Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.14.17

* Grammy-winning musician John Legend will be joining the advisory board of the University of Pennsylvania Law School's Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice. Not to worry, because the Center's director says the decision to add the singer to the board was actually "a substantive thing," not "just a celebrity thing." [Law.com] * In response to its abysmal performance on Florida's February 2017 administration of the bar exam (only 25 percent of those who took the exam passed), Florida Coastal School of Law will not only be changing its curriculum and teaching methods, but it'll also be raising its admissions standards... starting this fall. What in the world took so long? [Jackson Daily Record] * According to court records, Judge Patricia Minaldi of the Western District of Louisiana was ordered by the chief judge of the Fifth Circuit to undergo at least 90 days of substance abuse treatment because her alcoholism was so severe that one of her judicial colleagues believed she could no longer take care of herself. [Associated Press] * Canada is taking steps to legalize recreational marijuana across the country. If this new legislation passes, possession of small amounts of pot will be legal throughout the Great White North as of July 18, 2018. This could understandably create some confusion at the border, so we may need to build another wall. Notify the president ASAP. [USA Today] * Kevin Jones, head of the China labor and employment practice at Faegre Baker Daniels, always wanted to run a marathon and always wanted to visit North Korea, so he decided to kill two birds with one stone by running the Pyongyang Marathon. He finished the 26-mile race in 4 hours and 21 minutes. Congratulations! [WSJ Law Blog]

John Legend (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

John Legend (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

* Grammy-winning musician John Legend will be joining the advisory board of the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice. Not to worry, because the Center’s director says the decision to add the singer to the board was actually “a substantive thing,” not “just a celebrity thing.” [Law.com]

* In response to its abysmal performance on Florida’s February 2017 administration of the bar exam (only 25 percent of those who took the exam passed), Florida Coastal School of Law will not only be changing its curriculum and teaching methods, but it’ll also be raising its admissions standards… starting this fall. What in the world took so long? [Jackson Daily Record]

* According to court records, Judge Patricia Minaldi of the Western District of Louisiana was ordered by the chief judge of the Fifth Circuit to undergo at least 90 days of substance abuse treatment because her alcoholism was so severe that one of her judicial colleagues believed she could no longer take care of herself. [Associated Press]

* Canada is taking steps to legalize recreational marijuana across the country. If this new legislation passes, possession of small amounts of pot will be legal throughout the Great White North as of July 18, 2018. This could understandably create some confusion at the border, so we may need to build another wall. Notify the president ASAP. [USA Today]

* Kevin Jones, head of the China labor and employment practice at Faegre Baker Daniels, always wanted to run a marathon and always wanted to visit North Korea, so he decided to kill two birds with one stone by running the Pyongyang Marathon. He finished the 26-mile race in 4 hours and 21 minutes. Congratulations! [WSJ Law Blog]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.