Boies Schiller

* R. Kelly threatens to sue Lifetime, a lawsuit that will be totally worth it if the judge has to say “don’t pee on my leg and say it’s raining.” [TMZ]

* Alex Van Der Zwaan’s attorney, Laura Grossfield Birger, tapped to run the SDNY Criminal Division. That’s some… curious optics right now. [Courthouse News Service]

* The billionaire client that Boies Schiller is suing over unpaid fees has now alleged malpractice, which is a bold move considering BSF got him through multiple litigation scrapes. But this goes with the territory. I once had a holdout client claim malpractice when we’d gotten him acquitted of racketeering, so this move isn’t entirely unexpected. [New York Law Journal]

* It’s not surprising that the Ninth Circuit has some serious concerns over the possibility that the government systematically lied to the courts, it’s surprising that this isn’t a universal concern of the federal judiciary. [The Recorder]

* This round-up of the top in-house hires of December including Tesla’s decision to turn off autopilot and hire a white-collar attorney to serve as general counsel. [Law360]

* Cardinal says compensation for abuse victims is less important than avoiding “breaking” the Church. Dude, it’s going public that abuse victims aren’t as important as the Church that’s doing all the “breaking” right now. [NBC News]

* Key legal questions surrounding blockchain. [Coindesk]

* Young lawyers in Australia are fighting back against Biglaw hours expectations because these snowflakes don’t realize that chronic sleeplessness and callously sacrificing relationships with friends and loved ones builds character! [The Guardian]

* Comey has reached a deal with the lame duck House committee. He’ll still testify in a private hearing, but he’ll be given a transcript after the fact. Good plan, it’s not like he’s been screwed over by this committee before. [National Law Journal]

* Trial begins tomorrow to decide the limits to good faith Nazis dealings. [The Recorder]

* Authorities recommend indicting Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s like there’s a country out there where political leaders are held “accountable” when they break “the law” which just seems weird. [Associated Press via Huffington Post]

* The winners of the annual Data-Driven Lawyers Award. [Law360]

* People can’t give money to litigation financiers fast enough. [American Lawyer]

* Apparently Alan Dershowitz is still working for Jeffrey Epstein. [The Week]

A newly formed Management Committee will gradually assume day-to-day firm operations.

* So much for that plea deal! Mueller’s office says it’s caught Manafort in multiple lies since ostensibly reaching an agreement. I’m sure we’ll soon hear how this is all a “perjury trap” too. [Huffington Post]

* James Ray III says he shot his girlfriend in self-defense. Sure. [NJ.com]

* Hong Kong aims to be Asia’s arbitration hub and its neighbors aren’t giving up that title easily. [International]

* There’s apparently a DB Cooper convention. Amazing. [Courthouse News Service]

* The Thomas Jefferson School of Law still trying to keep its head above water. [Voice of San Diego]

*Meanwhile, the Florida legislature is looking to clear the obstacles to renaming FSU’s law school. [Florida Politics]

* Boies Schiller attempting to chase down deadbeat real estate magnate who stiffed the firm on million-dollar fees. The media keeps calling him a “Chinese dissident” which is technically true, but obscures the whole “fabulously wealthy” part. [Law360]

As the case moves to the Supreme Court, William Bond adds even more firepower.

* Valparaiso celebrated earlier in the week after reaching an agreement to send its beleaguered law school to Middle Tennessee. Tennessee’s education officials have killed the idea of hosting another middling law school with extreme prejudice. [Chicago Tribune]

* Ninth Circuit judge displays deliberate ignorance in what appears to be a looming decision to keep college athletes out of court. [Courthouse News Service]

* Whenever you doubt the stupidity of humanity, remember people accused of global financial fraud tend to email each other explicit descriptions of what they’re doing. [Law360]

* Boies Schiller will act as special prosecutor in the Joe Arpaio appeal in what should be the easiest appellate layup ever. [The Recorder]

* Republican judge dismisses lawsuit against Republican politician. [Huffington Post]

* Jeff Sessions tells the Heritage Foundation that he doesn’t approve of this idea that courts might consider themselves some kind of “check” or “balance” on the executive branch. [National Law Journal]

* Ralph Baxter thinks Biglaw needs to change its business model to succeed. [American Lawyer]

Susan Estrich reunites with David Boies, years after they first worked together.

Boies’s firm soldiers on and continues to rake in money by the barrel-load. Yet cracks in its once-burnished veneer are now visible to the naked eye.

* Amid reports (from Fox News no less) that Mitch McConnell does not presently have the votes to confirm Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court took the precaution of removing several contentious matters from their long conference agenda lest. They’re hunkering down for another couple months at 4-4. [National Law Journal]

* Speaking of that Fox News report, let’s be honest about what’s happening here: Kavanaugh is refusing to withdraw and McConnell is covertly asking the network to convince Trump to withdraw the nomination. [Fox News]

* Almost half of the top 15 firms in the Global 100 are the product of a transatlantic merger. Should your firm follow suit? Probably not. [American Lawyer]

* Linda Burrow leaves Boies Schiller to Netflix and chill and then litigate. [Corporate Counsel]

* Judge seems to think Stormy Daniels doesn’t have a defamation claim against Trump over one of his Tweets. [Law360]

* PwC makes a deal with Fragomen. The Big 4 invasion of the legal sector continues unchecked. [LegalCheek]

* Lost in the shuffle of everything happening yesterday, Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearings kicked off. [Courthouse News Service]

Have these people never heard of optics?

* Hooooo boy, this just got even better! President Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen plan to file a motion to stay the Stormy Daniels suit on the grounds that in the wake of the FBI raid on Cohen’s office and the ensuing criminal investigation, continuing the Daniels litigation could violate Cohen’s right not to incriminate himself under the Fifth Amendment. [THR, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter]

* In other news, President Trump is set to pardon Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney‘s former chief of staff, who was convicted in 2007 of lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice in the investigation into the leak of former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity. [ABC News

* When the AP was investigating a $30K payout that American Media Inc. made to a doorman to keep quiet about a rumor involving President Trump’s love child with a former employee, reporters had some trouble with a Biglaw firm that was recently involved in another sexual misconduct case — Boies Schiller. [American Lawyer]

* HoLove learning to show love? The firm is ditching its “broken” associate performance review system for its new “Pathways” program, which will provide them with “flash feedback” from partners about how they’re doing on a year-round basis. [National Law Journal]

* Your tuition dollars actually at work: Georgia State Law is using predictive modeling and data analytics to identify students who may be at risk for failing the bar exam after their first year of studying law. Administrators at the school want to be able to help students before it’s too late. [Daily Report Online]

* Savannah Law School may not be closing after all? It seems that talks are underway to donate the law school’s charter to another college or university, like Savannah State and Georgia Southern. Savannah Law’s new owner would get everything but the law school building itself. [Fox 28 Media]

* “Stanford Law School is spreading its brand through a SiriusXM weekly show.” Oh good, because they’ve really been struggling in anonymity. [The Recorder]

* District judge is tired of this DOJ’s bullshit and decided to write the Supreme Court about it. [National Law Journal]

* Another sexual enterprise suit filed going after K&L Gates and Boies. [American Lawyer]

* “Stanford Law School is spreading its brand through a SiriusXM weekly show.” Oh good, because they’ve really been struggling in anonymity. [The Recorder]

* Oh Fahrvergnügen! VW compliance chief gets 7 years. [Corporate Counsel]

* IT Department testify against criminal defendant in hilarious own goal. [Law360]

* Patagonia suing over Trump’s decision to trash a bunch of national monuments. [Corporate Counsel]

* Lawyers Lawyers! Big Caesar’s hands Kirkland $77 million. [American Lawyer]

* Jenna Greene at Litigation Daily points out that there’s a lawsuit over Froot Loops not containing any fruit. Right… but it’s chockfull of “Froot.” [Casemine]

* Harvard Law School is conducting a mental health survey. But will the respondents answer with candor? [Law and More]

* Transitions are hard, if not almost impossible to pull off. David Boies is eager to help his firm outlive him. [Big Law Business]

* Friday Fun Fact: Donald Trump’s campaign is spending $1 of every $10 donated on legal fees. [CNN]

* Highlights on a legal ethics course taught through collaborative learning. [Just Resolutions]

* That time Cy Vance took a donation right before a letting someone slide without charges. No, not that time. Or that time. This is a new time. [CBS News]

* Boalt law student defends the clone troopers for executing all the Jedi. Still no one able to defend George Lucas for making the prequels. [Legal Geeks]

* Congrats to Fix the Court for getting some transparency by securing an audio stream of this morning’s D.C. Circuit argument. [Fix the Court]

Look who's moving off the beaten path.

The country's most famous practicing lawyer tells the tale of how he left Cravath to launch his own firm.

The move expands BSF's presence in California.

This sounds like a win-win situation for all involved.

Name partner Jonathan Schiller shares some secrets to the firm's success.

* Last night’s Ninth Circuit argument drew a live audience of more than 137K people. But remember there’s no audience for real-time Supreme Court coverage. [Litigation Daily]

* Despite the public interest, Judge Neil Gorsuch reportedly dodged questions about the ban “like the plague” according to Senator Schumer, who met with the nominee yesterday. With a president so fond of bluntness, it’s good to see the old ways of spineless deflection and disingenuous evasion still have a home in Washington. [Law360]

* ABA rejects tighter law school standards because why throw the brakes on the runaway train? [National Law Journal]

* Maryland takes a firm stance against courts using financial wherewithal to determine whether someone sits in jail or goes free on bail. [Washington Post]

* Quinn Emanuel’s investigation finds widespread corruption at FIFA. In other news, the sky is blue. [Bloomberg]

* The “Internet of Things” is going to blow up discovery. [Legaltech News]

* Pillsbury takes its talents (from Boies Schiller) to South Beach. [Daily Business Review]

* And congrats to the new editorial team over at ALM. Heather Nevitt was named executive editor of Corporate Counsel and Inside Counsel while Gina Passarella was named executive editor of The American Lawyer.

Save yourself time and, possibly, save your clients' money.