* A "robot lawyer" startup, that once focused on parking tickets, is now helping users file FOIA requests. Hope the platform can't write the Morning Docket... [TechCrunch]
* A new lawyer for the Trump Campaign allegedly argued that Kamala Harris was not a natural-born U.S. citizen. [Forbes]
* The Department of Justice is suing the State of Alabama over allegedly substandard prison conditions. [NPR]
* Jerry Falwell, Jr. has dropped a defamation lawsuit he filed against Liberty University. [New York Post]
* A federal judge has approved a class action of fighters suing the UFC for allegedly being a monopoly. They should have put a trial by ordeal clause in their contracts, may be quicker to settle this dispute in the octagon... [Bloomberg Law]
Juno has consistently secured the best private loan deals for students at the Top MBA programs since 2018—now they’re bringing that same offer to law students, at no cost. Students can check their personalized offers at juno.us/atl
This article is for general information only and is not personal financial advice.
* You can shake a female co-worker's hand and not get cooties, I promise. [Adequate Man]
* Why did you decide to go to law school? [Corporette]
* A Freedom of Information Act request has revealed the stunning way the Department of Homeland Security ordered its agents to treat Congresspeople and lawyers in the aftermath of the travel ban. [Daily Beast]
* How will you survive if your legal job is replaced by artificial intelligence? [Law and More]
* Oliver Stone has gotten to the CIA. [Politico]
* Like true crime TV shows? You'll appreciate Netflix's new spoof. [Salon]
* The Trump administration does not understand the whole concept of popularity. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]
* Who can help Governor Cuomo solve his transit woes? [Cityland]
* Sometimes lawyers really can do good work. Let's try and remember that this Thanksgiving. [Guile is Good]
* More people against marriage equality are blatantly disregarding the law. [Slate]
* Honestly, does this sh*t even surprise you anymore? Ben Carson doesn't know much about who actually wrote the Constitution. [Talking Points Memo]
* Score 1 for the First Amendment and the good folks at Cartoon Network. [Gawker]
* Does mass surveillance even work to stop terrorism? [Pacific Standard]
* How much should your law firm spend on marketing? [Law Reboot]
* Mike Brown, the man at the center of the would-be South Carolina restaurant racial discrimination suit, has a post over at xoJane telling his story. [xoJane]
* Time for a Team Prenda update! Now they are making really embarrassingly terrible “your mom” jokes. [Popehat]
* Contrary to Elie’s tweet, there is kind of a legal angle to the debacle at the VMAs that was Miley Cyrus dancing with an aging Michael Keaton dressed as Beetlejuice Robin Thicke. MuckRock has submitted a FOIA request to find out how many complaints were filed with the FCC. Unfortunately, my bet is that the number is more than zero, despite the FCC having no legal authority over indecency on MTV. If you have no idea what we’re talking about, here’s a collection of GIFs. [MuckRock]
* Shots fired! Law Librarian Blog snarks on Law Professor Blogs 2.0 re-design. Palace Intrigue: Blogger Edition. [Law Librarian Blog]
* A new website provides an online course in general deposition prep for witnesses. Will this work? Pro: Deposition prep involves haphazard application of life lessons from a lawyer’s individual career and a professionalized course is beneficial. Con: Why would a firm forfeit all those billable hours to a third-party? [The Perfect Witness]
* Not every law school is cutting back. San Joaquin College of Law is expanding its enrollment. It’s not ABA-accredited, so all these students are sure to land on their feet. [KFSN]
* Since we’re likely to be at war with Syria by the end of the week, here’s a thoughtful piece on the legality of intervention in light of the UN charter and moral obligations. [Boston Review]
* Hey, “regular students” with “regular backgrounds,” you may be able to get a job as a SCOTUS clerk, because Justice Clarence Thomas is the Supreme Court’s honey badger in that he doesn’t give a sh*t about rankings. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
* Because $1.05 bill wasn’t quite enough, Apple is asking for additional damages in its patent war lawsuit against Samsung. Ohh, come on, Judge Koh, it’s just an extra $535 million. Everyone else is doing it, come on. Just give us the money. [Bloomberg]
* The D.C. Circuit suit about White House visitor logs is kind of like a recurring issue we see with law schools, in that transparency here means “[w]e will disclose what records we want you to see.” [National Law Journal]
* Skadden is teaming up with local legal aid groups to start a pro bono initiative in D.C. We hear they’ll be handing out gift cards as a show of appreciation to those who sign up. [Capital Business / Washington Post]
* Sumner Redstone recently donated $18M to BU Law. Will his successor be as charitable? From Columbia Law to Shearman & Sterling to media mogul: meet Philippe Dauman, CEO of Viacom. [New York Times]
* “The employment statistics really are the collective impact of individual choices.” And one of them was attending law school anyway, despite all of the negative media attention they’ve received. [Cincinnati Enquirer]
* Remember the Harvard Law student who ran for Student Government President and pledged to resign after rewriting the organization’s constitution? Well, he graduated, but at least he got a draft in. [Harvard Crimson]
