Above the Law

Morning Docket: 08.19.26

* Disney goes to war with Trump administration over Kimmel retaliation effort. [NPR]

* Morgan & Morgan goes to court over Florida ban on celebrities in lawyer ads. [Florida Phoenix]

* Hugh Hefner repeatedly tried to get the FBI to act on Epstein over 20 years ago say survivors in lawsuit. [Law Commentary]

* Missouri weighs lowering pass score for bar exam after NextGen debacle. [ABA Journal]

* Harvey unveils its own LLM named Tenet. [Business Insider]

* In least shocking revelation of the day, whistleblowers suggest DOJ senior leadership reverse engineered political probes. [Courthouse News Service]

* Fourth Circuit blocks ICE from rounding people up at churches. [CBS News]

Expert Has ChatGPT Write Report. That Was A… Poor Decision — See Also

The Defense Calls ChatGPT: An expert used ChatGPT to draft “90 to 85” percent of his report. The plaintiffs’ attorney had a deposition for the ages on that one.

The Most Closely Guarded Secret In The Biglaw EO Case Is Who Wrote The Orders: A government proud enough from the podium has suddenly gone shy about signing its work.

The Biglaw Superheroes Of Client Service: Find out which firms, and which lawyers, are considered the best of the best.

Robot Judges: This judge probably did NOT use AI to decide this case, but if she had… a court ruled that it would be covered by judicial immunity.

The Travel Trap: Before boarding a plane, whether for international or domestic travel, immigrants should understand their individual risks.

Having Already Launched A Claude Connector, Trellis Extends AI Access To Its Court Data With ChatGPT Plugin And Its Own Chat Tool

Trellis claims to have the largest set of U.S. state trial court data, with more than 2.5 billion records. These integrations are intended to enable litigators to query that data from inside the AI tools they already use.

The War For Legal Talent Is Here

Why law firms that ignore retention right now may pay for it for years.

Meet Me At ILTACON: Ajax, An Intelligent Timekeeper That Adapts To Your Existing Workflow

Stop by booth 577 to see how Ajax can find your firm 12% more billable time.

In-House Lawyers: Who You Gonna Call?

It’s time for our annual survey to determine the top outside counsel.

Avoiding The AI Efficiency Trap: What Biglaw Needs To Get Right 

Join our expert panel on Sept. 9 to hear key takeaways from ILTACON 2026 — and the implications for the law firm business model.

The Travel Trap For Legal Immigrants

Travel, once viewed as a routine part of life for legal immigrants, now requires careful legal and strategic consideration.

Appeals Court Sides With Providers In No Surprises Act Pay Dispute

A court ruling struck down key parts of how regulators calculate the No Surprises Act's qualifying payment amount, siding with the Texas Medical Association's argument that the formula has historically favored payers in arbitration.

Morning Docket: 08.18.26

* Law firms secure big revenue gains in the first half of 2026... and yet those raises are still mostly on hold. [Law360]

* Penn State frat caught running massive cocaine ring. The school is proud of its white outs. [ABC News]

* Federal judges getting more requests to enforce rulings against the federal government as though they're some sort of "coequal branch" or something. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Biglaw building out national security capacity in world where tariffs and arbitrary supply chain risk designations keep coming. [ABA Journal]

* New documents reveal administration sought ways to punish Colorado if the state didn't release convicted election felon Tina Peters. [MSNow]

* Former prosecutor sues Justice Department over retaliatory firing because she previously prosecuted FACE Act crimes. [NPR]

* Fifth Circuit's Alien Enemies Act decision may well have put the final nail in the coffin of one of the administration's most aggressive legal maneuvers. [One First]

* Supreme Court asked to take up Texas Ten Commandments in schools mandate. [Washington Post]

The Justice’s Name Came Off The Door, But The Biglaw Firm Is Still A Powerhouse.

Abe Fortas co-founded one of Washington's biggest firms.

The Catering Caper: A Loaf On The Move

That's a guilty conscience for you, huh?

Dharshi Harindra Is Right: AI Doesn’t Replace Judgment. It Exposes It.

Speed without judgment is not a competitive advantage.

Even Trump’s Own Judges Agree: Sigal Chattah Isn’t A Real U.S. Attorney

Turns out reading the Federal Vacancies Reform Act isn't a partisan act.