based on the fact that students and staff must sign a discriminatory covenant to abstain from sexual activity unless it’s between husband and wife. [CBC News]

* Former TV Judge Joe Brown can no longer practice law in Tennessee because he’s been placed on disability inactive status. Brown had a petition for discipline filed against him this fall after an unseemly outburst in court, which he now blames on complications from diabetes medication, hypertension, and stress. Get well soon. [Commercial Appeal]

* In case you haven’t been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that have recently raised salaries: Thompson & Knight, Chapman & Cutler, Sterne Kessler, Edelson, and BakerHostetler. If you’re ever worried that you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, you can check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]

* Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, who is known well for his longtime feud with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, isn’t going to let a little thing like death keep him from lobbing “posthumous swipe[s]” at the deceased jurist. Constitutional historian David Bernstein was quick to call Judge Posner’s comments “revolting.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* “The ruling deals a crushing blow to this most recent wave of state efforts to shut off access to abortion though hyper-regulation.” The Supreme Court’s decision in Whole Woman’s Health could open doors to challenges to other laws concerning restrictions on abortions — or inspire narrowly tailored anti-abortion legislation. [New York Times]

* “[O]ur concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.” In case you were too caught up with the abortion-rights decision, SCOTUS also tossed former Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell’s conviction. [NPR]

* The aftermath of the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum has left law firms in Great Britain scrambling to provide answers to questions about legal uncertainties. From Baker & McKenzie to Allen & Overy to Clifford Chance, several Biglaw firms are trying to assist their clients with webinars, white papers, and 24-hour hotlines. [ABA Journal]

* Tony Villegas was convicted of the murder of Melissa Britt Lewis, a former partner at Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein’s firm. Villegas blamed Lewis for the breakup of his marriage thanks to her friendship with his ex-wife, who once served as the Rothstein firm’s chief operating officer. Villegas was sentenced to life in prison. [Sun-Sentinel]

Remember she was not the first choice...

What's the best way to celebrate a law school name change that's been widely criticized? With your very own vanity license plate!

* Tiger-blooded warlock Charlie Sheen sued by American Express over $287,879 in debt. #Winning. [Courthouse News Service]

* It’s really happening, folks! Get ready for ASSLaw. [Washington Post]

* Morgan Lewis knows how to play both sides — the firm is handling Donald Trump’s tax returns and accompanying controversy while simultaneously vetting Hillary Clinton’s possible running mates. [Law.com]

* Law school announces a technological innovation concentration… because programming the next LawyerBot is probably the only hope these students have for jobs in 10 years. [Northwestern Pritzker School of Law]

* Cuneo Gilbert attorneys said that they felt threatened when former colleague Preetpal Grewal emailed another former colleague stating she wanted “to kill” them in connection with her national origin discrimination suit. Someone’s overreacting here. [Law360]

* The SEC targets a patent troll and a former Fulbright & Jaworski and Bracewell associate in an unrelated securities fraud case. [The Am Law Daily]

* Neil Sedaka may have thought “Breakin’ Up Is Hard To Do” but for law firms, mergers are the tough part. [National Law Journal]

* The justice gap for poor civil litigants keeps on growing. [The Nation]

* As the Obama administration pushes for recognition of transgender rights, the transgender community may have found an unlikely ally: the late Justice Antonin Scalia. His opinion in the 1998 Oncale decision on sex discrimination was cited in the administration’s letter to public school officials warning them that gender-identity discrimination was prohibited by civil rights laws. A former Scalia clerk has called it an “absurd misreading of Title IX.” [Los Angeles Times]

* We’re now in the home stretch of the Supreme Court’s term, and with upcoming rulings on affirmative action, abortion, contraceptive coverage, immigration, and Puerto Rico’s debt, it’s going to get harder and harder for the justices to avoid 4-4 splits. In the majority of these cases, they’ll have to stop agreeing to disagree so it doesn’t look like we’ve got a Court in controversy with many deadlocks. [Bloomberg Politics]

* The State Bar of California has been criticized over a lack of transparency as to its finances, and in particular, its “rampant spending” on executive salaries. In fact, those at the top of the food chain at the California Bar earn salaries which exceed that of the state’s governor, who earns nearly $180,000 per year. That’s a lot of cash to fail more than half of the state’s bar-exam takers (more on that later today)! [WSJ Law Blog]

* “She has single-handedly stuck a knife in the back of every Uber driver in the country. The entire class was thrown under the bus and backed over.” Shannon Liss-Riordan, the lawyer who arranged a $100 million settlement deal in the Uber class-action over drivers’ employment status, is being attacked by her own clients, and now other lawyers are trying to have her removed as lead attorney on the case. [Chicago Tribune]

* “They give their young workers Ping-Pong tables and take away their constitutional rights.” That’s not a work perk companies are willing to brag about. More and more technology startups are embracing arbitration agreements to prevent their employees from filing lawsuits over workplace disputes that could have potentially ruinous financial effects on their bottom lines if they were litigated in court. [DealBook / New York Times]

The noted legal writing expert offers insights for litigators who have already mastered the basics.

They just won't give up, no matter how stupid it is.

* Arizona Law’s plans to scrap the LSAT in favor of the GRE has angered the Law School Admission Council terribly. In fact, LSAC’s general counsel says the school’s new policy may violate the organization’s bylaws, so it may boot Arizona Law from its membership, thereby cutting the school out of its applications and admissions clearinghouse. We’ll have more on this news later today. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

* Tom Brady of the New England Patriots hasn’t filed an appeal of the Second Circuit’s reinstatement of his four-game suspension yet, but you can bet your ass that it’s coming soon, because the quarterback just made the ultimate Hail Mary legal hire by adding Ted Olson to his team of lawyers. Sports fans can look forward to a bid for an en banc Second Circuit hearing, or even a possible flea flicker to the Supreme Court. [NBC Sports]

* “Republicans haven’t been satisfied to simply hobble the court’s ability to function. In recent weeks, they have gone to remarkable lengths to impugn the integrity of the justices and thus the legitimacy of the court.” The New York Times Editorial Board has a piece that essentially begs Republicans to stop their shenanigans, give Judge Merrick Garland a hearing, and “rescue the Supreme Court from limbo.” [New York Times]

* Law firm merger mania is already in full bloom this spring, but which Biglaw firm was one of the first to bite the bullet? It looks like it’s Husch Blackwell, which is merging with Milwaukee-based Whyte Hirschboek Dudek, effective July 1. The combined firm will have more than 700 attorneys, 19 offices, and it will likely be among the country’s 100 top-grossing law firms. We hope redundancy layoffs won’t follow. [Journal-Sentinel]

* “We respect other professors’ point of view, but it’s less than (8 percent) of the academic faculty.” Some professors are outraged over Mason Law being renamed after the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but the university isn’t budging, and plans to stick with its new name since administrators “believe that the Antonin Scalia Law School, once it’s approved, will be one of the top law schools in the country.” [Big Law Business]

* Law students, you make think you know what a gunner is, but you haven’t met this prodigy yet. Eighteen-year-old Ahmed Mohamed will be the first student to attend the University of Southern Florida College of Medicine and the Stetson University College of Law at the same time. If you hurry, you may be able to convince this genius to join your study group. You’ll surely be the envy of all of your new friends. [ABC Action News]

* Given the fact that Senate Republicans have remained firm in their opposition to Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland receiving a confirmation hearing, it seems all the more likely that the vacancy left on the high court by the late Justice Antonin Scalia will remain unfilled until after Election 2016. [Bloomberg Politics]

* But is someone having a change of heart? “I would have to admit it’s a gamble.” Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, claims that while he hasn’t second-guessed his decision not to hold confirmation hearings for Judge Garland, that it’s anyone’s guess as to who Donald Trump would choose to fill the position if elected as president. [Huffington Post]

* “He said that I had to keep my attorney happy.” A Texas lawyer who was accused of trading sex with court-appointed clients for performing legal work was recently indicted on 18 counts of sexual assault and 17 counts of compelling prostitution. He faces up to 20 years in prison. We may have more on these allegations of misconduct later. [KSAT]

* As we mentioned previously, Judge Rosemary Collyer of the District Court for the District of Columbia will be taking senior status on May 18, but we didn’t know that she was chosen by Chief Judge John Roberts to take over as the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court the next day. Congrats! [National Law Journal]

* Biglaw gets in on the green rush: Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has partnered with Americans for Safe Access Foundation, a medical marijuana advocacy group, to update a series of manuals on state medical marijuana laws. In the future, Orrick attorneys will man a hotline for medical marijuana patients in need of legal advice. [Am Law Daily]

* James Hurlock, former two-decade chairman of White & Case, RIP. [Big Law Business]

* Dig if you will the picture, of you and I engaged in a… probate battle? Uh-oh! In documents filed in a Carver County, Minnesota, probate court, Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, claims that the music icon — whose estate is said to have been valued at about $300 million — died without a will. [USA Today]

* “[L]ook, if he’s not our nominee, I think he would be a great replacement for Scalia.” Despite the fact that Senator Ted Cruz previously insisted that he wasn’t interested in being nominated to replace the late Antonin Scalia as a SCOTUS justice, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) thinks Cruz is the man for the job. [The Hill]

* Dentons says $2 million was “erroneously allocated” to McKenna Long & Aldridge partners during a merger with Luce Forward, and now the Biglaw behemoth really wants the money back. Partner’s aren’t pleased, griping that “this is a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of merging with Dentons.” [National Law Journal via Big Law Business]

* Today is sentencing day for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. The accused child abuser faces up to five years in prison for attempting to cover up his hush-money payoffs, but prosecutors have asked that he serve no more than six months. We wonder how his Biglaw supporters will feel if he receives a stiff sentence. [Chicago Sun-Times]

* Indiana Tech Law School will soon hold a commencement ceremony for its inaugural graduating class of 21 students. These soon-to-be law school graduates say that one of the main reasons they chose to attend the school was its low cost of tuition. Not having a lot of debt is a great thing when your job prospects are uncertain. Congrats! [21Alive]

* Has the death of Justice Scalia turned the Supreme Court more liberal? [Empirical SCOTUS]

* The best Supreme Court sketch featuring a sleeping Clarence Thomas you will see all year. [Slate]

* “We’re all just people. Trying to pee in peace.” A trans activist speaks out about North Carolina’s discriminatory bathroom law. [Buzzfeed]

* An update on the legal problems plaguing Uber. [Huffington Post]

* The diplomatic strategy involved in expanding intellectual property rights. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

* Serving lattes instead of having a law library. [3 Geeks and a Law Blog]

* Professors at George Mason are outraged that administrators agreed to rename the law school after the late Justice Antonin Scalia without any input from the people who work or study there — his opinions don’t “reflect the values of our campus community.” They’re circulating a petition to denounce the name change, but thus far, none of its signatories are law professors. [NBC News]

* “I would appreciate if we could keep things that are very serious here appropriately viewed that way.” 50 Cent got yelled at by his bankruptcy judge because he brought his cellphone into the courthouse, took a picture of himself with a stack of fake cash, and posted it on Instagram. A motion to dismiss this wanksta is needed. [WSJ Law Blog]

* SCOTUS will hear oral arguments on the appeal of securities fraud case Salman v. United States next term, and Eugene Ingoglia of Morvillo L.L.P. hopes the justices will provide some greater detail as to “what counts as a personal benefit.” Let’s just hope that they don’t make insider trading’s road any rockier. [DealBook / New York Times]

* “The district court’s ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin.” You know that when an appellate holding begins with the prior statement, the trial judge is going to be in for a doozy of a benchslap. We’ll have more on the First Circuit slapping around Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez (D.P.R.) later today. [BuzzFeed]

* Jamie Wine, who was recently appointed as the chair of Latham’s global litigation and trial department, says even though L&W already has 610 litigators, she’s looking to hire more of them in the firm’s New York and London offices. If you think you want to lateral in, you should know you may be meeting with up to 50 partners. [Big Law Business]

* Hiring for law school summer associates may be on the rise, but you shouldn’t assume this means you’ll automatically be able to land a job at a prestigious law firm. These firms tend to “put a high value on law school pedigree and grades,” so if you happen to attend a lesser school, you’ll need to be ranked very highly. [U.S. News & World Report]