Dechert
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* When the Trump administration used COVID as a rationale to unilaterally rewrite immigration laws, the Supreme Court thought that was fine. Today, the same justices will scream bloody murder at the idea of the Biden administration using the COVID economic slump to justify forgiving $20K worth of student loans the same way the government forgave millions in PPP loans. Because… reasons. [Reuters]
* Law firms get conservative on legal technology amid recession fears. I guess this means they aren’t trying to bring in tech to reduce attorney ranks. [Legaltech News]
* Rupert Murdoch acknowledges in testimony that Fox News lied about the election. Did these people even have in-house counsel in 2020? [Law360]
* Merrick Garland’s appearance on Capitol Hill tomorrow will very much suck for him. [Esquire]
* The ongoing Neil Gerrard scandal will go to court next week to find out just how much Dechert owes one of its former clients. [Bloomberg Law News]
* Florida court denies the habeas petition a pregnant detainee filed on behalf of her fetus. As always “Life Begins At Conception… Some Terms and Conditions Apply.” [The Guardian]
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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]
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Biglaw Firm Uses Technology As A Defense In Discrimination Case
Those are some pretty explosive allegations.
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* According to his friends, President Trump is reportedly planning to ask Attorney General Jeff Sessions to prosecute special counsel Robert Mueller and his team. Considering he’s done nothing wrong, it’s anyone’s guess as to what Mueller could possibly be prosecuted for, but that’s neither here nor there. [CNBC]
* For the first time in more than 80 years, the Senate has confirmed a circuit court judge with a missing blue slip. Yesterday, Judge David Stras of the Minnesota Supreme Court was confirmed to the Eighth Circuit, with a 56-42 vote that threw decades-old tradition to the wind. [The Hill]
* “It’s really important that lawyers in large firms know that they can sign up….” In the short time since the initiative was announced, more than 500 lawyers have signed up to take on cases for the Time’s Up legal defense fund, and they’ll be able to provide free consultations to victims of workplace sexual harassment. [Big Law Business]
* The robots are coming: Former payroll managers from Dechert claim in a federal age and gender bias suit that they were laid off because they were the oldest women employees in the department. The firm says that’s not the case, since it was cloud-based technology, not discrimination, that took their jobs. [Legal Intelligencer]
* A California appellate court has breathed new life into a proposed class action that accuses Tinder of charging older users more money to use the enhanced version of the app. The judge who wrote the opinion reversed the lower court using slang very familiar to dating app aficionados. We’ll have more on this later. [The Recorder]