Latham & Watkins

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.22.16

* OK Cravathketeers! Sound off if you raised salaries yesterday. Greenberg Traurig (sort of)! Olshan (consistent with its existing scale)! Stroock! Haynes and Boone! [Above the Law / 2016 Salary Increase] * Second Circuit nixes former Bryan Cave attorney Harvey Newkirk's effort to put off jail. [Law360] * Armed with well-compensated associates, Latham & Watkins targets laterals to its partnership. [The Am Law Daily] * Some questionable reasoning on the value of law school. Sure there are haves and have nots. But the conclusion is basically, "hey, a senator went to a mediocre law school, so... I guess those work out." Not exactly encouraging. Especially when your example of a successful law grad is a guy who faced questions raised over his ability to cover his personal expenses. [New York Times] * The defense rested yesterday in the ongoing Led Zeppelin trial. I'm sure the closing will sound vaguely like someone else's closing argument and spur another stupid lawsuit. [Courthouse News Service] * The ABA really likes Judge Merrick Garland. I'm sure that will melt hearts on Capitol Hill. [WSJ Law Blog] * Our compatriots across the pond talked Brexit with Shearman & Sterling partners [Legal Cheek]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.03.16

* A ray of light for Madonna as the Ninth Circuit hands her a victory in a long-running copyright infringement case, creating a circuit split in the process. [Billboard] * The New York Court of Appeals overturns the $17.2 million award Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder earlier won against Cadwalader at summary judgment. Life's hard for billionaires who beg regular people pay their bills for them. [Law360] * Kirkland & Ellis plays hardball with departing partner, forcing him to repay a $120K bonus before walking out the door. [Legal Week] * This is why we can't have nice things. Literally. Intellectual property concerns threaten customizable goods. [Corporate Counsel] * Texas AG Ken Paxton's still gonna have to face those criminal fraud charges. [Courthouse News Service] * Industry groups come out of the woodwork to challenge a Department of Labor rule requiring retirement advisors to act in the best interest of their customers. Crocodile tears abound as the groups claim they agree with the sentiment of the rule but just want the SEC to write it -- knowing full well that the SEC isn't going to write it. [Wall Street Journal] * Add ABA President Paulette Brown to the list of people outraged that Donald Trump is criticizing a federal judge for, among other things, being of Mexican descent. [Law360] * Irell gets sneaky in this copyright win over pre-1972 songs. [Litigation Daily]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.08.16

* Professors at George Mason are outraged that administrators agreed to rename the law school after the late Justice Antonin Scalia without any input from the people who work or study there -- his opinions don't "reflect the values of our campus community." They're circulating a petition to denounce the name change, but thus far, none of its signatories are law professors. [NBC News] * "I would appreciate if we could keep things that are very serious here appropriately viewed that way." 50 Cent got yelled at by his bankruptcy judge because he brought his cellphone into the courthouse, took a picture of himself with a stack of fake cash, and posted it on Instagram. A motion to dismiss this wanksta is needed. [WSJ Law Blog] * SCOTUS will hear oral arguments on the appeal of securities fraud case Salman v. United States next term, and Eugene Ingoglia of Morvillo L.L.P. hopes the justices will provide some greater detail as to "what counts as a personal benefit." Let's just hope that they don't make insider trading's road any rockier. [DealBook / New York Times] * "The district court’s ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin.” You know that when an appellate holding begins with the prior statement, the trial judge is going to be in for a doozy of a benchslap. We'll have more on the First Circuit slapping around Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez (D.P.R.) later today. [BuzzFeed] * Jamie Wine, who was recently appointed as the chair of Latham’s global litigation and trial department, says even though L&W already has 610 litigators, she's looking to hire more of them in the firm's New York and London offices. If you think you want to lateral in, you should know you may be meeting with up to 50 partners. [Big Law Business] * Hiring for law school summer associates may be on the rise, but you shouldn't assume this means you'll automatically be able to land a job at a prestigious law firm. These firms tend to "put a high value on law school pedigree and grades," so if you happen to attend a lesser school, you'll need to be ranked very highly. [U.S. News & World Report]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.08.16

* Remember Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl, the husband-and-wife lawyers who allegedly tortured and almost killed a law firm partner? Now Andrew may claim involuntary intoxication as one of his defenses. Damn you, NyQuil! Damn you, Benadryl! [NBC Washington] * You may not agree with Ted Cruz's politics, and you may not like Canada for some reason, but that doesn't mean he's ineligible to run for president just because he was born there. Like it or not, it appears constitutional law scholars more or less tend to agree on this point. [ABC News] * Dentons isn't finished collecting lawyers yet. The megafirm is kicking off 2016 with yet another acquisition, but this time it's a lateral raid from British firm Matthew Arnold & Baldwin. Dentons will welcome a 45-lawyer banking and finance team. [Am Law Daily] * That was quick! Jonathan Lippman recently turned in his robes after retiring from his post as chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, and he's already found a new job. He'll join Latham & Watkins, where he'll work in an of counsel role. [WSJ Law Blog] * New York just launched its new medical marijuana law, which is likely the strictest of all such laws in the country. People aren't fans: "[I]t seemed like the priority was to make it as limited as possible, instead of focusing on what is best for patients." [Al Jazeera]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.10.15

* Robert Lewis Dear, the man accused in the Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting, had this outburst during a hearing yesterday: "I am guilty, there will be no trial. I am a warrior for the babies. You’ll never know the amount of blood I saw in that place." [CBS Denver] * The American Bar Association has approved the merger between William Mitchell Law and Hamline Law to form Mitchell|Hamline Law. Since law school mergers now seem to be a viable option, struggling schools may be able to find a way to survive instead of closing. [Pioneer Press] * In yesterday's affirmative action duel at the Supreme Court, Bert Rein of Wiley Rein and Gregory Garre of Latham & Watkins faced off for the second time in Fisher v. University of Texas: The Reckoning. Will SCOTUS kill AA this time? [WSJ Law Blog] * According to the Rhode Island Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline, Judge Rafael A. Ovalles brought his office into disrepute after sexually harassing a female court clerk and sitting in chambers with his hand in his underwear. [Providence Journal] * A settlement in the "Happy Birthday to You" copyright case has thrust the song into the public domain where it belongs. Now employees at chain restaurants across the country won't have to sing cheesy soundalike songs to birthday diners anymore. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky