Arkansas
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Bad Ideas, Sex Scandals, State Judges
Judge Resigns After Thousands Of Photos Of Nude Defendants Are Found On His Computer
Wow... The judge was given notice to "not destroy [or] otherwise dispose of [his] paddle." - Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.01.16
* It really isn’t okay that there are children that go hungry. Harvard Law student Thomas Tobin knows there is something that can be done to alleviate the problem. [Arkansas Online]
* The Supreme Court rejected requests for expedited audio in today’s two big cases: Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt and U.S. v. Texas. When are we going to be able to force them to put cameras in there and be done with it? [Fix the Court]
* Are the lawyers to blame for the giant Sharp / Foxconn deal falling through at the last second? And what can be done to salvage it? The clock is ticking and stock prices are falling. [Quartz]
* Remember a few months ago when Republican governors were all butthurt about Syrian refugees? U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled Indiana Governor Mike Pence was way outta line about the whole mess. [Wonkette]
* The EEOC is going after employers that discriminate on the basis of sexuality, saying such actions are banned under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. About time. [Buzzfeed]
* Looking back at one of the worst Supreme Court decisions of all time to understand how important filling Justice Scalia’s seat really is. [Huffington Post]
* A Sikh officer in the Army is suing, complaining his religious observations have subjected him to increased testing. [New York Times]
* For those of you who missed last week’s event at NYU Law, here’s video from “Love, Law, and… Clerkships,” featuring Professor Barry Friedman, Judge Alison Nathan (S.D.N.Y.), and our very own David Lat. [YouTube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjX6wLQmMIM&index=1&list=PLBC7DDA1DA3578169
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Music
Johnny Cash Citation Forced Into High Court Opinion
A new dissent cites Johnny Cash for wisdom in addressing the rights of prisoners. That's actually a subject The Man In Black sang about a lot. -
Legal Ethics, State Judges
You Have To See The Shocking Allegations Against This Judge
Ever wonder what Lex Luthor would do if he were a state judge? -
Quote of the Day
Defense Counsel Doesn't Like 'Poopyheads'
A public defender has some fun with her filings. -
9th Circuit, Associate Salaries, Biglaw, California, Education / Schools, Federal Judges, Gay Marriage, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Rudeness, State Judges
Morning Docket: 05.15.14
* The times are a-changin’ for Biglaw in many ways, and lawyers may soon see their starting pay take a dive because clients think they “continue to be too expensive.” [WSJ Law Blog]
* Foley & Lardner plans to shutter its San Diego shop, following in the footsteps of other Biglaw behemoths. Not to worry, no one’s been laid off — that we know of, that is. [Am Law Daily]
* Say hello to Alabama Law’s new dean, Mark Brandon. Maybe he’ll be the man to propel the school to a #5 ranking in a publication other than National Jurist. ROLL TIDE! [National Law Journal]
* Earlier this week, an Idaho judge struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage, and now she’s refusing to issue a stay. Good on you, judge, but the Ninth Circuit may put those marriages in limbo for a while. [NPR]
* Speaking of judges who’re refusing to stay same-sex marriage rulings, last night, the Arkansas Supreme Court turned down the state attorney general’s request to put a stop to marriage equality. [USA Today]
* A lawyer working as Board of Education president in Mahopac, New York, resigned from his position after calling a PTA volunteer a “chubby wubby” at a school board meeting. That’s not very nice. [Journal News]
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Legal Ethics, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
42 States Get An 'F' In Judicial Ethics Study
Do you live in one of the 8 states that didn't get a failing grade? If so, don't get too excited... most of them got Ds. - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Attorney Misconduct, Breasts, Facebook, Guns / Firearms, Job Searches, Law Professors, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Old People
Morning Docket: 11.08.13
* A proposal to raise the retirement age for judges in New York was crushed by voters, but Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman has vowed to continue fighting the requirement — just like a stubborn old man. [New York Law Journal] * Which law schools have the highest percentage of graduates working as corporate directors or executive officers of companies? You might be surprised by some of the results. Or you might not. [National Law Journal] * Dean Lawrence Mitchell of Case Western Reserve Law wants parts of the retaliation suit that’s been filed against him tossed for being “scandalous” and “salacious.” But those are the best parts. :( [Cleveland Plain Dealer] * Thanks to a $25 million donation from an alumnus and his wife, Yale Law School is going to be getting dormitories for law students in the very near future. The thought of all of those coed nerdgasms between future SCOTUS clerks is a thing of beauty. [Fox News] * Clark Calvin Griffith, the former adjunct professor at William Mitchell Law, has been suspended from practicing law for 90 days after exposing his penis to a law student. Stiff punishment. [Pioneer Press] * If you were thinking of giving away guns on Facebook, then you should think again. The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun on the internet is with slideshows of the 572 best kitty cat gifs. [Corporate Counsel] * A police officer in Arkansas ordered a woman to flash him her boobs while she was at work, and when she refused, he allegedly Tasered her repeatedly. She’s obviously suing now. [New York Daily News] -
Law Schools, Student Loans
Actually Useful Studies About The Value Of Going To Law School
There is some really good research out there about the value of a law degree. -
Abortion, BP, Disasters / Emergencies
Things That Have Been Thrown Out Potpourri
If you don't like something, wait and the courts will probably overturn it. -
Barack Obama, Basketball, Death Penalty, Non-Sequiturs, Police, Shira Scheindlin, Sports, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Non-Sequiturs: 05.15.13
* New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg commissioned a report on SDNY Judge Shira Scheindlin in advance of her ruling on the NYPD’s controversial “hey, you’re black, come get a pat down” “stop-and-frisk” policy. According to the report, Judge Scheindlin is biased because she ruled against the NYPD in search and seizure cases 60% of the time. An alternative read is that the NYPD is really bad at following the Constitution. Occam’s Razor strikes again. [New York Daily News] * STRIKE!: Legal Services NYC walked off the job this morning after rejecting new contract offers. [New York Law Journal] * Pentagon Papers lawyer James C. Goodale thinks President Obama, whose administration seized phone records of journos, is worse than President Nixon, who tried to charge the New York Times for conspiracy to commit espionage. Because hyperbole is the awesomest thing in the world! [New York Observer] * A surplus of lawyers over law jobs exists in every state, and for most states the surplus has grown. I’m sure third-party litigation financing will solve all of this though. [Am Law Daily] * Tennessee law grad and judicial affairs director fired amid allegations she hooked up with Tennessee basketball player Trae Golden. [MStars News] * After revelations earlier that Arkansas wasn’t “buying American” and instead getting its death penalty drugs from the UK, the pharmaceutical company announced it would cut off the supply, joining a number of drug companies that are practically slowing executions around the country by limiting supply. [YubaNet] * After the post, check out the Biglaw firm using 4square way too much… -
Bar Exams, California, Law Schools, Rankings
Which State Has the Most Difficult Bar Exam?
You may be surprised when you take a look at the top 10 toughest tests.
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
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Abortion, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Has Everybody Noticed That States Are Now Openly Ignoring Roe v. Wade?
Science will make tomorrow's abortion debate very different than yesterday's... -
2nd Circuit, Abortion, Constitutional Law, Federal Circuit, Federal Government, Federal Judges, Insider Trading, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Rankings, U.S. News
Morning Docket: 03.12.13
* If you hate the government and you hate lawyers more, then you’ll love this. In the past five years, the feds have awarded $3.3 billion to more than 4,700 vendors for legal work. [National Law Journal]
* A year and a half after he was nominated for a Federal Circuit judgeship, and more than a year after his hearing, the Senate finally decided to confirm Richard Taranto. How kind. [Blog of Legal Times]
* Pretty pretty please? Zvi Goffer and Michael Kimmelman would really really like it if the Second Circuit could overturn their insider trading convictions due to unfairness. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* The U.S. News law school rankings are often criticized, and here’s why: if survey respondents “were asked about Princeton Law School, it would appear in the top 20. But it doesn’t exist.” [Chronicle of Higher Education]
* Nevermind the fact that law school applications are down, but Northwestern Law is doing the “responsible thing” and reducing the size of its incoming class — and raising tuition by 3% to boot. [Wall Street Journal]
* Jason Rapert, the Arkansas senator who passed a fetal-heartbeat abortion ban in his state, says he “has no time” for anyone who says it’s unconstitutional. To paraphrase, ain’t nobody got time for that. [New York Times]
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Abortion, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Deaths, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Insider Trading, Law Professors, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Securities and Exchange Commission, Tax Law
Morning Docket: 03.06.13
* Dewey was quick about getting its Chapter 11 plan confirmed, but all of these unfinished business claims are taking a little longer to resolve than previously hoped. But hey, at least Paul Hastings settled. [Am Law Daily]
* Because sometimes profit sharing isn’t enough: Theodore Freedman, a former Kirkland & Ellis partner, pleaded guilty to tax fraud after underreporting his partnership income by more than $2M. [New York Law Journal]
* Here are some tips if you’re trying to get off a law school’s wait list. Apparently it’s wise to wait patiently instead of being a complete gunner from the get go. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
* Imagine a land filled with millions of little Honey Boo Boos. That’s what the great state of Arkansas is going to look like if the legislature passes the most restrictive abortion law in the country. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]
* Not only do the Mavericks suck, but Mark Cuban’s luck in court does, too. His bid to toss an insider trading case was denied. He’d probably jump over the bench and have a fit if he could. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Dawn Clark Netsch, beloved Illinois pol and one of the nation’s first female law profs, RIP. [Chicago Tribune]
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Basketball, Football, Sports
Mom Hires Lawyer to Force Son to Go To The U. Amateurs!
When I decided to attend the University of Kansas (cheerfully described in its promotional material as the “UMass of the Midwest”), there was very little fanfare. There was no signing ceremony, no stage, no cameras. I dropped the envelope containing my application into the mailbox, raised the little red flag, and went back inside to […] -
Gambling, Litigators, New Jersey, Trusts and Estates
Follow The Bouncing Balls
Lotteries are life-changing for winners, but can become part of an attorney's livelihood -
2nd Circuit, Abortion, Attorney Misconduct, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Election 2012, Gay, Job Searches, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Lesbians, Morning Docket, Religion, Southern New England School of Law/Umass, Suicide
Morning Docket: 10.08.12
* Should Biglaw firms bill by the result instead of by the hour? When some of the results-oriented strategies involve reading less and writing faster to improve work efficiency, we’re not sure how well this would work in a law firm setting. [New York Times]
* Roller coaster of employment: after losing 1,400 jobs in August, the legal sector added 1,000 jobs in September. Alas, there are way more than 1,000 new bar admittees gunning for all of those paralegal and secretarial positions. [Am Law Daily]
* “They were throwing furniture at both of us.” Both sides on the Jacoby & Myers non-lawyer firm ownership case took a beating before the Second Circuit during oral arguments, but who won? [New York Law Journal]
* Come November, Floridians will vote on constitutional amendments that deal with abortion and separation of church and state. Meanwhile, half the voters won’t even read the entire ballot, so there’s that. [New York Times]
* A love triangle + an Arkansas Wal-Mart = a judicial suspension for Circuit Judge Sam Pope after an all-out brawl with… Bill Murray? Hey, at least this guy’s estranged wife got three punches in. [National Law Journal]
* Tyler Clementi’s family won’t file suit against Rutgers University and Dharun Ravi — instead, they’ll use the publicity from their son Tyler’s suicide for “positive purposes,” like supporting gay and lesbian youths. [CNN]
* “This guy is a bully, and he uses the court system to do it.” Robert V. Ward Jr., the former dean of UMass Law, had to deal with Gregory Langadinos, a serial law school litigant, and it wasn’t exactly pretty. [Boston Globe]
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Blogging, Contests, Marijuana, Non-Sequiturs, Paul Caron, Technology
Non-Sequiturs: 09.27.12
* A tipster writes: “PLEASE address this trash pile of an article… I’m begging you.” Well, here you go. [XOJane] * The controversy over Elizabeth Warren’s phantom law license continues. Here’s more analysis of her allegedly unlawful practice. [Legal Insurrection via League of Ordinary Gentlemen] * Cravat swine and more? Court approves punishment for necktie thief. [Blog of the Legal Times] * Where do Mitt Romney’s infamous 47 percent live? [TaxProf Blog] * Check out this legal technology writing contest. Seriously. You could win $5,000. Hell, maybe I’ll enter too. [IT-Lex] * Isn’t it oddly fitting that Bill Clinton’s home turf is the first southern state to consider allowing medical marijuana? [Fox News] * Lat gives some protips on launching a successful law blog. [Law360 (sub. req.)]