Legal Writing

* What’s it like to take the California bar exam as a 46-year-old law professor? Orin Kerr enlightens us. [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy]

* Charles Glasser points out the dangers involved in holding a speaker responsible for actions taken by listeners. [Daily Caller]

* In the Term that just ended, the Supreme Court tackled technology issues in a big way — and the implications are far-reaching, as J.P. Schnapper-Casteras explains. [Take Care]

* Elizabeth Slattery and I joined Laurence Colletti, guest host of the Lawyer 2 Lawyer podcast, to discuss Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s SCOTUS retirement and the nomination of his successor, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. [Legal Talk Network]

* There has been a lot of speculation about how a Justice Brett Kavanaugh might move the Court to the right; Adam Feldman digs into the cases to make some educated guesses. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* What lessons could losing the Court teach the Democrats? Here are some thoughts from Seth Lipsky and David Leonhardt. [New York Post via Instapundit]

* And what lessons can lawyers learn from Judge Kavanaugh’s excellent writing? Ross Guberman identifies five of them. [Legal Writing Pro]

* Joel Cohen and Dale Degenshein explore what happens when a citizen “flips the bird” at the police (hint: it’s not a good idea). [Law and Crime]

* Congratulations to Thomson Reuters on the launch of Westlaw Edge, the latest version of its industry-leading legal research platform — which boasts a slew of new, artificial-intelligence-driven features, helpfully explained by Jean O’Grady. [Dewey B Strategic]

* And speaking of AI, congratulations to Fenwick & West on cutting the time for contract review in half, with the help of technology from Kira Systems. [Artificial Lawyer]

* Closer, but still not equal pay. (Yes, that still matters because we aren’t idiot goldfish who can’t possibly concentrate on more than one sh*tty thing that’s happening at a time.) [Deadspin]

* Neil Gorsuch’s writing deserves an F. [Law and More]

* Is there really an upside to the nuclear option for Democrats? [Slate]

* Because it might turn out to bite Republicans in the ass. [Huffington Post]

* The differences between this SCOTUS confirmation process and others. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* So, you’ve started your own law firm. Great! But now you have to hire your first employee… [Reboot Your Law Practice]

* Big scoop: here’s what Merrick Garland is really up to. [Clickhole]

* “I love the First Amendment. Nobody loves it better than me.” …and other lies the president told me. [Huffington Post]

* Hey! Remember law school? Remember torts? Remember the “spring gun case”? Here’s an interview with the lawyer behind that one. [Coverage Opinions]

* In an alternative universe, Melania Trump is a deportation priority, not the First Lady. [Slate]

* Yes, after 20 pages even a federal judge’s eyes start to glaze over. [Law Prose]

* Budget cuts are behind the IRS’s 10 year low audit rate. [TaxProf Blog]

* The robots can’t duplicate expert opinions. [Law and More]

* Can two people keep a secret if one of them is a robot? [Ars Technica]

* The weak spots of Judge Gorsuch’s writing. [Legal Writing Pro]

* Effective ways to put yourself out there. [Law and More]

* Increasing profitability at your law firm. [The Records Company]

* Yup, now there’s a “Chantix Defense” — people who take the smoking cessation drug claiming it made them involuntarily intoxicated. [LawSci Forum]

* Does Judge Gorsuch have a yearbook problem? [First Mondays]

* The beginning of the end for Dodd-Frank. [Huffington Post]

* Macklemore, Imagine Dragons, Incubus, Miguel and Skrillex are headlining a benefit concert for the ACLU. [Salon]

* Will district court Judge Amul R. Thapar be the nation’s first South Asian-American Supreme Court justice? [Bloomberg/BNA]

* The ABA is urging President Trump to withdraw his travel ban. [New York City Bar]

* The Federal Bar Council doesn’t take kindly to Trump’s tweets about federal judges. [FBC]

* You know how your eyes glaze over halfway through a huge block quote? You should probably cut those down. [LawProse]

* With Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, are we heading for a constitutional crisis? [The Slot]

* Do you think George Conway will wind up as Solicitor General? [Law and More]

* This seems troubling. [Slate]

* Beware of using too many acronyms in your legal writing. [Law Prose]

* All the details you need to know about Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams’s lawsuit against MLB Network. [Deadspin]

* The dirty tricks are coming fast and furious in the Louisiana Senate race. [Slate]

* Will there be a criminal probe into Donald Trump’s campaign donations? [Huffington Post]

* Working for a firm with a troubled reputation can change people’s opinion of your own. [Law and More]