Immigration
-
Immigration
ICE Agents Think Discretion Is For Cucks
Agents took a defendant into custody as she left the courtroom. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.25.18
* The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today on the Trump travel ban case. What’s at stake here, aside from the high court potentially allowing the travel ban to become permanent? The legacy of the Roberts Court also hangs in the balance. A decision upholding the ban could very well be the next Dred Scott, Plessy, or Korematsu, and forever marring this Court’s record. [Take Care]
* Is AG Jeff Sessions recusing himself from the investigation into Michael Cohen, or isn’t he? According to the DOJ, Sessions isn’t involved in any investigations “related in any way to the campaigns for president,” but according to news sources, he hasn’t decided to recuse himself from the Cohen probe quite yet. [Politico; Bloomberg]
* Judge John Bates of the District of Columbia has ruled that the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program was “arbitrary and capricious” and “virtually unexplained,” and therefore “unlawful.” Judge Bates ordered that the government must not only continue DACA, but accept new applicants. He stayed his ruling for 90 days to give DHS a chance to explain itself. [Washington Post]
* Kyle Duncan, President Trump’s fifteenth federal appeals court nominee who’s known for litigating disputes involving voter ID requirements, same-sex marriage bans, transgender bathroom access, and the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, was very narrowly confirmed to the Fifth Circuit. [Big Law Business]
* According to the Harvard Law Women’s Law Association, there’s a glass ceiling at the school. The faculty is “overwhelmingly male,” and the administration is “turning a blind eye” to the success of women once they’re enrolled. Something has to change so women can achieve as much success as their male classmates. [Harvard Law Record]
- Sponsored
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… -
Crime, Law Schools
The Dan Markel Case: A Billionaire Speaks Out In Defense Of Wendi Adelson
Wendi Adelson 'had nothing to do with this tragic event,' he claims.
-
Courts
Quota System Will Tell Us If Immigration Judges Are Ready To Fight For The Rule Of Law
Welcome to the Resistance, immigration judges, unless you are cowards. -
Television
John Oliver Teaches You Everything You Need To Know About Immigration Courts
"Death penalty cases in a traffic court setting." Get ready to be outraged. -
Crime
‘Violent Immigrants’ May Be Less ‘Violent’ Than They Look
'Violent' is a term of art in criminal law and certain crimes labeled 'violent' involve no violence at all. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.13.18
* Winston & Strawn revenue up 19 percent last year after securing a hefty contingency fee in the pink slime matter. Despite their victory, we suspect these lawyers are using their windfall on grass-fed free-range beef. [American Lawyer]
* In the continuing war on class actions as a lingering nuisance to our corporate overlords, the Supreme Court may be taking aim at cy pres settlements to “protect the class” by making class actions harder to pull together. [National Law Journal]
* The photographer from the horrendous decision ruling that embedded Tweets are copyright violations is fighting an effort by defendants to get an interlocutory appeal to clear up this travesty as quickly as possible. You know, to save the Internet. [Law360]
* In an article that manages to avoid any reference to Ready Player One, Rhys Dipshan considers the IP challenges facing widespread adoption of VR and AR products. As an example, the article considers what would happen if someone put that famous picture of Albert Einstein into the game. Perhaps the better question is why isn’t that in the public domain and can VR be the technology that finally reverses the broken IP regime Sonny Bono dropped on us? [Legaltech News]
* Can California’s sanctuary laws survive federal assault? Professor Noah Feldman says they should. [Bloomberg]
* Professor Tobias Barrington Wolff considers the sideshow of a career his Penn Law colleague Amy Wax has decided to pursue. [Faculty Lounge]
-
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.07.18
* Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who was paid six figures in exchange for not spilling the beans about her affair with Donald Trump, is now suing him, claiming that the “hush agreement” she entered into prior to the election is invalid because he never signed it. [Washington Post]
* File this under Not Top Ten: Former ESPN legal analyst and sports anchor Adrienne Lawrence, a onetime associate of Greenberg Traurig, Arent Fox, and McGuireWoods, has filed a sexual harassment suit against the sports network, claiming that SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross constantly harassed her. [American Lawyer]
* Not only will the government be able to seize more than $7.3 million of disgraced pharma bro Martin Shkreli’s assets — including his one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album — but prosecutors want to throw him behind bars for no less than 15 years. [New York Law Journal]
* Attorney General Jeff Sessions will announce today that the Justice Department will be filing suit against California over its “sanctuary state” laws. As alleged in the complaint, the Golden State’s laws — AB 450, SB 54, and AB 103 — were all created to impede immigration laws. [USA Today]
* “When I heard the gun went off accidentally, that just didn’t ring true. Someone has to pull the trigger. They just don’t accidentally discharge.” Prospective jurors in former Biglaw partner Claud “Tex” McIver’s murder trial weren’t exactly buying his defense. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
* Forget about the egregious law school tuition you’ll have to pay in the future, because it can cost quite the pretty penny to apply to law school in the first place. You may want to look into fee waivers so you can save yourself some cash. [U.S. News]
* Billy McFarland, the millennial entrepreneur who organized the disastrous Fyre Festival, has taken a plea deal after defrauding the investors who bought into the failed event. He’s looking at sentence of eight to 10 years in prison. [Big Law Business]
- Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.01.18
* The NFL is going to ask Jerry Jones to reimburse legal fees spent on Roger Goodell’s contract negotiations because Jones — prudently and responsibly — argued that the league had an obligation not to rubber stamp a multi-million dollar extension to this idiot. You’ve got to hand it to Goodell… he’s made Jerry Jones a sympathetic figure. [NPR]
* Tim Kaine is leading a handful of Democrats in an effort to make it harder to enforce anti-discrimination laws in the housing market. Oh. [Huffington Post]
* Kirkland & Ellis is out there doing crazy stuff to bolster revenue… and it’s working. [Law.com]
* SEC reportedly issuing subpoenas in crackdown on fraudulent ICOs. Apparently, the agency is concerned that some companies handing out magic beans may not be on the up and up. [Bloomberg Markets]
* Alston & Bird tagged by jury as 32 percent liable for its role in enabling millions in ill-gotten gains. [Daily Report Online]
* Harvey Weinstein’s carrier refuses to cover his legal bills. Apparently “Chubb” doesn’t cover horny men accused of misconduct which seems ironic. [Variety]
* A dive into just how badly the Supreme Court kneecapped detained immigrants and their attorneys this week. [VICE News]
* The first editorial from the American Lawyer’s Young Lawyer Editorial Board tackles sexual harassment in the legal industry. [American Lawyer]
-
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.28.18
* “With respect, I dissent.” Thanks to this Supreme Court opinion, asylum seekers and other immigrant aliens can now be held indefinitely without bond hearings. Justice Breyer was so pissed off that he read part of his 33-page dissent from the bench. [National Law Journal]
* Was Trump compromised? In the latest phase of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, members of his legal team have been asking about Donald Trump’s business activities in Russia prior to his campaign, when he was still considering running for president. [CNN]
* Partner billing rates at the biggest of Biglaw firms (750 or more lawyers) continue to climb, and they’re now 45 percent higher than those of slightly smaller Biglaw firms (501 to 750 lawyers). In fact, the gap between the two types of firm grew by 11 percent over 2016. We wonder what the highest hourly rate of all is. [American Lawyer]
* The 2019 edition of the U.S. News law school rankings will be released on March 20, 2018. We repeat, the 2019 edition of the U.S. News law school rankings will be released on March 20, 2018. Prepare yourselves for the annual running of the deans after law schools drop in rank. [Morse Code/ U.S. News & World Report]
* Karma is great: The Weinstein Company will be filing for bankruptcy following a failed deal with investors to sell the tainted film and television studio in the wake of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct scandal. [DealBook / New York Times]
-
Law Schools
Crybaby Law Professor Quits Twitter In A Huff Over UChicago Immigration Slur Debacle
After law student's sick burn, law professor decides to run away from critics. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 02.18.18
Ed. note: We will not be publishing on Monday, February 19, in observance of President’s Day.
* Congratulations to my friend and former co-clerk, John Demers, on his long-overdue confirmation as head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. [Reuters]
* Which lawyers and justices take the lead on the most important Supreme Court cases? Adam Feldman has the answers, as always. [Empirical SCOTUS]
* Professor Ilya Somin breaks down the recent Fourth Circuit ruling on Trump’s Travel Ban 3.0. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* A leading legal technology company, Kira Systems, is looking for a few good law librarians (to apply for its new job as a Machine Learning Knowledge Analyst). [Dewey B Strategic]
* Lawyer and activist Glenn Magpantay, executive director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), explains what’s at stake with the Dream Act. [Advocate]
* Stroock’s Joel Cohen draws lessons for lawyers from the buzz-generating new movie, The Post. [New York Law Journal]
* What role can expert witnesses play in #MeToo litigation? Lawyer Kat Hatziavramidis shares some insights. [Forensis Group]
* The Mrs. Palsgraf of the United Kingdom — a famous torts plaintiff named May Donoghue, who sued a beverage manufacturer after she discovered a decomposing snail in a bottle of ginger beer — is getting a statue erected in her honor. [Legal Cheek]
* Not as bad as sexually assaulting a student intern, but another Biglaw partner stands accused of making degrading, sexually charged comments to a junior attorney. [RollOnFriday]
* In advance of its Global Legal Hackathon (February 23-25), the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium welcomes a new member: Fasken, a leading Canadian law firm. [Artificial Lawyer]
-
Law Schools
Northwestern Law Students Take On DACA Fight -- And Need Your Help
A group of law students seek to add more voices to the immigration battle.
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
-
Courts
Fourth Circuit Actually Holds President Trump Responsible For His Words
The Chief Judge also noted, 'When we compromise our values as to some, we shake the foundation as to all.' -
Government
Law Professor Proposes Bringing Back Indentured Servitude
In fairness, he makes a valiant case for it, but this idea is probably best left in the dustbin of history. -
Courts
Preliminary Injunction Granted To Stop DACA Deportations
Looks like the courts will buy Democrats more time to grow a spine. -
Law Schools
UChicago Administration Doubles Down On Mocking Immigrants -- So Much For That 'Environment Of Inclusion' They Said Was So Important
It's possible that UChicago has deeper problems than a handful of law students. -
Law Schools
Immigrant Student Rejects University of Chicago Law After Trashy Burke Society Response, School Responds With Mild Stalking
Not sure if UofC Law has really come up with an argument for why a non-white immigrant would want to come to their school now. -
Government
This Is Why You STILL Should Never Make Racist Attacks Against A Federal Judge
Guess which judge just drew the big border wall case? -
Law Schools
UChicago Student President's Letter Eviscerates Administration Over Repeated Failures
Chicago Law's controversial event is canceled for now, but the student body president has some harsh words for school leadership.