Latham & Watkins

* President Trump acknowledges he needs to pick someone “great” to replace Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. That person needs to be “extraordinarily well qualified” and have a “portfolio of solid academic writing,” but according to advisors, he doesn’t care about reading any of it, come on now. [Washington Post]

* “I’m really sorry that something we thought we had won for future generations instead we must leave for future generations to protect for themselves.” Sarah Weddington, the attorney who argued Roe v. Wade 48 years ago, is “really worried” about women’s reproductive rights now that Justice Kennedy is retiring. [Vox]

* Meanwhile, Republican Senator Susan Collins — whose vote on the next Supreme Court justice will be critical — says that any nominee who would contemplate overturning Roe v. Wade would “not be acceptable,” and that all nominees must have “respect for precedent.” Let’s see if any of her colleagues agree. [ABC News]

* Latham & Watkins announced that London-based partner Richard Trobman was elected as the firm’s next chair and managing partner. Trobman has been serving as the firm’s interim co-chair ever since Bill Voge Lathamed himself over inappropriate conduct involving “communications of a sexual nature.” [American Lawyer]

* Senators Cory Booker, Tim Scott, and Kamala Harris have introduced a bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime punishable by a sentence of up to life in prison. A law like this has never been passed. Per Sen. Booker, “This bill finally rights a wrong that should have been done a long time ago.” [New York Times]

* “If the law’s not going to be improved by Congress, we have to help these young people who are drowning in student loan debt.” In the past, judges would rarely consider helping people who were bankrupted by student debt payments, but now offering their support through the court system. [Wall Street Journal]

* Guess which Biglaw firm helped the United States Soccer Federation secure the 2026 World Cup? If you guessed it was the firm that celebrated its bid by not raising its associates’ salaries yet, you were right. Thanks, Latham! [American Lawyer]

* A judge approved AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner on Tuesday, and two days later, it’s now complete. Although the Justice Department isn’t filing for a stay, that’s not going to stop lawyers in the Antitrust Division from appealing the judge’s decision in the case, though. [CNN]

* As our personal-finance columnist Jordan Rothman complained of earlier this week, it’s messed up that you can lose your law license after defaulting on your student loans. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Marco Rubio thought it was messed up too, so they introduced a bill to stop it from happening. [Law.com]

* RBG, the documentary about the life and times of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is quite literally stealing the show. The film has made $9.2 million since its release, making it the highest-grossing movie of the Sundance Film Festival. I highly recommend seeing this movie. [Hollywood Reporter]

* The President apparently got around? Former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal has filed suit against American Media, Inc., owner of The National Enquirer, to get out of an agreement that’s preventing her from discussing her alleged affair with Donald Trump, which reportedly occurred around the same time as the Stormy Daniels affair. [CBS News]

* What’s going on at Latham & Watkins in the wake its former chairman Lathaming himself over inappropriate conduct involving “communications of a sexual nature”? According to a source at the firm, “[e]veryone is shocked” and no one has any idea who will replace Bill Voge as chair. [American Lawyer]

* “This is not what the impeachment power is for….” Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers are moving to impeach the Democratic state Supreme Court justices who ruled the state’s congressional map was unconstitutionally gerrymandered. [Huffington Post]

* Dechert has settled an age and sex discrimination case filed by female staff members. There are no details of the settlement available, but if you recall, the firm countered the ex-staffers’ claims by saying that technological advances had made their jobs redundant. [Legal Intelligencer]

* On Monday, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed the most restrictive abortion bill in the country, banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. Less than 24 hours later, Judge Carlton Reeves granted a temporary restraining order in favor of the state’s lone abortion clinic. [Associated Press]

* Let the DACA lawsuits begin! [New York Law Journal]

* But don’t forget about the transgender ban — we’ve got a new lawsuit over that too, courtesy of Latham & Watkins. [The Recorder]

* New York AG Office secures up to 7-year sentence in Operation Vandelay Industries, which was exactly what you’d think it is. [Law360]

* Richard Spencer is trying to speak at the University of Florida now as part of the ongoing real assault on campus free speech — the deliberate efforts by Spencer and others to whip up enough protest so they can then agitate for schools to install roadblocks against organized dissent. And lawyers remain the easiest marks in the world for this con. [Corporate Counsel]

* Former CIA Director John Brennan is joining Fordham Law School’s Center on National Security. [Seattle Times]

* A profile of Edward Hanover, FIFA’s first-ever compliance officer. So all that stuff about countries buying votes and using slave labor is a thing of the past! Or, will be by 2022 anyway. [Law.com]

* The Boston Red Sox have filmed a powerful ad for the Apple iWatch. [NY Times]

* IBM says Watson’s about to take away your job, which is an announcement IBM makes roughly every three months because they’re taunting us. [Corporate Counsel]

* Betty Shelby acquitted in the killing of a black motorist because apparently it’s always reasonable to believe a random black guy is going to pull a gun. [NBC News]

* Former client seeks $1.4 million back that it spent trying to disqualify BakerHostetler. [Law360]

* Latham’s Alice Fisher has pulled out of the FBI Director sweepstakes. All eyes are on Joe Lieberman right now, but folks G. Gordon Liddy is just sitting there raring to go. [National Law Journal]

* And apparently Sheriff Clarke (who I’m sure was Trump’s personal pick) is taking a Homeland Security job so he can focus on harassing the poor and disadvantaged without having to bother all those nice bankers. [New York Times]

* Judge Charles Breyer took a break from writing the best benchslaps of all time to issue a groundbreaking video game ruling citing Star Wars and Love Actually — two movies that should never, ever be mentioned in the same sentence. [Hollywood Reporter]

* Stupid fan lawsuit against Warriors center ZaZa Pachulia moves on. [KENS5]

* More horrific allegations from Ken Starr’s world-class leadership at Baylor. [Huffington Post]