Robert Mueller III

* The White House announces ten new judicial nominations, including two for circuit courts (previously predicted in these pages). We’ll have more on this later. [Washington Times]

* King & Spalding joins Jones Day and Sullivan & Cromwell as a “feeder firm” for the Trump administration. [Law.com]

* Will the Trump Justice Department’s possible attack on affirmative action succeed? Law professors disagree. [How Appealing]

* Michelle Carter, the woman convicted for basically texting her boyfriend into committing suicide, gets sentenced to 15 months. [ABA Journal]

* White-collar criminal defense lawyers discuss what to expect from the grand jury convened by special counsel Robert Mueller. [National Law Journal]

* The trend continues: fewer law school graduates, better employment statistics. [ABA Journal]

* Elliot Katz, a leading lawyer in the self-driving-car space, motors from DLA Piper to McGuireWoods. [Law.com]

* If you’ll be online in the afternoon on Wednesday, August 16, join me and ABA Legal Career Central for a Twitter chat about career paths for lawyers, especially alternative careers. [American Bar Association]

Look at Bob Mueller's team; are there no Republicans in the legal profession?

A great team of investigative lawyers, or the greatest team of investigative lawyers?

* Let’s get ready to rumble: the Trump administration seeks Supreme Court review — and rescue — of its travel ban. [New York Times]

* In other federal judicial news, the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that courts cannot routinely shackle defendants during proceedings; Judge Alex Kozinski wrote the majority opinion, and former Kozinski clerk Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote the dissent. [How Appealing]

* Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) — who isn’t shy about telling lawyers how he really feels — has a new bee in his Article III bonnet: “I’m sick and tired of lawyers from white-shoe law firms marching into my courtroom and getting a deferred-prosecution agreement for their clients.” [ABA Journal]

* Why did President Donald Trump hire Marc Kasowitz to represent him in the Russia inquiry — and could DJT already be second-guessing that decision? [Weekly Standard]

* Speaking of the Russia probe, Robert Mueller is getting some high-powered help: outgoing Justice Department official Andrew Weissmann joins his former boss’s team. [Law360]

* Interesting new data from our friends at NALP: the $180K starting salary might not be as widespread as you think. [Law.com]

* President Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate deal — but withdrawal can’t be finalized until near the end of his term because of the accord’s legal structure and language. [Washington Post]

It all makes for good wonky perusing, especially for lawyers, and it helps put into perspective the work of government.

* Remember when Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) flipped out at Kirkland & Ellis for not sending a partner to cover a status hearing? It seems K&E and its client Facebook’s groveling won over the judge: cases dismissed. [ABA Journal]

* A big settlement in the Takata air bags litigation — and presumably big legal fees for some of the firms involved. [National Law Journal]

* Congratulations to Judge Amul Thapar (E.D. Ky.) on clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee; he should hopefully be on the Sixth Circuit soon. [Washington Times]

* Congratulations to Rachel Brand on her confirmation as associate attorney general — although it’s unfortunate that more Democrats didn’t cross the aisle to support her. [Law360]

* And be careful what you wish for, Democrats: now that we have Robert Mueller as special counsel, congressional inquiries into Trump/Russia-related matters could stall. [Washington Post]

* Speaking of Russia probes, should President Donald Trump hire outside counsel to represent him? да, да. [New York Times]

* A closer look at prominent lawyer John K. Bush, nominated by President Trump to the Sixth Circuit. [Vetting Room via How Appealing]

* Does size matter? Yes — at least in this murder case where the defendant is invoking a “big penis” defense. [New York Post]

* Congratulations to Howard Bashman and our sister site How Appealing on 15 great years! [How Appealing]

* Roger Ailes, RIP. [Instapundit]

* Fellowships for training law professors are now a thing — but are they a good thing, wonders Professor Paul Horwitz? [PrawfsBlawg]

* “Immigration, Freedom, and the Constitution” — reflections on these timely topics from Professor Ilya Somin. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]

* Professor Leah Litman breaks down Rod Rosenstein’s appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel in the Trump/Russia investigation. [Take Care]

* Tips from cyberspace lawyer Andrew Rossow for victims of the recent “WannaCry” ransomware attack. [Huffington Post]

Unchecked power is a dangerous thing.

Yuge news.

Think you're knowledgeable about law and technology? See if you can answer these questions (by legal tech columnist Jeff Bennion).

* Congratulations to WilmerHale on landing former FBI director Robert Mueller, and congratulations to Mueller on his move (a homecoming of sorts; he was once a partner at Hale & Dorr, the “Hale” in “WilmerHale”). [DealBook / New York Times] * A former television judge gets held in real-life contempt. [Memphis Commercial Appeal] * In the wake of the Dewey & LeBoeuf criminal charges, Jean O’Grady poses an interesting question: should law firms have whistleblower programs? [Dewey B Strategic] * “Have a Better Legal Career by Being Less of a Lawyer.” [Medium] * This story of losing a client might contain lessons for lawyers. [BigLawRebel] * As we previously mentioned, the SCOTUS-themed play Arguendo is coming to D.C., and there’s a discount code for ATL readers: WMATL, good for 15% off on previews, Friday nights, Saturday matinees, and Sunday evenings. Enjoy! [Woolly Mammoth] * In case you missed our Attorney@Blog conference, our friends at wireLawyer were on hand to document the proceedings. Video after the jump…. Thanks again to wireLawyer, for this great video and for hosting the post-conference cocktail party: