Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.19.19

* In his final days, accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein surrounded himself with lawyers in a private meeting room for up to 12 hours a day, emptying vending machines, if only to escape his cramped, vermin-infested cell. [New York Times] * The Trump Justice Department wants the Supreme Court to deny civil rights protections for transgender employees, but the EEOC doesn't agree and its general counsel refused to sign the DOJ's brief to the high court. [National Law Journal] * Per a leaked Brexit document, U.K. officials are trying to avoid a "catastrophic collapse in the nation's infrastructure" (e.g., food, fuel, and medicine shortages; port gridlocks; and civil unrest) if Britain is unable to leave the EU with a deal. [NPR] * Will other Biglaw firms with similar parental leave policies face scrutiny in the wake of the reverse discrimination lawsuit filed against Jones Day? We'll have to wait and see if this reproduces additional legal claims. [American Lawyer] * Milbank just scored a major lateral coup after scooping up some talented IP litigators from Irell & Manella, including David Gindler, the firm’s managing partner. Gindler was Irell's third managing partner in just a few years. [Big Law Business]

By Staci Zaretsky on August 19, 2019 8:17 am

(Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

* In his final days, accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein surrounded himself with lawyers in a private meeting room for up to 12 hours a day, emptying vending machines, if only to escape his cramped, vermin-infested cell. [New York Times]

* The Trump Justice Department wants the Supreme Court to deny civil rights protections for transgender employees, but the EEOC doesn’t agree and its general counsel refused to sign the DOJ’s brief to the high court. [National Law Journal]

* Per a leaked Brexit document, U.K. officials are trying to avoid a “catastrophic collapse in the nation’s infrastructure” (e.g., food, fuel, and medicine shortages; port gridlocks; and civil unrest) if Britain is unable to leave the EU with a deal. [NPR]

* Will other Biglaw firms with similar parental leave policies face scrutiny in the wake of the reverse discrimination lawsuit filed against Jones Day? We’ll have to wait and see if this reproduces additional legal claims. [American Lawyer]

* Milbank just scored a major lateral coup after scooping up some talented IP litigators from Irell & Manella, including David Gindler, the firm’s managing partner. Gindler was Irell’s third managing partner in just a few years. [Big Law Business]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.