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  • Non-Sequiturs: 06.08.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 06.08.16

    * Everyone wants to know which Biglaw firms aren’t moving up their pay scale. [Law and More]

    * The SEC announced two non-prosecution agreements involving Nortek and Akamai Technologies over alleged FCPA violations, but don’t believe the hype. [FCPA Professor]

    * Law school alums get suuuuper testy when those institutions turn around and ask for donations. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

    * Why has the Supreme Court has been so slow to make decisions at the end of this Term? Does that hurt their popularity? [Empirical SCOTUS]

    * Yikes, proof that student loans actually backfire and make people worse off. [Tax Prof Blog]

    * David Lat talking all the details of the newly minted Cravath pay scale. [CNBC]

  • Morning Docket: 05.06.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.06.16

    * “I find it highly amusing and somewhat heartening to know that Donald Trump is indirectly subsidizing the defense of undocumented immigrants.” Jones Day may be representing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, but the firm is also fighting for the rights of more than 100,000 undocumented refugees, all of whom Trump would likely want to see deported if he were to be elected as president in November. [Yahoo!]

    * Believe it or not, but Donald Trump’s political career in the Republican Party closely tracks that of a Biglaw legend of the bar. In 1940, Wendell Willkie of Willkie Farr & Gallagher fame was an outsider presidential candidate with absolutely no public service experience to his name — just like Trump. Willkie later went on to lose the election, and only time will tell if Trump will suffer a similar fate in Election 2016. [Big Law Business]

    * Professors at George Mason University have demanded that the law school’s renaming to honor the late Antonin Scalia be delayed until school leaders answer their questions about the funding of scholarship monies being tied to the ongoing service of the current dean, but according to law school senior associate dean David Rehr, “[e]ven with this action, we are moving forward … and expect a favorable resolution.” [Washington Post]

    * After receiving the largest gift in its history, Pace Law has been renamed in honor of an environmentalist, and will now be known as the Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law. The donors do not want the amount of their gift to be disclosed, but Pace says it’s comparable to the $30 million and $25 million gifts George Mason and Villanova respectively received for their recent name changes. Congratulations! [WSJ Law Blog]

    * The trial between Sumner Redstone and Manuela Herzer over the media mogul’s mental competence is slated to begin today and will last for a week. With lurid allegations about the 92-year-old’s supposed sexual proclivities, his penchant for eating steak through a feeding tube, as well as his incontinence, this is sure to be an incredibly salacious matter that will play out in the public eye. [DealBook / New York Times]

  • Morning Docket: 02.10.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.10.16

    * Uh-oh! Martin Shkreli may have gotten more than he bargained for when he bought the one and only copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” An artist whose work appears on the album’s packaging has filed a copyright infringement suit against the smug pharma bro. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * A Texas ADA was arrested this weekend for DWI after crashing into a parked car. According to police, it appeared as if she was trying to leave the scene. She’s been a prosecutor for almost a year, and hasn’t been put on a leave of absence for her alleged transgressions (yet). [FOX 7 Austin]

    * “I don’t understand why donors should not donate money to the Law School because some moron, some racist decided to put black tape on some portraits.” Some alumni (not this guy) are uncertain if they’ll continue to donate to Harvard Law. [Harvard Crimson]

    * President Obama has proposed a cybersecurity plan that’ll cost $19+ billion. Americans will learn how to better secure their accounts to prevent illegal hacks. That’s a lot of cash to teach people not to use “123456” as their password. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

    * Have your birthday cake and eat it too, because the terms of Warner Music Group’s “Happy Birthday to You” settlement have been disclosed, and up to $14 million is up for grabs for those who’ve had to pay licensing fees to use it. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times]

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  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.09.15

    * Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was jailed over her refusal to give marriage licenses to gay couples, was released by order of Judge David Bunning — with a warning not to interfere with her deputy clerks’ duties. Hmm, yeah, she’s totally going back to jail. [New York Times]

    * The law school applicant pool is still dwindling after all these years, so it’s interesting to see which schools are offering students the biggest bribes scholarships and grants (some of which may later disappear) so they can fill the seats in their classes with asses. [Bloomberg via PreLaw]

    * This Montana Law professor claims that he was forced to retire from his teaching position early due to the school’s ongoing budget cuts: “I am the first full-time member of the law faculty upon whom the ax has fallen.” We’ll have more on this later. [Missoulian]

    * Hmm, what Dewey know about the standard of evidence for conviction in the D&L fraud trial? “Woulda, coulda, shoulda is fine for cocktail party conversation. In this courtroom and in any courtroom, the proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt.” [Reuters]

    * Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, who received an LL.M. in taxation from NYU School of Law, is making a $20 million donation to the school, its largest gift ever. We wonder how much he’s giving to his alma mater, Wayne State Law. [WSJ Law Blog]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.11.15

    * Today’s inspirational human being: An ordained minister in Alabama was arrested after offering to perform a same-sex marriage inside a probate judge’s office. She says she’ll do it again, even though she knows she’ll likely be rearrested for doing so. [USA Today]

    * Meanwhile, Judge Callie V.S. Granade will hear arguments on whether she must order Alabama judges to issue marriage license to gay couples. Granade is the one who ruled the state’s ban was unconstitutional in the first place. [New York Times]

    * Per Major Lindsey & Africa’s 2014 Partner Compensation Survey, women partners have finally beaten men when it comes to law firm compensation. Wait, no, that’s not true, it’s just an “anomaly,” and “[t]hese women might be outliers.” [The Careerist]

    * Blank Rome’s ex-chairman donated $5M to Villanova Law to establish an ethics and compliance center. You’re a few years too late, pal. The school could’ve used an ethics and compliance center to avert its admissions scandal. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

    * “The legal profession can benefit from more diversity. Should those students only attend low-ranked law schools? Absolutely not.” As we mentioned previously, law school diversity has improved, but only at the bottom. [National Law Journal]

  • Biglaw, Canada, Drinking, Gay, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Small Law Firms

    Morning Docket: 04.25.14

    * Mmm, the taste of money. Kirkland & Ellis and Ropes & Gray are assisting in TPG Capital’s $750M investment in Chobani, a Greek yogurt everyone (except me) absolutely loves. [Am Law Daily]

    * A partner from the DebtStoppers law firm was arrested earlier this week after he was accused of refusing to pay a $950 bar tab. Well, we guess that’s one way to stop debt. [RedEye Chicago]

    * The FBI raided an Ohio law firm this week, possibly in connection with a client’s murder outside its doors and one of its attorneys calling in a courthouse bomb threat. [Northeast Ohio Media Group]

    * Canadian karma: As it turns out, graduates of the newly approved Trinity Western University Law School won’t be able to practice law in Ontario because of the school’s “abhorrent” anti-gay policies. [GlobalPost]

    * Tony Buzbee, regent of the Texas A&M System, donated $1M to Texas A&M Law to fund the Johnny Football Endowed Chair. Okay, not really, but it’d be a lot cooler if he did. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]

  • Barack Obama, Gay Marriage, Law Professors, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Sex Scandals, Tax Law

    Morning Docket: 04.17.14

    * Click here if you’d like to see how Obama evolved to his current position on same-sex marriage. Alternatively, click here to see a terribly Photoshopped picture of Obama catching a basketball bouquet. [New York Times Magazine]

    * Should you enroll in law school? Should you do it… TODAY? Please come on over and take a look at the latest parade of law professors trumpeting right now as the best time ever to go to law school. [National Law Journal]

    * University of Colorado School of Law just received its largest gift ever, to the sweet tune of $10 million. It’ll fund $400,000 in student scholarships, but mostly, it’ll be used to hire MOAR law professors. [Denver Business Journal]

    * Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be allowed to view victims’ autopsy pictures and visit privately with his sister. Members of his crazy fan club must be so incredibly jealous. [CNN]

    * Next time, make TurboTax your “cheap whore”? This guy claims he was “seduced” by an IRS agent who then refused to help him with his tax audit. He sued, and is now appealing to the Ninth Circuit. [ABC News]

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  • Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Canada, Elena Kagan, Gender, Law Schools, Minority Issues, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Staff Layoffs, Supreme Court, Women's Issues

    Morning Docket: 02.06.14

    * According to Justice Kagan, Justice Ginsburg “is responsible for eliminating sex discrimination from American law.” Whoa, that’s a nice thought, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves with wishful thinking. [New York Law Journal]

    * After handing out pink slips staff, Heenan Blaikie lawyers sat down and voted to dissolve the Canadian firm’s partnership and wind up its business. It’s kind of like Dewey, but with maple syrup! [Legal Post / Financial Post]

    * Jack W. Butler, the bankruptcy bigwig who managed to negotiate the American Airlines / US Airways merger, will leave his home at Skadden Arps after 23 years and head to Hilco Global. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * Vermont Law School has partnered with several historically black colleges and universities in order to put warm bodies in empty seats promote the expansion of racial diversity in the legal profession. [VT Digger]

    * David Savner, a corporate partner at Jenner & Block, recently donated $1 million to his alma mater, Northwestern Law, to fund a high-tech classroom. It must be nice to be rich. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

    * The ABA Journal wants to know what the “oddest” elective course you ever took in law school was. If you took a “Law and _____” class and didn’t get an “A,” you should hang your head in shame. [ABA Journal]

  • Biglaw, Billable Hours, Health Care / Medicine, Job Searches, Law Firm Mergers, Law Schools, Michael Jackson, Money, Morning Docket, Patents, Sports, Technology, Trials

    Morning Docket: 10.03.13

    * According to Altman Weil, law firm merger mania is on pace for record highs as firms desperately attempt to stave off financial problems by gobbling up smaller firms’ clients. [Am Law Daily]

    * The NCAA better watch its back: Jeffrey Kessler, the Winston & Strawn partner who helped bring free agency to the NFL, wants in on the potential case for unpaid college athletes. [Bloomberg]

    * Lawyers doing regulatory work are very afraid that the shutdown will decimate their fourth quarter billables because “[t]he longer it goes, the more problematic it will be.” Yay government. [Reuters]

    * GrayRobinson partner Philippe Devé is in need of a bone marrow transplant, and his firm is using its social media presence to crowdsource a donor. Will you lend a helping hand? [Daily Business Review]

    * UpCounsel has successfully raised $1.5 million in funding to beef up its international patent practice, proving the point that it costs a pretty penny to protect clients from the world’s patent trolls. [TechCrunch]

    * Law schools in New York State are feeling the pain of the drop in applications, and some are now willing admit that their graduates had to start “cannibalizing each other” in the job market. [New York Law Journal]

    * But really, so what if applications are down? Lots of law schools consider themselves lucky to be keeping the lights on with the assistance of generous alumni donations in the millions. [National Law Journal]

    * Another day, another “diploma mill.” Sorry to disappoint you, law students and alumni, but Charleston School of Law is moving forward with its plans to sell out to the InfiLaw System. [Post and Courier]

    * Who’s bad? Not AEG Live. A jury made up of people unable to answer yes or no questions during the reading of the verdict found that the concert promoter wasn’t liable in Michael Jackson’s death. [CNN]

  • Attorney Misconduct, Biglaw, California, Celebrities, Depositions, Divorce Train Wrecks, Federal Judges, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Minority Issues, Money, Morning Docket, Practice Pointers, Racism

    Morning Docket: 08.15.13

    * The Poly Prep alumni who settled their sex abuse suit against the school are going after O’Melveny & Myers for allegedly playing a part in prolonging the litigation by doing what lawyers do best: lying. [Am Law Daily]

    * If you’ve got a case up on appeal and you’re like a virgin, giving oral (arguments) for the very first time, then you should probably consider taking a look at the top 10 tips that’ll help you to prepare for it. [The Recorder]

    * The California Supreme Court denied petitions from Proposition 8 proponents seeking to enforce a ban on same-sex marriage across the state. Kamala Harris, the country’s best looking AG, approves. [BuzzFeed]

    * The Chapman School of Law will change its name after receiving the second-largest donation ever made to a law school. N.B. The donor isn’t a law school graduate, which certainly explains why he has cash to spare. [National Law Journal]

    * Notebooks from the most famous law school you’ve never heard of are now on digital display thanks to Harvard Law. Unlike today’s students, Litchfield lawyers had lovely handwriting. [Brainiac / Boston Globe]

    * Keep ya head up: Legendary lawyer Roger Rosen, whose clients range from O.J. Simpson to Phil Spector, will hang up his shingle to avoid prosecution for leaking info to Tupac’s killers. [New York Post]

    * Just think, if the judge in Paula Deen’s case had permitted counsel to stay discovery, perhaps the celebrity chef wouldn’t have been able to serve up a slice of her piping hot racism casserole. [Daily Report]

    * Sure, Lamar Odom allegedly cheated on Khloe Kardashian with a lawyer, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to get divorced. If they do, we’ll be there for the train wreck. [Ministry of Gossip / Los Angeles Times]

  • Airplanes / Aviation, California, Constitutional Law, Copyright, Department of Justice, Federal Government, Federal Judges, Food, Gay Marriage, Intellectual Property, John Roberts, Law Schools, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, UNC Law

    Morning Docket: 07.04.12

    Ed. note: Your Above the Law editors are busy celebrating their freedom today (and we hope that you are, too). We will return to our regular publication schedule on Thursday, July 5.

    * At this point, the Supreme Court’s dramatic deliberations on the Affordable Care Act are like a leaking sieve. Now we’ve got dueling narratives on Chief Justice Roberts’s behind-the-scenes flip-flopping. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Life, liberty, and the pursuit of fabulosity! The Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to grant cert on two DOMA cases, contending that Section 3 of the statute is unconstitutional. [Poliglot / Metro Weekly]

    * A famous fabulist: according to California’s State Bar, disgraced journalist Stephen Glass is a “pervasive and documented liar,” but that’s not stopping him from trying to get his license to practice law. [Los Angeles Times]

    * Clayton Osbon, the JetBlue pilot who had an epic mid-flight nutty and started ranting about religion and terrorists, was found not guilty by reason of insanity by a federal judge during a bench trial. [New York Post]

    * After a month of bizarre legal filings, Charles Carreon has dropped his lawsuit against Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal. We’re hoping that there will be an awesome victory cartoon drawn up soon. [Digital Life / Today]

    * Northwestern Law is the only American law school to have joined a 17-member global justice league geared toward legal teaching and research collaborations. But do they get cool costumes? [National Law Journal]

    * UNC Law received two charitable gifts totaling $2.7M that will be used to fund tuition scholarships for current and future students. Maybe their students won’t have to create tuition donation sites anymore. [Herald-Sun]

    * This law is for the birds (literally and figuratively). California’s ban on the sale of foie gras had only been in effect for one day before the first lawsuit was filed to overturn it as unconstitutional. [San Francisco Chronicle]

    * The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce recently announced that mermaids do not exist. Not to worry — it’s still legal to believe that Ariel is a babe. [New York Daily News]