Sexual Harassment
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Crime
Well, That Was An Incredibly Stupid Thing For A Defense Attorney To Say: Harvey Weinstein Edition
Ben Brafman has some thoughts on the #MeToo movement and they are dumb. -
Federal Judges
Senator Pissed Basically Nothing Bad Happens To Retired Federal Judges Accused Of Sexual Harassment
So “no work, all pay” for retired judges facing sexual harassment allegations. - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Law Schools
Which Biglaw Firms Still Require Summer Associates To Sign Mandatory Arbitration Agreements?
The results are far from complete, but still provide meaningful information for students in law school.
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Biglaw
Dentons Faces New, Explicit Sexual Harassment Claims
A new lawsuit claims Dentons personnel advised a harassment victim to keep quiet. If true, that's deeply troubling. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.12.18
* Proskauer tells the EEOC that there’s nothing “sinister” about employers demanding that sexual harassment victims sign away their legal rights to be railroaded through employer-chosen kangaroo courts and then forcibly silenced. Welcome to 2018. [National Law Journal]
* In emoluments news, Judge Peter Messitte asked the Justice Department if, based on their chosen defense, “Wouldn’t that be bribery?” which he seemed to think would be a bad thing as if the Supreme Court hadn’t legalized bribery in McDonnell. [US News]
* Chris Christie is starting his own law firm and somehow Rudy Giuliani has already managed to lie about that. [NJ.com]
* Betsy DeVos succeeded in keeping fraud victims indebted to the government. She was also ordered to stop pursuing collection actions against the victims, but she still gets to destroy their credit ratings, which is still a great day for kleptocracy. [Courthouse News Service]
* Nelson Mullins merging with Broad and Cassel as part of the growing trend of super-regional firms designed to keep the Am Law elite at bay. [Daily Report]
* In a lesson on putting carts ahead of horses, the former general counsel for Portland, Oregon’s public school district was just admitted to the bar… after the state bar lodged ethics violations against him for serving in that role without a law license in the state. [Portland Tribune]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.06.18
* Simpson Thacher isn’t increasing associate salaries to the $190K scale (yet), but it is partnering with Columbia Business School to launch a new associate training program. We bet your incoming associates are “STBReady” … for higher salaries. Click here to see all the firms that have raised salaries thus far . [New York Law Journal]
* President Trump is appealing the decision that says he can’t block people on Twitter based on their political views to the Second Circuit (because of course he is). He already had to unblock the seven plaintiffs in the case, and he likely wasn’t very happy about it because of glorious follow-up tweets like this. [BuzzFeed]
* After reportedly being rejected by several candidates for the associate attorney general position — one that would oversee the Mueller investigation if Rod Rosenstein were to suddenly depart — the Trump Administration is giving up on trying to fill the job for the moment, and focusing on other vacancies. [Wall Street Journal]
* In the wake of allegations of sexual harassment against former Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, the federal judiciary’s working group on sexual harassment has released 24 recommendations, specifying three areas that need change to make circuit courts an “exemplary workplace.” [Big Law Business]
* The American Bar Association wants out of this whistleblower suit, ASAP. ABA officials claim that former Charlotte Law professor Barbara Bernier only added the law school regulatory group to her suit against the defunct law school and its owner, InfiLaw, as a “last-ditch effort” to keep her action kicking in court. [Law.com]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.05.18
* “It was a mistake. I swear to God,” remarks Giuliani outlining the excuse for conflicting testimony that works like a charm for every other criminal defendant. [CNN]
* Law professors point out that Trump’s lawyers are bad at their jobs, which isn’t news but will somehow dominate the news cycle and still not sway anyone who isn’t already on board with these facts. [Politico]
* Judge Aaron Perksy — who sentenced rapist Brock Turner to a mere six months — may get recalled today. So it’s a good time to remind everyone of this older post laying out exactly how dangerous and misguided this is. Persky may deserve to lose his job in due course… but embracing the recall mechanism for judges who hand down lenient sentences is a one-way road to needless mass incarceration, usually with a heavy dose of racial bias. [Slate]
* Liverpool player injured in nasty tackle has achieved immortality as the subject of a law school exam question. [BBC]
* The NFL may have a new problem with its disastrous anthem policy — it violates multiple state constitutions… in states with perennial playoff teams too. [Slate]
* Despite the death of the prime suspect, Arizona law firms went ahead and beefed up security in the wake of the recent paralegal murders. [AZ Central]
* The GOP tax bill accidentally put a tax on victims of sexual abuse because that’s what happens when you railroad a bill through both chambers in the middle of the night with a bunch of hand-written amendments in the margins. [Bloomberg]
* Sex workers are taking action against SESTA/FOSTA, the ill-conceived anti-human trafficking law that really just puts legitimate sex workers in danger — almost like that was the politicians’ plan all along. [Gizmodo]
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Biglaw
If Only The #MeToo Movement Had Existed When This Biglaw Associate Was Sexually Assaulted At Her Firm
He closed the door, pushed her up against a wall, and tried to kiss her and put his tongue in her mouth. - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Law Schools
Elite Law Schools Demand That Biglaw Firms Disclose Whether Students Will Be Forced To Sign Arbitration Agreements
Will certain firms be banned from recruiting law students across the entirety of the T14? -
Crime
Alan Dershowitz Teams Up With Harvey Weinstein For New Courtroom Drama: 'Carrion Feeders'
If the client has a putrid, rotting soul, Alan Dershowitz is interested. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.01.18
* The New York Times has a list of the questions Mueller would like to ask Trump. Why are we hearing about it? Methinks the “he’s exceeding his mandate” noise is about to ramp up. Either that or the New York Times scored a coup with their RudyGiuliani_69@aol.com account. [NY Times]
* California Supreme Court opts for employee classification standard that critics claim could ruin the gig economy. That… sounds like a good thing. Happy May Day! [Law.com]
* Cleary is getting slapped with a harassment suit arising from conduct between two Williams Lea employees. What does Cleary have to do with this? Well, the employees work at Cleary, use Cleary equipment, and are directly controlled by Cleary. It’s the common law “walks like a duck” doctrine. [Law360]
* Bush ethics lawyer Richard Painter is running for Senate in Minnesota as a Democrat because we’ve reached the point where even the W era is renouncing the GOP. [CNN]
* The lawyer social event of the season is upon us, and it’s called the Sprint/T-Mobile merger. At least a dozen firms are getting in on this fray. [American Lawyer]
* Justice Sotomayor will get “reverse shoulder replacement surgery” which… sounds like the wrong direction. [National Law Journal]
* DACA fight looks like it’s heading for the Second Circuit. [Courthouse News Service]
* DA candidate in Maine suspended from practicing law over sexual assault allegations brought by a former client who was living in the candidate’s house. [Sun Journal]
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Labor / Employment, On The Job
No, No, Manolo! Stick To Shoes!
Manolo Blahnik wonders, 'Can you still compliment women at work, or could that be considered sexual harassment?' -
Biglaw
Time’s Up For Using Arbitration To Squash Sexual Harassment Claims
When organizations are using forced-arbitration provisions as a sword instead of a shield to cut civil rights protections, then its peers and employees should call bullsh*t.
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Biglaw
Did A Biglaw Partner Get Forced Out For Slapping An Associate When She Rejected His Advances?
This is an outrageous story. -
Biglaw
The First Biglaw Firm To Willingly Do Away With Its Mandatory Arbitration Policy
Is this the beginning of a new era of transparency in Biglaw for sexual harassment claims? -
Biglaw
Biglaw Firm Tries To Force Summer Associates To Arbitrate Sexual Harassment Claims
This is absurd. Time's up, Biglaw. -
Federal Judges
The Federal Judiciary Is Determined To Not Be Caught Flat-Footed For The Next Sexual Harassment Scandal
The effort to end sexual harassment in the federal judiciary continues. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.14.18
* Ever since Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit, who had been accused of sexual harassment by 15 women, retired, a working group within the federal judiciary has been trying to come up with reforms to be made as far as sexual harassment is concerned. Thus far, they’ve come up with about 20 reforms, and Chief Justice John Roberts is confident the group’s work will “ensure an exemplary workplace for every court employee.” [National Law Journal]
* Time’s up, UK: The Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales has warned law firms not to use nondisclosure agreements to cover up sexual harassment and assault scandals. After all, these are instances of professional misconduct, so of course a professional regulatory agency wants to know about that. [American Lawyer]
* Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be turning 85 later this week, and she says she’s “feeling fine.” Many hope that the self-described “flaming feminist litigator” continues to feel that way until we find a way to turn her into a little RBG judicial bot that will never, ever short-circuit — or until there’s a Democrat in office. [USA Today]
* Nichole Ashley Collins, the Pennsylvania lawyer who was fired for allegedly stealing money from her firm and then returned to the firm to allegedly steal more money to buy sex toys, has been disbarred. Who would’ve expected such a thing… [FOX 43]
* Prosecutors in Florida will seek the death penalty against Nikolas Cruz for his role as the accused gunman in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. Last week, Cruz was indicted by a grand jury on 17 counts of premeditated murder in the first degree and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree. [CNN]
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Biglaw
#TimesUp For This Biglaw Partner Who Got A New Gig After Being Quietly Pushed Out Of His Old Firm
The days of being able to slink away from under a cloud of allegations are probably over. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.07.18
* Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who was paid six figures in exchange for not spilling the beans about her affair with Donald Trump, is now suing him, claiming that the “hush agreement” she entered into prior to the election is invalid because he never signed it. [Washington Post]
* File this under Not Top Ten: Former ESPN legal analyst and sports anchor Adrienne Lawrence, a onetime associate of Greenberg Traurig, Arent Fox, and McGuireWoods, has filed a sexual harassment suit against the sports network, claiming that SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross constantly harassed her. [American Lawyer]
* Not only will the government be able to seize more than $7.3 million of disgraced pharma bro Martin Shkreli’s assets — including his one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album — but prosecutors want to throw him behind bars for no less than 15 years. [New York Law Journal]
* Attorney General Jeff Sessions will announce today that the Justice Department will be filing suit against California over its “sanctuary state” laws. As alleged in the complaint, the Golden State’s laws — AB 450, SB 54, and AB 103 — were all created to impede immigration laws. [USA Today]
* “When I heard the gun went off accidentally, that just didn’t ring true. Someone has to pull the trigger. They just don’t accidentally discharge.” Prospective jurors in former Biglaw partner Claud “Tex” McIver’s murder trial weren’t exactly buying his defense. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
* Forget about the egregious law school tuition you’ll have to pay in the future, because it can cost quite the pretty penny to apply to law school in the first place. You may want to look into fee waivers so you can save yourself some cash. [U.S. News]
* Billy McFarland, the millennial entrepreneur who organized the disastrous Fyre Festival, has taken a plea deal after defrauding the investors who bought into the failed event. He’s looking at sentence of eight to 10 years in prison. [Big Law Business]