Bureau of Labor Statistics

* In the two years or so that Justice Neil Gorsuch has served on the Supreme Court, he’s become “everything conservatives hoped for and liberals feared,” having voted to overturn or suggested revisiting 11 of the court’s precedents thus far. [Washington Post]

* Speaking of Justice Gorsuch, here are the two rules he tells each of his law clerks to follow: “Rule number one: Don’t make it up — follow the law. Rule number two: when everybody else around you is yelling at you, asking you to make it up and condemning you for not making it up, refer to rule number one.” [Fox News]

* “I’m indebted to have his help and advice. He truly is a great American.” Frequent Trump critic George Conway, the Wachtell of counsel married to Kellyanne Conway, is informally advising former Rep. Joe Walsh’s 2020 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. [CNN]

* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector added around 4,100 jobs in August, outpacing U.S. job growth. This seems like exciting news, but it capped off a summer where overall growth for law jobs was mostly flat. [American Lawyer]

* A Housewife Desperate to stay out of jail: Federal prosecutors say probation isn’t enough for Felicity Huffman’s participation in the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal and want her to serve at least one month in jail, but her lawyers don’t agree. [TODAY]

* President Donald Trump has officially objected to special counsel Robert Mueller testifying before Congress via Twitter (obviously), putting himself at odds with his own Attorney General Bill Barr, who previously said he’d have no problem with Mueller’s testimony. [New York Times]

* Justice Clarence Thomas, the high court’s longest-serving justice, may finally be having his moment in the sun. As a member of the more conservative SCOTUS majority, his views are finally being given more credence as he “drags the court in his direction.” If he holds true to his refusal to retire, in 2028, he could become the longest-serving justice in history. [Associated Press]

* “I don’t have anything to hide. This guy Cohen has muddied the record and tried to muddy our reputation. I won’t let that happen.” Michael Cohen’s ex-defense attorney says that not only has his former client sullied his name, but that he still owes $43K in legal fees. [New York Law Journal]

* Meanwhile, Michael Cohen is heading to a prison today that’s been referred to as “a great place for white-collar Jewish guy,” with a menu that includes matzo ball soup and gefilte fish. Plus, he’ll get to hang out with Mike Sorrentino of Jersey Shore and Billy McFarland of Fyre Festival. [Reuters]

* Greg Andres, a senior prosecutor on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team who served as lead trial lawyer in Paul Manafort’s case, is headed back to Davis Polk. [Big Law Business]

* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs last month, but it looks like the legal profession was left out of all the fun, declining by 0.7 percent. Just in time for graduation… [American Lawyer]

* It’s official: 2018 has been the best year for law firms since the Great Recession. Per Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group, the legal industry will soon see its “strongest annual performance in a decade.” Biglaw is back, baby! [American Lawyer]

* Now that federal prosecutors have linked President Trump to crimes committed during his 2016 campaign, the focus has shifted to the family business — but thus far, special counsel Robert Mueller hasn’t tipped his hand as to whether or how Trump’s family members will be involved in the case. [New York Times]

* The Ninth Circuit recently upheld a district court judge’s decision to put a stop to President Trump’s limitations on asylum, citing the fact that his new port-of-entry rule was “likely arbitrary and capricious” since it was based “on a criterion that has nothing to do with asylum itself.” Sounds about right. [Los Angeles Times]

* Jeffrey Hammes, the longtime chairman of Kirkland & Ellis, will retire in early 2020, and his replacement has already been named. Congratulations to Jon Ballis, who will soon rule the roost at the world’s highest-grossing firm. [Big Law Business]

* It looks like the legal profession is starting early on its New Year’s resolution to cut some weight. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector shed 2,400 jobs over the course of November. Yikes… [American Lawyer]

* Fun fact of the day: According to David Brock, a onetime member of “Kavanaugh’s cabal,” the D.C. Circuit judge has an “unhealthy obsession with the Clintons — especially Hillary.” He urges senators to vote no on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. [NBC News]

* After repeatedly denying that he had an affair with Stormy Daniels, President Donald Trump now says he he “will not bring any action, proceeding, or claim” against her for speaking out despite her nondisclosure agreement. All she has to do is give back the $130,000 hush-money payment she received from Michael Cohen. [Washington Post]

* The Democratic Coalition has lodged a perjury complaint against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh with the Justicec Department, and will soon file an ethics complaint with the D.C. Circuit. Oh, the irony that the grievance will be reviewed by SCOTUS nominee in waiting, Chief Judge Merrick Garland. [Mediaite

* President Trump will provide sworn answers to written questions in the defamation suit filed by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos. Considering Marc Kasowitz thinks his client is “immune” from this suit, things could get interesting. [Reuters]

* The U.S. legal sector has lost jobs for the second month in a row, and legal employment is now slightly down year-over-year. Hopefully these job numbers rebound, because law schools have started accepting record class sizes again. [American Lawyer]

* You know your client sucks when…: This weekend, President Trump admitted on Twitter that his eldest son’s 2016 Trump Tower meeting was held to “get information on an opponent,” not to discuss “a program about the adoption of Russian children,” as he’d dictated in his son’s earlier account. His lawyer, Jay Sekulow, then had to walk back a statement he’d made earlier to get in line with Trump’s comments, because “over time facts develop.” [Daily Beast]

* A federal judge has ruled for the second time that the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program was unlawful, referring to the DHS’s reasoning as “a hodgepodge of illogical or post hoc policy assertions.” Not only that, but the judge ordered that DACA be restored. Ouch. [National Law Journal]

* In other immigration news, a federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s request that the ACLU locate deported parents for reunification with their children, noting that “for every parent who is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child, and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration.” [USA Today]

* Dean Elizabeth Magill of Stanford Law School will be leaving her job at the end of the upcoming academic year to become the provost of the University of Virginia. Stanford will begin the search for her replacement in September. [The Recorder]

* After news of the class of 2017’s success in the job market comes last month’s loss of 2,100 jobs in the legal sector. Sorry ‘bout that, class of 2018. For those not entering Biglaw, you better hope those were all administrative jobs. [American Lawyer]

* According to President Trump’s lawyers in a confidential memo sent to special counsel Robert Mueller, the President can’t obstruct justice because the Constitution allows him to “if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon.” Tell that to Bill Clinton. [New York Times]

* President Trump was complaining via tweet about the costs of the special counsel’s “Russian Hoax Investigation” this weekend, but as it turns out, the costs of the President’s trips to Mar-a-Lago dwarf the costs of Mueller’s legal bills, so there’s that. [The Hill]

* Speaking of the Russia investigation, despite numerous past denials, Trump’s lawyers also admitted in that confidential memo that the President “dictated” his Donald Trump Jr.’s statement on his 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians where he reportedly hoped to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. [Slate]

* Rudy Giuliani says that he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for President Trump to testify before Mueller because “our recollection keeps changing.” That’s an eloquent way of saying that they’re having trouble keeping their fibs in line. [CNN]

* The latest U.S. jobs report was just peachy, but the story for lawyers was a little less rosy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal profession lost about 200 jobs last month, and about 1,000 jobs since last May. [American Lawyer]

* What’s behind the Supreme Court’s sluggish pace, and does Justice Gorsuch have anything to do with it? Only 18 rulings have been sloooooowly handed down so far this Term, and the world is still waiting for decisions to be made in some of the high court’s most contentious cases. [Reuters]

* House Republicans are so pissed the DOJ failed to comply with a subpoena deadline to turn over more than a million documents related to investigations of Hillary Clinton’s emails, alleged FISA abuses, and Andrew McCabe’s firing that there’s a “growing consensus” Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein could be held in contempt of Congress — or even impeached. [Washington Examiner]

* There may be a law school brain drain when it comes to a lack of applications from students at top undergraduate institutions, but the Law School Admission Council is reporting that the number of applicants with LSAT scores of 160 or higher is up by 21 percent since last year. We’ll have more on this interesting news later. [Law.com]

* In case you missed it, with an average deal size was $3.7 billion and a market share of about 24 percent, Skadden came out on top of Bloomberg’s law firm league table for global M&A deal volume in 2018’s first quarter. Congratulations! [Big Law Business]

* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal services industry added 400 jobs between February and March. The entire profession now ranges from 1.2 to 1.3 million jobs, down from pre-recession highs of 1.8 million jobs. Sorry, but after about a decade, it’s looking like those jobs may be lost forever. [American Lawyer]

* President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, claims that he used his home equity line to pay off Stormy Daniels out of the goodness of his heart, and while people have been focusing on the fact that he may have violated campaign finance laws, not many have mentioned that he likely violated New York’s ethics rules, would could get him disbarred. [Slate]

* Remember the time that Judge Katherine Forrest ruined the internet with a single ruling? Several media outlets are preparing to appeal to the Second Circuit, saying the copyright decision could change the internet as we know it. [Big Law Business]

* Dean Andrea Lyon of Valparaiso Law — the school that’s not closing, per se, but will stop accepting students and is hoping to merge with another school or move locations — will be resigning on June 1. No one knows what will happen to the school, and soon there won’t even be a dean. These poor students… [Indianapolis Business Journal]

* Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a foodie, and in honor of her upcoming birthday — and because “[s]he eats real food and plenty of it” — here are a few of the Notorious One’s favorite places to dine in her hometown of New York City. [am New York]

* The February bar exam has come and gone, and with it, hundreds of jobs across the entire legal services industry. According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 200 fewer people were employed in the legal sector last month than in January. Hopefully things improve before graduation. [American Lawyer]

* “Katy Perry represents everything we don’t believe in. It would be a sin to sell to her.” Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, 89, who had been locked in litigation with the singer and the archdioces for several years over the sale of her former convent, collapsed and died in court on Friday during a post-judgment hearing. [NPR]

* Okay, let’s get this straight: Roy Moore’s Jewish lawyer isn’t Richard Jaffe, the one who voted for Doug Jones; no, Roy Moore’s Jewish lawyer is Martin Wishnatsky, the one who “has accepted Christ” as his savior. [Washington Post]

* In our last Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch, we focused a bit on the fact that rumored retiree Justice Anthony Kennedy hired a full set of clerks for OT 2018, but in case you missed it, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg already has a full set of clerks for OT 2019. The Notorious one isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. [Newsweek]

* Lawyers for the Department of Justice who are attempting to defend the Trump administration’s rescission of the DACA program have asked Judge William Alsup, who is handling the case, to ignore our “very stable genius” president’s recent tweets regarding the immigration policy. [The Recorder]

* Evan Greebel, pharma bro Martin Shkreli’s ex-lawyer, is facing hard prison time for conspiracy, but one of the juror’s who convicted him is having second thoughts. The former Biglaw partner better hope that Judge Kiyo Matsumoto decides to reopen his case. [Big Law Business]

* In what may have been some sort of a Christmas miracle, the legal sector witnessed a very slight uptick in jobs in December. Beggars can’t be choosers, so a gain of 600 jobs is better than nothing at all. Employment in the profession is still nowhere near where it once was before the recession. [American Lawyer]

* Lewis Donelson, cofounder of Baker Donelson, RIP. [Memphis Business Journal]

* Sitting en banc, the Seventh Circuit reinstated the conviction of Making a Murderer’s Brendan Dassey in a split decision. If you recall, Dassey’s conviction was overturned by a federal magistrate in June 2016, and that ruling was later affirmed by a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit this June. [ABA Journal]

* Dean Blake Morant says GW Law enrolled a smaller incoming class this fall in order to stop its downward slide in the U.S. News rankings. Because of the smaller class, some programs are being cut and there’s a freeze on staff hiring. Yikes. [GW Hatchet]

* What is special counsel Robert Mueller’s legal endgame in this Russia probe? Some think that this could turn into an obstruction of justice case, while others think this could turn into a conspiracy case. What’ll it be? This investigation has no end in sight, so we’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out. [NPR]

* Kevin McIntyre, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s new chairman, has given us a little $1.8 million peek into the Jones Day black box in his financial disclosure. [National Law Journal]

* The legal profession had something to be thankful for this November: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector grew by 600 jobs. [American Lawyer]

* Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims of the deadliest church shooting in modern U.S. history, which took place yesterday in Sutherland Springs, Texas. This is the second mass shooting in a little more than one month. [ABC News]

* The Russian election collusion investigation is just getting started, but lawmakers have introduced a nonbinding resolution demanding that special counsel Robert Mueller resign due to his “obvious conflicts of interest.” [POLITICO]

* “Jeff, you need to tell us everything you know about Russia.” Senator Lindsey Graham wants AG Jeff Sessions to testify again before the Senate Judiciary Committee about whether there were any arranged meetings between President Trump’s campaign and Russia. [UPI]

* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal profession lost 1,100 jobs in October, which is depressing news for jobless law school graduates who just found out positive bar exam news. [American Lawyer]

* LSAT or GRE? Thanks to a vote by the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, it might not matter. If this proposal passes, soon law schools won’t even have to test potential applicants seeking admission. [Law.com]

* Advice for the internet hero who shut down President Trump’s Twitter account on his last day of work: “Don’t say anything and get a lawyer.” Why? He likely violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. [The Hill]

* Todd Macaluso, one of Casey Anthony’s former attorneys, has been found guilty in an international cocaine distribution conspiracy involving a plane load of drugs worth about $13 million. He plans to appeal his conviction. [New York Daily News]

* Well, well, well… it seems that another law school has succumbed to the allure of the GRE. Which T14 law school has decided to accept the GRE for admissions purposes? We’ll have more on the law school that hopes to reel in those sweet, sweet STEM majors later today. [Law.com]

* Make Twitter great again? Lawyers from the White House and the Department of Defense had reportedly warned President Trump about the ramifications of the transgender military ban for days before he announced the policy via Twitter without warning because he was tired of being “slow-walked.” [POLITICO]

* Rep. Maxine Waters is reclaiming her time to call Alan Dershowitz a racist. The congresswoman is upset the Harvard Law professor claimed that a D.C. grand jury will be “unfavorable” to the Trump administration in the Russia case because of its liberal leanings and “ethnic and racial composition.” [Free Beacon]

* According to Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department will federally prosecute anyone and everyone who so much as thinks about leaking classified information — but not members of the press, because they’re “after leakers, not journalists.” Perhaps he ought to relay this information to his boss. [CNN]

* Kirkland & Ellis is looking for law students to join its army of summer associates in 2018. The magic number of summers is somewhere around 245, but they “could go over.” Do you have what it takes to be one of the few many, the proud prestigious? Be all you can be at K&E. [Big Law Business]

* Crap, it looks like the legal profession lost a ton of jobs in July. We’re talking four figures worth of jobs — 4,300 jobs, to be exact. All in, the profession has only seen an increase of 600 jobs since January, and is still down by about 50,000 jobs since pre-recession highs in May 2007. [Am Law Daily]

* The Seventh Circuit will rehear “Making a Murderer” star Brendan Dassey’s case en banc, following a 2-1 decision that Dassey’s confession to murder was coerced and that his conviction should be overturned. Perhaps the full court won’t be as sympathetic to Dassey’s situation… [Washington Post]

* According to reports, Donald Trump is “obsessed” with his next possible Supreme Court nomination, and it seems like the president is trying to use their sons’ friendship to remain in Justice Kennedy’s good graces — after all, he’s banking on the high court’s swing justice to retire. [POLITICO]

* The new year has not been kind as far as employment in the legal profession is concerned. Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector took a beating in March, losing about 1,500 jobs. This is the third month in a row that the legal sector has lost jobs. Ouch. [Am Law Daily]

* Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is planning to repeal Obama-era landmark net neutrality rules in the hope of internet providers volunteering to maintain an open internet, and then binding them to compliance through their terms of service. Let’s see how well this works out… [Reuters]

* Remember Shon Hopwood, the bank robber who won a SCOTUS case as a jailhouse lawyer, went to law school, and clerked for the D.C. Circuit? He’s got a new job as a Georgetown Law prof. Talk about a remarkable career path. Congrats! [Seattle Times]

* “SCOTUS judge, feminist icon, Bubby. Notorious.” Believe it or not, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg won a March Madness bracket. Click the link to see what we mean. [Jewcy]

* “It’s Washington’s bloodsport. It’s like the gladiator going into the arena and the public watching.” Senator Jeff Sessions has been preparing for his confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general since December, and he expects to be grilled on the same allegations of racism that precluded him from landing a federal judgeship in 1986. Something tells us that he won’t have a similar problem this time around. [CNN]

* “We are very pleased to announce that after extensive discussions with our regulators, we will be starting classes as scheduled.” Charlotte School of Law will be reopening for the spring semester (albeit one day later than previously scheduled), but at this point in time, there’s no word on whether students will be able to procure federal loans to finance the costs of attendance. How are these students supposed to pay? [Charlotte Observer]

* According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector had a great month in December, adding 2,000 jobs and outpacing national figures for the month. All in all, the legal industry is up by 4,100 jobs since the start of 2016, but this is a far cry from where the numbers used to be prior to the recession. By that logic, the legal industry still down by 52,000 jobs since its high in 2007. [Am Law Daily]

* On January 19, the justices of the Supreme Court will discuss whether they will take up the case to legalize polygamy being brought by the reality TV “Sister Wives” family. If they decide to grant certiorari, it will be the first time in more than 100 years that an issue of this kind will be reviewed by the high court. Just imagine the special episodes and the ratings extravaganza that could result from oral arguments. [FOX News]

* IMDb.com doesn’t care if celebrities don’t want their true ages revealed online, so in the name of the First Amendment, the site is refusing to comply with a new California law that would require the removal of their age information upon demand. Instead of passing age discrimination laws, California has “chosen instead to chill free speech and to undermine access to factual information of public interest.” [WSJ Law Blog]

Ed. note: In honor of Columbus Day (and Canadian Thanksgiving), Above the Law will be on a reduced publication schedule today. We will be back in full force tomorrow.

* NBC News was aware of Donald Trump’s “grab ’em by the p*ssy” remarks days before they were made public, but the network’s lawyers took so long to review the footage for fear of being sued by the presidential candidate that it was scooped on the story by another publication. The lewd footage was allowed to languish for nearly a week. [Washington Post]

* Thanks to Donald Trump’s latest scandal, the Republican National Committee has “an army of lawyers” exploring whether it would be possible to replace the party’s presidential candidate with another nominee. What have they found? His cooperation would be necessary, and “[t]he fact remains that [Trump] can only be replaced if he quits or dies. And he’s declared … he’s not planning on doing either.” [POLITICO]

* As our readers know well, the vast majority of New York’s top law firms have raised first-year associate salaries to $180,000 from $160,000, but those new salaries will surely cut into the law firms’ profits. How will they be able to make up for it? “Part of what makes this easier for law firms to absorb is that billable rates go up every year, and maybe this year they go up a little bit more than usual.” [Crain’s New York Business]

* According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector added about 400 jobs in September, with the biggest job gains coming in the form of management consulting, which seems fitting given the depressed demand for legal services right now. In case you were wondering, the legal profession would need to add around 55,000 jobs to return to pre-recession levels of employment. [Am Law Daily]

* “His behavior was disturbing enough to warrant action….” A former Montana Law student was permanently barred from campus late last week after he returned to the school and allegedly disrupted a professor’s class, prompting the dean to send out a warning email to the student body. A police officer was stationed outside the professor’s classroom thereafter. We may have more on this story later today. [Missoulian]

* Kenneth Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney, RIP. [New York Law Journal]

* Because he’d like to stop “freeriding on the services of Bryan Cave,” Stephen DiCarmine, Dewey & LeBoeuf’s former executive director, told a judge that he’d like to dump Austin Campriello as his lawyer and represent himself in the retrial of his criminal case. DiCarmine, a current textile design student, was warned that this likely wasn’t a very wise choice on his part. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Kaye Scholer’s managing partner “wouldn’t comment on any speculation or rumor,” but word on the street is that his firm and Arnold & Porter may potentially be discussing a possible merger. Information related to this merger is really just a game of Biglaw telephone at this point. Let us know if you have any credible details. [Big Law Business]

* This seems like the plotline of a reality TV series: A trial date has been set for one of the three Trump University lawsuits, and if all goes according to plan for likely Republican nominee Donald Trump, it looks like we may have a president-elect taking the witness stand to testify about allegations related to fraud before his inauguration. [CBS News]

* Just in time for law school commencement ceremonies, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has some depressing news about employment statistics. In April, the legal services sector lost 1,500 jobs. Thus far, the only month in 2016 when jobs were added in the legal services sector was March. Well… this really isn’t very encouraging. [Am Law Daily]

* “It’s been one step forward, two steps back since [2009].” The job market for law school grads is still challenging, but due to the fact that class sizes are smaller now, job prospects may seem a bit brighter for some. Are things really looking up? This John Marshall Law grad — with a job! — thinks things are going to be fine. [Chicago Tribune]

* “Say you’ll remember me, standing in a black robe, waiting for a hearing, babe. Begging the SJC, say you will confirm me, even if it’s just in my wildest dreams, ah-ha ohh.” SCOTUS nominee Judge Merrick Garland has something in common with an overwhelming number of teenage girls: he loves Taylor Swift sing-alongs. That’s cute! [People]

* “A judge does not check his First Amendment rights at the courthouse door.” Judge Olu Stevens has filed suit against the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission on free-speech grounds in an attempt to stave off an ethics sanction for publicly commenting on Facebook about all-white juries and their “disproportionate and disparate impact on black defendants.” [Courier-Journal]

* Hardly any partners leave Cravath, but a very important one just did, and his exit is making people talk. Scott Barshay, once a top M&A partner at the firm that tends to set the associate bonus scale, has defected to Paul Weiss, where he’ll become its global head of M&A. Which clients will he take to the “dream team”? [DealBook / New York Times]

* This plaintiff’s antitrust allegations against Uber’s CEO may be “wildly implausible” and representative of an “impossibly unwieldy conspiracy,” but in Judge Jed Rakoff’s eyes, they were enough to overcome a motion to dismiss that was filed by Boies Schiller. Something tells us Uber’s legal bills are going to see some surge-pricing. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Per a study by Ravel Law, in a new index that tracks federal judges by their rulings and subsequent citations to those rulings, Michigan produces the most influential judges on the federal bench, followed by Chicago, Harvard, and Yale. Harvard has finally gotten one over on Yale — but for a measly bronze trophy. [Crain’s Detroit Business]

* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector gained 1,200 jobs in March. On top of that positive news, February’s numbers were revised from a loss of 1,500 jobs to a gain of 100 jobs. In any case, what with the huge discrepancy, we’re happy to see Dewey’s bookkeepers found new work. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* This peeping Tom better have a big bankroll: A jury awarded sportscaster Erin Andrews $55 million in her case against a stalker who recorded unauthorized nude videos of her in a hotel. Defense attorneys seem peeved that she won since her “career skyrocketed” and wasn’t completely destroyed by the incident. [NBC News]

* “[W]e are sort of reaching the height of the most frustrating part of this process for those of you who are trying to cover it.” Even if the judges purportedly being vetted for a Supreme Court nomination had visited the White House to speak with President Obama, the public would never know it thanks to the strict secrecy protocols involved. [CNN]

* Despite the fact that most Supreme Court justices don’t themselves read the numerous amicus curiae briefs filed in support of the cases being heard before the high court, according to a new study, it takes an “amicus machine” — including amicus wranglers and whisperers — and a lot of hard work to get them into shape. [New York Times]

* Uh-oh… some 4-4 ideological splits may be in our future this Term. In the wake of Justice Scalia’s death, Justice Alito and Justice Thomas seem to have decided to team up to stabilize the Supreme Court’s conservative wing, joining in each other’s dissents from the majority’s unsigned opinions in otherwise routine matters. [WSJ Law Blog]

* February may have been a great month for those with Leap Day birthdays, but it was pretty terrible for the legal profession. Per the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, 1,500 jobs were lost last month. In other news, we’ve not yet fully recovered from the recession in terms of employment numbers. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]