Law School Deans

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.01.18

* President Trump asked the FBI to investigate the claims of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, the first two women to accuse would-be SCOTUS justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault and misconduct, leaving out Julie Swetnick's claims to the chagrin of her lawyer. [Wall Street Journal] * So, just how limited in scope will the FBI's new Kavanaugh inquiry be? Trump claims that the bureau has "free rein," but no one who has contradicted the judge's claims about his drinking and partying as a high school and college student are going to be interviewed. [New York Times] * HLS is second best at feeling shame: Following student protests against Kavanaugh teaching at Harvard Law, the elite law school's dean won't come out and say whether the accused jurist will still have a job in legal academia come 2019. [HuffPost] * ICYMI amid the Kavanaugh craziness, a judge ruled that the plaintiffs in Blumenthal v. Trump -- the 201 Democratic members of Congress -- have standing to sue the president for his alleged violations of the emoluments clause. [National Law Journal] * That was quick! In the span of just a few days, Elon Musk settled the securities fraud lawsuit filed against him by the SEC, and the deal calls for him to pay a $20 million fine and step down as Tesla's chairman for the next three years. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.06.18

* You know your client sucks when...: This weekend, President Trump admitted on Twitter that his eldest son's 2016 Trump Tower meeting was held to "get information on an opponent," not to discuss "a program about the adoption of Russian children," as he'd dictated in his son's earlier account. His lawyer, Jay Sekulow, then had to walk back a statement he'd made earlier to get in line with Trump's comments, because "over time facts develop." [Daily Beast] * A federal judge has ruled for the second time that the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program was unlawful, referring to the DHS’s reasoning as “a hodgepodge of illogical or post hoc policy assertions.” Not only that, but the judge ordered that DACA be restored. Ouch. [National Law Journal] * In other immigration news, a federal judge has rejected the Trump administration's request that the ACLU locate deported parents for reunification with their children, noting that "for every parent who is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child, and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration." [USA Today] * Dean Elizabeth Magill of Stanford Law School will be leaving her job at the end of the upcoming academic year to become the provost of the University of Virginia. Stanford will begin the search for her replacement in September. [The Recorder] * After news of the class of 2017’s success in the job market comes last month’s loss of 2,100 jobs in the legal sector. Sorry ‘bout that, class of 2018. For those not entering Biglaw, you better hope those were all administrative jobs. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.01.18

* President Donald Trump may be putting an "indelible conservative stamp" on the judiciary, but really, it's Senator Mitch McConnell who's been responsible for pushing these controversial candidates through just because "it’s the longest-term sort of impact we can have on the future of the country." [New York Times] * MAGA hat in the streets, reaonable human being in the sheets? Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh has privately told senators that he thinks Robert Mueller's appointment as special counsel in the Russia probe is "appropriate." [CNN] * The ABA is planning to disband its law school accreditation and standards review committees to save some money. Don't worry, all of those duties will be assumed by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. [Law.com] * "Why am I still here?" Women are heading for the exits at Ogletree Deakins in the wake of the $300M gender bias suit that was filed against the firm. FWIW, Ogletree was just named as one of the 60 best law firms for women. [American Lawyer] * Getting out while the getting is good: Don LeDuc, Cooley Law's longtime president and dean, will be retiring soon. He's being replaced on an interim basis by former Michigan Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Martlew. [Lansing State Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.12.18

* President Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, claims that he used his home equity line to pay off Stormy Daniels out of the goodness of his heart, and while people have been focusing on the fact that he may have violated campaign finance laws, not many have mentioned that he likely violated New York's ethics rules, would could get him disbarred. [Slate] * Remember the time that Judge Katherine Forrest ruined the internet with a single ruling? Several media outlets are preparing to appeal to the Second Circuit, saying the copyright decision could change the internet as we know it. [Big Law Business] * Dean Andrea Lyon of Valparaiso Law -- the school that's not closing, per se, but will stop accepting students and is hoping to merge with another school or move locations -- will be resigning on June 1. No one knows what will happen to the school, and soon there won't even be a dean. These poor students... [Indianapolis Business Journal] * Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a foodie, and in honor of her upcoming birthday -- and because "[s]he eats real food and plenty of it" -- here are a few of the Notorious One's favorite places to dine in her hometown of New York City. [am New York] * The February bar exam has come and gone, and with it, hundreds of jobs across the entire legal services industry. According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 200 fewer people were employed in the legal sector last month than in January. Hopefully things improve before graduation. [American Lawyer] * "Katy Perry represents everything we don't believe in. It would be a sin to sell to her." Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, 89, who had been locked in litigation with the singer and the archdioces for several years over the sale of her former convent, collapsed and died in court on Friday during a post-judgment hearing. [NPR]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.05.18

* “I’d like to see in the Constitution a statement that men and women are people of equal citizenship stature. I’d like to see an equal rights amendment in our Constitution.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is all in favor of amending the Constitution to benefit women. Are you? [Washington Post] * Kashyap Patel, the “primary author” of the House Intelligence Committee’s secret memo, is no stranger to controversy. You may remember when he dropped out of this bachelor auction due to an issue with his license to practice or from this “Order on Ineptitude” after he was berated by a federal judge. [New York Times] * Duke Law has a brand new dean, and she’ll be starting her job come July 1. Congratulations to Kerry Abrams -- “one of the brightest stars in legal education” -- on becoming one of the handful of women to lead one of America's top law schools. [Duke Today] * The DOJ wants former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s suit against special counsel Robert Mueller and Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein to be tossed, arguing that its only purpose is to “interfere with [his] ongoing criminal prosecution.” Yep, that was the whole point. [CNN] * Ouch! One Am Law 100 Firm is experiencing that awkward moment when management decides to completely scrub the name of the firm’s major merger partner from all of its branding, just one year after the combination was consummated. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky