Education / Schools

* Are conservative partners giving smaller bonuses to female associates? Per the results of a recent study, political ideology impacts how partners allocate discretionary income to associates based on gender. If you thought this couldn’t happen in Biglaw since bonuses are largely lockstep by class year, think again. The firm studied has 1,000+ lawyers. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily]

* “We’ve got one of the country’s finest jurists, who I happened to have nominated to the Supreme Court and who’s going to continue to serve our country with distinction as the chief judge on the D.C. circuit, Merrick Garland is here.” President Obama hasn’t withdrawn his SCOTUS nomination, but his White House Hanukkah party introduction of the jurist indicates he’s all but given up on Garland’s confirmation. [Washington Post]

* “Just because you didn’t go to law school doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have more time to bond with a new child.” Lowenstein Sandler has adopted a gender-neutral family leave policy that’s being offered to all of the firm’s employees — not just its lawyers. Congrats to the firm on taking an important leap towards parental equality. [Big Law Business]

* According to the latest ABA data, first-year law school enrollment has increased for the first time since 2010. Don’t get too excited over this news, because only 36 more 1Ls were enrolled in law school in 2016 compared to 2015, and one of the schools with the largest enrollment increase (Indiana Tech) is closing for good. [National Law Journal]

* “Once again, public schools have decided that their commitment to diversity does not extend to Christians.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is going to war over a religious Charlie Brown Christmas poster that was banned from a local middle school. AG Paxton has filed suit, but some say he did so as a distraction from his own indictment. [Reuters]

Drops the ball completely.

If somebody commits a hate crime against you, don't expect the federal government to give a damn.

As the alternative investment market evolves, attorneys should keep in mind the next generation of opportunities like the one described here.

Biglaw partner Jayne Backett reminds herself of the journey she has taken so far through the legal profession.

Ken Starr tries in vain to return his reputation back UP to "the guy who wasted money on a blowjob case."

This is the dumbest possible way of dealing with a threat.

Instead of excluding people with criminal records from higher education, let’s help them get to the next positive point of their lives.

* A considered case for pardoning Edward Snowden by Timothy Edgar, who was on the team responsible during the George W. Bush administration for determining that most of the secret surveillance programs had a firm basis in law. [Lawfare]

* The Virginia Supreme Court denied an effort by Republican legislators to find Governor McAuliffe in contempt over an effort to restore voting rights to felons. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

* The “Urban Cowboy” threatens to sue New York City. Most importantly, he’s lawyered up with Richard Luthmann, the Staten Island lawyer who previously sought trial by combat. This should be fun. [Gothamist]

* An omnibus look at what the election means for the courts. Beyond Justice Peter Thiel, of course. [Law.com]

* Many University of Chicago professors have denounced the “no safe spaces” publicity stunt from a few weeks ago, but the law school has largely missed the point of the dispute stayed out of the fray. [WSJ Law Blog]

* You don’t see many paeans to the Lochner era, but here’s one. [Library of Law and Liberty]

* Oregon has settled with Oracle over the state’s troubled health exchange. [Oregonlive]

* Walking meetings improve productivity. Yeah, I’ve watched West Wing reruns too. [TaxProf Blog]

* ATL Editor Kathryn Rubino talks politics on the latest Today’s Verdict. [BronxNet]

Law school students and graduates would love to know the answer to this question.

The school is trying to make a very scary police force.

* Judge Posner tells lawyer for Mike Pence: “You are so out of it.” Was he talking about the case or the election? [LA Times]

* Vibrator sparks class action of bachelorette party attendee class. [Corporate Counsel]

* Bayer is looking to buy Monsanto and multiple Biglaw firms are working on this headache. [The Am Law Daily]

* Former Simpson Thacher clerk gets 46 months for insider trading. [Law360]

* Guess who is funding the battle over pot legalization? [The Intercept]

* The next Brown v. Board? [Law.com]

* The least shocking lawsuit award goes to this suit claims Georgia’s voter registration laws violate federal law. [ABC News]

If you pro-anthem people keep it up, sports leagues are going to end up having to pull the anthem before ordinary games.

Look, if you are actually concerned about student drinking, and over-drinking, then you should want to keep your people on campus.

Reality check: Law degrees do not mean you are always right.

Making a blanket prohibition, on a type of joke, is a weak attempt to avoid thinking too hard about what is appropriate in a community environment.

There's a lot to keep law school deans busy over the summer.

It's an empty gesture. But so are most symbolic policies, and yet that meaninglessness does not make them unimportant.

“See we do it for that boy that graduated / That looked you in your eyes real tough and said appreciate it.” — Andre 3000 This week, my MBA alma mater, the University of Chicago, sent a warning letter to its incoming freshmen class stating that it does not support “so-called trigger warnings” or “intellectual […]

* As a teenager, Richard Posner was fond of the phrase “The Poze knows.” In other news, Richard Posner was an insufferable teenager. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Layoffs are coming! At least that’s what this analyst thinks. [Am Law Daily]

* Law school dean beats charges that he beat professor. Or “squeezed” him anyway. [Law.com]

* The evolution of the Fourth Circuit. [MSN]

* Alabama passes a law requiring students to learn cursive. Tough educational stance for a state that continues to call evolution controversial. [NPR]

* France’s top court will hear the stupid Burkini ban case. [Yahoo!]

* Another day, another humiliating loss for unpaid interns. [Courthouse News Service]