Kevin Newsom, chair of Bradley Arant’s appellate practice, was voted out of Committee by a whopping 18-2 margin.
* The Second Circuit vacates the corruption convictions of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Congratulations to his counsel, the high-powered litigation boutique of MoloLamken (which handled the appeal as well as the trial). [How Appealing]
* And congrats to federal judicial nominees John K. Bush (Sixth Circuit) and Kevin Newsom (Eleventh Circuit), who just got voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. [Washington Examiner]
What Biglaw Can Learn From Personal Injury Firms
How a former insurance agent built a Houston injury practice around systems, empathy, and disciplined advocacy.
* In other nomination news, the White House seems to be taking its time in announcing a Ninth Circuit nominee from Oregon. Delay may strengthen the case for frontrunner Ryan Bounds; his main competition, Chief Judge Michael Mosman, gets older by the day (turning 61 later this year). [Portland Tribune]
* Meet Michael Murray, an ex-SCOTUS clerk and Jones Day alum, who is the Justice Department’s new point person on pot. (Fun fact: Kevin Newsom, Ryan Bounds, and Michael Murray all clerked for my former boss, Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the Ninth Circuit.) [U.S. News]
* Former Ropes & Gray COO Hugh A. Simons wonders: “Are Law Firms Too Sophisticated for Their Own Good?” [Am Law Daily]
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.
* Will law school applications see a “Trump Bump,” as idealistic aspiring attorneys seek law degrees to join the resistance? We might have more on this later. [Law.com]
* Yes, lawyers should stand up for their beliefs — but they can and must understand the arguments on the other side, as new Yale Law dean Heather Gerken explains. [Time]
* The Ninth Circuit has ruled in the Case of the Tweeting Judge. We might have more on this later as well. [How Appealing]
* Congratulations to Stephen Kane, an alum of O’Melveny & Myers and Lex Machina, on securing $1.8 million in funding for his FairClaims startup, which he describes as “a virtual Judge Judy.” [TechCrunch]
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].