Canada

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.30.16

* In case you haven't been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Kaye Scholer, Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst, and Kasowitz Benson. If you’re worried 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] * Brexit isn't just the financial undoing of a nation anymore: Boston Beer, the brewer of Sam Adams Boston Lager, has filed an intent-to-use trademark application to turn Brexit into a hard cider made from apples sourced in the UK. Just close your eyes, think of England, and take a swig before the next time you look at your 401(k). [WSJ Law Blog] * This term at the Supreme Court was a big letdown for conservatives. First, Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, and then the high court continued to shift leftwards, leading liberals to prevail in some of the Court's most influential decisions, from affirmative action to abortion rights. Better luck next term, conservatives. [Washington Post] * Even though the school has offered buyouts to all of its tenured faculty and laid off staff, Dean Andrea Lyon says the worst is over for Valparaiso Law. Meanwhile, the school's former dean says it could close, but doesn't think it's likely. Right now, he's more worried about whether Valpo's former students will survive. [Indiana Lawyer] * Trinity Western University may have to take its law school aspirations to the Supreme Court of Canada. As it stands, there are three provinces that refuse to accredit the law school based on the fact that students and staff must sign a discriminatory covenant to abstain from sexual activity unless it's between husband and wife. [CBC News] * Former TV Judge Joe Brown can no longer practice law in Tennessee because he's been placed on disability inactive status. Brown had a petition for discipline filed against him this fall after an unseemly outburst in court, which he now blames on complications from diabetes medication, hypertension, and stress. Get well soon. [Commercial Appeal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.07.16

* Amber Heard, who is going through a tumultuous divorce with Johnny Depp amid accusations that he abused her throughout the marriage, met with women's rights attorney Gloria Allred last week. We wonder if the famed feminist lawyer will take the case after a four-hour consultation. [PEOPLE] * Life just got a little more mellow at this firm: Florida-based Greenspoon Marder opened a cannabis and hemp practice group yesterday, opening offices in San Diego and Denver, and putting lawyers to work in Las Vegas. The firm won't be puff-puff-passing up business from the marijuana industry anymore. [Big Law Business] * Doctor-assisted suicide became just legal across the Great White North, but the government took so long to draft a law to go along with the Canadian Supreme Court's ruling that the decision went into effect without any legislation to back it up. [CBS News] * If you're still thinking about applying to law school, here's a surefire way to brownnose your way into the school of your choice: do yourself a favor and include school-specific details in your personal statement. Good luck! [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News] * How can you tell if you're going to make big money after graduating from law school? First, take a look at the ATL Top 50 Law School Rankings to see how your employable graduates from your law school are, and then watch this video. [Business Insider]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.23.16

* It's official: Justice Clarence Thomas hasn't asked a question during oral arguments at the Supreme Court in a decade. No other justice in history has ever done something like this, but Justice Thomas is "confident enough in his own skin not to care." [MSNBC] * Who would make a better SCOTUS justice, Judge Sri Srinivasan of the D.C. Circuit or U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara? President Obama may be wondering when deciding whether to appoint the high court's first Asian-American justice. [New York Daily News] * Judge H. Russel Holland was presiding over the DOJ's action against two allegedly discriminatory polygamous cities on the Utah-Arizona border when he was rushed away in an ambulance. He had a terrible case of bronchitis. Feel better, Your Honor! [AP] * Gowlings, Canada's second-largest firm, merged with UK-based Wragge Lawrence Graham to form an international firm with 1,400+ lawyers in 10 countries. Accept our cautionary congratulations, since layoffs usually follow mergers of this size. [Reuters] * Aww, how cute! After working as a fully integrated firm for almost two years, Squire Patton Boggs has announced its first-ever merger with another firm. Welcome San Francisco-based firm Carroll Burdick & McDonough to the party. [Plain Dealer] * Mayer Brown is relying on a lateral associate to help its Cuba practice shore up client relations on the island through all of her connections there, which have been described as "hot property." She even got her own press release. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky