Abortion
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* Fifth Circuit judge scolds attorney for “personal attack” because she accurately described the district court opinion as unprecedented. As Inigo Montoya would put it, “I don’t think that word means what Judge Elrod thinks it means. [Slate]
* After watching Disney’s experience beating up on Florida lawyers, Penguin Random House is starting to sue Florida school districts for banning books. [AP]
* Montana has banned TikTok in a reminder that “free speech” is now limited to punishing students for carrying mean signs during FedSoc events. [Wall Street Journal]
* Deutsche Bank paying $75 million to settle claims that the bank facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operations. Another win for Boies Schiller Flexner and Edwards Pottinger representing Epstein’s victims. [Reuters]
* Massachusetts US Attorney accused of abuse of power “to achieve a political goal epitomiz[ing] the type of ‘political justice’ that Congress intended to prohibit.” Too bad she wasn’t a judge taking free vacations from parties before the court… she’d be home free by now.[Law360]
* WilmerHale earned 5 percent of its total revenue from Meta, the company you remember as Facebook before they completely retooled to chase a creepy VR chat room that they’ve since killed after costing the company about $13 billion. Which is all to say that Wilmer may want to diversify its revenue streams at this rate. [Bloomberg Law News]
* A discussion of Shadow Docket by Steve Vladeck (affiliate link). [ABA Journal]
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Health Care / Medicine, Technology
Here’s How Femtech And Reproductive Telehealth Companies Can Navigate Post-Roe Legal Challenges
In the post-Roe environment of fear and uncertainty, femtech companies should actively review their data collection practices to ensure they are only collecting the minimum amount of data necessary for the app to function. Recent studies have shown that accurate women’s health predictions can be made by some companies that collect far less data than their competitors.
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* Regulators tell Elon Musk that he can’t start putting chips in people’s brains. GAH! Kill a monkey (or 1500) and suddenly the bureaucrats in Washington won’t let you do anything anymore. [Reuters]
* “Murdaugh Committed Murders As Career Spiraled” should be every attorney’s defense to a rough month… “I know I just considered taking my book of business to Jones Day, but I could’ve done a double murder.” [Law360]
* Biden administration plans to shift the liability for hacks to software manufacturers. This policy seems stupid but at least the president is trying to address the harms of massive data breaches instead of having public fever dreams about drag story time. America is broken. [Bloomberg Law News]
* After securing abortion restrictions, the new right-wing legal mission is advocating for strict voting restrictions. [ProPublica]
* Legal technology made the national news! Our coverage was better. [MSNBC]
* Let the battle for AI supremacy in Biglaw begin! [Legaltech News]
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Google Deletes Abortion Location Data As Attack On Roe Completely Realigns The Privacy Debate
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s dismantling of Roe, U.S. tech companies didn’t much want to talk about their role in securing women’s data. And they didn’t want to talk much about it because they know that the privacy standards and oversight of the entire US snoopvertising economy, from adtech and telecom to app makers, media giants, and the internet of things — is […]
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Why The Reversal Of Roe V. Wade Will Have A Curtailing Effect On Workplace Equality
There remains a plethora of males, feeding off online posts like piranhas, who feel it’s permissible to degrade women’s choices and question their morals.
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It’s like these people weren’t really trying to build an effective government.
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* Irina Manta, a recent addition to the roster of Volokh Conspirators, assesses some of the attacks leveled against D.C. Circuit nominee Neomi Rao. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* In other nomination news, Thomas Jipping explains why conservatives should temper their excitement over those 44 judicial nominees who just got reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. [Bench Memos / National Review]
* Michael Dorf’s take on Chief Justice John Roberts joining the four liberals on the Supreme Court to put the Louisiana abortion law on hold: the right to an abortion is “not in quite as much immediate danger as one might have thought. And that’s not nothing.” [Take Care]
* Lawyer to the stars Alex Spiro, partner at Quinn Emanuel, talks about how he’s approaching the representation of his latest celebrity client, rapper 21 Savage. [Complex]
* On the occasion of his 15th blogiversary (congratulations!), Rick Garnett reflects on the past and future of blogging. [Mirror of Justice via PrawfsBlawg]
* Jean O’Grady chats with Pablo Arredondo of Casetext about the platform’s newest features. [Dewey B Strategic]
* And in other legal technology news, congrats to legal AI innovator Luminance on securing another $10 million in funding (reflecting a total valuation for the company of $100 million). [Artificial Lawyer]
* Last Thursday, Alabama executed Domineque Hakim Marcelle Ray and did not allow his imam to be present (even though Christian inmates can have the prison chaplain present) — a manifest injustice, according to Stephen Cooper. [Alabama Political Reporter]
* In the latest installment of his ongoing series offering advice to trial lawyers, David Berg sets forth an essential rule of cross-examination. [YouTube]
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* Now begins the period of wild predictions about Kennedy’s eventual replacement. Young judge with proven record of hostility toward minorities, gays, and women would be a pretty good bet. [National Law Journal]
* A whopping 33 states employ the UBE now. [Law.com]
* No one is actually complying with GDPR. Sounds right. [Digiday]
* But back to Supreme Court news, remember Roe? Yeah that won’t be around much longer. And if you’ve deluded yourself into the Pollyannaish belief that Roberts won’t go there, you’re forgetting how courts work.
[Slate]* This op-ed by the legal luminary power family, the Amars, about Justice Kennedy’s call for a civil and balanced court in his Muslim Ban concurrence did not age well. But it’s worth revisiting to demonstrate just how deeply Kennedy grifted everyone, including some of the smartest legal minds around, with his “swing” schtick. [CNN]
* ICE lawyer decides it’s time to help kids instead of hurt them. To quote West Wing: “Let’s… I tell you what, let’s forget the fact that you’re coming a little late to the party and embrace the fact that you showed up at all.” [USA Today]
* Border patrol is about to get aggressive on keeping Canadians out. [Newsweek]
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* A whistleblower reports that SARS reports regarding Michael Cohen’s transactions are missing from FINCEN. SARS don’t just disappear without a trace… well, the disease did, but the reports shouldn’t. [New Yorker]
* After passing an abortion law accomplishing little more than exposing the state’s taxpayers to litigation expense, Iowa is going to have to find someone else to defend it because Attorney General Tom Miller wants no part of it. [ABC]
* The FTC’s new consumer protection chief represented payday lenders, and really what’s so bad about a 110 percent interest rate anyway? [The Hill]
* Wolf of Wall Street needs to up his payments to victims. [Law360]
* Facebook is getting into the blockchain game meaning soon your vacation photos will overtake Bitcoin as the most inherently worthless thing backed by blockchain. [Legaltech News]
* An interview with a federal magistrate judge finally answers the question: what’s the penalty for Yogi Bear stealing a picnic basket? [Coverage Opinions]
* The Senate, against all odds, voted to save net neutrality yesterday. [Courthouse News Service]
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* The President apparently got around? Former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal has filed suit against American Media, Inc., owner of The National Enquirer, to get out of an agreement that’s preventing her from discussing her alleged affair with Donald Trump, which reportedly occurred around the same time as the Stormy Daniels affair. [CBS News]
* What’s going on at Latham & Watkins in the wake its former chairman Lathaming himself over inappropriate conduct involving “communications of a sexual nature”? According to a source at the firm, “[e]veryone is shocked” and no one has any idea who will replace Bill Voge as chair. [American Lawyer]
* “This is not what the impeachment power is for….” Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers are moving to impeach the Democratic state Supreme Court justices who ruled the state’s congressional map was unconstitutionally gerrymandered. [Huffington Post]
* Dechert has settled an age and sex discrimination case filed by female staff members. There are no details of the settlement available, but if you recall, the firm countered the ex-staffers’ claims by saying that technological advances had made their jobs redundant. [Legal Intelligencer]
* On Monday, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed the most restrictive abortion bill in the country, banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. Less than 24 hours later, Judge Carlton Reeves granted a temporary restraining order in favor of the state’s lone abortion clinic. [Associated Press]