FBI

* A judge has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Amazon challenging the award of a lucrative Defense Department contract to Microsoft. Guess Jeff Bezos doesn’t have enough money already… [Verge]

* The FBI has purportedly seized a phone from a lawyer who has ties to Rudy Giuliani. [Salon]

* A lawyer connected to “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli has resigned from the New York Bar. [Bloomberg Law]

* The family of a protester shot and killed by police during the Capitol riot earlier this year is filing a wrongful death lawsuit. [NBC News]

* A New York lawyer, who is accused of vanishing and leaving clients and their money in the lurch, allegedly forged his mother’s signature on loan documents. Guess the joke about lawyers being willing to throw their mothers under the bus might be true for some people… [Commercial Observer]

* A lawyer is demanding to know whether the FBI has uncovered $400 million of gold from the Civil War. Sounds like a sequel to National Treasure… [New York Post]

* The New York Attorney General alleges that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo underreported nursing home deaths from COVID-19 in New York. [CNBC]

* PACER apparently crashed yesterday because so many people were looking at class-action filings against Robinhood involving GameStop stock. [Law & Crime]

* President Biden has started staffing a commission on Supreme Court reform. [Politico]

* Facebook is allegedly preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. At least Google isn’t the target of antitrust action for a change… [Yahoo News]

* The Florida Bar has disbarred an attorney for not responding to notices because she had passed away. Guess they don’t want her practicing law in the afterlife…. [Miami Herald]

* The leader of the NXIVM cult has hired a new lawyer who previously worked for Bill Cosby. [Times Union]

* Former FBI Director James Comey believes that Joe Biden’s incoming Attorney General should not investigate President Trump. [Fox News]

* Kim Kardashian has apparently been consulting with a divorce lawyer since the summer of 2020. [US Magazine]

* The South Dakota Bar Association is cautioning attorneys against counseling clients on cannabis-law issues. Their arguments seem “half baked”… [San Francisco Chronicle]

* A new lawsuit alleges that a beer manufacturer falsely claimed its brew was made in Mexico instead of Holland. Would be amazing if free beer is part of any settlement… [Fox Business]

* Carter Page has filed a lawsuit against the FBI and others for allegedly illicit surveillance during the Russia investigation. [USA Today]

* The legal challenges facing the Attorney General of Texas may impede the state’s antitrust claims against Google. [Wall Street Journal]

* A man sought in the slaying of an Illinois lawyer is on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. [Fox News]

* Since Above the Law hasn’t had a “Lawyerly Lairs” feature in a while, wanted to share that a top Las Vegas attorney has placed his multimillion-dollar mansion on the market. [Review-Journal]

* A Florida woman, who allegedly pretended to be a lawyer, has been sentenced to four years in prison. Did she say her name was “Jerry Gallo“? [Tampa Bay Times]

* The FBI is purportedly investigating the Attorney General of Texas for alleged improprieties. [Hill]

* A wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed over the drowning this past summer of an actress on the show Glee. [Deadline]

* The Attorney General of Pennsylvania had some harsh words for Rudy Giuliani upon the latter’s return to the courtroom in post-election litigation after a nearly three-decade hiatus. [Newsweek]

* A lawyer has been found guilty of a misdemeanor for refusing to stop texting in court. Guess the attorney will be texting sad emojis for a while… [Bloomberg Law]

* The Pennsylvania Attorney General is taking action against an Amazon seller for allegedly selling hand sanitizer for $75 a bottle. Maybe it was made with top-shelf alcohol? [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* A group of 100 New York City eateries are planning a lawsuit to allow indoor dining in the Empire State. [New York Post]

* A judge has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at keeping a Chic-fil-A at a San Antonio airport. [San Antonio Express-News]

* A Fort Worth, Texas, attorney who walked all the way to Austin, Texas, to bring attention to police reform has completed his trek. [Fox News]

* A former FBI lawyer has pleaded guilty to altering a document used to justify surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser. [AP]

* A disbarred attorney is accused of siphoning around $500,000 meant for a disabled client and using the money on vacations, plastic surgery, and about a thousand Amazon purchases. Hope he was a Prime member at least… [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Costco is defending litigation claiming that its 401(k) plan had excessive management fees. Hard to imagine that Costco didn’t try to save money… [Forbes]

* Lawyers need to be careful about using smart speakers like Amazon Alexa while working from home. [Bloomberg Law]

* A former FBI lawyer was charged on Friday for allegedly falsifying documents related to the Russian election interference investigation. [USA Today]

* The Los Angeles Kings have suspended the actor who wears their mascot’s costume after a sexual harassment lawsuit was filed against the performer. [Yahoo News]

* A candymaker has reached a settlement over empty spaces inside boxes of Mike and Ike’s candy. Never even heard of this candy, guess I won’t be getting an $8 settlement. [Morning Call]

* Federal judge Esther Salas’s son was shot and killed, and her husband wounded, during an assault at the judge’s New Jersey home on Sunday night. Extending our deepest condolences to Judge Salas and her family. [CNN]

* The Oregon Attorney General has sued federal agencies over detentions federal officials have conducted on Portland protesters. [USA Today]

* Michael Avenatti’s lawyer claims Avenatti is broke and taxpayers should pay for his defense on fraud, tax evasion, and other charges. Maybe he can just sell Roger Stones like other criminal defendants… [Fox News]

* The Supreme Court has ordered expedited proceedings about the availability of President Trump’s tax returns. [Hill]

* The FBI Director has hired a former law partner to be the new top lawyer at the Bureau. [Wall Street Journal]

* Yet another lawyer has been caught attending a Zoom court conference without wearing enough clothes. All lawyers should read ATL’s earlier coverage of this phenomenon. [Mexico News Daily]

* The former general counsel of the FBI has been hired as an in-house attorney for Twitter. The two workplaces must be just a little different… [New York Post]

* A former lawyer has been found guilty of murdering his wife and throwing her body overboard during a 2006 cruise in the Caribbean. [Lost Angeles Times]

* The Supreme Court halted the execution of a death-row inmate in Texas about one hour before he was set to be executed. [NBC News]

* Attorneys in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to enforce safety measures at a Trump rally in the city later this week. [Hill]

* A former lawyer who surrendered his law license for stealing from clients and then became a pastor will be allowed to practice law again. That was very Christ-like of the bar examiners… [Bloomberg Law]

* A disbarred attorney has been sentenced to prison for stealing his dead client’s pension for twelve years. This former lawyer puts the guys in Weekend at Bernie’s to shame. [Providence Journal]

* Two attorneys, including a Biglaw lawyer, have been charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail into an NYPD police vehicle during protests this weekend over the killing of George Floyd. [New York Daily News]

* The Supreme Court has held that states have the power to regulate how many people can attend religious services during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Vox]

* The top lawyer at the FBI is resigning, purportedly due to pressure to remove officials at the Bureau connected with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. [CNN]

* A judge who is recovering from COVID-19 will be deciding if Washington State’s safer-at-home orders should be suspended. Have to admire this judge’s resolve. [Komo News]

* A New Jersey judge has ordered a local gym to remain closed for the time being. Guess “gym, tan, laundry” is currently impossible in the Garden State. [NewJersey.com]

* The FBI is reportedly evaluating whether the the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery was a hate crime. [Seattle Times]

* President Trump has said that Jeff Sessions was not “mentally qualified” to be Attorney General. [Guardian]

* A Texas criminal defense lawyer has been arrested for trying to hire an undercover cop to commit murder. [Daily Mail]

* As many of us Empire State lawyers know from firsthand experience, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on everyone involved with the New York courts system. [Daily News]

* A Vermont attorney who pointed a gun at a store clerk due to social distancing restrictions has been suspended from practice. [CBS News]

* Mets pitcher Noah Syndergraard is being sued by his landlord for missing payments on his $27,000-a-month New York City duplex. Maybe Syndergraard qualifies for unemployment while the Mets aren’t playing, but don’t think it’ll cover his rent… [Yahoo News]