Morning Docket

  • Morning Docket: 10.08.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.08.18

    Ed. note: In honor of Columbus Day (and Canadian Thanksgiving), Above the Law will be on a reduced publication schedule. We’ll be back in full force tomorrow.

    * In case you somehow missed it, Brett Kavanaugh, who is “totally brilliant” per President Trump, was confirmed to the Supreme Court in one of the closest votes in American history (50 to 48). He was sworn in shortly thereafter by Chief Justice John Roberts and the recently retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. [New York Times]

    * It’s certainly worth mentioning that Chief Justice Roberts received judicial misconduct complaints from the D.C. Circuit about Kavanaugh’s hearing testimony, but he decided to not to do anything about them. Now, people are accusing Roberts of being involved in some sort of a Kavanuagh cover-up. [Washington Post]

    * As Kavanaugh mentioned during his confirmation hearing, he’ll be the first Supreme Court justice to have four women law clerks. Counting his clerks, women will make up a majority of the Supreme Court’s clerks for the first time in history. Nice work, Justice Brett. At least he’s good for something. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [National Law Journal]

    * “The women are against her.” How did Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg become the feminist pop culture icon that we know and love today when she was almost bypassed for her SCOTUS nomination because women didn’t trust her? [New Yorker]

    * We’ve got a situation! Jersey Shore cast member Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino will be heading to federal prison for eight months on tax evasion charges. Expect his co-stars to starting referring to him as “The Incarceration.” [Courthouse News]

  • Morning Docket: 10.05.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.05.18

    * Don McGahn may be leaving the Trump administration, but he still wants his Supreme Court nominee to be confirmed. Sources say it was the outgoing White House counsel who advised Judge Brett Kavanaugh to “show his emotions and true feelings” during his Senate hearing. [Wall Street Journal]

    * And it was Judge Kavanaugh’s “emotions and true feelings” which led him to write an apology piece of sorts, where he admitted that he “might have been too emotional at times.” Not to worry, because we can still “count on [him]” if he’s confirmed since he’s an “independent, impartial judge.” [Wall Street Journal]

    * Meanwhile, a procedural vote to limit debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination will be held today at 10:30 a.m., which will set the stage for a confirmation vote to be held. The final vote may have to be rescheduled to get a majority, however, because one Republican senator will be at his daughter’s wedding. [CBS News]

    * Dawn Knepper, the former Ogletree partner who is suing the firm in a $300M gender bias suit, is speaking out about what motivated her to sue the firm in the first place, and whether she thinks the case will affect her legal career. [American Lawyer]

    * “It’s absolutely shocking.” According to a new study conducted by two law professors and an economist, plunging law school enrollment between 2010 and 2016 caused schools to lose about $1.5 billion in tuition each year. Yikes… [Law.com]

  • Morning Docket: 10.04.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.04.18

    * The FBI’s completed its superficial Kavanaugh report and there’s only one copy. Senators will take turns reading it in one-hour shifts. Is America out of toner? [Business Insider]

    * Relatedly, former clerks are now calling for a thorough FBI investigation of Kavanaugh. [National Law Journal]

    * New York will investigate the president for tax avoision. [Law360]

    * Spider-Man gets law degree. [Legal Cheek]

    * How are law firms so profitable? [Law.com]

    * Federal judge halts immigration crackdown because, you know, racism from the administration. [Courthouse News Service]

    * Daily reminder that the Big 4 are coming. [American Lawyer]

  • Morning Docket: 10.03.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.03.18

    * “BREAKING: President Donald Trump repeatedly mocks Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault.” When I got this alert on my phone last night, I couldn’t help myself but to blurt out, “F**k that guy.” That’s our president! Not sure why I expected more. [NBC News]

    * According to Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate will vote on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh just as soon as the F.B.I. wraps up its investigation — which could be as early as sometime today. Gee, it’s almost as if they don’t care about what the results are. [New York Times]

    * In the meantime, more than 500 law professors have signed onto two letters that will be presented to the Senate, each condemning Kavanaugh’s “lack of judicial temperament” and “lack of respect for our democratic institutions and women in positions of power in particular.” At least they’re trying. [Guardian]

    * Sedgwick closed up shop sometime around the beginning of 2018, and the failed firm finally got around to filing for bankruptcy, and the court documents read like a Greek Biglaw tragedy. We have have more on this later. [Law360 (sub. req.)]

    * Which Biglaw firm has the strongest brand? It’s not the firm with the highest revenue, and it’s not the firm with the largest headcount, but this firm has that certain je ne sais quoi that makes clients love their attorneys. [American Lawyer]

  • Morning Docket: 10.02.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.02.18

    * Police questioned Brett Kavanaugh over a bar fight he and Chris Dudley apparently got into — wait, Chris Dudley? This whole “Brett + Alcohol = Violence” equation is becoming a pattern. And a pattern he lies about under oath. [NY Times]

    * Department of Justice sues California over its net neutrality law. So much for states’ rights. [Courthouse News Service]

    * Law firms are merging at a record pace. This should probably worry people more. [American Lawyer]

    * This reads more like an exam question than real life. Is it a trademark violation to spell fiance as Feyoncé when selling engagement gifts? What if we add that they also sold stuff that references “Single Ladies”? [Law360]

    * Sidley Austin earns less than the midlevel exception. Or about what Chris Dudley was worth. [American Lawyer]

    * The Supreme Court is open for business. Will they further limit access to justice this Term? Probably, yeah. [National Law Journal]

    * “SEC Suit Over Elon Musk’s Tweets Sets an Example for Execs Online.” Indeed: Don’t Date Grimes. [Corporate Counsel]

  • Morning Docket: 10.01.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.01.18

    * President Trump asked the FBI to investigate the claims of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, the first two women to accuse would-be SCOTUS justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault and misconduct, leaving out Julie Swetnick’s claims to the chagrin of her lawyer. [Wall Street Journal]

    * So, just how limited in scope will the FBI’s new Kavanaugh inquiry be? Trump claims that the bureau has “free rein,” but no one who has contradicted the judge’s claims about his drinking and partying as a high school and college student are going to be interviewed. [New York Times]

    * HLS is second best at feeling shame: Following student protests against Kavanaugh teaching at Harvard Law, the elite law school’s dean won’t come out and say whether the accused jurist will still have a job in legal academia come 2019. [HuffPost]

    * ICYMI amid the Kavanaugh craziness, a judge ruled that the plaintiffs in Blumenthal v. Trump — the 201 Democratic members of Congress — have standing to sue the president for his alleged violations of the emoluments clause. [National Law Journal]

    * That was quick! In the span of just a few days, Elon Musk settled the securities fraud lawsuit filed against him by the SEC, and the deal calls for him to pay a $20 million fine and step down as Tesla’s chairman for the next three years. [New York Times]

  • Morning Docket: 09.28.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.28.18

    * Well… this crazy dude happened. [Boston Globe]

    * As the hearing concludes, calls of “there’s no corroboration!” from the guys who prohibited calling any other witnesses. [Washington Post]

    * But, don’t worry, we won’t have an FBI investigation because… Joe Biden? Somehow? Literally Grassley’s so addled and confused at this point that he can’t grasp basic context. [Politico]

    * Anyone else notice that Brett Kavanaugh doubled down on that insane and discredited Ed Whelan theory? [ThinkProgress]

    * He also lied brazenly and repeatedly, which in a sane world might speak to his overall credibility. But we’re in the darkest timeline, my friends. [Time]

    * In other news, the SEC got around to charging someone! [Dealbreaker]

    * Bill Cosby sued over unpaid legal bills. [CNN]

    * Young lawyer saves man’s life. [Legal Cheek]

  • Morning Docket: 09.27.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.27.18

    * Is anything going on today? [BBC]

    * Anything at all? [USA Today]

    * Dan Snyder and Cadwalader settle their massive malpractice suit so Snyder can focus full time on his team’s inevitably heartbreaking collapse. [Law360]

    * Speaking of Washington’s football franchise, the heiress of its former owner is facing criminal charges for allegedly saying, “hurry up Jew” before beating a lawyer in the head until he bled. Lovely organization Washington’s got there! [Fox News]

    * After months of bad press, America’s tech giants are calling for a federal privacy law. Or, more accurately, after California passed a privacy law, America’s tech giants are calling for a neutered federal law to preempt California’s. [Reuters]

    * Since Rod Rosenstein might be leaving our public lives as early as today, here’s an in-depth look at one of his most bonkers cases. [Washingtonian]

    * DLA Piper adds the former ambassador to Argentina as a special advisor. In other news, David Mamet’s son used to be the ambassador to Argentina? Was anyone else tracking that? UPDATE: OK, I feel vindicated that I hadn’t missed something huge. DLA Piper confirms that he’s not actually David Mamet’s son. I would’ve thought that would have been a bigger deal. [National Law Journal]

    * Amazon’s commitment to screwing over its workers and leaving taxpayers to foot the bill runs right up to the NLRA line. But it’s cool since that law won’t survive Kavanaugh’s first year. [Gizmodo]

    * Why PwC’s new Fragomen partnership is a big deal. [Law.com]

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  • Morning Docket: 09.26.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.26.18

    * The Senate Judiciary Committee has hired an outside counsel who’s an expert in sex crimes prosecution to question Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. She’ll be doing the bidding of Republican senators, while Democratic senators will do their own questioning. [CNN]

    * That same SJC will vote on Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS nomination the very next day, less than 24 hours after Dr. Ford’s testimony concerning allegations that the judge sexually assaulted her. Everyone must be looking forward to the show hearing even more now. [POLITICO]

    * But if Kavanaugh’s nomination somehow gets Borked or withdrawn on or before Friday, you better believe that he could face disciplinary action when he returns to his seat on the D.C. Circuit. A complaint has already been filed, but most are “dismissed fairly promptly.” Let’s see what happens. [Big Law Business]

    * Should he stay or should he go now? Sources say Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein has no plans to quit and President Donald Trump’s advisers say he’d be willing to keep the DOJ’s second in command on the job. “The president is genuinely conflicted,” but no one knows if his urge to say “You’re Fired!” will be too great. [Wall Street Journal]

    * Say hello to the China 45, a ranking of Chinese law firms with the highest gross revenue, revenue per lawyer, and profits per equity partner for the prior calendar year. When it comes to the firms with the biggest financial footprints, only one “American” Biglaw shop made the cut. Take a wild guess on which one it was. [American Lawyer]

  • Morning Docket: 09.25.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.25.18

    * Amid reports (from Fox News no less) that Mitch McConnell does not presently have the votes to confirm Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court took the precaution of removing several contentious matters from their long conference agenda lest. They’re hunkering down for another couple months at 4-4. [National Law Journal]

    * Speaking of that Fox News report, let’s be honest about what’s happening here: Kavanaugh is refusing to withdraw and McConnell is covertly asking the network to convince Trump to withdraw the nomination. [Fox News]

    * Almost half of the top 15 firms in the Global 100 are the product of a transatlantic merger. Should your firm follow suit? Probably not. [American Lawyer]

    * Linda Burrow leaves Boies Schiller to Netflix and chill and then litigate. [Corporate Counsel]

    * Judge seems to think Stormy Daniels doesn’t have a defamation claim against Trump over one of his Tweets. [Law360]

    * PwC makes a deal with Fragomen. The Big 4 invasion of the legal sector continues unchecked. [LegalCheek]

    * Lost in the shuffle of everything happening yesterday, Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearings kicked off. [Courthouse News Service]

  • Morning Docket: 09.24.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.24.18

    * The Senate Judiciary Committee has reached a tentative deal with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford as to when she will testify about her allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. The showdown is expected to go down on Thursday, pending any last-minute changes. [New York Times]

    * Judge Kavanaugh dug up calendars from the summer of 1982 to corroborate his denials of Dr. Ford’s allegations. He apparently kept detailed entries as a teen, listing events like “go to [Mark] Judge’s,” but “drunk sexual assault fun time” is nowhere to be found. So convenient! [New York Times]

    * And now, a second woman has come forward to accuse Judge Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct — this time, during his drunken college years. Meet Deborah Ramirez, who says that when they were Yale freshmen, Kavanaugh shoved his penis in her face and as she pushed him away, caused her to touch it without her consent. [New Yorker]

    * Professor Amy Chua claims that everything current and former Yale Law students are saying about her Kavanaugh clerkship coaching is “outrageous” and “100% false.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, those Yale Law students say Chua is lying. [HuffPost]

    * “I am resigning from the firm, effective immediately.” It may seem like former federal prosecutor Michael Bromwich quit his job as senior counsel at Robbins Russell after objections were raised by partners to his joining Dr. Ford’s legal team, but they made a mutual agreement months ago about parting ways. His representation of Dr. Ford merely “accelerated” the departure. [National Law Journal]

    * Will President Trump fire Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein over his reported comments about wearing a wire before the midterms and Kavanaugh’s prospective confirmation? Trump’s GOP allies want him to wait before anything else gets muddled. [CNN]

  • Morning Docket: 09.21.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.21.18

    * Lawyers for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford say that she’s “prepared to testify next week” before the Senate Judiciary Committee on her allegations of sexual assault against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, but not on Monday (an “arbitrary” date), and only under “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.” [CNN]

    * Everyone and their mother and their dog who’s been caught up in the Kavanaugh controversy has lawyered up. Patrick Smyth, one of SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s former high school classmates who was reportedly at the party where Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was allegedly assaulted, has hired Kobre & Kim to represent him. [American Lawyer]

    * “Cohen’s disavowal of Trump has triggered a series of events that turned once very good friends into permanent enemies.” Michael Cohen has been chatting with Robert Mueller, and his conversations have focused on Trump’s dealings with Russia, possible collusion, and whether he’s ever discussed a pardon with Trump. [ABC News]

    * When it comes to Wachtell, “[i]t may be the last true partnership,” but that’s not how 87-year-old “Poison Pill” creater Martin Lipton sees things. “If I wasn’t here tomorrow, the firm wouldn’t be any different,” he says, because he wants to pass everything on to the next generation of lawyers in the future. [Big Law Business]

    * $26.5 million can buy you lots of fancy things, including a law school. The University of Alabama School of Law will now be known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at the University of Alabama after Culverhouse donated the largest gift in the school’s history. Congratulations and ROLL TIDE! [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

    * For the first time in history, there are more women than men at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. Fifty-two percent of BYU Law’s first-year students are women. According to the dean of admissions, applications increased by 6.7 percent this year, with a nearly 21 percent rise among women. [Daily Herald]

    * The trial for Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia, who are accused in the 2014 murder of FSU Law professor Dan Markel, was scheduled for October 8, but it’s been delayed due to a defense attorney’s medical treatment. [Tallahassee Democrat]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.20.18

    * Unfortunately, this story that Yale professors felt women needed to have a physical “type” to clerk for Brett Kavanaugh isn’t terribly surprising. We’ve been hearing these same rumblings from others — it seems people have started to come forward and be identified (at least to the reporters) about this kind of talk. [Huffington Post]

    * CLOC thinks Australia is ready for its “Legal Operations moment.” When is that moment going to come to the US? Because all I see are firms raising fees and in-house offering very little but muted disappointment. [Corporate Counsel]

    * The judge and attorneys for the WWE are pushing back against the lawyer for a 53-person class alleging the WWE ignored the threat of concussions for years. The operative term is “for years” as in “so long ago that it’s time-barred.” But the class is following the NFL CTE suit’s lead in trying to get around that. [American Lawyer]

    * Papa John heading to court to battle his old company. A serious question: is it really that important to make bad commercials with Peyton Manning again? Just sit this one out. [Law.com]

    * Mark Cuban to donate $10 million to the advancement of women’s athletics as part of a series of overarching reforms to address harassment findings within the Dallas Mavericks organization (Disclaimer that Mark’s brother Brian is an Above the Law columnist). [Law360]

    * Trump’s declared election interference a national emergency. But as you might expect it doesn’t actually do much that might upset King Putin. [Lawfare]

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  • Morning Docket: 09.19.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.19.18

    * Credit card companies ponying up more money to settle claims that they rogered retailers on swipe fees. They’ll probably make that money back in 3 days so don’t shed too many tears. [Law360]

    * Mark Judge brings on Cozen in the off chance Grassley develops a spine and demands Judge’s testimony. Which he won’t. [National Law Journal]

    * Former Cadwalader chair sues wife to block condo sale to bail out adult son. [NY Post]

    * The SEC is looking to futz with the Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions, which should help us get back to that cozy world where financial interests can easily plunge the economy into turmoil again. [National Law Journal]

    * Facebook accused of gender bias in keeping job listings away from female users. [Corporate Counsel]

    * Right-wing attorney Jason Lee Van Dyke arrested on filing a false police report charge. [Daily Beast]

    * Supreme Court overrules John Roberts and pushes back against dark money shenanigans. Consider this a brief respite until Kavanaugh shows up. [Courthouse News Service]

  • Morning Docket: 09.18.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.18.18

    * There will be new Kavanaugh hearings on Monday… if he’s still the nominee by then. [CNBC]

    * Have you heard about how Christine Blasey Ford’s parents lost a case in front of Kavanaugh’s mom and that’s why she has it in for him? Yeah… it’s not true. [Snopes]

    * Kavanaugh has hired Beth Wilkinson. [Law & Crime]

    * Anita Hill lawyers offer advice for the upcoming hearings. Personally, I think Ron Klain has the best advice. [National Law Journal]

    * If you’re going to get sanctioned, try and get sanctioned with a client willing to pay. [Forbes]

    * Gary Cohn is sick and tired of people blaming Wall Street for things that were demonstrably Wall Street’s fault. The fact that this guy is being treated as having been the “smart” Trump guy is an indictment in and of itself. [Reuters]

    * While you weren’t looking, Dentons got even bigger. [Law.com]

  • Morning Docket: 09.17.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.17.18

    * Sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were recently brought to light and while he may be spending his time “hoping and praying” before the vote, his supporters say it’s highly likely he’ll be confirmed anyway. [Big Law Business]

    * Well, except for the fact that senators are calling for the delay of Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote now that his accuser has come forward to reveal the details of the judge’s alleged attack on her when they were students in high school. [NBC News]

    * And was Judge Kavanaugh a member of Judge Alex Kozinski’s sexually explicit “Easy Rider Gag List”? Kavanaugh says he doesn’t remember receiving any of those emails, but Heidi Bond, one of Kozinski’s former law clerks, thinks that there could be a very easy way to find out if the would-be SCOTUS justice is lying. [Slate]

    * The most controversial Biglaw firm? Federal prosecutors are considering bringing charges against former Skadden partner Greg Craig and taking action against the firm itself in a probe related to Paul Manafort. Will the prestigious Biglaw firm wind up with a civil settlement or a deferred prosecution agreement? [CNN]

    * Shearman & Sterling has announced that the firm will soon bring Sandra Bang, its first-ever chief diversity and talent strategy officer, into its C-suite. She’ll be leading a new global task force aimed at increasing diversity at the Wall Street firm. Congratulations! Perhaps additional firms will follow their lead. [American Lawyer]

    * The body of Brian Lewinstein, the rising second-year student at Berkeley Law who crossed a safety line and fell while trying to get a picture of Toketee Falls from above, has been found. More than a month had passed since the accident occurred. Our sincere condolences go out to all of his family and friends. [SFGate]

  • Morning Docket: 09.14.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.14.18

    * Paul Manafort pleading guilty. Because… witch hunt or something. [CNN]

    * Brett Kavanaugh could “halt or reverse our progress toward gay equality.” Is this all it takes to get an op-ed in a mega circulation paper these days? Just say obvious stuff? I’ve really been overthinking this. [USA Today]

    * Betsy DeVos reversing campus rape rules to make Baylor great again. [Law.com]

    * Bill Brewer bounced from NRA case because it was absolutely the right thing to do. [Washington Post]

    * A close look at three law-abiding people who are about to be converted to “illegal” humans by this administration. [Courthouse News Service]

    * Tish James will be New York’s next Attorney General and all she had to do to win was promise not to use the powers of the Attorney General. [Law360]

  • Morning Docket: 09.13.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.13.18

    * Brett Kavanaugh admits he played dice, but not for money. If you believe that, I’ve got some $80K baseball tickets to sell you. [Huffington Post]

    * When you hear about people ignoring authorities and remaining in the path of a hurricane, you may not think of lawyers, but some attorneys in the path of Florence are embracing the opportunity to finally get some work done. [Law.com]

    * El Chapo’s lawyer may have a conflict of interest. Saul Goodman couldn’t be reached for comment. [NY Post]

    * D.C. Circuit set to hear case about the IRS’s obligation to turn over Trump’s tax returns. This is another of those cases where losing is its own victory — the tax returns are almost certainly less interesting than how aggressively he’s fighting this. [National Law Journal]

    * Alyssa Milano partners with the Vera Institute of Justice promoting the SAFE Families Fund to protect immigrant families targeted by the government. [San Diego Union Tribune]

    * Trump’s divorce lawyer has sold a tell-all book. That’s either a marketing lie or he has some client confidentiality issues. [Page Six]

    * “Strangely my most memorable case was also in some respects my least enjoyable” — the best way to make a mark is to leave a scar. [Legal Cheek]

  • Morning Docket: 09.12.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.12.18

    * Law schools in North and South Carolina have canceled classes for the foreseeable future so that students, faculty, and staff can evacuate the area and hunker down before Hurricane Florence arrives. Please be careful and stay safe, everyone. [Law.com]

    * President Trump is eager to choose Emmet Flood to succeed Don McGahn as the next White House counsel. Ty Cobb, one of Trump’s former lawyers, is in Flood’s camp because he’s “battled investigations from the White House before—[and] that’s what will be coming.” [Wall Street Journal]

    * Earlier this week, Bob Woodward said that former Trump attorney John Dowd told the president he couldn’t testify in the Russia investigation because he’s “disabled” and “can’t tell the truth.” That sounds just about right. [People]

    * The University of California Berkeley School of Law may soon be doing away with almost all references to John Henry Boalt thanks to his racist views. Public comment on the issue will close on Halloween, and then Dean Erwin Chemerinsky may formally apply to dename Boalt Hall. Let’s see what happens with this one. [ABA Journal]

    * “This is clear interference with an ongoing criminal investigation.” Representatives from the New York state tax department reportedly met with Michael Cohen’s attorney yesterday over the objections of Southern District of New York. [CNN]

    * A family of conspiracy theorists: Donald Trump Jr. says he’s not worried about going to jail as a result of Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, but “[t]hat doesn’t mean they won’t try to create something” that could put him in jail. [USA Today]

  • Morning Docket: 09.10.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.10.18

    * Fun fact of the day: According to David Brock, a onetime member of “Kavanaugh’s cabal,” the D.C. Circuit judge has an “unhealthy obsession with the Clintons — especially Hillary.” He urges senators to vote no on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. [NBC News]

    * After repeatedly denying that he had an affair with Stormy Daniels, President Donald Trump now says he he “will not bring any action, proceeding, or claim” against her for speaking out despite her nondisclosure agreement. All she has to do is give back the $130,000 hush-money payment she received from Michael Cohen. [Washington Post]

    * The Democratic Coalition has lodged a perjury complaint against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh with the Justicec Department, and will soon file an ethics complaint with the D.C. Circuit. Oh, the irony that the grievance will be reviewed by SCOTUS nominee in waiting, Chief Judge Merrick Garland. [Mediaite

    * President Trump will provide sworn answers to written questions in the defamation suit filed by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos. Considering Marc Kasowitz thinks his client is “immune” from this suit, things could get interesting. [Reuters]

    * The U.S. legal sector has lost jobs for the second month in a row, and legal employment is now slightly down year-over-year. Hopefully these job numbers rebound, because law schools have started accepting record class sizes again. [American Lawyer]