Deaths
-
-
Law Schools
Law School 1L Killed Right Before Finals
Authorities say his wife killed him in self-defense. - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Government
3 Great Facts About The Late President George H.W. Bush, A ‘Charter Member Of The Greatest Generation’
Rest in peace, #41. You will be missed, but never forgotten.
-
Biglaw
Biglaw Firm Reacts After Widow Blames Them For Husband's Suicide
The firm acknowledges the need for programs and services to address mental health issues in the profession. -
Biglaw
Lawyer Suicides Are Becoming All Too Frequent
No client, no case, no partnership, no failing to make partner, no promotion, no demotion is worth the price that some lawyers have paid. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.14.18
* Insiders say that President Donald Trump is expected to turn over his written responses to special counsel Robert Mueller’s questions about Russia’s interference with the 2016 election as soon as sometime this week. Ooooh boy, this should be fun. [Reuters]
* According to retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, the world’s culture is “becoming vulgar,” and it’s up to the United States to “show a culture, a discourse, a civil dialogue that’s enviable and admirable.” Yeah… good luck with that. [Washington Times]
* White House regulatory czar Neomi Rao has been nominated to fill Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s seat on the D.C. Circuit. In case you somehow missed it, Rao had a hand in the renaning of George Mason Law to ASS Law. Congrats! [National Law Journal]
* Remember Joel Sanders, the ex-CFO of Dewey & LeBoeuf? He says his “dire financial circumstances” prevent him from paying a $1M fine, but the Manhattan DA says he’s trying to commit “a fraud on [the] court.” [New York Law Journal]
* It’s not just Berkeley Law that’s trying to erase its association with a racist namesake. It’s just now being reported that Mercer Law School quietly removed segregationist and Southern Manifesto signatory Walter F. George’s name this summer. [13WMAZ]
* Stephen Scharf, film finance pioneer and co-chair of the Entertainment, Sports & Media Practice at O’Melveny & Myers, lost his battle with cancer. RIP. [THR, Esq.]
-
Biglaw
Biglaw Widow Blames Firm For Husband's Suicide
The widow is keenly aware of the role the stress of Biglaw -- plus a work culture that makes it difficult to seek help -- played in her husband's suicide. -
Courts
Honor And Thank Your Lawyer Role Models Before They're Gone
Thanks that come too late aren’t really thanks, but apologies for not expressing gratitude previously. - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Small Law Firms
Disney Disapproves Of The Disposition Of Your Remains: The Happiest Place On Earth Has Become A Receptacle For Cremains
Disney, a cemetery, or the ocean? Make certain to specify your wishes in a Designation of Burial document. -
Biglaw
Biglaw Partner's Death Due To Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound
He'd recently secured a lead role in Mattress Firm's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. -
Health / Wellness
One Lawyer's Tragic Slide
A sad story about what happened when recovery eluded an attorney. -
Biglaw, Law Schools
T14 Law Student's Death After Accepting Biglaw Offer Ruled An Accident
The student died from 'multiple blunt force injuries.' -
Biglaw
Biglaw Partner Found Dead In Suspected Suicide
The avid boater and fisherman’s body was found submerged between two boats at a coastal marina.
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
-
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.17.18
* Sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were recently brought to light and while he may be spending his time “hoping and praying” before the vote, his supporters say it’s highly likely he’ll be confirmed anyway. [Big Law Business]
* Well, except for the fact that senators are calling for the delay of Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote now that his accuser has come forward to reveal the details of the judge’s alleged attack on her when they were students in high school. [NBC News]
* And was Judge Kavanaugh a member of Judge Alex Kozinski’s sexually explicit “Easy Rider Gag List”? Kavanaugh says he doesn’t remember receiving any of those emails, but Heidi Bond, one of Kozinski’s former law clerks, thinks that there could be a very easy way to find out if the would-be SCOTUS justice is lying. [Slate]
* The most controversial Biglaw firm? Federal prosecutors are considering bringing charges against former Skadden partner Greg Craig and taking action against the firm itself in a probe related to Paul Manafort. Will the prestigious Biglaw firm wind up with a civil settlement or a deferred prosecution agreement? [CNN]
* Shearman & Sterling has announced that the firm will soon bring Sandra Bang, its first-ever chief diversity and talent strategy officer, into its C-suite. She’ll be leading a new global task force aimed at increasing diversity at the Wall Street firm. Congratulations! Perhaps additional firms will follow their lead. [American Lawyer]
* The body of Brian Lewinstein, the rising second-year student at Berkeley Law who crossed a safety line and fell while trying to get a picture of Toketee Falls from above, has been found. More than a month had passed since the accident occurred. Our sincere condolences go out to all of his family and friends. [SFGate]
-
Biglaw, Law Schools
Law Student Found Dead After Accepting Offer From Prestigious Biglaw Firm
Police are investigating the death, which his family has called a 'tragic accident.' -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.17.18
* In response to President Trump’s “relentless assault” against the press, more than 300 newspapers published editorials denouncing his attacks and defending the freedom of the press. In response, Trump said he wants “true” freedom of the press, but without the “FAKE NEWS.” Come on, even the Supreme Court wants the press to remain free. [National Law Journal]
* Gallery Books and Simon & Schuster, the publishers of Omarosa Manigault Newman’s White House memoir, are hitting back hard against President Trump’s attempts to silence her and stop its publication. this letter from Davis Wright Tremaine partner Elizabeth McNamara is freakin’ fantastic. [Deadline]
* According to prosecutors, an argument over family financial matters is allegedly what caused John Gately III to fatally shoot his brother-in-law, Mayer Brown partner Stephen Shapiro. The Supreme Court star reportedly died in an attempt to protect his wife. Gately has been denied bond and plans to plead not guilty. [American Lawyer]
* ICYMI, two judges were just confirmed to the Fourth Circuit by margins we haven’t seen in a while. Meet Julius Richardson, a federal prosecutor who once worked at Kellogg Huber (81-8), and Judge Marvin Quattlebaum, a former Nelson Mullins partner who’s been a a federal judge for six months (62-28). [Courthouse News]
* Law firm merger mania: Stinson Leonard Street will be merging with IP boutique Senniger Powers to add some extra oomph to the firm’s “market-leading IP services.” The merger is expected to close on October 1, bringing Stinson Leonard’s total headcount to almost 500 attorneys. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
* Trinity Western University wants to open a law school so badly that the administration is now willing to drop the “community covenant” that would have forbidden gay students from having sex. That rule will now be optional for the student body at the Christian school. Would you want to enroll? [StarMetro Vancouver]
-
Deaths
Attorney Shot And Killed, The Suspect Is A 'Longtime Friend And Client'
The victim had submitted his retirement paperwork the day before. -
Biglaw
Charges Filed In Murder Of Celebrated Supreme Court Litigator
Authorities have accused the Mayer Brown partner’s brother-in-law of his shooting death. -
Law Schools
T14 Law School Mourns The Presumed Death Of A Student After He Fell From A Waterfall
He was trying to take a photograph when he fell. -
Deaths
Litigation Finance Pioneer Dies After Apparent Opioid Overdose
Before he died, he sent his assistant to a pharmacy to buy an antidote for opioid overdoses.