Texas
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.10.20
* TikTok is allegedly preparing to sue the Trump Administration over an order that may force the company to leave United States markets. If given permission, TikTok can likely serve process in some really creative ways… [Verge]
* A lawyer behind a lawsuit aimed at overturning California’s school closure order says that closing schools impacts fundamental rights and violates equal protection. [Fox News]
* The Attorney General of Texas welcomed the National Rifle Association to the Lone Star State after the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit to dissolve the group. [New York Post]
* A Fort Worth, Texas, attorney is walking to the governor’s mansion in Austin in order to bring attention to police reform. [Fox News]
* Lawyers for Jussie Smollett claim that a recording proves that key witnesses in the case were coached by prosecutors into conveying a narrative to avoid prosecution. [Chicago Tribune]
* A New York landowner is suing a landscaper for $355,000 for allegedly destroying a tree. Maybe money grew on it? [Advance Media]
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Law Schools
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.04.20
* A Texas lawyer is accused of smuggling meth into a county jail. Maybe this lawyer has been watching too much Breaking Bad. [Houston Chronicle]
* The lawyer for a man accused of firing shots after an argument over masks escalated claims his client is “not handling the pandemic well.” That seems like an understatement. [NBC News]
* A Chinese artificial intelligence company has filed a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Apple, alleging that Apple infringed on its patents. [CNBC]
* Senate Republicans are divided over whether they would move to fill a Supreme Court vacancy that occurs before the election. [Hill]
* A mysterious death has resulted in a $2 million life insurance settlement. Sounds like the plot of a John Grisham novel… [Daily Business Review]
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Intellectual Property
Delivering An Injunction?
Ultimately, Instacart’s filing heralds the start of what will likely be a years-long fight for supremacy in the grocery delivery space. -
Courts
Texas Supreme Court Puts Kibosh On GOP's Plan For In-Person Convention
The Deep State strikes again! -
Small Law Firms
Texas State Bar President Called Black Lives Matter A 'Terrorist Group' On Social Media
Texas is a complete disaster area right now, so why not add a state bar scandal to the mix? -
Law Schools
Bar Exam Officials Can't Even Bother To Stay Awake During Calls
Two incidents in a week show that bar examiners need to do be a lot more attentive. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 07.06.20
* President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen may have to go back to prison because he dined out last Friday night. Unless that restaurant was Casa Bonita, it wasn’t worth it… [New York Post]
* A Virginia lawyer is in hot water for selling the stock of his two deceased former law partners and pocketing the proceeds. [Roanoke Times]
* Amazon is being sued for allegedly firing an employee for bringing her child to work. [New York Post]
* A Florida lawyer has lost his law license for settling cases without his clients’ permission. [Florida Times-Union]
* Texas has become the latest state to postpone the bar exam amid concerns over COVID-19. [Texas Tribune]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.29.20
* The estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is suing Netflix for its depiction of Sherlock Holmes as a kind and caring sleuth. Wonder if there was ever legal action over Holmes and Watson… [CNN]
* Texas law firms are rethinking reopening plans amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. [Texas Lawyer]
* A disciplinary panel has suggested a two-year suspension for a lawyer who showed “aggressive tactics and relentless vindictiveness” in practicing law. Some clients might like those qualities. [ABA Journal]
* A lawyer claims that he was retaliated against for exposing financial irregularities at a healthcare company. [Dallas Morning News]
* Justin Bieber has filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit against women who have accused him of assault. [CNN]
* A Nebraska attorney who accepted cocaine as compensation has been disbarred. He should have just stuck to cash, check, or credit card… [Associated Press]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.22.20
* A lawyer in India appeared at a virtual hearing in a T-shirt lying in bed last week. This attorney should have read our earlier coverage of American lawyers making similar mistakes during remote appearances. [Tribune]
* The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan made clear that he was fired and did not voluntary step down. [Reuters]
* Black female YouTube creators have filed suit alleging that the algorithm used for the video-sharing website is racist. [AdWeek]
* Some New Jersey attorneys are in hot water for allegedly agreeing to pay bribes to secure government contracts for legal services. [New Jersey Law Journal]
* A Texas lawyer is now facing a $6 million judgment even though he failed to attend the summary judgment hearing due to scheduling confusion caused by COVID-19. Seems like this attorney has good arguments for a reconsideration motion… [Texas Lawyer]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.17.20
* The former general counsel of the FBI has been hired as an in-house attorney for Twitter. The two workplaces must be just a little different… [New York Post]
* A former lawyer has been found guilty of murdering his wife and throwing her body overboard during a 2006 cruise in the Caribbean. [Lost Angeles Times]
* The Supreme Court halted the execution of a death-row inmate in Texas about one hour before he was set to be executed. [NBC News]
* Attorneys in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to enforce safety measures at a Trump rally in the city later this week. [Hill]
* A former lawyer who surrendered his law license for stealing from clients and then became a pastor will be allowed to practice law again. That was very Christ-like of the bar examiners… [Bloomberg Law]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.12.20
* GrubHub is facing a lawsuit filed by the company that owns KFC. GrubHub should know they don’t want to piss off the Colonel… [Fox Business]
* A Texas immigration law firm is suing a former attorney at the firm for allegedly trying to take clients with him after he resigned. [Texas Lawyer]
* A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a member of a Satanic temple which argued that Missouri’s abortion law violated religious rights. [Minnesota Lawyer]
* A woman has dropped a lawsuit against a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino which alleged that she had an allergic reaction to jalapeno peppers. Kind of reminiscent of a scene from Mrs. Doubtfire. [Sioux City Journal]
* An opera singer accused of crashing into Mar-a-Lago security checkpoint is using an insanity defense. Maybe she thought she had a “magic flute”? [AP]
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Bad Ideas
Lawyer Admits To Egging Judge's Car Over Pandemic Stay-At-Home Order
Not what you'd call a mature response.
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.10.20
* A convicted murderer will get a new evidentiary hearing because his trial lawyer started dating and later married a key witness in the case. Guess the client’s wedding invitation got lost in the mail. [Hudson County View]
* A Los Angeles lawyer is being investigated by the LAPD for allegedly posting on social media that cops should be “picked off.” [Fox News]
* A lawyer for one of the officers charged in the death of George Floyd is arguing that bystanders should have done more to stop the police. Wouldn’t try that argument in court. [Miami Herald]
* A judge has halted efforts to take down a statute of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virgina, since the 130-year-old deed for the land upon which the statute stands allegedly requires that the statute remain. [CBS News]
* A Texas attorney has been charged with egging a judge’s car in order to protest stay-at-home orders. Does this lawyer think it’s “Cabbage Night”? (“Mischief Night” or “Devils Night” for all you people who didn’t grow up in North Jersey.) [New York Post]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.26.20
* A New Jersey judge has ordered a local gym to remain closed for the time being. Guess “gym, tan, laundry” is currently impossible in the Garden State. [NewJersey.com]
* The FBI is reportedly evaluating whether the the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery was a hate crime. [Seattle Times]
* President Trump has said that Jeff Sessions was not “mentally qualified” to be Attorney General. [Guardian]
* A Texas criminal defense lawyer has been arrested for trying to hire an undercover cop to commit murder. [Daily Mail]
* As many of us Empire State lawyers know from firsthand experience, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on everyone involved with the New York courts system. [Daily News]
* A Vermont attorney who pointed a gun at a store clerk due to social distancing restrictions has been suspended from practice. [CBS News]
* Mets pitcher Noah Syndergraard is being sued by his landlord for missing payments on his $27,000-a-month New York City duplex. Maybe Syndergraard qualifies for unemployment while the Mets aren’t playing, but don’t think it’ll cover his rent… [Yahoo News]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.19.20
* SmileDirectClub has filed a $2.8 billion lawsuit against NBC for broadcasting an allegedly defamatory and misleading story about the company. They sound more like FrownDirectClub… [Hill]
* A well-known Texas lawyer is suing his estate planning attorney for a Texas-sized tax liability he wasn’t able to avoid. [Texas Lawyer]
* A New Orleans lawyer has been disbarred for spending her client’s settlement money received because of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. [Advocate]
* The Georgia Supreme Court has struck down a law requiring the licensing of lactation specialists. First learned about this profession from The Office. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
* A lawsuit against the parents of a killer who murdered four people is being allowed to proceed. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
* An Iowa attorney has been suspended from practice for overbilling a public defender’s office, sometimes logging more than 24 hours in a day. Maybe the lawyer had Doc Brown’s DeLorean? [Bloomberg Law]
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Midsize Firms / Regional Firms
COVID-19 Law Firm Austerity Comes To Texas
Gotta keep that cash a-flowin'. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.29.20
* New lawyers in Texas are now being allowed to take their attorney oaths through Zoom and other teleconferencing apps. Hopefully they aren’t shirtless and in bed when they are sworn in. [Houston Chronicle]
* Former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin is the latest high-profile figure to be released from prison early because of COVID-19. [NBC News]
* The SEC has scored a slam dunk against an attorney who allegedly defrauded NBA star Charles Barkley of millions of dollars. [Bloomberg Law]
* A New Jersey petting zoo operator has been charged with animal cruelty for allegedly abusing dozens of pigs. Wonder if he calls himself “Pig King,” although the name doesn’t have a ring to it. [New Jersey Herald]
* Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has sued the New York State Board of Elections for canceling New York’s Democratic presidential primary. [Politico]
* The Supreme Court narrowly held that Georgia could not place its entire state code behind a paywall. Along similar lines, hopefully the Supreme Court will soon find that PACER fees should be eliminated. [New York Times]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.22.20
* A lawyer who got ejected from the Second Circuit last year is asking the Supreme Court to hear his case. Since the high court is conducting arguments by phone currently, maybe he’ll just get hung up on. [New York Law Journal]
* A lawyer who stole $128,000 from a mentally ill client has been suspended from practice. [Bloomberg Law]
* Missouri has become the first U.S. state to sue China over the COVID-19 pandemic. Not sure this is a distinction to be proud of. [U.S. News and World Report]
* A Texas judge has been forced to take down a rainbow flag after an attorney filed a complaint and compared the symbol to a swastika and Confederate flag. [Hill]
* Attorney General Barr has called stay-at-home orders “disturbingly close to house arrest” and the Justice Department might take actions against states that go too far. [NBC News]
* Lawyers are having a difficult time determining if COVID-19 is an act of God. Maybe they should subpoena the Almighty to get more clarity… [Bloomberg Law]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.15.20
* A Texas judge has been disciplined for posting Facebook congratulations to attorneys who won jury verdicts in her courtroom. Should have saved that conduct for LinkedIn… [Texas Lawyer]
* An attorney representing Anheuser-Busch in a lawsuit involving a Bud Light Super Bowl ad has requested a new oral argument date because he tested positive for COVID-19. [Bloomberg Law]
* Michael Sussman, the attorney for the alleged Monsey stabber (and a former adversary of mine), is requesting an autopsy of the victim even though autopsies run counter to Jewish burial traditions. [Forward]
* Jeff Sessions has stated that he has no regrets about leaving the Senate to serve as the Attorney General of the United States. [Hill]
* The owner of a strip club in Flint, Michigan, has filed a lawsuit claiming that the Payroll Protection Program improperly excludes businesses in the sex industry. This story is kind of reminiscent of another “Flynt”… [Michigan Live]