Bitcoin

With so many industries facing disruption from the blockchain revolution, it’s easy to see how any lawyer can benefit from learning more about this emerging technology.

* Michael Cohen is suing Buzzfeed over publishing the Trump intelligence dossier. He says the Russia collusion allegations are “not legitimate” but to paraphrase Judge Judy, “don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s a Russian prostitute.” [Bloomberg]

* Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is embroiled in boring, plodding lawsuit which actually sums up his offense pretty well. [Deadspin]

* The IRS is getting into the Bitcoin game. Maybe they can explain blockchain in terms that don’t involve magic. [Forbes]

* Justice Sotomayor bluntly confronted Noel Francisco over the administration’s 180 on voting rights. Francisco didn’t have a clear, straightforward  answer ready which is weird because “we managed to slip in the back door of the White House so we’re basically the Allstate Mayhem guy but for the Constitution” would’ve been a perfectly acceptable and honest answer. [National Law Journal]

* Meanwhile, a federal judge threw out a challenge to Alabama’s strict voter ID law finding the state had an important regulatory interest in combatting the voter fraud crisis that they can’t string together any evidence of. Jeez, maybe Brett Talley would have actually improved the Alabama federal bench. [NPR]

* For your daily reminder that Texas is a jerkweed backwater, the woman accused of drunkenly destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars in art faces a possible life sentence because Texas couldn’t figure out how to put the death penalty on it. [Texas Lawyer]

* Kirsten Gillibrand will use her blue slip to block the nomination of Greenberg Traurig’s Geoffrey Berman for the SDNY U.S. Attorney post. Or, more accurately these days, Kristin Gillibrand will use her blue slip to do absolutely nothing to slow down the nomination of Geoffrey Berman for the SDNY U.S. Attorney post. [New York Law Journal]

* Skadden avoids sanctions in Vijay Singh suit. Remember when the PGA was accusing people of doping… in golf? [Law360]

They could have a serious effect on your crypto-trading.

Convicting New Jersey church operators of fraus is a big phase in the creation of any new form of money.

You don’t have to be an admitted securities fraudster of international repute to see how the ICO space might be tempting to crooks.

Before you start accepting Bitcoin for services, here are some other things to keep in mind.

Blockchain will bring disputes -- and good lawyers need to be ready.

If a client asks about using a blockchain-based smart contract, don't be left speechless.

Position limits are for ninnies.

The marijuana Bitcoin ban may eventually extend to the U.S. marijuana industry at-large.

* Florida AG Pam Bondi admits she took donation money from Donald Trump when she was toying with an investigation of Trump University, but says she has no regrets about keeping the cash. “If I had returned it, you would have reported ‘Bondi accepted a bribe, got caught and returned it.” [AP]

* Could President Barack Obama sue Donald Trump over the “birther” conspiracy? If so, what would be his cause of action? He could potentially file suit for defamation, but as a public figure, he’d have an uphill battle proving actual malice and damages. [Big Law Business]

* Ahmad Rahami, the man accused of Saturday’s bombings in New York and New Jersey, has been federally charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction, bombing, destruction of property, and use of a destructive device. His bail has been set at $5.2 million. There’s been no word yet as to whether he has hired an attorney. [CNN]

* According to Judge Alison Nathan of the Southern District of New York, bitcoins are, in fact, money — at least under this federal anti-money laundering statute. If you think “funds” are “pecuniary resources… generally accepted as a medium of exchange or a means of payment,” you better believe bitcoins are a form of money. [WSJ Law Blog]

* “We think that they are attempting to use civil discovery to get around the limits on criminal discovery in the criminal case.” According to Gloria Allred, the civil sexual abuse case her client has filed against Bill Cosby in California is going to be put on the back burner for a time into his criminal charges can be more fully litigated. [Reuters]

Biglaw's Blockchain experts.

Michell Espinoza knows what we’re talking about.

* Could it be? Could she really do such a thing? Rumor has it that Amal Clooney may be quitting her law firm job at Doughty Street Chambers to become a fashion designer for the likes of fashion house Oscar de la Renta. We may have more on this later today. [Inquisitr]

* Maryland’s AG intends to contest a ruling granting “Serial” podcast subject Adnan Syed a new trial, saying that the state would “defend what it believes is a valid conviction.” Syed has been servicing a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee since 2000. [Baltimore Sun]

* Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be behind bars for a 15-month term for attempting to conceal secret payments to his underage sexual assault victims in a cover-up scheme, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to fight a lawsuit seeking the full $3.5 million he allegedly said he would pay to buy a victim’s silence. [Chicago Tribune]

* Vermont Law School, which was hit relatively hard by the recession in terms of its ability to fill its seats, has applied for a $15 million loan from the federal government to help restructure its debts. Unlike what its students face in terms of their debt, the law school may be able to get a good interest rate upon approval. [VTDigger / Valley News]

* “[A]ttempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.” Congratulations (or perhaps condolences?) digital currency aficionados, because a judge just ruled that Bitcoin isn’t money for the purposes of money-laundering statutes. [WSJ Law Blog]

What are some of the tools available to attorneys for billing clients and getting paid? Technology columnist Sean Doherty investigates.

* Senator Ted Cruz describes his experience clerking for Chief Justice Rehnquist. We also learn what Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says about Internet porn. It’s not as exciting as Cruz would want you to think. Personally, I’d hoped she’d say something about “Long Dong Silver,” but alas. [POLITICO]

* If you thought Justice Scalia was interminably grumpy before, today he exhibited some downright bizarre behavior. [Slate]

* Lawyer disciplined for stealing wine. Lots and lots of wine. [Legal Profession Blog]

* Has marriage equality rendered Chief Justice Roberts a footnote to history? [Reuters]

* An in-depth look at New York’s Riker’s Island facility from the perspective of those who live and work there. And let’s not undersell the word “live,” since we have kids living there for 7 years awaiting trial. [New York Magazine]

* Shearman & Sterling’s Doreen Lilienfeld discusses building gender balance in Biglaw. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* A thorough guide to Bitcoin for judges. But more importantly, a solidly academic title, “Realm of the Coin.” I see what you did there. [Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law via SSRN]

* Congratulations to former Bloomberg media attorney Charles Glasser, who will be teaching a course about investigative reporting at NYU’s Institute for Journalism. Too bad there aren’t really investigative journalism jobs anymore. Perhaps these are the kinds of classes that can bring those jobs back. [Talking Biz News]

* The regret of every young person must be that they will never be able to duplicate this experience. [What About Clients?]

If recent efforts from federal prosecutors are any indication, one of the most dangerous criminal profiles in America includes some or all of the following: white, male, libertarian, computer-savvy, critical of the status quo.

* Per recent reports, human rights attorney Amal Clooney was threatened with arrest after she pointed out major issues with the Egyptian justice system in a paper sponsored by the International Bar Association. She was able to escape because officials feared the wrath of George Clooney. [The Telegraph]

* Uh oh! It looks like Alan Dershowitz got himself mixed up in a lawsuit involving a salacious underage sex scandal. In his own defense, the famed Havard Law prof said, “It’s a completely, totally fabricated, made-up story. I’m an innocent victim of an extortion conspiracy.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* The price of the billable hour may have risen by more than 10 percent over the course of the last four years, but according to the chairman of one Biglaw firm, “[t]he question is: Is anybody ­paying that?” Hahaha, yeah right. [National Law Journal]

* That was quick. The Bitcoin Foundation hired a global policy counsel who lasted there for less than a year. It seems the policy and regulation aspects of the digital currency’s existence were viewed as a “distraction.” [DealBook / New York Times]

* Chicago Biglaw and midsized firms are brushing up on their Mandarin language skills because Chinese investment in the Windy City hit more than $3 billion last year. FYI, senior associates, these firms may have a job for you. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

* Did she get SLC punk’d? Another woman was just nabbed for allegedly pretending to be a lawyer. It seems that Utah resident Karla Carbo reportedly impersonated a member of the bar at least three times in the past six months. [New York Daily News]

Should lawyers consider taking Bitcoin as a form of payment from clients?

Was that class you took at George Washington Law taught by the inventor of bitcoin?