Autonomous cars

IP lawyers once again see that the most important skill we can develop is the ability to help our clients settle their cases.

* “Impartiality requires fair treatment for both sides, not merely for victims—even victims in a case as horrifying as this one.” Some are calling into question Judge Rosemarie Aquilina’s impartiality during Larry Nassar’s sentencing. [PrawfsBlawg]

* If you’re invited by the Supreme Court to brief and argue a case as an amicus curiae, you better believe that your career in the law is about to take off. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* A few of the New England Patriots visited Harvard Law to learn about inequities in the criminal justice system before securing a spot in the Super Bowl. [Harvard Law Today]

* Maybe your life won’t end if you get bad 1L grades — maybe it’ll be a whole new beginning. [LinkedIn]

* Here are some useful tips on how to avoid getting burned if someone asks you for your salary history when you’re applying for a job. [Corporette]

* Are you a law review nerd, a legal scholar, or professor obsessed with when your latest article will be published? Then you must check out the Law Review RSS Project. [Excess of Democracy]

* Can you get a DUI in a self-driving vehicle? In the future, the answer to this question may depend on how autonomous the vehicle is. [Versus Texas]

* The White House announces ten new judicial nominations, including two for circuit courts (previously predicted in these pages). We’ll have more on this later. [Washington Times]

* King & Spalding joins Jones Day and Sullivan & Cromwell as a “feeder firm” for the Trump administration. [Law.com]

* Will the Trump Justice Department’s possible attack on affirmative action succeed? Law professors disagree. [How Appealing]

* Michelle Carter, the woman convicted for basically texting her boyfriend into committing suicide, gets sentenced to 15 months. [ABA Journal]

* White-collar criminal defense lawyers discuss what to expect from the grand jury convened by special counsel Robert Mueller. [National Law Journal]

* The trend continues: fewer law school graduates, better employment statistics. [ABA Journal]

* Elliot Katz, a leading lawyer in the self-driving-car space, motors from DLA Piper to McGuireWoods. [Law.com]

* If you’ll be online in the afternoon on Wednesday, August 16, join me and ABA Legal Career Central for a Twitter chat about career paths for lawyers, especially alternative careers. [American Bar Association]

In-house columnist Mark Herrmann considers how different practice areas could be affected by the arrival of autonomous cars.