Ashley Madison

Non-Sequiturs: 12.16.16

* I've had an interesting week. [Simple Justice] * But at least I'm real. [Popehat] * Next week will be an interesting week for the Electoral College. [Balkinization] * Huma Abedin's lawyers politely request that the FBI explain exactly how they screwed over America. [New York Daily News] * I don't really understand the Department of Justice "bid rigging" investigation into ad agencies. I don't really understand why it's important. But apparently some ad execs could go to jail behind this, so I understand that whatever is happening is pretty cool. [Business Insider] * Ashley Madison agrees to a $1.6 million settlement with the FTC over its alleged failure to protect user data. That doesn't seem like a lot to me. That seems like a "my wife saw my info on Ashley Madison and I had to sleep on the couch for a week" kind of penalty. Not a "my wife saw my info on Ashley Madison and now I live in my brother's basement while the lawyers figure out how often I can still see my children" penalty. [ABA Journal]

Morning Docket: 04.22.16

* Prince will forever be remembered as a pioneering musician who mastered multiple genres, including rock, soul, pop, and funk, but members of the legal profession will always remember him as a ferocious defender of his music's copyright protections. [WSJ Law Blog] * Per a recent study that's being referred to as the Glass Ceiling report, Wall Street Biglaw firms rarely promote women to partner. In fact, out of the 8,549 attorneys practicing at the 300 large law firms surveyed, only 3.9 percent are female partners. [Law360 (sub. req.) via ABA Journal] * Hunton & Williams recently launched a new practice group dedicated to dealing with legal issues related to 3D printing. The innovative team will work on legal questions involving everything from intellectual property and product liability to insurance and tax. The firm now joins Reed Smith in this unique practice area. [3DPrint.com] * Anna Alaburda's case against Thomas Jefferson Law over its allegedly deceptive employment statistics may have ended in defeat, but there's still one more law school lawsuit fighting its way through the courts. A case that was filed against Widener Law was appealed to the Third Circuit, and a decision is expected soon. [News Journal] * Thanks to a ruling issued by Judge John A. Ross of the Eastern District of Missouri, the 42 lead plaintiffs in the Ashley Madison privacy hack case will not be allowed to proceed anonymously. It may be embarrassing, but as class representatives, they've got special roles. They must identify themselves, or proceed as mere class members. [Reuters]

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Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Morning Docket: 04.18.16

* Later today, the Supreme Court will hear its "last great case of the Obama era" when arguments are presented in U.S. v. Texas, the biggest immigration case to come before the high court in a century. Given the current makeup of the Court, this case may be resolved with a 4-4 split, which would mean the president's deportation-relief plan will be blocked in Texas. [Los Angeles Times] * HBO's "Confirmation," a film about the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas Supreme Court hearings, was an excellent presentation of the media mob that ravenously feasted upon a law professor's sexual harassment allegations against America's most silent justice. The fact that our country is in the middle of yet another highly politicized battle over a SCOTUS confirmation only made this more enjoyable to watch. [New York Times] * Did Barnes & Thornberg help Avid Life Media defraud Ashley Madison subscribers? This is what plaintiffs allege in a consolidated lawsuit that's been filed against the extramarital affairs website, and they're seeking access to attorney-client privileged emails between the firm and the company to prove their case. [Big Law Business] * A new partnership between Fresno City College, Fresno State, and San Joaquin College of Law will allow students to purchase a "one-way ticket to law school." That ticket won't be worth much after graduation, though, because San Joaquin Law's most recent bar passage rate for first-time takers was a shockingly low 29 percent. [Visalia Times-Delta] * Thanks to the popularity of hip-hopera Hamilton, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has scrapped plans to replace Alexander Hamilton's face on the $10 bill with a woman's. Instead, it will be Andrew Jackson whose face is replaced with a woman's on the $20. Not to worry, Jackson fans -- the new bill won't be issued until around 2030. [CNN] * Bill Cosby's wife is scheduled to be deposed for the second time in a defamation suit filed by women who claim her husband called them liars after they came forward with sexual assault allegations against him. This time around, lawyers for the plaintiffs will be limited in that they'll be prohibited from asking her "improper questions." [ABC News]

Stat Of The Week: The Panama Papers Explained In One Simple Graph

The implications of the Panama Papers leak might seem dizzyingly complex, but their gist can be distilled into this simple graph.