U.S. Senate
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.19.21
* A lawsuit claims that candles made by a company owned by Gwyneth Paltrow exploded. Wonder if Serenity by Jan made similar products… [NBC News]
* The St. Louis lawyer, who was infamously photographed wielding a gun in front of protesters last year, has announced his run for a U.S. Senate seat. [Kansas City Star]
* The City of Sacramento has settled a lawsuit over a law that required people to stand during the national anthem. [Sacramento Bee]
* An appeals judge in North Carolina has been issued a criminal summons for allegedly nearly hitting protesters with an SUV. [ABA Journal]
* Since Above the Law has not had a “lawyerly lairs” segment in a while, wanted to relate that the home of the founder of 1-800-LAWYERS is on the market. [New York Post]
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Courts
Michael Cohen Given An Offer He Can't Refuse
Former Trump lawyer subpoenaed by the U.S. Senate. - Sponsored
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.07.18
* Republicans’ control over the Senate grew after the midterm elections, but Democrats managed to take the House. Here are six interesting reasons why that means President Donald Trump could be in “huge legal trouble” now. [Law & Crime]
* Florida voters approved an amendment to their state constitution to restore felons’ voting rights, which will now be automatically restored after prison time is completed and restitution paid. That’s at least 1.4 million more voters! [Orlando Sentinel]
* Remember Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed after she refused to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples? Last night, she lost her reelection campaign to Elwood Caudill Jr., a Democratic challenger. [Lexington Herald Leader]
* In case you missed it, President Donald Trump chose former White House counsel and current O’Melveny of counsel A.B. Culvahouse to go Down Under to
put another shrimp on the barbieserve as U.S. ambassador to Australia. [National Law Journal]* A California appellate court has paved the way for former Winston & Strawn partner Constance Ramos to get out of an “unconscionable” arbitration agreement with the firm. This may be the first Biglaw gender bias case to make it to trial. [The Recorder]
* Sorry, but you can’t deduct the cost of your law degree on your taxes because it qualified you for a new trade or business. The U.S. Tax Court says that even with a shiny new J.D. in your possession, you’ve only enhanced your current skills. [Law360]
* Grab ’em by the public interest: Per a new Gallup survey, pre-law students don’t care about Biglaw money; no, they say the top reason to go to law school is to “pursue a career in politics, government, or other public service.” [Idaho Business Review]
* A group of crypto investors has filed suit against rapper T.I., alleging that they could not have whatever they like because he tricked them into backing FLiK Token. The Rubberband Man’s lawyer says, “Tip is truly disheartened by the lawsuit.” [Complex]
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Health Care / Medicine
Grassley Opens Probe Into Orphan Drug Act Abuses
In a statement, Grassley said the inquiry is “based on reporting from Kaiser Health News” and strong consumer concern about high drug prices. -
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Politics
Orrin Hatch Doesn't Care About Your Stinkin' Rules
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) suspended rules requiring a quorum for a vote, allowing Price and Mnuchin to advance to the full Senate. -
Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
A New Trend Among Supreme Court Clerks?
Why are so many former SCOTUS clerks flocking to Capitol Hill? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.26.15
* Senate Republicans are contemplating abolishing filibusters for SCOTUS nominees. This could go one of two ways: it could work out nicely for them, or explode in their faces. It’s like a choose your own adventure game. [POLITICO]
* When it comes to the upcoming gay marriage cases before SCOTUS, “[e]very lawyer involved will want to argue.” Remember, when you’re given the chance to make history, you better hope that you’re on the right side of it. [National Law Journal]
* “[I]f there is one decision I would overrule, it is Citizens United.” Even RBG thinks this campaign finance decision is one of the Supreme Court’s “darkest hour[s].” [Salon]
* SCOTUS refused to stay Charles Warner’s execution, but it agreed to grant cert on his lethal injection case days after his death. Better late than never? [New York Times]
* The NFL has drafted Ted Wells of Paul Weiss to blow up the absurd controversy that is “Deflategate.” Come on, who cares if the Patriots cheated again? [WSJ Law Blog]
* Do you know any chronic Biglaw firm-hoppers? How many firms are too many to lateral to? Three? Five? Seven? Jesus Christ, for this guy, try 10 firms. [Am Law Daily]
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Akhil Amar, Constitutional Law, Jeffrey Toobin, Law Professors, New Yorker, Noah Feldman, Orrin Hatch, Politics, Quote of the Day, Sanford Levinson
We The People... Can Do Better?
Is the Constitution to blame for the current political dysfunction? -
Akin Gump, D.C. Circuit, Federal Judges, John Roberts, Politics
D.C. Circuit Underworked, Say Anonymous Letters Possibly From Federal Judges
Senator Grassley asks federal judges to rat out their colleagues. Should the D.C. Circuit be run like a fast food restaurant comment box? -
Department of Justice, Eric Holder, Federal Government, Quote of the Day
Like the Energizer Bunny, Eric Holder Will Keep Going, and Going, and Going...
Reading 80,000 Verizon text messages every day can really wear you down, but Eric Holder is staying strong. -
Clarence Thomas, Confirmations, Federal Government, Federal Judges, Harvard Law Review, Job Searches, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Politics, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Student Loans, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 02.19.13
* Save for an unintelligible joke made last month, it’s been seven years since Clarence Thomas has spoken during oral arguments, much less asked a question, but with no offense to his colleagues, he’d rather “allow the advocates to advocate.” [Washington Post]
* Sorry, members of the American public, but something like 95 percent of you are too stupid to understand what’s going on during Supreme Court hearings, so there’s no point in having cameras in the courtroom to film them. (Sotomayor, J.) [New York Times]
* “Having an empty bench means people don’t get their cases heard,” but it seems like Senate Republicans could not care less. Obama’s facelift for the federal judiciary is going to have to wait a little while longer. [San Francisco Chronicle]
* A lawgasm for prestige nerds: the Harvard Law Review received federal trademark protection, and with that, the number three law school in the country gained some bragging rights over Yale. [Daily Report (reg. req.)]
* Oh my God, you guys, law school applications are down, no one can find jobs, and recent graduates are in debt up to their eyeballs. This is totally new information that no one’s heard before. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
* Turning to your parents for law school advice is perhaps the worst idea in the world — after all, they’re the cause of your “special little snowflake” syndrome in the first place. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
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Barack Obama, Constitutional Law, D.C. Circuit, David Sentelle, Federal Government, Labor / Employment, Politics
D.C. Circuit Strikes Down Some Of Obama's Recess Appointments
Obama gets smacked by the D.C. Circuit...
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Attorney Misconduct, Bar Exams, Celebrities, Charles Fried, Fabulosity, Laurence Tribe, Law Professors, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Reader Polls
An Update on the Elizabeth Warren Law License Controversy
What do the experts have to say about the Elizabeth Warren law license controversy? -
Attorney Misconduct, Bar Exams, Celebrities, Fabulosity, Law Professors, Law Schools, Legal Ethics
Does Elizabeth Warren Have a Law License Problem?
That's the question a Cornell law professor is asking. What are Warren's possible defenses? -
Biglaw, Federal Judges, Law Professors, Morning Docket, Old People
Morning Docket: 03.15.12
* Building bridges instead of burning them: a new Republican strategy that just might work. Thanks to this Senate deal, 14 federal judicial nominees will get confirmation votes before summer. [Legal Times]
* According to this survey, Biglaw firm leaders are wearing rose-colored glasses when it comes to the economy and current business conditions. That said, where are the spring bonuses? [Am Law Daily]
* A jury found Virginia Tech negligent in its handling of the school’s 2007 massacre. The administration will probably appeal, but it’d be nicer if they just appeased the victims’ families. [Wall Street Journal]
* Want a tenure-track teaching position? Just sue. Nicholas Spaeth’s age discrimination suit against Georgetown Law will proceed, much to the school’s chagrin. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* Kim Kardashian + boobs + lawsuit = water cooler fodder for lawyers. [New York Post]
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Biglaw, Copyright, Election 2012, Federal Government, Health Care / Medicine, Law Professors, Law Schools, LLMs, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.31.12
* “Members of Congress are not above the law,” and that’s why the Senate will likely approve a ban on insider trading of non-public information by the end of the week. Say hello to the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. [Boston Globe] * Eye of newt tiger, and toe of frog, wool of bat, […]
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American Bar Association / ABA, Biglaw, Celebrities, Death Penalty, Gay, Law Schools, Military / Military Law, Morning Docket, Technology, Texas, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 12.09.11
* DLA Piper is blaming the Occupy Wall Street movement for Biglaw’s sad, 2011 bonus season. It looks like we can expect a Cravath match from that firm. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * We could really use some more law schools — fourth tier law schools, in particular. Say hello to the Savannah Law […]
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American Bar Association / ABA, Law Schools
Is a Senate Hearing on the Way for Law School Transparency?
Law schools have faced an incredible amount of public scrutiny this year. Three law schools — Thomas Jefferson, Cooley Law, and New York Law School — are facing lawsuits over their allegedly deceptive employment statistics. Fifteen more lawsuits of the same variety may be filed soon. Three senators have demanded action from the American Bar […] -
Celebrities, Drugs, Federal Circuit, Federal Judges, Gay, Michael Jackson, Morning Docket, Murder, Senate Judiciary Committee, Violence
Morning Docket: 11.11.11
* A bill to repeal DOMA made it past the Senate Judiciary Committee, but members of the Senate don’t do dick (unless it’s in an airport bathroom), so it’s probably not going anywhere. [Blog of Legal Times] * Next on the gay rights news beat, after waiting around for 18 months, WilmerHale attorney Edward DuMont […]