Women’s Issues

* New firm, new pay: Recently merged firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner is going to be moving to a merit-based pay system for partners. Messing with people’s money? This should be interesting! [Legal Week]

* Reed Smith has rolled out a new plan that will “revamp” associate life at the firm, complete with new training, billing requirements, and reviews. This isn’t specifically for millennials (suuuuure), but rather, “an acknowledgment that there are some creative and inventive ways to do things differently.” [American Lawyer]

* In case you missed it, President Trump says he’s considering commuting former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence for corruption and he might even throw a pardon Martha Stewart’s way. Hmm, it’s almost like the president is trying to set the stage for something that could come in the future… [Chicago Tribune]

* According to Vivia Chen, if we really want gender equity in the legal profession, it might be time for some quotas. It’s working for corporate boards in Europe, so it could work here too, but alas, “the topic has largely been a nonstarter in the U.S.” [The Careerist]

* Jennifer Ihns, the former clinic administrator at Notre Dame Law, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for embezzling about $200,000 from the school, but she’ll only spend two years behind bars, with five years of probation. [Law.com]

* Guess which Biglaw firm has decided to bring back on-campus recruiting for its summer associate program? Here’s a hint: You’re going to need a pair of flip flops. We’ll have more on this later today. [American Lawyer]

* With an estimated $11 million annual salary, Sandra Goldstein, who recently left Cravath for Kirkland & Ellis, may be the highest paid female partner in all of Biglaw. You go, girl! [The Careerist]

* Speaking of female Biglaw partners, Bracewell partner Barbara Jones’s $700 per hour rate as special master in the review of materials seized from Michael Cohen’s office has added up to a pretty YUGE bill for just one week’s worth of work: $47,390. [New York Law Journal]

* The Justice Department approved a merger between Bayer and Monsanto, but only after the companies agreed to dump $9 billion in business assets. “Today’s news makes it clear that our antimonopoly laws are completely worthless,” said one farm group that’s just thrilled by the news. [Washington Post]

* Eduardo M. Peñalver, the first Latino dean of an Ivy League law school, has been reappointed to a second five-year term as dean of Cornell Law after achieving quite a few milestones for employment and bar pass rates at the school. [Cornell Chronicle]

* Briana Williams, a single mother who requested an epidural while she was in labor so her contractions wouldn’t interfere with her completion of a final exam, recently graduated from Harvard Law School. Much respect from one law mama to another. Congratulations and best of luck in all that you do! [Yahoo!]

* According to Rudy Giuliani, if special counsel Robert Mueller issues a subpoena, Donald Trump “[doesn’t] have to” comply with it. After all, “[h]e’s the president of the United States. [He] can assert the same privileges other presidents have.” And he has no plans to allow Trump to sit for an interview with Mueller — Giuliani won’t allow him to “walk him into a prosecution for perjury.” Admitting during a TV interview that your client is a liar? Check. [Washington Post]

* And that’s not all, folks! According to Rudy Giuliani, although he has “no knowledge” of it having happened, Michael Cohen may have paid hush money to other women — similar to money that was paid to Stormy Daniels — to get them to stay silent about their alleged affairs with Donald Trump “if it was necessary.” [CNN]

* So, about Morrison & Foerster’s $100 million “mommy track” lawsuit: The firm’s managing partner, Larren Nashelsky, has commented on the allegations, stating that MoFo is “somewhere between disappointed and angry” because “[i]t’s just not who we are, it’s not what we value and it’s, in fact, not how we operate.” [American Lawyer]

* Of course a Biglaw partner owns the horse that won the Kentucky Derby. Congrats to both Justify and C. Edward Glasscock, chairman emeritus of Frost Brown Todd, on their big win during the first leg of this year’s Triple Crown. [American Lawyer]

* Sylvia Bloom, a legal secretary who retired from Cleary Gottlieb after working at the firm for 67 years, amassed a $9+ million fortune by purchasing the same stocks as her boss. In her will, she directed that the majority be donated for college scholarships. Be sure to thank your maybe-millionaire secretary today, everyone. [New York Times]

* Barbara Jones, a former federal judge who now serves as a partner at Bracewell (a firm where Rudy Giuliani was once a name partner), has been appointed as a special master in Michael Cohen’s case to decide which materials that were seized from his office are protected by attorney-client privilege and which materials can be reviewed by prosecutors. [New York Post]

* This just got really interesting: The anonymous Proskauer partner who is suing the firm in a $50 million gender bias case has come forward and revealed her name. Jane Doe is better known as Connie Bertram, head of the firm’s labor and employment practice in D.C. and co-head of the firm’s whistleblowing and retaliation group. [American Lawyer]

* Veteran Supreme Court advocate Lisa Blatt of Arnold & Porter received a rare honor at the high court earlier this week during oral arguments in Trump v. Hawaii when Justice Stephen Breyer mentioned her as the author of an amicus brief. This almost never happens. Congratulations on a job well done! [National Law Journal]

* The Stanford Law Class of 1998 has the special sauce for producing female deans at top law schools. Kimberly Yuracko of Northwestern, Kerry Abrams of Duke, and Gillian Lester of Columbia all graduated in the same year. [The Recorder]

* Cooley Law School is back in compliance with ABA accreditation standards. Apparently the school is now admitting candidates who appear capable of finishing law school and gaining admission to a state bar (even though recent bar exam pass-rate statistics seem to strongly disagree with that assessment). [ABA Journal]

* The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today on the Trump travel ban case. What’s at stake here, aside from the high court potentially allowing the travel ban to become permanent? The legacy of the Roberts Court also hangs in the balance. A decision upholding the ban could very well be the next Dred Scott, Plessy, or Korematsu, and forever marring this Court’s record. [Take Care]

* Is AG Jeff Sessions recusing himself from the investigation into Michael Cohen, or isn’t he? According to the DOJ, Sessions isn’t involved in any investigations “related in any way to the campaigns for president,” but according to news sources, he hasn’t decided to recuse himself from the Cohen probe quite yet. [Politico; Bloomberg]

* Judge John Bates of the District of Columbia has ruled that the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program was “arbitrary and capricious” and “virtually unexplained,” and therefore “unlawful.” Judge Bates ordered that the government must not only continue DACA, but accept new applicants. He stayed his ruling for 90 days to give DHS a chance to explain itself. [Washington Post]

* Kyle Duncan, President Trump’s fifteenth federal appeals court nominee who’s known for litigating disputes involving voter ID requirements, same-sex marriage bans, transgender bathroom access, and the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, was very narrowly confirmed to the Fifth Circuit. [Big Law Business]

* According to the Harvard Law Women’s Law Association, there’s a glass ceiling at the school. The faculty is “overwhelmingly male,” and the administration is “turning a blind eye” to the success of women once they’re enrolled. Something has to change so women can achieve as much success as their male classmates. [Harvard Law Record]