Germany

The practice is estimated to have cost taxpayers there €12 billion ($13.7 billion).

A leading dealmaker shares some secrets of his success.

This ruling is really a big deal. The legal pathway has now been fortified for German couples hoping to grow their families by surrogacy.

The German market is probably the single best opportunity in the space today.

The House of Cryan is attempting to create the politely Lutheran clawback.

Don't drop out of law school to become a surrogate just yet....

* This is what happens when judges try to be cool. [Daily Report]

* Loretta Lynch’s powerful farewell. [Huffington Post]

* Daring Donald Trump to perjure himself. [Slate]

* President Obama commuted the majority of Chelsea Manning’s sentence. [New York Times]

* Despite similarities to the Nazis, Germany’s top court refused to ban the far-right National Democratic party. [The Guardian]

* How to make your emails actually convert into new business. [Law and More]

* Behold! The power of a single judge. A Brazilian state judge shuts down Brazil’s most popular chat app, WhatsApp, for 72 hours. [The Intercept]

* The 16 most… unique legal defenses in history. [Reeves Law Group]

* Do ponytails count as a professional hairstyle? [Corporette]

* Former clerks of the late justice speak about Scalia’s legacy. [C-SPAN]

* Can the Urban Confessional Project actually help stressed-out lawyers? [Law and More]

* Germany is annulling the convictions of 50,000 men for homosexuality, saying the victims of this now obsolete law shouldn’t have to live with the stigma of conviction. [Wonkette]

* Michael Ratner, noted civil rights attorney who challenged the government’s detention of prisoners without judicial review at Guantánamo Bay, RIP. [New York Times]

If you ever wonder why some lawyers are concerned about not weakening the First Amendment in any way, consider this an ideal exhibit.

* Out of Germany comes news of a real tragedy — spoiled beer. [Legal Juice]

* Justice Sonia Sotomayor got a pretty bad-ass tribute in the form of a graffiti mural, unveiled in the Bronx. [Colorlines]

* A look at how voter suppression efforts have morphed with the times. [Washington Post]

* Don’t feel bad about your Josh Duggar/Ashley Madison schadenfreude. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

* Want to waste some time? Take this fun quiz matching quotes to the lawyers that said them. [Suited Gladiators]

* A lesson in how not to deal with a government investigation, courtesy of the American Red Cross. [Cady Bar The Door]

* George Washington would be embarrassed to hear today’s candidates’ take on torture. And so would the rest of the founding fathers, ya know, if they were zombies. [Lowering the Bar]

* We’re about to announce the finalists for our Summer Associate Event Contest — so if you have a nomination, send it to us ASAP! [Above the Law]

* Oh Texas. Judge gets in trouble for posting about an ongoing trial on Facebook, violating HER OWN RULE about posting about an ongoing trial on Facebook. [Texas Lawyer]

* Head of the Georgia state judicial ethics committee resigns after billing questions arise. [Daily Report]

* Ach nein! Orrick closes two German offices. [Am Law]

* Yup, if you graduated law school (even from a great school like Columbia) in 2010, you are well and truly screwed. [NY Times]

* Get ready for the gay marriage oral arguments with a fascinating history of codified homophobia in public service. [WaPo]

* Irony alert: Judge’s son got a DUI when he was driving recklessly in front of — yup, you guessed it — the courthouse. [Times Free Press]

* NY State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman comes out in favor of decriminalization of seven “broken windows” offenses that account for ~42% of NYPD summonses. [NY Daily News]

* RIP Harvey Miller, 82, Weil Gotshal bankruptcy partner passed away after a fight with ALS. [NYLJ]

This Biglaw ad is a failure unless the goal was unintentional comedy.

MoFo stole all of Ho-Love's partners in Berlin, and Ho-Love isn't happy about it.

* A former general counsel has settled a case with the SEC alleging a slew of backdated options. It was suspicious when all the options were backdated to October 30, 1929. [ABA Journal via The Recorder] * “If Microsoft Shuts Down Google Maps In Germany, How Does That Benefit The Public?” Um, it makes it harder for them to find Poland! Duh. [TechDirt] * Senator Ted Cruz is having a rough go of it in the Senate. He’s already been publicly ripped by fellow Republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Then he raised the ire of Senator Diane Feinstein, who has exactly zero patience for his crap. [Jezebel] * Based on the description, HLN is licking its chops. [Craigslist] * Supreme Court bobbleheads! I’m particularly impressed by Justice Brandeis riding the railroad. [Justices For Sale] * To get yourself wound up for March Madness, here’s a fictional lawyer bracket from Constitutional Daily. Jack McCoy didn’t even make the field so this won’t be a repeat of the Above the Law winner. [Constitutional Daily] * Lifting the amazing disappearing cloak over merit scholarships. [TaxProf Blog via National Jurist] * Lawyer cited as the good guy in a punchline. Hurray! [OMFG Meme] * Video after the jump of Lindsay Lohan showing up late for court, and getting a surprise gift from the crowd…

* “Biglaw Bonuses for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us!” By Elie Mystal. [Businessweek] * Just how quickly will state-by-state legal education be able to respond to changing market conditions? Thus far, both New York and California have proven themselves to be pretty damn nimble. [Legal Ethics Forum] * Here’s a cute docket sheet entry from Judge Marcia Cooke in the Southern District of Florida. Thanks for not being a grinch this holiday season, Your Honor! [Southern District of Florida Blog] * A town in Germany has started using “female friendly” parking spaces, because parking a car is just so hard for we womenfolk to do when we’re supposed to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. :( [Telegraph] * Hiram Chodosh, once named as a law dean hottie, has been named the fifth president of Claremont McKenna College. Of course, the former title is cooler than the latter, don’t you think? [Sacramento Bee]

* Germany essentially outlaws the “like” button on Facebook. Really, why did we let them reunify? Did we all honestly think that was a good idea? [BuzzMachine] * West Memphis Three could be getting out of jail. Umm… hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wife? [WSJ Law Blog] * Is an MBA just as bad of […]