Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.15.19

* President Trump had a hell of weekend on Twitter, where he implied that Democractic Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley -- all women of color -- weren't American citizens and told them to "go back" to their home countries. [CNN] * Federal prosecutors have now accused Jeffrey Epstein of witness tampering, alleging that the sex-trafficking defendant paid out six figures to buy the silence of those who could testify against him. [New York Times] * Speaking of people related to Alex Acosta's resignation as labor chief, Patrick Pizzella, formerly of K&L Gates legacy firm Preston Gates Ellis, an associate of Jack Abramoff who notably wasn't charged and convicted of corruption, has been named as acting labor secretary. [Big Law Business] * The D.C. Circuit didn't really seem all that receptive to Trump's attempts to block Congress from subpoenaing records from one of his accounting firms. Picture Judge Patricia Millett asking this with a raised brow: "When it comes to a president’s conflict of interest, there’s nothing Congress can do ... to protect the people of the United States?" [Washington Post] * How did Justice Clarence Thomas go from being a "Black Panther type" in law school to being the Supreme Court's "conservative beacon"? [NPR] * According to Citi Private Bank, law firm leaders are feeling a little less confident about the second half of the year, but no one is expecting a recession just yet. In fact, they seem downright "optimistic" about the rest of 2019. Yay! [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.11.19

* “We take the allegations against Justin very seriously.” Justin Fairfax, the lieutenant governor of Virginia who’s embroiled in a sexual assault scandal, has taken a leave of absence from Morrison & Foerster, where he’s a partner, as the firm itself conducts its own investigation into the allegations. [National Law Journal] * High revenue and even higher demand resulted in law firms posting their best results since just before the recession, with Am Law 50 and niche/boutique firms outperforming the rest of their industry counterparts. Unfortunately, all of this good news could come to an end in 2020... [American Lawyer] * Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a former partner partner at Dorsey & Whitney and Gray Plant Mooty, has officially announced her candidacy for president, making her the fifth major player who’s a lawyer to join the Democratic race for 2020. [POLITICO] * Thanks to the PBS show “Finding Your Roots,” Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently learned that he’s not the only lawyer in his family. The show helped him discover that his third great grandfather — a 1786 law graduate of the University of Granada — graduated 210 years before he graduated from Miami Law. [Tampa Bay Times] * “This should be up to the highest court in the land. And she should stay out of jail until this case runs it course.” A lawyer for Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts woman who was convicted for involuntary manslaughter in her friend’s suicide-by-text, has vowed to take her case to the Supreme Court. [Boston Herald]

By Staci Zaretsky