Texas
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Abortion, Politics, Texas, Women's Issues
Wendy's Wasted Voice: Why Fighting the Texas Abortion Bill Was Not 'Pro-Woman'
Wendy Davis, teenage single mother turned Harvard Law grad turned Texas state senator, could be a powerful champion for genuinely pro-woman programs. Instead, she fights limits on late-term abortions and improved health and safety standards for abortion facilities. -
Baseball, Holidays and Seasons, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Sports, Texas
Non-Sequiturs: 07.03.13
Ed. note: In honor of the July 4th holiday, we do not expect to publish tomorrow. We will be back on Friday, July 5th, although on a reduced publication schedule. * These are the five cases likely to come up after Fourth of July weekend. The “boating accidents” case reminds me of a poor teen clerk telling Homer Simpson that he couldn’t operate a boat while drunk and he responded, “Sounds like a wager to me!” [The Expert Institute] * This lawyer is also a professional at shooting off fireworks. In this job market, it’s good to have a career to fall back on. [Indiana Lawyer] * This is the holiday to go take in a baseball game. If you’re in Michigan, you can watch the Lansing Lugnuts vs. the Lake County Captains at Cooley Law School Stadium. Wait, Cooley has a stadium? [Battle Creek Enquirer] * The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association is planning a series of readings of the Declaration of Independence. You know, in case you have absolutely nothing to do in Texas tomorrow. [KLTV] * On a similar note, in Massachusetts, there was an annual reading of Frederick Douglass’s famed take on the Fourth of July from the perspective of abolitionists. [Cape Cod Daily] * In non-holiday news, the George Zimmerman trial ground to a halt today when Skype testimony was bombarded by pranksters constantly pinging the witness's account. Video after the jump... [The Smoking Gun] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
California, Crime, Federal Government, Gay, Gay Marriage, Health Care / Medicine, Immigration, John Roberts, Law Professors, Law Schools, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas, Violence
Morning Docket: 06.28.13
* Do you think Chief Justice Roberts is the Supreme Court’s “peacemaker”? To be fair, at least he does a better job of tempering all of his judicial rage than his colleagues. [Politico] * According to Prof. John Eastman of Chapman Law, the SCOTUS decision striking down DOMA means Prop 8 is good law in California. Try and wrap your mind around that one. [OC Weekly] * The Senate approved a bipartisan immigration reform plan with a 68-32 vote, and now it’s up to House representatives to take the bill and summarily wipe their asses with it. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * The good folks at Hobby Lobby quilted for hours yesterday to celebrate the Tenth Circuit’s reversal of a lower court’s denial of an injunction blocking the ACA’s contraceptives mandate. [The Oklahoman] * Texas A&M still hopes to acquire Texas Weslyan’s law school; they’re just waiting for the ABA to look over the paperwork. Welcome, Texas A&M Law, since the takeover will obviously be approved. [WTAW] * Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been indicted on 30 counts of violence and weapons-related charges. Right now, he’s looking at a possibility of life in prison or the death penalty. [CNN]
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Abortion, Politics, Texas, Women's Issues
How Harvard Law Grad Wendy Davis Stopped Texas, With The Help Of Hundreds of Thousands Of Her Friends
How did HLS grad Wendy Davis mess with Texas? -
Defamation, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Texas
Ousted Dean Might Sue Former Boss for Defamation
University regent talks smack about ousted dean. Ousted dean does not take kindly to those comments. -
Abortion, American Bar Association / ABA, Antonin Scalia, Bar Exams, Biglaw, Cars, Celebrities, Election Law, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law Schools, Layoffs, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Technology, Texas, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 06.26.13
* “Screw all these other cases, man, we’re ready for the real stuff — you know… the gay stuff.” Damn, a satirical article that perfectly captures our thoughts. Don’t worry, it’s coming today. [The Onion]
* On a more serious note, this is obviously a really big day for gay marriage at the Supreme Court. Will the justices settle the score, or leave this movement’s supporters high and dry? [Wall Street Journal]
* Big Tech has always been a proponent of gay rights, and some of the most respected brands in America are hoping same-sex marriage doesn’t get the blue screen of death from SCOTUS. [Politico]
* Everyone else loses, but Scalia always wins. He couldn’t have asked for more after Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was struck down. So long, “racial entitlements.” [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times]
* “No, we’re not going to do layoffs. We’d never do layoffs. Everything is just fine. Seriously, we won’t do stealth layoffs either. Promise! Believe us, pretty please,” said the managing partner of every peer Biglaw firm after the Weil winnowing. [Am Law Daily]
* Law schools are freaking out about a new American Bar Association proposal to tighten their bar passage requirements, and they’re blaming all of their alarm on diversity issues. [National Law Journal]
* This state senator wins the award for most unique filibuster attempt ever. To block new abortion regulations in Texas, Sen. Wendy Davis spoke endlessly for 11 hours straight. You go girl! [CNN]
* Pop star Chris Brown was charged in a hit-and-run, and surprisingly, Rihanna had nothing to do with it. The new charges may affect his probation, and he might even go to jail. [Arts Beat / New York Times]
* Breaking news, Aaron Hernandez was just taken into custody at his home. Discuss. [USA Today]
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Affirmative Action, Anthony Kennedy, David Boies, Jeffrey Toobin, John Paul Stevens, Labor / Employment, Minority Issues, Nina Totenberg, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito, Sandra Day O'Connor, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Ted Olson, Texas
The Wait For Fisher Is Over, And It Was Not Worth The Wait
In case you missed the earlier coverage, here's an eyewitness report on what took place at the Supreme Court today, from Above the Law's SCOTUS correspondent, Matt Kaiser. -
Biglaw, Holland & Knight, Lateral Moves, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues, Patton Boggs, Texas
Musical Chairs: More Partners Part With Patton Boggs
How many partners are leaving, and where are they going? - Sponsored
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
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5th Circuit, Affirmative Action, Constitutional Law, Education / Schools, Minority Issues, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
Affirmative Action Is Dead In The Water; Diversity Is The 21st Century Fight
SCOTUS ruling today signals the end of the old era of affirmative action, and the birth of a new one. -
Affirmative Action, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Constitutional Law, Education / Schools, Minority Issues, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
The Supreme Court Surprises in Fisher v. University of Texas
The Supreme Court just handed down its opinion in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a landmark affirmative action case. What did the Court rule? -
Quote of the Day, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
Oral Argument: A 'Contact Sport' For Nerds?
But are oral arguments before the Supreme Court touch or tackle? -
Biglaw, Husch Blackwell, Lateral Moves, Law Firm Mergers, Partner Issues, Texas
Husch Your Mouth: Managing Partner Talks Trash About A Rival Firm And A Former Colleague
Check out these amusingly catty comments from a law firm leader. -
Biglaw, Books, Husch Blackwell, Insider Trading, Job Searches, Law Firm Mergers, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas, Women's Issues
Non-Sequiturs: 06.19.13
* I’ll get into this more tomorrow (unless Fisher drops), but Washington & Lee’s third year “experiential learning” program has met with underwhelming results in terms of job placement. Theories abound as to why, but this is basically why I say (a) the third year is useless, and (b) stop telling me what your law professors can do, and start telling me what your career services officers are doing. [Tax Prof Blog] * I guess they didn’t like the way they looked. [Yahoo Finance] * Hey, it’s another article beating up on Don Verrilli. I’m going to be really happy for him when he leaves, makes a ton of money, and sticks it all in his ears. [Forbes] * An insider trading loophole big enough to drive a material non-public truck through it. [Dealbreaker] * Husch Blackwell gets bigger in Texas. [Kansas City Star] * Roy Cho, the Kirkland & Ellis associate currently running for Congress, gets a coveted endorsement — from the Wu-Tang Clan! [NJ.com] * A nice review for Marcia Coyle’s new book, The Roberts Court (affiliate link). It’ll be fun to see how the Court looks at this moment in time, before what will surely be viewed as legacy-defining decisions on race and gay rights coming any minute now. [Seattle Times] * Justice Ginsburg is optimistic about the future of women on the court. She’s also optimistic about the future of skeletons on the court, and she’s super-excited about the possibility of downloading her brain into a robotic body so that she can keep her job forever. [Blog of the Legal Times]
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Constitutional Law, Crime, Guns / Firearms, Murder, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
Introverts And The Fifth Amendment: Or, Why You Should Go To Law School
An interesting ruling from the Supreme Court today on the Fifth Amendment raises a possible new argument for going to law school. -
Craigslist, Drugs, FCC, Football, Job Searches, Law Reviews, Marijuana, Non-Sequiturs, Racism, State Attorneys General, Summer Associates, Tax Law, Texas
Non-Sequiturs: 06.12.13
* California AG Kamala Harris gets a profile in Vanity Fair. That’s good, I hear she’s the hottest AG in the country. [Law and More] * If you have an erection that lasts waaaaaaay longer than four hours, file suit. [Delaware Online] * A New York-area law student wants a tutor to help with the law review write-on competition. For the low, low price of $35/hour. Eh. It’s better than contract work in most markets (in case the link breaks I’ve got a screenshot). [Craigslist] * What the hell, here’s another job listing. Highlights: Unpaid summer associates, fighting for $12/hour positions, with one voted off the island every few days. The new economy is awesome! (Screenshot here.) [Craigslist] * Patriarch Partners founder and CEO Lynn Tilton, known for saying, “There are three universal lies: Margins are weak, but we’ll make it up in volume; the check’s in the mail; and I won’t come in your mouth,” prevailed in MBIA’s suit against her. [DealBreaker] * The federal government has made legalized pot difficult for states. Now the burgeoning pot industry is lobbying Congress to change federal laws to make their jobs easier. Come on pols, it’s time to turn your “pro-business” rhetoric to action. [TaxProf Blog] * Republican master spin doctor Frank Luntz is looking into how the Washington Redskins could save their name. This all grows out of the efforts of George Washington Law Professor John Banzhaf (second link) to push the franchise to change its name by lobbying broadcasting regulators to penalize broadcasters for repeating the slur that passes for a mascot. [PR-Inside] * Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery is enjoying an FBI probe into the fact that his wife — and chief aide — earned massive referral fees for sending clients to personal injury firms while working for the court and skirting the rules established by the chief justice. Given the amounts involved, I clearly need to get into the referral business. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * I’ve given Texas a hard time over the last week, but the Texas Court of Appeals for the First District did a little to redeem themselves with this opinion citing legal luminaries Patsy Cline and Daft Punk. Full opinion after the jump. Relevant cites on Texas Courts. Check it out… -
Books, Gay Marriage, Guns / Firearms, Non-Sequiturs, Texas
Non-Sequiturs: 06.11.13
* Shakespeare’s “First thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” has multiple meanings. Or so say lawyers trying to lawyer their way out of being reviled. [The Read Zone] * Embracing your identity is good advice for life and career. Just note that one of those identities is as a meaningless cog in the legal machine. [Ms. JD] * Florida attorney Marshall Dore Louis sought some phone records from the government that he claims might provide an alibi for his client. The government claimed it did not have the records. Judge Robin Rosenbaum politely called bulls**t, having recently read about the government having EVERYONE’S PHONE RECORDS. [Southern District of Florida Blog] * Lisa Linsky muses about the difficulty of waiting for universal recognition of same sex marriage. [Huffington Post] * Attorney Carolyn Barnes, who landed in hot water after shooting at a census worker, has been convicted. I wonder where she’ll be residing in 7 years? [KXAN] * Albany Law School is cutting enrollment and slashing faculty appears to be next. It sucks to lose your job, but at least you’ll be able to move out of Albany. Small miracles! [The Business Review] * A review of Run, Brother, Run: A Memoir of a Murder in My Family (affiliate link), a memoir from attorney David Berg covering his career and family from arguing before the Supreme Court, to serving as legal counsel to President Carter, to the killing of his brother at the hands of Woody Harrelson’s father. [NY Times] * Three SUNY-Buffalo Law Students have a band and their cover of Icona Pop’s I Love It is trending. The Spin Wires turn the electro house number into an Offspring like rock song. Video after the jump… [BroBible] -
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Craigslist, Guns / Firearms, Murder, Prostitution, Texas, Violence
Jury Sez: Killing a Hooker Is A-OK. Guess Which State!
Man acquitted after shooting an unarmed sex worker because she didn't sleep with him. -
Divorce Train Wrecks, Gay, Gay Marriage, Lesbians, Texas
Lesbian Couple Fall Prey to 'Morality Clause'
Divorce decree puts same-sex couples behind the 8-ball. -
Law Professors, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Money, Texas
How Much Does Your Law Professor Make? University of Texas Edition
They say everything is bigger in Texas. Is that true of law professor salaries?