Amal Clooney (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
* Human rights attorney Amal Clooney is handling a dangerous new legal matter. She intends to put ISIS commanders on trial for their war crimes, and she sat down with Cynthia McFadden of NBC News to discuss her campaign. The full interview is set to air later on the Today Show. [NBC News]
* Per Justice Elena Kagan, the longer SCOTUS only has only eight members, the more likely it is that it’s going to become a problem when it comes to the Court’s work: “We’re there to resolve cases that need deciding, answer hotly contested issues that need resolving, and you can’t do that with a tie vote.” [AP]
* In the meantime, Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland has been languishing in limbo for more than six months, and many Senate Republicans are still refusing to grant him a hearing or confirm him — not even in the lame-duck session if Hillary Clinton is elected president. This decision may come back to bite them. [CNN]
* “It is unacceptable for law to be the least diverse of all comparable professions.” According to a new study published in Diversity in Practice which found that “black lawyers are less successful in changing employers,” firms may be failing when it comes to diversity because of law firms’ lateral hiring cycles. [Stanford Business Insights]
* Who is the most famous practicing lawyer? You can cast your ballot here. If you need help, there are almost 50 candidates listed — of course, only seven of them are women, and quite a few big names are missing (e.g., Roberta Kaplan, Kathryn Reummler, etc.). We can’t even get some gender equality for a lawyering contest. [Big Law Business]
Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.