Deadbeat Father Or Strict Textualist?
To be fair, this would be a textualist explanation for why Thomas Jefferson was such a crappy father to his enslaved children.
Morning Docket: 08.08.18
* Among all of his other legal worries, Michael Cohen is now under investigation for tax fraud. This guy just can't catch a break. [Wall Street Journal] * You may remember the "frozen trucker" case that Justice Neil Gorsuch was plagued by during his confirmation hearings. As it turns out, Judge Brett Kavanaugh has his own "frozen trucker" case, but his involves a woman who was drowned by a killer whale at SeaWorld. Stay tuned for questions about that. [Slate] * You may want to lateral to another firm in a hot market like Texas, but bless your heart, that doesn't mean your current firm is going to just let you do it. More and more firms -- like Weil Gotshal, Baker Botts -- have been enforcing their contractual "hold" provisions and delaying lateral moves. [Texas Lawyer] * Let's face it: if you're applying to law schools, you're not going to be able to get in to all of them. Figure out which ones are your safety schools ASAP. [U.S. News] * Angelina Jolie has accused Brad Pitt of neglecting his child support obligations in a new court filing, claiming that the actor hasn't made any "meaningful" payments in the year and a half since Jolie filed for divorce. [NBC News]
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Biglaw Yells And Defies Court Orders In Family Law Case, Receives Stern Benchslap
When you balk at giving a straight answer to "how much does your client want?" then a benchslap is only a matter of time.
Non-Sequiturs: 04.15.14
* The annual Peeps In Law contest is open! Voting is open until 11:59 p.m. on April 21. [ABA Journal] * A comprehensive look at the law school reputation rank component of the U.S. News rankings. Maybe Professor Illig can take heart that lawyers and judges still like Oregon better than U.S. News. [Tipping the Scales] * Airline tells passenger to, um, screw herself. There’s no lawsuit yet, but that’s inevitable. [New York Magazine] * Here are lawyers in wigs in cat selfies. The Internet is amazing. [Legal Cheek] * New Jersey has finally issued a memo calling for more training for its judges in response to the veritable Debtor’s Prison they’ve fostered. [Bergen Dispatch] * An engaged couple won the UVA Moot Court competition. Nothing says romance like researching for fake arguments. [UVA Law] * Remember the Jennifer Gaubert story? She was the lawyer and former radio host who accused a cab driver of sexual harassment… and then the authorities watched the cabbie’s video and decided she was totally lying. Well, now that video is available. Watch it below…. [YouTube]
Non-Sequiturs: 03.04.14
* How high can your heels be for a job interview? [Corporette] * If you think your client is committing securities fraud, the Supreme Court has good news! Sarbanes-Oxley’s anti-retaliation protection extends to Biglaw associates. [Whistleblower Protection Law Blog] * Here’s more on today’s Chevron ruling from the perspective of the energy community. [Breaking Energy] * The California Bar eJournal is running a poll asking the question, “Do you believe that the law school you attended prepared you to practice law?” The results may surprise you! (Shhh! No they won’t.) [Survey Monkey] * An accused killer asks to withdraw his guilty plea by calmly explaining to the judge that he was high as a kite when he pleaded guilty and that his lawyer was busy boning the prosecutor. He earns an A for effort on that one. [Albany Times-Union] * Chris Christie’s former campaign manager, Bill Stepien, appears to be the target of a federal investigation. It’s a bad time to be in Christie’s orbit. [Bergen County Record] * Third time’s the charm! Kevyn Orr, Detroit’s Emergency Manager, is making his third bid to authorize a giveaway to the banks settle a massive derivatives deal that played a big role in Detroit’s financial woes. The judge overseeing the case rejected the prior proposals and may do the same again since the new deal grants UBS and Merrill Lynch a release from liability for the events surrounding a billion dollar deal. [Demos] * Kerry Kennedy beat her DUI charge in no small part due to the testimony of the toxicology expert. [The Expert Institute] * Police tried to hide their use of a cell phone tracker from the courts. Apparently the manufacturer asked them to. Oh well, if a corporation wants privacy violations kept quiet, that’s different. [ACLU] * A follow-up from an oldie but goodie, the judge who changed a baby’s name from “Messiah” to “Martin” based on her personal religious beliefs received a public censure. Perhaps fittingly, the censure was less critical of changing “Messiah” than changing it to “Martin.” I mean, that’s just cruel. [Huffington Post] * More on Mayer Brown’s uncomfortable lawsuit against a city for erecting a WWII memorial. [The Careerist]
Non-Sequiturs: 01.14.13
* The FBI announces that there will be no criminal charges over the “scandal” in which the IRS gave heightened scrutiny to conservative groups that sought tax exemption for their entirely, in no way political activities. As another faux scandal bites the dust, here’s a good round up of butthurt right-wing editorials. [TaxProf Blog] * SCOTUS Benchslaps! In a lengthy footnote in Daimler v. Bauman, Justice Ginsburg accuses Justice Sotomayor of misstating the record in the latter’s concurrence. In reading the competing interpretations, it seems as though Justice Sotomayor has the most fair reading, but then again the case is 62 years old, and Justice Ginsburg was probably there when it decided the first time. [Josh Blackman's Blog] * Investment banks are seeing potential recruits running over to the tech industry. Law firms haven’t felt the same draw, mostly because you got a law degree because you suck at math and science. [Law and More] * It’s about time Wile E. Coyote fought for his rights against Acme’s wanton disregard for customer safety. [Pentagram] * An interview with Stephen Neal, the chairman of Cooley LLP, probing why Cooley is such a cool firm (evidenced by their #1 ranking in the ATL Insider Survey). [The Careerist] * There’s a proposed law in Wisconsin designed to get dads out of child support payments. I know this may come as a shock, but it was written by a millionaire who doesn’t want to pay his court-ordered child support. [Jezebel] * Well, we suggested the NFL concussion settlement was a bum deal the other day, and apparently Judge Anita Brody agrees, halting the deal. [Bleacher Report]
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How Long Do You Have To Keep Supporting Your Child?
College could mean that your child support costs are just beginning.
Court Orders Baby’s Name Changed From ‘Messiah’ Because It’s The South
Religious zealotry shows up in chancery court, ordering a name change based on a complete lack of legal and religious understanding.
Morning Docket: 03.08.12
* Lawyers at this Biglaw firm may learn a thing or two about respecting their elders later this week. Kelley Drye is close to settling an age discrimination suit filed by Eugene D’Ablemont, one of its many de-equitized partners. [Wall Street Journal] * Well, this could definitely be one of the reasons why Cravath hasn’t given out any spring bonuses to associates yet this year. They probably had to spend all of their money to clean up their allegedly fly-infested cafeteria. [Am Law Daily] * Women in Virginia will now be able to politely decline their pre-abortion transvaginal ultrasounds in favor of abdominal ones. Oh, how nice! Look at that, girls, we totally won the war on women. [CBS News] * Things Dharun Ravi texted to Tyler Clementi on the night the latter committed suicide? “I’ve known you were gay and I have no problem with it.” Of course you knew, you watched his sexual encounters via webcam. [CNN] * According to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, this equation makes sense: donor sperm + donor eggs + an estranged wife + consent to post-separation IVF = a child support obligation. [Boston Globe]
Size Matters: From Tragedy to Triumph Isn’t Just a Theme in Lifetime Movies (Just Ask Casey Greenfield)
Earlier this month, Casey Greenfield, known for her personal battle with child support issues, and Scott Labby, a fellow graduate of Yale Law School, formed the firm Greenfield Labby LLP. The firm's mission is to serve individual clients "with a focus on family and matrimonial practice, strategic planning and crisis management." Valerie Katz had the opportunity to interview them both....
How LexisNexis State Net Uses Gen AI To Tame Gov’t Data
Its new features transform how you can track and analyze the more than 200,000 bills, regulations, and other measures set to be introduced this year.
Quote of the Day: He’s Buying a Stairway to Heaven?
You take my … money you better get a federal law agency like the F.B.I. on the case. You will hear about me and read about me. I promise that. — Roy Lee Conger Jr., complaining about a lien placed on one of his bank accounts after his divorce train wreck. Conger had been involved […]
Gay People: Are You Sure You Want to Get Married?
How is everybody doing this day after bigotry was dealt a setback? Based on an Above the Law reader poll, about 80 percent of you think that Chief Judge Vaughn Walker (N.D. Cal.) did the right thing when he struck down California’s Proposition 8. So gay people in California may soon be able to engage […]
Staff Layoff Watch: Dewey Cuts 30 Administrative Staff
The pace of law firm layoffs has apparently slowed to a crawl. We’ll go weeks between job losses at large law firms (that we know of). But, here and there, some people are still getting pushed out as firms retool for the new economy. Sadly, legal secretaries at Dewey & LeBoeuf became the latest casualties […]