Florida
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Justice, Police
Time For A Close Read On The Crime 'Driving While Black'
If you really look at the excuses, you see why driving while black is such a pervasive 'crime.' -
Litigation Finance, Litigators
The Best And Worst States For Litigation Finance (Part II)
And the most attractive states for investing in litigation are.... - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: The Wheels Of Justice Turn Slowly
When will alleged hitman Sigfredo Garcia stand trial?
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Deaths, Suicide
Powerhouse Litigator Found Dead In His Home In Suspected Suicide
He was a community leader and legend of the plaintiffs' bar. -
Legal Ethics, Technology
Ethical Dangers Of Technology In The Legal Practice
Technology competence, cloud competing, social media, and more. -
Deaths, U.S. Attorneys Offices
Federal Prosecutor Found Dead On Beach
Our condolences go out to this attorney's family, friends, and colleagues. -
Bar Exams, Law Schools
Most Law Schools Did Horrendously On This State's Bar Exam
At one law school, three out of every four graduates failed the test. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.11.17
Uh-oh! Trouble in paradise? It looks like Martin Shkreli’s lawyer — who also happens to be his co-defendant — has turned on him.
* Florida has released the results from its administration of the February 2017 bar exam, and they were not pretty. The percentage of those who passed dipped a bit since 2016, but students at both Orlando law schools were more likely to have failed. But which law school did the worst of all? We’ll have more on this later. [Orlando Sentinel]
* Trouble in paradise? Martin Shkreli’s former lawyer, Evan Greebel — who also happens to be his co-defendant — has turned on him, accusing the pharma bro of submitting false documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and engaging in illegal stock trading. Greebel, of course, now wants to be tried separately from Shkreli. [Bloomberg]
* “I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would be back.” Five women who once worked at Davis Polk and had been gone for at least two years to raise their families have returned to the firm for one-year stints with a program called “Davis Polk Revisited.” If all goes well, they may be able to return for a longer period of time. [WSJ Law Blog]
* A former Hunton & Williams partner who spent 20 years on the lam as a fugitive has finally been caught. Scott Wolas, who was disbarred in 1999, was most recently accused in a $1.5 million real estate investment fraud scheme. Over the course of his alleged criminal career, Wolas reportedly assumed a number of other aliases. [Am Law Daily]
* Each year around Easter, the ABA Journal hosts a Peeps in Law diorama contest. It’s time to cast your vote for your favorite, and this time around, the competition is pretty stiff. We’re particularly partial to the entry that’s been dubbed “State of Peepington v. Trump,” but “Peepsburg and Sugarmayor” is also very cute. Vote! [ABA Journal]
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
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Defamation, Media and Journalism, Social Media
The Title Of This Court Filing Will Amaze You!
Best title ever for an opposition to a motion to dismiss. -
Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: Lingering Questions Over Who's Paying Katherine Magbanua's Legal Fees
If everything here is on the up and up, what's the problem with revealing this information? -
Law Students
Even If This Guy Passes The Bar, Character And Fitness Might Barricade Him From The Profession
This guy... probably shouldn't be a lawyer. -
Health Care / Medicine
Reform Healthcare Payment While Interest Rates Are Low, Says Ex-HHS Secretary
If healthcare organizations and policy-makers are ever going to rein in costs, this is the time to do it.
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Justice
Florida Public Defender Fires Lawyer Over BlackLivesMatter, Still Claims He's Totally Not Racist
White employers haven't had this much power to discriminate since the 14th Amendment was passed. -
Drugs
Florida State Attorney's Office Cleans House After Alleged Drug-Fueled Bachelorette Party
You'll never look at rubber ducks the same way again. -
Marijuana
Cashed: The 6 Most Bogus Claims In The Marijuana Industry
The next time you hear anyone make a too-good-to-be-true statement about the cannabis industry, at least be sure to check it out before buying in. -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Partner Issues, Women's Issues
Meet The Newest Legal, Powerhouse Securities Team Based Out Of South Florida
Three high-powered women lawyers (and longtime friends) join forces at the same firm. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.14.16
* “As a federal prosecutor for 19 years… I know better.” Leslie Caldwell, who oversees the Justice Department’s criminal division, sent a letter of apology to federal prosecutors across the country for remarks made at a Federalist Society event where she intimated that many of them don’t understand rules for white-collar criminal cases. [WSJ Law Blog]
* It seems that D.C.-based Crowell & Moring and New York-based Herrick Feinstein are hoping to bump into each other under the mistletoe this year, because they’re reportedly in close merger talks. A combination would create a firm with about 570 lawyers and $478 million in gross revenue. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily; Real Deal]
* Biglaw behemoth Dentons is politely bowing out of the competition when it comes to a takeover of the European and Middle Eastern arm of King & Wood Mallesons. With Dentons out of the picture, it’s unlikely that a single firm will rescue the entirety of the branch, but numerous firms are interested in picking apart bits and pieces. [Legal Week]
* Calling their behavior “uncivil,” Judge Steven O’Neill was forced to scold lawyers on both sides during a dramatic shouting match that erupted at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial after the defense team insisted that the comedian’s accusers ought to be named in public documents, saying they’re “witnesses in a trial, not children.” [USA Today]
* Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Victoria Brennan, who was accused of using a metal pipe to smash a man’s windshield this summer (but was never formally charged), is going to step down from her position on the bench. Her last day will be December 31, and per her resignation letter, she is “looking forward to the future.” [Miami Herald]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.05.16
* Although it may seem far from what’s occurred given some questionable statements and tweets about freedom of speech and freedom of religion, House Speaker Paul Ryan says that he’s discussed the Constitution “extensively” with President-elect Donald Trump, including the separation of powers. Let’s see if any of Ryan’s Con Law lessons have an impact. [Huffington Post]
* Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is dropping her recount bid in Pennsylvania because of an inability to afford the $1 million bond required by the state to proceed; after all, “petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means.” She may not be done with her efforts to prevent President-elect Trump from securing an electoral victory, though. She’ll probably try her hand at a federal case. [New York Times]
* After months of sometimes violent protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to turn down the permit necessary to grant an easement to build a segment of the Dakota Access pipeline under Lake Oahe, which could contaminate the water supply and damage sacred tribal lands. Will President-elect Trump reverse this decision after he is inaugurated? [Reuters]
* Cook County Circuit Judge Valarie Turner — who allowed former law clerk Rhonda Crawford to don her robes and hear cases in her stead — has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss, which has led the Judicial Inquiry Board to declare her “mentally unable” to perform her job. It is unclear whether Turner had been diagnosed prior to this summer’s incident with Crawford. [Chicago Sun-Times]
* Valparaiso is facing down a tough decision after years of admitting students with less-than-desirable credentials: Continue to do more of the same, or “face reality and close its law school.” Given the way that things like this generally proceed with law schools, we suppose we can expect the school to try for at least a few more years with diminishing returns for graduates before it decides to throw in the towel. [Chicago Tribune]
* Katherine Magbanua, the woman indicted on first-degree murder charges and accused of acting as a conduit between two alleged hitmen and whoever ordered Professor Dan Markel’s murder, can access the grand jury testimony of Luis Rivera, who has already taken a plea deal and is working with prosecutors. [Tallahassee Democrat]
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Marijuana
Hazy Days Ahead? What We Don't Know About Florida's New Medical Marijuana Law
Be sure to stay tuned as Florida's Department of Health gears up for Amendment 2 rule making.