Tax Law
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.28.15
* “Bueller… Bueller…” Richard Hsu chats with Ben Stein. [Hsu Untied]
* NFL deflates Tom Brady’s hopes of playing a full season. [Redline]
* Can a public defender really handle 700 cases a year? Spoiler alert: No. [Mother Jones]
* About a third of the seats on the Court of Federal Claims are vacant, and a solitary Senator aims to keep it that way. Why are Republicans against getting citizens tax refunds? Shouldn’t that be their whole schtick? [Constitutional Accountability Center]
* If you’re around August 11, check out “Many Faces of Mediation: An Alternative to Courtroom Drama” at JAMS HQ in New York. [ABA]
* If you’ve been hankering for a podcast covering the U.S. Tax Court, then hanker no further. [U.S. Tax Court Podcast via iTunes]
* A proposal for expanding the U.S. News Diversity Index. [Iowa Law Review via SSRN]
* The continuing tribute to commenter Partner Emeritus rolls on. This time delving into my favorite Baby Boomer trope: lame excuses for skipping out on Vietnam. [What About Clients?]
* Talmage Boston explains how Atticus Finch is still worthy of respect in a post-Go Set a Watchman (affiliate link) world. [Washington Independent Review of Books]
* Talmage will be moderating a panel at the ABA Annual Meeting featuring Judge Posner, William Landay, and Laura Caldwell. The panel will also include our own David Lat, discussing Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). [Supreme Ambitions]
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Marijuana, Tax Law
Cashed: The Tax Man Continues To Be The Plague Of Pot
We should not expect the courts to give the marijuana industry any tax relief -- that is going to have to come from Congress. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.23.15
* Remember The Spread Love Band? They’re the street band that played near Skadden’s D.C. office. Skadden hated them so much they tried to convince the Secret Service to shoo them. Now they’re playing the Kennedy Center. It’s like the old joke, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” except instead of “practice,” the answer is “enrage a bunch of uptight lawyers.” [Washingtonian]
* Important request of the ABA: just say no to your task force on legal education financing, chaired by a member of the Infilaw board. [The Lawyer Bubble]
* What’s the best big city for law school grads? [Adjunct Law Prof Blog]
* Aaaand what’s the best small city for law school grads? [Adjunct Law Prof Blog]
* Lawyer fined around $30K for blowing an email review. It’s OK, it might not really be legal work anymore. [Press Gazette]
* Rental car companies tried to deduct collision damage on their taxes. That didn’t work out for them. [Tax Prof Blog]
* Justice Willett discusses social media and the judiciary. [Washington Times]
* Judge tried to interfere in the kitty abusing case against his son. Some real-life Itchy the Mouse stuff. [Law360 (sub. req.)]
* R.I.P. Professor and Associate Dean Christopher M. Fairman. [Ohio State Law]
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Tax Law
California Just Learned That Gas Companies Can Deduct Settlement Damages From Their Taxes
California learns how its own laws work.
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.17.15
* “I don’t know what you heard about me, but a bitch can’t get a dollar out of me.” Truer lyrics have never been rapped. 50 Cent’s legal team will face off in bankruptcy court against lawyers for a woman owed $5 million thanks to a sex-tape scandal. [Business Insider]
* You may be happy that income-based loan repayment exists and is saving you from defaulting on your law school debts, but in a few decades, you’re probably going to get F’d in the A by a ticking tax time bomb. [Student Loan Ranger / U.S. News]
* If you missed it, James Eagan Holmes, the shooter in the Dark Knight movie theater massacre in Colorado, was convicted for killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. Next up is the sentencing phase of his trial, and the death penalty is on the table. [Denver Post]
* The head honchos at Goldman Sachs are sad their second-quarter profits were reduced by ~half thanks to protracted litigation stemming from the financial crisis. The bank had to put away $1.45B for “mortgage-related litigation.” [DealBook / New York Times]
* The stars at night may be big and bright deep in the heart of Texas, but Berg & Androphy, led by attorney David Berg, is trying its hand at big city life in New York. It got the hang of things, y’all: B&A has already poached two Kasowitz partners. [Lawdragon]
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Partner Issues, Solo Practitioners
Here's 'Everything You Need To Know About The Business Of Law Over The Last 45 Years'
The vastly divergent fortunes of partners and solos. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 07.06.15
* Is Apple Music an antitrust violation, a second-rate streaming music provider, or both. Probably both. [Dorf on Law]
* Former Goldman employee Sergey Aleynikov acquitted… again. Who would have thought Cyrus Vance’s trumped up show trial would fail so thoroughly? [Dealbreaker]
* Landmark cases reimagined as movie posters. [Res Ipsa Law Poster]
* If you missed it, here’s the New York Times Editorial about the “Activist Roberts Court” that everyone was talking about over the weekend. [New York Times]
* In her defense, Sarah Palin may not be the dumbest person from Wasilla. [Legal Juice]
* In the wake of Obergefell, will some holdout religious schools lose their tax-exempt status? [Tax Prof Blog]
* Susman Godfrey’s Steve Susman chats with Richard Hsu about distance cycling. [Hsu Untied]
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White-Collar Crime
Should Judges Interpret the Law?
Judge Rakoff suggests that administrative actions not only tilt the outcome further toward the government, they make bad law. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.01.15
* Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are getting divorced — even she couldn’t stand the thought of him being Batman. Celebrity divorces don’t come cheap, and you know what that must mean: high-powered lawyers and even higher rates for their billable hours! [CNN]
* “[H]ow young would you go…I’d do 5[,] [b]ut 0-12 is hot.” Well, that’s absolutely disgusting. Matthew Gigot, an attorney who does doc review in the D.C. area, was charged in a child pornography case for sexual performance using a minor. [FOX 5 DC]
* The main line of defense as of late in the Dewey trial for the former head honchos of this failed firm is that everyone sends out embarrassing — and potentially incriminating — emails from time to time. We know all abput that here at Above the Law. [WSJ Law Blog]
* “Put down the bong, throw out the vaporizer and lose the rolling papers.” If you’re hoping to land a job at any federal agency any time in the near future, then you better quit your toking as soon as possible, even if it’s legal in your state. [New York Times]
* Here’s some sad news for women who are interested in taking home their apparently delicious and nutritious placentas to feast upon after their children are born in hospitals: it’s only completely legal in three states — Hawaii, Oregon, and Texas. [The Stir]
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Federal Government, Marijuana
ICYMI: The Feds Have Their Own Crop Of Whacky-Tobacky In The Heart Of Mississippi
What exactly goes down at Ole Miss regarding marijuana? And why is Ole Miss growing cannabis at all? -
Biglaw, Crime, White-Collar Crime
Former Biglaw Partner To Plead Guilty To Criminal Tax Law Violations
He's not the first Biglaw partner to run afoul of the tax laws, and he won't be the last. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 05.20.15
Judge settles sexual harassment case brought against him by his former court reporter; Elizabeth Wurtzel talks about Biglaw inefficiencies; Vermont has banned litigation financing for a year; Crowdfunding police abuse lawsuits...and more. -
China, Tax Law
China's Slowing Economy Means Its Tax Authorities Are Coming After You
The key to foreign companies weathering China's economic slowdown will be to focus on scrupulous regulatory compliance and not assume that a slowdown won't affect its business. -
Federal Government
Agency Capture: Saying No
Instead of relying on "no" a government lawyer should make every effort to find a "no, but..." -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 05.07.15
* Are you tired of hearing about Tom Brady’s balls? No? Good. Here’s a great profile of the Paul Weiss litigator that authored the report on deflategate. [New York Times]
* Good news for all the Pandora listeners out there. The Second Circuit affirmed Pandora’s access to the ASCAP music catalogue. [New York Law Journal]
* As if the “Jena Six” haven’t been through enough, now one of its members is heading to law school. [American Lawyer]
* Brewery scores big First Amendment victory. Let’s all celebrate with a nice cold bottle of “Raging Bitch” beer. [Corporate Counsel]
* The federal government paid $45 million to Northrop Grumman Systems to settle claims it misappropriated trade secrets related to their satellite program. [National Law Journal]
* The debate over the minimum wage rages on in Ninth Circuit case on the constitutionality of Los Angeles’ Living Wage law. [Law360]
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Clerkships, Federal Judges, Job Searches
The Current State Of Clerkship Hiring: 5 Points Worth Noting
If you're interested in clerking or in helping someone else land a coveted clerkship, here's some information you should know. -
Federal Government
Agency Capture: It's Not About You
A simple mantra to keep in mind as you advance through your career. -
Federal Government, Federal Judges, Marijuana
Duby-ous Federal Ruling Leaves Marijuana On Schedule I
On this 4/20, lovers of cannabis and cannabis businesses still have not seen the de-scheduling of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 04.17.15
* Parents of Boston bombing victim Martin Richard are hoping their child’s murderer avoids the distracting spectacle of the death penalty. [Boston Globe]
* Local prosecutor may have been munching down on pot brownies. [Al.com]
* At least the Middle District of Florida is willing to throw a speed bump into the Kardashians’ continuing assault on the human spirit. [South Florida Lawyers]
* Jesus, overcriminalization is stupid: Atlanta teacher cheating edition. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]
* Note that cheating among poor inner-city kids demands the criminal justice system, while cheating at Stanford is a curiosity. [TaxProf Blog]
* Meet the labor lawyer who has it in for Uber. [Fusion]
* The phrase “fart clears courtroom” is always going to be a story. [Legal Cheek]
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FCC, Federal Government, Technology
The Net Neutrality Order Has Hit the Federal Register!
Get your calendars out. It’s time to calculate the date by which petitions for judicial review of the FCC’s Open Internet Report and Order (R&O) must be filed.