Celebrities

Is this tech tycoon doing a good deed, or are his actions purely selfish in nature?

Do Prince's doctors need legal help?

Frustrated with the Supreme Court? There's a Taylor Swift gif for that.

* “[He] exited the passenger seat wearing nothing but what appeared to be an adult diaper.” Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl, the husband-and-wife lawyers accused of torturing and nearly killing a law firm partner and his wife, are back in the news. Andrew’s trial began this week, and he’s utilizing an involuntary intoxication defense. [Washington Post]

* President Obama needn’t worry about what he’s going to do to keep busy after his presidency ends — job offers are already pouring in for him, including one from Bin Haider Advocates & Legal Consultants, a smaller firm in Dubai. But why go to the Middle East when he could easily become a partner at Sidley Austin? [Am Law Daily]

* “If I had my way, I would make pro bono a service requirement.” During the American Law Institute’s annual meeting, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she thinks pro-bono work should be mandatory for lawyers, and that she “believe[s] in forced labor” when it comes to access to justice and closing the justice gap for the poor. [National Law Journal]

* Non-lawyers likely won’t be able to stake a claim in law firm ownership anytime soon since the ABA Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession failed to submit a formal proposal to the ABA House of Delegates before a deadline had passed. It’s just as well, as lawyers remain adamantly opposed to the proposition. [Big Law Business]

* IP lawyers better get ready to party like it’s 1999, because Minnesota lawmakers have introduced the broadly written Personal Rights in Names Can Endure Act, perhaps better known as the PRINCE Act, named for the recently deceased musician to establish a right of publicity for celebrities and their heirs within the state. [WSJ Law Blog]

Ronan Farrow on how to report on celebrities, like his father Woody Allen, accused of sexual assault.

What can lawyers and law students learn from Beyoncé's latest creation?

Do paparazzi drones cross some magical privacy line? The California legislature thinks so.

* Dig if you will the picture, of you and I engaged in a… probate battle? Uh-oh! In documents filed in a Carver County, Minnesota, probate court, Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, claims that the music icon — whose estate is said to have been valued at about $300 million — died without a will. [USA Today]

* “[L]ook, if he’s not our nominee, I think he would be a great replacement for Scalia.” Despite the fact that Senator Ted Cruz previously insisted that he wasn’t interested in being nominated to replace the late Antonin Scalia as a SCOTUS justice, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) thinks Cruz is the man for the job. [The Hill]

* Dentons says $2 million was “erroneously allocated” to McKenna Long & Aldridge partners during a merger with Luce Forward, and now the Biglaw behemoth really wants the money back. Partner’s aren’t pleased, griping that “this is a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of merging with Dentons.” [National Law Journal via Big Law Business]

* Today is sentencing day for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. The accused child abuser faces up to five years in prison for attempting to cover up his hush-money payoffs, but prosecutors have asked that he serve no more than six months. We wonder how his Biglaw supporters will feel if he receives a stiff sentence. [Chicago Sun-Times]

* Indiana Tech Law School will soon hold a commencement ceremony for its inaugural graduating class of 21 students. These soon-to-be law school graduates say that one of the main reasons they chose to attend the school was its low cost of tuition. Not having a lot of debt is a great thing when your job prospects are uncertain. Congrats! [21Alive]

Here are four insights from the celebrated human rights lawyer.

Rest in peace you Sexy M.F.

Most of the world has a crush on Idris Elba, and this lawyer married him.

* Professors at George Mason are outraged that administrators agreed to rename the law school after the late Justice Antonin Scalia without any input from the people who work or study there — his opinions don’t “reflect the values of our campus community.” They’re circulating a petition to denounce the name change, but thus far, none of its signatories are law professors. [NBC News]

* “I would appreciate if we could keep things that are very serious here appropriately viewed that way.” 50 Cent got yelled at by his bankruptcy judge because he brought his cellphone into the courthouse, took a picture of himself with a stack of fake cash, and posted it on Instagram. A motion to dismiss this wanksta is needed. [WSJ Law Blog]

* SCOTUS will hear oral arguments on the appeal of securities fraud case Salman v. United States next term, and Eugene Ingoglia of Morvillo L.L.P. hopes the justices will provide some greater detail as to “what counts as a personal benefit.” Let’s just hope that they don’t make insider trading’s road any rockier. [DealBook / New York Times]

* “The district court’s ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin.” You know that when an appellate holding begins with the prior statement, the trial judge is going to be in for a doozy of a benchslap. We’ll have more on the First Circuit slapping around Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez (D.P.R.) later today. [BuzzFeed]

* Jamie Wine, who was recently appointed as the chair of Latham’s global litigation and trial department, says even though L&W already has 610 litigators, she’s looking to hire more of them in the firm’s New York and London offices. If you think you want to lateral in, you should know you may be meeting with up to 50 partners. [Big Law Business]

* Hiring for law school summer associates may be on the rise, but you shouldn’t assume this means you’ll automatically be able to land a job at a prestigious law firm. These firms tend to “put a high value on law school pedigree and grades,” so if you happen to attend a lesser school, you’ll need to be ranked very highly. [U.S. News & World Report]

* “Every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime.” New York Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich dismissed part of singer Kesha’s claims against producer Dr. Luke because the pop star’s allegations of rape and abuse were time barred and happened outside the state. Tick tock on the clock for a similar suit she filed in California. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has scheduled an appointment to meet with Judge Merrick Garland for breakfast next Tuesday, despite his opposition to President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Senator Grassley’s courteous refusal to perform his job presumably pairs well with eggs and bacon. [Quad-City Times]

* The Department of Justice has filed suit against Halliburton and Baker Hughes, seeking to block the oil-field services companies’ pending merger. According to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, completion of the deal would “eliminate vital competition, skew energy markets, and harm American consumers.” [DealBook / New York Times]

* Panama papers law firm Mossack Fonseca seems to have pulled off the perfect magic trick. Shortly after the firm’s exploits in hiding client assets in offshore accounts were revealed via hack, its U.S. operations all but disappeared. The firm’s website has now been scrubbed completely clean of any connection to its Miami office. [USA Today]

* Bart Williams, a top partner at Munger Tolles — a firm that’s been likened to the Wachtell of the West — will be leaving the place where he’s called home for 21 years to become the co-chair of Proskauer Rose’s Los Angeles litigation department. This is a real coup for Proskauer, since partners rarely leave Munger. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* According to a statement released by the RIAA, hundreds of musicians and songwriters — like Katy Perry, for example — have called on Congress to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Safe-harbor clauses are absolutely killing the artists’ bottom line, and something must be done. [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter]

* “[M]any law firms have had breaches, which they’ve kept quiet.” Following the news that Cravath and Weil Gotshal had been victims of data breaches, Edelson, a plaintiff’s side firm, announced it would be filing class-action suits against 15 major Biglaw firms with cybersecurity problems. We can’t wait to find out which ones will be on the receiving end of these complaints. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* Being the world’s first publicly traded law firm has turned out to be quite the debacle for Slater & Gordon. First, the Australian firm announced market losses of about $740 million, citing “underperformance in U.K. operations,” and now its general counsel has decided to throw in the towel after only two months on the job. Ouch. [Am Law Daily]

* “I have lost my faith in the potential for the Law School or its curriculum to put out people who care deeply about things.” Members of Harassment/Assault Law-School Team, a student group that advocates for sexual assault victims, aren’t impressed with Harvard Law’s inaction on educating students about sexual assault. [Harvard Crimson]

* How can we guarantee educators are being honest about graduates’ job prospects? Based on the results of the Corinthian Colleges fiasco and the Alaburda v. TJSL trial, it seems like “[s]trict disclosure rules for all schools would be better than lawsuits and government aid as a way to ensure educator honesty.” [DealBook / New York Times]

If you're curious, here's something worth listening to.

* William Shatner has found himself at the center of a $170 million paternity lawsuit that was filed by a radio DJ who claims the actor had a fling with his biological mother. If we’d been able to reach him for comment, we imagine Shatner would’ve said something like this for himself: “Oh my… God I am… not… the father.” [People Magazine]

* Judge Rosemary Collyer of the D.C. District Court may not have the name recognition some of her colleagues do, but she’s had a hand in some of the most newsworthy cases we’ve seen in recent years. The “systemically important” judge just added another notch to her high-profile belt by stripping MetLife of its “too big to fail” label. [WSJ Law Blog]

* “When your basic human needs are at stake, you should have a lawyer to protect those needs. The consequences are too great.” Eighteen states are considering bills that would ensure legal representation for low-income people in certain civil cases, such as matters involving eviction, foreclosure, child custody, and involuntary commitment. [ABC News]

* Earlier this week, Debevoise & Plimpton launched the Debevoise Women’s Review, a site that will aim to focus on the achievements of women lawyers and business professionals. The site will concentrate on “the development, retention and promotion of female professionals.” Way to go, Debevoise! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* More and more law schools are completely overhauling their coursework in an effort to put more butts in seats, and make sure those butts are prepared for law practice after graduation. Some schools have even significantly reduced tuition costs. For example, students can now attend Elon Law for the low, low flat rate of $100K. [U.S. News]

A recent Supreme Court cert denial isn’t good news for Vergara, but she still has the better of the argument against her ex-fiancé, Nick Loeb, over what should be done with their frozen embryos.

The latest case to hit headlines, that of Oregon business tycoon Jordan Schnitzer, makes prior sex-selection controversies look completely straightforward by comparison.

The behind-the-scenes story of the star athlete's legal battle against the NYPD.

* International Biglaw firms in Brussels are “just trying to soldier on” in the wake of the terror attacks that rocked the city yesterday morning. A White & Case secretary was on the metro train that was bombed, but she managed to escape from the wreckage unscathed. All lawyers and staff members have been accounted for and are alive and well. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* Singer Kesha has appealed the decision of a judge who declined to void her contract with Sony Music, a record label where she claims she’d be forced to work with a producer who allegedly raped her. This time, her lawyer, Mark Geragos, has likened the pop star’s situation to slavery. Hmm… let’s see how well that goes over for her in court. [Reuters]

* “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” For the first time since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 split decision along ideological lines. That very sentence could have a huge impact on some of the high court’s more significant cases for a year or more if Merrick Garland isn’t confirmed. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Professor Melissa Murray of UC Berkeley Law has been tapped to stand in as the school’s interim dean in the wake of Sujit Choudhry’s resignation following the news that he’d been named as a defendant in a sexual harassment suit. Law students chose Murray as their “overwhelming choice” for dean in a poll. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times]

* Since the GRE is regarded as an easier test than the LSAT, and at least one school will no longer require it for admission, some pre-law students may be wondering whether they should bother to take the LSAT at all. Don’t be silly. Much like the word “fetch,” the GRE isn’t going to happen. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]