Orrick

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.08.19

* Paul Manafort got 4 years out of a possible 24. A lot of breathless ranting will come out of this but the reality is 4 years is a significant amount of time to be incarcerated and the guidelines are crazy. Don't be mad that Manafort got too little, be mad that the system generally (and Judge Ellis in particular) unquestioningly applies the guidelines to give far too much to poor and minority defendants. [CNN] * Frankly, the charges that should earn Manafort heavy jail time are the charges of lying to the Mueller probe because that's where there's a significant interest in setting punitive disincentives. And Judge Jackson may have a very different view on how "otherwise blameless" Manafort's been. [Daily Beast] * While we're on these never-ending Trump orbit stories, Michael Cohen is suing Trump for legal fees since, he points out, all his problems stem from work he did in the official course of his duties. [New York Law Journal] * Wearing a disguise to court is totally normal lawyer behavior. [New York Times] * Orrick joins the $1B revenue club. [The Recorder] * Remember the drunken airline rant lady? She's facing jail time. [Legal Cheek] * George Mason receives largest gift in school history, but it'll never match the gift they gave prospective students the ATL community when they descriptively renamed their law school ASS Law. [Inside Higher Ed]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.13.17

* The Supreme Court, without any dissents, has allowed the Trump administration's refugee ban to stand while the case proceeds, temporarily staying a Ninth Circuit ruling to the contrary. As my colleague Elie Mystal wondered yesterday, "Why is Kennedy stepping on the Ninth Circuit here? Why do any of them want this?" [New York Times] * Not that recommending prosecutions is part of her job, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders thinks that the Justice Department might want to prosecute former FBI director James Comey because his leaks "were improper and likely could have been illegal." [Washington Post] * "It's going to be death by a thousand cuts if people keep leaving at this rate." Ropes & Gray seems to be leaking partners like a sieve. In fact, 19 partners have parted ways with the firm since this past January. Not to worry, because according to management this is fine. [Legal Week] * Lynne Hermle, a partner in the labor and employment practice group at Orrick, thinks that in-house counsel need to adopt their own versions of the Mansfield Rule when hiring and staffing their trial teams. Why not have a woman lead your trial team? Juries tend to listen to them. [Business Insider] * Rob Ranco, a Texas personal injury attorney who landed himself on the front page of Breitbart last week after tweeting that he'd "be ok if #BetsyDevos was sexually assaulted," resigned from his firm, agreeing with his managing partner that he'd crossed "a line that simply cannot be uncrossed." [Law.com]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.12.17

* Biglaw's about to get hit hard by an economic downturn. [Law.com] * Looks like Ralph Baxter is announcing a run for congress this afternoon. [Am Law Daily] * Dewey think a 4 year sentence sounds fair? [Law360] * Judge calls fee request "attempted bank robbery." This is why you never request fees while wearing a rubber Nixon mask and carrying a shotgun. [Law.com] * Fascinating overview of the complex fight over Cravath's efforts to block victims from getting previously produced discovery materials. [Litigation Daily] * An interview with Ben Brafman, including a delightful explanation of why he has the hardest job in the world. [Coverage Opinions] * California moving to limit access of federal immigration officials to those in the state court system. [The Recorder] * What schools do the best job of placing AGs, SGs, United States Attorneys, and federal judges? The answer will absolutely not shock you at all. [Empirical SCOTUS]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.30.17

* "Gimmie an L!" Antitrust suit brought by Oakland Raiders cheerleaders dismissed. On the bright side, they're all losing their jobs to a bunch of Vegas "dancers" soon anyway. [Litigation Daily] * Cleary prevailed in the discrimination suit brought against it, but the real story here is a reminder that Trump made a dating show and now he has nuclear codes. [Law.com] * Russian bank sues Buzzfeed over "Pissgate," which is really more of a "Pissghazi." [Courthouse News Service] * The biggest 400 law firms in the country. Did we really need to go all the way to 400? [Law360] * Speaking of accolades you didn't think we needed, Wilmer Hale is the D.C. Litigation Department of the Year. [National Law Journal] * Ralph Baxter is toying with a congressional run in West Virginia. So... somebody expects a 2018 Democratic wave. [Am Law Daily] * How to reform the MDL process? Get more judges involved. [Corporate Counsel]

By Joe Patrice