Politics

* Sorry, bro, but one of them doesn’t like beer anymore: The Tenth Circuit denied 20 appeals of its earlier decision to dismiss misconduct complaints against now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, but this time, the panel was split, with one judge saying the “entire council should be disqualified.” [National Law Journal]

* “It’s not enough to legalize marijuana at the federal level — we should also help those who have suffered due to its prohibition.” If you’re a Democratic candidate running for president in 2020, you better be down with legalizing weed in the name of social justice. [New York Times]

* Preet Bharara, ex-U.S. attorney for the S.D.N.Y., knows his former coworkers could cause Trump trouble. They’re “very aggressive,” “very fearless,” “very independent,” and they don’t even “care about politics” — they’ll prosecute anyone. [NBC News]

* The National Women’s Hall of Fame recently announced its Class of 2019, and three lawyers of note were honored: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, and Native American tribal law expert Sarah Deer. [AP]

* According to a new new report from Thomson Reuters and Acritas, there’s a “disheartening” lack of diversity in corporate legal departments. Given how “diverse” law firms are, this isn’t exactly shocking news to anyone. [Corporate Counsel]

* Former Attorney General Eric Holder headed to Iowa earlier this week, but claims that he’s still deciding whether or not he’s going to throw his hat into the already crowded ring for the 2020 Democractic presidential nomination. [NPR]

* Michael Cohen was supposed to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday, but his testimony was postponed for the third time this month, this time “due to post surgery medical needs.” What’s he getting done before jail? [CNN]

* In the “mommy track” class-action lawsuit that was filed against Morrison & Foerster, the firm isn’t now claiming that its positive track record for supporting women and working parents contradicts claims that MoFo is actually discriminating against mothers and pregnant women behind closed doors. [The Recorder]

* It is possible to survive — and even thrive — in Biglaw while living with depression and other mental health disabilities. Mark Goldstein, counsel at Reed Smith, tells the tale of how his firm supported him through it all with open arms. [American Lawyer]

* Jones Day has once again been named by Acritas as the best law firm brand in the country. The firm was “proud” to take the top spot, but other firms like Skadden, which came in second place this year, are busy “catching up.” [Big Law Business]

* Carmel Prashker Ebb, the first woman to clerk for a federal appellate judge, RIP. [ABA Journal]

* “We take the allegations against Justin very seriously.” Justin Fairfax, the lieutenant governor of Virginia who’s embroiled in a sexual assault scandal, has taken a leave of absence from Morrison & Foerster, where he’s a partner, as the firm itself conducts its own investigation into the allegations. [National Law Journal]

* High revenue and even higher demand resulted in law firms posting their best results since just before the recession, with Am Law 50 and niche/boutique firms outperforming the rest of their industry counterparts. Unfortunately, all of this good news could come to an end in 2020… [American Lawyer]

* Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a former partner partner at Dorsey & Whitney and Gray Plant Mooty, has officially announced her candidacy for president, making her the fifth major player who’s a lawyer to join the Democratic race for 2020. [POLITICO]

* Thanks to the PBS show “Finding Your Roots,” Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently learned that he’s not the only lawyer in his family. The show helped him discover that his third great grandfather — a 1786 law graduate of the University of Granada — graduated 210 years before he graduated from Miami Law. [Tampa Bay Times]

* “This should be up to the highest court in the land. And she should stay out of jail until this case runs it course.” A lawyer for Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts woman who was convicted for involuntary manslaughter in her friend’s suicide-by-text, has vowed to take her case to the Supreme Court. [Boston Herald]

* Paul Weiss really showed its “commitment to putting the white in white shoe” with its new partnership class, and the New York Times is on it! See our coverage from December here. [New York Times]

* President Donald Trump recently met with a group of right-wing activists led by Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, where they criticized transgender people and women serving in the military. Trump reportedly looked “taken aback“ during the meeting, which is a bit of a rarity. [New York Times]

* Some pretty major lateral moves for some pretty major players when it comes to appellate practice: Lisa Blatt is returning to Williams & Connelly where she’ll lead the firm’s Supreme Court practice, and Kannon Shanmugam is leaving Williams & Connolly to lead a new Supreme Court practice at Paul Weiss. Congrats! [NLJ; NLJ]

* “I’m here to speak for the people who don’t have a voice.” Rappers Jay-Z and Meek Mill have launched the Reform Alliance, an initiative for criminal justice reform, with the goal of dramatically changing laws and policies to reduce “unreasonable” probation, parole, and prison terms. [CBS News]

* What happened to the people who were told that they passed the D.C. bar exam, when in reality they actually failed? “Just shock. I didn’t think that could happen. I never heard of a bar committee changing the results.” Here’s a bit of a depressing update. [Washington Post]

* Lawyers dominate quote of the year list. That’s not a good thing. [Law.com]

* Ninth Circuit warns district judges against issuing injunctions because fascism works through shaming not through edicts. [The Recorder]

* Debevoise and Covington have some ‘splaining to do in CBS case. [American Lawyer]

* Stand Your Ground law also applies to police which is obvious because it really just applies to “white people.” [NY Times]

* If you thought the Chief of Staff job couldn’t get dumber than Newt Gingrich, Jared Kushner’s here to raise the stakes. [Vanity Fair]

* Michael Avenatti not having a good run. [ABC News]

*The future of law firms… but UK style. [Legal Cheek]

* A fantasy from the fevered imagination of Lawprofblawg: playing the role of the Grinch who stole meetings. [Lawprofblawg]

* Joel Cohen wonders: should jurors be instructed about the possible inaccuracy of descriptions of forensic evidence in “cop show” television programs? [Law and Crime]

* David Oscar Markus isn’t afraid to take on tough cases — like defending embattled Secretary Alex Acosta in the court of public opinion. [Miami Herald via SDFLA Blog]

* Former federal defender Stephen Cooper does not mince words: “The prospective gassing of human beings in Alabama is an abomination.” [Alabama Political Reporter]

* Jerry Goldfeder and Lincoln Mitchell offer up this hypothetical (which sounds far-fetched, but never say never given the times in which we live): “What if Trump loses but refuses to leave the White House?” [New York Daily News]

* Looking for a special present for the legal nerd in your life? In addition to the items featured in the Above the Law holiday gift guide, check out the latest edition of the Solicitor General’s Style Guide. [Amazon (affiliate link)]

* Speaking of the Supreme Court, Adam Feldman takes a data-driven look at the recent spat between President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts over partisanship in the federal judiciary. [Empirical SCOTUS]