Class Actions
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.28.15
* Nebraska banned the death penalty. Does this signal a new conservative opposition to the practice? Well, is there a way this can make private prison lobbyists more money? Because then, yes. [FiveThirtyEight]
* The best way to sway a Supreme Court justice? Represent clients that the justices have financial stakes in. [Fix the Court]
* Pharmaceutical companies are peeved that lawyers are using Facebook to identify class action plaintiffs. Why aren’t people content to suffer grievous injury for the sake of profits anymore? [Bloomberg Business]
* Now you can know for sure if your job will be replaced by a robot. Good news, lawyers! Unfortunately, I don’t think this thing’s taking into account document reviewers. [Postgrad Problems]
* Jawbone is accusing Fitbit of poaching workers to steal its technology. Ten points to the tipster for the line: “Think this will all work out?” [Slate]
* Two Biglaw partners from rival firms have joined forces on a new challenge Native American adoption rules. It helps that they’re married to each other. [National Law Journal]
* An interesting perspective: “innovation” is more than technology, and it starts with debt relief. [Rawr]
* A former state senate candidate charged with witness tampering. At least he’s got experience with the system — his dad’s political career ended in a hail of guilty pleas too. [Nashoba Publishing]
* Brace yourselves for a shocker, but Biglaw is failing women. [The American Lawyer]
* David Gans on the upcoming “one person, one vote” claim. The proposition at issue, that representation is based on “voters” not “persons,” is so laughably unconstitutional the Court is clearly just trolling us at this point. I mean, putting aside the horrible racism, isn’t the 3/5ths compromise pretty compelling evidence that the Founders meant to count people who didn’t vote? [Constitutional Accountability Center]
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Layoffs
Large Law Firm Faces Class-Action Suit After Laying Off Nearly 700 Legal Professionals
This law firm may be forced to pay for what it’s done after abruptly uprooting the lives of so many. - Sponsored
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.06.15
* “It’s unconscionable, and I believe they have breached the fiduciary duty to the law school, to the students and to the public.” Appalachian Law is struggling, and some believe its trustees are preventing the school from saving itself. Will this be the first school to fold? [Inside Higher Ed]
* “We were all running this ATM machine called big law firms.” Before 2008, it was easier for large law firms to make money, but now, there’s an “insurmountable gap” in revenue between the industry’s heavy hitters and the rest of the pack. [Wall Street Journal]
* You’ll pry their job security from their cold, dead hands: William Mitchell Law professors know that layoffs may be coming thanks to the school’s planned merger with Hamline Law, and have filed suit to protect the Tenure Code. [Minnesota Public Radio News]
* Bonus season isn’t the only thing that Davis Polk has cornered the market on. According to the latest Bloomberg M&A rankings, the firm came out on top during the first quarter of 2015 when it came to advising on major deals. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* “Whatever happened to The New York Times’ fact-checker?” Here’s yet another harsh critique of Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon’s cringeworthy defense of law schools, and this time it’s from a fellow law professor. Ouch. [The Belly of the Beast via Am Law Daily]
* Jay Edelson of Edelson PC may be the “most hated person in Silicon Valley,” but he probably doesn’t care about being Liked — after all, he recently filed suit against Facebook over the social networking company’s face recognition software. [New York Times]
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Supreme Court
The New Trick To Suing Your Phone Company
The Supreme Court has waged war on class action suits, but there may be a workaround to take the telecom companies to court. -
Plaintiffs Firms, Privacy, Technology
Stealthy Cybersecurity Threats: A Conversation With The Superfish Class Action Lawyers
What is "Superfish," and why should you be worried about it? Technology columnist Jeff Bennion explains. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.15.14
* Thanks to a former Skadden attorney’s failed attempt to kill himself, police were able to retrieve a suicide note — entitled “A Sad Ending to My Life” — that revealed the lawyer’s $5M Ponzi scheme. We may have more on this later. [Am Law Daily]
* “I’m not one who believes there are too many lawyers in the country,” says Dean Thomas Guernsey of Thomas Jefferson Law. Conveniently, only 29% of TJSL’s ’13 grads are working in full-time, long-term jobs as lawyers. Kudos! [U-T San Diego]
* The government just paid the least amount of money to legal services contractors since 2008. As far as Biglaw firms are concerned, Curtis Mallet-Prevost posted “significant losses,” receiving $2M less than it did in 2013. [National Law Journal]
* Because not everyone wears gas masks, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to keep police from using tear gas on peaceful protestors in Ferguson without first issuing “clear and unambiguous warnings.” [WSJ Law Blog]
* Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event of the evening! IT’S TIME! FIGHTING out of the blue corner, angry UFC combatants who are planning to use “renowned” antitrust firms to secure “hundreds of millions of dollars”! [Bloody Elbow / SB Nation]
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Non-Sequiturs, Police, Religion, Sex, Sexual Harassment, Ted Frank
Non-Sequiturs: 11.05.14
* A cautionary tale about using online dating to cheat on your spouse — you might end up upwards of $54K poorer. [Legal Cheek] * Alabama wasted time and energy passing a ballot measure for the purely symbolic purpose of reaffirming Xenophobia? Shocking! [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Interesting tale of reporting a female boss for sexual harassment. [Vice] * When the police inevitably come down on you, turn off your iPhones first. [Versus Texas] * 6 Hilarious Trials That Prove the Legal System Is Screwed. [Cracked] * CCAF is hiring. Good pay, flexible hours. Sounds like a great gig if you hate plaintiffs’ firms. [Center for Class Action Fairness] * Should Jewish judges recuse themselves in Palestinian terrorism cases? Um. No? [Tablet Magazine] * Jameis Winston’s lawyer is just the worst. [Jezebel] -
Art, Lawyerly Lairs, Melvyn Weiss, Milberg Weiss, Money, Plaintiffs Firms, Real Estate
Lawyerly Lairs: From A Big House To The Big House And Back Again -- Mel Weiss's $19 Million Mansion
The former king of securities class actions, now out of federal prison, has put his massive mansion up for sale. - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Canada, Drugs, Football, Kids, Law Professors, Law Schools, Marijuana, Morning Docket, Pornography, Rankings, Trials
Morning Docket: 10.09.14
* Thanks to a partner from K&L Gates, victims of revenge porn will be able to rely upon the assistance of the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project to guide them through the courts pro bono. [National Law Journal]
* The latest Princeton Review rankings are out, and now you can find out if you attend a law school that has some of the best professors in the country. Spoiler alert: Yale Law isn’t No. 1. [Huffington Post]
* Calling all lawyers and law students! If you bought a Red Bull in the past 12 years to get through an all-nighter, then you’ll be able to make some quick cash from this class action settlement. [BuzzFeed]
* It seems that Madame Justice Lori Douglas, the Canadian judge whose nude pictures were leaked online, is no longer facing sexual harassment charges. That must be nice for her, all things considered. [CBC News]
* Per federal prosecutors, if you’re not too high to suck at playing games on Xbox, then you’re not too high to forget about friends of the accused Boston bomber removing evidence from your room. [Bloomberg]
* Adrian Peterson’s felony child abuse trial is supposed to begin in December, but it could be delayed because the judge may have to recuse. That’s what happens when you call lawyers “media whores.” [CNN]
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7th Circuit, Benchslaps, Litigators, Richard Posner, Ted Frank
More Benchslaps -- But Mild Ones -- From Judge Richard Posner
Judge Posner channels Mr. Spock: "So [your client] is not logical, you're saying." -
Bar Exams, Plaintiffs Firms, Technology
ExamSoft Sued In Illinois
Our first look at an actual complaint filed against ExamSoft. -
Bar Exams, Plaintiffs Firms, Technology
The Inevitable Trawling For ExamSoft Class Action Participants Has Begun!
Things are going to continue getting worse for ExamSoft for a while.
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American Bar Association / ABA, Federal Judges, Gay Marriage, Job Searches, Law Schools, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Sports, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 06.09.14
* If you’ve ever wondered what’s being said about Supreme Court justices during the vetting process, we’ve got a great one-liner about Justice Breyer, who’s apparently a “rather cold fish.” Oooh, sick burn. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]
* The NLJ 350 rankings are here, and this is where we get to see the big picture about the big boys of Biglaw. In 2013, it looks like headcount grew by 3.9 percent, which is good, but not great, all things considered. Meh. [National Law Journal]
* A Wisconsin judge is the latest to give her state’s ban on same-sex marriage the finger, and she did it with flair, noting in her opinion that “traditional” marriages throughout history were polygamous. [Bloomberg]
* The Ed O’Bannon antitrust case against the NCAA is going to trial today before Judge Claudia Wilken. Since it could change college sports forever, here’s everything you need to know about it. [USA Today]
* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of those employed in the legal sector is at its lowest level since the beginning of 2014, with jobs still being shed. Welcome, graduates! [Am Law Daily]
* UC Irvine Law has finally earned full accreditation from the American Bar Association. We’d like to say nice work and congrats, but we’re pretty sure the ABA would fully accredit a toaster. [Los Angeles Times]
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Football
God Hates You, Buffalo
This week, the Bills carry on their illustrious history as God's punchline, closing one lawsuit and preparing for another. -
Drinking, Food, Law Schools, Litigators, Pro Se Litigants
Muscle Milk + Pro Se Litigant = Hilarity
Muscle Milk + Pro Se Litigant = Hilarity. -
Quote of the Day, Screw-Ups
Gas Company Forgot To Check The Law Before Threatening Customers
Litigation strategy goes poof. -
10th Circuit, Biglaw, Christopher Christie, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, David Boies, Federal Government, Gay, Gay Marriage, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Sports, Ted Olson, Utah
Morning Docket: 02.03.14
* The U.S. government has decreased funding to outside counsel for the third year in a row, leaving most Biglaw firms high and dry — except for Curtis Mallet-Prevost. Spend that $8.7M in contract cash wisely. [National Law Journal]
* Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer who brought DOMA down to its knees, is repping clients who want to intervene in the gay marriage case before the Tenth Circuit. Looks like somebody wants to be 2013 and 2014 Lawyer of the Year. [BuzzFeed]
* A judge has granted class action status in the suit challenging Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage. Let’s see if David Boies and Ted Olson can take another case to the Supreme Court and win. [Reuters]
* If you’ve been wondering why David Wildstein picked the Friday before the Super Bowl to stab Governor Chris Christie in the back, Lat thinks it might have been “some kind of act of revenge.” [Bergen Record]
* No acquittals this time: George Zimmerman is planning to enter the wonderful world of “celebrity” boxing. He’s set to enter the ring on March 1, and is more than likely to get his ass kicked. [Chicago Tribune]
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Labor / Employment, Plaintiffs Firms, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Greatest Risk For Workplace Lawsuits In 2014 Remains 'Doing Illegal Stuff'
Businesses are told that plaintiff lawyers are out to get them. In reality, businesses need to do more to stay out of trouble in the first place. -
9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Cars, Quote of the Day
Chief Judge Kozinski: His Honor Objects!
Welcome to what one legal journalist describes as a "lawyer's nightmare."