Eric Holder

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.15.15

* From Fuller House to the Big House? Actor John Stamos was arrested for driving under the influence and briefly hospitalized this weekend. Listen, Uncle Jesse, we know you're still a celebrity, per se, but as Joey Gladstone would say, you really need to cut it out, capice? [Variety] * "You're right, I am the man." Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder received a warm reception during his keynote at the American Constitution Society convention's opening gala this weekend when an audience member shouted out, "Eric Holder, you the man!" [Legal Times] * Lawyers, here's a useful practice pointer on "reverse sexism." Per a new study, men on three-judge panels of federal appellate courts tend to "view women as damsels in distress who need their protection," but are much harsher on male litigants. [WSJ Law Blog] * More law schools are opening solo incubators and firms, boosting their employment stats and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars along the way. Rutgers Law lost $100K, but it's a small price to pay to make it look like your grads get "jobs." [Associated Press] * "Time to engage counsel?” This is the question that parents are being forced to ask themselves in the face of legal liability waivers for post-prom parties. Seriously? Man, am I glad I was in high school before parents became contractual killjoys. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.24.15

* The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County are teaming up with Touro Law to create a justice patch so young women can learn about the law and legal careers. If only the law school would help its grads earn the jobs patch! [National Law Journal] * After going through the fuss of having Greenberg Traurig send out a cease and desist letter to a designer who created a 3D printed figurine of Left Shark after the Super Bowl, Katy Perry's trademark application for cartoonish sea creature has been denied. [SPIN] * Douglas Boggs, son of the late Thomas Boggs, Jr., is planning to ditch Squire Patton Boggs for Manatt Phelps & Phillips as soon as next week. Poor SPB, because now the firm isn't going to have a single Boggs left to speak of. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * " This is a country that has made great progress, but there is still more to do." Now that Loretta Lynch has finally been confirmed as our next attorney general, it's time to step back and take a look at Eric Holder's historic legacy in the position. [MSNBC] * The Orrick partner who defeated Ellen Pao's gender discrimination case against Kleiner Perkins has now been hired to fend off another gender-bias suit filed against Twitter. Imagine what it's like to be the go-to lawyer for Silicon Valley tech bros. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.13.15

* Attorney General Holder reminds the DOJ not to hire hookers. [Politico] * A new demographic angry over gay marriage: gay men who want to protect their sham marriages. Didn't expect this to be a fight. [Slate] * Once you've finished binge-watching on Netflix, we ask: is Matt Murdock an ethical lawyer? [Radford & Keebaugh] * Patent attorney David Healey at Fish and Richardson is coming out. Here's the trailer. [YouTube] * Richard Hsu talks about jumping off of perfectly good cliffs with Shane Glynn, Product Counsel at Google. [Hsu Untied] * Garry Trudeau explains that just because we can say something doesn't mean we should. Ken questions this logic. In the end though, he proves too much: there are so many powerful, biting criticisms to make that we shouldn't have to resort to dumb caricatures. [Popehat] * Intelligence Squared is hosting a debate on the death penalty. Watch it online Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. Eastern. [Fora.tv] * Is it just me, or does her account actually sound awfully suspicious? [Gawker] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB_FZa8SNic

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.05.15

* According to the latest data from NALP, summer associate hiring is up for the fifth year in a row. Hooray! But wait, don't go licking each other's popsicles just yet -- some law firms (35 percent of them, in fact) actually reduced the number of offers they made. [National Law Journal] * In response to outcry over bar exam reforms, this Dechert partner took time out of his day to wonder: "Is it too much to expect that future lawyers know the difference between a tort and a tenancy in common, or do we expect clients to pay them $400 an hour to learn it?" [Wall Street Journal] * Now that oral arguments in King v. Burwell have concluded, it's probably time you found out what's at stake for you if you haven't done so already, procrastinators. This is what will happen if SCOTUS strikes down Obamacare subsidies. [WSJ Law Blog] * Edward Snowden is reportedly ready to return to the United States, provided, of course, that he'll receive a "legal and impartial trial." Attorney General Eric Holder has already promised Snowden that he won't face the death penalty, so that's a start. [CNN] * An ADA in Texas apparently referred to defense counsel as a "motherf*cker" in front of jurors during a trial. We think now would be a great time to add this to the list of things that will get you kicked off a case. [Austin American-Statesmen via ABA Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.03.15

* "Taking the bar is like riding a bike. A bike that's on fire." Never before has there been a better way to describe what it's like to take the bar exam. Here's how some recent examinees were able to survive. Miraculously, no one preemptively sent a letter like this. [California Lawyer] * DLA Piper is entering into happily married bliss with Davis, a 260-lawyer firm from the Great White North. An April wedding is planned. The couple is registered with American Lawyer and Vault. Give them a few loads of loonies! [Am Law Daily] * Attorney General Eric Holder took to the op-ed pages to announce the Department of Justice's official take on the constitutionality of marriage equality in America: "Nothing justifies excluding same-sex couples from the institution of marriage." [USA Today] * Speaking of Eric Holder, the attorney general released another official announcement yesterday. Ben Mizer will take over as chief of the Justice Department's Civil Division. (For what it's worth, people are making a huge deal over the fact that he's gay.) [Metro Weekly] * If you've missed a law school application deadline, don't worry, because there are ways you can boost your chances of getting in. Having a pulse is only 98 percent of the battle -- you'll also need a tuition check. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 02.05.15

* Student suspended for "terroristic threat" because he brought Sauron's ring to school. If we outlaw magic rings, only outlaws will have magic rings. [Lowering the Bar] * Jami Tillotson, the public defender arrested for defending the public, will not be charged with anything, which is for the best since she didn't do anything wrong. [SF Weekly] * Elizabeth Wurtzel is getting a boob job. Oh, and she has cancer. But her essay makes it clear that she's way more focused about moving to a D cup. [Vice] * Remember when Eric Holder ended the scheme that let federal and local law enforcement divvy up forfeiture proceeds? Well, not so fast my friend. [LFC360] * Federal judges investigating an extramarital affair between a prosecutor and an ATF agent. Because the only one who's supposed to get rogered in the criminal justice system is the defendant. [The Florida Times-Union] * A freelance lawyer focusing on legal ethics raises ethical concerns. How meta. [Legal Research and Writing Pro] * Guess who didn't file an amicus brief in King v. Burwell? Does the Chamber of Commerce think this argument is just too dumb to stake their reputation? [Constitutional Accountability Center] * Watch out for some light spoilers in this review of Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). [Legal Underground] * Law school grad wants to pay someone to actually teach him or her how to practice law. Because obviously the last $150K+ didn't do it. Since this may get taken down, we've got a screenshot of the post on the next page. [Craigslist] Screen Shot 2015-02-05 at 10.45.24 AM

By Joe Patrice
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By Barbri
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.29.15

* “I will be myself. I will be Loretta Lynch.” During the first day of her Senate Judiciary hearing, our would-be attorney general was cool, calm, and collected while delivering the news that she's not Eric Holder. [National Law Journal] * Just how many retweets does it take for a law student at Oklahoma Law to convince Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder to go with her to law school prom (i.e., Barrister's Ball)? Apparently only 1K. Come on, be her date, Steve! [FanSided] * After being arrested on bribery charges, New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has decided to take a leave of absence from personal injury firm Weitz & Luxenberg -- and to think, he was originally hired “to bring prestige to the firm." [WSJ Law Blog] * “Chess trains you to always think of the worst-case scenario. A lot of the time, that’s what lawyers are hired to do—to think, ‘What’s the worst case and how can I manage it?’” The youngest Debevoise associate moonlights as a chess champ. [Am Law Daily] * Sue Ann Arnall, the ex-wife of billionaire Harold Hamm who first rejected a $975 million alimony check earlier this month and later cashed it, still thinks she should be able to appeal her divorce decree. This woman's got some real chutzpah. [Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.27.15

* "She's kind of like Eric Holder in a skirt." Well then. No one else really seems to care about longtime prosecutor Loretta Lynch's nomination for the position of replacement top dog at the Department of Justice, but hey, maybe that's actually a good thing. [National Law Journal] * Yael Krigman, who left her job at White & Case to open up her own cakepoppery in Washington, D.C., doesn't miss being a lawyer. In fact, these days, she says she uses her law degree "much more than [she] did as a practicing attorney." [GW Hatchet] * It's official: the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court had no shame in their game when they denied certiorari on a civil rights case involving shirtless Wade McCree. It's too bad judges are immune from lawsuits like this. [Associated Press via Detroit News] * If you're lucky enough to have power, then boy, Dewey have a wonderful longread for you to take a look at on this "historic" snow day. It turns out that this failed firm's management painted a "rosy picture" to mask an "ugly truth." [ABA Journal] * Should you submit a law school application with a crappy LSAT score without first telling the schools that there will be another, hopefully better LSAT score coming? Please. They'll be thrilled you have a pulse. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.22.15

* Dentons is on the verge of finalizing a mega-merger that would make the combined firm the largest in the world, beating out even Biglaw behemoth Baker & McKenzie. Which law firm is Dentons wooing this time? [Wall Street Journal] * "We say law school is expensive, but it’s not expensive for everybody." People who do poorly on the LSAT finance their classmates' schooling, and thanks to this chart, now we know what the cost of a low LSAT score really is. [Bloomberg Businessweek] * Senate hearings for Loretta Lynch are scheduled to begin next week, but thus far, she's only received eight letters in support of her nomination for AG. Eric Holder, who is apparently far cooler than she is, received tons of 'em. Aww. [National Law Journal] * The next edition of the Am Law 100 will soon be released, but until then, Am Law is sating our desire for rankings with little tidbits of interesting information. This just in: Apparently Weil Gotshal posted a major, double-digit increase in PPP. [Am Law Daily] * Nixon Peabody has had the urge to merge for quite some time, and now the firm has finally found a willing partner. If everything works out, the firm will gobble up Ungaretti & Harris, and everyone will be a winner! [Crain's Chicago Business] * "There is a large overhang of unemployed law graduates looking for jobs. Whether employers will hire them over 2015 grads is hard to predict." Which is the lesser of two evils: dumber law grads or law grads with huge résumé gaps? [CBS News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.16.15

* It's on. SCOTUS grants cert in marriage equality cases. [Supreme Court] * Law schools are admitting students who have no real hope of passing a bar exam. But keep talking about academic integrity! [TaxProf Blog] * The Daily Show looks at Alabama's Attorneys for Fetuses law, the impetus for the CLE "Charging an arm and a leg when your client doesn't have an arm or a leg." [Mediaite] * A follow-up on the Yale mental health survey and the challenges facing the legal profession. [Law and More] * Justice may get a little more affordable in New York. [LFC360] * One Virginia lawyer is staying open despite Counter-Civil Rights Day Lee-Jackson Day. [Katz Justice] * AG Holder puts a stop to the government's Equitable Sharing program, which was a nice way of saying the "police stealing things from people" program. [Washington Post] * School chancellor: "After careful consideration, I’ve concluded that enlisting our students as confidential informants is fundamentally inconsistent with our core values." Would have been better to have figured that out before a student died while acting as an informant. [Redline] * Another review for Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). Check it out. [Blog Talk Radio]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.02.14

Scantron* A modest proposal for a new course evaluation form. [LawProfBlawg] * An interview with former Senator George Mitchell. Did you know he turned down Justice Breyer’s seat because he wanted “to pass significant health care legislation.” The appropriate 90s response is to cue Nelson Muntz. [Coverage Opinions] * George Washington may have doomed your smartphone privacy. But if it makes you feel any better he probably didn’t mean to. [Redline] * California lawyers are 35 percent more in debt than they were 6 years ago. [Cal Lawyer] * “He sent three clients explicit text messages that included photographs of his erect penis.” Fun addendum: if you read the full opinion, because the associate wrote off his time for sex that was, rightly, the firm’s 8.4 violation! I hope they weren’t the ones who turned him in. [Legal Profession Blog] * A panel of legal analysts weigh in on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to succeed Eric Holder as Attorney General and discuss what her nomination means in the context of civil rights. [RH Reality Check] * Do you need a live CLE lecture? Pick up 12 credits and grab some drinks with some ATL editors afterward. [Above the Law]

By Joe Patrice
Bar Exams

Morning Docket: 11.06.14

* “Perhaps Congress should have called this the Sarbanes-Oxley Grouper Act.” Based on the justices’ reactions during oral argument, it seems like SCOTUS isn’t taking the bait in the Yates case. [WSJ Law Blog] * It seems that President Obama still hasn’t made a decision on who he wants to replace Eric Holder as attorney general. Maybe the results of the midterm election made him change his mind. [Legal Times] * Jay Z may have 99 problems, but this champagne deal ain’t one because Cooley helped to seal the deal. If Armand de Brignac is good enough for Queen Bey, it’s good enough for this Biglaw firm. [Am Law Daily] * Students at the University of South Dakota School of Law are wondering whether they’re receiving a good legal education considering they’re being trained to pass the “easiest [bar] in the nation.” [The Volante] * Kenneth Desormes of Connecticut was charged after trying to eat the results of his breathalyzer test. He may be the same Kenneth Desormes who tried to get his law school to admit to fraud. [Hartford Courant]

By Staci Zaretsky
Banking Law

Morning Docket: 10.30.14

* Will we have a nominee for Attorney General Eric Holder’s position “shortly after the election”? Per a White House spokesperson, our lame-duck Congress might just get a chance to confirm America’s next top lawyer. [WSJ Law Blog] * In the wake of an associate general counsel’s suicide last week, Deutsche Bank has taken steps to further separate its legal and compliance teams to tamp down on its “legal and regulatory headaches.” Well then. [Corporate Counsel] * David Tresch, Mayer Brown’s former chief information officer, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in bilking the firm out of $4.8 million. Hey, it could’ve been worse, says his lawyer, whose client got off relatively easily. [Am Law Daily] * Thanks to the rise of the “energy phenomenon,” law schools have started to offer various classes focusing on oil and gas law in the hopes of making their graduates employable. Good luck with that. [Times Online] * If you plan to retake the LSAT, you need to study smarter. Don’t sweat it too much, though — it’s not like you’ve got a lot of competition trying to apply to law school. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

By Staci Zaretsky