D.C. Circuit

  • Morning Docket: 07.10.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 07.10.17

    * Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit is soon expected to publicly announce her retirement, and once she takes senior status, President Trump will have the ability to appoint another conservative judge to one of the nation’s most powerful courts — one that often serves as a training ground for future Supreme Court justices. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

    * Shortly after his father became the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump Jr. reportedly met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer who had Kremlin ties, after he was allegedly promised damaging information about then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. For his part, Trump’s eldest son has denied any Russian collusion having to do with the 2016 presidential election. [New York Times]

    * When it comes to the AT&T / Time Warner merger, “[t]he business community is watching intensely to see what an antitrust D.O.J. will look like in the Trump administration and how much of the rhetoric from the campaign trickles down into policy.” Meanwhile, Makan Delrahim, President Trump’s nominee for antitrust chief, hasn’t had his Senate hearing yet. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * Marc Kasowitz has moved to dismiss a sexual harassment suit filed against the president by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, claiming that thanks to the SCOTUS ruling in Bill Clinton’s sexual harassment case, presidents cannot be sued in state court for personal conduct while in office. If this flies, will it give rise to more federal filings against the president? [The Hill]

    * “These are dedicated people doing very difficult work and not paying them is like not paying teachers, cops, social workers, or firefighters. The public should be outraged.” Court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts who represent the indigent are struggling financially thanks to the state’s budget woes. Some of these attorneys are owed thousands of dollars. [Boston Globe]

  • Morning Docket: 05.25.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.25.17

    * As voters head to the polls in Montana, they’re finding out that frontrunner Greg Gianforte allegedly beat up a reporter in front of a bunch of witnesses. Will this doom his chances? Pfft. I present the case study of Michael Grimm. [Huffington Post]

    * Here comes the “Marc Kasowitz’s ties to Russia” stories. Newsflash: Russians have a lot of businesses that get sued. Let’s not make an equivalence between representing a Russian bank and handing them classified intelligence. [CNN]

    * The D.C. Circuit seems like they might actually save the CFPB. At least until there’s an appeal to some politically hostile higher court. [Law.com]

    * Google fighting to avoid becoming a generic term. This is apparently called “genericide” which I’d never heard of. I’ll have to Bing that. [Law360]

    * Dentons cutting jobs in the UK. [Legal Week]

    * If you want to know more about lobbying, Bracewell lobbyist Josh Zive just started a podcast called “The Lobby Shop.” Apparently “Big Bags O’ Bribes” reflects negatively on the practice. [National Law Journal]

  • Morning Docket: 02.17.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.17.17

    * The Gorsuch hearings are set for March 20th. Now what should senators ask him? [National Law Journal]

    * Seriously, what should senators ask him? [SCOTUSBlog]

    * The CFPB is getting battered and bruised, but the D.C. Circuit may give it a fighting chance. [Law.com]

    * Pepper Hamilton had a high profile year working the Baylor matter, but PPP is down 28 percent. They lose any more and they’ll have to change their name to Peper Hamilton. [Legal Intelligencer]

    * Alston & Bird, meanwhile, saw a revenue boost. [Daily Report]

    * Judge finds probable cause in criminal complaint against Chris Christie. Don’t worry, New Jersey prosecutors are too scared of traffic problems in their towns to do anything about it. [Law360]

    * Florida has been busy. First the Docs v. Glocks ruling and now an abortion ruling. [Orlando Sentinel]

    * My God. They can’t even pass background checks. [Politico]

    * The top 10 law novels of the last 10 years. I wonder if She-Hulk made the list? (Spoiler: she does.) [ABA Journal]

  • Morning Docket: 01.19.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.19.17

    * The Seventh Circuit — in an opinion by Judge Diane Sykes, a top-tier SCOTUS possibility under President Trump — just struck down Chicago ordinances regulating shooting ranges as violative of Second Amendment rights. [ABC News]

    * Speaking of firearms, law professor Fredrick Vars has an excellent proposal for preventing gun suicides. [Washington Post]

    * Possible good news for legalizing sports betting in New Jersey: the U.S. Supreme Court wants to hear from the solicitor general on this issue (although we don’t yet know who the solicitor general will be). [How Appealing]

    * But we think we know who the principal deputy solicitor general will be — Noel Francisco, whose imminent departure from Jones Day is now public. [National Law Journal]

    * In other Justice Department news, what can we expect from Jeff Sessions’s DOJ in terms of civil rights enforcement? [New York Times]

    * Are we seeing a “fragile recovery” in the number of people interested in law school? [ABA Journal]

    * If you share my curiosity about the future of Chief Judge Merrick Garland in the wake of his unsuccessful SCOTUS nomination, it seems that the distinguished jurist is back on the bench — at least for now. [National Law Journal]

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  • Morning Docket: 12.28.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.28.16

    * “Absent a showing that the requested enforcement action could not shake loose a few more emails, the case is not moot.” Because 2016 isn’t over yet and we love kicking horses thought to be dead, the D.C. Circuit has revived a legal challenge regarding Hillary Clinton’s private email server that was once considered to be moot. [Reuters]

    * The Supreme Court may be taking a turn to the conservative side come 2017, but not immediately. It’s expected that shortly after his inauguration, President Trump will announce his nominee in either late January or early February, with confirmation hearings held in March, and a vote sometime in April. By the time a new justice is sworn in, there will be just a few days left of oral arguments for the current Term. [NPR]

    * “This case of cyber meets securities fraud should serve as a wake-up call for law firms around the world.” Three Chinese hackers have been charged with breaking into the servers of several Biglaw firms — firms like Cravath and Weil Gotshal — to illegally trade on stolen information. They made more than $4 million, but only one of them has been arrested thus far and is awaiting extradition to the United States. [Bloomberg]

    * “Providing a profit motive to make arrests gives officers an incentive to make improper arrests.” In counties across the country, those who are arrested must pay “booking fees,” regardless of whether or not they are found guilty of their crimes. Two cases regarding these fees will soon be heard by the Supreme Court in early 2017, and one county was so brazen that it didn’t even bother to submit a brief in opposition. [New York Times]

    * If you’re applying to law school, you may be wondering how you can make the strongest argument for your acceptance in your application. Focus on your essays and make sure that you provide compelling examples of the type of person you are and your career goals. If you can sway just one person on the admissions committee to give you a chance, then you might soon find an acceptance letter with your name on it. [U.S. News]

  • Morning Docket: 11.16.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 11.16.16

    * Plaintiffs in the Trump University fraud class-action lawsuit are sick and tired of waiting for their claims to be heard. They want the trial to proceed as scheduled, the defendant’s presidential duties be damned, writing, “The court has been more than generous in accommodating defendants’ multiple delay requests, but after 6 1/2 years of waiting, plaintiffs cannot afford any further delays.” [Big Law Business]

    * Poor Merrick Garland: After more than 243 days of waiting for a hearing as President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, he’ll return to his seat as the chief judge of the D.C. Circuit, the second highest court in the land, in January 2017. The man is a true gentleman, an “example of how to act with dignity and class and character.” [CNN]

    * “If president-elect Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promises, people’s rights will be in jeopardy.” Since Donald Trump’s victory in the election, the American Civil Liberties Union has raised a record amount — more than $8.2 million poured in from more than 100,000 donors in the span of less than a week. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Much to LSAC’s chagrin, the LSAT may not be the only admissions testing prerequisite in town for prospective law students anymore. Law schools seem particularly eager to allow would-be students to take the GRE, which is offered throughout the year, as opposed to the LSAT, which is only offered four times a year. [National Law Journal]

    * Michael Fine, the Ohio lawyer who was disbarred for hypnotizing his female clients and sexually assaulting them, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of kidnapping with sexual motivation and one count of attempted kidnapping. Fine must register as a sex offender. We’ll have more on this later. [Reuters]

  • Morning Docket: 08.10.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.10.16

    * “If the LSAC is willing to include GRE scores in the [credential assembly services], then this may be an easy way for the LSAC to continue to certify the accuracy of standardized test scores reported to law schools.” In response to the tantrum LSAC threw over the future certification of LSAT scores, Educational Testing Service, the organization that administers the GRE, has offered to share its exam results with LSAC. [ABA Journal]

    * “It is time for the ABA to catch up.” The hotly contested rule proposed by the American Bar Association that would make behavior “[a] lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination” a form of professional misconduct was “resoundingly adopted” by the House of Delegates earlier this week. Well done, ABA. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Sorry, investment advisers, you make think it’s “unfair,” but according to a recent decision from a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s controversial in-house courts are constitutionally sound because the agency’s ALJs don’t make “final” decisions on behalf of the SEC. [Big Law Business]

    * Husch Blackwell, which completed a combination with Whyte Hirschboeck in the middle of last month, now not only has bragging rights on finalizing the largest law firm merger of 2016, but it can also claim to have one of the largest real estate practices in the entire country. Congratulations on all of your success! [Midwest Real Estate News]

    * Who are eight of the most impressive graduates of Columbia Law School? Would you be surprised to learn that the list includes two former presidents, two Supreme Court justices (one of whom has a law school named after him), a U.S. Attorney General, and various political figures? If you’re interested, check out the list here. [Business Insider]

  • Morning Docket: 07.06.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 07.06.16

    * In case you haven’t been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Jackson Walker. Where are the rest? If you’re worried you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]

    * “[I]t’s stunning that it takes a court decision for federal employees to be held accountable to the law.” Perhaps someone should tell Hillary Clinton about this, but according to the D.C. Circuit, federal officials may not use private email accounts to avoid having their documents and messages fall under public records laws. [The Hill]

    * Steven Davis, the former chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf, owes quite the pretty penny to Citibank in the form of an unpaid loan. Davis was ordered by Judge Nancy Bannon to pay nearly $400K to the bank to cover what was once his capital contribution to the firm before it flopped under his leadership. [New York Law Journal via ABA Journal]

    * Thanks to a string of victories in fending off complaints about its controversial practices, it’s highly unlikely that the Securities and Exchange Commission will stop using its system of in-house administrative law judges any time soon. The SEC is very reluctant to give up its perceived “home court” advantage. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * If you’re thinking of applying to law school with a criminal record, you probably don’t need to worry too much about whether you’ll be accepted. From murderers to bank robbers, plenty of ex-cons have gone to law school before you, and many of them are successful in their non-criminal careers. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 06.14.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 06.14.16

    * So, you lucky associate you, expect a bit of extra cash this summer? Here’s how you should be spending it. [American Lawyer]

    * Chris Christie allegedly took document preservation tips from Dick Nixon. [WNYC]

    * DLA Piper looks to join the ranks of employing droids, announcing a new partnership with Kira Systems to produce an AI tool for conducting due diligence. [DLA Piper]

    * Oh, the stupid things law schools do. Like how a bunch of Touro 3Ls are ineligible to sit for the bar exam this summer… [Reboot Your Law Practice]

    * Bands from Google Legal, Kirkland & Ellis, Lieff Cabraser, Simpson Thacher, Kazan Law, and Morgan Lewis are competing in a Battle of the Bands at 1015 Folsom nightclub tomorrow night in San Francisco in support of The Family Violence Appellate Project. [Family Violence Appellate Project]

    * M&A is having a pretty good 2016. [Fortune]

    * “The Scrooge Effect” for Biglaw firms that refuse to give pay raises to their associates. [Law and More]

    * The previously lost Marx Brothers musical, “I’ll Say She Is,” is currently playing at the Connelly Theater in the East Village. And it stars, Kathy Biehl a practicing New Jersey and Texas lawyer. [I’ll Say She Is]

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  • Non-Sequiturs: 06.10.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 06.10.16

    * Lawsuits matter: in the wake of the $140 million verdict against it in the Hulk Hogan sex tape case, Gawker Media is filing for bankruptcy and putting itself up for sale. [Gawker]

    * Declaratory judgment: according to Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Judging Statutes (affiliate link), by fellow feeder judge Robert Katzmann, is “a pleasure to read,” “succinct,” and “educational.” [Harvard Law Review]

    * SCOTUS sez: a judge shouldn’t hear an appeal in a death penalty case that he worked on as a prosecutor. [How Appealing]

    * Speaking of the Supreme Court, Gabe Roth of Fix the Court makes the case in favor of mandatory retirement for the justices. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

    * Worst fellow airplane passenger ever (yes, even worse than the drunken law firm partner). [U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit]

    * 9 “Musts” for Privacy & Data Security Risk Management and Compliance. [Legaltech News]

  • Morning Docket: 03.25.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.25.16

    * The “best way to get a handle on a circuit judge’s judicial philosophy is to look at the judge’s concurrences and dissents,” but that’s a bit problematic in Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s case — in his 19 years on the D.C. Circuit, he’s only dissented 16 times. That’s less than one dissent for each year he’s been on the bench. We’d probably be able to get to know him better if he got a hearing. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Recent law school graduates aren’t thrilled about their life choices: Per a survey of more than 7,000 law school alumni, less than half of those who graduated since 2000 “strongly agreed” that if given the chance, they’d choose to go to law school again, and just 20 percent “strongly agreed” that law school was worth the cost. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “[L]aw schools systematically deceived students with misleading statistics, with the blessing of the American Bar Association.” The jury’s verdict in the Alaburda v. TJSL case continues a long history of law schools being left unaccountable and off the hook for their disingenuous employment and salary statistics. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * “I was not ‘instructed’ to strike black jurors so much as I was advised or encouraged to do so as a matter of trial strategy.” Assistant District Attorney Nathan Wood of Wharton County, Texas, has accused his boss of excluding black residents from juries in criminal cases to improve the prosecution’s odds of receiving guilty verdicts. [Houston Chronicle]

    * One week after resigning from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court over his role in the infamous “Porngate” scandal, citing “disgust” with his conduct, former Justice Michael Eakin was fined $50,000 by the state’s Judicial Conduct Board. At least Eakin will be able to keep his state pension, with an estimated $140K annual value. [Associated Press]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.07.15

    * “People who have a dream of going to law school should go into it with their eyes wide open.” In case you haven’t heard, not all of the law school lawsuits were dismissed; in fact, one of them filed against Thomas Jefferson School of Law is going to trial in March. [ABC News]

    * Dewey know which D&L defendant will likely be able to escape a retrial? It seems that Steven Davis, the failed firm’s former chairman, may find himself on the receiving end of a deferred prosecution agreement instead. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * At this point, it’s anyone’s best guess as to what the future of net neutrality may be: The FCC’s latest proposal for equal treatment of internet traffic apparently left a bad taste in the D.C. Circuit’s mouth during oral arguments at a recent hearing. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Baker & McKenzie used to be the largest law firm in the world before Dentons arrived on the scene, but now it’s got its eyes on expansion in a territory that the Biglaw behemoth hasn’t completely claimed: the United States. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

    * Give thanks, because according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector added 600 jobs last month. If you’ve got a job on your Christmas wish list, Santa just might deliver one to you this year. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]