Marriage Equality

* With student loan forgiveness earning public approval, the other shoe had to drop. Critics campaigning that any escape is “welfare.” If you were grasping for the proper pejorative it’s “Homecoming Queen.” [Concurring Opinions]

* Hot mic alert! Lawyer broadcasts during recess that prosecutor is “in my pocket.” Only to the extent the prosecutor is now up your ass. [ABA Journal]

* Maybe there’s hope for sentencing reform: 130 former judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials sign a letter advocating for the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015. The key is “former.” I’ll bet while they were running for office harsh sentencing was a-OK. [Sentencing Law and Policy]

* Using the show Serial to teach good brief writing. [Legal Writing Pro]

* Had you considered the marriage equality dimensions of Kerry v. Din? Me neither. But Professor Dorf did. [Verdict]

* Law schools are increasingly hiring deans from within. Just another way of keeping Elie out of that dean’s job he wants so badly. [The Faculty Lounge]

* What to do when hiring a contract attorney? Hm. Look for fear and desperation? Oh… oh, you’re being serious about ethics and stuff. [Daily Report]

* The best description of the conservative argument in King: “the card says ‘Moops.'” [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia02fGpUQfU

* The season finale of Veep offered a fun lesson in constitutional law. [PrawfsBlawg]

* When the Supreme Court hands down Obergefell, will it punt the case by acknowledging a new layer of scrutiny? [Slate]

* Kash Hill on Hulk Hogan’s suit against Gawker. Is a sex tape newsworthy if the guy’s bragging about his sex life on Howard Stern? [Fusion]

* Florida and Florida State football players routinely circumvent the criminal justice system. Which… everyone kind of knew already. [ESPN]

* Why “free IDs” are anything but. [Election Law Blog]

* Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven? [Legal Juice]

* Take this survey to put the time-worn law firm mantra of “collegial and collaborative” to the test. [Adam Smith, Esq.]

* Bruce MacEwen of the aforementioned Adam Smith, Esq. breaks down the Am Law 200. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDI7okOMlYs

* Judge James Bascue, formerly of the Los Angeles Superior Court, was arrested after an armed standoff with police. [LA Daily News]

* In the same vein as Elie’s piece on the financial costs of leaving the law, here’s a talk about the status hit you take leaving your profession. [Escape the City]

* Is it possible for law school to be a breeding ground for social justice warriors? [Law at the Margins]

* Could Gawker media be the biggest victory of Hulk Hogan’s career? [Capital New York]

* The Supreme Court agreed to hear Shapiro v. Mack, regarding the proper role of three-judge district courts, which is a much bigger deal than it might seem. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

* He’s been trying to get you to pay attention to the importance of knowing your client for years. Maybe some out-of-context cheesecake will help. [What About Clients?]

* Today is Loving Day — the 45th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia — the day when the entire country laments the erosion of states’ rights… or something like that. [Slate]

* Out-of-state mistress had insufficient contacts with the state for wife’s alienation of affection tort. Hos in different area codes: it’s not a saying, it’s a legal doctrine. [Legal Profession Blog]

* The Orange County D.A.’s office took withholding evidence to a whole new level. Actually, probably more frightening, this behavior probably isn’t all that uncommon. [Slate]

* Lawyer making six figures lectures law school grads about how they need to take public service jobs. [The Legal Watchdog]

* Prince Harry’s ex has left Allen & Overy. What’s the next career move for Chelsy Davy? DJ. Rich people make the best life decisions. [Legal Cheek]

* All the ways that FIFA allegedly hid bribes. When it comes to hiding, I thought soccer would never top an NBCSN contract. [Screamer / Deadspin]

* The Dersh talks about becoming a great litigator and discusses where his current legal battle stands. [In the Benches]

* Why fight in court if the courts are so unfair? [Katz Justice]

* On Tuesday, the Intelligence Squared debate series will tackle marriage equality, debating whether the Equal Protection clause requires states to issue same-sex marriage licenses. There are still tickets available if you wish to attend. [Intelligence Squared]

* What will life look like after Earth’s next mass extinction event? And will they need lawyers? [What About Clients?]

* Yeah he told a client he’d waive his legal fees “in exchange for a sexual encounter with Client and her daughters” (emphasis added), but you know, he was “just teasing.” [Legal Profession Blog]

* Hipster lawyers. Seriously. That’s how they market themselves. Their office is even a repurposed factory. They’re in LA now, but you know they’re just dying to move to Portland. [LA Weekly]

* Are you following these Biglaw managing partners on Twitter? Because LOL totally RT worthy. [Bloomberg BNA / Big Law Business]

* Three Wisconsin Supreme Court justices skipped out on Marquette’s swearing in ceremony. One more development in the ongoing bats**t insane happenings on that court that previously included “[conservative Justice] Prosser put his hands on the neck of [liberal Justicee] Bradley in front of four of the other justices as they argued about a case.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

* I get called out for being clickbaity. But I’m really just indirectly teaching lawyers lessons in marketing they really should learn. [Law and More]

* What would an interview with Tom Brady about Deflategate look like? [Coverage Opinions]

* Bloomberg BNA introduced a new corporate law product that’s “set to dramatically change the workflow for transactional lawyers.” [Dewey B. Strategic]

* President Obama’s immigration executive action should have kicked in today. It didn’t because the Fifth Circuit are a bunch of layabouts. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

* The Irish same-sex marriage referendum hit a snag when someone realized the Irish language version would probably render heterosexual marriages unconstitutional. If you can’t write a neutral version of the law without encountering this problem… kind of proves a point, doesn’t it? [The Irish Times]

* R.I.P. Bob Foster, former dean of University of South Carolina School of Law . [The State]

* Uber is building a 70-lawyer in-house group. Constantly going to outside counsel got too spendy after partners instituted surge pricing on all billable hours over 80/week. [Law and More]

* Justice Ginsburg presided over a same-sex wedding yesterday. Could she have tipped her hand on the upcoming marriage equality decisions by consistently emphasizing the word “Constitution”? The article begins: “The groom and groom strolled down the aisle to the mellow strains of ‘Mr. Sandman.'” The first time I read that I thought it said, “Enter Sandman,” which, admit it, would be a much cooler wedding song. [New York Times]

* Professor Rick Hasen, for one, thinks that might be exactly what RBG just did, noting her history of offering sly hints about the outcomes of unannounced decisions. [Election Law Blog]

* Is there a legal solution to save Charleston Law? That’s interesting, but the bigger takeaway from this piece is that one of the board members actually left the stage during commencement after the invocation denounced greed. You cannot make this stuff up. [Post and Courier]

* Those pesky nuns. [Lowering the Bar]

* Stanford’s student commencement speaker crowdsourced her speech. It was all going along fine until the 3 minutes segment where she just yelled, “Baba Booey” over and over again. [Forbes]

* California releases its February bar exam results. The only thing in California lower than those passage rates are the reservoirs, amiright? [Bar Exam Stats]

* Richard Hsu talks with Henry Bushkin, Johnny Carson’s lawyer and the author of a new book about the late “King of Late Night.” [Hsu Untied]

* Happy birthday to Professor Joseph Crea of Brooklyn Law School who celebrates his 100th birthday today at the school. [SF Gate]

* “Representing Yourself? Not Too Smart. Calling The Prosecutor a Nazi? Brilliant!” More “pro sanity.” [Legal Juice]

* After the resounding Tory victory yesterday, let’s check in on the UK to see what it means for the legal landscape. Oh, it’s going to be the end of legal aid lawyers. That sounds about right. [Legal Cheek]

* The latest avenue to express support for marriage equality: invite the justices to your wedding. Who knew Staci was ahead of her time. [Supreme Save The Date]

* Speaking of Staci’s wedding invitee, here’s a new interview with Justice Ginsburg. New question: will interviewers ever get tired of asking her about the “Notorious RBG” moniker? She needs to start responding with “Asked and Answered!” [Moment]

* Two lawyers run a suburban farm raising and slaughtering animals. So, would they be able to “get” Farmer’s Only? [Washington Post]

* Professor Steven Lubet explains why Pamela Geller is not morally responsible for the Texas attack. It’s like Palsgraf for morality. [The New Republic]

* The 2015 Rising Stars list. Do you know one of the 50 young lawyers on this list? [New York Law Journal]

* What’s wrong with an alternative holding every now and again? [Concurring Opinions]

* Immigration is magically complex — the same administration crafted two executive actions unilaterally and still managed to make them conflict, as noted by Laura Murray-Tjan. [Huffington Post]

* Even as clients rail against it, the billable hour is still the key to Biglaw billing, according to Kent Zimmermann of the Zeughauser Group. [Bloomberg BNA / Big Law Business]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhHQc9bZ07A

* Hillary Clinton vows to end the era of mass incarceration. Just one of many things Bill Clinton left his mark on that she wishes you’d forget. [Huffington Post]

* Protesters arrested on Monday in Baltimore weren’t even charged until today and are being held functionally without bail. Because at this point the most important industry in Baltimore is “being the setting of The Wire: The Ride.” [Gawker]

* It’s cute when non-lawyers find out there was a person named “Learned Hand.” [io9]

* At 10:00am tomorrow, the Constitutional Accountability Center is live-streaming a panel, “Home Stretch at the Supreme Court.” Amy Howe of SCOTUSBlog is moderating and panelists include Yaakov Roth of Jones Day, Elizabeth Wydra Chief Counsel of CAC, and Paul Smith of Jenner & Block, who incidentally argued Lawrence v. Texas. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

* New York Law School has a beautiful building and have been renting out space to Rochester’s Business School to make a quick buck on the side. Now they’re going to offer joint programs with the business school, maybe their grads can find jobs in other fields. [Crain’s]

* Chief Justice Roberts doubted the marriage equality arguments, instead championing the importance of letting legislatures decide. Like, if the Senate passes a law unanimously we should respect that intent, right? Derp. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

* From Amanda Devereux: 13 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Became a Lawyer. [Cosmopolitan]

* Everything you need to know about videotaping the police. [Concurring Opinions]

* Oh Texas. Judge gets in trouble for posting about an ongoing trial on Facebook, violating HER OWN RULE about posting about an ongoing trial on Facebook. [Texas Lawyer]

* Head of the Georgia state judicial ethics committee resigns after billing questions arise. [Daily Report]

* Ach nein! Orrick closes two German offices. [Am Law]

* Yup, if you graduated law school (even from a great school like Columbia) in 2010, you are well and truly screwed. [NY Times]

* Get ready for the gay marriage oral arguments with a fascinating history of codified homophobia in public service. [WaPo]

* Irony alert: Judge’s son got a DUI when he was driving recklessly in front of — yup, you guessed it — the courthouse. [Times Free Press]

* NY State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman comes out in favor of decriminalization of seven “broken windows” offenses that account for ~42% of NYPD summonses. [NY Daily News]

* RIP Harvey Miller, 82, Weil Gotshal bankruptcy partner passed away after a fight with ALS. [NYLJ]

* Nina Totenberg reviews past opinions to divine how the Court might rule on marriage equality. Or she could have pointed to Windsor and said, “That way.” [NPR]

* The media attention focused on the two and a half hours of oral arguments over marriage equality coming this week have inspired some to ask just what goes into preparing an oral argument anyway? [Cincinnati Enquirer]

* Loretta Lynch sworn in as Attorney General. So now the House finally knows which address to send frivolous subpoenas to. [USA Today]

* What skills do you need to get hired as a lawyer? It’s a sign of the economy that “dad be managing partner” isn’t the top line. [Associate’s Mind]

* The Fifth Circuit rules that the family of a teenager killed when a Border Patrol agent shot from the U.S. into Mexico cannot sue in U.S. courts. “The border agent’s lawyer said the opinion vindicated his client.” I mean… you killed someone in cold blood and got off on a ludicrous technicality, but yeah, “vindicated.” [Yahoo]

* Richard Hsu chats with Bill Gross, Caltech Trustee and Chairman and Founder of Idealab[Hsu Untied]

* Apparently Daredevil has nailed the dramatic representation of young attorneys. [The Legal Artist]

* Professor Campos thrashes those who deny the law school scam. Um… these analogies may be a tad over the top. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

* Judge Kozinski movie night!!! [Los Angeles Times]

* Discovery is awesome. Let’s read some highlights from the Deutsche Bank LIBOR transcripts! [Bloomberg Business]

* “5 bad things about being a City lawyer that nobody tells you about.” [Legal Cheek]

* Marriage equality will likely come down to one simple edit. [Slate]

* The latest episode of Thinking Like A Lawyer talks video games and the law. Remember to subscribe here. [Legal Talk Network]

* Congratulations to Loretta Lynch, who later today should be confirmed as the first African-American woman to serve as attorney general. [CNN]

* And congrats to baseball star Barry Bonds, whose obstruction of justice conviction just got overturned by the Ninth Circuit. [How Appealing]

* Dewey turned DLA Piper partner John Altorelli, alleged former paramour of Russian spy Anna Chapman, is back in the news — JP Morgan Chase accuses him of lying about his assets in his pending personal bankruptcy case. [American Lawyer]

* The many debaters-turned-lawyers out there might enjoy this look at the college debate career of presidential hopeful Ted Cruz. [New York Times]

* A satirical “killing Jews is his jihad” ad can’t be kept out of New York mass transit, per Judge John Koeltl (S.D.N.Y.). [ABA Journal]

* Retired General David Petraeus is expected to plead guilty later today to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling Paula Broadwell classified materials. [Washington Post]

* U.S. Supreme Court justices are getting grumpier, according to interesting research discussed by Paul Barrett. [Bloomberg View via How Appealing]

* With the U.S. Supreme Court about to decide the constitutionality of gay-marriage bans, what’s next for opponents of marriage equality? [New York Times]

* Standing up for “religious freedom” bills, for one thing — which is what Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is doing, telling corporations that plan to “bully[]” his state, “Save your breath.”
[New York Times]

* Loretta Lynch might actually get confirmed, you guys! Senate Republicans have agreed to a bipartisan deal on human trafficking legislation which should end the Lynch logjam. America in 2015, “human trafficking bad” now requires months of negotiation. [CNN]

* Our old friend Professor Michael Simkovic is back and defending the decision to go to law school based on part-time job numbers because, hey, that’s how the Bureau of Labor measures unemployment so it must be the same for judging employment for struggling J.D.s. Professor Bernie Burk gives a thorough, thoughtful, and respectful retort. [The Faculty Lounge]

* Meanwhile, failing to learn the lesson of America, students seeking law degrees skyrocket in the UK. Thomas Cooley considers Norfolk campus. [Legal Cheek]

* The property law of Downton Abbey. It teaches the most important lesson of property — historically it’s really, really good to be a wealthy white guy. [Vanderbilt Law Review]

* Digging into a less heralded subsidiary argument in the marriage equality cases: the “proceed with caution” rhetoric intended to push the issue to the backburner. [NYU Law Review]

* On that note, same-sex marriage kills babies!!! Well, no, not really. But that is the argument one former Scalia clerk is making for some reason. [Dorf on Law]

* Looks like Europe is going to hit Putin where it hurts… an antitrust courtroom. That’ll learn him! [New York Times]