Crime

* Could it be? Could she really do such a thing? Rumor has it that Amal Clooney may be quitting her law firm job at Doughty Street Chambers to become a fashion designer for the likes of fashion house Oscar de la Renta. We may have more on this later today. [Inquisitr]

* Maryland’s AG intends to contest a ruling granting “Serial” podcast subject Adnan Syed a new trial, saying that the state would “defend what it believes is a valid conviction.” Syed has been servicing a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee since 2000. [Baltimore Sun]

* Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be behind bars for a 15-month term for attempting to conceal secret payments to his underage sexual assault victims in a cover-up scheme, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to fight a lawsuit seeking the full $3.5 million he allegedly said he would pay to buy a victim’s silence. [Chicago Tribune]

* Vermont Law School, which was hit relatively hard by the recession in terms of its ability to fill its seats, has applied for a $15 million loan from the federal government to help restructure its debts. Unlike what its students face in terms of their debt, the law school may be able to get a good interest rate upon approval. [VTDigger / Valley News]

* “[A]ttempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.” Congratulations (or perhaps condolences?) digital currency aficionados, because a judge just ruled that Bitcoin isn’t money for the purposes of money-laundering statutes. [WSJ Law Blog]

* If Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump wins the election, he may be the first president-elect to be standing trial for fraud prior to taking the oath of office. Judge Gonzalo Curiel has tentatively refused to dismiss one of the two pending Trump University cases, saying plaintiffs had met requirements for the case to move forward for a jury to decide whether Trump “participated in a scheme to defraud” students. [San Diego Union-Tribune]

* After being served with a class-action suit alleging she rigged the Democratic primaries and the release of emails in the latest Guccifer hack showing her favoritism for Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is resigning as the Democratic National Committee’s chair after this week’s convention. [CNN; Observer]

* Five senators, including Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), have introduced the Student Loan Tax Relief Act, which would exempt forgiven loans from being taxed as income. Law school grads on IBR, ICR, or PAYE should pray this bill is passed. [Forbes]

* In an announcement made before markets opened, Verizon said it would be purchasing Yahoo for $4.83B. It’s rumored that Faiza Saeed, Cravath’s incoming presiding partner — who was appointed to a committee to explore Yahoo’s sale — was the driving force behind the deal, which is expected to close in early 2017. [Reuters; Big Law Business]

* Law firms are apparently in a “weak spot” when it comes to the detection of money laundering operations. That may be how Shearman & Sterling got mixed up with an alleged Malaysian plot to siphon funds from its trust account to purchase luxury items in a scheme that’s turned into an attempted $1B DOJ asset forfeiture. [WSJ Law Blog]

* It’s been exactly two years since FSU Law Professor Dan Markel was killed in an alleged murder-for-hire plot. He was locked in child-custody litigation with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, until the time of his death, and it is that litigation that is the suspected motive for his violent slaying. The Adelsons’ attorney suggests instead that perhaps some FSU students “had it in for [their] law professor.” [Sun Sentinel]

* In an effort to ensure criminal defendants receive competent representation, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced the Clarence Gideon Full Access to Justice Act, which would create the Defender Office for Supreme Court Advocacy. Per Justice Elena Kagan, a program like this would be an “enormous help to the system.” [Big Law Business]

* Husch Blackwell and Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek have officially completed their merger, and the combined firm, which will continue to be known as Husch Blackwell, has more than 700 lawyers. Now that the books are closed on the merger, maybe the firm will have time bring its associate salaries to market — or not. [Journal Sentinel]

* The recent outcome of the Microsoft data privacy case is a great example of what can happen when the law can no longer keep up with technology. Perhaps Congress will be inspired to update these old laws related to digital information that were first created when email was still considered a nascent technology. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Is getting a law degree still lucrative? Probably not, but despite the lawyer glut and fewer job opportunities for law school grads, there still exists a need for legal representation among the poor and working class. You may not be able to make a lot of money this way, but you may be able to help close the justice gap. [Clarion Ledger]

* In case you haven’t been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Duval & Stachenfeld; Seyfarth Shaw; and Foley & Lardner. If you’re worried you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]

* Lawyers are “the best-paid writers in the world,” so grammar god Bryan Garner suggests they emulate one of the greatest language snoots of them all: the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Garner identifies with Scalia’s textualism because “[he] believe[s] that words have meaning, and that we should take them seriously.” [Wall Street Journal]

* According to constitutional law scholar Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of UC Irvine Law, SCOTUS may be at a turning point since the next president will likely be able nominate up to four justices. “Whether you see yourself as conservative or liberal … this affects all of us, our most intimate and important aspects of our lives.” [Los Angeles Times]

* Lawyers for Led Zeppelin are seeking about $800K in costs and legal fees for their defense of the seminal rock band in the “Stairway to Heaven” copyright infringement suit. Peter Anderson, the band’s lead counsel in the case, claims that his $330 per hour rate is “actually below” the going rate for this caliber of high-profile work. [Ars Technica]

* Venezuelan authorities have arrested a woman connected to Mossack Fonseca, the firm at the center of the Panama Papers scandal, for allegedly being “in charge of seeking customers to invest illicit funds in outsourcing-type business arrangements.” She’s been charged with illegally obtaining funds in violation of banking regulations. [Reuters]

* Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius may recently have been sentenced to six years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend, but according to South African legal analysts, he’ll be eligible for parole in just three years, and will most likely be freed from behind bars at that time, despite his murder conviction. [ABC News]

* DLA Piper partner Brian Pendleton has been fined $10K for violating a court order related to interfering with witnesses and then lying about it. DLA Piper has also been ordered to pay all of opposing counsel’s attorney fees and costs thanks to its errant partner’s behavior. The firm, of course, “respectfully disagree[s]” with the judge. [New York Law Journal via ABA Journal]

* FBI Director James Comey is being “praised” and “slammed” at the same time for his recommendation that no criminal charges be brought against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over her emails. In the meantime, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that the case had been closed. [WSJ Law Blog; CNN]

* Law firm mergers are coming fast and furious, with a total of 48 combinations announced since the beginning of 2016. “Small firms are increasingly vulnerable in the current market,” and last year’s number of mergers (91) could be exceeded by year’s end as many smaller firms struggle to stay in business. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Not only is Adnan Syed, the subject of the first season of the popular Serial podcast, getting a new trial, but he’s also got some brand new Biglaw attorneys representing him. Lawyers from Hogan Lovells, including the head of the firm’s pro bono practice and the managing partner of its Baltimore office, will now be involved. [Big Law Business]