Federal Judges

Biglaw

Morning Docket: 09.19.14

* Voters in Scotland just said no to independence from the United Kingdom (although it might not have been a big deal for the legal profession if the vote had gone the other way). [New York Times] * Congratulations to Drexel Law on a whopping $50 million gift -- and its new name, the Thomas R. Kline School of Law. [Philadelphia Inquirer via WSJ Law Blog] * The latest chapter in the “cautionary tale” of David Lola: dismissal of the contract attorney’s lawsuit against Skadden and Tower Legal. [American Lawyer] * An office renovation for Baker Botts in Houston strips junior associates of window offices. [ABA Journal] * How could Watson transform the practice of patent law? [Corporate Counsel] * Are we seeing a reversal in the trend of declining prison populations? [Washington Post] * The chorus of voices calling for Judge Mark Fuller to resign in the wake of domestic violence charges against him continues to grow. [New York Times]

By David Lat
Antonin Scalia

Morning Docket: 09.16.14

* If you want to know why Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s summer was “really not fun,” it’s because she spent it reading a book about Justice Antonin Scalia and a book written by Justice John Paul Stevens. [Washington Whispers / U.S. News & World Report] * “There is less money to pay everybody.” Corporations are shifting more and more of their legal work to their in-house lawyers, and some law firms — especially smaller ones — are feeling the financial squeeze. [WSJ Law Blog] * If you’ve wanted to know what federal judges discuss during their bathroom breaks, stop wondering, because it’s not that exciting. All they talk about is their “stupid little trials,” and get overheard by jurors and forced into disclosures. [New York Daily News] * Dewey know why the former leaders of this failed firm want their criminal indictment dismissed? It’s because the case is allegedly based on a “flagrant misunderstanding of the law.” [New York Law Journal] * If you want to own a “piece of history,” Jodi Arias is auctioning off the glasses she wore during the first phase of her murder trial. She intends to donate the proceeds of the sale to (her own?) charity. [Daily Mail]

By Staci Zaretsky
Antonin Scalia

Non-Sequiturs: 09.12.14

* Mexican drug cartels are moving beyond shipping cocaine and are starting to grow the stuff too. As long as they stop hijacking lime shipments and driving up margarita prices. [Vocativ] The prosecutor who admitted Ray Rice into a pre-trial intervention program (and there are pros and cons to that decision) specifically denied the same option to a working single mother of two who didn't realize her out of state gun permit wasn't accepted. She was offered a 3+ year prison deal. Because, you know... prosecutors. [Huffington Post] * If you’re planning on getting arrested in New Orleans — and who isn’t? — don’t get arrested at night. [The Times-Picayune] * A federal judge is accused of sexual misconduct with a clerk. I had to check twice to make sure this wasn’t just a plot point in David’s upcoming book (affiliate link). [Waco Tribune-Herald] * Defense lawyer allegedly drives drunk… to the courthouse. [Indianapolis Star] * The complex legal tapestry of sandwiches. [The Atlantic] * “Mathew Martoma’s Parents Raise Some Good, Less Good Points.” [Dealbreaker] * If you were interested in the mélange of issues surrounding privilege, whistleblowing, and litigation finance, here’s a primer. [LFC360] * Jimmy Kimmel asked some New York Fashion Week attendees about Justice Scalia. Hilarity ensues. Video embedded below… [YouTube]

By Joe Patrice
11th Circuit

Morning Docket: 09.09.14

* Mathew Martoma, the former Harvard law student who fabricated his transcript when applying for clerkships, gets nine years in prison for insider trading. [DealBook / New York Times] * If Bingham McCutchen moves forward on merger talks with Morgan Lewis, a bunch of Bingham partners might bail. [American Lawyer] * Congratulations to Judge Jill Pryor, who will join Judge Bill Pryor on the Eleventh Circuit. [Fulton County Daily Report] * Can you be fired for medical marijuana in Colorado, where the drug is legal even for recreational purposes? [ABA Journal] * Dewey have some good news for the embattled ex-leaders of the defunct law firm? [New York Law Journal] * Home Depot is the latest major retailer to be hit by a data breach. [Washington Post]

By David Lat