Hacking

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.20.16

* The “Federal Criminal Discovery Blue Book” -- which is exactly what it sounds like, a trial manual by federal prosecutors for federal prosecutors -- is protected from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act as attorney work product. [Wall Street Journal] * Donald Trump Jr. seems to have "borrowed" lines from his convention speech from his own speech writer. And the defense of Melania Trump's plagiarism at Monday night's RNC keeps getting more and more outlandish. Now it involves My Little Pony. [CNN] * Former Cardinals director of baseball development Christopher Correa is going to jail for hacking into emails of the Houston Astros, and now Major League Baseball is looking into the scandal. [Law360] * The Department of Justice really, really wants the Supreme Court to rehear the immigration case of U.S. v. Texas, which ended in an unsatisfying tie -- preferably once they get, you know, the traditional nine justices. [National Law Journal] * And you thought your job was stressful -- imagine if you were running your global firm's Turkey office. [American Lawyer] * Potential merger in the air: CMS Cameron McKenna is eyeing Olswang. [The Lawyer]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.11.16

* The 2016 election cycle has been a doozy, and we still have six months left. Rick Hasen, Tom Mann, and Norm Ornstein discuss going from political dysfunction to Trump. [Election Law Blog] * Father Michael Reilly is being sued for cursing and using other offensive language in the course of his work at Saint Joseph's by the Sea High School on Staten Island. [New York Daily News] * Who files the most amicus briefs with the Supreme Court? A report by the numbers. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Is it possible to get funding for a truly unique idea in real estate investment? [The Real Estate Philosopher] * Deep thoughts on covering the legal industry with Above the Law's editor-at-large, Elie Mystal. [Mimesis] * What's it like to be out at a Biglaw firm? [Big Law Business] * The Supreme Court has approved a rule change to dramatically increase the government's ability to hack into computers and phones worldwide. [Slate]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.01.16

* According to a statement released by the RIAA, hundreds of musicians and songwriters -- like Katy Perry, for example -- have called on Congress to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Safe-harbor clauses are absolutely killing the artists' bottom line, and something must be done. [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter] * "[M]any law firms have had breaches, which they’ve kept quiet." Following the news that Cravath and Weil Gotshal had been victims of data breaches, Edelson, a plaintiff’s side firm, announced it would be filing class-action suits against 15 major Biglaw firms with cybersecurity problems. We can't wait to find out which ones will be on the receiving end of these complaints. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Being the world's first publicly traded law firm has turned out to be quite the debacle for Slater & Gordon. First, the Australian firm announced market losses of about $740 million, citing "underperformance in U.K. operations," and now its general counsel has decided to throw in the towel after only two months on the job. Ouch. [Am Law Daily] * “I have lost my faith in the potential for the Law School or its curriculum to put out people who care deeply about things." Members of Harassment/Assault Law-School Team, a student group that advocates for sexual assault victims, aren't impressed with Harvard Law's inaction on educating students about sexual assault. [Harvard Crimson] * How can we guarantee educators are being honest about graduates' job prospects? Based on the results of the Corinthian Colleges fiasco and the Alaburda v. TJSL trial, it seems like "[s]trict disclosure rules for all schools would be better than lawsuits and government aid as a way to ensure educator honesty." [DealBook / New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.24.15

* It's a Christmas miracle! It may still be too early to tell, but it's beginning to look a lot like there's going to be an increase in law school applicants. Per LSAC, almost 3 percent more people have applied to law schools than last year at this time. [WSJ Law Blog] * This is why more firms don't hold IPOs: Slater & Gordon, the first firm to go public, may face two shareholder class-action suits -- one for allegedly misleading investors and the other for its terrible performance on the market. [Guardian] * As 2015 draws to a close, it's very obvious that Dentons had a "transformative" year as it gobbled up law firms left and right, and 2016 will be no different. The firm has its eyes set on Japan, Korea, Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Africa. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * A Bahamian hacker almost released a celebrity sex tape, naughty photos, and television and movie scripts for an obscene price, but not to worry, because U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (S.D.N.Y.) was busy saving the world, one sex tape at a time. [New York Times] * UC Hastings College of Law has appointed an acting chancellor and dean in Frank Wu's wake. Let's welcome David L. Faigman to the world of law school administration. Hopefully he can ease the school out of its current bar exam passage funk. [UC Hastings] * Joe Jamail, richest lawyer in America, King of Torts and depos, RIP. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.03.15

* With the Dewey trial wrapping up, a look back at the history of firm honchos earning jail time. [Law360] * Slick video explaining the everything wrong the way law schools market themselves to students. [Business Insider] * K&L Gates loses more partners. This time McDermott picks up the spoils. But don't cry for K&L, they nabbed a huge get off Paul Hastings. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Remember when Sony got hacked? It unveiled some fun stuff, like how the new movie Concussion changed its plot around to avoid offending the NFL. [ABA Journal] * As college football prepares to kick off tonight, Baylor has hired Pepper Hamilton to look into how the school handles sexual violence allegations in light of the rape conviction of former player Sam Ukwuachu. [Dallas Morning News] * Here's one of the dumbest arguments ever: Larry Lessig is liberal. About 47 years ago, unchecked campaign spending marginally helped a liberal (he did ultimately lose the nomination... and Nixon became president). Therefore, Larry Lessig shouldn't be against money in politics. Signed, the former Executive Director of the Club for Growth. [The Daily Caller] * Meanwhile, the GOP runs into the downside of Citizens United: arming a terrible candidate with so much money he won't drop out. [Slate]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.18.15

* You knew it was inevitable. The St. Louis Cardinals have lawyered up and are conducting their own internal investigation into allegations employees hacked Houston Astros databases. [Am Law Daily] * Real quick before you tweet that out -- New York has updated its ethical guidelines regarding social media. Are you familiar with the best practices? [New York Law Journal] * Norway has said goodbye to the old boys network -- at least when it comes to women's representation on corporate boards. The top down approach that was successful in Norway may not be politically palatable in the United States, but it certainly provides food for thought. [American Lawyer] * Recently released documents (thank you FOIA) reveal a years-long legal battle between the federal government and UnitedHealth Group over Medicare overbilling. [NPR] * If it walks like a tax hike and swims like a tax hike and quacks like a tax hike, it's probably a tax hike -- no matter what double talk Governor Sam Brownback tries to sell you. Seriously, what is the matter with Kansas? [Talking Points Memo] * Nine people are dead after a gunman attacked a historic black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Among the dead is State Senator Clementa Pinckney. The gunman is still at large. Our heart goes out to the families of the victims. [New York Times]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.27.15

* Brooklyn Law's dean thinks "too much power rests with the [NCBE]," and that we need a new way to license lawyers. Brooklyn Law's July 2014 bar passage rate was ~10 percent lower than the year prior, so perhaps he doesn't like how those grapes taste. [National Law Journal] * A man on trial for a bank robbery committed in 2013 pooped his pants while on the stand, removed some of said poop from his pants, and started eating it because the Virgin Mary told him to do it. If you couldn't tell, he's got an insanity defense. [Inquisitr] * A new Citigroup report says Biglaw firms are at “high risk for cyberintrusions,” but so few will admit that they've been hacked it's impossible to tell if the problem is growing. Don't worry, clients, your confidential files might be safe. [DealBook / New York Times] * People may think “this is a crappy, for-profit school that didn’t make it. But it could have been a great law school." Charleston Law's founding dean wrote a damning blog post about his colleagues for their attempts to sell the school to InfiLaw. [Post and Courier] * "[B]eing well-dressed and having a law school diploma" isn't enough to ensure that you'll get a job anymore. Quick, take some advice from the career services dean at a school where 47.2 percent of recent grads are working full-time as lawyers. [Huffington Post]

By Staci Zaretsky