Above the Law

Morning Docket: 05.29.26

* Amy Coney Barrett targeted with possible swatting call. [NBC News]

* CFPB is already undermining and bad-mouthing its own career attorneys, but its return to office plan might actually make some people quit. [Law360]

* Former Biglaw lawyer breaks down how the system is broken. [NY Times]

* Stephen Colbert tested intellectual property law on his way out. [Bloomberg Law News]

* CNN sues Perplexity for using its content to provide users with material that keeps users from ever clicking on CNN. [New York Law Journal]

* Biglaw itself may pose the biggest threat to Harvey and Legora. [The Information]

Naming Unnamed Fornicating Judges — See Also

This Is Going To Be The Best AI Sleuthing Story You Read Today: Here’s how we figured out Eleanor Ross was the unnamed judge.

Todd Blanche Faces NY Bar Complaint: Vindictive prosecution has consequences. Sometimes.

Patagonia Takes Pattie Gonia To Court: This IP suit is about as far from drab as it gets!

Nice Win, I Guess: Paxton’s wife couldn’t bother to endorse him.

On This Week Of Thinking Like A Lawyer: Pauline Newman’s very loud absence and Quinn Emanuel’s “deeply disturbing” ethics.

Nice Guys Can Finish First

Why today’s top rainmakers win with trust, not tactics.

Paying It Forward: Turning Our Hard Lessons Into Someone Else’s Roadmap

We learn the most from the moments that humble us. The polished moments may build our reputation, but the painful moments build our judgment.

Judge Orders Law Firm To Write Lesson On How Not To Be Naughty Lawyers

And the Federal Circuit's Schoolhouse Rock moment is as damning as it is embarrassing.

Why Attorneys Can Ethically Use General-Purpose GenAI For Client Matters Without Redacting Everything

The claim that general-purpose AI platforms are categorically unsuitable for attorney use with client matters is wrong, not as a matter of opinion but as a matter of doctrine.

Ken Paxton Won His Senate Primary And His (Estranged) Wife Couldn’t Be Bothered To Endorse Him

Oh, and the divorce trial is set to start in just a few weeks. Juicy!

Research Shows Only 10% Of Eligible Borrowers Refinance Student Loans Despite Potential Savings

Waiting to refinance your loans has a cost, and your law degree can help lower your payout. Check your rate in minutes with no credit impact.

Marketing Roundup: Choosing Your Board Of Advisors, What Parenting Teaches Us About Communication, And More

A roundup of the latest from Strategies & Voices, the official online publication of LMA.

In Banning AI, Is Berkeley Law Shortchanging Its Students — And Endangering Their Future Clients?

The difficult question is whether schools can develop competency in AI even as they broadly restrict its use.

60 Cancer Patient And Provider Orgs Call On RFK Jr. To Protect USPSTF

Healthcare organizations urged HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to protect the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, warning that disruptions could threaten access to preventive care for millions of Americans.

Morning Docket: 05.28.26

* Justice Department launching criminal investigation of E. Jean Carroll, in case you were wondering how the whole “weaponization of the DOJ against the president’s enemies” is going. [BBC News]

* Kirkland & Ellis plans to spend half a billion to build their own AI technology, which in about 18 months will almost assuredly be worse than Claude. [Financial Times]

* CFTC overturning penalties secured by career attorneys against Trump donors. [CNBC]

* Fenwick paying $54 million to settle case over its FTX representation. [American Lawyer]

* Chancery slams WWE from the top rope. [Delaware Business Court Insider]

* Trump’s executive order purporting to ban mail-in ballots stands… for now. [NPR]

* Want to know how to get $9 million as an AI-native law firm? Here’s how Moritz did it. [Business Insider]

Experience Rewarded — See Also

Firms Are Hiring More Laterals Than Law Students: Killing OCI has its consequences.

Quinn Emanuel Earns Another Benchslap!: If an associate did what the leading partner on the matter did, they'd have been shown the door.

Let's Look At Trump's Settlement Agreement: It looks like he's trying to hide something.

Consider The Alternatives!: These schools do an amazing job of teaching alternative dispute resolution.

Blessed Be No Longer: Pope Leo's announcement on AI could change how professors give exams.

Lateral Associate Hires Are All The Rage

Law firms loved laterals in 2025.

Between Largely Dodging Both Leaded Gas And AI-Driven Social Media, Millennials Might Be The Smartest Generation

Just wait until the tech bros introduce a smartphone made entirely of lead.