Privacy

* A considered case for pardoning Edward Snowden by Timothy Edgar, who was on the team responsible during the George W. Bush administration for determining that most of the secret surveillance programs had a firm basis in law. [Lawfare]

* The Virginia Supreme Court denied an effort by Republican legislators to find Governor McAuliffe in contempt over an effort to restore voting rights to felons. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

* The “Urban Cowboy” threatens to sue New York City. Most importantly, he’s lawyered up with Richard Luthmann, the Staten Island lawyer who previously sought trial by combat. This should be fun. [Gothamist]

* An omnibus look at what the election means for the courts. Beyond Justice Peter Thiel, of course. [Law.com]

* Many University of Chicago professors have denounced the “no safe spaces” publicity stunt from a few weeks ago, but the law school has largely missed the point of the dispute stayed out of the fray. [WSJ Law Blog]

* You don’t see many paeans to the Lochner era, but here’s one. [Library of Law and Liberty]

* Oregon has settled with Oracle over the state’s troubled health exchange. [Oregonlive]

* Walking meetings improve productivity. Yeah, I’ve watched West Wing reruns too. [TaxProf Blog]

* ATL Editor Kathryn Rubino talks politics on the latest Today’s Verdict. [BronxNet]

* Sixth Circuit decides farmers don’t need the Internet. It’s your move now, FarmersOnly.com lobbyists! [NY Times]

* The latest in the “Houston” law school showdown. [Houston Chronicle]

* In Trump U. litigation news, there’s a battle over who gets to be called an “expert” in a case about whether unqualified people pretended to be experts. [Courthouse News Service]

* Remember Kim Dotcom? He wants to livestream his legal battle, which seems a lot less interesting than what he used to put up. [USNWR]

* HSBC paying $13M in suits alleging improperly recorded debt-collection calls. [Law360]

* Robot lawyering spreads: The parking ticket battling algorithm moves to Seattle. [WTSP]

* “How do you cross-examine a computer?” I dunno, Ctrl-Alt-Delete? [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

* You graduated from law school with a Biglaw offer in hand, and you’re as happy as can be. A few months later, you receive the worst news possible for a young lawyer. After all of your hard work, you failed the bar exam. What happens now? It really depends on the policies of the firm that you work for. We’ll have more on this later today. [Big Law Business]

* “[I]f there was a genre of women taking pictures of men’s crotches, and pornifying it, I think there’s be a law really quickly.” In many states, it’s still legal for unsavory characters to take photographs and videos up women’s skirts, but some are attempting to lawfully address the non-consensual pornography known as “upskirting.” [VICE]

* [I]t is unrealistic to think the background political views of justices (their political ideologies) have no impact on their opinions.” Like it or not, SCOTUS justices are “political animals,” and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s remarks about presidential nominee Donald Trump were likely a form of “high politics.” [Bloomberg BNA]

* The Justice Department wants to block mergers between Anthem and Cigna and Aetna and Humana, citing antitrust concerns. Each deal is worth billions, and they may still go forward despite this roadblock. While Cigna said its deal won’t close anytime soon, “if at all,” Aetna and Humana will challenge the DOJ. [DealBook / New York Times]

* The ABA Journal want to know if you liked law school, or if you wish you’d never set foot inside of a law school. Speaking for myself, I really enjoyed law school, but I sure don’t enjoy the insane amount of debt that I’m still drowning in, six years after graduation. What about you? Did you like law school? Please let us know. [ABA Journal]

* 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]

* Some thoughts from Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer of Microsoft, on his company’s big win before the Second Circuit. [On the Issues]

* Before the Second Circuit, Microsoft enjoyed a lot of support from amici — which can make a difference before the U.S. Supreme Court, according to this analysis by Adam Feldman. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Nell Minow, the corporate governance guru (and sister of Harvard Law Dean Martha Minow), has some assigned reading for America’s politicians: Professor William Birdthistle’s Empire of the Fund: The Way We Save Now (affiliate link). [Huffington Post]

* My former colleague Maura Grossman, ediscovery queen of Wachtell Lipton, has left the firm to open her own consulting practice and serve as a research professor. [Am Law Daily]

* Social media for lawyers: it’s all fun and games until someone loses their good reputation. [Reboot Your Law Practice]

* If you are a lawyer between 24 and 49 who’s currently working in the northeast, a Ph.D. student would like to talk to you about debt (which you most likely have lots of — although none is needed to participate in the study). [Abby Stivers]

* A final reminder for our L.A. readers that the law firm battle of the bands is taking place tonight — so come out to support a good cause (and have a great time)! [Family Violence Appellate Project]

* Prince will forever be remembered as a pioneering musician who mastered multiple genres, including rock, soul, pop, and funk, but members of the legal profession will always remember him as a ferocious defender of his music’s copyright protections. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Per a recent study that’s being referred to as the Glass Ceiling report, Wall Street Biglaw firms rarely promote women to partner. In fact, out of the 8,549 attorneys practicing at the 300 large law firms surveyed, only 3.9 percent are female partners. [Law360 (sub. req.) via ABA Journal]

* Hunton & Williams recently launched a new practice group dedicated to dealing with legal issues related to 3D printing. The innovative team will work on legal questions involving everything from intellectual property and product liability to insurance and tax. The firm now joins Reed Smith in this unique practice area. [3DPrint.com]

* Anna Alaburda’s case against Thomas Jefferson Law over its allegedly deceptive employment statistics may have ended in defeat, but there’s still one more law school lawsuit fighting its way through the courts. A case that was filed against Widener Law was appealed to the Third Circuit, and a decision is expected soon. [News Journal]

* Thanks to a ruling issued by Judge John A. Ross of the Eastern District of Missouri, the 42 lead plaintiffs in the Ashley Madison privacy hack case will not be allowed to proceed anonymously. It may be embarrassing, but as class representatives, they’ve got special roles. They must identify themselves, or proceed as mere class members. [Reuters]

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.