Murder

* In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, Brendan Dassey — one of the subjects of the Netflix hit documentary “Making a Murderer” — had his conviction overturned on Friday. In his ruling, Judge William Duffin cited the misconduct of Dassey’s trial lawyer as “indefensible.” He’ll be released from prison within 90 days. [Reuters]

* “I wasn’t a pedophile. I wasn’t a preferential sex predator. I wasn’t the monster I was made out to be.” Seeking a new trial, ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky is arguing ineffective assistance of counsel thanks to his lawyer’s decision to keep him off the stand and allow him to take a televised interview with Bob Costas. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Uh-oh! Even after an enormous partner capital call of $18.1 million, it seems that King & Wood Mallesons may not be out of the woods just yet. The firm failed to make any partner profit distributions at the end of the month in July, and it’s “not painting a particularly positive picture” as to the overall health of the firm. [Big Law Business]

* ASU Law’s new school is set to open today in Phoenix, Arizona, and there will be a few special appearances from political and judicial hotshots to commemorate the very special occasion, including speeches from Senator John McCain and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the law school’s namesake. Congratulations! [Downtown Phoenix Journal]

* Meet Jerry Guerinot, the Texas defense attorney who’s earned the honor of being referred to as the “worst lawyer in the United States.” He’s represented about three dozen capital murder defendants over the course of 40 years and he has a perfect record — in that not a single one of his clients has been found innocent. [Houston Chronicle]

* Did Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court commit judicial misconduct when he instructed probate judges that the state’s same-sex marriage ban was still in effect despite the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell? The state’s Court of the Judiciary has set a date for a trial-like proceeding on the ethics charges Moore faces for late September. [ABC News]

* If you want to go to law school and you’ve got your heart set on a particular institution, it may be in your best financial interests to apply early decision. A few law schools are now offering significant scholarship opportunities to early applicants — in some cases, full tuition scholarships are being handed out. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

* “Even innocent clients may not benefit from the fraud of their attorney.” Chevron Corp. has prevailed in a long-running environmental law case set in an Ecuadorian rainforest. Lawyers for the oil and gas company convinced the Second Circuit that an $8.65 billion judgment was obtained through attorney Steven Donziger’s bribery and fraud. [Reuters]

* The family of slain Florida State law professor Dan Markel has accepted a $40,000 settlement from the Consolidated Dispatch Agency in connection with a wrongful death case. Due to an “error by dispatchers,” it took approximately 19 minutes for ambulances to arrive at Markel’s home as he lay dying after being shot. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* This is why indebted law students can’t have nice things: while the American Bar Association may have changed its tune when it comes to law students earning pay for credit-bearing externships, it will allow law schools to be the ultimate arbiters on whether academic credit will still be offered for these job placements. [Law.com]

* The gender discrimination case filed against Sedgwick is just the tip of the iceberg. There has been an uptick of suits filed against legal employers, and the growing publicity of the cases may lead to even more. [Law.com]

* Political robocalls might be annoying, but U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes has ruled they are protect speech under the First Amendment. [Wall Street Journal Law Blog]

* In a complaint to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the National Weather Service union claims management at the Weather Service illegally surveilled the union’s Facebook activities. [Washington Post]

* The judge dropped the murder charges against Ingmar Guandique who had been faces charges in the death of Chandra Levy. An intern in Washington, D.C., Levy’s disappearance in 2001 sparked national interest. [CNN]

* The Navy is naming a ship after LGBTQ leader, Harvey Milk. Milk served in the Navy, but had to hide his sexuality while he did so. He was active inSan Francisco politics, and was assassinated in 1978. [Huffington Post]

* Could it be? Could she really do such a thing? Rumor has it that Amal Clooney may be quitting her law firm job at Doughty Street Chambers to become a fashion designer for the likes of fashion house Oscar de la Renta. We may have more on this later today. [Inquisitr]

* Maryland’s AG intends to contest a ruling granting “Serial” podcast subject Adnan Syed a new trial, saying that the state would “defend what it believes is a valid conviction.” Syed has been servicing a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee since 2000. [Baltimore Sun]

* Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be behind bars for a 15-month term for attempting to conceal secret payments to his underage sexual assault victims in a cover-up scheme, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to fight a lawsuit seeking the full $3.5 million he allegedly said he would pay to buy a victim’s silence. [Chicago Tribune]

* Vermont Law School, which was hit relatively hard by the recession in terms of its ability to fill its seats, has applied for a $15 million loan from the federal government to help restructure its debts. Unlike what its students face in terms of their debt, the law school may be able to get a good interest rate upon approval. [VTDigger / Valley News]

* “[A]ttempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.” Congratulations (or perhaps condolences?) digital currency aficionados, because a judge just ruled that Bitcoin isn’t money for the purposes of money-laundering statutes. [WSJ Law Blog]

* It’s been exactly two years since FSU Law Professor Dan Markel was killed in an alleged murder-for-hire plot. He was locked in child-custody litigation with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, until the time of his death, and it is that litigation that is the suspected motive for his violent slaying. The Adelsons’ attorney suggests instead that perhaps some FSU students “had it in for [their] law professor.” [Sun Sentinel]

* In an effort to ensure criminal defendants receive competent representation, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced the Clarence Gideon Full Access to Justice Act, which would create the Defender Office for Supreme Court Advocacy. Per Justice Elena Kagan, a program like this would be an “enormous help to the system.” [Big Law Business]

* Husch Blackwell and Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek have officially completed their merger, and the combined firm, which will continue to be known as Husch Blackwell, has more than 700 lawyers. Now that the books are closed on the merger, maybe the firm will have time bring its associate salaries to market — or not. [Journal Sentinel]

* The recent outcome of the Microsoft data privacy case is a great example of what can happen when the law can no longer keep up with technology. Perhaps Congress will be inspired to update these old laws related to digital information that were first created when email was still considered a nascent technology. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Is getting a law degree still lucrative? Probably not, but despite the lawyer glut and fewer job opportunities for law school grads, there still exists a need for legal representation among the poor and working class. You may not be able to make a lot of money this way, but you may be able to help close the justice gap. [Clarion Ledger]

* Happy Friday! Let’s start by giving props to the firms that announced pay raises yesterday: Morgan Lewis, Andrews Kurth, Ashurst, Crowell & Moring, Orrick, and Dechert. [Above the Law / 2016 Salary Increase]

* Speaking of the Great Pay Raise of 2016, law firm leaders want to reassure irate in-house counsel: don’t worry, you won’t see this (directly) reflected in your rates. [Big Law Business]

* Biglaw Game of Thrones: who are the leading contenders to succeed Jeffrey Stone and Peter Sacripanti as co-chairs of McDermott? [American Lawyer]

* The Second Circuit plays a sad song for record companies in a closely watched copyright case. [How Appealing]

* And in other copyright news, SCOTUS (sorta) clarifies the standards for awarding attorneys’ fees in copyright cases. [New York Times]

* Look for indictments to issue from the grand jury in the Dan Markel murder case. [News4Jax]

* Noam Scheiber of the Times takes a close look at struggling Valparaiso Law — and it’s not a pretty picture. (Expect more on this later.) [New York Times]

* Ex-prosecutor gone bad: a Cleveland criminal defense attorney just got convicted after agreeing to launder thousands of dollars for someone he thought was a cocaine dealer. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]