Crime
-
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.13.15
* Steven Metro, an ex-managing clerk at Simpson Thacher who was accused of passing insider info about mergers and other business transactions to his law school buddy in a $5.6 million insider trading scheme, has pleaded guilty. He faces up to 20 years in prison. [Reuters]
* Remember Keila Ravelo, the Willkie Farr partner who allegedly stole millions from that firm and her prior firm, Hunton & Williams? It turns out her involvement in the $5.7 billion MasterCard/Visa antitrust settlement could ultimately become its kiss of death. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]
* Chief Judge Morrison England (E.D. Cal.) says he and his colleagues are incredibly overworked, sometimes putting in more than 80 hours per week. It’s too bad it doesn’t make a difference — the court is at a “crisis point” in its backlog of cases. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Last summer, a federal judge ruled the death penalty was unconstitutional in California because an appeals process with the “slight possibility of death” was cruel and unusual. Here’s a real shocker: the Ninth Circuit overturned the decision. [New York Times]
* Embattled Pennsylvania AG Kathleen Kane is well past the point of having 99 problems, but there’s no end in sight. Former prosecutors have filed suit against her, alleging she retaliated against them for exposing her alleged criminal misdeeds. [Tribune-Review]
-
Crime, Rank Stupidity
Comic Sans: The Perfect Font For A Subpoena... If You're As Dumb As This Clerk
Welcome to Montgomery County, Texas -- the town(s) that fonts forgot. - Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.11.15
* A person of interest in the shooting of Texas Judge Julie Kocurek has been apprehended and arrested — not for the shooting, mind you, but for a completely unrelated crime. Judge Kocurek continues her steady recovery after being seriously injured not by a bullet, but by shrapnel and glass. [Austin American-Statesman]
* Barnes & Thornburg partner Vincent “Trace” Schmeltz may be sanctioned for tweeting pictures that he took of the evidence that was presented during a trial. He claims he didn’t see the huge sign outside the courtroom prohibiting “photographing, recording or broadcasting.” [Chicago Tribune via ABA Journal]
* Schneiderman, Schneiderman! Bans sports-betting wherever he can! New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a cease-and-desist order against DraftKings and FanDuel, saying the daily fantasy sites constituted illegal gambling. [New York Times]
* Dentons finally formalized its merger with Dacheng Law Offices yesterday, thus making it the official largest law firm in the world. At 6,600 lawyers strong, just think about how many scandals we’ll be able to cover in 2016. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* According to the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, more women are being welcomed into the ranks of partnership at major firms. Out of 118 firms, women made up 34.4 percent of new partner classes. Let’s celebrate that less-than-50-percent benchmark! [WSJ Law Blog]
* Fred Auston Wortman III, the Tennessee attorney who tried to murder his estranged wife, Staci, by lacing her toothpaste with poison, and later hired an inmate to do the deed after his plan failed, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. [Commercial Appeal]
* Here are three ways you can balance your law school applications with your college responsibilities, but to be honest, if you’re having trouble balancing these things, then perhaps you don’t belong in law school. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
-
Crime, White-Collar Crime
Do Prosecutors Have Too Much Power?
Watch experts debate the pressing question of prosecutorial power. -
Crime, Jury Duty, Trials
Criminally Yours: Don't Eliminate Peremptory Challenges
When used properly, peremptories are one of the most important tools defendants have in getting a fair jury. -
Crime, State Judges
Judge Shot In Her Driveway, Retaliation Suspected
Was this judge shot in retaliation for a case before her? -
Death Penalty
You Aren't As Bad At Your Job As This Guy Is At His
Meet the terrible lawyers that take on the cases with the highest stakes . -
Crime, Quote of the Day
You Will Not Believe What This 10-Year-Old Wrote To A Judge Regarding His Mother's Release From Prison
You must read this heartbreaking letter to the judge. - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Crime, Drugs
Criminally Yours: Can White Heroin Addiction Change The Paradigm?
Until law enforcement, prosecutors, and legislators work out their own conflicted feelings about helping versus punishing drug users, maybe it's time to move this out of police hands entirely. -
Crime, Quote of the Day, Trials
Sheldon Silver's Attorneys Don't Think Much Of The Case Against Their Client
These attorneys tell us what they really think about the government's case. -
Attorney Misconduct, Crime
High-Profile Lawyer Charged With Punching Client In Court
What happens when you allegedly begin to act like your clients and commit a crime -- in court, no less? -
Biglaw, Crime
Ex-Skadden Lawyer Who Botched Suicide Pleads Guilty To Running $5M Ponzi Scheme
How much time could he serve in prison for his crimes? -
Crime, White-Collar Crime
The Logic Of Law Enforcement Investigations
There's no meaningful set of rules constraining how law enforcement authorities start investigating a case -- but there ought to be.
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
-
Sentencing Law
Criminally Yours: Is Sentencing Reform Really A Sea Change, Or Just A Drop In The Bucket?
Putting these men in jail is not making society safer, but stripping whole generations of their dads, uncles, brothers, and sons, while at the same time leaving a very bad taste in the communities left behind. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.23.15
* Any day Cadwalader can avoid damages in a huge, multimillion-dollar malpractice case is a great day. Yesterday, the New York Court of Appeals dismissed a never-ending suit filed against the firm by a former client over a failed commercial mortgage-backed securitization. Phew! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Say hello to Northwestern Pritzker Law: In case you missed it, Northwestern Law recently received a $100 million donation, the largest single gift ever made to a law school. For that much money, you’re damn right the school has a new name. [Chicago Tribune]
* This must’ve been a huge blow to his ego… U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara had to dismiss insider trading charges against seven defendants thanks to a Second Circuit decision that made it harder to prosecute certain financial crimes. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Charleston Law fired back against professors who sued the school by saying in its answer it wouldn’t be in such dire straits if they hadn’t “sabotaged the transfer of the school to InfiLaw.” Take that back, they did a good deed. [Charleston Regional Business Journal]
* “Sorry, not sorry, narcs,” says Judge Breyer. Earlier this week, a California judge informed the DEA that it needed to stop harshing medical marijuana patients’ mellows by shutting down medical pot dispensaries that were operating within state laws. [TIME]
-
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.22.15
* Brush that dirt off your shoulder: Jay-Z may have 99 problems, but this copyright lawsuit about his song “Big Pimpin'” is no longer one of them. The suit filed against the rap mogul in 2007 was dismissed on standing grounds, but the plaintiff says he plans to appeal. [Los Angeles Times]
* When it comes to the death penalty, Justice Antonin Scalia says that it “wouldn’t surprise [him]” if the Supreme Court were to strike it down as unconstitutional. It seems that a capital punishment case could become the next SCOTUS blockbuster. [CBS Minnesota]
* No one is a fan of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s in-house court system, and legislation to give financial defendants the right to opt out will be introduced in Congress later this week. Would you rather face trial before a federal judge or jury? [WSJ Law Blog]
* Earlier this week, a state-court judge brought a live grenade to the courthouse, but only because he wanted to have it properly disposed of by police. The jurist currently remains unidentified, which is a good thing, because this is pretty embarrassing. [CBS Los Angeles]
* Jurors in New York are paid $40 per day for their service, so you may be wondering how the confused members of the jury in the Dewey & LeBoeuf (mis)trial were able to survive on only $2,920 after five months spent in the courtroom. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]
-
Crime
Criminally Yours: Have You Ever Met A Psychopath?
How many criminals are actually psychopaths? You might be surprised. -
Technology
Law Enforcement And The Ongoing Inconvenience Of The Fourth Amendment
They'll do everything they can to avoid getting one, even though the process appears to be little more than [INSERT PROBABLE CAUSE] [OBTAIN WARRANT]. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.16.15
* John Stamos of Full House fame was formally charged with driving under the influence earlier this week following his arrest for erratic driving this summer. He faces up to six months in jail if convicted. We have faith that his beautiful hair will survive time in the slammer. [USA Today]
* While the vast majority of the law school lawsuits containing allegations related to deceptive employment statistics have been dismissed, a few are still alive and kicking. The very first one filed — Alaburda v. Thomas Jefferson School of Law — is heading to trial in 2016. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Trick or treat? Per federal prosecutors, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert will plead guilty before Halloween as part of a deal in his ongoing sexual misconduct hush-money case, but whether he’ll serve time is a question that’s yet to be answered. [Reuters]
* Headcount at real estate firms with once-prominent foreclosure practices continues to shrink thanks to the recession’s end. To that effect, two Chicago firms have eliminated hundreds of positions for legal professionals since 2013. [Chicago Business Journal]
* Thanks to a new online system, Northwestern Law will be able to interview prospective students any time, anywhere. The school is the first in the country to offer awkward casting couch sessions as part of its admissions process. [Northwestern University News]
-
Crime
Desperate, Unemployed Lawyer Arrested For Bank Robbery
An unemployed lawyer, with more than 30 years of experience, has found himself on the wrong side of the law.