Blum’s organizations attempt to choke our country’s educational institutions’ ability to take race into account in their admissions policies.
* Sonia Sotomayor is proving she is a different kind of Supreme Court justice. [Guile is Good] * Nick Denton gets a nice payday in exchange for a non-compete clause. [Wall Street Journal] * Federal judge rules Ferguson School District violated the Voting Rights Act. [Huffington Post] * Democrats are screwing up Obamacare -- does this open the door to the single-payer option? [Slate] * Even Mike Pence can't keep a straight face when confronted with Trump's "ideas." [Salon] * The battle over #sponsored posts continues. [Speechwriter-Ghostwriter] * No maternity leave? No problem. Just learn the basics of an office birth. [Funny or Die]
LexisNexis sat down with John Ursin, Managing Partner at Schenck Price, to learn how the firm is using legal AI to strengthen client service and daily legal work.
* The Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, rules that Texas's voter ID law violates the Voting Rights Act by having discriminatory effects on minority voters (but remands on the issue of discriminatory purpose). [How Appealing] * It appears that yes, Roger Ailes is on his way out at Fox News -- thanks in part to the work of lawyers from Paul, Weiss. [New York Times] * Matt and Melissa Graves, the parents whose two-year-old son was killed by an alligator at Disney's Grand Floridian resort, will not be suing Disney. [Washington Post] * Congratulations to exoneree Jarrett Adams, who served nearly eight years in prison for a crime he did not commit, on his admission to the New York bar. [ABA Journal] * Republican VP nominee Mike Pence is a lawyer, and his Democratic counterpart probably will be as well: shortlisters Tim Kaine, Thomas Perez, and Tom Vilsack are all lawyers, and James Stavridis is a law dean. [New York Times] * A California man gets convicted in a plot to kill two prosecutors, two FBI agents, and federal judge Andrew Guilford -- with a wood chipper. [Los Angeles Times via ABA Journal] * A New York appeals court affirms a ruling in favor of Boies Schiller in a malpractice suit brought by fashion model Mary Anne Fletcher. [Big Law Business] * A bit more about former Attorney General Eric Holder's work for Airbnb (a development we noted yesterday). [American Lawyer]
* The Supreme Court is behind some of the epic lines voters have experienced during the primaries. [The Nation] * Did Justice Kennedy just reveal himself to be hostile to the contraception mandate accommodation in today's oral arguments in Zubik v. Burwell? [Slate] * Senator Pat Toomey may be caving on the Merrick Garland front -- the Pennsylvania Republican has agreed to take a meeting with the judge. [Politico] * This is the actual problem with the most recent interpretation of Superman. [Lawyers, Guns and Money] * Making the connection between reproductive freedom and LGBTQ rights. [Huffington Post] * Opining on the ultimate fate of Edward Snowden. [Law and More] * Charting the spread of marijuana legalization. [Pacific Standard Magazine]
* Martin Shkreli's hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been rescheduled due to this weekend's blizzard. This will give the reviled pharma bro even more time to brush up on constitutional law. [CBS News] * Uh-oh! Thanks to some "cash flow issues" -- like partners not being paid on time -- King & Wood Mallesons is currently in the process of raising capital and will be conducting a review of its overall financial structure. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Cert denied! The justices of the Supreme Court may have bought these lawyers' arguments and struck down a crucial part of the Voting Rights Act in the Shelby County case, but they're certainly not buying their request for $2 million in legal fees. [Reuters] * A hate crime without a resolution? Police are closing their investigation into the defacement of black professors' portraits at Harvard Law without having found a perp. Maybe they decided to take Elie Mystal's advice not to feed the trolls. [Boston.com] * Florida State settled a lawsuit filed by Erica Kinsman, a former student who claimed Jameis Winston raped her, for $900K, but the school claims $700K of that amount will go to her legal team. Her lawyers, however, would politely beg to differ. [USA Today]
Is it legal legerdemain for the state to authorize and fully fund a racially discriminatory election while still insisting that the election is a private matter?
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* In the wake of yet another tragedy, how should the Second Amendment be balanced? [Slate] * What are the legal ramifications of "crying porn"? Yup, apparently 'crying porn" is now a thing. [Law and More] * All the ways Evenwel v. Abbott could (further) gut the Voting Rights Act. [Talking Points Memo] * What's the problem with international labor monitoring? [Lawyers, Guns & Money] * Texas Governor Greg Abbott is just being the absolute worst over the issue of Syrian refugees. [Wonkette] * Would lawyers be okay with non-lawyers providing some legal advice? [2 Civility]
* Following the divisive decision in Shelby County v. Holder, voting rights cases may be heading back to the SCOTUS sooner than we thought. Thanks, Texas and Wisconsin. [USA Today] * Bienvenidos a Miami? Cities compete to be designated as sites where global arbitration matters are heard. Miami is an up-and-comer, but New York is king. [DealBook / New York Times] * Thanks to anonymous donors, the reward for info related to FSU Law Professor Dan Markel’s murder has been raised to $25,000. Not a single suspect has been named since his death. [Tallahassee Democrat] * After losing the Democratic primary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Professor Zephyr Teachout drank some gin and tonics like a boss before returning to her class at Fordham Law to teach property. [New York Times] * Try as he might, the Blade Runner just can’t outrun the law: Oscar Pistorius might have been cleared on the murder charge he was facing, but now he’s been found guilty on a culpable homicide charge. [CNN]
* People have “greatly underestimated how powerful a jurist Justice Sotomayor would be,” and now that one of her concurrences flies directly in the face of Obama’s NSA tactics, we’ll get to see how powerful she really is. [MSNBC] * Here’s a fun end-of-the-year roundup: President Obama’s Top 10 Constitutional Violations of 2013. Fifty internet points shall be awarded to the first person who correctly guesses how many are related to Obamacare without looking. [Forbes] * Following Judge Shira Scheindlin’s stop-and-frisk spanking, the Southern District of New York changed its rules on case assignments in order to increase transparency. Related-case judge-shopping just got a whole lot harder. [New York Times] * Wiley Rein is defending its fee request in the Voting Rights Act case, and says the Department of Justice is “[tying] itself in knots” trying to find a way to get out of paying the piper. Harsh. [Blog of Legal Times] * These are four ways you can overcome a low GPA when applying to law school, but really, the best way to overcome a low GPA is to not apply at all. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report] * “I am not trying to bring down the NSA, I am working to improve the NSA.” Now that he’s unleashed all of America’s deep dark secrets, Edward Snowden just wants to Google like a regular guy. [Washington Post]
* Despite his hatred of 3L classes like “Law and Unicorns,” Justice Scalia believes that the third year of law school is necessary — perhaps a necessary evil, but still necessary. [Memphis Daily News] * “[T]his excuse — sometimes labeled the ‘too big to jail’ excuse — is disturbing, frankly….” The eminently quotable Judge Rakoff is at it again, this time with harsh words for the DOJ. [New York Times] * According to the latest survey from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, managing partners think that 2014 will be better than 2013. This means bonuses will be the same next year. [Am Law Daily] * Attorneys from Wiley Rein are fighting for $2 million in fees in the wake of their SCOTUS win in the Shelby County Voting Rights Act case. The firm’s quest has been called “absurd.” [National Law Journal] * “The record is utterly devoid of any evidence of criminal intent or intentional misconduct.” It turns out that Guy Lewis and Michael Tein, the attorneys accused of malpractice by the Miccosukee Indians, weren’t bad after all. [Daily Business Review] * Rather than pegging its value at $1 million, a professor from a fourth-tier law school is promoting the “non-economic value” of a law degree. Can “cultural capital” repay your loans? [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)] * “[N]o law school in Canada should be allowed to weed out gay students.” Too bad. Trinity Western University, the law school that bans gay “sexual intimacy,” received preliminary approval. [Globe and Mail] * Law school specialization and you: follow these three simple steps to help you decide which niche you’ll be unable to find a job in after you graduate. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
A visual look at the major cases on the Supreme Court's docket for the current Term.
* Even the election law controversies are bigger in Texas. The Department of Justice is currently planning to intervene in one lawsuit and file another against the Lone Star state over its voter identification law and redistricting plans. [National Law Journal] * Here’s an especially helpful ruling for people who have been living their lives without landlines (so, basically everyone). You can gratefully thank the Third Circuit for allowing you to block those annoying robocalls on your cellphones. [Legal Intelligencer] * Well, that was quick — a Biglaw pump and dump, if you will. After only a year, David M. Bernick, former general counsel of Philip Morris, is leaving Boies Schiller and will likely be taking a position at Dechert. [DealBook / New York Times] * “[L]ife got in the way.” Who really needs loyalty in Biglaw these days? More than half of the nearly 500 associates and counsel who made partner in 2013 started their careers at different firms. [Am Law Daily] * Another one bites the dust. John McGahren, the New Jersey managing partner of Patton Boggs, just resigned from an office he opened himself after some major attorney downsizing. [New Jersey Law Journal] * “In a community of 98,000 people and 640,000 partners, it isn’t possible to say there will never be wrongdoing.” Comforting. Microsoft is under the microscope of a federal bribery probe. [Corporate Counsel] * Ronald Motley, a “charismatic master of the courtroom” who founded Motley Rice, RIP. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Most folks think the police overreacted by issuing a civil disobedience warning for a 3-year-old girl, but those people need to watch Children of the Corn. [UPI] * Speaking of the Brits, authorities detained Glenn Greenwald’s partner (interestingly, Greenwald’s partner is named Miranda) for nine hours and “confiscated his computer, phone, camera, memory stick, DVDs and video games” while passing through Heathrow. Wow, this is the sort of thing that might make Greenwald mad at the surveillance state. [ABA Journal] * A detailed analysis of confidential sources. I’m pointing this out to publicly clarify that ATL keeps its tipsters confidential unless they specifically ask to be cited. So feel free to tip away! [Talking Biz News] * Tales of Ted Cruz as a young man. So we’re calling parliamentary-style debate “debate” now? OK. [Daily Beast] * Professor Rick Hasen examines North Carolina’s new voter suppression law and how it proves that the country still needs the Voting Rights Act. [Slate] * Maybe bar exams should write better questions that actually cover all the material candidates have to learn. Personally, I was just fine not having to memorize a lot about New York commercial paper law. [Ramblings on Appeal] * The tale of a wealthy couple evading the law. The article describes the story as an “arthritic version of Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw in The Getaway, perhaps, moving at nursing-home speed.” Hollywood just found a plot for Expendables 4. [Seattle Weekly] * The government’s obsession with FCPA enforcement has bit JP Morgan over hiring the children of Chinese officials to woo business. [Dealbreaker] * Chief Judge Michael P. Mills of the Northern District of Mississippi weighs in on a copyright suit between the estate of William Faulkner and Woody Allen. The judge is apparently not a fan of Sharknado because he has no soul. Video of the quirky conflict after the jump…
* This gem of a listing just showed up in the “legal/paralegal jobs” section of Craigslist. Be sure to send a “nude picture” with your résumé! Perhaps someone has been watching too many Maggie Gyllenhaal films. If it gets taken down a screenshot is here, and the klassy alternative picture in the listing is here. [Craigslist] * From the “no good deed goes unpunished” department, Georgetown Law has figured out how to bilk taxpayers into covering the costs of increasing tuition. The federal government forgives law school debt for those in the public sector if they agree to make an income-based payment. Georgetown is covering those costs, passing it on to future students (who also won’t be paying it back), and then encouraging students to shelter income to guarantee the school comes out ahead. This is why we can’t have nice things. [Wonkblog / Washington Post] * The always outspoken Judge Kopf shares his thoughts on Shon Hopwood’s selection as a clerk for Judge Janice Rogers Brown. Judge Kopf sentenced Hopwood to 147 months in the 90s. [Hercules and the Umpire] * A delightful “man bites dog” story: a bank didn’t read a customer’s amendments to a credit card application before issuing him a card and went to court whining about how hard it is to pay attention to the fine print. Boo hoo hoo. [The Telegraph] * How to deal with your mistakes. This only applies to associates, though. Partners have two steps: (1) find an associate; (2) blame the associate. [Associate's Mind] * Everything’s bigger in Texas, including their misreading of the Supreme Court’s precedent. [Election Law Blog] * China is way serious about prosecuting corruption. [Legal Juice] * The Mets muscle man whose comic inability to open a water bottle went viral on YouTube is actually a lawyer from White Plains. If you haven’t seen the clip yet, it’s after the jump. Watching the water bottle battle is the only excuse for subjecting yourself to a Royals-Mets game…
* Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the legal wrangling: Eric Holder’s use of the VRA’s “bail in” provision to circumvent the SCOTUS ruling in Shelby may prove to be trouble. [National Law Journal] * The Fifth Circuit upheld warrantless cellphone tracking yesterday, noting that it was “not per se unconstitutional.” We suppose that a per se victory for law enforcement is better than nothing. [New York Times] * The pretty people at Davis Polk are fighting a $1.4 million suit over a headhunter’s fee with some pretty ugly words, alleging that the filing “fails both as a matter of law and common sense.” [Am Law Daily] * Howard Dean is rather annoyed that he’s had to go on the defensive about his work for McKenna Long & Aldridge after railing against Obamacare. Ideally, he’d just like to scream and shout about it. [TIME] * The ABA is concerned about Florida A&M, and sent a second warning about the school’s imminent failure to meet accreditation standards. Well, I’ll be damned, the ABA actually cares. [Orlando Sentinel] * Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett is suing to prevent a clerk from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. A silly little lawsuit won’t stop this guy from doing what he thinks is right. [Legal Intelligencer]