Above the Law

The Impact Of GenAI On In-House And Outside Counsel Relationships: Its Use Is Only Going To Grow

One thing is certain: the relationship between in-house and outside counsel is changing.

GLP-1s, Personalization, And Big Pharma Power Plays: What’s Really At Stake In The Eli Lilly Lawsuit 

This lawsuit may look like a business dispute on the surface. But underneath, it’s about something much more important: the right of patients to receive personalized, affordable care.

Morning Docket: 07.15.25

* Supreme Court allows Trump to move forward with plan to eliminate the Department of Education. Why? Well, that might require writing an opinion and they’re not going to do something like that. [One First]

* Plaintiff side firms can be just as lucrative for associates as Biglaw… and people are just now figuring that out. [Left Side of the V]

* Government argues that it should not have to reveal its agency reorganization plans, even though the only basis for last week’s Supreme Court order was that the government had to reveal its plans and the courts can evaluate this issue then. It’s almost as though one justice knew this was all a lie. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Sixth Circuit nominee confirmed. [Law360]

* Administration installing more nationwide abortion advocates in key positions. Surely nothing to worry about at a time when the Supreme Court has deferred absolute authority to the executive. [Balls and Strikes]

* DOJ announces it’s mainstreaming the theory that media outlets refusing to be compelled to publish misinformation is ACTUALLY an antitrust violation. [The Verge]

* A look at Nevada’s decision to reject the NextGen bar exam and what comes next. [Law.com]

Revenge Ages Well — See Also

This Former Legal Secretary’s “I Quit!” Is Still Worth Talking About: If you bring your home life to work, your secretary might tell your spouse you were cheating!

Kirkland Questionnaire Perks Up Ears: Is this a sign of attendance policy consequences to come?

Hey Man, Sorry Would Have Sufficed!: Apologizing for lazy AI citations should never require this much purple prose.

States Sue Trump Administration So Kids Can Attend Summer Programs: Billions of dollars earmarked by Congress were taken away from children.

Midsize Firm Associate Dies In Texas Flood: We extend our condolences to her family and friends.

Lawyer Cites AI Hallucinations, Responds With Pretentious Meditation On Nature Of Being

Attorney bares soul. Wait, attorneys have souls?

Thinking Differently About AI: Lawyers Need To Stop Using AI Like A Glorified Admin

As humans, we don’t just create a masterpiece off the top of our heads. We work through things. We reject parts and accept parts. AI can help.

Promising Young Midsize Firm Associate Dies In Texas Floods

The managing partner of the firm called the associate's death a 'devastating loss.'

Admit It: Trump’s Done A Few Things Right

Even a stopped clock is right two times a day.

Legal Ethics Roundup: The Ethics Of DOJ Firings, Jackson On The State Of Our Democracy, Wasteful SCOTUS Paper Filings, AI SCOTUS Arg & More

Your tour of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics, with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson.

Judge Orders ICE Goons To Stop Racial Profiling And Start Following The Constitution

Reasonable suspicion requires more than being Hispanic at Home Depot.

Hospital M&A Has Hit The Brakes — But Activity Could Pick Up In The Second Half Of 2025

While traditional mergers may remain sluggish, analysts expect a rise in outpatient partnerships and rural hospital conversions toward the end of the year.

Morning Docket: 07.14.25

* More states adopt NextGen bar exam instead of more rational alternative of not having a bar exam. [Law.com]

* Dershowitz says he knows who’s on the Epstein list that Bondi says doesn’t exist but can’t go into details because of confidentiality obligations. [Newsweek]

* Bondi fires ethics chief. Was he the one saying she couldn’t release doctored Epstein footage? [Bloomberg Law News]

* SEC gives up on liquidity rule suit as part of new “make America susceptible to depressions again” strategy. [Law360]

* DOJ claims it can deport people to third countries on six hour notice. [Reuters]

* Texas law school deans fighting to keep ABA accreditation after state supreme court hinted at taking it away to appease Trump grievances. [Inside Higher Ed]

* Chinese hackers tried to infiltrate Wiley Rein. [CNN]

Summer Associate Really Wanted To Sink Her Teeth Into The Work — See Generally

Summer Associate Really Bit Off More Than She Could Chew: A summer associate decided to make a lasting impression -- via bite marks. Multiple chomped colleagues later, she’s learned Hannibal Lecter isn't the ideal lawyerly role model..

MAGA Meltdowns Down Realizing Superman Is Undocumented: Suffering a "Crisis on Infinite Cable Networks," Republicans freaked out this week because Superman is a literal undocumented alien.

Pam Bondi Solves Epstein Case By Losing All The Evidence: The only thing distracting Republican rage from Superman is Pam Bondi pulling an Al Capone's vault on that Epstein client list she swore was “on my desk.” Either her desk is a portal to another dimension or she lied.

This Demand Letter Response Brought To You By The Letters F and U: Lawyer's scorched Earth response involves less Latin, more "pardon my French."

Welcome to Equity! Please Deposit Your Soul And Way More Money: You might be shocked at how much firms charge their partners.

Get In The Office, Or Get Out: The RTO hammer drops again, because nothing builds morale like a badge swipe and having to risk a Summer Associate bite.

Elite Latham Litigator Joins Firm That Didn't Trade Integrity: Latham’s top appellate attorney defects to Jenner & Block in wake of Trump deal.

With Corrupt Allies Like These, Who Needs Imagined Enemies?: Trump administration put in tight spot after El Salvador admits prisoners sent to their prison remain under U.S. control, undermining weeks of DOJ representations to the courts claiming the opposite.

Be Sure To Fully Consider The Question Before Answering A Bar Exam Question... Especially If You ARE The Bar Exam: California's February disaster was the predictable result of moving too fast.

Keep Your Mouth To Yourself — See Also

You Can Only Bite Your Colleagues So Many Times: Summer associate fired for repeatedly biting her co-workers. Not making this up.

A Few Good Blondes: This Legally Blonde x A Few Good Men mashup is the video you didn’t know you needed.

Looking Back, The Bar Exam Was A Wreck: It looked that way back then too!

This Firm Must Not Know About The Streisand Effect: You should definitely go read the thing they don’t want you to see.

MAGA Desperate To Prove LITERAL ALIEN Isn’t An Illegal Immigrant: Hard to argue with folks that haven’t done the reading.

Want To Be A Biglaw Equity Partner? It’ll Cost Ya!

It costs money to make money.