Charles P. Cercone

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.26.16

* As you may have already seen, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released another list of his potential Supreme Court nominees ahead of tonight's debate. The list includes a Republican senator who has refused to endorse Trump (and has already turned down Trump's proposal), three non-white judges, and one female judge. [WSJ Washington Wire] * Speaking of the Supreme Court, the justices may be shorthanded and trying to avoid 4-4 deadlocks on controversial cases, but they'll soon decide whether they'll liven up this term's docket by agreeing to hear a major transgender rights case involving public school bathrooms. It could be one of the biggest case of the high court's 2016-17 term. [Reuters] * "[Twelve] students is not any kind of representation of our program." Indiana Tech Law's dean says the fact that only one of the school's graduates passed the bar isn't a realistic assessment of the quality of their education, and was unwilling to confirm the school's low pass rate since five graduates were appealing their results. [Indiana Lawyer] * The Department of Education will not suspend the American Bar Association from accrediting new law schools, despite a recommendation to do so from the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity. We'd like to think that the ABA has learned its lesson, but perhaps that's a bit naive of us. [ABA Journal] * In anticipation of further fallout from its fake accounts scandal, Wells Fargo has hired Shearman & Sterling to advise the bank's board as to the legal ramifications of a possible clawback of pay from Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf, Chief Operating Officer Tim Sloan, and Carrie Tolstedt, the former head of community banking. [Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.10.15

* The number of law school applicants and applications continues to plummet, with applicants down by 2.5 percent and the volume of applications down by 4.6 percent since last year. For the love of God, students are staying away for a reason. Do some research, people. [WSJ Law Blog] * Lawyers may be thanking their lucky stars for loan repayment programs like IBR and PAYE, but when their cancellation of debt income comes back to bite them in the ass in the form of a "tax bomb" as early as 2032, they're going to be crying for mercy. [TaxProf Blog] * If the Supreme Court rules against same-sex marriage, life could devolve into chaos for gay and lesbian couples. Sure, SCOTUS could do that, or "a giant meteor could fall on [your] head in the next five seconds," but one is more likely to happen than the other. [AP] * You had one job, Dean Cercone... ONE JOB! After recommending against accreditation back in May, the ABA convened this week to officially deny provisional accreditation to Indiana Tech Law. Its handful of students will be so disappointed. [Indiana Lawyer] * Ex-House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded not guilty in his sex scandal cover-up case and was released on $4,500 bond. Interestingly enough, the judge has volunteered to remove himself due to some potential issues over his impartiality. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.26.14

* Indiana Tech Law has yet another new dean after a little more than a year of operations -- he currently serves as a dean at the second-best law school in the nation, Cooley Law. [Journal Gazette] * A Pennsylvania lawyer allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old girl in his office, and prosecutors have already reserved a "special place in hell" for him, and possibly a jail cell. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * "We feel like we’ve been left hanging in a really stressful time.” While Bingham McCutchen partners and top staffers made moves, less senior staffers were left crying and without a clue. :( [Am Law Daily] * Since a grand jury failed to indict Darren Wilson in Michael Brown's death, people are counting on the DOJ to come through for them. "I just don’t think Ferguson has a leg to stand on," says one negative nancy law professor. [National Law Journal] * After being down in the dumps for a while due to the recession, according to Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group, law firm leaders are feeling more confident and optimistic about the economy -- as one can see from these bonuses. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky