Above the Law

Is Laying Off 15,000 IRS Employees The Best Way To Improve The Agency’s Efficiency?

Large-scale layoffs or ‘reductions in force,’ as the government calls it, are rare at the IRS.

Donald Trump Is Ultimately A Buffoon, But Elon Musk Has Been 2 Steps Ahead Of Everyone For A Long Time

Unlike with Trump, none of us really knows what Elon Musk is doing poking around within the U.S. government.

EXCLUSIVE: Hegseth Draft Memo Lays Out Software Acquisition Reform Push

A memo obtained by Breaking Defense outlines changes to how the Pentagon acquires software — and potentially presages more changes to come.

Morning Docket: 02.26.25

* Trump takes away Covington’s security clearances because they represent Jack Smith. If they want to see classified material, they have to hang out at Mar-a-Lago like every other hostile power. [Washington Post]

* Supreme Court refuses to put to death a man that even Oklahoma’s tough on crime prosecutors admit is innocent. 5-3. [Slate]

* Judge who told everyone he’d killed his wife says he didn’t mean to. [The Recorder]

* As companies bend over to appease the new administration, Apple is going the Costco route and refusing to back down from diversity commitments. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Alex Spiro is now billing $3000/hr. [Reuters]

Law School Ranking Preview Shakes Up The Ranks! — See Also

Yale Is Where You’d Expect, But Check Out Everything Else!: Check to see if you might get an unexpected prestige bump!

Prepare To Fail Upward: Reality TV star’s fallback career is a six-figure salary billing away hours.

Where Does Your State Bar Stand On Diversity?: You’re gonna find out pretty soon.

Failure Is A Second Chance: The Cali Bar was so bad it offers test takers a free second bite at the apple.

Doing Your Job Is Woke Now: District Judge Paul Engelmayer gets a finger wagging for doing his job.

AI-Powered Patent Platform Patlytics Raises $14M Series A Round

This latest round was led by global venture firm Next47, with participation from existing investors including Google’s AI-focused venture fund Gradient, 8VC, Alumni Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Myriad Venture Partners.

3 Questions For A College Athlete Turned Birdie Girl (Part II)

When confronted with an unplanned business crisis, it is important to lean on trusted advisors.

Latham May Not Be A ‘New York Firm,’ But It Sure Has New York Swagger

The No. 2 firm in the country is in a New York state of mind.

Buy One Get One Free Cal Bar Exams!

With purchase a catastrophic exam of equal or lesser value.

Now The GOP’s Going After Their Own Judges When They Do Their Job

This is getting absurd.

Lawyer on Survivor: ‘If I Lose, I’m Going to Biglaw’

The horror. The horror.

The Great Escape: Lawyers Are ‘The Hidden Talent Pool’ In Plain Sight For Nonlegal Roles

It's somewhat surprising that Corporate America is not actively seeking lawyers for non-practicing roles.

Most State Bars Will Have To Choose Between Diversity Or Dollar Signs

Time to see if state bars really value diversity.

NYC Sues FEMA For $80M Smash And Grab Stunt

Bout freakin' time.

7 Tech Challenges — And How Your Team Can Overcome Them

This new eBook explores the emerging hurdles facing law departments, particularly in financial services.