John Roberts

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.27.17

* Guess who gets to take advantage of President Donald Trump's new tax plan? Lawyers and their law firms -- which are largely organized as pass-through entities -- will likely benefit greatly, as they'll be able to reduce their tax rate from 39.6 percent to 15 percent. [ABA Journal] * The Charlotte School of Law may be on the brink of collapse, but the school is heading to court to try to shake off three of the four federal class-action lawsuits that were filed by current students and recent graduates with motions to dismiss. We'll have more on this later today. [Law.com] * The Trump administration didn't seem to fare very well during oral arguments in an immigration case yesterday. Chief Justice John Roberts certainly wasn't impressed, and Justice Anthony Kennedy seemed even less so, dropping this benchslap: "It seems to me that your argument is demeaning the priceless value of citizenship." [Reuters] * Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai will propose a rollback of the Obama-era net-neutrality rule that regulated broadband internet providers as common carriers. Critics aren't pleased: "It makes no sense. We cannot keep the promise of net neutrality openness and freedom without the rules that ensure it." [Big Law Business] * Four third-year students at Harvard Law have demanded that the administration provide clarification as to how it assesses applicants who have been accused or convicted of sexual assault. "We put forth a call for transparency and affirmative efforts demonstrating the school takes sexual assault seriously." [Harvard Crimson]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.02.17

* Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and with the current Court make up, this is the last penumbra we're going to see for awhile. [USA Today] * Norton Rose Fulbright in merger talks with Chadbourne & Parke. [New York Law Journal] * Chief Justice Roberts compared himself to an umpire. Judge Gorsuch compared himself to a replay booth official. The football analogy works, since Gorsuch is going to be one of those scab refs from the 2012 NFL lockout while Garland sits at home. [Law.com] * Keeping with the football news, former NFL cheerleaders have filed a class action alleging a conspiracy to suppress their wages, which, if true, is easily the sixth or seventh most repulsive thing Roger Goodell does on a daily basis. [ABC News] * In a letter to the state Supreme Court, 20 law school deans asked California to lower its draconian bar passage threshold. Because it's ridiculous. [The Recorder] * Trump is reportedly going to direct the Labor Department to delay implementation of the Fiduciary Rule, surprising no one. [Think Advisor] * Here's a roundup of Judge Gorsuch's wittiest dissents. [Law360]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.27.17

* Ed Meese in defense of Trump SCOTUS shortlister William Pryor. [The Daily Signal] * What the Chief Justice's writings tell us about the constitutionality of the global gag rule. [Slate] * What does the cert success rate look like this Term? [Empirical SCOTUS] * The potential legal actions over Trump's copycat cake. [Dorf on Law] * Could you do semi-retirement? [Law and More] * Are the GOP getting spooked over Obamacare repeal? [Washington Post]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.18.17

* Barack Obama is churning through moves in the last few days of his presidency. Besides the high-profile commutation of Chelsea Manning's sentence, he's busy on land preservation, immigration, Guantanamo Bay and education. [CNN] * A new report from the Congressional Budget Office is putting pressure on Republicans to decide what comes next, after they repeal the Affordable Care Act. [Washington Post] * Eighteen people were arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court for protesting the reinstatement of the death penalty 40 years ago. [Law.com] * A former USC football player apologized for lashing out at his attorney. Owen Hanson told VICE Sports his plea deal on charges of running an offshore gambling drug trafficking ring was a "bait and switch." He's since walked backed from those comments and affirmed he took the deal of his own volition. [LA Times] * Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in Donald Trump as President of the United States on Friday. A look back at Trump's insults lobbed at the Chief. [National Law Journal]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.10.17

* The confirmation hearings for Jeff Sessions to serve as U.S. attorney general get underway today; here's what to watch for. [How Appealing] * Biglaw faces big challenges today, and even top law firms need to up their game. [DealBook / New York Times] * Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law (and also holder of an NYU Law degree), will serve as senior adviser to President Trump; Kushner's lawyer, Jamie Gorelick of WilmerHale, dismissed nepotism and conflict-of-interest concerns. [Washington Post] * Speaking of conflicts, it's probably a wise idea for Supreme Court justices to unload their holdings of individual stocks -- as a recent snafu involving Chief Justice John Roberts suggests. [New York Times] * Speaking of SCOTUS, the Court heard arguments yesterday in a case about a Colorado law making it more difficult for criminal defendants whose convictions get overturned to obtain refunds of fines and restitution they previously paid. [How Appealing] * Here is Chris Geidner's assessment of the where the Court is right now -- and how it might change after President Trump's first appointment, to be announced sometime after inauguration. [BuzzFeed] * And here is a detailed dossier on one of Trump's SCOTUS finalists, Judge Neil Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit. [U.S. Law Week / Bloomberg BNA] * What can we expect from the SEC if Sullivan & Cromwell partner Jay Clayton is confirmed as chair? Thoughts from Peter J. Henning. [DealBook / New York Times]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.05.17

* Both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have now been dragged into the legal battle between Kesha and producer Dr. Luke that's been ongoing since October 2014. During a recent discovery hearing, a judge ruled that Dr. Luke may show Perry a text message sent from Kesha to Gaga that had previously been sealed by the court. The contents of the mysterious message are currently unknown to the public. [Daily Mail] * Oopsie! U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is recusing himself from the Life Technologies v. Promega patent case that was heard on December 6. As it turns out, Roberts owns $175,000 of stock in Thermo Fisher Scientific -- which owns Life Technologies -- but his chambers "inadvertently failed to find this potential conflict." Thanks to the error, only seven of the high court's eight justices will render a decision in the case. [Reuters] * Democratic leaders of the California Legislature have hired former AG Eric Holder, now a partner at Covington & Burling, to represent them in any legal fights against Donald Trump's Republican White House administration. Having Holder on their side will cost a pretty penny, but "[t]he cost will be very minimal compared to the billions of dollars at stake if California doesn’t adequately make its case." [New York Times] * Uh-oh... The European and Middle Eastern arm of King & Wood Mallesons has stopped paying its staff members ahead of its forthcoming administration. The number of staff who have been placed on unpaid leave pending expected layoffs is around 100 at the moment. They were notified earlier this week that while they're still technically employed by the firm, they won't receive pay checks. Happy New Year! [Legal Week] * "Their malfeasance has made it to where we can't get federal loans anymore, but they still want us to pay full price and give them that same amount and pretend like they didn't do anything wrong - like it was our fault." Charlotte Law students aren't too keen about taking out private loans to complete their degrees at Florida Coastal Law, and in fact, they'd like to see the school president and dean loss their jobs. [WBTV]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.03.17

* Kellyanne Conway, President-elect Trump's campaign manager, has accepted a position as his counselor once his administration takes over at the White House, and now her husband, George Conway of Wachtell Lipton, has found himself on the shortlist to become the U.S. solicitor general. He's argued only one Supreme Court case, which is unusual for those being considered for the position. [Bloomberg Politics] * In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts managed to steer clear of controversial topics -- such as the high court being short handed since Justice Scalia's death or the Senate's failure to confirm Judge Merrill Garland -- instead choosing to focus on the "underappreciated" role of district court judges, writing that "[t]his is no job for impulsive, timid, or inattentive souls." [Washington Post] * "There’s no legitimacy to a Supreme Court justice in a seat that’s been stolen from one administration and handed to another. We need to do everything we possibly can to block it." When it comes to the confirmation process for President-elect Trump's SCOTUS nominee, we can expect to see a battle thanks to Senate Democrats in the wake of Senate Republicans' obstruction of Judge Garland's nomination. [The Guardian] * One day before they were set to go into effect, Judge Reed O'Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's protections for transgender and abortion-related healthcare services. O'Connor is the same judge who issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Obama administration's transgender protections in schools. [BuzzFeed] * Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, who is representing himself for the penalty phase of his trial, has rejected a defense based on mental illness because he is "morally opposed to psychology." He'll make an opening statement, but won't call any witnesses or present any evidence. If Roof is sentenced to death, it will be the first time a jury has done so in a case involving a federal hate crimes law. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.20.16

* So much for Prof. Lawrence Lessig having flipped at least 20 Republican electors: Only two "faithless electors" from Texas refused to cast their votes for President-elect Donald Trump, choosing John Kasich and Ron Paul instead. At the end of the day, more Democrats chose not to support their party's nominee, Hillary Clinton. [The Hill] * Sorry, but Chief Justice John Roberts won't grant your emergency petition to force the Senate hold a confirmation vote on President Obama's SCOTUS pick, Judge Merrick Garland (D.C. Cir.). Instead, Judge Garland will resume hearing cases on January 18, and President-elect Trump will make his nomination after his inauguration. [Reuters] * With the new year almost upon us and 2017 financial forecasts being made for the largest firms in the country, the great salary increase of 2016 has come up again and again as a major cost suck for some Biglaw firms. How costly was it? According to Aric Press, "[t]his will cost the average Am Law 100 firm, with headcount at 930 lawyers, about $11.6 million a year, or $57,300 per equity partner." [Big Law Business] * Working Mother is surveying law firms to determine which ones offer the best environment for lawyers with kids. The publication will release a list of the 50 best firms, and the deadline for participation is February 10. Help your firm get recognized for something that could help steer the direction of an associate's career. [ABA Journal] * Are you running behind on purchasing your gifts this holiday season? Worry not, because thanks to the legalization of marijuana in these eight jurisdictions, you can give your friends and family the gift of ganja without being criminally prosecuted: Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, California, Maine, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. [INVERSE]

By Staci Zaretsky