Above the Law

The Shadow Docket Isn’t The Exception Anymore — See Also

‘The Law Is On Our Side Across The Board’: Ted Boutrous would know, he helped build it.

After A Run Of Defections, Weil Is Reportedly Thinking About A Merger: That is one way the accelerate the firm’s growth.

Google’s Defamation Defense: Relax, nobody believes our AI anyway. Which is a fascinating argument from a company spending billions to get you to trust AI.

Supreme Court Decides More Cases In Secret Than In Public, Assures You This Is Fine: Signed opinions are so 2019.

Marketing Roundup: Takeaways From The LMA Second Chair Roundtable, Why Branding Is More Than A Visual Identity, And More

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

B2B Agents Will Need More Than Machine-Readable Contracts

'Market' cannot become a substitute for judgment.

Examples Of Trusting Donald Trump Only To Be Stabbed In The Back

It's hard to believe that being stabbed in the back could be ... exhausting.

Legal Ethics Roundup: Judge Warns Of Threat To Democracy, AI Slop Harms Extend Beyond Fake Cites, Philly DA Referred For Investigation, New Bill Aims To End ‘Stealth Impeachments’ & More

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

Lawyer Retention In Three Words: Automate The Crap

Make the office a place where lawyers spend more of their day being lawyers.

LVMH Signed An Agreement To Buy Hermès Heir’s Shares

Legal documents show the company signed a 2002 agreement to purchase heir Nicolas Puech’s shares.

Morning Docket: 09.21.26

* Trump claims that the new arch he’s been planning is necessary for national security now that he knows courts are dumb enough to rubberstamp that. [NY Times]

* Law schools continue to struggle with AI. How much do professors hate in-person exams that they’re still making this a weekly headline? [Reuters]

* David Boies proposes a patent-inspired twist on copyright fair use to allow AI training, but without stripping authors of compensation. [Bloomberg Law News]

* First Circuit strikes down third country removal policy where Trump sent migrants to countries where they had no connections. [American Prospect]

* News outlets sue over new White House ban. [NPR]

* “Does copyright cover brainrot?” Today in: Questions We Ask In A Civilization In Decline. [Law360]

* ICE shoots man delivering food. [NBC News]

Biglaw Move That Everyone Seems Happy About — See Generally

Weil See You Later!: Weil, Gotshal & Manges lost rainmaker Michael Aiello, another big departure for them. But… partners spent the week explaining how they’re actually not all that sad to see him go… meanwhile, Cravath seems excited to get an injection of his specific mix of clients.

In Loco Parentis: Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearings unearthed an account of sexual misconduct at a drunken college dorm party, turned up in a Notre Dame dorm hanging out with a bunch of undergrads.

Prompt And Circumstance: ESPN’s account of LSU’s near-expulsion from the SEC includes Lane Kiffin answering a veteran lawyer’s warnings with ChatGPT screenshots… and somehow this all explains AI regulation and the Protect College Sports Ac.

Personal Statement: Judge George O’Toole stayed “Question Three,” the Merit Hiring Plan prompt asking federal job applicants to identify the Trump executive orders most significant to them.

The Happiest Place On Somebody Else’s Earth: Illinois disciplinary authorities allege former managing partner Leslie Joy Allred took $348,056.30 from O’Dekirk, Allred & Rhodes over six years, including more than $170,000 in firm credit card charges for Disney World trips, cruises, liquor, and axe throwing.

Carousel Of Progress: Chief Judge Albert Diaz got the DOJ’s lawyer to concede that the government’s theory of Lindsey Halligan’s appointment would let a “nefarious, ne’er-do-well executive” run an endless succession of interim U.S. attorneys past both the district court and the Senate.

Match Now, Pay Later: Troutman Pepper Locke matched the Milbank scale for first- through fourth-year associates effective January 1, 2027.

Co-Counsel Culture: Amy Wax has retained John Eastman — disbarred in California this year over the 2020 elector scheme — to help argue that Penn denied her adequate process.

Cravath’s Latest Hire Comes With A Les Moonves-Shaped Asterisk — See Also

Cravath Says Mike Aiello Shares Its ‘Values.’ About That: Not where I would have gone with the press release, but OK.

The G In GPT Stands For Geaux: LSU’s football coach used ChatGPT for legal advice and somehow this explains AI, doomerism, antitrust, Ted Cruz, the CFAA, and college sports.

More Missouri Madness: If you thought this election map mischief was over, think again.

Respect Your Clients’ Religion On Major Holidays: Now is a great time to remind lawyers that religious observance might affect client communications.

He Took ‘Zealous Advocacy’ A Fatal Step Too Far

He got his client acquitted from beyond the grave.

The 3 Things Every Healthy Organization Needs

What actually makes people stay, thrive, and grow inside an organization — and what quietly drives them away.

Niche Down To Blow Up: Micro-Specialization Marketing For Law Firms

If you are ready to ‘niche down’ and offer a highly specialized set of services to a narrow-but-active client base, micro-specialization marketing may be your ticket to making ‘less is more’ work for you.

How Appealing Weekly Roundup

The week in appellate news.

‘Adventures In Legal Tech’: The Risks Of AI-Generated Legal Marketing

The compliance issue almost nobody in legal marketing is talking about.