Houston

That $180K goes a looong way in some of the markets affected by the MoneyLaw increases.

* Sure, the price of oil may be low, but that hasn’t stopped Biglaw shops from descending on Houston. In fact, 9 of the 10 highest grossing firms, according the 2014 Am Law 100, now have Houston offices. Beyoncé must be so proud. [Houston Lawyer]

* Irony is so sweet in the morning. Diane L. Kroupa, a retired U.S. Tax Court judge, and her husband have been accused of tax fraud. [Law360]

* That leak of documents from a Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca — being referred to as the “Panama Papers,” has sparked international reaction. The Department of Justice is launching their own probe into potential wrongdoing. [Huffington Post]

* Meet Edward Blum. He may not be a lawyer, but he is behind some of the biggest civil rights cases in front of the Supreme Court including Fisher v. University of Texas and Evenwel v. Abbott. [Mother Jones]

* California class action lawyers rejoice: the state Supreme Court just paved the way for actions on behalf of retail and banking employees who are not giving suitable seating by their employers. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Yup, the criminal justice system is super broken. After being jailed for 2 years in Rikers and still fighting to clear his name for a crime even the victim’s family doesn’t think he committed, Enger Javier now wants to be a lawyer. [Gawker]

* Emotional tale of the lives behind mandatory minimums, though this one might have a happy ending. Demaryius Thomas’s mother, recently released from prison after 15 years after being pardoned by President Obama, is going to the Super Bowl. [ESPN]

* Should conservatives accept the delegation of legislative power? Heresy! [Library of Law and Liberty]

* Is there an issue with cognitive decline on the U.S. Supreme Court? And will anyone do anything about it? [Los Angeles Times]

* It’s a jungle out there: If you’re a lawyer, when you wake up, you better be running. [Associate’s Mind]

* Yup, a law student is suing over a wafer-less Kit-Kat. [Yahoo]

* We previously mentioned Orrick’s opening up in Houston; here are the identities of 13 of the new partners. [Legal Business]

* Great advice for making the most of networking opportunities. [Rebooting Your Law Practice]

* ATL managing editor David Lat will be in San Francisco a week from today, and you’re cordially invited to meet him at this cocktail reception and Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link) book signing. [FBANC via Eventbrite]

* The most difficult thing to inherit may just be an Apple ID — a widow is told by the technology behemoth she needs a court order to continue playing her games on a jointly owned iPad. [Digital Passing]

* Your trusty Bluebook is going to need some help if it is going to continue to be the bane of law students’ existence. [Harvard Crimson]

* Is it too much to ask for a picture of RBG playing Xbox? A class action over Xbox’s tendency to scratch discs heads to the Supreme Court. [Forbes]

* Orrick is casting its lot with the energy market — they are opening up a Houston office with the addition of 20 new partners. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Is threatening someone with blackmail merely a courtesy? [Associates Mind]

* ATL managing editor David Lat will be in San Francisco next month, and you’re cordially invited to meet him at this cocktail reception and Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link) book signing. [FBANC via Eventbrite]

* Fans of this man’s dopey mugshot grin will be sad if they’re deprived of another jailhouse picture, but lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton want their client’s securities fraud indictment to be tossed over what they claim was a faulty grand jury investigation. [Reuters]

* Friday is apparently “Love Your Lawyer Day,” and the ABA recently passed a resolution to commemorate this special day every year. Biglaw firms can show their love for lawyers by announcing bigger, better bonuses! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* Alabama thinks the legal fees and costs that are being requested by attorneys in the state’s landmark same-sex marriage decision are “entirely excessive” and should be “cut dramatically.” It’s not like these lawyers had to “reinvent the wheel” or anything. [AL.com]

* “I may be known in tiny corners of the tubes of the Internet, but I am not well-known to the American public generally.” One-issue Democratic candidate Professor Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School is dropping out of the presidential race. [Boston Globe]

* It’s high time you joined the green rush, lawyers: although Ohioans voted against legalizing marijuana yesterday, more and more states are adding ballot measures for the legalization of marijuana or medical marijuana to be voted on in 2016. [Washington Post]

* “I’m glad Houston led tonight to end this constant political-correctness attack.” In other election news, voters in Texas repealed an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance that would’ve prevented bias related to several important areas in life. [New York Times]

How would you like to drink beer for a living?

Houston firms value family and work/life balance. Sounds enticing, doesn't it?

* Dean Chemerinsky lays out how the Supreme Court is protecting local corruption. It’s what the Framers would have intended. [New York Times] * In response to the latest article from Professor Michael Krauss, a former student suggests that maybe the so-called “justice gap” is a good thing. It kind of comes down to how much you believe in the efficiency value of the “American Rule.” [That's My Argument] * The eternal question for female lawyers: do you dye your hair or embrace the gray? [Gray Hair] * Boston’s drivers suck. [The Faculty Lounge] * A well-written tribute to a Nashville civil rights lawyer. [Nashville Scene] * This seems like a place to remind people that David’s going to Houston next month. [Above the Law] * Here’s a new game to check out. It’s a twisted dirty word game called F**ktionary (affiliate link), so obviously it was made by a lawyer. It’s kind of like Cards Against Humanity meets Scattergories, which is just as fun as it sounds. The promo is after the jump….

If you'll be in Houston on September 15, please come by and say hello!

How does law student satisfaction compare with the broader population?

Which Biglaw behemoth just swallowed up a prestigious boutique to launch in H-Town?

Does the debate over LGBT rights and religious freedom suffer from a dearth of diverse perspectives?

Isn't the Houston legal market exciting?

Which promising young partner just got pirated away by Kirkland?

Which Biglaw firm has designs on the Houston legal market?

Glenn West, Weil Gotshal's managing partner in Dallas, issues a statement about the firm's Texas operations.

Who just left Weil Gotshal in Dallas, and where are they going?

Additional information about the recent partner defections in Houston.