Clawbacks

  • Morning Docket: 09.28.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.28.16

    * “It would have been disastrous for the whole country.” Following Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s screening of “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” the infamous smut peddler at the center of the film received a standing ovation after speaking to an audience about what would have happened if the Supreme Court hadn’t ruled in Hustler’s favor in the landmark First Amendment case. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million in bonus and stock awards in the wake of the lender’s sham accounts scandal. As we mentioned previously, the bank’s board was looking to Shearman & Sterling for guidance on whether it would move forward with clawback actions against executives considering the severity of the misconduct and fraud that occurred. [CNN]

    * Sorry, Lynn Tilton, but the Supreme Court isn’t going to rescue you: the “Diva of Distressed” applied to the high court for a stay of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s action against her, arguing that the agency’s use of in-house judges was unconstitutional, but the Court flat-out rejected her request, without even so much as a dissent. Tilton could be barred from further work in the securities industry. [Bloomberg]

    * Chelsea Grayson, who currently serves as general counsel of American Apparel, is moving up in the company to take on an even bigger and better role. She will assume the position of chief executive officer next month as the company considers a sale. She’s guided the company through controversies in the past, so a potential sale should be no problem for this former Loeb & Loeb partner. Congratulations! [Big Law Business]

    * A former investigator for the Illinois Appellate Defender’s Office is receiving a major windfall after alleging that she was forced to resign for complaining about a salary cut. Alice Washington is set to receive more than $1 million dollars for her retaliation claim, but State Appellate Defender Michael Pelletier says he plans to appeal the judgment due to the fact that he “cannot in good conscience settle with this woman.” [ABA Journal]

    * Michael Fahy, lawyer turned firefighter, RIP. [New York Daily News]

  • Morning Docket: 04.12.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.12.16

    * Howrey doing with all those profit clawbacks for unfinished business? The bankruptcy trustee for this defunct firm filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit to determine whether his method of collecting cash for the insolvent firm’s estate was legal, and in an amicus brief, the ABA has sided with the law firms being bilked for funds, saying such efforts must be nixed. [ABA Journal]

    * The Tenth Circuit dismissed a challenge to Utah’s ban on polygamy that was brought by TLC’s “Sister Wives” family, saying they didn’t have standing to sue as they were no longer subject to a credible threat of prosecution. This will probably add fuel to the rumors that the show is on the verge of cancellation before Season 7. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * The SEC has charged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in connection to a stock scam involving tech company Servergy. Paxton allegedly assisted the company with raising investor funds, but never disclosed his commissions. With three pending criminal indictments and a bar complaint, this guy is batting 1000. [Dallas Morning News]

    * Reclaim Harvard Law protestors who have been occupying the school’s student center claim that they found a voice-activated recording device in “Belinda Hall,” and have interpreted this as an “intentional effort to surveil [their] movement.” If your goal was to get people to listen to your message, consider this an achievement unlocked. [Observer]

    * If you’re uncertain about your law school decision, you can certainly put down multiple seat deposits, but we’re not sure why you would want to. By all means, start your legal education by putting yourself into debt — you’ll be off to a great start for the six figures of loans you’ll have accumulated by graduation. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

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  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 09.30.15

    * Is there a pattern of dishonesty in the Orange County, CA District Attorney’s office? [New York Times]

    * Does a lack of SEC enforcement on clawback rules actually create a perverse incentive to manipulate earnings? [MarketWatch]

    * Shocking news: Men admire their own work more than women do. I know that sentence is full of gender norms, but sometimes it is what it is. [TaxProf Blog]

    * Is it ever okay for Biglaw associates to have privacy in the office? [What About Paris?]

    * What you need to know right now in the world of legal tech. [CodeX]

    * Thinking of using Google AdWords for your firm? Careful if you’re bidding on opposing counsel’s name, it could land you in ethical hot water. [Legal Profession Blog]

    * What are the biggest threats for your corporate data? [Bloomberg BNA]

  • Bankruptcy, Basketball, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Gender, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Women's Issues

    Morning Docket: 11.04.14

    * “When a law firm is on a verge of insolvency, the last thing you want is for the most productive partners to leave.” The latest ruling in the Dewey & LeBoeuf case has Biglaw partners talking about “run[ning] for the exits.” [New York Law Journal]

    * Oh mon dieu! Thanks to a botched French translation of an English press release, the Cote d’Ivoire Bar Association may file criminal proceedings against two Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe attorneys for fraud. [Am Law Daily]

    * Michele Roberts, the former Skaddenite who’s now the first woman to lead the National Basketball Players Association, thinks women need to learn how to develop business. [National Law Journal]

    * It seems that the dean of Brooklyn Law School has willingly signed up to be roasted by some of his students. This might be a bad decision on his part, but he’s a brave human being. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

    * What’s the “right” number of law schools to apply to, and how can you figure out what the “right” number is for yourself? It’s magic, plain and simple. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

  • Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Federal Judges, Football, Labor / Employment, Morning Docket, Native Americans, Partner Issues

    Morning Docket: 05.16.14

    * Congrats to Diane Humetewa, the first Native American woman to serve as a federal judge in United States history. You’d think this achievement would’ve already been reached. [Arizona Daily Star]

    * When your case is compared to a law school exam, and the judge uses the number “bazillion” to describe the problems that could happen, it sucks to be you, Detroit. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * Dewey know when this failed firm actually went belly up? It’s liquidating trustee says D&L was insolvent in 2009, and wants $22.5 million from ex-international partners in his latest clawback suits. [Am Law Daily]

    * The managing partner of Seyfarth Shaw refers to his firm as the “Costco of corporate legal services” because it’s a place where you can “get more for less.” What’s the membership fee? [Chicago Tribune]

    * The Buffalo Bills filed a motion to dismiss the wage and hour suit put forth by the disgruntled members of its cheerleading squad, the Buffalo Jills. You better hope that motion survives the “jiggle test.” [CBS Sports]

  • Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Education / Schools, Howrey LLP, Law Professors, Law Schools, Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.08.14

    * Footnote fight! Justice Sonia Sotomayor has been clashing with quite a few of her fellow Supreme Court jurists lately, aside from Chief Justice John Roberts. She recently inspired the wrath of Justice RBG herself. [New York Times]

    * After months of being poked and prodded for cash, 60 former Howrey equity partners have reached clawback deals with bankruptcy trustee Allan Diamond, and it looks like a few of them agreed to pay pretty hefty sums. [Am Law Daily]

    * Here’s a headline we could’ve told you was coming: “The US lawyer bubble has conclusively popped.” It’s not a terribly good decision to attend now, but if you do, people who can’t pay you need your help. [Quartz]

    * Cutting law school tuition may be a good idea to attract more students, but in the long run, it could hurt the schools, says Moody’s. Aww, let us shed some tears for those poor law schools. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Crim Law prof not guilty of… crime. Stephen Smith of Notre Dame Law was acquitted on a misdemeanor invasion of privacy charge, and the felony battery charge he faced was dismissed. [South Bend Tribune]

    * The University of Arizona will be the first school in the U.S. to offer a bachelor’s degree in law. The degree is being marketed to people who eventually want to have lots of law-related debt. [National Law Journal]

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  • Airplanes / Aviation, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Patton Boggs

    Morning Docket: 04.01.14

    * Maybe things are getting better. Per the latest Law Watch Managing Partner Confidence Index, Biglaw partners have shown an uptick in confidence in the first quarter of 2014. [Am Law Daily]

    * Thanks to this ruling, Chevron can sue Patton Boggs over claims it engaged in fraud during the Ecuador case. Don’t worry, we’re sure the merger with Squire Sanders will be just fine. [Reuters]

    * Dewey know how much the latest clawback suit seeks from this failed firm’s ex-COO? About $9.3 million, for his “astronomically generous” employment contract. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]

    * No more “unfounded” filings for this unfound plane: A firm’s attempts to get documents from Malaysian Air to file a possible lawsuit have been thwarted by a judge, with the possibility of sanctions. [Bloomberg]

    * When your “concerned uncle” is writing to a pre-law adviser about your future when you haven’t even gone to college yet, you know you’re probably destined to be a gunner. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

  • American Bar Association / ABA, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, California, Deaths, Federal Judges, Food, Gay, Gay Marriage, Intellectual Property, Law Firm Mergers, Law Firm Names, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Movies, Partner Issues, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, YouTube

    Morning Docket: 09.20.12

    * Are you ready for some Supreme gossip? In remarks delivered at Colorado Law, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg predicted that the Defense of Marriage Act would be argued “toward the end of the current term.” [CBS News]

    * Dewey’s version of trying to curry favor for the proposed $72M partner settlement? Filing a deposition transcript noting that others could’ve also been blamed for D&L’s downfall, but weren’t due to time constraints. Gee, thanks. [Am Law Daily]

    * Novak Druce + Quigg and Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz will merge to form Novak Druce Connolly Bove & Quigg, the 7th largest IP firm in the U.S. Guess seven name partners was a bit much. [Delaware Law Weekly]

    * Michael McShane was nominated by President Obama to fill a judgeship in Oregon. If confirmed, he’d be one of the few openly gay judges on the federal bench, which, of course, would be absolutely fabulous. [Oregonian]

    * The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession wants the ABA to amend the Model Rules of Professional Conduct to include a duty to promote diversity. Because we clearly need a rule on that. [National Law Journal]

    * Cindy Garcia, an actress from “Innocence of Muslims” is suing, claiming that she was duped into the role under false pretenses. She wants the film removed from YouTube. Everyone else does, too, lady. [Bloomberg]

    * A judge refused to issue an injunction against the California ban on foie gras, instead allowing a suit on the same topic to move forward. Oh mon dieu, judge, think of all the poor Francophiles! [San Francisco Chronicle]

    * Joshua Morse III, former dean of Mississippi Law who defied segregation, RIP. [New York Times]

  • Antitrust, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Books, Clarence Thomas, Department of Justice, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Football, Law Professors, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Pro Bono, Religion, SCOTUS, Senate Judiciary Committee, Sentencing Law, Supreme Court

    Morning Docket: 09.18.12

    * “We’re all from the Ivy League. That seems to be more relevant than what faith we are.” SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas really knows how to make Article III Groupie’s heart sing. [New York Times]

    * Dewey know why this failed firm’s bankruptcy team is cutting special deals with the former D&Lers who worked on the sale of the Dodgers? Like all things Biglaw, it all circles back to money. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * What in William Baer’s past might lead the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a closed meeting on his candidacy to lead the DOJ’s Antitrust Division? [Blog of Legal Times]

    * In a heartwarming pro bono project, Proskauer Rose will be representing NYC in its attempts to evict an elderly newsstand operator from his kiosk in Greenwich Village. It really brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it? [New York Post]

    * Jerry Sandusky will be sentenced on October 9, and prosecutors are asking that he be classified as a sexually violent predator. Boy, that’ll be a fun title to have while he’s in jail for the rest of his life. [Bloomberg]

    * “[A]t present, the large majority of law graduates — perhaps 80 percent — end up worse off after going to law school that they were before they enrolled.” Paul Campos is so cheerful in his book. [National Law Journal]

  • 9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Breasts, Dewey & LeBoeuf, H. Rodgin Cohen, Morning Docket, Pictures, Privacy, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks, United Kingdom / Great Britain

    Morning Docket: 09.17.12

    * Come on, people, Dewey really think that it’s fair that these proposed partnership clawback settlements blame only us for the firm’s implosion? The Steves and ex-CFO Joel Sanders don’t think so. [Bloomberg]

    * “[E]ven if partners’ capital contributions were used to repay Dewey’s indebtedness—so what?” Well, that’s certainly one way to defend a suit alleging Citibank’s participation in a Ponzi-like scheme. [Am Law Daily]

    * A $280K bonus sure seems nice, but do all Supreme Court clerks choose life in Biglaw once they’ve completed their stints at the high court? As it turns out, the answer is no — some view the money as “golden handcuffs.” [Wall Street Journal]

    * Because nobody can ogle these crown jewels except Prince William: the royals’ potential suit against Closer magazine over topless pics of Kate Middleton has turned into full-blown privacy proceeding. [New York Times]

    * If you’re struggling in law school, it may be wise to take some advice from those who’ve been there before you, like SullCrom’s Rodge Cohen, the Ninth Circuit’s Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. [National Law Journal]