Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.13.26

* Goldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer Kathy Ruemmler announces resignation amidst Epstein fallout. [Above the Law]

* Kirkland ends its concierge service that acted as personal assistants for associates. [Legal Cheek]

* Donald Trump takes the position that he's too busy as president to be sued. He also takes the position that he has plenty of time to file lawsuits against others. [Reuters]

* AI won't automatically make legal services cheaper. I'll go one better... it won't make them cheaper in any event. [Lawfare]

* Apple cleared of patent infringement. [Law360]

* Antitrust chief out as right-wing activists gain upper hand in pushing megamergers for their clients. [National Law Journal]

* Fun with patents... the human launcher! [Lowering the Bar]

* Analysis shows there's now effectively no laws against pollution in the United States. [The Guardian]

Morning Docket: 02.12.26

* Lawmakers grilled Pam Bondi over the DOJ cover-up of the Epstein files, which included both improper redactions of perpetrators and illegal disclosures of victims. Bondi responded by yelling a lot. [Reuters]

* The last remaining enforcement attorney in the Chicago CFTC office resigned. It's like the movie The Purge except for pork belly futures. [Barrons]

* Prosecutor who left Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office joins the Don Lemon defense team. [ABA Journal]

* Trump fires the official U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York to continue using the guy squatting on the job with no lawful authority. They say "no person is illegal," but then how do you explain John Sarcone? [New York Law Journal]

* Increasingly irate that the public hates him, Donald Trump started threatening to sue the media for reporting his polling numbers. So Gallup is going to stop polling. [The Hill]

* Tom Goldstein testifies to losing millions on poker in 2016. [Law360]

* Clients are figuring out what we already told them -- law firms aren't going to pass on AI savings. [Artificial Lawyer]

Morning Docket: 02.11.26

* Trump administration tried to indict lawmakers who accurately described the military's obligation to not follow illegal orders. Jeanine Pirro couldn't get a grand jury would indict. [NY Post]

* Accreditation function looks to become even more autonomous from rest of ABA. [Law.com]

* FBI raid on Georgia elections facility included government sharing classified intelligence data with crackpot lawyer rehashing debunked claims. [Politico]

* Judge Rakoff rules that materials that the defendant shared with attorneys were not privileged and confidential because they were created with assistance from a third-party AI service. [Law360]

* The Eastern District of Virginia takes another hit as white-collar chief bolts to start own firm. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Law professors argue that states should be able to write their own labor laws. [The Hill]

Morning Docket: 02.10.26

* Maxwell refused to answer questions for Congress, but dangles possibility that she would talk if granted clemency. Surely it wouldn't be an issue that her testimony directly involves the person controlling the clemency decision! [CBS News]

* Research says AI has impacted junior lawyer judgment. The results confirm what we've been telling you! [Legal Cheek]

* Axiom closes its Arizona law firm. [Reuters]

* Jury told social media companies built "addiction machine." [Law360]

* "Gap Appears Within Am Law 50." Pretty sure they mean to say the gap is growing because we've been writing about this gap for a long time. [American Lawyer]

* California law banning ICE agents hiding their faces struck down... but judge says the law could stand if expanded to all law enforcement. [Reuters]

* After actively trolling a lawyer for his clearly AI-slop defense of the hallucinations in his brief, the judge finally issued an order. It was not kind. [Ars Technica]

Morning Docket: 02.09.26

* Fifth Circuit bucks rest of judiciary, precedent, and basic statutory interpretation to authorizing indefinite detention for anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. [One First]

* Speaking of "Fifths," Ghislaine Maxwell heading to Congress, but not going to answer any questions. [Reuters]

* HBCU law school tells student not to use the word "Black" in "Black History Month" materials. Sorry, the law school probably prefers to be called an "H...CU." [Click Orlando]

* The fascinating "pay it forward" story that gave us the iconic fictional lawyer. [Tedium]

* CFTC taking on prediction markets. I've got $20 on they won't end up doing anything. [National Law Journal]

* Lawyers getting sick and tired of people using AI for legal advice. [Axios]

* Court blocks administration effort to halt NYC infrastructure until Penn Station is renamed after him. [Law360]

Morning Docket: 02.06.26

* The most popular way to win over this Supreme Court is to quote Scalia. Very originalist to be primarily swayed whose seat is still warm., [CNN]

* Yale Law fires its law librarian -- one of only three Black women on faculty -- after she filed a complaint which itself followed an internal investigation about working conditions in the library. [Yale Daily News]

* Starbucks beats back Missouri AG lawsuit over "DEI" policies. [Reuters]

* Lawyers stepping up to represent ICE victims. [Law.com]

* Uber owes $8.5M in sexual assault verdict. [Law360]

* Baker McKenzie layoffs continue. [Roll on Friday]

* EEOC rescinds anti-discrimination guidance. [ABA Journal]

Morning Docket: 02.05.26

* Brad Karp steps down from chief Paul Weiss role he's held for 18 years. [Above the Law]

* New document appears to show Kathy Ruemmler asking Epstein if he wants to "trade one of his Russians for my comp." [Financial Times]

* Aileen Cannon sentenced man to life after he was convicted of trying to assassinate Donald Trump. [Reuters]

* Former DLA Piper partner argues that accuser's prior testimony undermines rape claim. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Kasowitz compensation fight tussles over keeping partnership agreement under seal. [New York Law Journal]

* Attorney heads to the Olympics as alternate on curling team. [ABA Journal]

* Tom Goldstein's accountant made some mistakes on tax returns. [Law360]

Morning Docket: 02.04.26

* Nonequity partners growing increasingly dissatisfied just because equity partners have invented a new model to derail their colleagues' careers while wringing labor out of them without sharing profit. Weird. [American Lawyer]

* Epstein files include emails accusing Kathy Ruemmler of having an affair with Epstein's personal attorney. [NY Post]

* Elon Musk will face SEC suit over Twitter acquisition actions. [Law360]

* Judge isn't buying Musk's claim that OpenAI stole trade secrets. At least from Musk. [Courthouse News Service]

* NY creates corps of official legal observers to monitor ICE. [Reuters]

* EEOC hired lawyer known for pushing discrimination against men claims [The Intercept]

* Sandra Day O'Connor the matchmaker. [ABA Journal]

Morning Docket: 02.03.26

* Clintons agree to congressional testimony about Epstein while the guy who met his wife through Epstein is nowhere to be found. [Reuters]

* King & Spalding accused of undermining former client. [American Lawyer]

* Law opens door to more crypto fraud. [CNN]

* Former Biglaw attorney charges law students for interview tips. [Legal Cheek]

* Gibson Dunn and S&C working on xAI and SpaceX merger. [Law360]

* Eagle Ed has wings clipped. [ABA Journal]

* The government might have deceived judge in Washington Post case. [NY Times]

Morning Docket: 02.02.26

* Biglaw grapples with Epstein list cameos. [NY Post]

* Delaware Supreme Court rewrites settlement to give Elon Musk the kind of personal party he desperately kept asking Jeffrey Epstein for. [Delaware Business Court Insider]

* Oh, right, here's the background on that quip. [Daily Beast]

* Trump's election law pronouncement blocked. [Courthouse News Service]

* State Supreme Court cool with law school renaming. [ABA Journal]

* In the UK, Supreme Court chief warns of AI deciding cases, replacing time-honored system of relying on inbred nobles. [LegalCheek]

* Cristina Rodríguez begins tenure as Yale Law dean. [Yale Daily News]

Morning Docket: 01.30.26

* Trump suing the IRS for $10 billion over leaking of the tax documents that he promised repeatedly he was going to release and never did. Surely Pam Bondi will fight this case zealously to protect taxpayers! [CNN]

* Someone tried to free Luigi using a pizza cutter. [Reuters]

* Deputy AG Todd Blanche apparently held six figures worth of crypto investments while using his job to shut down crypto investigations. [ProPublica]

* California Chief Justice wants limits on ICE presence in courthouses. [The Recorder]

* Proposed judiciary AI rule may come away from criticism stronger than ever. [Law360]

* Study finds jurors perform just as well in person as they do online. [ABA Journal]

* Senate may repeal law that allowed colleagues to sue the government over federal investigations. [Politico]

Morning Docket: 01.29.26

* Trump accuses Minneapolis mayor of "very serious violation of the law" because the mayor is obeying a Supreme Court precedent written by well-known leftist... Antonin Scalia. [Time]

* Meanwhile, a Minnesota federal judge blocked Homeland Security's current indiscriminate sweep and ordered the release of those recently detained. [Courthouse News Service]

* Seventh Circuit digs into AI privacy settlement that gave plaintiffs a cut of the defendant. [National Law Journal]

* Judges will come together to better understand AI and its implications for the justice system. [Legaltech News]

* Spider-Man testifies in Goldstein trial. [Law360]

* Lawsuit hopes to block FEMA staffing cuts. [Reuters]

* Inter American back in ABA compliance. Congrats. [ABA Journal]

Morning Docket: 01.28.26

* Kirkland drama reveals that when the bell rings, private equity clients trump litigation clients. [Financial Times]

* Lawyer representing the agent who killed Renee Good drops out of GOP race for governor, says ICE has gone too far. [WSJ]

* ABA convenes with a hefty agenda. [ABA Journal]

* A look at how Minnesota firms are dealing with the disruption brought on by ICE's operation. [American Lawyer]

* As Minnesota situation worsens, congresswoman attacked at town hall meeting, sprayed with unknown substance. [CSPAN]

* State lawmakers look for avenues to bring local charges against federal agents who commit crimes. [Reuters]

* New York considers legalizing dancing. [Lowering the Bar]

Morning Docket: 01.27.26

* The $4000 billable hour has arrived. [Reuters]

* Motorcycle gangs and pending domestic violence charges may be behind the plot to kill an Indiana judge. [ABA Journal]

* Remember when Foley & Lardner fired a new associate after she expressed support for the citizens of Gaza? After winning a preliminary battle over certain claims, the firm will have to go to court. [Reuters]

* This will totally shock you, but big banks may still be loaded with misogyny. [Law360]

* Former Biglaw partner returns to the U.S. from Asia transformed as a poet. Isn't that the Colonel Kurtz story arc? [Law.com International]

* Media begins to worry about law students when AI fully arrives. Maybe ask more questions about how AI is supposed to fully arrive when the biggest AI company is teetering on collapse? [NY Times]

* The Atlantic invites torture enthusiast John Yoo to write an article explaining why we shouldn't have international law. [The Atlantic]

Morning Docket: 01.26.26

* Prime suspect in massive jewelry heist takes advantage of ICE and gets himself deported... to escape trial! Get ready with that Ocean's 11 sequel script. [The Guardian]

* Minnesota District Chief Judge delivers blistering response after Eighth Circuit allows DOJ to file end run mandamus over insufficient arrest warrant. [One First]

* More voices calling for local prosecutions against ICE agents. [NY Times]

* Should California create its own bar exam? Despite the real risk that the state's professional leaders would throw the baby out with the bath water following last year's disastrous experiment, it seems the majority still understand it's the right path forward. [ABA Journal]

* Retired NY Supreme Justice Arthur Engoron reflects on his career. [New York Law Journal]

* Disgraced former administration lawyer Jenna Ellis criticizes White House for public relations screening First Lady's documentary immediately after ICE murdered a man in Minnesota. [Daily Beast]

* Kyle Cheney of Politico collected over 2300 cases of federal judges growing increasingly frustrated at the lawlessness from the Department of Homeland Security. [Twitter]