Television

* Loretta Lynch might actually get confirmed, you guys! Senate Republicans have agreed to a bipartisan deal on human trafficking legislation which should end the Lynch logjam. America in 2015, “human trafficking bad” now requires months of negotiation. [CNN]

* Our old friend Professor Michael Simkovic is back and defending the decision to go to law school based on part-time job numbers because, hey, that’s how the Bureau of Labor measures unemployment so it must be the same for judging employment for struggling J.D.s. Professor Bernie Burk gives a thorough, thoughtful, and respectful retort. [The Faculty Lounge]

* Meanwhile, failing to learn the lesson of America, students seeking law degrees skyrocket in the UK. Thomas Cooley considers Norfolk campus. [Legal Cheek]

* The property law of Downton Abbey. It teaches the most important lesson of property — historically it’s really, really good to be a wealthy white guy. [Vanderbilt Law Review]

* Digging into a less heralded subsidiary argument in the marriage equality cases: the “proceed with caution” rhetoric intended to push the issue to the backburner. [NYU Law Review]

* On that note, same-sex marriage kills babies!!! Well, no, not really. But that is the argument one former Scalia clerk is making for some reason. [Dorf on Law]

* Looks like Europe is going to hit Putin where it hurts… an antitrust courtroom. That’ll learn him! [New York Times]

* Authorities have cleared the robot built specifically to buy illegal stuff off the dark web. In related news, officer, all that panda meat was bought by my robot… for an art project. [Hopes and Fears]

* The Biglaw pup who posted an anti-West, pro-Islamist rant on YouTube continues to be a headache for Clifford Chance. [Legal Cheek]

* Laurence Tribe’s arguments are getting closer and closer to Homer Simpson’s. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

* In case you weren’t counting, there’ve been 95 Senate roll call votes while Loretta Lynch has been waiting… [People For The American Way]

* Lawyer suspended for handing out ecstasy to drug women into sex. I don’t disagree with the outcome, but there’s one pretty troubling aspect of the opinion: “The OLR noted… that his victim was much younger.” She was 22! At a certain point can we just admit women are adults? Focus on the drugging predatory behavior instead of constructing her as an addled-brained ingenue. [Legal Profession Blog]

* Daredevil’s courtroom antics evaluated by New York Judge Matthew Sciarrino. [The Legal Geeks]

* If you’re interested in the legal landscape of marijuana, here’s a cool infographic summing up where we are and how we got here. [Diego Criminal Defense]

* If you’re interested in February bar exam results from across the country, Bar Exam Stats is keeping a running tally complete with a nice map. [Bar Exam Stats]

* Former Facebook GC Ted Ullyot has joined VC firm Andreessen Horowitz to lead a new policy and regulatory affairs group in the firm. [Dealbreaker; TechCrunch]

By being able to request a trial by combat at any time, any defendant is incentivized to sit through a normal trial and, if things are not going well, belatedly request a trial by combat.

The hit show lays bare a dangerous flaw in the criminal justice system.

* Police claim David Messerschmitt’s killer stole only $40. [Washington Post]

* Lil Wayne vs. Cash Money. Which is, apparently, not an in rem action. [FactMag]

* What is the difference between confidence and arrogance? Obviously, I know the answer, but let’s see if you can figure it out. [Corporette]

* One angle I missed from today’s news that a gunman attacked a courthouse in Milan is that this is life imitating art, eerily reminiscent of a plotline on The Good Wife. [Law and More]

* Immigration attorney is a no-show at her sentencing for 13 felony theft counts for accepting fees and botching her work. You’d think she skipped the country except we know she sucks at immigration law. [ABA Journal]

* Former president of the World Bank’s LGBT employee organization is under investigation. He thinks this seems pretty suspicious. [Buzzfeed]

* The Tsarnaev trial highlights the continuing stupidity of keeping cameras out of the courtroom. [Vanity Fair]

* Another installment of “Roberts at 10,” looking at his 10 years as chief. What’s his legacy on LGBT rights? Well, unsurprisingly, we’re not going to know for sure for a couple months. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

* A new study reveals that judges are less ideologically biased than law students. Again, it’s not that judges are less firm in their ideology, it’s that they’ve learned to pick their battles. [WSJ Law Blog]

We hope that Bob Odenkirk-moderated games of bingo become a law firm summer associate event staple.

* “He said what he wanted people to hear and he didn’t fully answer questions.” St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch of Ferguson infamy spoke at Missouri Law yesterday. We understand there was some sort of an “incident” with the SBA as well. We may have more on this later. [KBIA]

* “Don’t panic; you’re bound to get something eventually.” California had some of the worst employment statistics for law graduates after the recession. If you’re a member of the Lost Generation, these stories may resonate with you. [California Lawyer]

* New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was federally indicted on corruption charges yesterday for allegedly accepting more than $1 million worth of gifts and campaign contributions in exchange for political favors. Way to do Jersey lawyers proud. [AP]

* Jury selection begins on April 27 for the criminal trial against the former members of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s top brass. The prosecution dropped three counts, but Joel Sanders and the Steves must still defend themselves against 100 others. Yikes! [New York Law Journal]

* Gordon Smith, one of the writers for Better Call Saul, doesn’t think the show’s portrayal of lawyer life will inspire young people to “run out to become attorneys.” After all, Jimmy McGill’s home and office haven’t exactly been depicted as “glamorous.” [WSJ Law Blog]

Have you ever wondered about the the legal ethics and attorney misconduct depicted on Better Call Saul? This lawyer writes an entire blog dedicated to Saul Goodman's misdeeds.

* A look at the ethical issues that arise when Saul takes a detour into “elder law.” [The Legal Ethics of Better Call Saul]

* Guess the law firm whose D.C. managing partner just said, “You would be hard-pressed to find another law firm of almost 200 lawyers that gets less name recognition than we do.” [National Law Journal]

* Everything is bigger in Texas — including the number of lawyers (300!) behind the effort to overturn the one-year suspension of prominent capital defense lawyer David Dow. [Slate]

* Linda Greenhouse on the Supreme Court’s “identity crisis” on voting rights. [New York Times]

* In defense of Pace Law’s “fire sale” for prospective students with strong GPAs and LSAT scores. [Jane Genova]

* Congrats to Professor Will Baude on landing a regular gig for the New York Times! [Volokh Conspiracy]

* Several members of the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA) took to television to discuss Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), as well as PABA’s great work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMak8hayBOs

Are there any other attorney characters from non-legal shows who would be perfect for a spinoff sequel or prequel? Here are some ideas.

The popular documentary takes a spectacular turn.

Hopefully, Serial and The Jinx will begin a trend of smart, long-form stories exploring crime and/or the legal process, not to jinx it of course (pun unquestionably intended).

* Texas wants to strip lawyers of their license if they don’t pay their student loans. Yeah, if they’re getting behind, taking away their ability to earn money seems like a good strategy. [Texas Lawyer]

* Lawyer gives waiter a $25K tip to get dental surgery. Based on the picture, I’d have given him that tip for free. [ABC 11]

* Let’s all hope John Oliver never goes back to The Daily Show, because his HBO show is making a real-life impact. The Tennessee Supreme Court cited Oliver on civil forfeiture in an opinion handed down yesterday. [Tennessee Courts]

* From the strip club to the mental hospital. Pretty standard murder scenario actually. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

* Suge Knight’s defense to murder and attempted murder charges? He’s legally blind in one eye so didn’t see the people he killed. [NY Daily News]

* Reality star testifies under oath that reality shows aren’t real. Try and pick up the pieces from your shattered world. [Morning After / Gawker]

* Document review is such a terrible job, you should probably just go into PR. That assumes you’ve not done enough document review that you can never smile again. [Law and More]

* The final segment of an interview with Seth Zachary, Chairman of Paul Hastings. In this part of the interview, Zachary discusses weathering and overcoming the collapse of his previous firm Finley Kumble, the former Biglaw giant that went under in the 80s. This is where we make the obligatory, “Dewey know anyone who might appreciate this tale?” [Bloomberg BNA / Big Law Business]

With a bit of research, the producers learned that the vast majority of life as a lawyer is not as glamorous as portrayed in TV and films.

Who knew Justice Ginsburg was so hilarious?

What surprised Neal Katyal during his voyage into the world of television?

* Leonard Nimoy has died at 83. While he's best known as Spock, he also starred in some legal works, such as producing and starring in the story of Mel Mermelstein's pro bono case. [New York Times] * Analyzing the Supreme Court on style over substance. Probably for the best because the substance has been pretty shoddy for a lot of the last few years. [SCOTUSblog] * "Constitutional oriented" judge has some issues with the First Amendment. I guess he's a "pre-Amendment Originalist." [Popehat] * Lawyers should find a niche in connected devices. It's true. But since the partners I used to work with still printed out all their emails, good luck with that. [Law and More] * The psychic toll of bankruptcy work. [The Docket] * Ninth Circuit overrules lower court, holding that an arbitrator is not inherently plaintiff-biased because he or she has participated in litigation financing. [LFC 360]

As a lawyer, columnist Harry Graff found it extremely difficult to look past all improbable things that occur on this show.

The egregious legal errors keep mounting. And we also wonder how Keating and Associates stays in business.

“You don’t want a criminal lawyer. You want a criminal lawyer.” If you like Breaking Bad, watch Better Call Saul.