Judge William Pryor
* President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of labor, fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, is a critic of the Obama Administration’s regulation in this area (and he’s a former litigator, interestingly enough). [Washington Post]
* Judge Bill Pryor (11th Cir.), a top SCOTUS contender in a Trump Administration, is beloved by conservatives — but confirming him could be a battle. [Bloomberg BNA via How Appealing]
Opus 2 Steps Up Its AI Game With Acquisition Of A Legal Tech Startup
With the addition of Uncover’s technology, the litigation software is delivering rapid innovation.
* The Arkansas Supreme Court rules that married lesbian couples can’t put the names of both spouses on their children’s birth certificates. [WSJ Law Blog]
* SEC enforcement chief Andrew Ceresney will leave the agency by the end of this year; where might he wind up? [Law.com]
* Governor Andrew Cuomo met with the feds in connection with the corruption case brought against some of his former aides. [New York Times]
AI Is Reshaping Legal Practice—But Tools Aren’t The Real Differentiator.
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
* Michael Jordan’s latest court victory — in an IP case in China. [Bloomberg]
* Alabama prisoner Ronald Smith is executed after the Supreme Court denies a stay, leaving SCOTUS review of the state’s unique “judicial override” system for another day. [New York Times via How Appealing]
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at [email protected].