Class Sizes

Morning Docket: 10.11.19

* "I don't know them, I don't know about them, I don't know what they do. I don't know, maybe they were clients of Rudy's. You'd have to ask Rudy." President Trump is trying his hardest to distance himself from Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani’s recently arrested associates. He may have been in pictures with them, though, and his son might have as well. Oopsie. [The Hill] * "Together, we will blow our whistles against Barr, President Trump, and their enablers in Congress." AG Bill Barr is scheduled to speak today at Notre Dame Law on "religious freedom," and protesters are expected to be there, where they'll literally be blowing whistles. [South Bend Tribune] * Years after his brutal murder, the Dan Markel case is finally in the hands of a jury. Luis Rivera has already taken a deal, but will Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia be found guilty? [Tallahassee Democrat] * Minnesota Law is celebrating its largest first-year class in about a decade. The school, which is ranked 20th by U.S. News now has reliable employment statistics for graduates, has been recovering from the recession's effects on law school enrollment. [Minnesota Daily] * In case you missed it, Kim Kardashian West is trying to help Brendan Dassey of "Making a Murderer" in his quest to receive clemency from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. Per Gov. Evers, "Brendan's case will be given the same thoughtful review and consideration as any other case." [Esquire] * Sign up here if you’d like to take part in a conversation between best-selling author John Grisham and former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara (S.D.N.Y.). I’ll be there to cover the event for Above the Law, and I hope to see you there. [TimesTalks]

Morning Docket: 09.04.19

* Just in case no one saw this one coming, LeClairRyan has filed for bankruptcy. The firm owes $15 million to two secured creditors. [American Lawyer] * Like it or not, the next recession is coming: Some law firms will struggle more than others, and "once this party ends, its going to end very quickly and it’s going to end very severely." [Big Law Business] * What's wrong with the bar exam? This is what the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ Testing Task Force is taking its sweet time trying to figure out. [Law.com] * Law school classes come in all sizes, but you may want to think about how yours will affect the attention you'll receive, your social life, your networking opportunities, and most importantly, your ranking. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News] * Thank u, next? Pop star Ariana Grande has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Forever 21 after the store allegedly hired a look-alike model for a social media campaign, rather than Grande herself. [THR, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter]

Morning Docket: 12.27.17

* Is SCOTUS walking back its landmark commitment to equal rights for the LGBTQ community? Considering what could happen in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case and the high court's refusal to grant cert in Pidgeon, it seems like it. It's not as if this hasn't happened before. ::coughBrownvBoardcough:: [New Republic] * A federal judge ruled that an American ISIS suspect who's been detained as a "enemy combatant" in Iraq for the last three months is, in fact, entitled to a lawyer, and called the Trump administration's quest to deny counsel in this case "both remarkable and troubling." [New York Times] * Everything really is bigger in Texas: According to the ABA, there are just 0.8 percent more first-year law students this year than last year, but entering classes at law schools in the Lone Star State were 4 percent larger than they were last year. Hopefully all these students will be able to lasso themselves jobs. [Texas Lawyer] * Lawsuits have been rolling out ever since Apple admitted that it was slowing down iPhones with older batteries, and one of them was filed by two students who currently attend USC Law and hope to get the suit certified as a class-action. This is an absolutely awesome use of winter break. [RT] * Which states are likely to legalize marijuana in the new year? Vermont, New Jersey, and Michigan may soon end their prohibitions on cannabis, either through legislative means or by puff-puff-passing a voter referendum. [Forbes] * If you're a journalist with three years of experience and cover the legal profession in your reporting, consider applying to be a fellow at Loyola Law School's annual Journalist Law School. There is no cost to attend. The application deadline is February 9, 2018. [Journalist Law School] * Judge Thomas Griesa, the Southern District of New York jurist who oversaw the Argentine debt battle in federal court, RIP. [New York Law Journal]

Morning Docket: 12.11.17

* Sitting en banc, the Seventh Circuit reinstated the conviction of Making a Murderer's Brendan Dassey in a split decision. If you recall, Dassey's conviction was overturned by a federal magistrate in June 2016, and that ruling was later affirmed by a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit this June. [ABA Journal] * Dean Blake Morant says GW Law enrolled a smaller incoming class this fall in order to stop its downward slide in the U.S. News rankings. Because of the smaller class, some programs are being cut and there's a freeze on staff hiring. Yikes. [GW Hatchet] * What is special counsel Robert Mueller's legal endgame in this Russia probe? Some think that this could turn into an obstruction of justice case, while others think this could turn into a conspiracy case. What'll it be? This investigation has no end in sight, so we'll have to wait a bit longer to find out. [NPR] * Kevin McIntyre, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's new chairman, has given us a little $1.8 million peek into the Jones Day black box in his financial disclosure. [National Law Journal] * The legal profession had something to be thankful for this November: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector grew by 600 jobs. [American Lawyer]

Law School Welcomes Its Tiniest Class Ever

This law school is trying to change for the better.

Morning Docket: 05.13.16

* "Congress is the only source for such an appropriation, and no public money can be spent without one." The House was successful in its suit over the improper funding of an Obamacare subsidy program, but this victory may serve as a setback to those who have come to rely upon it. You can expect the Obama administration to appeal. [POLITICO] * The Ninth Circuit will allow attorneys who secured a victory in the Stetson BARBRI antitrust case to get a second chance to score the nearly $2M in attorneys fees they originally requested before Judge Manuel Real shot them down. Due to his prior "erroneous findings and conclusions," the Ninth Circuit has essentially removed Judge Real from the case. [Courthouse News Service] * “People are turned off on legal education because of a lack of suitable paying jobs." Even while facing a dearth of applicants, Minnesota Law has decided to scale back on the size of its first-year class -- taking in less of the tuition income that it needs to survive -- in order to preserve its standing as a top law school. [DealBook / New York Times] * Former partners of the dearly departed Dickstein Shapiro will no longer have to worry about that $8.4 million sublease lawsuit filed by Sullivan & Worcester after they left the firm's New York office to lateral en masse to Blank Rome. Both sides have amicably resolved their dispute, but we wonder how much it cost to do so. [Big Law Business] * A grand jury has upgraded the charges against Ryan Petersen, the man alleged to have shot 23-year-old law firm clerk Chase Passauer to death in his office chair. Peterson had been charged with second-degree murder in Passauer's death, but now faces a charge of premeditated first-degree murder for the commission of the crime. [Star Tribune]