Above the Law

From Boilerplate To Architecture: How AI Broke The Monolithic IP Clause

What replaced the monolithic IP clause wasn’t chaos. It was structure.

Hate To Say I Told You So Again: Your Chats Ain’t Private

We as lawyers need to educate our clients if we want to protect them down the road.

Standing Up And Cheering For American-ish Principles

Shall we play a game?

Legal Ethics Roundup: Ethics Of AI Glasses In Court, Gambling Lawyer Guilty, SCOTUS Restricts Access to Counsel, Judge’s Novel Recusal & More

Your tour of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics, with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson.

Why Your Competitor Pays Half What You Do: Decoding Legal Research AI Pricing

Your firm and your closest competitor use the same Westlaw or Lexis products. Same size, same market, same platform. One of you pays 40–50% more than the other — and it's probably you.

Hegseth Labels Anthropic A Supply Chain ‘Risk,’ After Trump Orders Gov To Ditch AI Firm

Anthropic had refused a Pentagon ultimatum to lift internal policies safeguarding against the use of its AI for lethal autonomous weapons or for mass domestic surveillance.

Morning Docket: 03.01.26

* Biglaw drafts plans to protect staff in its Middle East offices. [Law.com International]

* As “Operation Epstein Fury,” continues in the Middle East, it appears Trump administration insiders are cashing in, making big prediction market bets on military timing. [NOTUS]

* West Virginia’s federal judges have become some of the most active voices pushing back against the Trump administration’s rule of law abuses. [Politico]

* Maduro’s lawyers claims the Trump administration is blocking payment, frustrating the Venezuelan president’s right to counsel. [New York Law Journal]

* A deep dive into why the Epstein investigation took so long and included so many missed opportunities. [NY Times]

* Election deniers hold conference calling for Trump to “take over” the midterms. Trump officials charged with election integrity showed up. [ProPublica]

* OpenAI raises another $110 billion as it falls further and further behind its rivals. [Law360]

* Fight over California’s fee-sharing ban dropped. [Reuters]

Chief Justice Roberts Stares Into The Abyss — See Generally

Chief Justice Roberts Relishes Role As President’s Favorite Doormat: John Roberts traded his credibility so Trump could hold press conferences calling the Chief “very unpatriotic.”

But Don’t Call It A Comeback: And don’t mistake his tariffs opinion — or those of Barrett and Gorsuch either — as a redemption arc. They only put their foot down when Trump’s actions started hurting their buddies.

New York Bar Examiners Tell Blizzard-Stranded Applicants To Show Up Or Else: Over 10,000 flights canceled? Travel bans across multiple states? Bar examiners remained unmoved.

Judge Cannon Sides With Trump, And In Other News, Water Is Wet: Judge buries report detailing the evidence of Trump’s criminal charges because she knows where her bread is buttered.

Ninth Circuit Says Size Doesn’t Matter: Appeals court smacks down fee-shaming of small law firms.

Your AI Prompts May… Or May Not… Be Privileged: Competing decisions over AI and privilege mean your legal brainstorming sessions with a chatbot might end up in discovery. Welcome to the future.

Maurene Comey Lands Partner Gig: James Comey’s daughter makes partner at a law firm after being unceremoniously drummed out of the DOJ by a vindictive administration.

Lying Has Consequences, Feds — See Also

Liars Keep Losing In Court: Judges keep catching federal officers with their pants on fire.

These Aren’t The Lawyers You’ve Been Looking For: OpenAI helps shut down fake law empire.

When Mardi Gras Turns Violent: Shia LeBeouf gets hit with two charges of battery and a rehab stint.

This Should Scratch Your Law Porn Itch: Dean’s List is the novel you didn’t know you needed.

Need Some Help Finding Loans For School?: AccessLex Institute is here to help!

Once, Twice, Three Times The Contempt: The government has had enough of the government!

Lawyers Usually Should Not Open Their Own Practices Right After Graduating From Law School

Law school does a poor job of teaching students the practical information they need to be practicing lawyers.

Law Firm Mergers Mean Lateral Movement — Lots Of It

Law firm consolidation is shaking lawyers loose from firms and creating fresh opportunities for those ready to move.

Private Loan Exchange Launches As Federal Lending Tightens The Screws On Law Students

A new tool to deal with the changing reality of law school loans.

DOJ Feels The Squeeze As DHS’s Courtroom Pain Sponge

Contempt is temporary. Sanctions are forever.

New Novel Skewers Law School Rankings, Faculty Politics, And When Legal Education Gets Kinky

'BLS: Bondage, Latex, and S&M?'

The Human Cost Of Our Broken Justice System

A deep dive into everything thats wrong with the criminal justice system.