Contraceptives

  • Morning Docket: 03.30.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.30.16

    * An odd order? Perhaps in an attempt to avoid yet another 4-4 split in a controversial case, SCOTUS justices have ordered parties on both sides of the contraceptive coverage battle in Zubik to file briefs describing how such coverage could be provided without religious groups having to put forth much effort to formally object. [Associated Press]

    * “It’s mind bogglingly obvious, but often gets lost in the mix. Apart from checking there aren’t any conflicts, clients are rarely put at the heart of these mergers.” Go figure, but according to a new report by professional services consultancy Gulland Padfield, law firm mergers usually don’t benefit clients in any way, shape, or form. [Am Law Daily]

    * It seems that Russian cybercriminal “Oleras” has hired hackers to break into the computer systems of 48 Biglaw firms so he can collect confidential client data and then trade on the stolen insider information. Thus far, he’s been unsuccessful. Has your law firm been targeted? If you’d like to know, check the list here. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

    * The NFL is so pissed that the New York Times recently published a story linking the league to the tobacco industry that it not only wrote a two-part rebuttal that was more than 3000 words long, but it also sicced Paul Weiss attorneys on the paper of record in search of a retraction, claiming that the story was defamatory in nature. [Yahoo! Sports]

    * “I will not go down. I want Bill Cosby in court.” A Los Angeles judge has ruled that model Janice Dickinson’s defamation case against Bill Cosby can move forward so that a jury can decide whether her allegations of rape are truthful, and further, whether a “liar” comment made by the comedian’s ex-lawyer, Marty Singer, was defamatory. [Telegram]

  • Morning Docket: 03.24.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.24.16

    * “If you give a judge a meeting, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk, because he is probably very thirsty from that one time you compared him to Idi Amin.” In light of the stranglehold Republicans have on Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s fate when it comes to his confirmation hearings, Dahlia Lithwick composed this cute riff on the children’s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. [Slate]

    * In an attempt to get with the times, Vermont Law is offering a Reduced-Residency Juris Doctor program, where students will be able to take up to 15 credits online in an off-campus location. Unfortunately, this flexibility comes at a price — the same exact price as the school’s regular J.D. program. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

    * Considering the high tensions during oral arguments yesterday in Zubik v. Burwell, a legal battle having to do with the ACA’s contraceptives mandate, the Supreme Court seems poised to issue another 4-4 split decision in one of the most controversial cases this term. If that happens, the lower court ruling would be left intact. [New York Times]

    * The ABA Journal wants to know how much you paid in law school tuition. If you graduated before the cost of a three-year legal education was akin to a mortgage, please take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are. If you’re a recent graduate, you’ve got plenty of people to commiserate with about your hefty debt burdens. [ABA Journal]

    * “Did the Supreme Court make weed legal across America?” No, no it did not, and you must be stoned if you think that’s what the high court did in its decision, or lack thereof, in the Nebraska v. Colorado case that it begged off on earlier this week. For now, the federal legalization of marijuana is nothing more than just a pipe dream. [Inquisitr]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 03.23.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.23.16

    * The Supreme Court is behind some of the epic lines voters have experienced during the primaries. [The Nation]

    * Did Justice Kennedy just reveal himself to be hostile to the contraception mandate accommodation in today’s oral arguments in Zubik v. Burwell? [Slate]

    * Senator Pat Toomey may be caving on the Merrick Garland front — the Pennsylvania Republican has agreed to take a meeting with the judge. [Politico]

    * This is the actual problem with the most recent interpretation of Superman. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

    * Making the connection between reproductive freedom and LGBTQ rights. [Huffington Post]

    * Opining on the ultimate fate of Edward Snowden. [Law and More]

    * Charting the spread of marijuana legalization. [Pacific Standard Magazine]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.30.15

    * “Say you’ll remember me, getting groped in a nice dress…” Uh oh! This pop star seems pretty pissed! Taylor Swift has filed a countersuit against a radio DJ who sued her because he claims he was fired for inappropriately touching the singer backstage at a concert. [Rolling Stone]

    * Charleston School of Law has a new president, and hopefully his tenure will be less wrought with disaster than that of his predecessors. He says he’ll be paid one whole dollar per year as his salary until he can turn things around. [Charleston Post and Courier]

    * At a speaking engagement at Santa Clara Law earlier this week, Justice Antonin Scalia proclaimed that the Supreme Court has been “liberal” throughout the entirety of his 30-year tenure. We’d like to beg His Honor’s pardon; that can’t be true. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * As this article so eloquently puts it, “[t]he Supreme Court is about to climb back into Americans’ bedrooms.” Today, the high court will review several petitions from non-profit groups that want to be exempted from ACA’s contraception mandate. [USA Today]

    * Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the number of firms that are trying to enter the market. To establish a presence in the Lone Star State, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton is saying howdy to some new partners and merging with Crouch & Ramey. [ABA Journal]

  • Celebrities, Health Care / Medicine, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Religion, Rudy Giuliani, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Video games

    Morning Docket: 10.29.14

    * “I thought it was hilarious. And I imagine my colleagues who have seen it would share that view.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has seen John Oliver’s talking Supreme Court dogs, and she totally LOLed about it. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Hey guys, guess who’s excited about a yet-to-occur increase in law school applications? If you guessed law school admissions officers, then you’d be right. Come on, what else are they going to do now, cry? [National Law Journal]

    * We suppose some congratulations are in order for Ave Maria Law, because now the school doesn’t have to provide insurance coverage for its employees’ contraceptives. Yay, thanks Hobby Lobby! [LifeNews]

    * Manuel Noriega’s “Call of Duty” lawsuit was dismissed earlier this week, and Rudy Giuliani is just glad that “a notorious criminal didn’t win.” Let’s get real here: the dictator’s rep was already damaged. [CNN]

    * “Can we talk?” Melissa Rivers called a plaintiffs firm to ask the question made famous by her late mother, Joan Rivers. Her malpractice and wrongful death suit will be coming soon. [Page Six / New York Post]

  • Ann Althouse, Health Care / Medicine, Movies, Murder, Non-Sequiturs, Religion, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trials, Women's Issues, YouTube

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.25.14

    * Professor Ann Althouse’s analysis of today’s Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood arguments before SCOTUS. [Althouse] * Professor Nelson Tebbe’s take on the proceedings. [Balkinization] * Finally, a very Jezebel assessment: “Supreme Court Prepares to F**k Up This Birth Control Thing.” [Jezebel] * “JUDGE TO PORN TROLLS: IP Addresses Aren’t People.” [Instapundit] * YouTube videos and text messages surface in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. [IT-Lex] * “Her” was an excellent movie — and it might contain lessons for lawyers and the legal profession, as John Hellerman argues. [Hellerman Baretz]
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  • 3rd Circuit, Biglaw, Civil Rights, Deaths, Defamation, Drinking, Education / Schools, Health Care / Medicine, Job Searches, Law Reviews, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Nude Dancing, Parties, Politics, Rape, Religion, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns, Williams Mullen, Women's Issues

    Morning Docket: 08.05.13

    * When it comes to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage mandate, corporate personhood only goes so far. Religious freedoms apply to human beings, not their businesses, and the Third Circuit agrees. [New York Times]

    * According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector added 2,800 jobs in July after major losses in the two months prior. We’re sure that the eleventy billion members of the class of 2013 will be very pleased. [Am Law Daily]

    * Not a Nigerian scam: Biglaw firms in Washington, D.C. — like Covington & Burling, Greenberg Traurig, and Williams Mullen — are busy chasing business in Africa. [Capital Business / Washington Post]

    * A New Jersey municipal judge faces ethics charges due to his “extra-judicial activities” with an exotic dancer. It seems she appeared before him in his courtroom and in his bed. [New Jersey Law Journal]

    * Tawana Brawley, the woman who dragged a New York prosecutor into an elaborate rape hoax (complete with race-baiting), is finally making payments on a defamation verdict. [New York Post]

    * “Either I’m a stupid lawyer, or I’m stupid for thinking the court will enforce the rights of guys.” Former Cravath attorney and men’s rights advocate Roy Den Hollander is at it again. [New York Daily News]

    * Morehouse College will be the fifth undergraduate school in the nation to publish a law journal. This is basically a case study in what it means to begin law school gunning while in college. [Daily Report]

    * Things are pretty dire for New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner. Not even “that [law grad] who takes pictures of himself in his underwear in the mirror” would vote for him. [Delaware News Journal]

    * Julius Chambers, famous civil rights lawyer and former leader of the NAACP LDF, RIP. [NBC News]

  • California, Crime, Federal Government, Gay, Gay Marriage, Health Care / Medicine, Immigration, John Roberts, Law Professors, Law Schools, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas, Violence

    Morning Docket: 06.28.13

    * Do you think Chief Justice Roberts is the Supreme Court’s “peacemaker”? To be fair, at least he does a better job of tempering all of his judicial rage than his colleagues. [Politico] * According to Prof. John Eastman of Chapman Law, the SCOTUS decision striking down DOMA means Prop 8 is good law in California. Try and wrap your mind around that one. [OC Weekly] * The Senate approved a bipartisan immigration reform plan with a 68-32 vote, and now it’s up to House representatives to take the bill and summarily wipe their asses with it. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * The good folks at Hobby Lobby quilted for hours yesterday to celebrate the Tenth Circuit’s reversal of a lower court’s denial of an injunction blocking the ACA’s contraceptives mandate. [The Oklahoman] * Texas A&M still hopes to acquire Texas Weslyan’s law school; they’re just waiting for the ABA to look over the paperwork. Welcome, Texas A&M Law, since the takeover will obviously be approved. [WTAW] * Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been indicted on 30 counts of violence and weapons-related charges. Right now, he’s looking at a possibility of life in prison or the death penalty. [CNN]
  • Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Federal Judges, Health Care / Medicine, Howrey LLP, Morning Docket, Screw-Ups, Sheppard Mullin, State Judges, Women's Issues

    Morning Docket: 07.18.12

    * Bankruptcy blues: “No one is getting a free pass.” Howrey going to start clawing back all of that money from our former partners and their new firms? Dewey even want to get started with this failed firm’s D&L defectors? [Am Law Daily (sub. req.)]

    * Way to show that you’ve got some Seoul: Ropes & Gray, Sheppard Mullin, and Clifford Chance were the first Biglaw firms to receive approval from the Korean Ministry of Justice to open the first foreign firm offices in South Korea. [Legal Week]

    * This is supposed to represent an improvement? Pretty disappointing. The percentage of women holding state court judgeships increased by a whopping 0.7 percent over last year’s numbers. [National Law Journal]

    * Throw your birth control pills in the air like confetti, because a judge tossed a lawsuit filed by seven states that tried to block the Affordable Care Act’s mandatory contraception coverage provision. [Lincoln Journal Star]

    * “[S]omewhere along the way the guy forgot to tell the seller that he was working with the buyer.” Duane Morris was sued for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty for more than $192M. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]

    * Please don’t Google me, bitches. Brandon Hamilton, Louisville Law’s ex-assistant dean for admissions, resigned Monday after overpromising $2.4M in scholarship money to incoming law students. [Courier-Journal]

    * A New Hampshire college is offering free tuition to students in their junior year if they combine their senior year with their first year at the Massachusetts School of Law. The catch? Mass Law is unaccredited. [NHPR]

  • Blogging, Drinking, DUI / DWI, John Roberts, Law Schools, Media and Journalism, Morning Docket, Pictures, Pornography, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Weddings, Women's Issues

    Morning Docket: 03.05.12

    * Apparently the Roberts Court is unusual in that its elite members lacked opportunities to gain “the most critical judicial virtue: practical wisdom.” Yeah, right. Tell that one to the Wise Latina. [Washington Post]

    * In the wake of the contraception controversy, Rush Limbaugh apologized for calling Georgetown 3L Sandra Fluke a “slut.” He’s so very, very sorry… that he lost some of his advertisers. [The Caucus / New York Times]

    * The powers that be in Massachusetts have decided to show law bloggers a little bit of respect. Now they’ll get to cover judicial proceedings like real, live journalists — press passes and all. [Metro Desk / Boston Globe]

    * Pornography: now with ten percent fewer HIV infections! A Los Angeles city ordinance requiring porn actors to wear condoms during filming will be taking effect today. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times]

    * After making two other DWI arrests disappear from her record, former Bronx ADA Jennifer Troiano pleaded guilty to drunk driving last week. It looks like the third time really is the charm. [New York Daily News]

    * New York newlyweds allege that Glamour Me Studio Photoshopped their heads onto naked bodies. Groomzilla Todd Remis must be glad that his wedding photography woes weren’t so graphic. [New York Post]

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