India

  • Morning Docket: 06.22.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 06.22.20

    * A lawyer in India appeared at a virtual hearing in a T-shirt lying in bed last week. This attorney should have read our earlier coverage of American lawyers making similar mistakes during remote appearances. [Tribune]

    * The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan made clear that he was fired and did not voluntary step down. [Reuters]

    * Black female YouTube creators have filed suit alleging that the algorithm used for the video-sharing website is racist. [AdWeek]

    * Some New Jersey attorneys are in hot water for allegedly agreeing to pay bribes to secure government contracts for legal services. [New Jersey Law Journal]

    * A Texas lawyer is now facing a $6 million judgment even though he failed to attend the summary judgment hearing due to scheduling confusion caused by COVID-19. Seems like this attorney has good arguments for a reconsideration motion… [Texas Lawyer]

  • Morning Docket: 10.29.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.29.18

    * Robert Bowers, the suspect in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 dead and six wounded, has been charged with 29 federal criminal counts including hate crimes and using a firearm to commit murder and 36 state criminal counts including homicide and ethnic intimidation. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those who lost their lives this weekend. [New York Times]

    * According to the criminal complaint filed against Cesar Sayoc, the pipe bomb he allegedly tried to mail to former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was addressed to his office at a “certain law firm” — a certain law firm that’s better known as Covington & Burling. Good thing the package never made it there. [National Law Journal]

    * When asked to reflect on the misconduct allegations against Yale Law School Professor Jed Rubenfeld, alumni from the school are not the least bit shocked. “It was not a surprise to basically any woman in my class that this investigation is going on,” said one 2015 graduate. Will the school take appropriate action? [Yale Daily News]

    * Partners from Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers are cozying up to each other as merger talks between the two firms continue, but there may be trouble in paradise. “There is some opposition in London,” said a former A&O partner, “but it’s fairly disorganised—there’s a lot of moaning but nobody leading a charge.” [International]

    * In case you missed it, after the involuntary revocation of its accreditation, Arizona Summit Law School will eventually close its doors. But first, the school must finalize a teach-out plan for its remaining students, and when it’s all over, “that would be the life of the school.” What a sad little life. Farewell to AZ Summit Law. [Arizona Republic]

    * You might not have known it, but the Michigan State University College of Law has been operating as a private school for all these years. Soon, the school will be fully integrated into the university, and you know what that means: in-state tuition costs will be coming to the MSU Law. Congratulations! [Lansing State Journal]

    * RBG is my Patronus, and a course on Harry Potter and the Law is coming to a law school near you — if you live in India, that is. The National University of Juridical Sciences will be teaching the class, and muggles students are “expected [to] have already read all the books at least twice, if not more.” [The Guardian]

  • Morning Docket: 09.07.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.07.18

    * In case you missed it, Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh refused to condemn President Donald Trump’s attacks on the judiciary (specifically, his insults of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), refused to say whether he believed same-sex marriage was a constitutional right, and once again denied discussing the Mueller probe with anyone at Kasowitz Benson. What will happen today? [Washington Post]

    * President Donald Trump has reportedly called Attorney General Jeff Sessions “a dumb Southerner” and an “idiot” without an Ivy League law degree who “couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama.” This Alabama Law professor wonders what’s so bad about a degree from Alabama Law. [New York Times]

    * Per a new study from the American Bar Association, the sky is blue and women and minorities continue to face racial and gender bias within the legal profession. But, here are some tools to fight these problems. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * Allen & Overy has published its 2018 gender pay gap figures, and it’s the first U.K. firm to include data from its “overwhelmingly male” partners in its disclosures. A&O’s median gender pay gap is 39 percent, a slight improvement. [Financial Times]

    * It seems that the Justice Department no longer thinks that employers should be forced to consider job applicants with criminal histories, going against Obama-era guidance that the EEOC has been following since 2012. [National Law Journal]

    * In an historic opinion, India’s Supreme Court ruled that gay sex between adults is not a crime, casting aside an “irrational, arbitrary, and incomprehensible” colonial-era law that made the act a punishable offense within the country. [Times of India]

    * Fire alarms sounded at Miami Law as smoke poured through vents into a student lounge, and some students evacuated their classrooms, but others ran back in to save their laptops. Well, obviously — they’re law students, after all. [Miami Hurricane]

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  • Non-Sequiturs: 01.03.17
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 01.03.17

    * In the dead of night, Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bipartisan bill to fund legal services for the poor. [The Slot]

    * Fighting the good fight for open access to courtrooms around the country. [Katz Justice]

    * Is this a good way to avoid a lawsuit with your therapist? [Law and More]

    * Regrets? Chuck Schumer has a few. [The Hill]

    * India’s Supreme Court bans political campaigns based on identity politics. [New York Times]

    * Excellent advice: always check the dataset. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

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  • Non-Sequiturs: 07.21.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 07.21.16

    * Despite some big-ticket cases, the Supreme Court still leans right. [Empirical SCOTUS]

    * The Kafka-esque treatment of a mentally ill rape victim, who was locked up over the Christmas holiday to make sure she’d testify, will infuriate you. [Mimesis Law]

    * Cory Booker is still in the VP race, and he’s pissed about what he sees at the RNC: “It’s as if truth means nothing,” and the GOP is a “counter-factual party.” [Washington Post]

    * Chris Christie “turned over his political testicles long ago.” Sounds about right. [Huffington Post]

    * Is Ted Cruz’s political snub better than a legal remedy? [Law and More]

    * Should India consider taking up Russia’s offer to build a nuclear aircraft carrier? [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 04.25.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 04.25.16

    * Kate Middleton’s famous wedding dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen is now the subject of a lawsuit, with designer Christine Kendall claiming it is a knockoff. [Fashionista]

    * This lawyer, Helene Goodin, after 22 years in the legal profession, left it all to open her own bakery. [Huffington Post]

    * The rest of the world discovers Delaware’s a haven for holding companies; lawyers everywhere shrug. [Gawker]

    * When humanitarian aid actually caused more economic hardship for the very people we are supposed to be “helping.” [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

    * Can Indian start-ups render the Biglaw firm structure unnecessary? [Law and More]

    * Richard Hsu talks with Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert cartoon strip. [Hsu Untied]

    * The Constitutional Accountability Center is holding an event this Thursday, April 28th at the National Press Club in D.C. on the Supreme Court’s docket this Term, previewing decisions yet to be handed down and discussing key themes from the Term. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

    * Speaking of SCOTUS, if you’re interested in Supreme Court lit, check out this televised panel of authors, including Irin Carmon of Notorious RBG and ATL editor David Lat of Supreme Ambitions (affiliate links). [C-SPAN]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 02.25.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 02.25.16

    * Come on, you know you want it — you’ll be a hit with all the law nerds. [Tee Spring]

    * Yup, these are law-related dioramas made with the marshmallow goodness of Peeps. I respect the dedication needed to make these, but was there really nothing better you could do with your time? [ABA Journal]

    * Your detailed guide to the messy legal battle between Kesha and Dr. Luke. [Slate]

    * One more reason to be paranoid — thieves are using Instagram to track and find potential burglary victims. [Find Law]

    * The Marshall Islands are suing the U.S. and India for violations of the NPT. The suit may actually work out for the defendants, forcing them to work together. [Fortune]

    * Brendan Dassey’s lawyer breaks down why his confession in Making a Murderer was a fake one. [Business Insider]

    * Book review: check out the novel, What Was Mine, for the legal ramifications of kidnapping. [CodeX]

    * How to keep up with a client-focused legal practice. [Reboot Your Law Practice]

    * As the business of being a lawyer gets more cutthroat, will some law firms break ranks? [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

    https://youtu.be/mI_dwfpPWvI

  • Morning Docket: 01.29.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.29.16

    * “This is, since the recession, the most robust job growth we’ve seen.” Nearly all students who worked at Biglaw firms this past summer as associates received offers of full-time employment. Offer rates haven’t been this high in more than a decade. [National Law Journal]

    * Mommy, wow! I’m a big kid now! Affluenza teen Ethan Couch was finally deported from Mexico and booked into a juvenile detention center. Today, we’ll see if he’ll be moved to a big-boy jail, and in February, we’ll see if his case is moved to the grown-up court system. [Associated Press]

    * Sorry, Hillary Clinton, but President Obama has no desire to be on SCOTUS. According to White House press secretary Josh Earnest, while Obama “would have plenty of ideas for how he would do a job like that,” he “may have other things to do.” [The Hill]

    * It’s so hard to get execution drugs that Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is asking state legislators for alternative methods for carrying out death sentences, like death by firing squad, electrocution, and hanging. Seems reasonable? [Reuters]

    * Arizona is so eager to kill people it hired Alston & Bird to go up against the Food and Drug Administration in the state’s quest to obtain the release of a shipment of execution drugs that it had imported to the country from India this summer. [BuzzFeed News]

  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 11.02.15

    * An amazing look at the exact way lawyers should NOT handle cleaning up their reputation after a PR snafu. [Techdirt]

    * Even more bad bar results news, with Charleston School of Law taking a particularly bad hit. [Bar Exam Stats]

    * A single lawyer — a divorce lawyer no less — cannot bring the NSA to its knees. Color me surprised. [Ars Technica]

    * Attention new lawyers! Feeling overwhelmed? Here’s a list of online resources to make your day easier. [Associate’s Mind]

    * A detailed look into the how-tos of complying with U.S. anti-corruption laws while conducting business in India. [Forbes]

    * Here’s what a real Biglaw partner does in a day — or at least what Christina Martini, Chair of DLA Piper’s Chicago Intellectual Property Practice Group does when a camera is following her around. [Big Law Business/Bloomberg]

    https://youtu.be/mwbmQctfeNc

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.31.15

    * Good news if you’ve made it to midlevel associate — survey says you’re happier than ever. [American Lawyer]

    * Amal Clooney lost a case in Egypt, her client was one of three Al-Jazeera journalists sentenced to prison for their coverage of the 2013 uprising. Clooney warned the sentence sends a “dangerous message.” [People]

    * More and more Pennsylvania firms are getting on-board with the $160k pay scale. [Legal Intelligencer]

    * Chalk another victory up for the Amazing Schneiderman — that’s New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. This time, retail giant Gap Inc. has fallen in line. [Fashionista]

    * A happy ending for David Powers, whose admission to St. John’s Law was revoked after officials there found out about a drug conviction. He’s starting at Pace Law today. [New York Times]

    * When a client announces a new general counsel, law firms should consider that a wake-up call — or get fired. [Corporate Counsel]

    * In truly horrific news, two Indian sisters were sentenced to be gang raped as punishment for their brother eloping with a woman of a different caste. The (hopefully) good news is the women have appealed to the Indian Supreme Court for protection. [Jezebel]

    * What do in-house counsel need to know about the recent NLRB decision expanding the concept of joint-employers? [Law360]