Wall Street
-
2nd Circuit, Benchslaps, Department of Justice, Eric Holder, Jed Rakoff, Media and Journalism, S.D.N.Y., U.S. Attorneys Offices, Wall Street, White-Collar Crime
Judge Rakoff Rips The Government For Dropping The Ball On Financial Crimes
Prosecutors have more or less looked the other way when it comes to the activities that sparked the financial meltdown. Judge Rakoff offers his explanation of what's gone wrong. -
Antonin Scalia, Biglaw, Canada, Department of Justice, Election Law, Gay, Jed Rakoff, Law Professors, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Native Americans, Partner Issues, S.D.N.Y., SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 12.17.13
* 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]
- Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Gender, Money, Wall Street, Women's Issues
Lawyers Don't Make Enough Money To Afford House Husbands
You've got to be pretty rich to convince your husband to stay home with the kids.
-
American Bar Association / ABA, Banking Law, Biglaw, China, Contract Attorneys, Crime, Document Review, Job Searches, Law Schools, Lawyerly Lairs, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Public Interest, Real Estate, Sex Scandals, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 12.10.13
* Stan Stallworth, the Sidley partner accused of sexual assault, has hired a prominent criminal defense attorney to represent him in the case while the firm stands by its man. [Am Law Daily]
* Wall Street regulators are considering approval of a formidable version of the Volcker Rule that would ban banks from proprietary trading. Voting occurs later today. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Skadden Arps has asked a judge to toss an FLSA lawsuit filed against the firm by one of its document reviewers. Aww, silly contract attorney — there’s no way you’re getting overtime pay. [Law360 (sub. req.)]
* Weil Gotshal is still leaking like a sieve. This time, Bruce Colbath, a partner from the firm’s New York office, defected to the Antitrust and Trade Regulation practice group at Sheppard Mullin. [Market Wired]
* Lawyerly Lairs, China Edition: Raymond Li, chair of the Greater China practice at Paul Hastings, just purchased a townhouse for about $95 million. He paid for it in straight cash, homie. [Wall Street Journal]
* They’re extremely tardy to the party, but if the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar gets its way, law schools will be subject to random audits of their employment stats. [ABA Journal]
* It’s a tough job that “can really beat you down,” but an organization called Gideon’s Promise just made it a whole lot easier for law students to secure jobs as public defenders in the South. [National Law Journal]
-
Citigroup, Health Care / Medicine, Hotties, Quote of the Day, Wall Street
Woman Allegedly Fired For Being 'Too Hot' Is Suing People Again
What's the buxom beauty suing about this time? -
Biglaw, Drugs, Gay, Gay Marriage, Hedge Funds / Private Equity, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Partner Issues, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 11.06.13
* “Some discrimination’s okay. It’s only certain kinds that aren’t good.” We’ve got a feeling we know which side the Supreme Court will come out on when it comes to the Mount Holly Gardens case in New Jersey, so fare thee well, Fair Housing Act. [MSNBC]
* Hallelujah! After last month’s miraculous news of this troubled firm finding a savior in Cooley LLP, the Left-Behinders of the Dow Lohnes partnership ranks are counting their blessings as they slowly but surely find new homes elsewhere. [Am Law Daily]
* After a political process that’s lasted for ages, now all that’s needed is the governor’s signature, and then Illinois will become the 15th state to officially have legalized same-sex marriage. Hooray! [New York Times]
* Lawyers for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are annoyed that access to their client has been limited by jailhouse rules. A judge will slap down their motion next week. [National Law Journal]
* Bring it on: To keep things “simple,” prosecutors have dropped two felony charges against Kent Easter, the lawyer who allegedly planted drugs on a PTA volunteer at his son’s school. [Navelgazing / OC Weekly]
* What does SAC Capital’s $1.2 billion settlement with the government mean for the hedge fund industry? [DealBook / New York Times]
-
Department of Justice, Gay, Gay Marriage, H. Rodgin Cohen, Health Care / Medicine, Military / Military Law, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Prostitution, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 10.21.13
* How Jamie Dimon (and Stephen Cutler and Rodge Cohen) reached JPMorgan Chase’s tentative $13 billion settlement with Eric Holder and the Department of Justice. [DealBook / New York Times; Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]
* Congratulations to all the New Jersey couples who got married since midnight, in the wake of the state supreme court’s decision not to stay a lower-court ruling in favor of marriage equality. [Newark Star-Ledger]
* Additional insight into all the partner departures from Weil Gotshal in Texas. [Dallas Morning News]
* Lawyers aren’t the only folks who know how to overbill; defense contractors do too, according to federal prosecutors who allege that a company provided prostitutes and kickbacks to Navy personnel. [Washington Post via The BLT]
* The legal battle over Obamacare rages on. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]
* Judge Oing, this really isn’t that hard. Here’s a draft opinion for you in the long-running litigation between Macy’s and J.C. Penney over the right to sell Martha Stewart merchandise (by James Stewart, no relation to Martha). [New York Times]
* If you’d like to run with the bulls without schlepping to Spain, former lawyers Rob Dickens and Brad Scudder can help. Presumably their legal training helped them draft ironclad waivers. [BuzzFeed]
* Another interesting but very different event, taking place this Wednesday: “Healing the U.S. Lawsuit System.” [U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (one of our advertisers)]
-
Boalt Hall, Depositions, Federal Government, Insider Trading, Law Schools, Mark Cuban, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Politics
Morning Docket: 10.17.13
* The fiscal impasse in our nation’s capital is over! The government shutdown is over! Obamaphones for everyone!!!!! [Washington Post]
* Tim Geithner was recently deposed as part of a lawsuit alleging that the government bailout of AIG was unconstitutional. Muammar Gaddafi was less recently deposed as part of a coup alleging that his female bodyguards were unconstitutionally sexy. [Fox Business]
* Berkeley Bird Beheader begins boot bivouac. [Fox5 Vegas via Las Vegas Law Blog]
* Cory Booker (Yale Law ’97) won a Senate seat last night, promptly bumping Lat from the cover of the next Yale Law alumni magazine. It was the Halloween issue — the annual Boo Haven edition. [ABC News]
* Mark Cuban was acquitted of insider trading charges yesterday. In related news, this basset hound loves fans. [CBS News]
* Brooklyn Law faces a possible debt downgrade from Standard & Poor’s. The school’s unemployed graduates, substandard and poor, have yet to weigh in. [Crain’s New York Business]
* In other law school news, Chicago-Kent announces an interesting new initiative (with a Whopper of a name). [IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law (press release)]
- Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Constitutional Law, Insider Trading, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Police, Politics, SCOTUS, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Law, Supreme Court, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 09.30.13
* If the government shuts down and then defaults on its debt, Wall Street worries that it would “shake the foundations of the global financial system.” Hooray for political asshattery! [DealBook / New York Times]
* At least six of the Supreme Court’s judicial precedents are up for reconsideration in the upcoming Term, and high court commentators think the resulting decisions could be a mixed bag. [National Law Journal]
* Apparently low-income New Yorkers’ legal problems are “not worthy of a ‘real lawyer,’” or at least that’s the message that will be given if non-lawyers are allowed to provide legal services. [New York Law Journal]
* Sorry, lady, not enough prestige. A Brazilian journalist was allegedly on the receiving end of some “extremely violent” police behavior at Yale Law School after attempting to interview Justice Joaquim Barbosa at a private event. [The Guardian]
* Mark Cuban’s insider trading case is heading to trial today, but we genuinely wonder how he’ll be able to convince a jury that he’s “humble and affable,” rather than the “master of the universe.” [Boston Herald]
-
Biglaw, Drinking, Insider Trading, Intellectual Property, Mergers and Acquisitions, Partner Issues, Patents, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Law, Wall Street
Tipsy Partner Tipped Insider Trading Defendant, SEC Alleges
The SEC alleges that an attorney disclosed inside information after way too much wine. -
Police, Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street Showed That Cops Crack Heads First And Let The Courts Ask Questions Later
Occupy Wall Street lawsuits enter their second year. -
Federal Government, JPMorgan Chase, Law Schools, Money, Student Loans, Wall Street
Taxpayers Should Worry When JPMorgan Gets Crowded Out Of The Student Loan Business
When private lenders are getting out of the student loan game, we should all worry that the government is still in it. -
Copyright, Cyrus Vance, Goldman Sachs, Intellectual Property, Technology, Wall Street
Shouldn't Somebody Be Suing Goldman Sachs Right Now?
A new article in Vanity Fair hints at a legal time bomb for the high-frequency trading industry: copyright infringement.
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
-
Goldman Sachs, Jury Duty, Quote of the Day, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Law, Trials, Wall Street
Jurors Don't Have 'Fabulous' Things To Say About Fabrice
Fabrice Tourre is not-so fabulous in the minds of his jurors. -
Biglaw, Crime, Death Penalty, Department of Justice, Eric Holder, Federal Government, General Counsel, Google / Search Engines, In-House Counsel, Jury Duty, Law Professors, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Politics, Small Law Firms, Technology, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 07.29.13
* When it comes to the U.S. Congress — especially the current one, said to be the least productive and least popular in history — and federal lawmaking, “action isn’t the same as accomplishment.” [Boston Globe]
* The Department of Justice won’t seek the death penalty against Edward Snowden, but only because the crime he’s charged with doesn’t carry that kind of punishment as an option. But oh, Eric Holder can wish. [CNN]
* Sorry to burst your bubble, but Biglaw as we know it is on a respirator, so be prepared to recite its last rites. The New Republic’s Noam Scheiber responds to the critics of last week’s hard-hitting piece. [New Republic]
* The grass isn’t greener on the other side right now. Revenue per lawyer rose at Biglaw firms in 2012 (up 8.5 percent), but small firms struggled (with RPL down 8.1 percent). Ouch. [National Law Journal]
* Let me Google that for you: Hot new technology startups have been looking to lawyers who hail from the innovative internet company’s ranks when staffing their own legal departments. [The Recorder]
* If you’re wondering why more financial crimes haven’t been prosecuted since the Wall Street meltdown of 2008, it’s probably because they’re too just difficult for most juries to understand. Comforting. [NPR]
* In a recent interview having to do with all of the problems that law schools are currently facing, from shrinkage to joblessness, Professor Paul Campos sat down to politely say, “Told ya so.” [Denver Post]
-
Department of Justice, Hedge Funds / Private Equity, Insider Trading, S.D.N.Y., Securities Law, U.S. Attorneys Offices, Wall Street, White-Collar Crime
SAC’s Rigorous Compliance Training Focused On Coming Up With Euphemisms For Insider Trading
The indictment that the Justice Department just filed against SAC Capital is something to behold. -
Minority Issues, Racism, Wall Street
More Evidence That Black People Should Never Defend Themselves: This Time In New York City
If you are black in America, you better never fight back. -
DealBreaker, Wall Street, White-Collar Crime
MF Global Was Bad
Things get a little bit worse for Jon Corzine -
2nd Circuit, Crime, Hedge Funds / Private Equity, Insider Trading, Money, Quote of the Day, Wall Street
A Big House For A Big Man: A Raj Rajaratnam Ruling
Keep those spirits high, Raj, because you're going to be in the slammer for a while. -
Bernie Madoff, Money, Quote of the Day, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Law, Wall Street
Who's the Idiot Now, Bernie?
This infamous Ponzi schemer has some advice for the SEC.