* Not wasting any time: Judge Amul Thapar, recently confirmed to the Sixth Circuit, authors his first published opinion as a member of that court. [How Appealing]
* "Can private employers fire employees for going to a white supremacist rally?" It depends, as Eugene Volokh explains. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]
* Joel Cohen explores special counsel Robert Mueller's decision to impanel a grand jury in D.C. [Huffington Post]
* Neha Sampat identifies three ways to hire resilient lawyers -- and the benefits to diversity of focusing on resilience. [Law Practice Today]
* Adam Feldman looks at which lower-court judges see their dissents most often vindicated at the Supreme Court. [Empirical SCOTUS]
* Gerard Magliocca raises some interesting issues about possible ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). [Concurring Opinions]
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* The Russia investigation now turns to President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner -- proud holder of a law degree from NYU (and a really great set of abs). [Washington Post]
* Former Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), currently senior counsel at Kasowitz Benson, has withdrawn from consideration as FBI Director (as my colleague Staci Zaretsky predicted, after Marc Kasowitz got hired by President Trump to represent him in the Russia probe). [New York Times]
* Congratulations to Judge Amul Thapar, President Trump's first lower-court nominee, on his confirmation to the Sixth Circuit -- although it's disappointing that no Democrats voted in favor of this eminently qualified (and diverse) candidate. [How Appealing]
* Despite allegedly roughing up a reporter (for which he's apologized), Republican Greg Gianforte won the race for Montana's sole seat in the House of Representatives (as my colleague Joe Patrice predicted he would). [New York Times]
* How did Michelle Obama react when Barack Obama declined to pursue a coveted Supreme Court clerkship? Tony Mauro tells the tale. [Law.com]
* The ABA continues to fight the good (or not so good?) fight in defense of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. [ABA Journal]
* It seems that some folks on Capitol Hill like my proposed solution to the use of "blue slips" in the judicial confirmation process. [Washington Post via How Appealing]
* The Brooklyn District Attorney's office concludes that a slew of murder convictions based on dubious evidence from embattled detective Louis Scarcella must be thrown out -- and yet Scarcella engaged in no wrongdoing. [New York Times]
* Biglaw firms are suffering from an oversupply of lawyers, and a quarter of respondents to a recent survey said their associates don't have enough work -- which might explain why at least one firm has turned to laying off first-year associates. Yikes. [ABA Journal]
* Remember when Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) flipped out at Kirkland & Ellis for not sending a partner to cover a status hearing? It seems K&E and its client Facebook's groveling won over the judge: cases dismissed. [ABA Journal]
* A big settlement in the Takata air bags litigation -- and presumably big legal fees for some of the firms involved. [National Law Journal]
* Congratulations to Judge Amul Thapar (E.D. Ky.) on clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee; he should hopefully be on the Sixth Circuit soon. [Washington Times]
* Congratulations to Rachel Brand on her confirmation as associate attorney general -- although it's unfortunate that more Democrats didn't cross the aisle to support her. [Law360]
* And be careful what you wish for, Democrats: now that we have Robert Mueller as special counsel, congressional inquiries into Trump/Russia-related matters could stall. [Washington Post]
* Speaking of Russia probes, should President Donald Trump hire outside counsel to represent him? да, да. [New York Times]
* A closer look at prominent lawyer John K. Bush, nominated by President Trump to the Sixth Circuit. [Vetting Room via How Appealing]
* Does size matter? Yes -- at least in this murder case where the defendant is invoking a "big penis" defense. [New York Post]
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Congratulations to the 2012 Bristow Fellows, who learned of their selection earlier this month. These one-year fellowships in the U.S. Solicitor General's Office, awarded to recent law school graduates with outstanding academic records and top clerkships, are generally regarded as second only to Supreme Court clerkships in prestige. Let's take a look at the next crop of Bristow Fellows....
