Morning Docket

  • Morning Docket: 04.01.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.01.16

    * According to a statement released by the RIAA, hundreds of musicians and songwriters — like Katy Perry, for example — have called on Congress to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Safe-harbor clauses are absolutely killing the artists’ bottom line, and something must be done. [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter]

    * “[M]any law firms have had breaches, which they’ve kept quiet.” Following the news that Cravath and Weil Gotshal had been victims of data breaches, Edelson, a plaintiff’s side firm, announced it would be filing class-action suits against 15 major Biglaw firms with cybersecurity problems. We can’t wait to find out which ones will be on the receiving end of these complaints. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Being the world’s first publicly traded law firm has turned out to be quite the debacle for Slater & Gordon. First, the Australian firm announced market losses of about $740 million, citing “underperformance in U.K. operations,” and now its general counsel has decided to throw in the towel after only two months on the job. Ouch. [Am Law Daily]

    * “I have lost my faith in the potential for the Law School or its curriculum to put out people who care deeply about things.” Members of Harassment/Assault Law-School Team, a student group that advocates for sexual assault victims, aren’t impressed with Harvard Law’s inaction on educating students about sexual assault. [Harvard Crimson]

    * How can we guarantee educators are being honest about graduates’ job prospects? Based on the results of the Corinthian Colleges fiasco and the Alaburda v. TJSL trial, it seems like “[s]trict disclosure rules for all schools would be better than lawsuits and government aid as a way to ensure educator honesty.” [DealBook / New York Times]

  • Morning Docket: 03.31.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.31.16

    * William Shatner has found himself at the center of a $170 million paternity lawsuit that was filed by a radio DJ who claims the actor had a fling with his biological mother. If we’d been able to reach him for comment, we imagine Shatner would’ve said something like this for himself: “Oh my… God I am… not… the father.” [People Magazine]

    * Judge Rosemary Collyer of the D.C. District Court may not have the name recognition some of her colleagues do, but she’s had a hand in some of the most newsworthy cases we’ve seen in recent years. The “systemically important” judge just added another notch to her high-profile belt by stripping MetLife of its “too big to fail” label. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “When your basic human needs are at stake, you should have a lawyer to protect those needs. The consequences are too great.” Eighteen states are considering bills that would ensure legal representation for low-income people in certain civil cases, such as matters involving eviction, foreclosure, child custody, and involuntary commitment. [ABC News]

    * Earlier this week, Debevoise & Plimpton launched the Debevoise Women’s Review, a site that will aim to focus on the achievements of women lawyers and business professionals. The site will concentrate on “the development, retention and promotion of female professionals.” Way to go, Debevoise! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * More and more law schools are completely overhauling their coursework in an effort to put more butts in seats, and make sure those butts are prepared for law practice after graduation. Some schools have even significantly reduced tuition costs. For example, students can now attend Elon Law for the low, low flat rate of $100K. [U.S. News]

  • Morning Docket: 03.30.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.30.16

    * An odd order? Perhaps in an attempt to avoid yet another 4-4 split in a controversial case, SCOTUS justices have ordered parties on both sides of the contraceptive coverage battle in Zubik to file briefs describing how such coverage could be provided without religious groups having to put forth much effort to formally object. [Associated Press]

    * “It’s mind bogglingly obvious, but often gets lost in the mix. Apart from checking there aren’t any conflicts, clients are rarely put at the heart of these mergers.” Go figure, but according to a new report by professional services consultancy Gulland Padfield, law firm mergers usually don’t benefit clients in any way, shape, or form. [Am Law Daily]

    * It seems that Russian cybercriminal “Oleras” has hired hackers to break into the computer systems of 48 Biglaw firms so he can collect confidential client data and then trade on the stolen insider information. Thus far, he’s been unsuccessful. Has your law firm been targeted? If you’d like to know, check the list here. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

    * The NFL is so pissed that the New York Times recently published a story linking the league to the tobacco industry that it not only wrote a two-part rebuttal that was more than 3000 words long, but it also sicced Paul Weiss attorneys on the paper of record in search of a retraction, claiming that the story was defamatory in nature. [Yahoo! Sports]

    * “I will not go down. I want Bill Cosby in court.” A Los Angeles judge has ruled that model Janice Dickinson’s defamation case against Bill Cosby can move forward so that a jury can decide whether her allegations of rape are truthful, and further, whether a “liar” comment made by the comedian’s ex-lawyer, Marty Singer, was defamatory. [Telegram]

  • Morning Docket: 03.29.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.29.16

    * Legal showdown averted (for now): the feds were able to access the data on the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone without any help from Apple. [Washington Post]

    * A Harvard Law School grad stands accused of a $95 million fraud scheme — yikes. We’ll have more on this later. [ABA Journal]

    * Does a sentencing delay violate the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial? Some on SCOTUS seem skeptical. [How Appealing]

    * Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announces his intention to veto the Free Exercise Protection Act, which critics claimed would have protected discrimination as a form of religious liberty. [New York Times]

    * Hillary Clinton takes Republicans to task for their handling of the current Supreme Court vacancy. [Wisconsin State Journal via How Appealing]

    * Some thoughts from Professor Noah Feldman on the recent Seventh Circuit ruling about the use of form contracts on the internet (which nobody reads). [Bloomberg View]

    * Save money (on taxes), live better: a federal judge strikes down a tax levied by Puerto Rico on mega-retailer Wal-Mart. [Reuters]

    * The Bracewell law firm, now sans Giuliani, elects Gregory Bopp as its new managing partner. [Texas Lawyer]

  • Morning Docket: 03.28.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.28.16

    * Kimberly Kitchen, the woman who was parading around and pretending to be a lawyer for a decade before she was caught in the act, was recently convicted of forgery, unauthorized practice of law, and felony records tampering. On the bright side, at least she doesn’t have six figures worth of law school debt to worry about right now. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * President Obama published an op-ed in praise of SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland on AL.com, pleading with Alabamians to let their senators know that it’s their duty to give Scalia’s would-be replacement a hearing and a vote, lest we “jeopardize our system of justice, hurt our democracy, and betray the vision of our founding.” [AL.com]

    * Who is the real Merrick Garland? Not only does he have a “résumé that makes you want to cry,” but he’s also a pretty endearing gent. He used to want to be a doctor, he loves singing show tunes, and he was once so nervous when officiating a wedding that he began the ceremony before the bride even walked down the aisle. [New York Times]

    * “We are heartened by this development and look forward to the Committee making this request directly … as is standard practice.” Republicans may be willing to accept Merrick Garland’s nominee questionnaire, but the White House has yet to receive one from Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley or Senator Patrick Leahy. [BuzzFeed]

    * Judge Pamela A.M. Campbell, who presided over Hulk Hogan v. Gawker, has had more decisions reversed on appeal than any other judge in her county, but “a judge who’s not afraid to make a decision and a not afraid to be reversed, is quite naturally going to be reversed more, and that doesn’t mean the judge is not a good judge.” [Tampa Bay Times]

    * A judge has ruled that Ropes & Gray, the firm that once represented ex-New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez, must turn over the murder convict’s cellphone to his new attorneys so they can analyze it for his defense in the double murder case he’s being prosecuted for by the Suffolk County DA’s Office in Massachusetts. [Boston Herald]

  • Morning Docket: 03.25.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.25.16

    * The “best way to get a handle on a circuit judge’s judicial philosophy is to look at the judge’s concurrences and dissents,” but that’s a bit problematic in Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s case — in his 19 years on the D.C. Circuit, he’s only dissented 16 times. That’s less than one dissent for each year he’s been on the bench. We’d probably be able to get to know him better if he got a hearing. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Recent law school graduates aren’t thrilled about their life choices: Per a survey of more than 7,000 law school alumni, less than half of those who graduated since 2000 “strongly agreed” that if given the chance, they’d choose to go to law school again, and just 20 percent “strongly agreed” that law school was worth the cost. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “[L]aw schools systematically deceived students with misleading statistics, with the blessing of the American Bar Association.” The jury’s verdict in the Alaburda v. TJSL case continues a long history of law schools being left unaccountable and off the hook for their disingenuous employment and salary statistics. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * “I was not ‘instructed’ to strike black jurors so much as I was advised or encouraged to do so as a matter of trial strategy.” Assistant District Attorney Nathan Wood of Wharton County, Texas, has accused his boss of excluding black residents from juries in criminal cases to improve the prosecution’s odds of receiving guilty verdicts. [Houston Chronicle]

    * One week after resigning from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court over his role in the infamous “Porngate” scandal, citing “disgust” with his conduct, former Justice Michael Eakin was fined $50,000 by the state’s Judicial Conduct Board. At least Eakin will be able to keep his state pension, with an estimated $140K annual value. [Associated Press]

  • Morning Docket: 03.24.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.24.16

    * “If you give a judge a meeting, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk, because he is probably very thirsty from that one time you compared him to Idi Amin.” In light of the stranglehold Republicans have on Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s fate when it comes to his confirmation hearings, Dahlia Lithwick composed this cute riff on the children’s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. [Slate]

    * In an attempt to get with the times, Vermont Law is offering a Reduced-Residency Juris Doctor program, where students will be able to take up to 15 credits online in an off-campus location. Unfortunately, this flexibility comes at a price — the same exact price as the school’s regular J.D. program. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

    * Considering the high tensions during oral arguments yesterday in Zubik v. Burwell, a legal battle having to do with the ACA’s contraceptives mandate, the Supreme Court seems poised to issue another 4-4 split decision in one of the most controversial cases this term. If that happens, the lower court ruling would be left intact. [New York Times]

    * The ABA Journal wants to know how much you paid in law school tuition. If you graduated before the cost of a three-year legal education was akin to a mortgage, please take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are. If you’re a recent graduate, you’ve got plenty of people to commiserate with about your hefty debt burdens. [ABA Journal]

    * “Did the Supreme Court make weed legal across America?” No, no it did not, and you must be stoned if you think that’s what the high court did in its decision, or lack thereof, in the Nebraska v. Colorado case that it begged off on earlier this week. For now, the federal legalization of marijuana is nothing more than just a pipe dream. [Inquisitr]

  • Morning Docket: 03.23.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.23.16

    * International Biglaw firms in Brussels are “just trying to soldier on” in the wake of the terror attacks that rocked the city yesterday morning. A White & Case secretary was on the metro train that was bombed, but she managed to escape from the wreckage unscathed. All lawyers and staff members have been accounted for and are alive and well. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Singer Kesha has appealed the decision of a judge who declined to void her contract with Sony Music, a record label where she claims she’d be forced to work with a producer who allegedly raped her. This time, her lawyer, Mark Geragos, has likened the pop star’s situation to slavery. Hmm… let’s see how well that goes over for her in court. [Reuters]

    * “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” For the first time since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 split decision along ideological lines. That very sentence could have a huge impact on some of the high court’s more significant cases for a year or more if Merrick Garland isn’t confirmed. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Professor Melissa Murray of UC Berkeley Law has been tapped to stand in as the school’s interim dean in the wake of Sujit Choudhry’s resignation following the news that he’d been named as a defendant in a sexual harassment suit. Law students chose Murray as their “overwhelming choice” for dean in a poll. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times]

    * Since the GRE is regarded as an easier test than the LSAT, and at least one school will no longer require it for admission, some pre-law students may be wondering whether they should bother to take the LSAT at all. Don’t be silly. Much like the word “fetch,” the GRE isn’t going to happen. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

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  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.22.16

    * WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER, WHEN THIS JURY’S PUNITIVE DAMAGES AWARD RUNS WILD ON YOU?!? Gawker was hit with an additional $25M in punitive damages yesterday in Hulk Hogan’s sex-tape lawsuit, on top of the $115M award the jury had already slapped the media company with last week. That loud typing sound you hear is the appeals being furiously written. [Reuters]

    * They were gonna grant you leave to file, but then they got high? The Supreme Court has puff, puff, passed on the opportunity to hear a challenge posed by Nebraska and Oklahoma to Colorado’s legalization of marijuana. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented, contending that the case fell within the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction. [NPR]

    * This took longer than the iOS 9 download: Hot on the heels of the announcement of new Apple products, we got the news that the tech giant and its rival, Samsung, will face off next term before SCOTUS in a patent case that’s been going on since the iPhone 4 was still considered the latest and greatest in smartphone technology. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “Once you start seeing leading law firms offering this, it’s going to become more prevalent and pretty rapidly, because it’s going to be required to compete.” Lawyers with law school debt will probably jump at the chance for their firms to pitch in to repay their loans, but don’t forget, all of that assistance will be taxable as income. [U.S. News]

    * “My job is to enforce the law, and starting today, DraftKings and FanDuel will abide by it.” In a settlement reached with New York AG Eric Schneiderman, the sports betting daily fantasy sites will cease operations in the state, and in exchange, the AG will hold off on additional litigation that could force them to pay restitution to their losers. [ESPN]

  • Morning Docket: 03.21.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.21.16

    * What’s the difference between the late Justice Antonin Scalia and Chief Judge Merrick Garland, his potential replacement? “[He] always sounds the same. Most of the time, he is very even-toned, not aggressive.” For starters, Scalia’s dissents were usually fiery and entertaining, while Garland’s dissents tend to be very respectful and courteous. [Washington Post]

    * “[T]here were errors and flaws in the way Thomas Jefferson carried out their research.” An expert retained by Anna Alaburda in her suit against Thomas Jefferson Law testified that the methods the law school used to collect grads’ job data were improper and could have caused some inaccurate info to be reported. [Courthouse News Service]

    * Donald Trump’s presidential campaign — and his path to the White House — may be interrupted by a pesky fraud trial over his now defunct real estate school. The Donald will likely be asked to testify by New York AG Eric Schneiderman, and if he pleads the Fifth, it could have YUGE implications on his defense strategy. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “When someone — or something — is going away, there are usually some people that want to get it before it goes away, for whatever reason.” Racist memorabilia? Harvard Law is trying to quickly eliminate all ties to its controversial shield, but its bookstore will be slowly selling off all remaining merchandise bearing the symbol. [Boston Globe]

    * “The average graduate cannot expect to make enough in the years following graduation to even hope to make a dent in the student loans they take on from going to law school. And that’s if they can even pass the bar and find a job as an attorney.” Law profs face buyouts, but their students aren’t in a much better position. [Northwest Indiana Times]

  • Morning Docket: 03.18.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.18.16

    * “In 2 to 4 years, a University administration will shut down a top law school and we may never see it coming.” Uh-oh! Is a top law school really going to close? This law professor seems to think so, and she’s pointing the finger at Minnesota Law, which has been experiencing a slew of financial troubles due to its enrollment issues. [Forbes]

    * “The employment numbers were very high in a huge economic downturn and it just felt suspicious. I decided to stand up for myself and others.” Anna Alaburda, who sued Thomas Jefferson School of Law over its allegedly deceptive job statistics, took the stand this week, where she spoke about her failed legal career. [Courthouse News Service]

    * “The record number of deals in 2015 is a reflection of the intense competition among law firms for new work, and we expect the market to remain hot in 2016.” Oh boy! If you think 2015 set a merger record, you ain’t seen nothing yet. We should apparently be expecting even more law firm merger mania this year. [Chicago Daily Law Bulletin]

    * Why on earth would a partner leave a firm like Munger Tolles, with profits per partner of $1.9 million, to go to a firm like Dentons, with profits per partner of $680,000, a considerably lesser amount? What’s in that Biglaw behemoth’s special sauce that’s so amazing? It’s the “irresistible” opportunities. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * As many of our readers have had the displeasure of experiencing firsthand, law school tuition can be absurdly expensive. If you’re wondering which school took home the prize of being the most expensive for the 2015-2016 school year, it’s Columbia Law, with a shocking sticker price of $62,700. Ouch, that’s painful. [U.S. News & World Report]

  • Morning Docket: 03.17.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.17.16

    * Been there, done that: The political standoff having to do with Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court is nothing new. When he was nominated to the D.C. Circuit by President Bill Clinton in September 1995, Senate Republicans refused to hold a confirmation vote for him until March 1997. If patience is a virtue, then Garland has got to be the most virtuous judge of them all. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Is he the “most anti-gun Supreme Court nomination in decades”? Conservative group Judicial Crisis Network plans to spend $2 million on an ad campaign in opposition to Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s SCOTUS nod, calling attention to his “history of general hostility to the Second Amendment,” as well as his vote in the Heller case. [POLITICO]

    * Greenberg Traurig has called off its merger talks with London-based Berwin Leighton Paisner, citing the firm’s “conservative approach to financial risk.” Executive chair Richard Rosenbaum penned a 540-word break-up letter announcing the bad news. The combined firm would’ve had more than 2,500 lawyers. [Big Law Businness / Bloomberg]

    * Finally! The California Supreme Court approved of changing the state’s grueling three-day bar exam to a two-day exam, effective 2017. The first test day will consist of five essays and a performance test, and the second day will be the MBE. Both days will be weighted equally, and test takers will surely be less stressed. [State Bar of California]

    * If you’ve started receiving law school admission offers, now is a great time to consider weighing your options for merit-based financial aid — carefully. If you wind up with a conditional scholarship offer, you better make sure to read all of the fine print, because if you don’t, you could wind up screwing yourself. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

  • Morning Docket: 03.16.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.16.16

    * President Obama will announce his pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia later this morning. Which member of the D.C. Circuit will he choose, Judge Sri Srinivasan or Judge Merrick Garland? America will find out at 11 a.m., and then the real political circus of trying to get a confirmation hearing will begin. [New York Times]

    * “Republicans know they can’t get away with complete and total obstruction, so they may try to set up a double standard.” Senate Republicans have refused to fill the vacancy left on the Supreme Court left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but it looks like more than 30 other federal judicial nominees may have been caught in the political fray. [AP]

    * After having a district court judge’s deferred compensation remedy slapped down by the Ninth Circuit, lawyers in the O’Bannon NCAA student-athlete pay case have asked the Supreme Court to grant certiorari. The lawyers involved “[feel] so strongly in the principles involved” that they don’t care if they lose their fees and costs. [USA Today]

    * A small victory for a washed-up Mean Girl? Lindsay Lohan has never really had much success when it comes to suing others on the basis of likeness appropriation, but a New York judge has refused to dismiss her case against Rockstar Games over a look-alike character in Grand Theft Auto V. You go, girl! [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter]

    * Per Lex Machina, after a slow 2014, patent litigation rose by 14.7 percent in 2015. What’s troubling to some lawyers, though, is that all of the action has migrated to Texas courts: “Why should this little corner that’s not particularly a hotbed of innovation have such an important role to play in patent law?” [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Talent agency Rebel Entertainment Partners is suing CBS, the TV station that airs “Judge Judy,” because it claims Judge Judy is taking in such a high salary that the network has been unable to dole out its contractually obligated payments. Although she’s not named in the suit, Judge Judy, full of sarcasm, says this is “hilarious.” [Variety]

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  • Morning Docket: 03.15.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.15.16

    * The Harvard Corporation agreed with the recommendation of Harvard Law’s faculty committee to scrap the official crest based on the sygil of a slaveowner. Will this address every instance of institutional racism? No. But that’s a pretty stupid reason to stick to a drawing. [Boston.com]

    * Good news for Steven Rattner: The SEC says the former Quadrangle chief can be an investment banker again! Will this interrupt his present career repeating Obama administration talking points on Morning Joe? [Law 360]

    * U.S. Biglaw offices in London have caught up to their U.K. peers in revenues and profits. When reached for comment, London Mayor Boris Johnson found some way to make this all the EU’s fault. [Legal Week]

    * Sullivan & Cromwell buys up its office building, making it one of the larger landlords in lower Manhattan. [The Am Law Daily]

    * What worries Trust & Estate partners? Mostly that there aren’t yet enough idle rich to keep the industry afloat now that everyone else moved online to write their wills. [Forbes]

    * Microsoft will have to reboot its GC position with Horacio Gutierrez moving to Spotify next month. [Corporate Counsel]

    * Congratulations to Camille Nelson, who will take up the deanship of American University Law School. [National Law Journal]

  • Morning Docket: 03.14.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.14.16

    * Now that the Supreme Court shortlist has been whittled down to just three appellate judges, people are speculating as to whether we’re on track to see our first Asian-American nominee. Sri Srinivasan, the front-runner whose “ethnic identity would be the real novel factor here,” could be the high court’s first Hindu justice. [Washington Post]

    * Those on the left, however, apparently have objections to Judge Srinivasan’s nomination. During his time at both O’Melveny & Myers and the DOJ, he supported companies accused of gross human rights abuses — a “deeply disturbing” record for someone being considered for SCOTUS. [The Hill]

    * Oopsie! Somebody wasted $250K! On Friday, Judicial Crisis Network launched an ad campaign against Judge Jane Kelly of the Eighth Circuit’s possible nomination to the nation’s highest court. You can “[t]ell your senator Jane Kelly doesn’t belong on the Supreme Court” all you want, but this is a bit of a moot point now. [POLITICO]

    * Since “simply claiming that an attorney’s conduct was fraudulent does not allow plaintiffs to circumvent attorney immunity,” the Fifth Circuit tossed a suit alleging that Proskauer Rose and Chadbourne & Parke helped to conceal R. Allen Stanford’s $7.2B Ponzi scheme. Stanford is serving a 110-year sentence. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

    * You snooze, you lose: “[W]e find it impossible not to conclude that [Nikita] Mackey slept, and was therefore not functioning as a lawyer during a substantial portion of the trial.” The Fourth Circuit vacated a man’s conviction and 30-year sentence because his lawyer slept “almost every day” of his trial, for at least 30 minutes. [WSJ Law Blog]

  • Morning Docket: 03.11.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.11.16

    * Hooray, this study says it’s a great time to be a lawyer! According to career website Glassdoor, lawyers are the second-highest paid professionals in the country, with a median base salary of $144,500. See, everybody, you’ll be able to pay off your six-figure law school debt in no time! You’re probably rich! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * John Oliver of “Last Week Tonight” trademarked the word “Drumpf” ahead of the humorous segment on his show, and he turned to Kenyon & Kenyon to get the job done. The comedian was apparently trying to keep it in the “Daily Show” family with his choice of legal representation — as we’ve noted before, Kenyon’s managing partner is Stephen Colbert’s older brother. [Am Law Daily]

    * Here’s a ranking that’ll be useful for prospective law students and legal professionals who love being boastful: Which law schools have the highest percentage of graduates who pass the bar exam on the first try? You may legitimately be surprised by the placement of some of the law schools on this list. We’ll have more on this later. [AL.com]

    * “The tone of the brief reads like an indictment.” The Justice Department filed a pretty feisty response to Apple in its legal battle over the encryption of an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple’s GC says the DOJ lawyers are now “so desperate” to get what they want that they’ve “thrown all decorum to the wind.” [CNBC]

    * U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York will have to face a lawsuit filed by David Ganek of Level Global Investors, once a $4 billion hedge fund, over allegations that the federal prosecutor’s office filed a misleading affidavit and fabricated evidence as part of an insider trading probe that resulted in the fund failing. [Newsday]

  • Morning Docket: 03.10.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.10.16

    * Justice Elizabeth Warren? While that may have a nice ring to it for some, given the extreme political gridlock that any Supreme Court nominee — much less someone who’s considered a staunch Democrat — will be subjected to in the Senate, it’s just not something that’s ever likely to happen during President Obama’s last term. [CNN]

    * Not that he was a very likely choice to begin with, but Judge Adalberto Jordan of the Eleventh Circuit has asked that he be taken out of consideration for a Supreme Court nomination to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. He would’ve been the Court’s first Cuban-American justice if appointed and confirmed. [Associated Press]

    * Senator Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary, says the nominee is “totally irrelevant,” he’s not going to consider giving anyone a hearing — not even Judge Jane Kelly of the Eighth Circuit, who he strongly supported just years earlier when she was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for her current position. [Gazette of Cedar Rapids]

    * More than 100 corporate lawyers from firms like Paul Weiss, Arent Fox, and Bradley Arant signed a letter urging Senate Republicans to fill the empty SCOTUS seat. After all, a lengthy vacancy could create “uncertainty for the financial industry, major corporate employees, as well as small businesses,” also known as their clients. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * According to a report by IT security company TruShield, the legal industry was heavily targeted by cyber threats in January. The only reason law firms didn’t suffer any serious setbacks is because they’ve invested in network security. For a profession that really loathes new technologies, we’re doing A-okay. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

  • Morning Docket: 03.09.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.09.16

    * According to a statement filed in court by 50 Cent, the cash the bankrupt rapper has been flashing in all of his Instagram photos isn’t real. He claims the bills he was posing with were just props. Unfortunately, it seems that Fiddy is a wanksta, so he really needs to stop fronting. [Hartford Courant]

    * Not that she was a likely choice to begin with, but AG Loretta Lynch says that a Supreme Court nomination would “curtail her effectiveness in her current role,” and has graciously asked that she not be considered for the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia. [Associated Press]

    * “I am very concerned about the harm caused to the law school, our students, and our alums by the inaccurate info being put out there.” Dean Michael Schwartz of Arkansas School of Law (Little Rock) seems worried about Professor Robert Steinbuch’s FOIA lawsuit seeking access to the school’s admissions data. Wonder why… [Campus Reform]

    * From the Big House to the White House: more ex-convicts are heading to law school and successfully starting their lives anew. Christopher Poulos, for example, used to be a cocaine dealer who did time in federal prison, but he recently completed an internship with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. [Washington Post]

    * “I never had a problem with the article. My problem is the videotape. It’s on the Internet. It lives forever.” Hulk Hogan (aka Terry Bollea) took the stand yesterday in his invasion-of-privacy case against Gawker, and his testimony became “extremely explicit” as his sex life and sex organs were discussed at length and in detail. [USA Today]

  • Morning Docket: 03.08.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.08.16

    * This peeping Tom better have a big bankroll: A jury awarded sportscaster Erin Andrews $55 million in her case against a stalker who recorded unauthorized nude videos of her in a hotel. Defense attorneys seem peeved that she won since her “career skyrocketed” and wasn’t completely destroyed by the incident. [NBC News]

    * “[W]e are sort of reaching the height of the most frustrating part of this process for those of you who are trying to cover it.” Even if the judges purportedly being vetted for a Supreme Court nomination had visited the White House to speak with President Obama, the public would never know it thanks to the strict secrecy protocols involved. [CNN]

    * Despite the fact that most Supreme Court justices don’t themselves read the numerous amicus curiae briefs filed in support of the cases being heard before the high court, according to a new study, it takes an “amicus machine” — including amicus wranglers and whisperers — and a lot of hard work to get them into shape. [New York Times]

    * Uh-oh… some 4-4 ideological splits may be in our future this Term. In the wake of Justice Scalia’s death, Justice Alito and Justice Thomas seem to have decided to team up to stabilize the Supreme Court’s conservative wing, joining in each other’s dissents from the majority’s unsigned opinions in otherwise routine matters. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * February may have been a great month for those with Leap Day birthdays, but it was pretty terrible for the legal profession. Per the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, 1,500 jobs were lost last month. In other news, we’ve not yet fully recovered from the recession in terms of employment numbers. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

  • Morning Docket: 03.07.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.07.16

    * “I’ve taught immigration law literally to 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds.” Immigration Judge Jack H. Weil seems to think that children facing deportation don’t need court-appointed attorneys because they’re perfectly capable of representing themselves. We’ll have more on this later. [Washington Post]

    * “[T]his will be the first time a law school will be on trial to defend its public employment figures.” It’s taken five years, but Anna Alaburda will finally get to face off in court against Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Soon we’ll find out if the word “allegedly” can stop being used as a prefix for the school’s allegedly deceptive job statistics. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * If President Obama nominates Judge Jane Kelly of the Eighth Circuit for a seat on SCOTUS, then Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) of the Senate Judiciary Committee could be in a pickle. Would Kelly, a longtime Iowa public defender, be refused a hearing even though Grassley supported her when she was appointed in 2013? [Des Moines Register]

    * The Alabama Supreme Court begrudgingly dismissed suits filed by conservative groups seeking a ruling declaring that the state’s anti-gay marriage laws were still in effect, despite the SCOTUS decision in Obergefell. In a concurrence at odds with reality, Chief Justice Roy Moore held fast to his belief that the state’s law was still intact. [AL.com]

    * As we mentioned previously, the American Bar Association will vote on a change to its bar passage rate rules for law schools. Schools notorious for their bar passage problems better hold onto their hats if this proposal is passed, because their accreditation may quickly turn out to be like their graduates’ job prospects: nonexistent. [WSJ Law Blog]