Celebrities

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.22.15

* In case you missed it, on top of her perjury and obstruction charges, Pennsylvania AG Kathleen Kane's license to practice law was suspended. As a law professor attempting to make a sick burn noted, “She may be at this point our paralegal general." [WSJ Law Blog] * Tracy Morgan made an appearance at The Emmys on Sunday night that earned him a standing ovation, but David Jay Glassman, the attorney representing the Walmart truck driver who hit the comedian's car last summer, wasn't applauding. Hmm, perhaps his wife suddenly got pregnant? [The Wrap via Yahoo!] * If the former leaders of failed firm D&L are convicted this week, we seriously hope that they're not so disillusioned as to believe they'll be shipped to a "Club Fed" facility. How long Dewey think these Biglaw alums will last at a place like Rikers? [Am Law Daily] * New Biglaw associates at some firms are being treated to a second college experience filled with orientation programs, resident advisers, summer reading, and even parties. (At least they get to drink champagne, not Franzia.) [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * The president of UMass says its law school will be fully accredited by the American Bar Association within one year's time. Given that everyone gets a turn when it comes to ABA accreditation, this is one low-expectation-having educator. [Boston Business Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.14.15

* A former DJ is suing Taylor Swift because he claims that he lost his job after he was falsely accused of grabbing the singer's ass. When contacted for comment, Swift said, "I've got a blank motion to dismiss, baby, and I'll write your name." [Associated Press] * BakerHostetler's partners unanimously agreed to do away with its two-tiered partnership structure. We would've been shocked the firm was going to kick its nonequity partner title to the curb, but we broke the news on it last month. [Am Law Daily] * Albany Law's new dean thinks she may have a solution to the school's enrollment problem, which is down by 38 percent since 2010. She wants to hire more professors, even though the school's existing professors aren't exactly pleased. [Albany Business Review] * California's legislature approved a landmark bill that will permit physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. If Governor Jerry Brown refuses to sign the "death with dignity" law, supporters will likely bring it to a ballot referendum. [New York Times] * A Brooklyn bride alleges in a recently filed lawsuit that she's still waiting for her wedding pictures... more than two years after her wedding took place. She's clearly not a bridezilla, because if she were, a lawsuit wouldn't have even been necessary. [New York Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.25.15

* Baker & McKenzie was dethroned by DLA Piper as the the Biglaw king of gross revenue. The firm is blaming its poor performance -- a 4.3 percent drop -- on "currency fluctuations." Better luck on snatching back glory next year. [Am Law Daily; Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * It's hard out here for a pimp with an allegedly small peen: Terrence Howard's divorce settlement was overturned by a judge after evidence was brought forward to suggest the actor was coerced into signing it. Apparently his ex was blackmailing him over the size of his manhood. [ABC News] * There's a new sheriff judge in town, and he's cleaning up the Ferguson, Missouri, courts. His first order of business was to wipe out all arrest warrants issued before December 31, 2014, in the wake of the Michael Brown police shooting last August. [Reuters] * Dean Philip Weiser of Colorado Law has announced that he'll be stepping down from his position in July 2016. He'll be remembered for keeping costs low and putting asses in seats during a time when it was difficult to do both concurrently. [Denver Business Journal] * “On one level I give them kudos for playing hide the ball." Gibson Dunn is fighting a subpoena issued by defense attorneys for computer metadata related to its Bridgegate report that cleared New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of all wrongdoing. [Bergen Record]

By Staci Zaretsky
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By Barbri
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.24.15

* It looks like the other slutty shoe has officially dropped. Two law firms have filed a $578 million class-action lawsuit against adultery dating site Ashley Madison for breaching their clients' privacy rights. Impact Team must be thrilled. [TIME] * Gov. Chris Christie says that if he's elected president, he won't nominate anyone with a Harvard Law or Yale Law degree to SCOTUS. Non-Ivy law schools better start priming and primping their most successful grads on the off chance Christie gets the nod. [CBS News] * Case Western Law decided that two heads are better than one, because Jessica Berg and Michael Scharf were just permanently appointed to serve as co-deans. We can't think of any other law school with a dynamic duo of deans like this. [Crain's Cleveland Business] * In Biglaw, romantic wranglings can follow you beyond the grave: Thomas Hale Boggs Jr.'s estate is doing battle with a woman who claims she had a relationship with the former head of Patton Boggs -- and now she wants some of his property. [National Law Journal] * He may be "used to playing on a different court," but Michael Jordan really took it to the hole on this case. Defunct grocery store Dominick's Finer Foods must now pay the sports star $8.9 million for using his name in a steak ad without his permission. [NBC News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.21.15

* Due to the speed at which she was driving, Caitlyn Jenner could face a vehicular manslaughter charge related to the fatal chain-reaction car crash she was involved in earlier this year. The ESPY-winning celeb's fate is in the district attorney's hands now. [NBC News] * Surprise! David Sweat, one of the New York inmates who led authorities on a three-week manhunt after he escaped from prison in June, pleaded not guilty to felony escape charges at his arraignment. He'll likely get a few years added onto his life sentence if he's convicted. [Reuters] * Oh baby: Valeant is buying Sprout Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the "female Viagra," for a cool $1 billion. Skadden Arps and Sullivan & Cromwell, the firms repping the companies, must be turned on by the deal. [DealBook / New York Times; Am Law Daily] * Prosecutors in the David Messerschmitt case are seeking a 25-year sentence for Jamyra Gallmon, the woman who stabbed the DLA Piper associate in a robbery-gone-wrong and left him for dead in a D.C. hotel room. Her attorney is asking for 18 years. [Legal Times] * The Florida Bar is recommending disbarment for a group of attorneys accused of arranging a DUI arrest for a rival attorney during a high-profile trial. You've got to admit this set-up was a particularly bold move, even for Flori-duh lawyers. [Tampa Bay Times]

By Staci Zaretsky

Morning Docket: 08.12.15

* Michael Jordan was present during jury selection for his case against defunct supermarket Dominick's, but potential jurors didn't seem the least bit fazed. In fact, just a single one of them considered the basketball star their "personal hero or idol." Ouch. [Chicago Tribune] * Maryland Law will be offering a very topical "Law and ______" class this semester, entitled "Freddie Gray’s Baltimore: Past, Present and Moving Forward.” Students enrolled in the course will be asked to create fixes for social problems. This'll be interesting. [WSJ Law Blog] * According to the GC of Fannie Mae, Biglaw's profit structure is broken, but the solution he proposes to the problem may not sit well with associates who are slaves to the billable hour -- but only if they care about their hourly rates. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Unlike most of his colleagues, Larry Sonsini of Wilson Sonsini didn't immediately join a brand name Biglaw firm after he graduated from law school. Instead, he created his own brand name Biglaw firm, so that worked out well. Your own mileage may vary. [Forbes] * It seems that New York City's Responsible Banking Act is unconstitutional because it conflicts with existing state and federal banking laws. To be fair, between dueling mayoral policies, this law was completely FUBARed from the get go. [DealBook / New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.04.15

* Her dad's the ringleader, he calls the shots; she's like a firecracker, she makes it hot: Since "everything is working perfectly" under pop star Britney Spears's conservatorship -- which has been in effect for the past seven years -- it'll likely stay that way indefinitely. [Us Weekly] * Well, that was fun while it lasted. The ABA did away with its year-old LSAT exemption rule in record time. Law schools will only have until 2017 to lard up classes with students who haven't taken the exam. Good luck and Godspeed. [National Law Journal via TaxProf Blog] * Simpson Thacher isn't the only Biglaw firm that allegedly blew it when it came to turning hundreds of General Motors' secured creditors into unsecured creditors. Mayer Brown is also facing twin class-action suits for this $1.5 billion boo-boo. [Crain's Chicago Business] * Good news, everyone! The ABA approved a merger between Rutgers Law-Camden and Rutgers Law-Newark, and we're going to look at this in a positive light because theoretically speaking, there's now one less law school out there. [MyCentralJersey.com] * "Are Law Schools Skewing Job Placement Numbers?" In a word, yes. Not to be a complete pessimist realist, but come on, you know most school-funded positions exist solely to prop up any given law school's less-than-pleasing job statistics. [Bloomberg] * When you've taken the lives of so many, no one cares about your sad life story. A Colorado jury inched closer to inflicting the death penalty upon convicted movie theater shooter James Holmes in the second phase of his trial's penalty portion. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.27.15

* A jury has ruled that rapper 50 Cent must pay an additional $2 million in punitive damages to a woman whose sex tape he posted online, on top of the $5 million he already owes her. This wanksta better hope the judgment gets discharged in bankruptcy. [Associated Press] * California is America's breeding ground for unaccredited law schools, and "[m]ost jurisdictions simply don't allow [these] kind of law school[s] to exist at all. Period." Nearly all students (about 9 out of 10) drop out before graduation. How much money is being wasted? [Los Angeles Times] * Since 2007, the pay gap between the highest- and lowest-paid positions in many specialized fields has widened -- but that isn't the case when it comes to the legal profession. Unfortunately, not as many people are making it rain. [New York Times] * "[M]aybe legislation should fix this. Not the court." A San Diego judge has suggested that he'll likely dismiss a right-to-die lawsuit filed by Christy O'Donnell, a civil rights attorney who's fighting a battle against lung, brain, spine, rib, and liver cancer. [NBC San Diego] * You've seen reactions to Harper Lee's portrayal of Atticus Finch as a racist in Go Set A Watchman (affiliate link) from everyone and their mother and their dog, but maybe you haven't seen reactions from law professors yet, so have a look. [National Law Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky