Chris Christie

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.11.16

* "Could a firm with a different business model suffer, potentially, if they don't match the $180,000? Maybe." Law firms may be competing for fewer students than in years prior thanks to decreased law school enrollment, but Biglaw's new starting salary scale doesn't seem to have made a big impact on the summer associate applicant pool -- at most schools, OCI participation has held steady or risen only slightly since last year. [Law.com] * “Are you listening? He just flat out lied. ... [I]t could be bad." In a text message that was included in a federal court filing earlier this week, a former aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie claimed that the governor lied when he told the media none of his staff knew about a plan to block George Washington Bridge traffic. Uh-oh! [New York Times] * "We'll tell the council that there's a giant need for affordable law schools like us, and we're going to meet that need." After learning it was unlikely his school would receive accreditation due to students' poor qualifications, Dean Royal Furgeson Jr. of UNT Dallas Law shrugged it off, saying the school would "get a fair hearing." [ABA Journal] * Robert Schulman, a former partner at Hunton & Williams, has been indicted for allegedly trading on insider information ahead of Pfizer's $3.6 billion purchase of King Pharmaceuticals, a client he represented in 2010 while at the firm. He, along with his investment adviser, will face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. [Big Law Business] * Yet another Biglaw firm has partnered with a financial company to assist its attorneys with their law school debt. Miller Canfield is working with Social Finance (SoFi) to provide loan refinancing options to the firm's associates to help "ease the financial burden" of their heavy six-figure debt loads. [Grand Rapids Business Journal] * "They're being terribly exploited." Lichten and Bright, a New York labor law firm, has contacted hundreds of UFC fighters in an effort to unionize them and help get them benefits that other sports unions share, like health insurance, pensions, and the ability to negotiate the terms of their contracts with the mixed martial arts giant. [MMA Junkie]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 07.21.16

* Despite some big-ticket cases, the Supreme Court still leans right. [Empirical SCOTUS] * The Kafka-esque treatment of a mentally ill rape victim, who was locked up over the Christmas holiday to make sure she'd testify, will infuriate you. [Mimesis Law] * Cory Booker is still in the VP race, and he's pissed about what he sees at the RNC: “It’s as if truth means nothing,” and the GOP is a “counter-factual party.” [Washington Post] * Chris Christie “turned over his political testicles long ago.” Sounds about right. [Huffington Post] * Is Ted Cruz's political snub better than a legal remedy? [Law and More] * Should India consider taking up Russia’s offer to build a nuclear aircraft carrier? [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

By Kathryn Rubino
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]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.11.16

* TRUCE! In the wake of his settlement with Paul Cassell, Alan Dershowitz looks to make peace with David Boies after a vicious fight. [Big Law Business] * Speaking of making peace, Chris Christie has made a deal with New Jersey Democrats to end a six-year stalemate over the state Supreme Court. He is nominating Bridget Kelly's old lawyer, Walter Timpone. [New Jersey.com] * More analysis of bar exam results: see what happened in Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, and Kentucky. [Bar Exam Stats] * Is it ethically acceptable -- and does it work -- to shame prosecutors for wrongful convictions? [Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics via Slate] * Yes, that's billions with a B: Goldman Sachs to pay $5 billion in settlements over charges it contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. [Gawker] * Kevin Abikoff, partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, cleared Unaoil in an anti-corruption report, and is now facing questions about that representation. [Huffington Post]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.04.16

* "I'd hope they'd see reason but I wouldn't bet the family farm on it." Senate Republicans may be stomping their feet about confirming one of President Obama's Supreme Court nominees, but it may behoove them to do it now before Hillary Clinton takes office with a Democrat-controlled Senate. [Common Sense / New York Times] * Sincere congratulations to Damaris Hernández, who recently achieved a seemingly impossible feat at her Bigfirm. The 36-year-old attorney is the first Latina to become a partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore. She joins the 46 other Hispanic women who are partners at just a few of America's largest law firms. [DealBook / New York Times] * Lawmakers from the Garden State have demanded that Gibson Dunn and digital forensics firm Stroz Friedberg repay $2.8 million in legal fees in the Bridgegate case, the bulk of which were e-discovery charges to the tune of $2.3 million. Welcome to the absurdity that is document review, New Jersey! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * It looks like Apple isn't the only tech company that's dueling with the DOJ right now. Since "[t]he interest in secrecy does not last forever," Twitter is mounting a First Amendment case against the Feds over its ability to publicly release data that allegedly contains details related to the government's terrorism investigations. [WSJ Law Blog] * The 10 customers who filed a class-action lawsuit against Subway over the sub shop's less-than foot-long footlong sandwiches will only be able to afford 100 $5 footlongs each, because the lawyers on the case are walking away with $520,000 out of $525,000 settlement dollars -- that's 99 percent of the settlement. Fair? [Dayton Daily News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.14.15

* Donald Trump has opinions on Supreme Court justices. He thinks that Roberts is "disgraceful," that Scalia was "very tough" on black students, and that he loves Thomas. Perhaps he should take a cue from his favorite justice and shut up. [CNN; Associated Press] * An easy peasy solution? Rather than amend the Constitution, Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio says that he'll just appoint Supreme Court justices who will overturn the decision in the Obergefell case because he thinks that gay marriage is "bad law." [ThinkProgress] * Gibson Dunn has billed about $8 million to defend New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in the Bridgegate scandal thus far, so here's a thought: perhaps you should show your hard-working associates some appreciation and announce bonuses already. [Fox News] * Taylor Swift filed trademark applications for five signature phrases (Swiftmas, Blank Space, And I'll Write Your Name, A Girl Named Girl, and 1989). If you infringe upon any of them, you can expect that she'll be writing your name -- on a lawsuit. [USA Today] * Braeden Anderson, the Seton Hall law student and ball player who divides his time between the courtroom and the basketball court, has had one hell of a 1L year. When he graduates, this extremely lucky guy may have a job -- with the NBA. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.11.15

* We've been super lucky that Old Man Winter hasn't pelted us with terrible, bitter cold weather... yet. But as Westerosians know, it is coming. Here's how to look good -- and professional -- when it does. [Corporette] * The sad state of immigration law in this country is a big ball of tragedy and comedy. Not exactly an ideal policy. [Huffington Post] * We already reported on Freshfields announcing holiday bonuses today, but another Magic Circle firm is also in a giving mood. Slaughter & May bumped up its "new solicitor bonus" in time for the holidays. That should make this year's Christmas party almost as fun as 1981's. [Legal Cheek] * An historical analysis of how prohibition law led to the modern right wing. Fascinating stuff. [Slate] * Following up on a benchslap from back in April, Judge Charles Rendlen suspends another lawyer as "dishonest and dangerously incompetent." Feel free to read the whole thing here. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch] * Gibson Dunn's Debra Wong Yang, who has billed NJ taxpayers more hours in connection with the Bridgegate investigation than any other lawyer, is now hosting a big-dollar fundraiser for Christie 2016. Time for some traffic problems everywhere! [WNYC]

By Kathryn Rubino