CUNY Law

* Has it really come to this? Protesting a nice, nerdy, thoughtful law professor, simply because he questions the constitutionality of DACA (while supporting the DREAM Act)? [Josh Blackman]

* How much should we read into Team Mueller’s reassurance to President Trump that he is a subject rather than a target of its investigation? Not much, according to veteran criminal defense lawyer Joel Cohen. [The Hill]

* How would William Howard Taft have responded to attacks on judges? The POTUS turned SCOTUS chief was quite prescient about judicial independence — as explained by Jeff Rosen, author of a new Taft biography (affiliate link). [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Speaking of SCOTUS, what’s it like to work in the Solicitor General’s Office? One of the OSG’s newest members, former SCOTUS clerk Jonathan Ellis, pulls back the curtain. [Penn Law via How Appealing]

* How does Justice Gorsuch compare to Justice Scalia — not just in terms of personality, but also in terms of jurisprudence? [Empirical SCOTUS]

* And speaking of Justice Gorsuch, congratulations to Tobi Young, who will be clerking for NMG in October Term 2018 — and who is believed to be the first enrolled citizen of a Native American tribe to clerk for the Court. (By the way, I have another SCOTUS clerk hiring roundup in the works, so please send me your hiring news.) [Chickasaw Nation]

* Are you a healthcare lawyer? You might be interested in this new tool from Bloomberg Law. [Dewey B Strategic]

* Friendly reminder: the Global Legal Hackathon is entering its final stage, and you’re invited — hope to see you on April 21! [Artificial Lawyer]

A surprising tale of deceit and swimsuits.

NYC law school grads seriously outperformed the national average in job outcomes.

The world would be a better place if lawyers just stopped talking.

* This guy could teach a master class in how to stand by your (wo)man. Mary Jo White’s husband, John White, will relinquish his equity partner status at Cravath upon her confirmation as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. [Am Law Daily]

* Macho, macho man: it looks like we’ll never know if Dechert actually has a “macho culture,” because the FMLA and paternity leave case that questioned the very existence of this Biglaw subculture was settled out of court. [National Law Journal]

* Why you gotta go and ruin Valentine’s Day for everyone at O’Melveny and Akin Gump? Apple’s request to speed up the Greenlight Capital case was approved, with arguments now scheduled for February 19. [CNET]

* Despite her nomination being crapped on by the Senate, Jenny Rivera, the CUNY School of Law professor, was recently confirmed as an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals. [New York Law Journal]

* Remember the lawyer who sued Westlaw and Lexis for copyright infringement? Judge Jef Rakoff dismissed it for reasons yet to be disclosed, but probably for legal dumbassery. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]

* “Behold, the instrument of your liberation!” Survivors of the Aurora movie massacre are being harassed by conspiracy theorists, and the DA asked the judge to scrub their names from the record. [Courthouse News]

* “It’s very hard to copyright a story about an individual growing up in the ghetto and getting involved in crime.” Go Third Circuit, it’s your birthday, we gon’ affirm that like it’s your birthday. [New Jersey Law Journal (reg. req.)]

* I believe you have my stapler? A former Fried Frank staffer has been accused of stealing more than $376K worth of copy machine ink from the firm and selling it on the black market for office supplies. [Am Law Daily]

* Governor Andrew Cuomo nominated Jenny Rivera, a CUNY School of Law professor, to fill a vacant New York Court of Appeals seat. If confirmed, she’ll be the second Hispanic to sit on the court. [New York Law Journal]

* This’ll please the gun nuts: Governor Cuomo’s gun-control bill was passed by the legislature and signed into law, officially making New York the state with the toughest gun restrictions in the nation. [New York Times]

* And this right here is the lawsuit equivalent of half-court heave. A lawyer is suing the San Antonio Spurs because the team’s coach sent all of its best players home to rest without the fans’ prior knowledge. [ESPN]

What happens when a law school's graduates fail the bar exam in such great numbers that it becomes national news? Does that law school hang its head in shame and admit defeat? Or does it figure out a way to game the numbers so that next time, it won't be so embarrassed? As with most things having to do with numbers, this law school has allegedly made an ill-advised decision to appear more appealing to the public (and the American Bar Association). This law school is allegedly offering its students money in the hopes that they won't take this summer's bar exam. But which law school?

* In trying to resolve the Texas redistricting problem, the Supreme Court has come to a realization: everything really is bigger in that state, including its congressional delegation. [Los Angeles Times] * The Center for Constitutional Rights is suing to get video of the would-be 20th hijacker’s interrogations made public. Too bad no one really […]

* Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s Attorney General, wants Rick Perry’s election law suit to be dismissed, because really, what’s the point? Standing or not, Perry got completely hosed in Iowa. [Bloomberg] * What’s next for Stephen Glass? When all else fails, hire a high-profile appellate team to do your dirty work for you. He could write […]

Last week, we asked you to pick your choice for the worst law school in New York. It turned out to be one of most active polls on the site. So many of you had strong opinions. Your choice for the worst law school was overwhelming, but the battle for the worst school in the five boroughs was heated. Let's check out the results....

There are 11 ABA accredited law schools in New York City and Long Island (including Pace, even though the law school is in White Plains). It's a bit douchy to argue over who's best, but it's pretty fun to argue over which law school is the worst. Nobody thinks that they go to the absolute worst law school in the city. But that means one student body is dead wrong. Let's find out who....

Law schools are scrambling to figure out a way to employ their graduates. What better way than to teach them how to become solo practitioners?

The National Jurist has released the fifth annual list of the 60 Best Value law schools. But this year, the National Jurist made some adjustments to its rankings methodology to account for "fairness." Everyone gets a trophy in this year's Best Value rankings. You may be surprised at some of the law schools that made this year's Best Value honor roll. Check and see if your school made the list....

* With a recommendation for dismissal filed, Dominique Strauss-Kahn hopes to bid adieu to his rape charges and say au revoir to our country. [CNN] * Apparently your law school can still be on the Best Value honor roll even if its bar passage rates suck abysmally. What up CUNY Law. [National Jurist] * It’ll […]

We started taking submissions for our third annual Law Revue Video Contest way back in March. It’s taken us so long to review the videos because we’ve had scheduling challenges with our special, returning, awesome guest judge. As you’d already know if you follow Above the Law on Twitter, editor emerita Kashmir Hill has returned […]