Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.07.16

* "He has always said he’s given to politicians his entire career and he thinks the system is broken. A review of Donald Trump's political donations show that the Republican presidential candidate has made campaign contributions to several to state attorneys general while they weighed decisions affecting his business, particularly in New York. What's that about a "rigged" system? [Wall Street Journal] * Carl Ferrer, the chief executive officer of Backpage.com, was arrested last night on in Houston, Texas, on a California warrant for criminal charges including pimping. If you recall, Backpage.com was recently in the news thanks to a Senate investigation into allegations that the site was helping to facilitate child sex trafficking. [Reuters] * Per a report publish by Altman Weil, law firm merger and acquisition activity was way down in the third quarter of 2016. Last year at this time, the merger market was 40 percent more active. Why are so dormant? "[F]irms are waiting on the sidelines seeing if it will all work: 6,000-lawyer law firms and that type of thing." [Big Law Business] * "Congratulations to the 'Nino' Scalia Law School for memorializing, for celebrating this most remarkable judge and teacher." Justices Kagan, Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer, Alito, and Sotomayor -- attended the dedication for the school named after Scalia, while Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Ginsburg attended a dinner in his honor. [USA Today] * "If students are graduating and they can't pass the bar, that's a big problem." Law schools are coming around to the fact that it's now a buyer's market for students, and some will even allow 0Ls to "vet" their schools to evaluate the teaching methods being used. You can even check out professors' résumés. [U.S. News & World Report]

By Staci Zaretsky on October 07, 2016 8:58 am
Donald Trump (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty)

Donald Trump (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty)

* “He has always said he’s given to politicians his entire career and he thinks the system is broken. A review of Donald Trump’s political donations show that the Republican presidential candidate has made campaign contributions to several to state attorneys general while they weighed decisions affecting his business, particularly in New York. What’s that about a “rigged” system? [Wall Street Journal]

* Carl Ferrer, the chief executive officer of Backpage.com, was arrested last night on in Houston, Texas, on a California warrant for criminal charges including pimping. If you recall, Backpage.com was recently in the news thanks to a Senate investigation into allegations that the site was helping to facilitate child sex trafficking. [Reuters]

* Per a report publish by Altman Weil, law firm merger and acquisition activity was way down in the third quarter of 2016. Last year at this time, the merger market was 40 percent more active. Why are so dormant? “[F]irms are waiting on the sidelines seeing if it will all work: 6,000-lawyer law firms and that type of thing.” [Big Law Business]

* “Congratulations to the ‘Nino’ Scalia Law School for memorializing, for celebrating this most remarkable judge and teacher.” Justices Kagan, Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer, Alito, and Sotomayor — attended the dedication for the school named after Scalia, while Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Ginsburg attended a dinner in his honor. [USA Today]

* “If students are graduating and they can’t pass the bar, that’s a big problem.” Law schools are coming around to the fact that it’s now a buyer’s market for students, and some will even allow 0Ls to “vet” their schools to evaluate the teaching methods being used. You can even check out professors’ résumés. [U.S. News & World Report]

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.