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Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 10.20.17

* Harvard Law School is conducting a mental health survey. But will the respondents answer with candor? [Law and More] * Transitions are hard, if not almost impossible to pull off. David Boies is eager to help his firm outlive him. [Big Law Business] * Friday Fun Fact: Donald Trump's campaign is spending $1 of every $10 donated on legal fees. [CNN] * Highlights on a legal ethics course taught through collaborative learning. [Just Resolutions] * That time Cy Vance took a donation right before a letting someone slide without charges. No, not that time. Or that time. This is a new time. [CBS News] * Boalt law student defends the clone troopers for executing all the Jedi. Still no one able to defend George Lucas for making the prequels. [Legal Geeks] * Congrats to Fix the Court for getting some transparency by securing an audio stream of this morning's D.C. Circuit argument. [Fix the Court]

By Above the Law
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 09.13.16

* Beware of using too many acronyms in your legal writing. [Law Prose] * All the details you need to know about Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams’s lawsuit against MLB Network. [Deadspin] * The dirty tricks are coming fast and furious in the Louisiana Senate race. [Slate] * Will there be a criminal probe into Donald Trump's campaign donations? [Huffington Post] * Working for a firm with a troubled reputation can change people's opinion of your own. [Law and More]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.21.16

* Criminal defense attorneys have been painted so poorly by Hollywood for such a long time that Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, the defense attorneys at the heart of Making a Murderer, "never expected to be viewed as hero[es] for just doing our job." [WSJ Law Blog] * All in a day's work: When Ted Cruz wasn't busy “[making] a lot of people really angry” during his Supreme Court clerkship, he was watching porn with Chief Justice William Rennquist and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. [New York Times] * It seems like Ted Cruz has made prospective Biglaw donors angry as well. Although Sullivan & Cromwell hosted an event in his honor, his campaign contribution amounts from other firms are "humdrum," with only one Texas firm on his side. [The Careerist] * Thanks to a $25 million dollar donation from an alumnus, Villanova Law will now be known as the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Hopefully a new name will make people forget about the school's scandal-plagued past. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * In light of last week's sexism sanction from a federal judge, the editors of the ABA Journal want to know if you've ever heard sexist remarks while working as a lawyer. We'd like to know too. Email us for inclusion in our series on the subject. [ABA Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.19.15

* Earlier this week, Justice Elena Kagan went back to the law school she used to call her home to discuss statutory interpretation. It seems the former Harvard Law School dean fancies herself a "textualist" these days, just like her hunting buddy. Gee, thanks for that, Justice Scalia. [Harvard Crimson] * A recent graduate of Appalachian School of Law with an affinity for criminal law has been accused of murder after shooting his uncle's girlfriend in the chest and killing her. He waived his preliminary hearing, and the charges he's facing will now go straight to a grand jury. [WV MetroNews] * As Election 2016 inches closer, Biglaw firms are beginning to show their political stripes. Paul Weiss is holding a big old fundraiser for Hillary Clinton tonight. Look out, big spenders, because tickets for this event cost $2,700 each. [Washington Free Beacon] * After nearly three decades as chairman, Gary LeClair of LeClairRyan is stepping down and letting someone else take over -- three someone elses, to be precise. The firm's leadership structure is changing completely. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * A senior analyst at BrownGreer was the recent victim of a carjacking. He was forced by his assailant to lead police on a chase, and was later shot in the head. He was last listed as being in critical, but stable condition. We wish him well. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.05.15

* Today's the first Monday in October, and we all know what that means. The Supreme Court starts its Term as disapproval of its work reaches a new high for recent years. [Gallup via How Appealing] * And here's Adam Liptak's excellent overview of the new Supreme Court Term, so you can sound smart at cocktail parties this month. [New York Times] * In other SCOTUS news, Senator Bob Menendez is fighting the bribery charges against him by relying upon a high court decision he once condemned -- can you guess which one? [The Record How Appealing] * Which presidential candidates get the most in campaign contributions from Silicon Valley lawyers? The second-place finisher might surprise you. [The Recorder] * Elsewhere in presidential politics, Hillary Clinton will announce new gun-control proposals later today. [New York Times] * Don't rush off to law school just yet, but the legal sector did gain a few thousand jobs last month, layoffs notwithstanding. [American Lawyer] * Dewey have any idea of when this jury will reach a verdict? [Law360] * Super-mediator Kenneth Feinberg's latest challenge: pension reform. [National Law Journal]

By David Lat
Art

Morning Docket: 06.10.13

* Edward Snowden, the computer technician who leaked details on the programs the NSA didn’t want you to know about, sacrificed his life to save your privacy’s soul. Thanks a bunch, Technology Jesus! [CNN] * While we wait for Fisher, DOMA, and Prop 8, if you’d like some background info on the people behind the most controversial and talked about SCOTUS cases of the term, give this one a read. [NBC News] * If a justice claims he’s never met a homosexual and he’s got a gay law clerk, telling him to “look around [his] chambers” to find one is the NKI. My, how times have changed since the mid-80s. [New York Times] * In 2012, Justice Sotomayor earned $1.9 million in royalties from her memoir, My Beloved World (affiliate link). Yeah, her world is probably so beloved because she’s rolling around in money. [Blog of Legal Times] * Howrey going to make use of this empty wall space? If you’re in the market for some art, this bankrupt firm’s decor will be up for auction in D.C. later this week. [Bankruptcy Beat / Wall Street Journal] * When you’re dealing with the most beautiful people in Biglaw, the price for pretty is high: Davis Polk was slapped with a million-dollar lawsuit over a recruiter’s fee. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * Gerald Shargel, criminal defense attorney to the Mafia stars, is retiring his shingle to join Winston & Strawn. Biglaw better keep him entertained — he gets bored easily. [DealBook / New York Times] * Cory Booker, one of everyone’s favorite Yale Law School grads, announced his candidacy for a New Jersey Senate seat over the weekend. Best of luck in the special election! [The Note / ABC News] * The feds are seeking a four-year sentence for former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in his campaign funds misuse case. No MJ memorabilia is worth prison time, no matter how big a fan you are. [The Hill] * “[I]f you ever call me on my cellphone again, I’ll strangle you.” Yikes. Looks like this Kentucky judge won’t have the chance to wring his hands around lawyers’ necks any time soon. [Courier-Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky