Trials
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.07.16
* Bill Cosby will face trial in June for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania woman, and now his lawyers claim her attorney, Gloria Allred, trampled upon his civil rights in a “campaign … buil[t] on racial bias and prejudice that can pollute the court of public opinion.” [NBC News]
* As we mentioned yesterday, Peter Kalis — the man who’s served as chair of K&L Gates for about two decades — will not seek re-election to his post, and everyone is wondering who will succeed him. According to a recently departed partner, “[t]hey don’t have enough groomed for top-level management.” Uh oh! We’ll have more on this. [Law.com]
* Yet another Biglaw firm is losing a longtime managing partner. Mark Silow of Fox Rothschild will step down from his position in April 2017, after 13 years in leadership. He’ll be replaced by Mark Morris as managing partner, but will transition to becoming the firm’s chair, retaining a seat on its executive committee. [Big Law Business]
* Sullivan & Cromwell is stepping up its digital security practice with a major hire. Earlier this week, the firm announced that Nicole Friedlander, who previously worked as co-chief of the complex frauds and online crime unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, would join the firm as special counsel. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Not only is New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman breathing antitrust accusations down EpiPen-maker Mylan Pharmaceutical’s neck, but now a proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against the company with allegations that its “unconscionable … price gouging” violated Ohio’s consumer protection laws. [Reuters]
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Crime, Television
Standard Of Review: Liking, But Not Loving, 'The Night Of'
The "series finale" had a lot to like, but certain aspects left me scratching my head. - 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… -
Boutique Law Firms, Small Law Firms, Television
Beyond Biglaw: Lessons From 'The Night Of' (Part 2)
How do clients view us as lawyers, especially when they watch us interact with other lawyers?
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Celebrities, Privacy, Trials
Too Poor To Pay Million-Dollar Judgment, Former Gawker Editor Offers Up Rice Cooker, Dishes
Maybe Hulk Hogan wants this former Gawker editor's clothes or books instead? -
Politics, Trials, White-Collar Crime
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane: From Top Prosecutor To Convicted Criminal
Will she resign? Could she go to prison? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.15.16
* In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, Brendan Dassey — one of the subjects of the Netflix hit documentary “Making a Murderer” — had his conviction overturned on Friday. In his ruling, Judge William Duffin cited the misconduct of Dassey’s trial lawyer as “indefensible.” He’ll be released from prison within 90 days. [Reuters]
* “I wasn’t a pedophile. I wasn’t a preferential sex predator. I wasn’t the monster I was made out to be.” Seeking a new trial, ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky is arguing ineffective assistance of counsel thanks to his lawyer’s decision to keep him off the stand and allow him to take a televised interview with Bob Costas. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
* Uh-oh! Even after an enormous partner capital call of $18.1 million, it seems that King & Wood Mallesons may not be out of the woods just yet. The firm failed to make any partner profit distributions at the end of the month in July, and it’s “not painting a particularly positive picture” as to the overall health of the firm. [Big Law Business]
* ASU Law’s new school is set to open today in Phoenix, Arizona, and there will be a few special appearances from political and judicial hotshots to commemorate the very special occasion, including speeches from Senator John McCain and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the law school’s namesake. Congratulations! [Downtown Phoenix Journal]
* Meet Jerry Guerinot, the Texas defense attorney who’s earned the honor of being referred to as the “worst lawyer in the United States.” He’s represented about three dozen capital murder defendants over the course of 40 years and he has a perfect record — in that not a single one of his clients has been found innocent. [Houston Chronicle]
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Books
Standard Of Review: Traveling To The 1990s To Review 'Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil'
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is an easily readable, enjoyable novel that will entertain lawyers and non-lawyers alike. -
Minority Issues, Racism, State Judges
Black Judge Ordered To Pay Up For Having Opinions
While judges get away with bias and abuse all over the country, this guy's the one left paying the price. - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Constitutional Law, Technology
How Many Rights Have You Have Forfeited Today?
Before you sign up for some new service or piece of technology, make sure you are not giving up any rights. -
Boutique Law Firms, Litigators, Small Law Firms
The Best Trial Lawyers Are Also Appellate Lawyers
If you want to be a great trial lawyer, you must not only actually try cases, but you also need to argue appeals. -
Litigators, Sponsored Content, Technology, Trials
How Advanced Technologies Are Helping Litigators Win Cases
How technology is providing trial lawyers with shortcuts and better tools to do our jobs. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.26.16
* Could it be? Could she really do such a thing? Rumor has it that Amal Clooney may be quitting her law firm job at Doughty Street Chambers to become a fashion designer for the likes of fashion house Oscar de la Renta. We may have more on this later today. [Inquisitr]
* Maryland’s AG intends to contest a ruling granting “Serial” podcast subject Adnan Syed a new trial, saying that the state would “defend what it believes is a valid conviction.” Syed has been servicing a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee since 2000. [Baltimore Sun]
* Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be behind bars for a 15-month term for attempting to conceal secret payments to his underage sexual assault victims in a cover-up scheme, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to fight a lawsuit seeking the full $3.5 million he allegedly said he would pay to buy a victim’s silence. [Chicago Tribune]
* Vermont Law School, which was hit relatively hard by the recession in terms of its ability to fill its seats, has applied for a $15 million loan from the federal government to help restructure its debts. Unlike what its students face in terms of their debt, the law school may be able to get a good interest rate upon approval. [VTDigger / Valley News]
* “[A]ttempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.” Congratulations (or perhaps condolences?) digital currency aficionados, because a judge just ruled that Bitcoin isn’t money for the purposes of money-laundering statutes. [WSJ Law Blog]
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Litigators, Pregnancy / Paternity, Trials
Should Judges Delay Trials For Pregnant Lawyers?
Women should not be forced to view their pregnancies as career stumbling blocks or reasons to leave the legal profession.
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
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Crime, Police
Criminally Yours: Prosecutors vs. Defense Attorneys -- Who's Got It Worse?
Many prosecutors, especially new ones, don't know how to prep their cops for cross examination. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.08.16
* “Our goal will be to be as transparent as possible about our results, while complying with our various legal obligations.” The Justice Department may have chosen not to bring charges against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, but that didn’t stop the State Department from reopening its investigation into her email scandal just one day later. [Associated Press]
* Has the Roberts Court turned liberal? Not really, says Linda Greenhouse. Considering that “today’s conservative justices are a good deal more conservative than the liberal justices are liberal,” the results of the high court’s last two blockbuster cases were really about righting wrongs that flew in the face of existing laws. [New York Times]
* This month, Risa Goluboff, the first woman to ever serve at the helm of UVA Law, began her stint as dean, and a great number of the burning questions that she was asked in this interview relate to work/life balance. Perhaps the next time another man is named dean at a law school, he’ll have to answer similar questions. [Big Law Business]
* A judge has ruled that Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial may proceed over the objections of his lawyers, who were apparently upset they weren’t able to cross-examine Andrea Constand, the comedian’s accuser, during a preliminary hearing earlier this year. “It’s our position we’re not going to re-traumatize victims,” said a prosecutor. [NBC News]
* Arthur Olick, bankruptcy pioneer and Anderson Kill partner, RIP. [WSJ Law Blog]
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Money, Trials
Finance And Law: How To Critique A Valuation Model In Court
It is important for attorneys to understand how to critique valuation methods in order to do an effective job for their clients. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.05.16
* In case you haven’t been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Kilpatrick Townsend, Sutherland, Norton Rose Fulbright, Morgan Lewis (additional details), Troutman Sanders. If you’re worried you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, you can check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]
* “The plan was always to retire after this summer, retirement just came a little sooner than I’d hoped.” Olympic gold medalist Shannon Vreeland isn’t going to the Rio Olympics this summer; instead, she’ll be swimming in the completely the uncharted waters of law school at Vanderbilt. Will she be the new Aquagirl? [SwimSwam]
* Worried about Brexit? So are clients who have hired Mischon de Reya lawyers to make sure the British government doesn’t try to leave the EU without consulting parliament. “Everyone in Britain needs the government to apply the correct constitutional process and allow parliament to fulfill its democratic duty,” says a firm partner. [Bloomberg]
* Judge Richard Posner would like to sincerely apologize for saying that the Constitution isn’t worth the time judges have spent studying it. What he really meant to say was that he thinks the Constitution is so vague that judges are simply “do[ing] the best they can” to make the 17th century document applicable to our modern world. [WSJ Law Blog]
* “I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you’re ready, you just need to do it! You can’t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t.” Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts teen who walked her boyfriend through his suicide via text, will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter. [AP]
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Jury Duty, Wall Street
Lawyer Asks Jurors Not To Lump Client Of 'Average Intelligence' In With Other Ex-Barclays Traders Accused Of Libor Manipulation
Jonathan Mathew is not having the greatest of days. -
Bad Ideas, Trials
Lawyer Who Allegedly Slit Law Firm Partner's Throat Says He Doesn't Recall Committing Any Crimes
This is pretty unbelievable testimony. -
Trials, Wall Street
Hank Greenberg Is Headed To Trial On Those Pesky Fraud Charges After All
The former CEO of AIG must face a fraud trial over transactions at the insurer, New York's highest court just ruled.