Washington Redskins

  • Morning Docket: 01.22.18
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.22.18

    * Paramedics rushed to Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s apartment on Friday after the diabetic jurist experienced a low blood sugar episode. She was not hospitalized, and went to work because she’s “doing fine.” Somewhere, President Trump is cackling gleefully about one of his predictions. [POLITICO]

    * After a months-long drought, the Supreme Court will finally issue some opinions today. This is the slowest the high court has been in issuing opinions since 1868. Did Justice Neil Gorsuch’s arrival on the bench set SCOTUS efficiency back by 150 years? [Big Law Business]

    * Taylor Weyeneth, the 24-year-old who was recently appointed by Trump to be the nation’s deputy drug czar, is just like most Trump appointees without any experience. His résumé full of “errors,” and he forgot to mention that he lost his job at a law firm after not showing up. [Washington Post]

    * “Even though David Boies has the energy of a 4-year-old, he is in the twilight of his career,” so a new generation of partners at the firm are preparing to move Boies Schiller into the future after Boies and Jonathan Schiller step back from their active leadership roles. [American Lawyer]

    * A Dentons partner whose firm was gobbled up by the Biglaw behemoth last year has been suspended and placed on a leave of absence after word of his alleged inappropriate sexual behavior with female employees at his legacy firm for around to management. [American Lawyer via RollOnFriday]

    * California has been going after the LSAC for years over its disability accommodations for people who want to take the LSAT, and now the state wants the council to be held in contempt. LSAC thinks California needs to study reading its comprehension. [The Recorder]

    * Are you ready for some disparaging team names in football?! Many people are likely to continue calling them the “Washington team,” but in the wake of the Matal v. Tam Supreme Court case, the Fourth Circuit has officially vacated the decisions that canceled the Washington Redskins’ trademark registrations. [USA Today Sports]

  • Morning Docket: 09.20.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.20.16

    * Alecia Schmuhl, the lawyer accused of teaming up with her husband and plotting to kill the managing partner of the law firm she was fired from, has taken a deal in her case and could serve anywhere from 10 to 45 years in prison under the terms of her plea agreement. She’ll be sentenced by the middle of January 2017. [Washington Post]

    * Two heads are better than one, especially when it comes to taking over a Biglaw titan’s position as chairman at K&L Gates. Longtime chairman Peter Kalis will step down at the end of February, and come March, James Segerdahl will serve as the firm’s global managing partner, while Michael Caccese will serve as chairman of the firm’s management committee. We’ll have more on this later today. [Big Law Business]

    * A big old welcome back to Biglaw: Brackett Denniston III, who has served as general counsel at GE for more than two decades, is throwing in the in-house towel to get back to the daily grind of law firm life. He recently rejoined Goodwin Procter — a firm where he previously worked for about 15 years — as senior counsel, and while there, he hopes to work on “hard cases” and mentor some of the firm’s younger lawyers. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * What do the Redskins and the Slants have in common, aside from names that some may consider offensive? As it turns out, the football team and the rock band are fighting the same fight before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They both claim the First Amendment bars the USPTO from refusing to register their “disparaging” marks, and the Supreme Court may soon grant cert on either one of their cases. [Associated Press]

    * If you’re planning to apply to law school during this admissions cycle despite the state of the job market for entry-level attorneys, then you may want to follow this 10-week timeline for submitting your applications. Don’t forget that the goal here is to get ahead of the game, take advantage of rolling admissions, and submit all of your materials before those pesky December LSAT test-takers. [U.S. News & World Report]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.23.15

    * It’s the Miss Universe pageant lawsuit you’ve all been waiting for: attorneys at a Colombian law firm say they will be filing suit due to Miss Colombia’s crowning and de-crowning, noting “the crown is an acquired right that cannot be taken away from us.” [WGNO]

    * The Federal Circuit handed down a major ruling yesterday, saying that the government can no longer bar the registration of offensive trademarks due to restrictions on free speech. This will likely be appealed to SCOTUS, but the Redskins must be pretty pumped. [Reuters]

    * In an effort to avoid another Kim Davis fiasco (and to protect clerks’ religious beliefs), Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has signed an executive order directing that his state prepare new marriage licenses without the names of county clerks. [Associated Press]

    * Lil Wayne may be a “motherf**kin’ cash money millionaire,” but he reportedly can’t spare the cash to pay his attorneys’ fees. This marks the second time in recent months that he’s been sued for allegedly failing to pay his lawyers what they’re owed. [SPIN]

    * Lakeisha Holloway, the woman accused of using her car to mow down and kill a pedestrian and injure many others on the Las Vegas Strip, has been charged with murder with a deadly weapon. She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. [NBC News]

  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 08.06.15

    * A reminder to stay safe when you watch the GOP debates tonight — drinking games can seriously jeopardize your health. [Raw Story]

    * The Washington NFL team has filed a notice of appeal to the Fourth Circuit over their canceled trademark registrations as they move their failure off the field and into the courts. [Bloomberg BNA]

    * Penn State unveils a new logo. Critics call it a “hypnotized dog looking at cupcakes,” but it actually looks more like the vacant stare of someone who has seen something but refuses to tell authorities about it. [TaxProf Blog]

    * How to take good notes. Apparently, “actually take notes” is the first step. Good to know. [Survive Law]

    * Congrats to occasional Legal Cheek blogger Amy Woolfson on her Harvard Law scholarship. Welcome to our side of the pond. [Legal Cheek]

    * Dumb people can get ripped off on Craigslist. And not just when you take a “JD required” job as a catsitter. [Lowering the Bar]

    * Understand the tax implications of your student loan forgiveness program. [Lawyerist]

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  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 07.09.15

    * According to Justice Jeanette Theriot Knoll of the Louisiana Supreme Court, the SCOTUS decision in Obergefell was not only “horrific,” but it was also “a complete and unnecessary insult to the people of Louisiana.” Gee, tell us how you really feel. [Slate]

    * The First Church of Cannabis filed a discrimination suit against Indiana and Indianapolis, claiming laws against marijuana use and possession are infringing upon its members’ beliefs. We’re sTOKEd to see the outcome here. [Indianapolis Star]

    * In case you missed it yesterday, a federal judge upheld the TTAB’s prior ruling on the Washington Redskins’ name, and ordered that the team’s trademark registrations be canceled. The team is going for a Hail Mary at the Fourth Circuit. [Washington Post]

    * Ex-associate Elina Chechelnitsky’s sexual harassment and gender bias lawsuit against McElroy Deutsch, filled with allegations of better bonuses for men and creepy flirtations, was settled out of court. You go, girl. [New Jersey Law Journal via ABA Journal]

    * Crowell & Moring recently dropped a suit against a former client that had allegedly failed to pay almost one million dollars in legal fees. There’s no word on whether the conflict was ever resolved, but if it wasn’t, it’s nice to see the firm isn’t hurting for cash. [Legal Times]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.09.15

    * Amal Clooney, the attorney who tamed George Clooney’s heart and is now considered one of the most famous human rights lawyers in the world, will be teaching at a New York law school this spring. Which one? We’ll have more on this fun news later today. [USA Today]

    * Talk about a Hail Mary play: The ACLU has decided to come to the defense of a very unlikely cause. Per a recently filed federal brief, the organization thinks that the USPTO’s cancellation of the Redskins trademark was unconstitutional. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * According to a new BARBRI study, the vast majority of third-year law students think they’re ready to go when it comes to practicing law, but the lawyers who have had the (dis)pleasure to work with new graduates don’t seem to agree. [National Law Journal]

    * “Those kinds of jobs are never going to be enough to absorb the number of people graduating from law school over the next five or 10 years.” Northeastern’s dean laughs in Biglaw’s face — his grads measure their success in other ways. [Boston Business Journal]

    * Ellen Pao’s “racy” gender discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins serves as a harsh criticism of the sexist culture of Silicon Valley. Luckily, jury members will be able to busy themselves with the case’s more lurid details. [The Upshot / New York Times]

    * Kyle McEntee of Law School Transparency is working on a new podcast that will help prospective law students to see what working in the legal profession is really like. “I Am The Law” debuted in January 2015, and it’s worth a listen. [U.S. News & World Report]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.19.14

    * A third-year student from the Louisiana State University Law Center was indicted for allegedly raping one woman and allegedly sexually assaulting and attempting to rape another. He’s currently free on bail under GPS monitoring supervision. [The Advocate]

    * Here’s some news you can potentially use (with extreme caution): you may be able to give a law firm partner the finger and still be eligible to receive unemployment benefits after you’ve been fired for flipping the bird. [Madison St. Clair Record]

    * Ever go to law school? Ever go to law school… on weed? Lots of law schools are adding courses related to marijuana law to their curricula because “[f]or most students, this is an inherently interesting topic.” Yessir, it is. [National Law Journal]

    * Hmm, this advice article says you should evaluate your GPA and LSAT score to determine which law schools to apply to, but we know the only real qualification is a pulse. This is confusing. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

    * The Federal Communications Commission renewed a radio license for a station owned by Washington Redskins’ owner Dan Snyder, despite the fact that the agency’s chairman previously called the team name “offensive and derogatory.” [WSJ Law Blog]

  • Books, Facebook, Football, Gay, Non-Sequiturs, Trademarks

    Non-Sequiturs: 09.22.14

    * New York court authorizes service over Facebook. Finally, a reason to use Google Plus. [Slate] * Texas struck down the statute banning upskirt photos. The decision is more interesting than the sound byte press it’s getting. [Popehat] * Some PR advice may be privileged. Which is good because the law needs to incentivize companies trying to cover up possible legal liabilities. It might be more nuanced than that, but still. [Corporate Counsel] * In the wake of the passing of Tommy Boggs, a profile on his power within Patton Boggs, including details of the final year leading up to its merger. [National Law Journal] * A roundup of early reviews for Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). [Supreme Ambitions] * On choosing a criminal defense lawyer and why you might not want some reformed prosecutor. [Katz Justice] * The Senate confirmed Gordon Tanner as general counsel to the Air Force. This is noteworthy because it reflects just how quickly the country has progressed from affirmative witch hunts, to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to confirming a gay man as the top lawyer for a branch of the Armed Forces. [Washington Blade] * A 49er fan is suing the NFL for $50 million for a policy that limited ticket sales to customers in Seahawks territory. Based on the season so far, he luckily won’t have to worry about the 49ers in the playoffs this year. [ESPN] * Speaking of football, South Park ran an ad limited to D.C. during the Washington-Eagles game. See Eric Cartman school Dan Snyder on trademark law after the jump…. [SB Nation]
  • Football, Law Professors, Law Reviews, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Student Loans, Trademarks

    Non-Sequiturs: 09.10.14

    * Because it’s been such a long time since the NFL has had a scandal, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is accused of sexual assault in a new suit. The Cowboys claim the suit is nothing but a money grab. No one knows a money grab like a franchise owner milking a new stadium partially financed by taxpayers. [USAToday] * Dean Frank Wu explains why Hastings will survive the end of law schools. [SF Weekly] * A pair of IP litigators, James W. Dabney and Stephen S. Rabinowitz, have jumped from Fried Frank to Hughes Hubbard. Will others be following Dabney & Rabinowitz out of Fried Frank? [Hughes Hubbard] * “Lawyer’s ‘Torture Porn’ Past Pops Up in Pa. Governor’s Race.” OK, let’s see what you’ve got here. [Greedy Associates / FindLaw] * An interesting breakdown of the legal scholars with the widest network of co-authors. Think of these as the most promiscuous scholars around. Actually, no. Don’t think that. [Ryan Whalen] * Etsy sides with the USPTO and bans sales of anything branded “Redskins” on its platform. I’m not sure how smart this is since the economic teeth of the USPTO decision was to allow sites like Etsy to sell massive quantities of otherwise trademark-infringing stuff until Washington relented and opted for a new trademark-protectable name. [Etsy] * Don’t throw peanut butter in my neighborhood (though I don’t understand the blotter… there’s no Bodega at that location). [Legal Juice] * Lest you think law school is reasonably priced: “New IBR and PSLF provide benefits large enough that high earnings still result in nearly $100,000 in loan forgiveness for typical levels of debt for law school graduates. A lawyer earning at the 50th percentile with that debt level stands to have $147,282 forgiven, which is more than he borrowed…” [New America Education Policy Program] * Keeping in touch with your inner child to relate to witnesses as humans. [Katz Justice] * Closing out this football-heavy NS, friend of the blog Mitchell Epner discusses why Roger Goodell won’t (and shouldn’t) survive the fallout of the Ray Rice scandal. Check out the video after the jump… [CNBC]

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  • FCC, Football, Immigration, Job Searches, Non-Sequiturs, Prisons, Racism

    Non-Sequiturs: 09.03.14

    * As football prepares to kick off, there’s a new filing opposing the renewal of the broadcast license for Dan Snyder’s Washington-area radio station because it has a tendency to broadcast a particular racial slur over and over throughout the NFL season. [Corporate Counsel] * If you’re a young law grad ready to give up on being a lawyer, it’s harder to move into another industry than you’d think. [Law and More] * Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sought an emergency stay to allow Texas to start shutting down abortion clinics despite a ruling that the law was unconstitutional. So he filed his motion at midnight on the Sunday before Labor Day. The Fifth Circuit does not brook this tripe. [Houston Chronicle] * New research confirms deportations don’t lower crime rates. They do, however, help drive up the BS in political ads, so that’s nice. [New York Times] * The confusing reports that Goldman Sachs was driving aluminum around Detroit to drive up the price of aluminum spawned a lawsuit. And that led to a dismissal. [Bloomberg View] * This is why you don’t eat underwear… [Daily Mail] * The legal battle surrounding Adam Carolla’s podcast is breaking up friendships now. [CNN]
  • ACLU, Baseball, Google / Search Engines, Intellectual Property, Job Searches, Laurence Tribe, Non-Sequiturs, Prostitution, Sex, Technology, Trademarks

    Non-Sequiturs: 08.15.14

    * Suit filed questioning the parentage of Blue Ivy Carter. Plaintiff claims to be the real… mother? Hm. You’d think that would be pretty easy for everyone to remember. [International Business Times] * The Washington D.C.-area NFL team has filed suit to get its trademark back. They think the USPTO are Indian Givers. [DCist] * The ACLU is asking courts to define “freedom of the press” in the wake of Ferguson. I understand their impulse, I just don’t think they’re gonna like the answer. [Fox2Now] * A 71-year-old lawyer allegedly called two escorts over to his house and they asked for more money. Even for rich lawyers it’s the principle of the thing. [South Florida Lawyers] * Sad to see Professor Larry Tribe join the “let’s blame the teachers instead of funding public schools” parade. But now that he’s become a high-profile supporter of ending tenure for those teaching the young, perhaps he’ll renounce his own tenure. Or at least fight to revoke it from all his colleagues. [National Law Journal] * A Colombian lawyer is suing FIFA for $1.3 billion over bad officiating. Of all the things FIFA deserves to get sued over, this isn’t making the list. [Washington Post] * Congratulations to Rob Manfred, a Harvard Law grad formerly of Morgan Lewis, on his promotion to MLB Commissioner. He will continue the proud tradition of keeping us bored all summer long while we wait for football to come back. [New York Times] * New lawsuit says Google kept records of plans to infringe intellectual property… on Post-Its. Unwise. Office supplies are for back-to-school shopping, not writing down wrongful acts. [Valleywag] * If you’re a current 3L or a law grad about to come off a clerkship, NOAA has a job opportunity for you. Imagine how exciting it will be when the next Sharknado happens! [USAJobs via NOAA]
  • Attorney Misconduct, Barack Obama, Biglaw, Celebrities, Crime, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Federal Judges, Football, Law Schools, LLMs, Morning Docket, Murder, Partner Issues, Politics

    Morning Docket: 07.15.14

    * Congrats to William Voge, who was elected as the new chairman of Latham & Watkins. He succeeds Robert Dell in this position, who is one of the Am Law 100′s longest-serving leaders. [Am Law Daily]

    * Dewey’s former execs filed a motion to dismiss their criminal charges, lamenting the fact that the Manhattan DA made them “scapegoats” for the total failure of their firm. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * A judge banned the Washington Redskins name from his court, proclaiming that the offensively monikered team shall be known only as “the Washington Team” in documents submitted. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid thinks that if it were up to Judge Judy, House Speaker John Boehner’s “show trial” suit against President Obama would be thrown out in “half a second.” Well then. [ABC News]

    * A Michigan attorney was arraigned yesterday on a felony charge of homicide-solicitation of murder. It seems that the hired hitman warned his target. He’s not getting a good Yelp review. [UpNorthLive.com]

    * If you’re an international student with a foreign law degree trying to get a law degree in the U.S., why the hell would you waste your money on a J.D.? Just get an LL.M. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

    * Oh baby8: Nadya Suleman (formally doing business as Octomom) pleaded no contest to welfare fraud charges after she failed to report income from all of her public appearances and porn videos. [Reuters]

  • Drugs, Football, Non-Sequiturs, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Technology

    Non-Sequiturs: 05.09.14

    * Poe’s The Raven, if the narrator was a midlevel associate working on Christmas. Excerpt: As of someone slowly rapping, rapping at my office door. “‘Tis the janitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my office door — Likely here to clean the floor.” Ha. [Law Poetry] * In the wake of Greece, a Satanist wants to open a government meeting with a Satanic prayer. When reached for comment, Dick Cheney said he was flattered. [Broward Palm Beach New Times] * Dan Snyder is just awful. Now he’s sent a cease and desist letter to LaVar Arrington because Arrington describes himself as a “Redskins great.” Because if anyone around here is going to needlessly slur indigenous people, it’s going to be Dan Snyder. [Deadspin] * Speaking of cease and desist letters, the one we talked about yesterday — sent over a bad Amazon review — has resulted in Amazon yanking the seller’s license. [ArsTechnica] * Come on, lawyers. Clean up after yourselves. Especially if you’re just leaving Molly all over someone else’s car. [South Florida Lawyers] * Guy in Alabama killed his wife, three dogs and a parrot after she sent a critical text. I know this is a tragedy, but as I saw the story all I could think is the parrot was somehow completely to blame. [AL.com] * There’s still a slave plantation in the United States and it’s terrifying. [Policy Mic] * Sometimes it’s worth remembering that we have it very easy as lawyers compared to some in other parts of the world. A lawyer representing a professor accused of blasphemy in Pakistan was gunned down last night. [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * A conversation with Solicitor General Donald Verrilli. The full interview is available after the jump… [California Lawyer]