Length of Law School

  • Morning Docket: 01.28.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.28.16

    * Now that Rudy Giuliani’s in the news again thanks to his departure from his namesake firm, he’s letting his opinions be known on all sorts of things relevant to lawyers and law students. In fact, he thinks law school should be four years long. Go back into the woodwork, Rudy. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * After a decade on SCOTUS, Justice Samuel Alito hasn’t strayed from his conservative roots like some of his colleagues. He “has been every bit as conservative as conservatives could have dreamed — and as liberals would have feared.” [ABA Journal]

    * Prior to Martin Shkreli’s arrest, prosecutors obtained a secret order nullifying attorney-client privilege in communications between the pharma bro and his Biglaw attorney. Per records, this case has been ongoing since before he outed himself as a d-bag. [Reuters]

    * “Whether I want to marry or not, it should be my right to decide.” China’s first-ever lawsuit challenging its ban on same-sex marriage is expected to be heard in court today. In a country as conservative as China, this could be revolutionary. [New York Times]

    * Shake those pom-poms, because the New York Jets have reached a settlement with the team’s cheerleaders in a lawsuit filed over alleged wage theft. The J-E-T-S will pay out $324,000, making it the fourth NFL team to settle such a suit. [New York Daily News]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.28.15

    * The lawsuit the Bernie Sanders campaign filed against the Democratic National Committee is far from over. Will a “full investigation from top to bottom” reveal that the DNC was trying to burn the Bern in the polls? [Yahoo!]

    * It seems like the whole two-year law school gambit isn’t working out as planned, but maybe that’s because it hasn’t been properly executed yet. Sorry, Northwestern, but we’re really not sorry for saying that. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * DraftKings and FanDuel threw the challenge flag after Illinois AG Lisa Madigan declared that daily fantasy sports betting was illegal in her state. Gibson Dunn and Boies Schiller hope review of the play won’t result in another “Fail Mary.” [Chicago Tribune]

    * “I thought I was the only person who felt that way.” Feeling left out at law school? USC Law is trying to make legal education a little less intimidating for students who are the first in their family to attend institutions of higher education. [Los Angeles Times]

    * iDamages: If you thought Apple liked gouging its customers, then you should see what it does to its adversaries. Samsung just paid the company more than $548 million in patent infringement damages, but Apple wants about $180 million more. [Reuters]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.12.15

    * Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of the UC Irvine School of Law thinks it’s time for California to follow New York’s lead and adopt the Uniform Bar Exam. After all, if doctors don’t have to take separate exams each time they move to a new state, lawyers shouldn’t have to do it either. [Los Angeles Times]

    * A jury just returned a verdict of $0 for a police officer who was severely burned after spilling a cup of free Starbucks coffee in his lap. The pictures of the burns that were used as evidence are pretty nasty, so you’ll obviously want to check them out. [NPR; WTVD]

    * According to a survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep, 56 percent of recent law grads would have preferred to condense their schooling to two years, while just 34 percent of prospective law students felt similarly. Oh, to be that naive again. [National Law Journal]

    * Violent besties? As it turns out, the gun altercation George Zimmerman was involved in yesterday was apparently part of some sort of ongoing feud with Matthew Apperson, the same man he threatened to kill in a road rage incident last year. [Crimesider / CBS News]

    * If you’re wondering what you should do during the summer before going to law school, then you can take the advice of this future gunner and possibly enroll in a pre-law prep course and work yourself to death, or you can relax. It’s up to you. [The Diamondback]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.10.15

    * 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]