Law Professors
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Law Schools
Law Professor Turned Congresswoman Gives Trump Failing Grade In Con Law
No one should really be shocked by this. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.24.19
* Donald Trump seems particularly irritated that former special counsel Robert Mueller will be testifying today before the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees on the “witch hunt” that’s plagued his presidency. Get ready for a tweetstravaganza! [CNN]
* Professor Amy Wax of Penn Law has been professionally scolded by the dean of the school after condemning her recent comments as racist and “repugnant,” and now comes news that she’ll soon be taking a previously scheduled — but awfully conveniently timed — sabbatical. [Law.com]
* But before you get too excited, Professor Wax says that she has “no plans” to leave Penn Law on a permanent basis. In fact, here’s what she said about the speculation that she’d be leaving for good: “The students need me. When I’m gone, the place goes full North Korea. (It’s 95% there).” [Big Law Business]
* Professor Bruce Hay of Harvard Law gets taken for the ride of his life after an alleged paternity trap left him homeless, out of work thanks to sexual harassment claims, and up to his eyeballs in litigation. [The Cut / New York Magazine]
* This personal finance website wants to know: What is Biglaw, and what kind of salary should you expect? Very cute! If you want to know the real deal, you happen to be looking at the website that most closely tracks Biglaw salaries. [Nerdwallet]
* Xi Chen, the bus driver who struck and killed Kimberly Greer, a law clerk at the Southern District of New York, took a no-jail plea deal earlier this week. He’ll lose his license for six months and must pay $1K in fines. [New York Post]
- Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Law Schools
Professor Amy Wax And The Bell Curve
Eugenics and Social Darwinism are making a comeback.
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.22.19
* In a series of wide-ranging interviews across the political spectrum — or “Fake News,” per President Trump — the commander in chief’s closest allies admitted that they didn’t think he had any idea what he’d done or what kind of havoc he’d wreaked with his racist tweets. [Washington Post]
* According to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report contains “very substantial evidence” that the president is “guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.” Let’s see if Mueller’s testimony can change any minds on impeachment. [CNN]
* After one scandal too many, it looks like Deutsche Bank has decided to hire someone new to look after its legal and regulatory affairs. [Corporate Counsel]
* Students and alumni from Penn Law are calling for Professor Amy Wax’s ouster from faculty teaching duties following her latest foray into racism. [Big Law Business]
* Aside from Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld and Clayton Kozinski, who else will be clerking for Supreme Court justices for the upcoming October term? In addition to these controversial choices, we’ve got the second blind person to ever clerk at the high court, and someone who was picked dead last in the 2010 MLB draft. [Associated Press]
* Joan Bullock, former dean of Thomas Jefferson Law School, has decamped to become Dean at the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Congrats! [National Jurist]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.19.19
* Eugene Scalia, a partner at Gibson Dunn, will be nominated as the next Labor secretary to replace Alex Acosta. If that last name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s son. [NPR]
* “I disagree with it.” President Trump now claims that he was “not happy” with a crowd chanting “send her back” in relation to Somali-born Representative Ilhan Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen, at one of his re-election campaign rallies. This, after Trump tweeted that Omar and three other congresswomen of color should “go back” to their countries, despite being American-born citizens. [New York Times]
* According to recently unsealed court records, per the FBI, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and some of his top aides were very much involved in a series of hush-money payments made to porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump, of course, has very publicly denied having knowledge of such payments. [USA Today]
* The House of Representatives passed a bill to gradually hike the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. Don’t get too excited, because this has little to no chance of passing in the Senate. [CNBC]
* In case you missed it, you shouldn’t really be surprised by the fact that a judge turned down bail for convicted sex offender and accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. He’ll remain in jail until trial. [New York Law Journal]
* Disgraced former Case Western law school dean Lawrence Mitchell (now known as Ezra Wasserman Mitchell) was quietly let go without a contract renewal at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, where he’d been working as a visiting professor, after an investigation into his alleged misconduct. [Cleveland Scene]
* It’s been five years since FSU Law Professor Dan Markel was murdered in his own home, and we’re still waiting for his killers to be brought to justice. [Tallahassee Democrat]
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Law Schools
Living With MAGA Hats In The Law School Classroom
What happens when a law student reportedly tries to 'racially antagonize' a law professor? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.21.19
* “In my 22 years of doing visits with children in detention I have never heard of this level of inhumanity.” Children being detained at the border are in desperate need of legal assistance and humanitarian aid. [NBC News]
* Disgraced former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice Roy Moore, a “polarizing [] Republican,” has decided to launch yet another Senate bid after losing during his first go round. This time, even President Trump warned him against trying again. [New York Times]
* Puff, puff, pass this vote: New York may not have been able to legalize marijuana, but lawmakers are trying to do the next best thing by decriminalizing it. Fines for “violations” will be no higher than $200 and last convictions can be expunged upon request. [New York Law Journal]
* In case you missed it, Slack had its IPO yesterday, opening at $38.50 a share. Goodwin Procter certainly didn’t miss it, because the firm is looking to earn $2.5 million for its work on the company’s stock market debut. [Big Law Business]
* Shaakirrah Sanders, a black female professor at Idaho Law, has filed suit against the school the university, and a former dean, alleging race and gender discrimination and retaliation. She is the only professor of color and woman of color who has earned tenure at the school. [Idaho Statesman]
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Law Schools
5 Tips For Teaching A GPA-Based Mandatory Class
Look at this as an opportunity to make a huge difference for students who can really benefit from your expertise. - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Intellectual Property
3 Questions For Patent Professor And Engineer, Saurabh Vishnubhakat
Are we ever going to see law schools require all students to take a survey IP course that touches on the basics of IP? -
Law Schools
Law Schools Should Hire More Adjunct Professors
Part-time adjunct professors are often more likely to teach law students the skills they need to succeed after graduation. -
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Law Schools
First Monday Musings By Dean Vik Amar: What Can Law Profs Learn -- From Grading Exam Answers -- About How To Write Good Questions?
Four thoughts for law teachers to consider as they construct future exams. -
Law Schools
The Antitrust Paradigm Shift (Without A Clutch)
If half of Professor Jonathon B. Baker’s policies were adopted, life would be improved in the antitrust world.
Sponsored
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.13.19
* According to President Donald Trump, former White House counsel Don McGahn “had a much better chance of being fired” than special counsel Robert Mueller because Trump claims he was “[n]ever a big fan” — but that’s probably because McGahn refused to issue a public statement saying he didn’t believe the president obstructed justice. [Washington Post]
* President Trump wants to stop federal judges on lower courts from issuing nationwide injunctions that are screwing up his plans to make America gross again. Even VP Mike Pence hopes the Supreme Court will step in to put an end to the practice. [The Hill]
* Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., the Harvard Law professor who is representing accused rapist Harvey Weinstein, has lost his job as a faculty dean at an undergraduate house thanks to his controversial client. [Boston Globe]
* “ I know that when I walk into a room that I’ll be underestimated. I’m aware that I need to prove myself. It doesn’t bother me.” Hailyn Chen, a 43-year-old litigator of Chinese descent, is the new co-managing partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson. Congratulations! [American Lawyer]
* Professor Ian Samuel of Indiana Law has resigned from his job following the conclusion of the Title IX misconduct probe against him, which “probably had the side effect of saving [his] life” because he “was becoming an ugly man.” [Big Law Business]
* Now that its managing partner is taking his business to Blank Rome, Morris & McVeigh, one of New York City’s oldest law firms, will be closing its doors after about 157 years in business. [New York Law Journal]
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Law Schools
This Could Be Us
A book on changing the nature of democracy is actually a compelling read. -
Small Law Firms
Forging The Path That Works For You
We get so caught up in following the path we think we should be taking that we sometimes forget to consider the path we want to take. -
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.25.19
* In case you somehow missed it, according to Attorney General Bill Barr’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, there was no collusion with Russia and with regard to obstruction, “[w]hile this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” And that’s just fine, because AG Barr exonerated Trump himself. [New York Times]
* Speaking of AG Barr, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says he wants to call Barr in to testify due to the “very concerning discrepancies and final decision making” at the DOJ when it came to the Mueller report. [The Hill]
* Rudy Giuliani wants apologies and he wants them now: From legislators to former CIA chiefs, Trump’s personal attorney is demanding apologies from all manner of people who said there was evidence of Russian collusion. [Business Insider]
* Want to see what the Mueller report actually said? Luckily, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a FOIA lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit to get the contents of the full report within an hour of it being submitted to AG Barr. [National Law Journal]
* Justice Brett Kavanaugh has been hired as a distinguished visiting professor at George Mason’s
ASS LawAntonin Scalia Law School, where he’ll be teaching a study abroad class titled “Creation of the Constitution.” [Fourth Estate]* I like dollars, I like diamonds, I like — paper cups? Okurr… When she’s not suing people for defamation, Cardi B is applying for a trademark for her catchphrase “Okurrr” to sell t-shirts, hoodies, and paper goods like cups and posters. [TMZ; BBC]
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Intellectual Property
3 Questions For Design Patent Guru, Sarah Burstein
She may be the only person with an art degree who academically writes in this area of the law.