* Boris Johnson unanimously smacked down by UK Supreme Court, a bizarre institution where jurists uphold the law regardless of whether or not it inconveniences one or the other political party. [Legal Cheek]
* The biggest law firms in the world enjoyed a good year as the rich get richer. [American Lawyer]
* The Supreme Court needs to branch out from Harvard and Yale when it comes to clerks. For that matter, it needs to branch out from Harvard and Yale when it comes to justices. [National Law Journal]
* This is about well-being coordinators but holds a universal truth: firms hiring non-lawyer professionals probably should only focus on people familiar with the law firm environment. [Law.com]
* Today’s the day Dershowitz tries to disqualify Boies Schiller from the defamation case against him. Let’s see how that pans out for him. [New York Law Journal]
* The Ninth Circuit’s Stairway to Heaven case will ramble on. [Courthouse News Service]
* Looks like an exciting day of digging through SCOTUS financial disclosures! [National Law Journal]
* Impeachment proceedings may never reach this point, but the risk that they might should have Chief Justice Roberts treading very lightly right now. [Take Care]
* When it comes to Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Chua, maybe naked displays of elitist favoritism is the whole point. [CNN]
* Law firm demand may not be growing but law firm pricing expert demand is booming. [Law360]
* If you’re still trying to figure out if there’s any legal justification for Donald Trump’s claim that everyone can take opposition research from foreign intelligence services… there isn’t any. [Politico]
* Greenberg Traurig has a new innovation subsidiary. Are ventures like these the new path to law firm disruption? [Law.com]
* New office leadership at multiple BSF offices. [American Lawyer]
* What’s the future of Elizabeth Prelogar, the beauty queen turned Harvard Law School grad turned Supreme Court clerk turned Team Mueller member? Not clear, except that it’s blindingly bright. [Ozy]
* How often do you see this? A federal judge praises counsel — specifically, J. Christian Adams of the Election Law Center, Douglas R. Cox of Gibson Dunn, Michael E. Rosman of the Center for Individual Rights, and local counsel Mun Su Park — for their “conscientious billing practices.” [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* Another Lawyerly Lair of Jonathan Schiller, of Boies Schiller Flexner fame: a stunning modern retreat on Martha’s Vineyard, designed by his son, architect Aaron Schiller (whose firm also did the new BSF offices in Hudson Yards). [Martha’s Vineyard]
* Amicus brief of the month: a compelling — and, sadly, entertaining (see the Appendix) — analysis of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s utterly incoherent approach to supposedly “immoral or scandalous” trademarks, filed by William Jay and Goodwin Procter on behalf of law professors Barton Beebe and Jeanne Fromer. [Supreme Court of the United States]
* Here’s a clear and concise explanation of the “Rule of 80,” taking “senior status” as a federal judge, and what this all means for the ideological balance of the judiciary, courtesy of Ed Whelan. [Bench Memos / National Review]
* How should we think about President Donald Trump’s branding of the press as “the enemy of the people”? Negatively, to be sure — but let’s also keep in mind that the media is not a monolith, as First Amendment lawyer Charles Glasser helpfully reminds us. [Daily Caller]
* Stephen Cooper survived a stabbing — then went on to defend violent criminals for many years as a federal public defender. [Alabama Political Reporter]
* Cooper argues that we need to be less punitive and more thoughtful in our treatment of offenders — and Joel Cohen seems to agree, defending an unusual but wise sentence recently handed down by Judge Valerie Caproni (S.D.N.Y.). [New York Law Journal]
David Boies, Chairman and Co-Founder
New York University School of Law, LLM; Yale Law School, LLB
Sigrid S. McCawley, Managing Partner
University of Florida, JD
Stuart H. Singer, Managing Partner
Harvard Law School, JD
Matthew L. Schwartz, Managing Partner
Columbia Law School, JD
