Bankruptcy

The Seventh Circuit affirms: $260,000 in educational debt for a law school grad can't be discharged in bankruptcy.

* A jury has ruled that rapper 50 Cent must pay an additional $2 million in punitive damages to a woman whose sex tape he posted online, on top of the $5 million he already owes her. This wanksta better hope the judgment gets discharged in bankruptcy. [Associated Press]

* California is America’s breeding ground for unaccredited law schools, and “[m]ost jurisdictions simply don’t allow [these] kind of law school[s] to exist at all. Period.” Nearly all students (about 9 out of 10) drop out before graduation. How much money is being wasted? [Los Angeles Times]

* Since 2007, the pay gap between the highest- and lowest-paid positions in many specialized fields has widened — but that isn’t the case when it comes to the legal profession. Unfortunately, not as many people are making it rain. [New York Times]

* “[M]aybe legislation should fix this. Not the court.” A San Diego judge has suggested that he’ll likely dismiss a right-to-die lawsuit filed by Christy O’Donnell, a civil rights attorney who’s fighting a battle against lung, brain, spine, rib, and liver cancer. [NBC San Diego]

* You’ve seen reactions to Harper Lee’s portrayal of Atticus Finch as a racist in Go Set A Watchman (affiliate link) from everyone and their mother and their dog, but maybe you haven’t seen reactions from law professors yet, so have a look. [National Law Journal]

* “Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys potheads.” Country singer-songwriter and OG stoner Willie Nelson says marijuana will be legal in all 50 states within the next decade. Who knows, maybe his cannabis-crazed dreams will come true. [San Antonio Express-News]

* Where do lonely hearts go? To court. This ex-Illinois Law student was accused of stalking a classmate and barred setting foot on campus for a two-year time period. A new trial was ordered, and now he may be able to graduate. Yay? [National Law Journal]

* Law firms of all sizes are merging at a record pace, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to continue like this ad infinitum. Eventually, all of the fun is going to stop, and it’ll likely because there isn’t any more profitability to be had for these firms. Womp. [Am Law Daily]

* Corporate legal departments are pushing for more diversity among their ranks, with companies like Xerox leading the way. NAPABA is hopeful that we’ll see 20 Asian-American lawyers as general counsel of Fortune 500 companies by 2020. [WSJ Law Blog]

* For a man who wanted to “get rich or die tryin,” things don’t seem to be working out so well: Bankrupt rapper 50 Cent was busy denying ownership of many of his luxury items in court this week. He says he rents, borrows, and leases most of his bling. [Associated Press]

* “I would hope that we’ve already hit the bottom.” America’s legal educators and admissions deans are wishing, hoping, and praying that the upcoming school year will be the last year that merely having a pulse is a prerequisite for law school admission. [National Law Journal]

* Bankruptcy court, here we come: We all know that right now, exorbitant law school debt can’t be discharged in bankruptcy, but judges have started to rally in favor of student debtors, noting that the Brunner test is simply incompatible with today’s high tuition costs. [New York Times]

* “A professional education will never be cheap,” and the ABA has finally decided to give the appearance of caring about the average graduates of private law schools with six figures of loans. Enhanced financial counseling for all! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* Indiana Tech Law School won’t be appealing its denial of accreditation by the American Bar Association. Before you get too excited about a law school accepting failure and throwing in the towel, it seems that the school is just going to reapply instead. [KPC News]

* “[O]ne’s face may determine one’s fate, at least in the judicial domain.” Per a new study, the more untrustworthy a criminal defendant looks, the more likely it is that he’ll receive a harsher sentence. Boy, Dewey know defendants in need of a makeover. [WSJ Law Blog]

* “I don’t know what you heard about me, but a bitch can’t get a dollar out of me.” Truer lyrics have never been rapped. 50 Cent’s legal team will face off in bankruptcy court against lawyers for a woman owed $5 million thanks to a sex-tape scandal. [Business Insider]

* You may be happy that income-based loan repayment exists and is saving you from defaulting on your law school debts, but in a few decades, you’re probably going to get F’d in the A by a ticking tax time bomb. [Student Loan Ranger / U.S. News]

* If you missed it, James Eagan Holmes, the shooter in the Dark Knight movie theater massacre in Colorado, was convicted for killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. Next up is the sentencing phase of his trial, and the death penalty is on the table. [Denver Post]

* The head honchos at Goldman Sachs are sad their second-quarter profits were reduced by ~half thanks to protracted litigation stemming from the financial crisis. The bank had to put away $1.45B for “mortgage-related litigation.” [DealBook / New York Times]

* The stars at night may be big and bright deep in the heart of Texas, but Berg & Androphy, led by attorney David Berg, is trying its hand at big city life in New York. It got the hang of things, y’all: B&A has already poached two Kasowitz partners. [Lawdragon]

* 50 Cent has declared bankruptcy. Forthwith, he shall be known as “The Secured Creditors’ Half-Dollar.” [Business Insider]

* Nina Totenberg talked with Justice Ginsburg and learned the reason the so-called liberal wing of the Court wrote so few separate opinions: they have agreed to speak with one voice as much as possible. As Justice Ginsburg put it, “If you want to make sure you’re read, you do it together, and you do it short.” [NPR]

* Are you licensed in Texas? Frequent contributor Dan Hull of Hull McGuire is looking for local counsel. [What About Clients?]

* Academics are planning to hold onto their jobs past retirement age because you can take their jobs from their cold, dead, tenured hands. [TaxProf Blog]

* How are you using LinkedIn? Because if you use it only as a connections catalog, you’re missing out on an opportunity to publicize your practice. [Law and More]

* The opposite of saved by the bell: man free on bond sent to jail cell when fire alarm disrupts hearing. Then the judge leaves the building, stranding the guy in a cell. [Times-Picayune]

* Richard Hsu chats with author Brad Meltzer about his new book and weathering the rejection he experienced over his first novel. And stay tuned, because there’s more Richard Hsu coming up later. [Hsu Untied]

* Kaye Scholer’s Managing Partner Michael Solow talks about the firm’s new digs at 250 West 55th Street. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKfjssLrOm0

Did the firm seriously think anyone would be willing to pay for that?

Yet another once successful firm is seeking refuge in bankruptcy as it gasps its final breaths.

This is turning out to be a cruel, cruel summer for law firms.

The Supreme Court delivers some bad news to the bankruptcy bar.

The court called in backup...

* DEA Agent thinks legalized pot will get rabbits high. Do you know how quickly they reproduce? This could lead to a terrifying Dorito’s shortage. [Lowering the Bar]

* Facebook lands a guy in prison after he “Likes” his own Wanted poster. [Jonathan Turley]

* The billable hour is a recipe for law firm failure. [The Legal Intelligencer]

* Dov Charney really really wants to get back control of American Apparel. Guy can’t seem to take no for an answer. In any event, his legal maneuvers may have set the stage for the intentional death of the company. [Dealbreaker]

* In honor of Star Wars Day, here are lessons lawyers can learn from Star Wars. Don’t go Jar Jar. [The Nutmeg Lawyer]

* The $140 million suit brought against Proskauer Rose by the Johnson & Johnson heirs will go forward. So… more tears for Proskauer. [Reuters]

* Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s Brooklyn spin class turns into a celebration. [Wall Street Journal / Metropolis]

He tried to be a patient man. And then they pushed him too far.

* Chicago Law grad went up to Alaska and challenged an Iditarod musher to an arm wrestling match. That’s when she broke her arm. This decision should trigger an automatic two-spot drop in the U.S. News rankings. [Alaska Dispatch News]

* An interview with Keith Wetmore, former Chairman of Morrison and Foerster, diving into his childhood growing up in a funeral home. From working with one group of stiffs to another. [Hsu Untied]

* The Howard Shipley saga has come to an end. [Wall Street Journal]

* Ruh roh. Biglaw partner earns a hearty benchslap for deliberately misleading the court. You can’t do that — save it for the summer associates asking about having a family. [Legal Business]

* California lawyer Matt McLaughlin continues his Quixotic drive to have the state execute all the gay people. Now we have a pithy name for his proposed amendment: “The Intolerant Jackass Act.” [Slate]

* David talks to Bloomberg about why Above the Law hurts people’s feelings. It’s more diplomatic than my answer: because they’re soft. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* A lawyer testifies to the state legislature about how great a right-to-work law will be… for his bankruptcy practice. Troll hard, my friend. [YouTube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwnwXFhKObI

This bankruptcy judge is mad as hell, and he's not going to take this anymore.

* President Obama recently authorized a study into whether student loan debt should be dischargeable in bankruptcy. For now, any changes made to the bankruptcy code will likely apply only to private loans, so it looks like many law school graduates won’t be declaring bankruptcy any time soon. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

* As we’ve mentioned numerous times in the past, the across-the-board drop in law school applications has inspired some law schools to do crazy things like shortening the length of time it takes to get a degree and lowering tuition. Hmm, more law schools should go crazy. [U.S. News & World Report]

* In the wake of much criticism of its plan to eliminate the LSAT for some students to gain admission to Iowa Law, the school’s dean offers an explanation: it’ll help her school compete to attract students who would otherwise have gone to T14 schools. [The Gazette]

* Even though law schools are in trouble, a legislator in Texas is still lobbying the state to subsidize the creation of a new law school in the Rio Grande Valley because he has a “hard time believing there are no jobs for attorneys out there.” [Cleburne Times-Review]

* If you find that law schools aren’t reacting quickly enough to the crisis at hand, there are other options for you out there. While law schools implode as their tuition skyrockets, it seems that those who have fled the law are now trying to become engineers. [Quartz]

* Leonard Nimoy has died at 83. While he's best known as Spock, he also starred in some legal works, such as producing and starring in the story of Mel Mermelstein's pro bono case. [New York Times] * Analyzing the Supreme Court on style over substance. Probably for the best because the substance has been pretty shoddy for a lot of the last few years. [SCOTUSblog] * "Constitutional oriented" judge has some issues with the First Amendment. I guess he's a "pre-Amendment Originalist." [Popehat] * Lawyers should find a niche in connected devices. It's true. But since the partners I used to work with still printed out all their emails, good luck with that. [Law and More] * The psychic toll of bankruptcy work. [The Docket] * Ninth Circuit overrules lower court, holding that an arbitrator is not inherently plaintiff-biased because he or she has participated in litigation financing. [LFC 360]

Whatever you do, don't lie to a judge. They really don't like it when litigants do that.