Television
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Marijuana
The Stigma On Cannabis
The fact that CBS won’t run an ad by a billion-dollar medical cannabis company that employs John Boehner says a lot about the power of stigma. -
Litigators
Lower The Expectations
Most on-screen dramas do not come close to depicting what litigation is like in real life. Make sure your clients understand this. - Sponsored
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Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel helps legal professionals get a faster start to their research. Over time, that added productivity can lead to higher-quality research and… -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.21.18
* In completely unshocking news, despite advice from ethics officials, Acting Attorney General and former Tight End Matthew Whitaker has refused to recuse himself from oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian election interference probe. [USA Today]
* Corporate clients are trying to control their spending, and that means more and more Biglaw firms are having trouble collecting on their year-end bills, such that “on average [a firm] can lose 20 percent of its original billing amount.” [Big Law Business]
* First-year law student enrollment increased by 3 percent this year, and two New Jersey schools played a really big role. Rutgers Law increased its 1Ls by 17.87 percent and Seton Hall Law increased its 1Ls by 24.87 percent. [New Jersey Law Journal]
* Another day, another law school that’s willing to accept the GRE for admissions. Starting this fall, the University at Buffalo School of Law will accept the alternative test in place of the LSAT to “eliminat[e] barriers to access to education.” [UB Now]
* In case you missed it, earlier this week, Nick Wilson, a public defender, won the latest season of Survivor. Now the 2013 graduate of Alabama Law has $1 million to pay off his loans after becoming the Sole Survivor. Congratulations! [Kentucky Today]
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Holidays and Seasons
The Lawyer Holiday Gift Guide: The Best Gifts For The Attorney In Your Life
Only a few shopping days left! -
Non-Sequiturs
Non Sequiturs: 12.09.18
* A fantasy from the fevered imagination of Lawprofblawg: playing the role of the Grinch who stole meetings. [Lawprofblawg]
* Joel Cohen wonders: should jurors be instructed about the possible inaccuracy of descriptions of forensic evidence in “cop show” television programs? [Law and Crime]
* David Oscar Markus isn’t afraid to take on tough cases — like defending embattled Secretary Alex Acosta in the court of public opinion. [Miami Herald via SDFLA Blog]
* Former federal defender Stephen Cooper does not mince words: “The prospective gassing of human beings in Alabama is an abomination.” [Alabama Political Reporter]
* Jerry Goldfeder and Lincoln Mitchell offer up this hypothetical (which sounds far-fetched, but never say never given the times in which we live): “What if Trump loses but refuses to leave the White House?” [New York Daily News]
* Looking for a special present for the legal nerd in your life? In addition to the items featured in the Above the Law holiday gift guide, check out the latest edition of the Solicitor General’s Style Guide. [Amazon (affiliate link)]
* Speaking of the Supreme Court, Adam Feldman takes a data-driven look at the recent spat between President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts over partisanship in the federal judiciary. [Empirical SCOTUS]
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Courts
SNL Honors RBG With Her Own Rap Song
'Supreme Court’s a boys club; she holds it down no cares given. Who else has six movies about her and is still livin’?' -
Law Schools
Law School Invites Speaker Who Lost His Job Over Sexual Harassment And Coercion Because Standards No Longer Exist
Did they really think this through? - Sponsored
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Television
This Fictional Biglaw Law Firm Is Even Scarier Than The Real Thing
Biglaw is a cake walk in comparison. -
Small Law Firms
Partnership Lessons From The Baby-Sitters Club And Breaking Bad
Of course, the stories are fictional and overly dramatized so people will read or watch them. -
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.26.18
* Chuck Grassley asking Justice Department to launch a criminal inquiry into Michael Avenatti and his client. So now Grassley cares about investigations. [Law360]
* Does Megyn Kelly have a prayer in her looming battle with NBC? Personally, I don’t think they should fire her — they should make her sit in her office and do nothing for 40 hours a week like they did with Ann Curry. Curry did nothing to deserve that — Kelly on the other hand…. [Law and Crime]
* NYAG suit over Trump Foundation breaching charity rules during the campaign looks like it’s got legs. [Courthouse News Service]
* Justice Kagan doesn’t completely blow off the idea of 18-year terms for the Court, which is something. [National Law Journal]
* Georgia seeks an emergency stay of the temporary restraining order barring the state from disenfranchising absentee voters because injustice delayed is injustice denied. [Daily Report Online]
* Lawyer couple disciplined for talking to each other. [Law.com]
* Japan’s letting the cryptocurrency industry police itself. This will end well. [MIT Technology Review]
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Judge Jeanine Of Fox News Gets Schooled On Defamation By Sitting Judge
But the judge seems to have changed his mind about her.
Sponsored
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The Ethical use of Generative AI
How To Maximize Productivity With Westlaw Precision With CoCounsel
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Courts
Matt Damon Rages As Brett Kavanaugh On 'Saturday Night Live'
'I don't know the meaning of the word stop!' -
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Law Schools
The ‘realiTandE’ Of Being A Parent
No reality TV star wants to be caught dead (or alive) in probate court. -
Law Schools
'You Should Go To Law School' Is Common Advice For Comedians
Why are these jobs so similar? -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.12.18
* Thanks to the not-so-orphaned Kennedy clerks, this Term could see a record number of clerks at the Supreme Court, as Tony Mauro reports. [National Law Journal]
* Speaking of clerks, I talk quite a bit about them and their role in this interview with Kaley Pillinger about my writing career (from Underneath Their Robes to Above the Law to Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link)). [The Politic]
* Speaking of SCOTUS, and more specifically of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the high court, Ed Whelan responds to the arguments of Senate Democrats against — yes, against — the prompt provision of records from Kavanaugh’s years as White House counsel. [Bench Memos / National Review]
* If Judge Kavanaugh becomes Justice Kavanaugh, how will that affect the Court’s business jurisprudence? Adam Feldman has this analysis. [Empirical SCOTUS]
* The failure of Ryan Bounds’s Ninth Circuit nomination could be a “teachable moment” for Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), according to Will Folks. [FITSNews]
* Speaking of disappointing failures to confirm, Paul Mirengoff shares my frustration over the inexcusable delays in Department of Justice confirmations. [Power Line]
* It’s unfair to dismiss Seinfeld as “a show about nothing”; episodes offer insight into numerous legal issues — for example, the law of conspiracy. [Seinfeld Law]
* Kal Raustiala and Christopher Jon Sprigman offer interesting reflections on how data-driven authorship might affect the way we think about creativity and copyright. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* If you’re interested in litigation finance, there’s a conference coming up next month here in New York that you might want to check out. [LF Dealmakers Forum]
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Intellectual Property
The Silent Treatment: TV Network Suffers Rare Defeat In A 'Concept Theft' Copyright Case
Does television series Empire infringe upon this writer's copyright in a treatment for a dramatic show 'featuring complex, black lead characters'? -
Courts
John Oliver Knows Who Really Holds All The Power In A Courtroom
Hanging over the criminal justice system is a misplaced belief that prosecutorial discretion is synonymous with a just result.