Bar Exams

* Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, which took place last night in Las Vegas, Nevada. [New York Times]

* “There’s only one prediction that’s entirely safe about the upcoming term. It will be momentous.” The Supreme Court’s October Term 2017 begins today, and it will be Justice Neil Gorsuch’s first full term. The docket features issues like voting rights, religion and discrimination, workers’ rights, and digital privacy, and Trump’s DOJ has radically flipped its position from that of prior administrations in many of the cases, which hasn’t happened in decades. [New York Times]

* Jeffrey Toobin wonders, “How badly is Neil Gorsuch annoying the other Supreme Court justices?” Based on the junior justice’s behavior thus far — from his seemingly politicized appearances to his domination of oral arguments to his dissenting jab at Justice Kennedy — the answer could very well be PRETTY BADLY. [New Yorker]

* You may have grown up, but you’re still a Toys “R” Us kid at heart, so you’ll want to know how much these Biglaw firms are charging Geoffrey the Giraffe for their representation in the toy store’s bankruptcy. Partners and of counsel are billing up to $1,745 per hour, and associates are billing up to $1,015 per hour. [Am Law Daily]

* Biglaw salary wars are heating up across the pond, with Clifford Chance having recently decided to boost pay for newly qualified associates to £87,300 (~$116,933.99) a year in total compensation. Other firms like Freshfields and Linklaters have also instituted salary hikes, while Slaughter & May has frozen associate pay. [Law.com]

* “This, all of this, allows me to prove my story is useful.” Reginald Dwayne Betts, the Yale Law School graduate whose dreams of being able to practice law after passing the bar exam were deferred thanks to a decades-old felony carjacking conviction, was finally admitted to the Connecticut bar. Congratulations! [Hartford Courant]

* The ACLU is ready to fight a Louisiana school district after they told student athletes they must stand for the national anthem or they’ll get kicked off the team. [Huffington Post]

* New York landlords that harass rent stabilized tenants beware — AG Eric Schneiderman has his eye on you. [Cityland]

* The Supreme Court’s role in building Hugh Hefner’s naked empire. [Law and More]

* Starting a new Biglaw job? Tips to keep your finances in order. [Corporette]

* Will lowering California’s bar cut score do more harm than good? [Lawyerist]

* The party behind Brexit has a new logo that looks a little like they cribbed it from a law school. [LegalCheek]

* Justice Neil Gorsuch delivers a speech on civility in public life at a lunch held at the Trump International Hotel — and meets with protests. [How Appealing]

* Congratulations to Makan Delrahim, just confirmed as head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. [Bloomberg via Big Law Business]

* MoloLamken adds another star federal prosecutor to its roster, bringing aboard Megan Cunniff Church in Chicago. [Law360]

* Speaking of stars, the Supreme Court clerks from October Term 2007: where are they now? [Excess of Democracy]

* Don’t say we didn’t warn you: the list of law schools with the highest loan default rates is dominated by staples of Above the Law’s pages. [ABA Journal]

* Harvard Law School graduate Tamara Wyche, who failed the bar exam twice and lost her job at Ropes & Gray, can proceed with parts of her federal lawsuit against the New York State Board of Law Examiners. [Law.com]

* Shocker: lobbyists go into high gear to try and save some cherished tax breaks from the scourge of tax reform. [New York Times]