Tax Law

If you want to save the world as a lawyer, you better hope your law school is on this list.

* Bar exam-prep companies seem to be involved in a never-ending war with each other, and shots have been fired in the latest battle. BARBRI has been sued by LLM Bar Exam in a federal antitrust action, and several law schools have been caught in the fray. We’ll have more on this later today. [WSJ Law Blog]

* New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his legal team have until today to file an appeal of the Second Circuit’s decision in the Deflategate case. According to an attorney who once served as outside counsel to the NFL, Brady’s chances of success are “near zero” if he decides to pursue this Hail Mary. [Big Law Business]

* OOOOk-lahoma, where the crazy comes sweepin’ down the plain: Oklahoma’s state legislature wants to impeach President Barack Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch over the administration’s guidance on transgender bathroom accommodations. The Sooner State’s actions are “highly symbolic,” but they’re likely “doomed.” [TIME]

* Did he wear an ascot and a smoking jacket while he was deposed? Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner testified at a deposition in a case filed by a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby at the Playboy Mansion while she was a minor. Thanks to a gag order, no details on Hef’s deposition are available at this time. [Reuters]

* Sorry, but you still can’t deduct the cost of your law school tuition and fees on your taxes, even if you’re an accountant/tax preparer who only enrolled to get a leg up on your tax skills and never intended to practice law, but especially if you later start a law firm with a family member. The Tax Court frowns upon things like this. [Accounting Today]

* Who says we have a divided Supreme Court? When it comes to mercilessly mocking bad advocates.[Slate]

* The ongoing Led Zeppelin infringement suit takes a comical turn when someone uncovers a melody that sounds, well, at least as similar as the one Spirit bases its claim upon, in a Sonata from the 1600s. [Digital Music News]

* “Was Kanye’s Tweet Legally Binding?” Society should punch itself that this is a valid question. [Corporate Counsel]

* Compliance lawyers are increasingly concerned over their personal liability. Hey, this was all fun and games until someone said there might be consequences to this job! [Law360]

* Judge Rosemary Collyer is taking senior status, creating a vacancy that I’m sure the Senate will act quickly and responsibly to fill. [National Law Journal]

* An ICE lawyer gets 30 days in the slammer for forging a document to keep an otherwise legal Mexican immigrant out of the country. Maybe Donald Trump can pay his legal bills, too. [ABC News]

* Oh great! Creating a new law school. [The News Tribune]

Helping you to navigate the tricky tax laws and to pay every dime of tax required—and not a cent more—is exactly what you pay your lawyer for, according to columnist Steve Dykstra.

It’s a rare public confrontation between two major government departments, especially over a subject as politically volatile as mergers and acquisitions.

* The deal to combine drug giants Allergan and Pfizer in an inversion was called off after the US Treasury announced new rules to limit the tax benefits of moving the corporate headquarters overseas. [Quartz]

* Should the IRS be going after the Pittsburgh Penguins for letting Sidney Crosby live in the owner’s house? [Bloomberg / BNA]

* Pretty sure Vivia Chen has covered all the options in her latest article exploring the benefits of having women leaders at law firms. [Careerist]

* Corporations may be taking an active role in opposing the recent spate of anti-LGBTQ legislation, but that still doesn’t make them people. [Reuters]

* “Jackie” from the Rolling Stone UVA rape article, which is now the subject of litigation, will have to testify in the pending action, despite her lawyer’s claim that revisiting the incident would be traumatizing. [Gawker]

* Is the Bible about to become the official state symbol of Tennessee? [NPR]

* Claiming to be a sovereign citizen is silly, and it certainly won’t insulate you from charges of chid sex abuse and kidnapping. [Jezebel]

Women working as attorneys in the federal government — including the Department of Justice — must endure sexual harassment, sometimes for years on end, without receiving any real recompense.

After 22 years, this federal judge is calling it quits.

A former clerk reacts to the news of Judge Roberts's retirement and the allegations of rape.

Allegations emerge that a now-former federal judge raped a 16-year-old girl in 1981.

He's either loved or hated for his work -- but from 9/11 to the Boston Marathon bombings, Ken Feinberg is the go-to name in managing disasters.

Your tax dollars at work... for cyber criminals.

Trump's Justice Department could be a frightening thing given our federal judiciary.

Which law schools and judges send the most people into prestigious Bristow Fellowships?

Mitt knows all about that "hiding your tax returns" trick, Donald.

* When Virginia Law Weekly and the Virginia Law Review played their annual football game in 1970, then-Professor Antonin Scalia served as the referee. At the end of one play — that ended in a momentum-changing interception — Scalia overturned the result with a critical “too many men on the field” call. If anyone knew the importance of a recount, it was Justice Scalia. [More Us (UVA Law Library)]

* More fallout on the propriety of Justice Scalia’s trip to Cibolo Creek Ranch as a guest of John Poindexter — who had business before the Court last year. Was that ethical? Well, always remember that in the sober world of judicial ethics, the Sigma Nu kegger. [National Law Journal]

* Speaking of Justice Scalia, with a political fight set to embroil the Court, perhaps Chief Justice Roberts should take a lesson from Chief Justice Hughes. [Maryland Appellate Blog]

* Former Scalia clerks describe their experiences working for the late justice. First up, conservative Justice Joan L. Larsen of the Michigan Supreme Court. [New York Times]

* And Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown partner Tara Kole on the unique challenges and rewards of serving as Scalia’s “liberal clerk.” [Washington Post]

* Looking to the next Supreme Court appointment, these charts really drive home President Obama’s commitment to opening the federal judiciary to lawyers, judges, and professors traditionally locked out of the “old boys’ club.” [Wonkblog / Washington Post]

* Did a lawyer just commit suicide by police? Over a $16,000 debt? That’s all? [Jane Genova]

Your law school debt will come back to haunt you even after it's been forgiven.

The pet federal judge of the Oregon standoff yokels hit with a benchslap after making up law to suit their philosophy.

It is quite an odd scenario when your 12-month outlook contains the following possibilities: criminal charges and potential imprisonment, or holding the nation's highest office. Such is the fate of Hillary Clinton.

Being AG is a tough job. How can Loretta Lynch possibly do it all?