Barack Obama

  • Morning Docket: 03.28.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.28.16

    * Kimberly Kitchen, the woman who was parading around and pretending to be a lawyer for a decade before she was caught in the act, was recently convicted of forgery, unauthorized practice of law, and felony records tampering. On the bright side, at least she doesn’t have six figures worth of law school debt to worry about right now. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * President Obama published an op-ed in praise of SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland on AL.com, pleading with Alabamians to let their senators know that it’s their duty to give Scalia’s would-be replacement a hearing and a vote, lest we “jeopardize our system of justice, hurt our democracy, and betray the vision of our founding.” [AL.com]

    * Who is the real Merrick Garland? Not only does he have a “résumé that makes you want to cry,” but he’s also a pretty endearing gent. He used to want to be a doctor, he loves singing show tunes, and he was once so nervous when officiating a wedding that he began the ceremony before the bride even walked down the aisle. [New York Times]

    * “We are heartened by this development and look forward to the Committee making this request directly … as is standard practice.” Republicans may be willing to accept Merrick Garland’s nominee questionnaire, but the White House has yet to receive one from Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley or Senator Patrick Leahy. [BuzzFeed]

    * Judge Pamela A.M. Campbell, who presided over Hulk Hogan v. Gawker, has had more decisions reversed on appeal than any other judge in her county, but “a judge who’s not afraid to make a decision and a not afraid to be reversed, is quite naturally going to be reversed more, and that doesn’t mean the judge is not a good judge.” [Tampa Bay Times]

    * A judge has ruled that Ropes & Gray, the firm that once represented ex-New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez, must turn over the murder convict’s cellphone to his new attorneys so they can analyze it for his defense in the double murder case he’s being prosecuted for by the Suffolk County DA’s Office in Massachusetts. [Boston Herald]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 03.17.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.17.16

    * Shocker! North Carolina’s voter ID law primarily impacted young voters of color. (Actually, I am not surprised at all.) [Democracy Now]

    * Embrace the nerdiness of Merrrick Garland, you know you want to. [Comic Book Resources]

    * Does the #HulkvGawk case mean that being an internet smart-ass isn’t cool anymore? God, I hope not. [Law and More]

    * It is easy to blame the poor for their lot in life, much harder to do anything about the underlying issues. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

    * Merrick Garland: theater critic. [The Crimson]

    * It’s science! Here is what data science tells us about Merrick Garland. [Ravel Law]

    * Looking for an easy way for your clients to pay? A new option is coming your way. [My Case]

    * Fingers crossed! GOP opposition to President Obama’s SCOTUS nomination is cracking. [Huffington Post]

  • Morning Docket: 03.16.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.16.16

    * President Obama will announce his pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia later this morning. Which member of the D.C. Circuit will he choose, Judge Sri Srinivasan or Judge Merrick Garland? America will find out at 11 a.m., and then the real political circus of trying to get a confirmation hearing will begin. [New York Times]

    * “Republicans know they can’t get away with complete and total obstruction, so they may try to set up a double standard.” Senate Republicans have refused to fill the vacancy left on the Supreme Court left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but it looks like more than 30 other federal judicial nominees may have been caught in the political fray. [AP]

    * After having a district court judge’s deferred compensation remedy slapped down by the Ninth Circuit, lawyers in the O’Bannon NCAA student-athlete pay case have asked the Supreme Court to grant certiorari. The lawyers involved “[feel] so strongly in the principles involved” that they don’t care if they lose their fees and costs. [USA Today]

    * A small victory for a washed-up Mean Girl? Lindsay Lohan has never really had much success when it comes to suing others on the basis of likeness appropriation, but a New York judge has refused to dismiss her case against Rockstar Games over a look-alike character in Grand Theft Auto V. You go, girl! [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter]

    * Per Lex Machina, after a slow 2014, patent litigation rose by 14.7 percent in 2015. What’s troubling to some lawyers, though, is that all of the action has migrated to Texas courts: “Why should this little corner that’s not particularly a hotbed of innovation have such an important role to play in patent law?” [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Talent agency Rebel Entertainment Partners is suing CBS, the TV station that airs “Judge Judy,” because it claims Judge Judy is taking in such a high salary that the network has been unable to dole out its contractually obligated payments. Although she’s not named in the suit, Judge Judy, full of sarcasm, says this is “hilarious.” [Variety]

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  • Non-Sequiturs: 03.07.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.07.16

    * Shocking, Donald Trump is being hypocritical about something. This time it’s over immigration, so maybe these lies will finally break through to Trump’s low-education supporters who are voting against their interests due to xenophobic fears over their jobs moving abroad. [Bloomberg Politics]

    * Check out the financial disclosures of the potential SCOTUS nominees that have been floated thus far. [Fix the Court]

    * Common sense: consumer-owned drones should not be armed. Unfortunately, it isn’t really against the law. And the one state that is trying to ban them may be breaking federal law. [Slate]

    * Trent Lott is breaking with the GOP leadership over whether President Obama’s eventual Supreme Court nominee deserves a hearing. [CNN]

    * Church and state: yes, they are supposed to be separate. Even at the VA. [Huffington Post]

    * Absolutely, positively the worst boss ever. [Lowering the Bar]

  • Morning Docket: 03.07.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.07.16

    * “I’ve taught immigration law literally to 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds.” Immigration Judge Jack H. Weil seems to think that children facing deportation don’t need court-appointed attorneys because they’re perfectly capable of representing themselves. We’ll have more on this later. [Washington Post]

    * “[T]his will be the first time a law school will be on trial to defend its public employment figures.” It’s taken five years, but Anna Alaburda will finally get to face off in court against Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Soon we’ll find out if the word “allegedly” can stop being used as a prefix for the school’s allegedly deceptive job statistics. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * If President Obama nominates Judge Jane Kelly of the Eighth Circuit for a seat on SCOTUS, then Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) of the Senate Judiciary Committee could be in a pickle. Would Kelly, a longtime Iowa public defender, be refused a hearing even though Grassley supported her when she was appointed in 2013? [Des Moines Register]

    * The Alabama Supreme Court begrudgingly dismissed suits filed by conservative groups seeking a ruling declaring that the state’s anti-gay marriage laws were still in effect, despite the SCOTUS decision in Obergefell. In a concurrence at odds with reality, Chief Justice Roy Moore held fast to his belief that the state’s law was still intact. [AL.com]

    * As we mentioned previously, the American Bar Association will vote on a change to its bar passage rate rules for law schools. Schools notorious for their bar passage problems better hold onto their hats if this proposal is passed, because their accreditation may quickly turn out to be like their graduates’ job prospects: nonexistent. [WSJ Law Blog]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.02.16

    * WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER, WHEN HULKAMANIA SELECTS A JURY TO RUN WILD ON YOU?!?! Jury selection has started in Hulk Hogan’s $100M sex-tape case against Gawker. The trial begins next week, and if he wins, his 24-inch pythons could put the site out of business. [New York Post]

    * President Obama met with Senate leaders yesterday to talk about his impending Supreme Court nomination, and the Republicans present held steady in their adamant refusal to hold hearings or vote on any of his prospective candidates. After all, President Trump’s 2017 nominee will obviously be a far greater choice. [The Hill]

    * “They’re just normal people. They weren’t always judges.” Being a federal judge with a lifetime appointment may be a “surprisingly monastic existence” at times, but the fact of the matter is that our Supreme Court justices are really just like us. Off the bench, some of them are social butterflies, and others are complete hermits. [Washington Post]

    * According to a recent study on federal law clerks, “judges appointed by Republicans are more likely to hire clerks who come from the left-side of the ideological spectrum,” but that’s likely because the pickings are slim when it comes to conservative clerks. Top law school grads tend to lean liberal, so the applicant pool is a bit skewed. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * K&L Gates is leaking partners, practice leaders, and executive committee members like a sieve once again, but Peter Kalis, the firm’s usually outspoken chairman, hasn’t said a peep about the departures yet. What’s going on at the firm? If you have any information, please feel free to email us or text us (646-820-8477). [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

  • Morning Docket: 03.01.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.01.16

    * Senior White House adviser Brian Deese has assembled a crack team to help President Obama choose a Supreme Court nominee who will be able to win confirmation before an angry Senate to replace Justice Scalia. Let’s see which way the 2009 Yale Law School graduate steers this important project. [Reuters]

    * Australian law firm Slater & Gordon is feeling the pain of being the world’s first publicly traded law firm after a $958.3 million first-half loss. The firm, which is now being referred to as a “corporate catastrophe,” hopes to lay out a restructuring plan in the next few months amid the likelihood of multiple shareholder suits. [Herald Sun]

    * Texas State District Judge Julie Kocurek returned to court this week after a shooter opened fire on her in November 2015 in what police are now calling an assassination attempt. She lost a finger during the shooting, but says she feels “very lucky that is all [she] lost.” Welcome back to the bench, Your Honor! [Austin American-Statesman]

    * Sorry, FBI, but a judge has ruled that Apple doesn’t have to help the security service unlock an alleged New York drug dealer’s iPhone. This isn’t binding precedent for the tech company’s San Bernardino case, but you can bet your ass its legal team will try to convince the judge handling the order at issue that it should be considered. [NBC News]

    * If you’ve been waitlisted at the lowest-ranked law school you applied to this admissions cycle, it doesn’t mean you’ll be rejected from every other school you applied to this admissions cycle — it just means you may have to work a little bit harder on all of your letters of continued interest. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

    * Law firms aren’t the only businesses that go through break-ups; the communications firms that represent these elite firms apparently have rocky relationships, too. Spencer Baretz and Cari Brunelle of Hellerman Baretz Communications have split to found their own firm, and they took the entire HBC team with them when they left. [Business Wire]

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  • Morning Docket: 02.24.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.24.16

    * After being called to court by the judge on his bankruptcy case for flaunting cash on Instagram, 50 Cent posted a photo of himself in a room filled with money. When reached for comment, the allegedly bankrupt rapper had this to say: “I don’t know what you heard about me, but this judge will write a benchslap about me.” [New York Daily News]

    * Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have said that they will refuse to hold any hearings on a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia until the next President is sworn in on January 20, 2017. In fact, they won’t even give President Obama’s future appointee the courtesy of a meeting. Lovely. [WSJ Law Blog; New York Times]

    * According to a letter from Justice Scalia’s doctor, the late jurist suffered from a number of ailments that could have contributed to his sudden death, like coronary artery disease, obesity, and diabetes, just to name a few. Coupled with the fact that he was a smoker, all of his conditions were “quite dangerous.” Rest in peace, Your Honor. [Associated Press]

    * “If you look at the women-of-color research, the numbers are abysmal.” Minority women are disappearing from Biglaw firms, and research has shown that it may be due to the fact that they receive less compensation than men and white women, they’re denied access to assignments, and they receive fewer promotions. [ABA Journal]

    * Good riddance to bad rubbish: Robert Hosch Jr., the founder and former managing partner of Butler & Hosch — the large, Florida-based firm that seemingly collapsed overnight, leaving hundreds of legal professionals jobless and 60,000 foreclosure cases in limbo — has surrendered his license to practice law in Florida. [Orlando Sentinel]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 02.22.2016
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 02.22.2016

    * Most lawyers have a relationship to the fictional Atticus Finch. [Guile is Good]

    * Is Donald Trump’s popularity based, at least in part, on a critique of capitalism? Sure, he’s in favor of it, but that doesn’t mean he won’t exploit discontent with the system to get elected. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

    * Hey 1Ls! Wanna know why you aren’t getting laid? Blame it on Scalia. [20 Somethings]

    * Burning question alert: When your work actually makes you sick, can you bill vomit time? [Daily Lawyer Tips]

    * TSwift is putting her money where everyone else’s tweets are — the singer donated $250,000 to Kesha after her devastating court loss, but is it enough. [Huffington Post]

    * Is the stalemate over who gets to appoint the next Supreme Court justice really about race? [Talking Points Memo]

    * Anti-gay laws may finally hurt supporters in one place they care about — their pocketbooks. Why one business is relocating on the precipice of a new “religious liberty” law in Georgia. [Slate]

    * Justice Scalia’s real legacy was pro-big  business. [The Atlantic]

  • Morning Docket: 02.22.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.22.16

    * If there was ever a time to breach a contract, it would be now. A judge ruled that singer Kesha won’t be able to escape from a six-album deal with Sony, despite the fact that her producer, Dr. Luke, is alleged to have psychologically abused her for a decade and raped her when she was an 18-year-old virgin. #FreeKesha [New York Daily News]

    * Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral offered DCers the chance to take a break from political wrangling, if only momentarily, to mourn a legend of the Supreme Court. It was “very non-Washington,” and he “would have loved it.” [Washington Post]

    * President Obama was spotted carrying a “thick binder filled with papers,” presumably briefing documents from his staff related to potential SCOTUS picks to replace the late Justice Scalia. You can likely expect an announcement in the next few weeks. [Reuters]

    * Dickstein Shapiro’s ex-chairman is blaming the media for his firm’s demise, saying that since July, many of its partners’ departures were “programmed” and had little to do with its performance. Don’t stop believin’, James Kelly. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Judge Thomas Griesa plans to lift an injunction that was keeping Argentina from raising new capital. Holdouts on the country’s defaulted debt seem pissed about this decision, but it could eventually turn out well for them. [DealBook / New York Times]