Trials
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Antonin Scalia, Barack Obama, D.C. Circuit, FCC, Food, Jury Duty, Morning Docket, Movies, Murder, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trials
Morning Docket: 02.20.14
* Justice Scalia apparently has an ulterior motive for his hatred of deep-dish pizza: “He’s just trying to undermine Barack Obama because he’s a Chicago guy.” God, can’t the guy just like New York style pizza better? Come on. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]
* Now that the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality rules have been smacked down by the D.C. Circuit, the agency is going to start from scratch and come up with some new ones. Yeah, good luck with that. [National Law Journal]
* “Roll your window up, ignore the taunting, put your car in reverse, move a parking spot over.” These are some of the ways you can avoid killing black teenagers over loud music, says a Michael Dunn juror. [CNN]
* The toupee gave it away: A lawyer who used to work as an i-banker at Stratton Oakmont is suing for defamation over a character he claims was modeled after him in the “Wolf of Wall Street.” [ABC News]
* The lawsuit filed against Nick Saban’s daughter by her sorority sister was tossed under Alabama’s “stand your ground” rule over her objections that she was kind of like a defenseless receiver. [Associated Press]
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Asians, Biglaw, Books, Clerkships, Crime, Eavesdropping / Wiretapping, Gay, Gay Marriage, Gender, Kids, Morning Docket, Murder, Rape, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trials, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 02.17.14
Ed. note: Due to the Presidents’ Day holiday, we will be on a reduced publication schedule today. We will still be publishing, but less frequently than usual. We will be back in full force tomorrow.
* With a perfect record for equality post-Windsor and four appellate courts soon set to rule, it looks like the Supreme Court will get a second bite at the gay marriage apple by 2015. [National Law Journal]
* Per Am Law, Mayer Brown just posted its highest profits ever. Maybe that’s one of the reasons the NSA’s thunder from down under, the Australian Signals Directorate, was spying on it. [New York Times]
* For Asian American women, Biglaw’s “bamboo ceiling” may be just as tough to crack as its glass ceiling. What’s that? Find out by reading Helen Wan’s book, The Partner Track (affiliate link). [Washington Post]
* Haller Jackson, the law clerk accused of aggravated rape of a minor, has been in and out of court since his arrest. His defense team has even filed a motion to suppress his confession. MOAR info, plz! [Slabbed]
* Controversy alert: Michael Dunn was convicted of four out of five charges, including three counts of attempted murder, in Florida’s “loud music” trial, but the jury was hung on the murder charge. Lame. [CNN]
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Biglaw, Canada, Gay, Law Professors, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Securities and Exchange Commission, Trials
Morning Docket: 02.13.14
* This guessing game is over, even though we’d guessed this from the start. After decamping from the Securities and Exchange Commission, George Canellos will return to his old stomping grounds at Milbank Tweed. [DealBook / New York Times]
* You can’t insult Duke and get away with it. Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton secured a one-year no-contact order against Addison Chance, the e-cig retailer who sent “menacing and harassing” emails and voicemails to a partner. [Winston-Salem Journal]
* Heenan Blaikie’s talks may have fallen through with DLA Piper, but another Biglaw firm swooped in to rescue more than 20 of the failed Canadian firm’s survivors. You can call Dentons their knight in shining billable hours. [Globe and Mail]
* You can’t always get what you want. Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsaernaev’s trial is scheduled for November 2014, despite his lawyers asking for a September 2015 start date. [Bloomberg]
* A Tennessee lawmaker just introduced the “Turn the Gays Away” bill, which would allow businesses to refuse goods and services to gay people. If this isn’t ‘MURICA, we don’t know what is. [MyFOX Memphis]
* “We have offered generous buyouts—generous by anyone’s standards—and we are now waiting for volunteers.” Yeah, good luck with that. Things don’t look great for profs at Albany Law. [WSJ Law Blog]
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Attorney Misconduct, Jury Duty, Legal Ethics, Texas, Trials
That's One Way To Pick A Jury. Maybe An Unethical One, But It Is One Way.
And what's worse, it sounds like the partner threw the associate under the bus on this one. -
Clerkships, Harvard, Hedge Funds / Private Equity, Insider Trading, Jury Duty, S.D.N.Y., Trials, U.S. Attorneys Offices, Wall Street, White-Collar Crime
The Mathew Martoma Case, By The Numbers
Some fun facts about the just-concluded trial of Mathew Martoma. -
Alex Kozinski, Crime, Texas, Trials
Instances Of Known Prosecutor FAILS Are On The Rise
Prosecutors should be embarrassed by these numbers. -
Benchslaps, Biglaw, Drugs, Football, Job Searches, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Murder, Prostitution, Sex, Sports, State Attorneys General, Technology, Trials
Morning Docket: 01.31.14
* Quinn Emanuel got a pretty harsh benchslap from Judge Paul Grewal over its litigation strategy in the Apple / Samsung case, calling it “650 lawyers wide and one lawyer deep.” Sick burn, Judge. [Courthouse News Service]
* At Cardozo Law, Jordan Belfort’s former lawyer says that the movie Wolf of Wall Street “played down the sex and drugs.” Dear Lord, if that’s the case, Leo’s muse should be happy he’s alive. [DealBook / New York Times]
* “I’ve been around the block. And I’ve never seen an attorney general sanctioned.” Ahh, the rarest rose. Nevada’s AG was sanctioned for failing to provide evidence in a fraud case against a mortgage lender. [Forbes]
* Eighteen people were arrested for their alleged attempts to market and sell Super Bowl “party packs” to football fans. It’s pretty sick, but you’d got to admit that hookers and blow beat wings any day of the week. [Bloomberg]
* Law schools in the Southeast closed their doors because their states were “unequipped for dealing with the roadways.” Send them up here, we’ve got school when there’s a foot of snow. [National Law Journal]
* A recent grad of a “good school” wanted to know how to get a job, so she asked an advice columnist. Here are five of the suggested jobs she probably already applied to and was rejected from. [Fortune]
* The third time’s apparently the charm in Italy: Amanda Knox was convicted of murder, again. Foxy Knoxy must be pissed that her case has turned into an extradition question on an international law exam. [CNN]
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Federal Judges, Old People, Quote of the Day, Trials
Do Boring Trials Double As Nap Time For 90-Year-Old Judges?
She may be 90 years old, but that doesn't mean she was asleep on the bench. - Sponsored
Law Firms Now Have A Choice In Their Document Comparison Software
Six months on since its launch, over 200 firms worldwide are now using Draftable Legal for accurate and reliable document comparison, including UK Top 50… -
Animal Law, Crime, Dubious Defenses, Jury Duty, Oral Sex / Blow Jobs, Trials, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Cow Rejects Man’s Sexual Advances. What Happens Next... Is the Jury Laughs At Him.
Jury reveling in the hilarious testimony in an attempted bestiality case. -
10th Circuit, 2nd Circuit, Gay Marriage, Job Searches, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Public Interest, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trials
Morning Docket: 01.29.14
* Which Supreme Court justices missed out on the State of the Union address last night? Three of the usual suspects (Scalia, Thomas, and Alito), plus Justice Sonia Sotomayor. RBG was there most of the time, except for nap time. [Legal Times] * You’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma O.K.! The Tenth Circuit announced it’s going to fast-track Oklahoma’s same-sex marriage appeal, and it’ll be heard by the same panel of judges presiding over a very similar appeal from Utah. [News OK] * The American Legal Institute just named Ricky Revesz, the former dean of NYU Law School, as its new director. He’ll be “clarifying, modernizing and improving the law,” just like he kind of / sort of did with NYU’s 3L curriculum, but not really. [National Law Journal] * Law students, say hello to the Immigrant Justice Corps, a job opportunity brought to you by Chief Justice Robert Katzmann of the Second Circuit. Hey, the pay is pretty decent for public interest. [New York Times] * The results of the latest Law School Survey of Student Engagement reveal to us 1Ls are morons. Seventy percent of them are thrilled with career services, but only 45% of 3Ls feel the same way. [WSJ Law Blog] * She’s no George Zimmerman: Jodi Arias has a racked up a legal tab of more than $2 million, but because her artwork isn’t as hot as she is, the bill will be footed by Arizona taxpayers. [Associated Press] -
Associate Advice, Biglaw, David Boies, Federal Judges, Gay, Gay Marriage, Morning Docket, Pregnancy / Paternity, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Susman Godfrey, Technology, Ted Olson, Texas, Trials
Morning Docket: 01.27.14
* Choose your own adventure: Will you read this to see how many times Justice Alito recused himself during OT 2013? Or will you read this to see Justice Alito’s doofy-looking picture? [National Law Journal]
* Hackers took down the entire PACER system as well as various federal court websites on Friday. No, the FBI says it was “technical problems.” Oops, nope, still hackers. 🙁 [Switch / Washington Post]
* It seems the best way to train new associates is to do the opposite of what Biglaw has been doing for decades. Take Stephen Susman’s word for it — you could probably end up with a $40k bonus. [The Careerist]
* A decision hasn’t been rendered in the Chevron case yet, but is Steven Donziger feeling pessimistic? He’s already hired impressive appellate counsel. [WSJ Law Blog]
* “Everybody’s been very nice to us, even though we’re lawyers.” Shocker. David Boies, Ted Boutrous, and Ted Olson had fun at the Sundance Film Festival promoting “The Case Against 8.” [Associated Press]
* Finally, a happy ending to an absurd science experiment. Over the weekend, a judge ordered that Marlise Munoz, a brain-dead pregnant woman in Texas, be removed from her respirators and ventilators. [CNN]
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6th Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Jury Duty, Pornography, Quote of the Day, Trials
Benchslap Of The Day: District Judge, You Better Work
This whole "district judge" thing sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? -
Litigators, Quote of the Day, Trials
Remember When Lawyers Were Universally Respected? Neither Do We.
News flash: Old person reminisces about a past that never was.
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AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
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10th Circuit, Barack Obama, Biglaw, Federal Judges, Gay Marriage, George Bush, Law Schools, Morning Docket, State Judges, Texas, Trials, Utah, Violence
Morning Docket: 12.31.13
* Barack Obama is trailing George W. Bush when it comes to leaving his mark on the federal courts, but that’s probably because Senate Democrats didn’t go nuclear quickly enough. [Blog of Legal Times]
* When it comes to 2013, one thing’s for sure: it wasn’t boring. Many of this year’s movers and shakers hailed from top Am Law 100 law firms — like Ted Cruz (formerly of Morgan Lewis). [American Lawyer]
* John Ray III isn’t going to sit back and allow a jury to shut down his discrimination and retaliation case against Ropes & Gray. He filed a notice of appeal last week, and he’s pissed off. [National Law Journal]
* Utah has until the end of January to figure out how it’s going to go about defending its same-sex marriage ban before the Tenth Circuit. Just a thought: the “it’s still gay, even if the balls don’t touch” theory of law isn’t going to cut it. [Deseret News]
* A lawyer for the Texas judge accused of strangling his girlfriend is offering media outlets a superb defense story on behalf of his client. He wasn’t trying to kill her, he was trying to save her! [New York Daily News]
* Here’s some advice on how to submit your law school application on time. If you don’t know how to meet a deadline, you’re going to make a great lawyer. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
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Biglaw, Cocaine / Crack, Drugs, Insider Trading, Locke Lord, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, Morning Docket, Patton Boggs, Trials, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 12.20.13
* Kansas Law School has been fined and censured by the ABA for recruiting violations surrounding Andrew Wiggins. Wait, no, I got that wrong. KU Law started an LL.M. program without asking, which I’m sure they did only because Wiggins is from Canada. [Topeka Capital-Journal]
* The proposed merger between Patton Boggs and Locke Lord has been called off. Fingers crossed that Bendini Lambert is the next target for Locke Lord. [Am Law Daily]
* Mayor Bloomberg swears at his last set of judges. I mean swears “in.” Man, who gets up this early? [NYC.gov]
* President Obama commutes the sentences of eight inmates convicted of crack-cocaine offenses. [New York Times]
* New Mexico is Breaking Gay. [Bloomberg]
* Did EA know Battlefield 4 would kind of suck before they released it? [Techspot]
* So evidently R. Kelly isn’t “trapped” in the closet, so much as he’s hiding there waiting for your daughter to come home. [The Root]
* Here’s your homework for today: everybody has to go find a dispirited Duck Dynasty fan and patiently explain to him or her the difference between a government infringement on free speech and a network momentarily suspending a bigot. You’re not allowed to punch the fans, you can only use words, and if necessary, hand gestures. [Huffington Post]
* An inside look at the jury deliberations in the recent insider trading trial of Michael Steinberg of SAC Capital. [New York Times]
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Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Divorce Train Wrecks, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Legal Ethics, Pro Se Litigants, Trials, Violence, White House Counsel
Ex-Skadden Lawyer Wins $28.6 Million From Her Ex-Husband (A Former GC And White House Lawyer)
It's hard to believe how badly everything turned out for this former power couple; she was once a lawyer at Skadden, and he served as general counsel to a Fortune 500 company and as a deputy White House counsel. -
Lawyer Advertising, Murder, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners, Texas, Trials
Growing Pains: The Necessity of Fear
If you are a new lawyer in a small firm, you need to be prepared to have fear as a companion at times. -
Biglaw, Contract Attorneys, Document Review, Gender, Labor / Employment, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Murder, NALP, National Association for Law Placement (NALP), Paul Clement, Trials, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 12.12.13
* “This should be a red flag for everyone in legal education and the law firm world.” According to NALP, the percentage of women associates has dropped for the fourth consecutive year. That’s just lovely. [National Law Journal]
* Next summer, the co-CEOs of Hogan Lovells from legacy firms Hogan & Hartson and Lovells will make way for a single CEO structure. If approved by vote, Stephen Immelt will be in charge. Congratulations! [Am Law Daily]
* And the peasants rejoiced, for one of the FLSA overtime suits filed by a document review attorney has survived a motion to dismiss. Quinn Emanuel must have been genuinely shocked by this judge’s ruling. [Am Law Daily]
* “One thing we understand is law and economics.” Yet another law school finally, finally gets it. George Mason University School of Law has agreed to freeze its tuition — for the time being. We may have more on this development later today. [InTheCapital]
* George Huguely V, the UVA LAX bro convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, has got one hell of a lawyer. Paul Clement is arguing his client’s right to counsel was violated at trial. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]
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Animal Law, Quote of the Day, Trials, Videos, YouTube
But Will This Goat Have To Enter Witness Protection?
A surprise witness shows up for a man's bestiality trial. -
Litigators, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Practice Pointers, Small Law Firms, Trials
What Kind Of Clients Do You Have In Flyover Country?
The clients in secondary markets are the same, but they expect a different kind of service.