The Tetzlaff Aftermath: Discharging Student Loans In Bankruptcy Might Be Easier Than We Thought
Columnist Shannon Achimalbe wonders: are potentially eligible people being dissuaded from even trying to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy?
Non-Sequiturs: 01.12.16
* Even at a conference, Judge Easterbrook can be intimidating. [Business Law Prof Blog] * Boeing filed a patent to make air travel slight less hellish. Good luck with that. [Travel and Leisure] * Judge plans to stick Ammon Bundy's merry band of militia men playing terrorist out in the woods with the bill for their security... to the tune of $70,000 a day. [Raw Story] * Josh Duggar is such a loser he is even losing discovery battles like a pro. [Radar] * Lawyer Eric Macleish played a role in the legal battles over child abuse by Catholic priests in Boston (as recounted in the movie Spotlight). Whether he was a villain or victim in the saga is still up for debate. [Guile is Good] * Is it possibly true that you can really discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy? [My Bank Tracker] * If you're goofing off by pretending to work from home, don't give yourself away. [Daily Lawyer Tips]
Opus 2 Steps Up Its AI Game With Acquisition Of A Legal Tech Startup
With the addition of Uncover’s technology, the litigation software is delivering rapid innovation.
Morning Docket: 01.12.16
* Based on reading the oral-argument tea leaves, it sounds like the Supreme Court is about to school the teachers' unions (and public-sector unions more generally). [How Appealing] * Ring in the new year by making the register ring: a slew of Biglaw firms have secured (presumably lucrative) engagements working on the proposed $32 billion merger between drug makers Shire Plc and Baxalta Inc. [American Lawyer] * By a vote of 82-6, and after a wait of more than 400 days, the Senate just confirmed Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo to the Third Circuit, making him the first Hispanic federal judge from Pennsylvania to sit on that court. [Associated Press] * Good news for fantasy-sports fans: it's not (yet) "game over" for DraftKings and FanDuel, thanks to a stay issued by a New York appellate court. [Bloomberg News] * And bad news for student-loan-saddled law grads (like our own Shannon Achimalbe) who were hoping that SCOTUS might make it easier to discharge such debts through bankruptcy. [Wall Street Journal via ABA Journal] * Does Sean Penn face legal risk for his interview of El Chapo, the infamous Mexican drug lord? [ABA Journal] * A former federal prosecutor just secured a six-figure settlement and reinstatement from the Justice Department. [National Law Journal] * U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara -- who came so, so close to winning Lawyer of the Year honors -- announced that Governor Mario Cuomo is off the legal hook for his controversial shutdown of the Moreland Commission, a panel aimed at investigating public corruption. [Law360] * Avvo is starting to roll out a service featuring fixed-fee, limited-scope legal services through a network of attorneys (and Bob Ambrogi has the scoop). [Law Sites] * Professor Peter J. Henning explores the implications of the end of the government case against hedge fund magnate Steve Cohen. [DealBook / New York Times]
Non-Sequiturs: 01.08.16
* Texas Governor Greg Abbott is calling for a constitutional convention to add 9 new amendments to the constitution in the name of state rights. Texas, you're drunk, go home. [Dallas Morning News] * Clients are now demanding to text their lawyers. This is the official end of free time. [Daily Lawyer Tips] * Constructing the history of black pain. [Lawyers, Guns and Money] * The SEC has announced sanctions against Steven Cohen -- he'll be barred from managing hedge funds for two years. [Dealbreaker] * Dealing with ambiguity in bankruptcy law when it comes to liability payments. [Law and More] * A sandwich? You just committed armed robbery for a crappy sandwich? Bad decision, dude. [Legal Juice] * A great podcast previewing the trial of the Winter Soldier. [The Legal Geeks]
Are You There, SCOTUS? It’s Me, Tetzlaff. The Harsh Bankruptcy Discharge Rules Are Not Protecting The Integrity Of The Federal Student Loan Program
It's time for the courts or for Congress to act, according to columnist Shannon Achimalbe.
2 — No, 6! — Predictions For 2016
In-house columnist Mark Herrmann looks back on the predictions he made for 2015, which turned out to be correct, and makes new predictions for 2016.
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?
Morning Docket: 12.31.15
* In the wake of fired CEO Martin Shkreli's arrest for securities fraud, KaloBios Pharmaceuticals has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company will be repped by Hogan Lovells (and likely won't be charged 4,000 percent more than it should be). [Reuters] * "Not all of it is law at its grandest but all of it is the practice of law." Yet another contract attorney's suit for overtime pay has bitten the dust with a recent dismissal. This time, Quinn Emanuel was the Biglaw firm victorious in keeping doc reviewers downtrodden. [WSJ Law Blog] * Since Dechert decided to up the ante on first-year associate salaries, other Philadelphia Biglaw firms have responded in kind. Drinker Biddle has matched, while Pepper Hamilton and Cozen O'Connor are following close behind. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * Facebook needs a "dislike" button: The social media titan's suit against DLA Piper and Milberg for their defense of alleged con man Paul Ceglia in a fraudulent breach of contract case versus Zuckerberg's first baby was dismissed. [Buffalo Business First] * From "weird to wildly costly," check out some of the craziest malpractice cases that were filed against Biglaw firms during the course of 2015. The McDermott Will & Emery elder abuse case here is particularly creative. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
Are You There, SCOTUS? It’s Me, Tetzlaff. Why The U.S. Supreme Court Should Resolve The Student Loan Bankruptcy Conflict
It's high time for the Supreme Court to clarify how student loans get treated in bankruptcy, according to columnist Shannon Achimalbe.
Don’t Waste Your Time Trying To Get Your Law School Debts Discharged In Bankruptcy
Your law school debt will likely be with you for the rest of your life, no matter how difficult it is to repay it.
Morning Docket: 12.11.15
* "[W]e refuse to be distracted by disgruntled employees or frivolous lawsuits." Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby is being accused of firing a handful of prosecutors due to their political associations in a newly filed lawsuit. [Baltimore Sun] * Texas Wesleyan wants to dismiss a suit filed by its "disavowed" law school grads because it says its obligation "ended with their graduation," so it doesn't need to grant them alumni status with Texas A&M Law. Harsh. [Courthouse News Service] * Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy will soon sign an executive order banning those on the federal no-fly list from purchasing guns in the state. Professor Eugene Volokh thinks that this policy is constitutionally controversial. Do you agree? [WSJ Law Blog] * Vinson & Elkins is moving its Dallas headquarters to a fancy $200 million building, where it'll fill up 80,000 sq ft of office space in 2018. How nice for you! Now be nice to your associates and announce your Cravath bonus matches. [Dallas Morning News] * What's the best way to get out of paying millions of dollars to lawyers who you hired to perform complex legal work? If you're hurting for cash, then take a cue from this New Jersey firm and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to ditch your drama. [Bergen Record]
Filevine’s New Legal AI Platform LOIS Turns AI Into A True Legal Coworker
Legal work isn’t slowing down, and the firms that win won’t be the ones working harder — they’ll be the ones working smarter.
Reinventing The Law Business: What Can The New ‘Star Wars’ Movie Teach Us? Porter’s Five Forces Applied To The Legal Profession (Part 2)
Managing partner Bruce Stachenfeld applies the insights of Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter to the business of law -- specifically, bankruptcy law.
Morning Docket: 12.02.15
* Did 50 Cent's lawyers spend too much of the bankrupt rapper's money while representing him? With $123,455.92 in expenses, sex-tape plaintiff Lastonia Leviston says Fiddy's lawyers from Brewer Attorneys & Counselors were partying like it was their birthday throughout trial. [New York Daily News] * Roger Ailes, the chairman and CEO of Fox News, isn't laughing at ABC's news comedy called Fair and Balanced. Fox trademarked that slogan in 1997, and Ailes says ABC "wouldn't know fair and balanced if it hit them in the ass with a fish." [Adweek] * Following in Dentons' footsteps, yet another Biglaw firm has entered into a "strategic alliance" with a Chinese firm. McGuireWoods will create a referral network with FuJae Partners, but there's no talk of a merger -- yet. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * NJ Gov. Chris Christie says he's been researching legal action he can take against Syrian refugees who have been placed in his state. He's acknowledged it's a federal issue, but this would-be president is going to try to oust them anyway. [NJ Advance Media] * The Illinois Department of Corrections has been suing newly released inmates to recover the cost of their room and board while they were incarcerated. Lovely. This surely "raise[s] moral questions that legislators need to address." [Chicago Tribune]
Morning Docket: 11.23.15
* Will it ever be easier to meet the challenge of proving you've got an undue hardship so you can discharge your law school student loan debts in bankruptcy? Your fate may rest in the hands of this indebted Florida Coastal Law grad and his petition for certiorari at the Supreme Court. [US Law Week Blog / Bloomberg] * Hate crimes still happen, even at this prestigious law school: Amid increased racial turbulence on campus, the Harvard University Police Department is now investigating the defacing of black law professors' portraits as a hate crime. [ABC News] * UVA Law recently joined the minority of law schools that have women serving as dean. Pop your collars with pride, because legal historian Risa Goluboff will take over as the school's first female dean this July. Congratulations! [Richmond Times-Dispatch] * Gordon Rees has settled its lawsuit against Alex Rodriguez over the baseball player's outstanding legal bills, totaling more than $380,000. The terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, but we have a feeling that the firm hit it out of the park. [NBC New York] * Try before you buy or a bid to increase tourism? Alaska is making bold moves now that it's legalized marijuana for recreational use. It'll be the first state to allow the social use of the drug "in public," i.e., inside pot dispensaries that have yet to open. [Cannabist]
Reinventing The Law Business: Porter’s 5 Forces Applied to the Legal Profession (Part 1)
Managing partner Bruce Stachenfeld applies the insights of Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter to the business of law -- and starts by defining a key term.
Morning Docket: 10.09.15
* Bob McCulloch, the prosecutor who handled (mishandled?) the Michael Brown / Darren Wilson case in Ferguson, Missouri, was recently named as "Prosecutor of the Year" by the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. This probably wasn't a good idea. [Slate] * American Apparel filed for bankruptcy, and rather than Biglaw firms representing the embattled clothier, they're trying to snatch up fees. Skadden, White & Case, and Paul Hastings are each owed quite the pretty penny. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Which law school dean was just named as senior counsel at Dentons, the largest law firm in the world? That would be Nicholas Allard of Brooklyn Law School. Perhaps this law dean's academic cash flow wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle] * "Unless the industry cleans itself up, we can expect more lawsuits like this in the future." In an interesting turn of events, the marijuana industry is now seeing its first product liability suit. A protip for growers: No one wants to smoke fungicide. [Los Angeles Times] * Just when you thought patent trolls couldn't get any worse, they started to harass members of the fashion industry. Copyright trolls (i.e., Stephen Doniger and Scott Alan Burroughs) are suing over textile prints left and right, and that's so last season. [Fortune]