Law Schools

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.13.18

* Trump tabs Skadden partner Michael Scudder for Seventh Circuit seat. Here's some quotes from James Comey praising Scudder, so we know the Deep State must be happy. [National Law Journal] * Yes, it's accurate to say that the specific job of sheriff has an "Anglo-American heritage." And, yes, given that it's entirely unnecessary to do so -- when terms like "common law" exist -- the fact that someone would use that phrasing is indicative of racial bias. In fact, if anyone drops "heritage" when talking about white people it's probably a bad sign. [Washington Post] * All 56 Attorneys General are asking Congress to end forced arbitration in sexual harassment cases. Florida's Pam Bondi stepped out of her usual ethical cloud to say, "decades of private arbitration proceedings regarding sexual harassment have had the unintended consequence of protecting serial violators." You can go ahead and delete "regarding sexual harassment" and only improve the accuracy there. [Daily Business Review] * DLA Piper has a new senior partner, which I believe grants him the official title of "Pied Piper." [International] * ABA looking to make online education easier. [Inside Higher Ed] * Jones Day continues to have the top law firm brand according to the annual Acritas survey of clients. [American Lawyer] * One of the tourists killed in the Grand Canyon helicopter crash this weekend was a lawyer. [American Lawyer]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.12.18

* "The chief justice, in particular, doesn’t like the court to be a disruptive force," but that might change this spring as the Supreme Court considers reversing at least three of its longstanding precedents. Trashing precedents could potentially become much easier now that Justice Gorsuch is here. [USA Today] * Berwin Leighton Paisner and Bryan Cave partners are voting on their proposed transatlantic merger, and the results are expected by the end of the month. If the tie-up is approved, BCLP -- the combined firm's new name -- will be a billion-dollar firm with 1,500 lawyers and 32 offices in 12 countries. [Law.com] * Charles Harder, the lawyer who brought down Gawker and now represents Donald Trump and members of his family, is experiencing some growing pains at his firm thanks to his presidential representation. Name partner Douglas Mirell just quit because of his "pledge to protect the First Amendment." [The Recorder] * New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a civil rights suit against the Weinstein Company and its founders, alleging that they "repeatedly and persistently treated female employees less well than male-employees through gender-based hostile workplace harassment, quid pro quo harassment, and discrimination." [Variety] * In an effort to increase diversity, LSAC will be awarding a total of $1.5 million to five law schools so they can hold Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars programs on their campuses. Akron, Alabama, Duke, Houston, and St. John's will each receive these grants to convince college students to enroll. [Black Enterprise] * Congratulations to Charleston Law's National Tax Moot Court team, which just clinched its seventh championship title in a row. It's nice to know that students were able to rise above the school's designation as one of the "least selective law schools in the country" to create a tax law dynasty. [Post and Courier] * Remember the former Ulta employee who accused the beauty retailer of reselling used products as new? Now a concerned customer has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit over the store's "widespread and surreptitious practice" of allegedly repackaging and selling returned products. [Chicago Tribune]

By Staci Zaretsky