Law Schools

* Moonlighting for Biglaw partners: golf caddy? This Alston & Bird partner spent the week caddying for Gunn Yang at the 2015 Masters Tournament. Oh, to watch a partner be subservient and lug someone else’s junk around all day. [Am Law Daily]

* Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is suing each of her judicial colleagues over a constitutional amendment that could get her demoted from her seat of power. Maybe this judicial diva is a “total bitch” after all. [New York Times]

* If you plan to run for president of this country and hope to discuss reform of the criminal justice system while you’re shaking hands and kissing babies on the campaign trail, you better be prepared to answer each and every one of these questions. [Washington Post]

* “I want to see in an application that … Law School is a default option for you.” At least one elite law school “actively preference[s]” work experience after college. Get a job. It’ll probably be easier now than after you graduate from law school. [Harvard Crimson]

* Aside from absurd tuition rates and deceptive employment statistics, here’s one more absolutely vital thing that members of the legal profession should consider tossing out during their spring cleaning sessions: the third year of law school. [Washington Post]

* Police claim David Messerschmitt’s killer stole only $40. [Washington Post]

* Lil Wayne vs. Cash Money. Which is, apparently, not an in rem action. [FactMag]

* What is the difference between confidence and arrogance? Obviously, I know the answer, but let’s see if you can figure it out. [Corporette]

* One angle I missed from today’s news that a gunman attacked a courthouse in Milan is that this is life imitating art, eerily reminiscent of a plotline on The Good Wife. [Law and More]

* Immigration attorney is a no-show at her sentencing for 13 felony theft counts for accepting fees and botching her work. You’d think she skipped the country except we know she sucks at immigration law. [ABA Journal]

* Former president of the World Bank’s LGBT employee organization is under investigation. He thinks this seems pretty suspicious. [Buzzfeed]

* The Tsarnaev trial highlights the continuing stupidity of keeping cameras out of the courtroom. [Vanity Fair]

* Another installment of “Roberts at 10,” looking at his 10 years as chief. What’s his legacy on LGBT rights? Well, unsurprisingly, we’re not going to know for sure for a couple months. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

* A new study reveals that judges are less ideologically biased than law students. Again, it’s not that judges are less firm in their ideology, it’s that they’ve learned to pick their battles. [WSJ Law Blog]

* SLU Law clinic threatens to sue the city of St. Louis if they try and shell out public dollars to keep the Rams in town. I’d sue if I had to watch the Rams every week too. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

* How many law school applicants do we expect for the Fall? [The Faculty Lounge]

* DMX’s lawyer says his client didn’t just up and rob a dude at gunpoint. Which is obviously true, because X Gonna Give It To Ya, not take it from ya. [Design & Trend]

* The TL;DR here is that Elizabeth Wurtzel wants to be noticed. Double f**king newsflash. [Jezebel]

* A spirited debate on where the FISA court went wrong. The crux of the argument is [REDACTED]. [Lawfare]

* We’re not above telling the good stories from time to time. Like this kid who went from homeless to NYU Law grad. [Patch]

* Lawyer suspended for sexual conduct with a 17-year-old and blogging. Thankfully, not blogging about the sex. [Legal Profession Blog]

* Jeopardy! gets a legal response when it wanted a science answer. [YouTube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R-B-BFQwng

Frankly, the question (answer?) is kind of bulls**t. Consent is something that gets legislated and I’ve seen Game of Thrones — those ages sound about right for that world. On the other hand, puberty is something that just happens. Unless you’re a gymnast.

* “Take it from me, dealing with the complex criminal legal system can be difficult and intimidating for most people.” This ex-Troutman Sanders partner may be facing nine felony charges, but who cares? He’s starting his own firm. [Am Law Daily]

* It’s kind of cute when law school deans lie to themselves to make themselves feel better. For example, the dean of Oregon Law says now is “excellent” time go to go law school, and he doesn’t make decisions “based on what moves the rankings needle.” [Daily Emerald]

* Per the latest Altman Weil survey, the first quarter of 2015 was one of the best ever for law firm mergers. The pace with which law firms merged was the second-quickest since the company started tracking mergers to begin with in 2007. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* The Rutgers Board of Governors has approved of the proposed merger between Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden Law. Now they just have to wait for the ABA’s rubber stamp, which they’ll obviously get — the ABA would rubber stamp a shoe. [NJ Advance Media]

* “[T]he law is a noble profession – but it’s also an oversubscribed one, due in large part to excessive federal lending.” Maybe if the government stopped handing out student loans like candy, law schools would be forced to lower their tuition rates. [Washington Post]

* The University of Virginia’s chapter of Phi Kappa Psi is definitely going to try to sue Rolling Stone over its fraternity gang-rape story, but the question is whether “bad journalism [will] amount to legal liability.” What do you think about this? [WSJ Law Blog]

* Which Biglaw firm just raised its starting salary for associates? Will this be the beginning of a revolution? Don’t you wish your firm would follow this firm’s lead? We’ll have more on this exciting salary news later today. [Legal Intelligencer]

* “With the decline of lawyers and law students, we were looking for new avenues to attract students.” William Mitchell Law may say its hybrid J.D. program was for its students’ benefit, but it was really only to put asses in seats — even digital ones. [CNBC]

* It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday… when you’re a Biglaw partner trying to escape the terms of your contract by making a lateral move. Some firms are even holding capital contributions hostage to discourage partners from leaving. [Recorder via ABA Journal]

* Potential penalties for Supreme Court protesters seem to be getting stiffer. Perhaps federal prosecutors are pissed about 99Rise’s persistence, because this time, members of the social justice group are facing jail time for “haranguing” our justices. [Legal Times]

* According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida was the most productive federal trial court in the nation last year. When Flori-duh is kicking your ass, it’s time to reevalute your life. [WSJ Law Blog]

* “It’s unconscionable, and I believe they have breached the fiduciary duty to the law school, to the students and to the public.” Appalachian Law is struggling, and some believe its trustees are preventing the school from saving itself. Will this be the first school to fold? [Inside Higher Ed]

* “We were all running this ATM machine called big law firms.” Before 2008, it was easier for large law firms to make money, but now, there’s an “insurmountable gap” in revenue between the industry’s heavy hitters and the rest of the pack. [Wall Street Journal]

* You’ll pry their job security from their cold, dead hands: William Mitchell Law professors know that layoffs may be coming thanks to the school’s planned merger with Hamline Law, and have filed suit to protect the Tenure Code. [Minnesota Public Radio News]

* Bonus season isn’t the only thing that Davis Polk has cornered the market on. According to the latest Bloomberg M&A rankings, the firm came out on top during the first quarter of 2015 when it came to advising on major deals. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* “Whatever happened to The New York Times’ fact-checker?” Here’s yet another harsh critique of Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon’s cringeworthy defense of law schools, and this time it’s from a fellow law professor. Ouch. [The Belly of the Beast via Am Law Daily]

* Jay Edelson of Edelson PC may be the “most hated person in Silicon Valley,” but he probably doesn’t care about being Liked — after all, he recently filed suit against Facebook over the social networking company’s face recognition software. [New York Times]

* Even more law schools are doing away with their LSAT requirements. Let’s give a great big welcome to Drake Law and St. John’s Law, who are joining the likes of SUNY Buffalo Law and Iowa Law. Woohoo, welcome aboard the bandwagon, folks! [U.S. News & World Report]

* Judge James W. Haley Jr. of the Virginia Court of Appeals held a drunk intruder at gunpoint while he waited for the police to arrive. This unwanted houseguest was only wearing one shoe as he wandered through the judge’s home. Oopsie! [Free Lance-Star]

* Well, that was quick. Fried Frank has hired away James “Jamie” Wareham, DLA Piper’s $5 million man, about four years after he lateraled to the firm from Paul Hastings. April Fools’ Day was his last day at the firm… or was it? J/K, it was for real. [Am Law Daily]

* J. Michael Farren, the ex-White House lawyer who was convicted of attempting to murder his wife and sentenced to 15 years in prison, is now facing the loss of his law license. This should really be the very least of his worries. [Connecticut Law Tribune]

* The U.S. Marshals Service has increased the reward for tips related to the shooting of U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg. Now you’ll get $50,000 if you’ve got information that’ll lead to arrests and convictions of the suspects who shot a federal jurist. [Detroit News]