* The definitive answer to the question only Elie Mystal cares about -- Who in Game of Thrones would make the best lawyer? [LinkedIn]
* It's official: non-profit Truth in Advertising has filed a complaint with the FTC about the Kardashian/Jenner family's sloppily labeled sponsored posts. [The Fashion Law]
* Texas is forum shopping in its lawsuits against the federal government -- and it's working. [Huffington Post]
* Sedgwick's gender discrimination lawsuit could be headed to arbitration. [Law.com]
* Despite knowing better, people are still going to law school. [Law and More]
* Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father of a deceased Muslim soldier who offered a stern rebuke for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during the Democratic National Convention, has taken his law firm's website offline in the face of incredibly harsh criticism from many of Trump's supporters. [RT]
* This brings a whole new meaning to the term "gunner": Earlier this week, a campus carry law went into effect at public schools in Texas, and law students at UT Law, Texas Southern Law, Texas Tech Law, Texas A&M Law, U. Houston Law, and North Texas Law may now bring concealed weapons with them to school. [Law.com]
* Yesterday afternoon, President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 214 prisoners, the most in a single act since at least 1900. According to White House counsel Neil Eggleston, the president's work is "far from finished," and he expects that clemency will continue to be granted through the end of his final term. [Big Law Business]
* After a week of voter ID laws being struck down in battleground states, Texas has agreed to weaken its own voter ID law. Citizens without proper identification will now be able to present a government document with their name and address and sign an affidavit to vote. This will "open the door to voting" for many people. [New York Times]
* In response to Freedom of Information Act requests, the Clinton Library has released more than 1,300 pages of files on Supreme Court nominee Chief Judge Merrick Garland. It's really interesting to see what people who refuse to hold a vote for him now had to say when they voted on his D.C. Circuit nomination almost 20 years ago. [POLITICO]
* Children (under 8) around the country prepare for the first white president of their lifetime. [Ad Week]
* Do people regret going to law school? YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. [JSTOR]
* If law schools fudge employment data, will they be liable for their students' debt? [TaxProf Blog]
* Are humanity, compassion and kindness the antidote to the recent wave of police killings and the death of Dallas police officers? Or is that too simplistic an answer? [Katz Justice]
* Notorious RBG has a lot to say about all the Court shenanigans going on. [New York Times]
* Law school cheating isn't all that rare. [Law and More]
* Bar exam-prep companies seem to be involved in a never-ending war with each other, and shots have been fired in the latest battle. BARBRI has been sued by LLM Bar Exam in a federal antitrust action, and several law schools have been caught in the fray. We'll have more on this later today. [WSJ Law Blog]
* New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his legal team have until today to file an appeal of the Second Circuit's decision in the Deflategate case. According to an attorney who once served as outside counsel to the NFL, Brady's chances of success are "near zero" if he decides to pursue this Hail Mary. [Big Law Business]
* OOOOk-lahoma, where the crazy comes sweepin' down the plain: Oklahoma's state legislature wants to impeach President Barack Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch over the administration's guidance on transgender bathroom accommodations. The Sooner State's actions are "highly symbolic," but they're likely "doomed." [TIME]
* Did he wear an ascot and a smoking jacket while he was deposed? Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner testified at a deposition in a case filed by a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby at the Playboy Mansion while she was a minor. Thanks to a gag order, no details on Hef's deposition are available at this time. [Reuters]
* Sorry, but you still can't deduct the cost of your law school tuition and fees on your taxes, even if you're an accountant/tax preparer who only enrolled to get a leg up on your tax skills and never intended to practice law, but especially if you later start a law firm with a family member. The Tax Court frowns upon things like this. [Accounting Today]
Legal and operational leaders are gathering May 6–7 in Fort Lauderdale to confront the questions the industry hasn't answered—with a keynote from Amanda Knox setting the tone.
* "[He] exited the passenger seat wearing nothing but what appeared to be an adult diaper." Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl, the husband-and-wife lawyers accused of torturing and nearly killing a law firm partner and his wife, are back in the news. Andrew's trial began this week, and he's utilizing an involuntary intoxication defense. [Washington Post]
* President Obama needn't worry about what he's going to do to keep busy after his presidency ends -- job offers are already pouring in for him, including one from Bin Haider Advocates & Legal Consultants, a smaller firm in Dubai. But why go to the Middle East when he could easily become a partner at Sidley Austin? [Am Law Daily]
* "If I had my way, I would make pro bono a service requirement." During the American Law Institute's annual meeting, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she thinks pro-bono work should be mandatory for lawyers, and that she "believe[s] in forced labor" when it comes to access to justice and closing the justice gap for the poor. [National Law Journal]
* Non-lawyers likely won't be able to stake a claim in law firm ownership anytime soon since the ABA Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession failed to submit a formal proposal to the ABA House of Delegates before a deadline had passed. It's just as well, as lawyers remain adamantly opposed to the proposition. [Big Law Business]
* IP lawyers better get ready to party like it's 1999, because Minnesota lawmakers have introduced the broadly written Personal Rights in Names Can Endure Act, perhaps better known as the PRINCE Act, named for the recently deceased musician to establish a right of publicity for celebrities and their heirs within the state. [WSJ Law Blog]
* In case you missed it, one of the categories on Jeopardy! earlier this week was "Law Firms." One of the questions that stumped a contestant was: “Tops for patent litigation per U.S. News & World Report, Fish & Richardson specializes in IP, short for this.” Come on, you dope, the very easy answer was "What is intellectual property?" [WSJ Law Blog]
* After receiving overwhelming support in both the House and Senate, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) into law yesterday afternoon. The DTSA is the most significant expansion of federal law in IP since the Lanham Act. Companies will now be able to file federal civil lawsuits for theft of trade secrets. [Law 360 (sub. req.)]
* Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the center of the Panama Papers scandal, says that it will be filing suit against the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for leaking information that the firm alleges to be false. Attorneys at the firm say the ICIJ has forced them to "start aggressive legal action to protect [them]selves." [France24]
* "You don't have to work for a 501(c)(3) or anything like that in order to be eligible. You just have to not make that much money." More law schools are trying to entice students to attend by touting their low-income protection plans and loan repayment assistance plans. We hope your law school is willing to help you after graduation. [U.S. News]
* Not to harsh your mellow, dude, but according to a recent study by AAA, fatal car accidents have "surged" in states where marijuana has been legalized. For example, in Washington, the number of fatal crashes involving stoned drivers increased from 8% to 17% from 2013 to 2014, the year recreational marijuana was legalized. [Inquisitr]
* Are vacancies on the federal judiciary causing a crisis in North Carolina? It does have the longest-running hole on the federal bench. [Raleigh News Observer]
* Jodi Arias is planning a wedding from prison. I don't know you guys, I think those crazy kids might just make it. [Law and More]
* If racism and the death penalty can never be separated, is the only just move to eliminate the death penalty? [Slate]
* More revelations in the stomach-turning Sandusky case. Who at Penn State knew what when? [Lawyers, Guns and Money]
* An analysis of cases where federal clemency has been granted that identifies trends in President Obama's decisions. [LinkedIn]
