Farewell Unions — It’s Been Real!
Yesterday's oral arguments could have gone worse for teachers, but it's hard to say how.
Morning Docket: 12.30.15
* According to the Law Firm Group of Citi Private Bank's year-end predictions for the legal profession, profit growth for this year and next is once again going to be anemic. This is the "new reality for the foreseeable future." [WSJ Law Blog] * "[T]hese guerilla marketers believe they are above the law." Uh-oh! What has The Biebs done now? Pop star Justin Bieber has pissed off the San Francisco, California, legal community with sidewalk graffiti ads promoting his new album. [San Francisco Chronicle] * If you thought that the highest ranked law school in Virginia would've fared the best on the state's July 2015 administration of the bar exam, you'd be wrong. With a 93 percent passage rate, congratulations to Jerry Falwell's finest at Liberty Law! [One News Now] * Ay dios mio! Escándalo! In a recently filed lawsuit, a former faculty member at Amherst College claims that teaching assistants in her department were encouraged to "prostitute themselves" to increase enrollment in Spanish classes. [Washington Post] * "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur..." The ear worm lullaby featured on The Big Bang Theory is now at the center of a copyright dispute, and it seems like this kitty could actually win. Showrunners probably wish they left this one in the litter box. [USA Today]
Filevine’s New Legal AI Platform LOIS Turns AI Into A True Legal Coworker
Legal work isn’t slowing down, and the firms that win won’t be the ones working harder — they’ll be the ones working smarter.
Yale Students Sign A Petition To Repeal The First Amendment… Stop Being Stupid
If you freaked out over a viral video showing students eager to abolish the First Amendment, you're probably a bigger threat to American democracy than those kids.
Stat Of The Week: Academic Study Of Bulls**t Is Depressing, Predictable
The profundity of BS.
Does The Equal Protection Clause Forbid Racial Preferences In State University Admissions?
Consider this your preview of the Fisher redux.
Can Political Correctness And Free Speech Coexist On Campus?
People up in arms over "political correctness" might want to take a second to think about what free speech really means.
AI Is Killing Legal’s Billable Hour. It’s Also Repeating Its Worst Mistake
Law firms and legal departments are writing the future of the profession in separate rooms. What happens when they actually work together?
Missouri Professor Opts For Coddling Kids Over First Amendment Rights Of Journalists
“Special snowflakes” are not born; they are made.
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]
NYU Law’s Offensive Halloween Party
It seems some students at NYU Law are mad about the decorations at the annual Fall Ball.
Lawsuit You Won’t Believe: Students Sue To Keep School Open
Kids who want to go to school and the system that might let them down.
AI Is Reshaping Legal Practice—But Tools Aren’t The Real Differentiator.
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
3 Questions About The Texas Boy With A Homemade Clock
As a law student, professor, or lawyer, how would you answer these legal questions about Ahmed Mohamed's situation?
En Banc Fifth Circuit Erodes Student Speech Rights
Off-campus speech gets kid punished and the Fifth Circuit thinks that's just fine.
3 Lies That Linger Even After Rolling Stone’s UVA Rape Story Was Debunked
Even after the Rolling Stone debacle, many dubious beliefs persist about women who allege that they have been sexually assaulted, the men those women accuse, and how the media reports on it.
Non-Sequiturs: 07.21.15
* There's a "small but organized minority of law professors" trying to keep students from getting paid. Go tell the ABA not to listen to them. [Professor Bainbridge] * Taking the bar exam in New York? Want a pre-ordered lunch? These folks have your back. They're extending their deadline for ordering. [Custom Gourmet NY] * Line up to buy your ".law" address! [Adjunct Law Prof Blog] * Estimating the cost of eDiscovery. In monetary terms, not in the souls of contract attorneys. [Logikcull] * Kansas Governor Sam Brownback needs money, and he's apparently not above asking officials with business before his office for cash. [Topeka Capital-Journal] * Questions not to ask in an interview. Forgot to include, "Does this look infected?" [JD Supra] * When you want to close a sale, be present in the moment. [Law and More] * Want to join a college faculty? Here's where to work. Spread that anti-law-school hate to the next generation. [TaxProf Blog] * David Lat joins Sam Glover to discuss the future of Biglaw and SmallLaw. [Lawyerist]
Justice Antonin Scalia Is Here To Rain On Your Nazi Parade
What a colorful commencement speech.