Bill Cosby

* A family is suing an auction house for purportedly losing a rare photograph of Babe Ruth. Could be the plot of a sequel to Sandlot… [Democrat & Chronicle]

* The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has overturned Bill Cosby’s conviction for sexual misconduct. [Business Insider]

* An Ohio lawyer has been suspended from practice after his paralegal embezzled $200,000 under the lawyer’s watch. [Enquirer]

* A Texas lawyer, who allegedly bribed a judge, has resigned from practice. [Texas Lawyer]

* James Franco is paying $2.2 million to settle a sexual misconduct lawsuit. [Fox News]

* Gavin Newsom is filing a lawsuit to be designated as a Democrat in an upcoming recall election after his team inadvertently left his party preference blank on election paperwork. Oops… [CNN]

* The Florida Bar has disbarred an attorney for not responding to notices because she had passed away. Guess they don’t want her practicing law in the afterlife…. [Miami Herald]

* The leader of the NXIVM cult has hired a new lawyer who previously worked for Bill Cosby. [Times Union]

* Former FBI Director James Comey believes that Joe Biden’s incoming Attorney General should not investigate President Trump. [Fox News]

* Kim Kardashian has apparently been consulting with a divorce lawyer since the summer of 2020. [US Magazine]

* The South Dakota Bar Association is cautioning attorneys against counseling clients on cannabis-law issues. Their arguments seem “half baked”… [San Francisco Chronicle]

* Bill Cosby is the latest high-profile figure asking for early release from prison because of COVID-19. [Newser]

* A Louisiana attorney who represented a pastor that defiantly held church services recently has tested positive for COVID-19. [New York Post]

* A law firm is suing the Small Business Administration for its allegedly discriminatory practices in how Payroll Protection Program funds were disbursed. [Capital Gazette]

* A woman is accused of using an ax to break into a Brooklyn courthouse over the weekend. Sounds pretty medieval. [New York Post]

* The New York Attorney General is taking steps to ensure that stimulus checks cannot be seized by debt collectors. [CBS News]

* A Brazilian appellate judge appeared shirtless last week during court proceedings held via Zoom. You see? Judges are just like everyone else. [Daily Mail]

* The LeClair Ryan dissolution enters a new chapter. But will it be Chapter 7? [American Lawyer]

* Alex Jones set to find out if it’s really defamation to tell the world that grieving parents are lying about their dead children. [Connecticut Law Tribune]

* America has the RBG Jabot-Watch, the UK has the Lady Hale Brooch-Watch. [Legal Cheek]

* Judge Preska did not seem convinced by the latest Dershowitz arguments. [The Careerist]

* Racist voting laws in the South are to be expected by everyone but Chief Justice Roberts, but usually they’re more subtle than this provision that Mississippi’s had for over a century. [NPR]

* Banks one step closer to actually cashing in on the marijuana economy. [Courthouse News Service]

* While everyone got distracted by impeachment, there are still “not qualified” judges streaming through the system. [Law360]

* Bill Cosby has to fork over some hefty funds to Quinn Emanuel. [The Recorder]

* Impending constitutional crisis alert: President Trump is opposed to his White House aides — especially former White House Counsel, “real lawyer” Don McGahn — testifying before Congress because they already cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. [Washington Post]

* Meanwhile, fake lawyer Michael Cohen, who served as legal counsel to Trump for about decade, will soon report to his Federal Correctional Institution – Otisville, which has been referred to as a “castle behind bars.” At least he’ll get to hang out with The Situation. [Daily Beast]

* Bill Cosby is suing Quinn Emanuel over its “unconscionable fees,” claiming that the firm overstaffed his case to the tune of $8.55 million over the course of nine months. Maybe stop checking you emails so much? [American Lawyer]

* George and Amal Clooney will be on campus at Columbia Law tomorrow for the official launch of TrialWatch, an initiative that will monitor trials acros the globe to protect human rights and eventually create a global justice index. [Law.com]

* Another happy ending for Robert Kraft (for the time being): Prosecutors have been blocked from releasing footage that allegedly shows the New England Patriots owner receiving sexual favors in a massage parlor. [Reuters]

* On the next episode of “Empire,” Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, the brothers who helped stage a racist and homophobic attack against Jussie Smollett, will file a defamation lawsuit against the actor’s attorneys. [Big Law Business]

* Cooley Law has a new president and dean following the departure of Don LeDuc. James McGrath will join the school from Texas A&M Law, where he serves as associate dean of academic support and bar services. Good luck! [WMU Cooley Law]

* As she steps away from public life in the wake of her dementia diagnosis, rather than banish retired Justice Anthony Kennedy to the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor bequeathed her chambers to him. The Supreme Court will miss her. [National Law Journal]

* Judges say the darndest things: Bill Cosby’s bid to get a new trial and reduce his sentence was summarily turned down by Judge Steven O’Neill, who noted in a simple, one-page ruling that “no hearing or argument is required on the issues.” [NBC News]

* Desmarais, the elite IP litigation boutique that recently raised salaries for first-year associates to $210,000, will be making its “first and probably [] last expansion,” opening a West Coast office in San Francisco to serve its Bay Area clients. [Law360]

* In case you missed it, the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners awarded Thomas Jefferson School of Law with state accreditation after an 8-7 vote, with one committee member abstaining. Now its graduates will be able to sit for the California bar exam even if the ABA revokes its accreditation. [ABA Journal]

* If you’ve been wondering what killed the Middle Tennessee State University / Valparaiso Law School deal, one member of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission says it had to do with “genuine concern about the labor supply and demand for lawyers” — and that seems entirely reasonable. [Murfreesboro Post]

* China’s got some new cybersecurity rules, and that’s probably bad news for American trade secrets. [Corporate Counsel]

* Laws haven’t kept up with criminal ingenuity. That isn’t surprising when sitting legislators are committing some of these crimes. [New York Times]

* An overlooked side effect of Keggy McGropenstein joining the Supreme Court is the creation of a new DC Circuit opening. Here’s a look at who might be filling it. [National Law Journal]

* Internal investigations can get a little close to covert government operations. And that’s the problem Paul Weiss faces right now. [Law360]

* American Lawyer examines the problems with origination credit. [American Lawyer]

* Lawyers want Bill Cosby’s conviction voided because… well they have a lot of wacky ideas. [NBCNews]

* Bad place for confidential client papers? Your front yard. [LegalCheek]

* Well… this crazy dude happened. [Boston Globe]

* As the hearing concludes, calls of “there’s no corroboration!” from the guys who prohibited calling any other witnesses. [Washington Post]

* But, don’t worry, we won’t have an FBI investigation because… Joe Biden? Somehow? Literally Grassley’s so addled and confused at this point that he can’t grasp basic context. [Politico]

* Anyone else notice that Brett Kavanaugh doubled down on that insane and discredited Ed Whelan theory? [ThinkProgress]

* He also lied brazenly and repeatedly, which in a sane world might speak to his overall credibility. But we’re in the darkest timeline, my friends. [Time]

* In other news, the SEC got around to charging someone! [Dealbreaker]

* Bill Cosby sued over unpaid legal bills. [CNN]

* Young lawyer saves man’s life. [Legal Cheek]

* Joel Cohen tackles a tricky issue: how far should a lawyer go when defending a controversial client — e.g., Bill Cosby — in the court of public opinion? [Law and Crime]

* How much does being a conservative or libertarian hurt you when applying for a position as a law professor? James C. Phillips attempts to quantify the “rank gap.” [SSRN]

* Some thoughts on the case involving 3D-printer gunmaking instructions, from Eugene Volokh — who, not surprisingly, has a take that’s a bit more nuanced than Elie Mystal’s. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Happy blogiversary to Artificial Lawyer — a great resource for anyone interested in the intersection of AI and the law. [Artificial Lawyer]

* C. Boyden Gray, a former White House Counsel, offers a clear and persuasive explanation of why seeing all the documents that Brett Kavanaugh sent or received during his time as White House Staff Secretary isn’t going to aid in evaluation of his SCOTUS nomination. [The Hill]

* From leading Supreme Court lawyer Lisa Blatt: “I’m a Liberal Feminist Lawyer. Here’s Why Democrats Should Support Judge Kavanaugh.” [Politico]

* And here’s more support for the SCOTUS nominee, from Kathryn Cherry, a former Kavanaugh clerk (and an African-American woman — one of Judge Kavanaugh’s many female or minority clerks).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBjEJPdAOPo&feature=youtu.be

* When it comes to the retrial of sexual-assault charges against Bill Cosby, there are many women — 19, to be exact — willing to testify #MeToo. [Jezebel]

* Best friends: which organizations file the most amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court? [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Judicata just ranked the brief-writing skills of 20 top California law firms; how did your firm fare? [Dewey B Strategic]

* How will artificial intelligence transform society? Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer of Microsoft, and Harry Shum, executive VP of Microsoft’s AI and research Group, share their insights. [Microsoft]

* Speaking of AI, how will it affect the world of legal practice? Jake Heller, CEO of AI pioneer Casetext, has answers.
[Artificial Lawyer]

* Professor Noah Feldman identifies the shortcomings of Twitter as a forum for legal discussion (but has some kind words for legal blogs, including the one you’re reading right now). [Bloomberg]

* Message boards are also valuable resources — like this one, “where all the unemployed lawyers go to cry.” [The Outline]

* Marc Randazza is a commendably fierce defender of the First Amendment, but this latest case might be a bridge too far. [Huffington Post]

* Check out this fascinating profile of a Mormon lawyer who lost his faith searching for an archaeological site. [Science]

* Why do we need people from s**thole countries? Meet five lawyers who prove the merits of immigration. [Lawfuel]

* Think twice before asking your accountant buddy to do your taxes for you. [Going Concern]

* Speaking of taxes, we’ve finally uncovered the real victims of the new tax scheme — partners who want a break on sports tickets. [Accounting Today]

* Law firms have a great quarter! Assuming you let gangbuster Am Law 50 revenue drag up the rest of the industry. [Am Law Daily]

* A Minnesota firm has fired an attorney who ran a Neo-Nazi record label. There’s some hand-wringing over free speech in the workplace, but the real question is: How did a lawyer even have time to run a whole business on the side? [Huffington Post]

* What company boasts the highest paid GC? [Corporate Counsel]

* California tries to make it illegal to bone your clients. Don’t worry, you can still screw them with your billable rate. [The Recorder]

* Bill Cosby hires new lawyers. [Law.com]

* Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz offering $350K for SCOTUS clerks. This isn’t getting out of hand at all. [National Law Journal]

* Law firms enlist schools to help figure out just how bad they are at diversity. [Law360]