Bob McDonnell

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.13.16

* Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein will appear at Vermont Law School today, where she'll meet with members of the law school community to speak about her plan to transition the country using 100 percent renewable energy. Law students will be especially excited to hear about her plans to cancel all student loan debt. [VTDigger] * “Talk to your classmates, especially those with different views. Even if you come away from it disagreeing even more, at least you know what makes them tick, which is a useful thing.” Last week, Justice Elena Kagan went back to Harvard Law, the school where she once served as dean, to share helpful tips with law students. [Harvard Crimson] * Federal prosecutors may have dropped their corruption case against ex-Gov. Bob McDonnell after SCOTUS threw out his convictions, but now he's got some pretty hefty legal bills to pay to Jones Day and Holland & Knight. Right now, he owes more than $10M to the partners who helped clear his name. [Richmond Times-Dispatch] * A lot of big-time lateral moves were announced yesterday, including Kirkland & Ellis's mass hiring of all Bancroft lawyers, but Gibson Dunn's news may top all the rest we've yet to cover. Stuart Delery, the former acting associate attorney general of the Justice Department, will join the firm as a partner in Washington, D.C. [Big Law Business] * Ex-Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper has found a new home -- or rather, a "strategic affiliation" -- with a global Biglaw firm. He'll be working out of the Calgary office of Dentons, where he'll work with many former colleagues and advise firm clients on market access, managing global geopolitical, and economic risk. [Huffington Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.28.16

* In case you haven't been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that have recently raised salaries: Thompson & Knight, Chapman & Cutler, Sterne Kessler, Edelson, and BakerHostetler. If you’re ever worried that you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, you can check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law] * Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, who is known well for his longtime feud with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, isn't going to let a little thing like death keep him from lobbing "posthumous swipe[s]" at the deceased jurist. Constitutional historian David Bernstein was quick to call Judge Posner's comments "revolting." [WSJ Law Blog] * "The ruling deals a crushing blow to this most recent wave of state efforts to shut off access to abortion though hyper-regulation." The Supreme Court's decision in Whole Woman's Health could open doors to challenges to other laws concerning restrictions on abortions -- or inspire narrowly tailored anti-abortion legislation. [New York Times] * "[O]ur concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the Government's boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute." In case you were too caught up with the abortion-rights decision, SCOTUS also tossed former Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell's conviction. [NPR] * The aftermath of the United Kingdom's Brexit referendum has left law firms in Great Britain scrambling to provide answers to questions about legal uncertainties. From Baker & McKenzie to Allen & Overy to Clifford Chance, several Biglaw firms are trying to assist their clients with webinars, white papers, and 24-hour hotlines. [ABA Journal] * Tony Villegas was convicted of the murder of Melissa Britt Lewis, a former partner at Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's firm. Villegas blamed Lewis for the breakup of his marriage thanks to her friendship with his ex-wife, who once served as the Rothstein firm's chief operating officer. Villegas was sentenced to life in prison. [Sun-Sentinel]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.13.15

* Biglaw leaders aren't feeling so hot about the future of the profession. What else is new? [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Villanova Law School whining about its fall in the U.S. News rankings after admitting it had artificially inflated its numbers. Listen, it's this stupid fascination with U.S. News that got Villanova busted in the first place. It's high time the school stops preening for U.S. News and starts touting its admirable position in the rankings based on what's best for students. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * It's time for the Supreme Court to hear the important cases! Enough of these poor people railroaded by the system, where's justice for disgraced former Governor Bob McDonnell? [Washington Post] * Everything should be legal! At least when it comes to BS NCAA violations. [Adequate Man / Deadspin] * Women make less than men when it comes to in-house work. Sort of like all other work. [Law360] * Hillary was hailed as the big winner last night, but her biggest victory was knowing that Bernie Sanders was going to pull his punches. [Redline] * Sara Randazzo with the Twitter observation of the day yesterday: lawyer for ex-Dewey chair Steve Davis trolled the jury with his tie pattern. [Twitter]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.01.15

* ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams is suing his neighbors over his lawyerly lair -- and one of the defendants is a Biglaw partner at a top firm. Expect more on this later. [New York Post] * Speaking of Biglaw, a familiar tale of financial performance: gross revenue at Am Law 100 firms grew by 4 percent in the first half of 2015, but driven by rate increases rather than demand growth. [American Lawyer] * If you want the Supreme Court to hear your case, try to steer your cert petition clear of the "long conference," known as the place "where petitions go to die." [New York Times] * Speaking of SCOTUS, the Court won't come to the rescue of the Kentucky county clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples -- time to issue those licenses or quit, Kim Davis. [How Appealing] * But the justices did come to the (temporary) rescue of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, allowing him to remain free until SCOTUS acts on his petition for certiorari. [SCOTUSblog via How Appealing] * Are criticisms of the S.E.C.'s administrative-law procedures correct? Here's a study from Professor David Zaring. [New York Times] * The Show-Me State leads when it comes to showing defendants to their deaths: Missouri has displaced Texas as the "epicenter of the American death penalty." [The Marshall Project] * Speaking of capital punishment, I predicted that these particular Ninth Circuit judges wouldn't be too sympathetic to this challenge to the death penalty -- and based on yesterday's oral argument, it seems I was right. [How Appealing]

By David Lat
Drinking

Non-Sequiturs: 09.04.14

* Bob McDonnell, former governor of Virginia, guilty of 11 counts of corruption. Maureen McDonnell guilty of 8. If only they’d gotten that severance motion. [Wonkette] * The best way to catch drunk drivers is to give them something to crash into. [Legal Juice] * Chaumtoli Huq, a former general counsel to the New York […]

By Joe Patrice
Abortion

Morning Docket: 09.02.14

* Could Columbia law professor Tim Wu become New York’s next lieutenant governor? He has a shot, according to the Times. [New York Times] * Which same-sex-marriage case is the best vehicle for Supreme Court review? [BuzzFeed] * A federal judge takes the wheel in steering Detroit into the future. [American Lawyer] * Is it “shameful” of the ALS Association to attempt to trademark the phrase “ice bucket challenge”? [ABA Journal] * Jury deliberations are expected to begin today in the corruption trial of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell. [Washington Post] * Voter ID laws are back on trial, this time in Texas. [New York Times] * Speaking of Texas, the state seeks to stay a recent ruling that struck down the requirement that abortion clinics comply with standards for ambulatory surgical centers. [ABA Journal]

By David Lat
7th Circuit

Morning Docket: 08.27.14

* Judge Posner dished out a whole lot of benchslaps at yesterday’s Seventh Circuit arguments over Indiana and Wisconsin’s bans on same-sex marriage. [BuzzFeed] * Major U.S. and Canadian law firms chow down on Burger King’s whopper of a deal with Tim Hortons. [Am Law Daily] * A recent Delaware court ruling on attorney-client privilege might allow in-house lawyers to speak more freely about wrongdoing at their companies, according to Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon. [DealBook / New York Times] * The corruption trial of former Virginia governor continues; yesterday Bob McDonnell’s sister took the stand. [Washington Post] * A favorable evidentiary ruling for Aaron Hernandez. [Fox Sports] * And good news for Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu, the two law professors running for governor and lieutenant governor of New York: the Times dissed their opponent, Andrew Cuomo, with a non-endorsement. [New York Times] * I recently spoke with one of my cousins Joao Atienza of the Cebu Sun Star, about Above the Law and the world of legal blogging. [Cebu Sun Star]

By David Lat
9th Circuit

Non-Sequiturs: 07.30.14

* Court needed a Chinese language interpreter. Rather than find a professional legal interpreter, the judge just told the lawyer to head down to the local Chinese restaurant and grab somebody. [Legal Cheek] * News from former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s trial. As one tipster summed up the story: “Hon, I think I dropped my keys under that bus. Would you take a look?” [Slate] * Everyone concedes Ted Cruz is smart. Why exactly? [Salon] * A follow-up from a previous story: Connolly, Geaney, Ablitt & Willard shuts down after the foreclosure market that made them turned on them. [Mass Lawyers Weekly (sub. req.)] * Interesting look at the volume of patent cases throughout history. Check out the troll phenomenon with charts! [Patently-O] * More folks wasting time complaining about blog posts. [South Florida Lawyers] * Clint Eastwood talks with Chief Judge Kozinski and Judge Fisher at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. These days it’s exciting whenever Clint isn’t talking to an empty chair. Video embedded below… [YouTube]

By Joe Patrice
Copyright

Non-Sequiturs: 04.29.14

* Remember when I said it was a bad idea to drop off a drunk in Ireland? This is EXACTLY why. [The Independent (Dublin)] * Oh, Cooley Law School… don’t ever change. [The Faculty Lounge] * Republican tort-reform advocate settles overblown personal injury suit. Oh the irony. [The Hutchinson News] * Check that, this is even more ironic. [The Chronicle of Higher Education] * The U.S. Postal Service helped kill an innovative, anti-junk-mail startup. You could say a bloated government agency is to blame. Or you could say cutting off the Post Office and forcing them to fund themselves through Faustian deals with junk mail distributors is to blame. Either way, a great idea was smothered. [Inside Sources] * Indicted former Virginia Governor and transvaginal ultrasound enthusiast Bob McDonnell has taken a gig as a visiting professor at an ATL Worst Law School finalist, Liberty Law. Of course. [The News & Advance (Lynchburg)] * Do you need to be on a law journal to succeed? [Huffington Post] * Can you get paid for sleeping on the job? Good question. [The Spitz Law Firm]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.22.14

Were you looking for a treasure trove of high school pictures of SCOTUS justices? Well, you’re in luck! [Josh Blackman's Blog] * Remember when Gov. Bob McDonnell was a rising GOP star? Well, this recap of his federal indictment makes that seem like a distant memory. [TPM Muckraker] * Here’s a career alternative for you: Space Tyrant. When GW Law grad Alex Gianturco bailed on his gig at Zuckerman Spaeder, he took the usual route of just playing video games all day. With the twist that he actually made money at it. As the most powerful player in EVE Online, The Mittani, as he’s now known, has managed to enrage pretty much everybody out there playing a game basically designed to reward dickish behavior. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * A pharmacist lands in hot water after trying to connect with a patient. In his defense, being a pharmacist seems like a pretty fool-proof plan to ensure that a potential date has a clean bill of health. [IT-Lex] * It’s a mixed bag in Ecclestone family litigation news. Tamara Ecclestone lost her dispute with an ex-boyfriend over a Lamborghini Aventador. She’d given the car to her ex-boyfriend and wanted it back, but the High Court deemed the car was a gift. On the other hand, dad Bernie convinced the New York Supreme Court to kick out a £392.5 million lawsuit over an alleged bribe, so on balance it was a decent week for the billionaire family. Now if he could just fix this stupid “double points” thing. [Daily Mail] * Lawdingo and Themis’s Clio platform have partnered up. Hopefully Lawdingo won’t shy away from light-hearted commercials now that they’ve hit the big time. [Go Clio] * Kentucky is looking to authorize service monkeys. What can possibly go wrong? [My Fox DC]

By Joe Patrice