Adam Schiff

Morning Docket: 09.30.19

* In a series of tweets (because where else would this happen), President Donald Trump demanded to meet the Ukraine whistleblower, accused the person who gave information to the whistleblower of being a spy, and said he wanted House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff “questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason.” [The Hill] * In related news, the Ukraine whistleblower is expected to testify before Congress “very soon,” and he’ll be given all of the protection he’s due, including the concealment of his identity (especially considering the fact that the president recently warned that he’d face “big consequences” for his actions). [Wall Street Journal] * According to a recent poll, more than half of Americans now approve of the Trump impeachment inquiry, but there’s division across political lines over whether the president actually deserves to be impeached. [CBS News] * Jones Day has filed a motion to dismiss against the married former associates who sued over the firm’s parental leave plan, claiming their policies are “sex-neutral in every respect” and calling the the lawsuit “legally meritless.” [American Lawyer] * Here’s an update on Robert Cicale, the judge who pleaded guilty to a felony after breaking into a former intern’s home and stealing her underwear: His suspension will now be without pay, and he’ll lose his license to practice upon sentencing. [New York Law Journal] * Plato Cacheris, a premier member of Washington’s defense bar who played prominent roles in the Watergate, Iran-contra, and Clinton/Lewinsky affair scandals, RIP. [Washington Post]

Morning Docket: 09.23.19

* After days of unrest following news of a whistleblower report concerning Donald Trump's alleged conversations with Ukraine's leader about investigating former VP Joe Biden, the president now acknowledges that he did discuss Biden, and that he did acccuse him of corruption, but he left out the part about where he reportedly urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to work on investigation with Rudy Giuliani... repeatedly. Lawmakers are understandably up in arms. [New York Times; Wall Street Journal] * House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says that "we may very well have crossed the Rubicon here" and that impeachment may be "the only remedy" if Trump did, in fact, pressure Ukraine to investigate a political opponent. [Slate] * Meanwhile, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has demanded that Attorney General William Barr release the Ukranian whistleblower complaint to lawmakers ASAP, as required by law. [The Hill] * Penn Law recently held a town hall meeting with students to discuss Amy Wax, and the controversial professor is pissed, claiming not only that she wasn't invited but that she had no idea about the meeting's existence in the first place. [Philly Voice] * How do you like them apples? Whitey Bulger's family plans to file a $200 million wrongful death claim against the government over his prison murder. [Boston Herald]

Morning Docket: 04.10.19

* Tired of remaining silent, Jones Day is now defending itself against a $200 million gender bias class-action lawsuit, saying that the firm is "proud of its success in promoting a diverse group of outstanding lawyers." [Law.com] * Meanwhile, MoFo is seeking sanctions against the attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp who filed the "mommy track" lawsuit against the firm, as well as against one of the anonymous plaintiffs, alleging that the claims made were "knowingly baseless." [American Lawyer] * As it turns out, during his testimony yesterday before the House Financial Services Committee, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin acknowledged that his legal department had already been in touch with the White House Counsel’s Office over the release of President Trump’s tax returns — an exchange that’s “deeply troubling and certainly violates the spirit of the law” meant to prevent such communications. [Washington Post] * In case you missed it, Michael Cohen is no longer as useful to the House Intelligence Committee as he once thought. Chairman Adam Schiff seems to have no interest in helping Cohen to delay his upcoming prison sentence. [CNN] * Senator Lindsey Graham has once again again introduced the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. He’s proposed this bill since 2013 and it gets slapped down each time, but this time... things could change. [CBS News] * Two Wisconsin lawyers claim that being required to pay bar dues to practice in the state is unconstitutional because it requires them to participate in the state bar’s advocacy. You can look forward to more lawsuits like this thanks to the Janus ruling. [Big Law Business]

Morning Docket: 03.13.19

* Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) of the House Intelligence Committee is none too pleased with the Justice Department at the moment. Apparently two unnamed senior officials said the DOJ might refuse to share special counsel Robert Mueller's report with Congress, a claim Schiff called "absolutely insupportable." [ABC News] * Last week, Paul Manafort was sentenced to under four years in jail by Judge T.S. Ellis III (just a little less than the 19 to 24 years called for in the sentencing guidelines), and today, Judge Amy Berman Jackson could sentence him to up to 10 years behind bars. [The Hill] * Michael Avenatti and Stormy Daniels have officially "broken up" (i.e., their attorney/client relationship has ended), and their announcement was obviously made on Twitter. Clark Brewster will now serve as her personal lawyer. [Daily Beast] * In case you missed it, the federal judiciary announced a major change to how it will respond to allegations of sexual misconduct. Per Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the D.C. Circuit, it is now "misconduct not to report misconduct." [Big Law Business] * "[I]f this deal is not passed, then Brexit could be lost." Unconvinced, British lawmakers have once again rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan to leave the European Union. Will this be the end of Brexit? [USA Today] * Women lawyers continue to push for lactation rooms in courthouses across the country, and now, the ABA House of Delegates has passed a resolution to make sure all courts create proper facilities for mothers who need to pump or nurse. [Law.com] * Elon Musk claims that the Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to unconstitutionally censor him and "trample on" his First Amendment rights. This is all over a tweet on Twitter, mind you. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

Morning Docket: 03.11.19

* According to House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), special counsel Robert Mueller is making “a mistake” by not putting President Trump under oath for in-person testimony, since “he's made plain in the past [that] he feels it's perfectly fine to lie to the public.” [NBC News] * Per his lawyer, Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann will be suing CNN for at least $250M because the news network was “probably more vicious in its direct attacks” than the Washington Post. [The Hill] * Lynne Patton, purported “law school grad” and actual prop for Rep. Mark Meadows, will soon be seen on reality TV, with Trump’s permission, of course. [CNN] * Texas lawyers have filed suit against the State Bar of Texas, claiming that the use of their mandatory dues to fund diversity programming and other legislative initiatives is unconstitutional. [SE Texas Record] * Women are dominating the playing field at this year’s SXSW festival and conference, making up about 68 percent of the attorneys who will be featured as speakers or panelists during the event. [Texas Lawyer] * In a split vote, the Maryland Court of Appeals reinstated “Serial” podcast subject Adnan Syed’s murder conviction, ruling that even though he may have had ineffective assistance of counsel, that wasn’t enough to overcome the rest of the evidence against him. [Reuters] * Bill Powers, former UT president and former UT Law dean, RIP. [Statesman]

Adam Schiff, Whose Real Name Was Steven Hill, Died Today

Steven Hill nailed the feeling of a lawyer as a functionary in society.