Age Discrimination

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.09.17

* "It's Washington's bloodsport. It's like the gladiator going into the arena and the public watching." Senator Jeff Sessions has been preparing for his confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general since December, and he expects to be grilled on the same allegations of racism that precluded him from landing a federal judgeship in 1986. Something tells us that he won't have a similar problem this time around. [CNN] * "We are very pleased to announce that after extensive discussions with our regulators, we will be starting classes as scheduled." Charlotte School of Law will be reopening for the spring semester (albeit one day later than previously scheduled), but at this point in time, there's no word on whether students will be able to procure federal loans to finance the costs of attendance. How are these students supposed to pay? [Charlotte Observer] * According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector had a great month in December, adding 2,000 jobs and outpacing national figures for the month. All in all, the legal industry is up by 4,100 jobs since the start of 2016, but this is a far cry from where the numbers used to be prior to the recession. By that logic, the legal industry still down by 52,000 jobs since its high in 2007. [Am Law Daily] * On January 19, the justices of the Supreme Court will discuss whether they will take up the case to legalize polygamy being brought by the reality TV "Sister Wives" family. If they decide to grant certiorari, it will be the first time in more than 100 years that an issue of this kind will be reviewed by the high court. Just imagine the special episodes and the ratings extravaganza that could result from oral arguments. [FOX News] * IMDb.com doesn't care if celebrities don't want their true ages revealed online, so in the name of the First Amendment, the site is refusing to comply with a new California law that would require the removal of their age information upon demand. Instead of passing age discrimination laws, California has "chosen instead to chill free speech and to undermine access to factual information of public interest." [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.14.16

* Shortly after being urged to settle the Trump University lawsuit, lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump have filed a motion to continue the trial -- now scheduled to begin just after Thanksgiving -- until after his inauguration in January. If no settlement can be reached, we may get to see a sitting president on trial for fraud. [San Diego Union-Tribune] * Before he even nominates another judge to take the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court, President-elect Donald Trump could significantly alter the high court's trajectory this term by undoing Obama administration policies on immigration, climate change, cost-free contraceptive care, and transgender rights. [Associated Press] * Many New York law schools saw their bar exam passage rates soar thanks to the state's first-time administration of the Uniform Bar Exam this past summer, but some law schools didn't fare quite as well and saw their passage rates decline. Which law schools did well and which ones didn't? We'll have more on this later. [New York Law Journal] * IMDb.com has filed suit against California over a new law set to take effect in January that will allow actors to conceal their ages in their biographies on the television and film site. The state believes this will prohibit age-based discrimination in Hollywood, but the website claims that the law infringes upon its First Amendment rights. [WSJ Law Blog] * "It is unfortunate that the DOJ continues to fight for an interpretation of BMI's consent decree that is at odds with hundreds of thousands of songwriters and composers (and) the country's two largest performing rights organizations," but it seems the DOJ hopes the Second Circuit will force BMI to change the way it collects royalties. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.27.16

* “Even with a new Republican appointee, [Justice Clarence] Thomas is likely to remain somewhat isolated on the extreme right.” In the case of Justice Thomas, it wouldn't even matter if Donald Trump won the presidency -- he'd still be the most conservative justice in the modern history of the Supreme Court. [New York Times] * The Supreme Court's long conference was yesterday, and we'll likely find out later today (or in the days to come) the cases for which the justices decided to grant certiorari for the 2016-17 term. One of those cases may be NCAA v. O'Bannon, where the question of sports amateurism for the purpose of athletes' pay is up for debate. [CBS Sports] * Hot on the heels of the news that Dentons dragged down revenue per lawyer rankings for the entire 2016 Global 100 thanks to its mega-merger with Dacheng, the firm had a more upbeat announcement. Partners Mike McNamara, Jeff Haidet, and Peter Wolfson have ascended to national and global leadership positions. Congrats! [Big Law Business] * Under a new California law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, actors may conceal their age and force websites like IMDb to remove their age from bio pages in order to shield themselves from age-based discrimination in casting. Critics of the law are calling this an attack on free speech -- and it's too little, too late for Junie Hoang. [WSJ Law Blog] * Judge Leonard I. Garth, Third Circuit Court of Appeals jurist, RIP. [Washington Post] * Daniel O. Bernstine, president of LSAC, RIP. [ABA Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 09.01.16

* It's official: a judge has ruled Beyoncé's landmark visual album, Lemonade, did not infringe on a white dude's indie film. [Hollywood Reporter] * Tim Cook is pissed off about his Irish tax bill. [Huffington Post] * Will writing these things on legal documents get you fired? [Defenestration Magazine] * The chances of lawyers landing on their feet when they've been fired at 61. [Law and More] * Does the length of a jury's deliberation have a correlation to the verdict returned? [Versus Texas]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 02.08.16

* University of Iowa College of Law is heading to trial over an age discrimination case. [Tax Law Prof] * This is real: cop shoots teenager, cop sues the dead teen's estate for emotional trauma. That'll go well for everyone involved. [Chicago Tribune] * The family of Hae Min Lee is speaking out about the Serial podcast and Adnan Syed's new post-trial hearing. [Jezebel] * Do you have any legal options if you are sent by your job to a place with a Zika virus outbreak? [Reuters] * Everyone deserves a lawyer, even the bad guys. [The Atlantic] * Breaking down Bernie Sanders supporters and risk aversion. [Lawyers, Guns and Money] * A Q&A with the legal journalist who lost her job over a noncompete agreement. [Big Law Business Bloomberg BNA]

By Kathryn Rubino
Attorney Misconduct

Morning Docket: 09.12.13

* The debt “vultures” are still circling Argentina’s carcass, but later this month, the justices of the Supreme Court will convene to decide whether or not they’ll take up the country’s bond case. [DealBook / New York Times] * Judge Robert Wilkins managed to sail through his D.C. Circuit confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee with great ease, but let’s see what happens when he gets to the full Senate. [Blog of Legal Times] * An in-house attorney in Pennsylvania was suspended from the practice of law for six months because he attached a camera to his shoe to secretly film up women’s skirts. What a classy dude. [Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.)] * Massive open online courses are trending in the world of higher education, and some law schools — e.g., Harvard and Northwestern — decided to get on the bandwagon while the getting’s good. [National Law Journal (sub. req.)] * “I’m prepared to drop everything and go to law school,” says the man appealing his age discrimination suit against Baylor Law School because his GPA predates grade inflation. [Texas Lawyer (sub. req.)] * The man who represented cast members of the Real Housewives of New Jersey was arrested for the unauthorized practice of law. We bet these “reality” TV stars wish they had a real lawyer. [Bergen Record]

By Staci Zaretsky