Republican National Committee

* President Trump and the RNC sued over a new California law that requires presidential candidates to release five years of tax returns to get onto the 2020 primary ballot. We were wondering when this “naked political attack against the sitting president of the United States” would happen. [New York Times]

* Former FBI agent Peter Strzok has filed suit against the Justice Department over his firing, claiming that being dismissed from the investigative agency for sending text messages disparaging Donald Trump violated his constitutional right to private political speech. [Wall Street Journal]

* From the demise of your favorite toy store to the destruction of one the most recognized luxury stores, Kirkland & Ellis is making a killing when it comes to representing the death of our brick-and-mortar retail economy. [American Lawyer]

* William Brown, a former Navy SEAL who currently works as an associate at McCarter & English, recently led the first-ever sanctioned swim across the Hudson River with 30+ other SEALs to raise money for veterans. Congrats! [Big Law Business]

* Meet Jeffrey Morgan, one of the lucky few lawyers to have had his federal student loans discharged through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Unfortunately, he still owes $67,987.09 in private student loans. [MarketWatch]

Ed. note: In honor of Columbus Day (and Canadian Thanksgiving), Above the Law will be on a reduced publication schedule today. We will be back in full force tomorrow.

* NBC News was aware of Donald Trump’s “grab ’em by the p*ssy” remarks days before they were made public, but the network’s lawyers took so long to review the footage for fear of being sued by the presidential candidate that it was scooped on the story by another publication. The lewd footage was allowed to languish for nearly a week. [Washington Post]

* Thanks to Donald Trump’s latest scandal, the Republican National Committee has “an army of lawyers” exploring whether it would be possible to replace the party’s presidential candidate with another nominee. What have they found? His cooperation would be necessary, and “[t]he fact remains that [Trump] can only be replaced if he quits or dies. And he’s declared … he’s not planning on doing either.” [POLITICO]

* As our readers know well, the vast majority of New York’s top law firms have raised first-year associate salaries to $180,000 from $160,000, but those new salaries will surely cut into the law firms’ profits. How will they be able to make up for it? “Part of what makes this easier for law firms to absorb is that billable rates go up every year, and maybe this year they go up a little bit more than usual.” [Crain’s New York Business]

* According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector added about 400 jobs in September, with the biggest job gains coming in the form of management consulting, which seems fitting given the depressed demand for legal services right now. In case you were wondering, the legal profession would need to add around 55,000 jobs to return to pre-recession levels of employment. [Am Law Daily]

* “His behavior was disturbing enough to warrant action….” A former Montana Law student was permanently barred from campus late last week after he returned to the school and allegedly disrupted a professor’s class, prompting the dean to send out a warning email to the student body. A police officer was stationed outside the professor’s classroom thereafter. We may have more on this story later today. [Missoulian]

* Kenneth Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney, RIP. [New York Law Journal]