Battle of the Bands

  • Non-Sequiturs: 06.07.17
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 06.07.17

    * Ben Wittes on James Comey’s prepared testimony (which he’ll deliver tomorrow): “the most shocking single document compiled about the official conduct of the public duties of any President since the release of the Watergate tapes.” [Lawfare]

    * Could the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program be eliminated — retroactively? Thoughts from Professor Gregory Crespi. [SSRN]

    * The California Supreme Court appears less than enthused about a ballot measure that would compel the courts to decide death penalty cases more quickly. [How Appealing]

    * Behind every great bestseller is… a tiger mother? How Amy Chua mentored J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy (affiliate link). [The Atlantic]

    * Picking up on Shannon Achimalbe’s post from earlier today, here’s additional financial advice for young lawyers. [SoFi]

    * Legal technology is a godsend — but what do you do when problems arise? [Reboot Your Law Practice]

    * Mark your calendars: one week from today, on June 14 in San Francisco, it’s the Battle of the (Law Firm) Bands! [Family Violence Appellate Project]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 05.19.17
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 05.19.17

    * Holy smokes! What subject just led the en banc Eleventh Circuit to issue almost 300 pages worth of opinions? [How Appealing]

    * I’m all in favor of anonymous blogging, but there’s no denying that it can be hazardous to one’s Article III ambitions. [BuzzFeed]

    * It’s not just President Donald Trump’s handshakes that can be dangerous (just ask Justice Neil Gorsuch); he’s weaponized the hug as well, as James Comey learned. [Althouse]

    * A high-profile visitor over at the Volokh Conspiracy: renowned First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams will be blogging about his new book, The Soul of the First Amendment (affiliate link). [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]

    * Speaking of books, here’s Professor Lisa Pruitt on J.D. Vance’s (critically acclaimed, bestselling) memoir, Hillbilly Elegy (affiliate link): “I knew Yale law degrees were valuable, but Vance’s seems to be working miracles.”

    * And here are some reflections from Professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson on whether fear should be part of the law school experience. [PrawfsBlawg]

    * Mark your calendars: June 14 in San Francisco, Battle of the (Law Firm) Bands! [Family Violence Appellate Project]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 07.14.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 07.14.16

    * Some thoughts from Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer of Microsoft, on his company’s big win before the Second Circuit. [On the Issues]

    * Before the Second Circuit, Microsoft enjoyed a lot of support from amici — which can make a difference before the U.S. Supreme Court, according to this analysis by Adam Feldman. [Empirical SCOTUS]

    * Nell Minow, the corporate governance guru (and sister of Harvard Law Dean Martha Minow), has some assigned reading for America’s politicians: Professor William Birdthistle’s Empire of the Fund: The Way We Save Now (affiliate link). [Huffington Post]

    * My former colleague Maura Grossman, ediscovery queen of Wachtell Lipton, has left the firm to open her own consulting practice and serve as a research professor. [Am Law Daily]

    * Social media for lawyers: it’s all fun and games until someone loses their good reputation. [Reboot Your Law Practice]

    * If you are a lawyer between 24 and 49 who’s currently working in the northeast, a Ph.D. student would like to talk to you about debt (which you most likely have lots of — although none is needed to participate in the study). [Abby Stivers]

    * A final reminder for our L.A. readers that the law firm battle of the bands is taking place tonight — so come out to support a good cause (and have a great time)! [Family Violence Appellate Project]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 06.14.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 06.14.16

    * So, you lucky associate you, expect a bit of extra cash this summer? Here’s how you should be spending it. [American Lawyer]

    * Chris Christie allegedly took document preservation tips from Dick Nixon. [WNYC]

    * DLA Piper looks to join the ranks of employing droids, announcing a new partnership with Kira Systems to produce an AI tool for conducting due diligence. [DLA Piper]

    * Oh, the stupid things law schools do. Like how a bunch of Touro 3Ls are ineligible to sit for the bar exam this summer… [Reboot Your Law Practice]

    * Bands from Google Legal, Kirkland & Ellis, Lieff Cabraser, Simpson Thacher, Kazan Law, and Morgan Lewis are competing in a Battle of the Bands at 1015 Folsom nightclub tomorrow night in San Francisco in support of The Family Violence Appellate Project. [Family Violence Appellate Project]

    * M&A is having a pretty good 2016. [Fortune]

    * “The Scrooge Effect” for Biglaw firms that refuse to give pay raises to their associates. [Law and More]

    * The previously lost Marx Brothers musical, “I’ll Say She Is,” is currently playing at the Connelly Theater in the East Village. And it stars, Kathy Biehl a practicing New Jersey and Texas lawyer. [I’ll Say She Is]

  • Books, Canada, Death Penalty, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Non-Sequiturs, Technology

    Non-Sequiturs: 06.18.14

    * Donald Trump slapped with sanctions. [South Florida Lawyers] * The very, very, very long arm of Canadian jurisdiction. [Slate] * Alafair Burke, author of All Day and a Night (affiliate link), lists her favorite “lawyers are people too” books. In other words, fiction. [Omnivoracious] * The latest assault on Hillary Clinton — dusting off an old story about a particularly nasty case where she served as a court-appointed attorney — is the latest in a string of political attacks on the foundation of the criminal defense system. [Washington Post] * Tomorrow, the Family Violence Appellate Project is throwing a battle of the bands! “Banding Together To End Domestic Violence” features bands from law firms and businesses competing at San Francisco’s 1015 Folsom club. Voting is “Chicago-style,” with each vote $1. Buy tickets and submit “votes” at their website. [Family Violence Appellate Project] * Professor Glenn Cohen of Harvard Law appeared on Rachel Maddow last night to discuss whether or not doctors should participate in executions. I guess no one would be around to complain about the six-month-old issue of People in the waiting area. Video below. [Rachel Maddow Show]
  • Blogging, Cocaine / Crack, Drugs, Eric Holder, Gay, Gay Marriage, Music, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Privacy, Technology, Videos

    Non-Sequiturs: 05.29.13

    * America, you won’t have Michele Bachmann to kick around anymore! The political equivalent of comic relief announced that she will not seek another term. [CNN] * Eric Holder testified that he would support reform of the ECPA. Apparently this newfound love of electronic privacy doesn’t extend to the Associated Press. [IT-Lex] * Atlanta is soon to host its Battle of the (Lawyer) Bands. LawJam 2013 is set to rock Atlanta like a litigious hurricane on June 8. Last year featured bands like Mikey Mel & the JDs, so you have a sense of what you’re getting here. [Atlanta Bar Association] * The CFTC had no idea how to do its job? Say it ain’t so! [Breaking Energy] * So the sequester has an advantage! Cocaine is going to get cheaper! [Breaking Defense] * Paul Caron has acquired a 100 percent ownership share of the Law Professor Blogs Network. Congrats! [TaxProf Blog] * Woman acquitted of manslaughter responds in the best way ever. Video after the jump… [WESH via Bing]
  • Court Reporters / Stenographers, New York Times, Non-Sequiturs, Parties, Prostitution, Public Interest, Technology

    Non-Sequiturs: 06.18.12

    * Roger Clemens was found not guilty on charges of lying to Congress about using steroids. [New York Times] * Why did the ABA Journal kill a feature story on mentoring by Dan Hull and Scott Greenfield? The world may never know, and the world may never see the story. [Simple Justice] * Q: What does a male lawyer do when his female secretary gives him a nice little Father’s Day gift? A: Freak out because random acts of kindness are so unusual, and then write a letter to a New York Times advice columnist. [New York Times] * If you’ll be in D.C. this Thursday, June 21, check out this battle of the law firm bands — a fun event that we’ve covered before, as well as a fundraiser for a worthy cause. [Banding Together 2012] * ATL readers are awesome. You guys have already been a huge help to this court reporter who almost died when he fell into the Chicago River. The family is still taking donations, and now there’s a PayPal link, so it’s even easier to lend a hand to Andrew Pitts and his family. [Kruse Reporters Blog] * A closer look at the continuing rapid progress of predictive coding (or, as skeptics would say, our new computer overlords) in legal discovery. [WSJ Law Blog] * New York’s “hot dog hooker,” Ms. Catherine Scalia (no, not that Scalia), was sentenced to jail. Maybe she should have deigned to sell chocolate milkshakes instead. [Gothamist]
  • Dreier, Movies, Music, Non-Sequiturs, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Ted Frank

    Non-Sequiturs: 02.27.12

    * Wow. David Brock, head of the liberal watchdog group Media Matters, “paid a former domestic partner $850,000 after being threatened with damaging information involving the organization’s donors and the IRS,” according to allegations in a lawsuit. [Instapundit] * Is the Supreme Court going to gut affirmative action in the Fisher case? Not necessarily, according […]
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