Transgender

* A deep dive into Justice Thomas’s dissents this term. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Without Justice Scalia, Supreme Court outcomes are a lot more difficult to predict. [The Guardian]

* A definitive list of portmanteaus for countries thinking of leaving the EU. Portugo. Beljump. Czech-Off. I love these. [Quartz]

* Federal court orders preliminary injunction in favor of transgender bathroom rights. [Buzzfeed]

* What goes into making a Biglaw brand? [Law and More]

* Kicking your procrastination habit and becoming a productive law student. [Law School Toolbox]

* A “frustrating” and “heartbreaking” decision: U.S. v. Texas. [Friend of the Immigrant]

* Latham partner, Abid Qureshi, is being vetted for a seat on the D.C. district court. [Law.com]

* David Lat’s take on surviving in the digital age. [Infinite Spada]

* The Justice Department is seeking a stay of Judge Andrew Hanen’s benchslap and order of ethics training while it appeals the ruling — a ruling the DOJ says could cost approximately $5 million to $8 million to comply with. [Texas Lawyer]

* Cheryl D. Mills, chief of staff to Hillary Clinton at the State Department, wishes that the issue of Clinton’s private email server “had been something we thought about.” [New York Times]

* Jim Lewis, counsel to Sigfredo Garcia, the man charged last week with the murder of Professor Dan Markel, maintains that Garcia had “had nothing to do with” the crime. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* Former attorney general Eric Holder says NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden performed a “public service” by sparking a debate over government surveillance — but still must pay a price for his illegal actions. [CNN]

* The Fourth Circuit holds that the police don’t need a warrant to obtain a person’s cellphone location data. [How Appealing]

* In other Fourth Circuit news, the court won’t go en banc to rehear its prior ruling in favor of the Obama Administration’s policy that transgender students are protected under existing civil rights law (aka the “transgender bathroom case”). [BuzzFeed via How Appealing]

* Those unsealed Trump University documents we mentioned yesterday? They don’t put the Donald in the best light. [New York Times]

* And Donald Trump isn’t getting much financial love from the legal community, as measured by campaign contributions (c’mon, Jones Day lawyers, help your client out). [American Lawyer]

* Judge Joseph Portelli of New Jersey, recently reprimanded for alleged inappropriate comments to counsel, gets renominated to the bench. [ABA Journal]

* Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: congratulations and best wishes to acclaimed novelist (and Dentons partner) Scott Turow and fellow lawyer Adriane Glazier — who first met when he interviewed her years ago for a summer associate gig. [New York Times]

Should a person’s legal gender really flip when they cross state or county lines?

* ASS Law is back in the news: Earlier this week, professors on the George Mason University Faculty Senate voted 21-13 to reopen the naming process on the already twice-renamed Antonin Scalia Law School. These professors must know that their actions have no impact on the administration’s decisions… right? [BuzzFeed News]

* Thanks to allegations of sexual harassment brought forward by courthouse personnel, Judge José A. Fusté of the District of Puerto Rico was allegedly forced by the First Circuit to “retire” from his position, effective June 1. If you’re unable to read in Spanish, Google Translate has a version in broken English that may be slightly helpful. [El Nuevo Día]

* Attention intellectual property attorneys, because your practice area just got a little more exciting. The Defend Trade Secrets Act passed in the House yesterday by a vote of 410-2, and that means the “most significant expansion of federal law in intellectual property since the Lanham Act in 1946” will likely soon become law. [WSJ Law Blog]

* “Transitioning at a Biglaw firm, are you crazy?” Not only is it possible to transition in Biglaw, but it’s possible to thrive as a transgender woman in Biglaw, and Sara Schnorr of Locke Lord had the full support of her firm. In fact, she was recently appointed to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. Congrats! [Big Law Business]

* “Is nonlawyer ownership of law firms long overdue? Or a bad idea?” The U.K. and Australia are already doing it, and now the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services is seeking comments for an issues paper on the risks and benefits of nonlawyer law firm ownership. Email us or tweet us and let us know what you think. [ABA Journal]

* Has the death of Justice Scalia turned the Supreme Court more liberal? [Empirical SCOTUS]

* The best Supreme Court sketch featuring a sleeping Clarence Thomas you will see all year. [Slate]

* “We’re all just people. Trying to pee in peace.” A trans activist speaks out about North Carolina’s discriminatory bathroom law. [Buzzfeed]

* An update on the legal problems plaguing Uber. [Huffington Post]

* The diplomatic strategy involved in expanding intellectual property rights. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

* Serving lattes instead of having a law library. [3 Geeks and a Law Blog]

* Combining April Fools’ Day, tax season, and furry pets into a single joke. Well played, sir. [TaxProf Blog]

* Booooo! This spoilsport argues that judges should stop issuing benchslaps. We disagree. [SSRN]

* Prepare to have your worldview shaken: Richard Nixon and William Rehnquist are actually the ones responsible for paving the path for transgender rights. [Slate]

* This term, the Supreme Court is on track for the fewest signed opinions in recent history. Take a detailed look at the Court’s first 19 decisions. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* President Obama is taking the fight over Merrick Garland to UChicago Law. [Huffington Post]

* A judge is allowing a lawsuit against a Northwestern’s journalism school to go forward. The suit alleges the school’s “innocence project” uses unethical practices in its wrongful conviction investigations. [Journal-ism]

* Get the rundown on the rules that will govern the GOP convention and the establishment’s last stand against Trump. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

How have Asian-American LGBT attorneys fared in their careers given recent advances in equality?

* The fascinating and brave story of Phyllis Frye, the nation’s first openly transgender judge — and in Texas no less! [New York Times]

* Copyright law ruins something new: this time the YouTube channel of the creator of “hardest Super Mario World level ever.” [Kotaku]

* Take a look at the correspondence Judge Berman received on Deflategate — all the completely sane and hinged rantings of Pats fans. [Deadspin]

* A law firm that lets you have a life? Blasphemy! [The Atlantic]

* Even if Larry Lessig becomes President of the United States, his presidency will still be a failure. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

* So… if a vampire makes a human their servant what liability does the human have for the vamp’s bloodsucking? [The Legal Geeks]

* An ode to Valorem’s Patrick Lamb and his incisive look at the failure of Dewey & Lebouef. [What About Clients?]

* The phenomenon of Quit Lit: when law professors take to the op-ed page to talk about their resignations. [TaxProf Blog]

One judge seems woefully out of line with the national zeitgeist.

* Trying Meredith Grey for wrongful death. Can we put her on How To Get Away With Murder and then have Hydra massacre them all in an all-purging ABC Network fire? [Lowenthal & Abrams]

* If the Supreme Court dismisses a case as improvidently granted, it’s a DIG. If they did it in the past, was it DUG? Professor Carissa Byrne Hessick ponders the linguistics that we’d never ever have considered. And that probably bodes well for us. [PrawfsBlawg]

* Did you hear about that two-way mirror that a bar installed to watch the women’s room? Police say no privacy rights were implicated, because apparently women understand that the bathroom door was unlocked so they expected guys to walk in on them. Stellar legal analysis. [Jezebel]

* NYC moves into the 20th Century with its summons process. No, that’s not a typo and yes, that’s still a good thing. [LFC 360]

* It’s important to remember that the revelation that David Messerschmitt may have led a double life doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen all the time. And we’re not talking about a Matt Murdock-style double life here, which doesn’t happen much. [Law and More]

* Nice shout out to Lexis-Nexis Blog for getting into the content production game. [Forbes]

* In the post-Jenner announcement world, here’s what employers can do to help transgender employees. A good start would be “don’t be Saks.” [LXBN]

* Interviewing people waiting in line for Supreme Court oral arguments and lamenting how much of their day is wasted because we can’t have a goddamned camera in the room. [Fix the Court]

* Another benchmark in the Ninth Circuit’s ongoing war against prosecutorial misconduct: a panel of judges — Kozinski, Wardlaw, and Fletcher — suggest trying prosecutors for perjury. [New York Observer]

* Lawyer and blogger Eric Turkewitz finds himself in the New York Post’s Page Six gossip column. Just what was he doing with Selena Gomez while Justin Bieber wasn’t looking? [New York Personal Injury Attorney Blog]

* Kristine Sperling left her position as a senior associate at Latham to start her own organic soap company. And, I’m assuming, an underground fight club. [Good Day Sacramento]

* Saks has finally figured out that its stance on transgendered people wasn’t winning it any friends and withdrew its filing. [Jezebel]

* The 2015 Social Media Subpoena Guide. Everything you need to know about getting all their best cookie recipes off Pinterest. [Associate’s Mind]

* Tom Petty’s lawyers “Won’t Back Down” and now he’s getting royalties for that Sam Smith song. [Consequence of Sound]

* Which law professor rules the Twitterverse? A comprehensive numerical analysis provides the answer. [Ryan Whalen]

* A new, easy to use online version of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. If you’re into that kind of thing. [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure]

* More accolades for Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). But you already know how good it is because you already have your copy, right? [The Florida Bar Journal]

* Lagunitas sued Sierra Nevada over beer. Beer connoisseurs pulled themselves out of their own vomit to tweet their disapproval. And it worked, Lagunitas dropped the suit. Imagine if we could harness the power of drunks for good. Or evil. Just anything. [SF Gate]

* Musing that maybe that daunting LSAT was the obstacle keeping students from filling seats, University of San Diego Law just opened up the school to USD grads — no LSAT required. [University of San Diego School of Law]

* Saks has heard the public backlash against its assertion that transgender people deserve no legal protections in the workplace and responded by… reasserting that transgendered people have no rights. [Slate]

* Fashion law isn’t just for Elle Woods acolytes anymore. [Racked]

* Ninth Circuit does not take kindly to a state prosecutor who lied under oath. [Seeking-Justice]

* SCOTUS justices don’t have to recuse themselves, and when they do, they don’t have to explain why. Let’s look at the recusals this Term and venture a guess at why each justice sat out. [Fix the Court]

* NY subways boast some ridiculous safety posters to cover themselves legally. Here’s a breakdown of their latest efforts. [NY Observer]

* Checking in on the always messed up developments down at Manhattan Supreme Court. [Wise Law NY]

* “Good news for law grads and law schools!” article ends up buried in a sea of caveats. Because of course it does. [TaxProf Blog]

* Ted Cruz Goes To Jury Duty is the Ernest Goes To Camp of a new generation. [NBC News]

* Former Judge Mike Maggio has graced our pages with his disgrace before when he admitted to making racist and sexist remarks about Charlize Theron’s adoption. Well, he just pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges. Looks like he’ll Geaux to prison. [Arkansas Times]

* Faced with allegations that it discriminated against a trans woman, Saks takes the curious legal stance that it had the legal right to discriminate. I’d say that takes balls, but… [Slate]

* A hearing board in Illinois just recommended a one-year suspension of former Sidley Austin and present DLA Piper attorney Lee Smolen. Maybe he could spend that time with his kids. [Legal Profession Blog]

* Fourth Circuit rules that you can’t set up unconstitutional barriers to abortion. Nothing to do with the woman’s rights of course, but because it might impact the doctor’s free speech. [Dorf on Law]

* Fired for wife-swapping. [Lowering the Bar]

* Jones Day accuses a federal judge of bias in benchslap appeal. Meanwhile, trial lawyers are filing amicus briefs backing the judge. [ACEDS]

* Technology and outsourcing have totally jacked the careers of Biglaw associates. You already knew this, but now there’s a paper! [TaxProf Blog]

* A blistering dissent from that usual suspects: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas. [The Atlantic] * Same-sex marriage opponents in Nevada suggest liberal bias in the selection of the Ninth Circuit panels hearing gay rights cases. They demand en banc review after noting that “two of the Ninth Circuit’s more liberal judges wind up most often on panels deciding cases involving gay rights.” Let me peruse that roster of Ninth Circuit judges… yeah, good luck with that en banc review, guys. [SCOTUS Blog] * A Toledo Law student was arrested on a child sex charge. [NBC24] * Kesha is suing producer Dr. Luke for sexual assault and battery. [TMZ] * Can you guess which states lead the way on transgender rights? The answer will… actually not surprise you much at all. [Vocativ] * The travails of Albany Law School continue. President and Dean Penny Andrews announces that she is stepping down. [Albany Law School] * As if police departments weren’t militarized enough, they’re using cash seizures to fuel even more ridiculous spending. [Washington Post] * Staci profiled some legal cosplayers, and when I saw the Judge Dredd costumes, all I could think about is one of the greatest Onion videos about SCOTUS ever. “I am the law!” [The Onion] * Katie Couric sits down with Susan Mellen, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years. [Yahoo! News]

* How are Nevada and Idaho officials reacting to yesterday’s Ninth Circuit ruling striking down gay marriage bans in those states, and how soon might marriages get underway? [BuzzFeed]

* In other LGBT legal news, New York City is likely to make it easier for transgender individuals to amend their birth certificates. [New York Times]

* Good news for Joan Orie Melvin, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice turned convicted felon: her unorthodox sentence has been stayed (again). [How Appealing]

* Eduardo Leite, who has led Baker & McKenzie since 2010, gets another two years at the helm of Biglaw’s biggest firm. [American Lawyer]

* Cravath associate Micaela McMurrough scores a victory in tax court for artists. [New York Times]

* The ABA has issued a new opinion addressing ethical issues raised during the sale of a law practice. [American Bar Association]

* Why do lawyers blog? Tim Baran of Rocket Matter talks to 23 of us. [Legal Productivity]

* A surefire way to make your mom proud of you is to file a funny amicus brief with the Supreme Court, get called out for it in the New York Times, and be lauded by us at Above the Law as having filed the “best amicus brief ever.” [Daily Beast] * Cynthia Brim, a state judge who’s been declared legally insane, wants to return to the judicial bench she’s been suspended from. Hey, you could look at it this way: at least she’d be working for her $182K salary. [Chicago Tribune] * Our readers will be thrilled to know that beginning this year, lawyers will become obsolete. Artificial intelligence will start taking over your jobs within the next six months or so. [Wired] * Join the Fordham OUTLaws for a Transgender Law symposium, co-sponsored by Skadden and the LGBT Bar. One of the panelists, Erin Buzuvis, is an amazing professor from my school. [Fordham Law School] * If you care at all about how well women and minority law students are represented on law reviews, then you’ll want to come to this important event. I’ll be there, and I hope to see you there, too! [Ms. JD] * In case you were wondering, Penn Law successfully beat the crap out of Wharton (in terms of head to head win-loss record) during the 10th annual Wharton vs. Law Fight Night. [Wharton vs. Law: Fight Night] * Meet Anthony Halmon, the second-year student at FIU Law who’s relying on his coolness to rock the vote for the SBA presidency. Check out his rap video, after the jump. [Daily Business Review (reg. req.)]

How open should transgender lawyers be about their lives and backgrounds?

* The Zimmerman verdict allows us to sit back and reflect on how bad Atticus Finch really was at his job. [Criminal Defense Blog] * In case you’d forgotten about the shenanigans at Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law, here’s your update: a former employee has been charged for promising students more scholarships than the school had. Rick Pitino needs to show the law school how to work within scholarship limits. [Courier-Journal] * State licensing boards are trying to put the kibosh on advice columnists. Next thing you know, they’ll be trying to shut down Dr. Demento. [Lexington Herald-Leader] * Fun with patents: Monkey Dog Saddle! [Lowering the Bar] * Transgendered workers are successfully challenging workplace discrimination using the Civil Rights Act. These sound like cases Justice Alito will get right on overturning. [Buzzfeed] * McDonald’s is trying to show how it provides its employees a living wage. It just requires working a second job for a total of between 62-74 hours. No biggie. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

Mansfield J. Park weighs in on whether law students should stay in the game or quit while they're ahead.

* Chief Judge Edith Jones of the Fifth Circuit, the judicial diva herself, will be stepping down from her role at the head of the bench earlier than expected, due to “family issues.” Perhaps she told someone to “shut up” too many times? [Tex Parte Blog]

* Apple asked U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to deny Samsung’s request that she bar all further communication with trial jurors, because the company claims it wants “equal access to information” (aka jury foreman Velvin Hogan). [Bloomberg]

* “[T]here’s no way to preserve the definition of marriage [as one man and one woman] other than by preserving the definition. It becomes somewhat circular.” That, and you rely on law from 1885. Argh! [BuzzFeed]

* ASU Law wants to move from Tempe to Phoenix, and to make it financially feasible, the school may increase enrollment and raise tuition. Sound like a good idea, prospective law students cash cows? [Arizona Republic]

* Now compare/contrast: Stanford Law had to dip into its coffers to come up with the cash to cover its financial aid promises this year, but the school isn’t cutting out a dime that’s owed to students. [National Law Journal]

* Massachusetts appealed the Michelle Kosilek sex-change ruling. The state claims it provided “adequate medical care,” but it’s questionable whether that was the case if the prisoner tried to castrate herself. [CNN]

* Tully Rinckey, a midsize firm, is planning to open an office in Buffalo, New York, so it sent out recruitment letters to 5,469 attorneys in the region. Unemployed law grads: open the letter, it’s not a bill! [Buffalo News]