cheerleaders

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.25.17

* Now Ivanka Trump's hired Abbe Lowell. Hey, at least she doesn't think she has any potentially adverse interests to her husband. Yet. [National Law Journal] * Elon Musk may be looking for in-house counsel for the burrowing company he claims has a government deal to start building underground highways and super trains. First step for this new attorney? Explaining that, no, he does not have a government contract to start building underground highways and super trains. [Law.com] * NFL cheerleaders can't pursue antitrust action against entity that's already lost an antitrust action. Remember that? When Donald Trump bankrupted a football league because he's comically incompetent? [Courthouse News Service] * Wells Fargo inadvertently released a bunch of client data and they want it back. One presumes these are real Wells Fargo clients and not the millions of fake ones. [Law360] * ABA warns against weakening Medicaid. I'm sure that's going to do the trick with this crew. [ABA Journal] * Has R. Kelly hired Bill Cosby's attorney? [Complex] * An argument for Jeff Sessions keeping his job. [Litigation Daily]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.02.17

* Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and with the current Court make up, this is the last penumbra we're going to see for awhile. [USA Today] * Norton Rose Fulbright in merger talks with Chadbourne & Parke. [New York Law Journal] * Chief Justice Roberts compared himself to an umpire. Judge Gorsuch compared himself to a replay booth official. The football analogy works, since Gorsuch is going to be one of those scab refs from the 2012 NFL lockout while Garland sits at home. [Law.com] * Keeping with the football news, former NFL cheerleaders have filed a class action alleging a conspiracy to suppress their wages, which, if true, is easily the sixth or seventh most repulsive thing Roger Goodell does on a daily basis. [ABC News] * In a letter to the state Supreme Court, 20 law school deans asked California to lower its draconian bar passage threshold. Because it's ridiculous. [The Recorder] * Trump is reportedly going to direct the Labor Department to delay implementation of the Fiduciary Rule, surprising no one. [Think Advisor] * Here's a roundup of Judge Gorsuch's wittiest dissents. [Law360]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.28.16

* Now that Rudy Giuliani's in the news again thanks to his departure from his namesake firm, he's letting his opinions be known on all sorts of things relevant to lawyers and law students. In fact, he thinks law school should be four years long. Go back into the woodwork, Rudy. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * After a decade on SCOTUS, Justice Samuel Alito hasn't strayed from his conservative roots like some of his colleagues. He “has been every bit as conservative as conservatives could have dreamed -- and as liberals would have feared.” [ABA Journal] * Prior to Martin Shkreli's arrest, prosecutors obtained a secret order nullifying attorney-client privilege in communications between the pharma bro and his Biglaw attorney. Per records, this case has been ongoing since before he outed himself as a d-bag. [Reuters] * “Whether I want to marry or not, it should be my right to decide." China's first-ever lawsuit challenging its ban on same-sex marriage is expected to be heard in court today. In a country as conservative as China, this could be revolutionary. [New York Times] * Shake those pom-poms, because the New York Jets have reached a settlement with the team's cheerleaders in a lawsuit filed over alleged wage theft. The J-E-T-S will pay out $324,000, making it the fourth NFL team to settle such a suit. [New York Daily News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.28.15

* Good news, everyone! Legally Blonde 3 is supposedly in the works, and Reese Witherspoon says that the movie may involve Elle Woods becoming a Supreme Court justice or some kind of an elected official. It's really too bad that SCOTUS robes aren't pink. [Washington Post] * Biglaw firms aren't the only ones that are downsizing when it comes to their headcount. Case in point, Lear Corporation's in-house legal department has dropped from 20 attorneys to 11, but its GC Terry Larking says it's working for the company. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Cornell Law School will be teaming up with Cornell Tech to launch a new LL.M. degree in law, technology, and entrepreneurship. Like most LL.M. degrees, we imagine that it will cost a pretty penny, but that its overall value on the market will be low. [Cornell Chronicle] * "Do we really need to protect people from trying to achieve their dreams?" Professor Noah Feldman of Harvard Law thinks we shouldn't coddle law school applicants who are unlikely to pass a bar or try to "save" them from a lifetime of debt. [Bloomberg View] * She shoots, she scores? An ex-cheerleader filed suit against the Milwaukee Bucks under the Fair Labor Standards Act because she alleges she was paid less than minimum wage to cheer for the team. The suit is the first of its kind filed against an NBA team. [ABC News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.27.15

* The Cincinnati Bengals reached a $255K settlement with their cheerleaders in a wage-and-hour suit. Each Ben-Gal stands to receive at least $2,500. Hmm, maybe they needed better lawyers who could BE AGGRESSIVE! B-E AGGRESSIVE! B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E! [CBS News] * Biglaw leaders think that first-year associates are likely to be replaced by robots within 10 years. Some even think that second- and third-year associates could be replaced by artificial intelligence. Damn, no wonder NY to $190 is still a pipedream. [Ars Technica via Am Law Daily] * "What you're asking them to do is do work for you." Despite the fact that the cellphone was seized in an investigation, this federal magistrate judge says that he isn't quite sure if he has the legal authority to compel Apple to access data on a locked iPhone. [Reuters] * Justice waits for no one, except this defendant who allegedly murdered her 19-month-old daughter in 2010. After her trial was rescheduled for the 18th time, a judge finally decided he'd had enough: “Anything following this will be a trial or dismissal.” [WSJ Law Blog] * If you're trying to get into to law school, there's no need to wait for your fall semester grades before you send off your applications. A pulse and the ability to sign federal loan documents are all that you'll need. [Law School Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.03.15

* A social media guide for lawyers. Time to get on Woo Woo! [Associates Mind] * The growing ranks of Biglaw househusbands. [The Careerist / The American Lawyer] * Swordsmith sued by hotel chain over allegedly fraudulent gift cards. Swordsmith is still a thing? [Slate] * After a lawsuit highlighted the deplorable conditions facing the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders, the state legislature is stepping up with a cheerleader protection bill. On a completely unrelated note, I remind you that Isiah Thomas runs a professional sports team in the state of New York. [Politics on the Hudson] * Before you clear your browser history, take note that you may be obstructing justice. [The Nation] * A lawyer is suing Avvo to uncover the author of an anonymous negative review. [Tampa Bay Times] * "We don’t need fewer lawyers. We need cheaper ones." And that all starts with cheaper law schools. [Washington Post] * If you want to build a professional brand, you probably should keep your trap shut. [Law and More]

By Joe Patrice
BARBRI

Morning Docket: 05.07.14

* According to the latest Citi report, Biglaw was looking pretty good during the first quarter of 2014. Revenue was up by 4.3 percent — the best first quarter results since 2008. Hooray! [Am Law Daily] * Nice work if you can get it: Gibson Dunn, the firm hired to handle New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s “Bridgegate” investigation, billed about $1.1 million for roughly two weeks of work. [NJ.com] * A “perfect storm” of too many grads and not enough jobs caused the decline in law school enrollment. The solution is obviously online learning instead of lowering tuition. Yep. [New Hampshire Public Radio] * Spend your summer in a “nontraditional” job setting. This is some great advice to prepare yourself for not being able to get a job at a firm after graduation. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report] * Our congratulations go out to Catherine Wauters of George Mason Law, winner of BARBRI’s inaugural public interest fellowship! (Our very own managing editor, David Lat, served as one of the judges.) [CNBC] * The latest football franchise to face the wrath of underpaid cheerleaders is the New York Jets. Members of the team’s “Flight Crew” say they make less than minimum wage to shake their pom poms. [Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Associate Salaries

Morning Docket: 04.24.14

* The $160K-Plus Club welcomes its newest member: Duval & Stachenfeld, a real estate firm in NY, is more than doubling its starting salary for associates to $175K. Look for them recruiting at your “tier one” school soon. [New York Law Journal] * In this economy, bankruptcy firms are being hit hard: Stutman Treister & Glatt, a top L.A. firm that once assisted businesses like Lehman Brothers and Enron Corp. in their Chapter 11 proceedings, is closing up shop. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)] * It ain’t easy being dean at the law school with the best Biglaw prospects — oh wait, yes it is. Congrats to Gillian Lester, who will serve as Columbia Law’s fifteenth dean come January 2015. [Columbia News] * “Do I think he thought he was gonna beat it? Yeah.” The district attorney who brought charges against Stephen McDaniel thinks the law school killer was too big for his chainmail britches. [Macon Telegraph] * From catcalling to “jiggle tests,” NFL cheerleaders have to put up with a lot of really ridiculous stuff. Not being paid the minimum wage is one thing, but having to put up with being groped is quite another. [TIME]

By Staci Zaretsky
Jury Duty

Non-Sequiturs: 03.21.14

* Justice Ginsburg was a hottie back in the day (as well as a cheerleader, aka a “Twirler”). [Josh Blackman's Blog] * “When a Juror Calls You a Motherf*cker” (or, how not to get out of jury duty). [New York Personal Injury Law Blog] * Professor Edward Morrison returns to Columbia Law, after a very short stint at U. Chicago — maybe he missed his fabulous Lawyerly Lair in Manhattan? [Columbia Law School] * Speaking of CLS faculty members with multimillion-dollar townhouses, congratulations to Sarah Cleveland on her nomination to serve as an independent expert on the Human Rights Committee. [Columbia Law School] * After getting a cease-and-desist letter, this Maine bakery renamed the controversial treat “C&D” — well played, Little Bigs Bakery, well played. [WMTV.com] * In the wake of the latest “no cleavage” memo, which made the pages of the New York Daily News, Amanda Hess conducts a comprehensive survey of this odious genre. [Slate] * Social media isn’t a panacea, but it can be important and useful, and lawyers should use it responsibly — so check out these new Social Media Ethics Guidelines for Attorneys. [New York State Bar Association]

By David Lat