Biglaw

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.18.23

* Texas AG Ken Paxton acquitted in his impeachment trial, which as a reminder was brought by the Republicans in the Texas House. [Texas Tribune] * Don't let the Clarence and Sam ethical quagmire distract from the other important legal reporting coming out of ProPublica. Like this deep dive into how Mississippi deals with poor defendants. [ProPublica] * While her fellow judges engage in an end run around the Constitution to sideline Judge Pauline Newman citing a decline in mental faculties (which a leading neurologist disputes... but obviously judges understand neurology better than neurologists), she regaled a conference with her take on patent issues surrounding vaccine development. [Reuters] * Trouble in wingnut paradise? Doctor Jenna Ellis turns on Donald Trump. [The Guardian] * Biglaw is hemorrhaging support staff. [American Lawyer] * T.I. headed back to court with his IP case against a doll manufacturer now that the Supreme Court futzed with IP standards in the dog toy case. [Law360] * Banks tell CFPB that there's no reason to have separate standards for "medical credit cards" aimed at patients trying to not go bankrupt under the American health care system because they're really not any different than regular credit cards... despite being named "medical credit cards," marketed toward a uniquely desperate population, and having totally different policies. [Bloomberg Law News]

By Above the Law
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.13.23

* Sam Bankman-Fried denied pre-trial release after arguing that his alleged witness tampering, not unlike the value of cryptocurrency, wasn't what it looked like on paper. [Reuters] * After opening door a crack to allow some transparency in proceedings during the pandemic, the federal courts look to curtail live audio access. [Law360] * Lawyer informs Texas Senate that Ken Paxton approved every bit of investigation at heart of impeachment. [Texas Tribune] * Trial to begin to decide constitutionality of "America's most extreme gun control law." The law just requires gun owners to get a permit and bans magazines over 10 rounds. Again, this is what passes for the "most extreme" law in the country. [Fox News] * Gibson Dunn alters diversity scholarship criteria as activists ramp up threats to sue law firms for pursuing initiatives to make the profession less white. [Bloomberg Law News] * Meanwhile, two law schools are back in compliance with ABA accreditors after improving faculty diversity and likely putting them out of compliance with these litigious activists (Another law school is back in compliance after improving its finances... which is less controversial). [Law.com] * Governor asks to change state's public records law to keep her travel under wraps. [ABC]

By Above the Law