Texas
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Deaths
Prominent Texas Lawyer Dies After Battle With Mental Illness
Our thoughts and condolences go out to Steve Mostyn's colleagues and family at this difficult time. -
Law Schools
Which Texas Law School Has The Best Bar Exam Results?
Not the school you would've guessed. - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
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Bar Exams, Law Schools
Texas Tricks Law Grads Into Thinking Bar Exam Results Have Been Released
HOLY CRAP. What is wrong with you, Texas? -
Career Alternatives, Minority Issues
Attorney And Playwright Christine Hoang On Representation, Rediscovery, And ‘A Girl Named Sue’
'No one is going to create this space for you... you need to make that space for yourself.' -
Federal Judges
A Surprising Turn In The Fifth Circuit Sweepstakes (Plus Seven Other Federal Judicial Nominees)
Congratulations to the two Texas nominees, including a celebrity tweeter! -
Crime, Sentencing Law
The Crapshoot Of Sentencing Laws
Need an example of the absurdity of our sentencing laws? A woman with stage IV breast cancer was recently sentenced to 75 years in jail. -
Election Law, Justice, Politics, Supreme Court
'Gorsuch Court' Has Texas's Back When It Comes To Voter Suppression
I don't know what Gill v. Whitford is going to do, but it's going to do all of it. - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Texas
Legal Issues Facing Those Trying To Rebuild After Hurricane Harvey
The hits just keep on coming. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.31.17
* Maybe it’s just me, but your lawyer shouldn’t be giving interviews about he “relishes a challenge,” when your entire defense — to date — is that the case against you is a “nothing burger.” Right? [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
* Remember Kim Davis? Her lawyer Mat Staver wants us to know that people who hate gays are persecuted like Jews in Nazi Germany. Yes… it’s exactly like that. [Huffington Post]
* Have equity partners become employees? [American Lawyer]
* Special prosecutor appointed to look into Richard Luthmann’s alleged use of spoof Facebook accounts to masquerade as various elected officials. Perhaps he should seek to vindicate himself through trial by combat. [NY Post]
* We already knew that trial by combat is allowed in New York, but what about “blood oaths”? According to the SDNY, those are enforceable too. America’s conversion into Westeros is almost complete. [Law.com]
* Philadelphia is suing Jeff Sessions over the administration’s efforts to frustrate the town’s “sanctuary city” status. [Philly.com]
* Speaking of sanctuary, Chief Judge Orlando Garcia blocked the controversial Texas sanctuary cities law. [Washington Post]
* NLJ hands out three lifetime achievement awards. [National Law Journal]
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Justice, Pro Bono
Texas Allows Out-Of-State Lawyers To Help, Kind Of Highlighting The Stupidity Of State Bar Restrictions
Lawyers who are ready to help don't need friction. -
Labor / Employment, On The Job
Employer Best Practices In Times Of Emergency
What do you do about employees who can’t come to work during a natural disaster type situation? -
Immigration
Houston Mayor Will Represent People Deported After Calling For Help During Hurricane Harvey
Beyond the natural disaster, there is a manmade threat looming that could compound the tragedy.
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Disasters / Emergencies, Law Schools
Hurricane Harvey And Humanity
Don’t leave your humanity at the door. And please don’t just save it for emergencies. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.28.17
* Under cover of a natural disaster, President Donald Trump decided to pardon former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of criminal contempt after ignoring a federal judge’s order. Trump, who has shown contempt for judges since the start of his campaign, now seems to be using his “weaponized pardon power” to circumvent the powers of the judiciary. [New York Times]
* Speaking of Hurricane Harvey, we know that many lawyers, law students, and law professors in Texas have been and continue to be affected by the devastating after effects of the storm. How has your firm or your law school handled the destruction and historic flooding? Please get in touch with us via email, text message (646-820-8477), or tweet (@atlblog) to let us know. [Above the Law]
* Getting back to Joe Arpaio’s pardon, lawyers, former government officials, and current lawmakers of all stripes have spoken out against the president’s unconventional action. Perhaps our favorite comment of all came from Professor Orin Kerr of USC Gould School of Law: “Trump shows his love of the Constitution by pardoning a man who refused to stop violating it.” [Law.com]
* Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating whether former national security adviser Michael Flynn played any kind of a role in obtaining Hillary Clinton’s emails from Russian hackers. If he did have something to do with it, Flynn may be more concerned about Clinton’s emails right now than the average Trump voter was in the lead-up to the election. [Wall Street Journal]
* Thanks to President Trump, Irell & Manella now stands to lose one of its top rainmakers. In a Friday announcement, patent litigator Andrei Iancu, a partner at the firm, was nominated to become the next Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. We wonder how long it’ll take for him to be confirmed.[Am Law Daily]
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Lawyer Advertising
Next Week, Swords Are Legal To Carry Down The Street In Texas
New law brings Texas into the Middle Ages. -
Airplanes / Aviation, Boutique Law Firms
International Firm Buys $3 Million Jet As Cost-Saving Measure
These lawyers are leavin' on a jet plane... -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.08.17
* While the convict at the center of a UN bribery scheme was no doubt pleased to avoid jail time, he was ordered to get all his private massages with bedroom door open in view of assigned guards to ensure Chinese language messages aren’t being passed secretly. That’s not a happy ending at all. [Law360]
* It’s not exactly news that an ethics expert thinks Trump should be impeached. But this time the expert has fun visual aides for everyone whose attention span has been battered by cable news. [Facebook]
* Reminder that “Breaking Bad” shouldn’t be a blueprint for your legal career. [WTOL]
* Miami may no longer be a sanctuary city, but others aren’t giving up so easily. When someone brings a dubiously constitutional threat, you bring a lawsuit. That’s the Chicago way. [Courthouse News Service]
* So-called judge has some problems with the way the administration talks about jurists. [Law.com]
* Fried Frank gets malpractice claim kicked to the curb. [Texas Lawyer]
* You can’t patent podcasts. Phew. That’s one fewer category of trolls Thinking Like A Lawyer has to deal with. [The Recorder]
* UC Hastings has a new academic dean. [UC Hastings]
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Attorney Misconduct, Texas
The Problem With An Out Of Control District Attorney
What is this district attorney capable of? -
Justice, Violence
Open-Carry Swords: A Civilized Second Amendment Right
If we're going to be originalist about the 2nd Amendment, let's go all the way.