David Messerschmitt

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.21.15

* Due to the speed at which she was driving, Caitlyn Jenner could face a vehicular manslaughter charge related to the fatal chain-reaction car crash she was involved in earlier this year. The ESPY-winning celeb's fate is in the district attorney's hands now. [NBC News] * Surprise! David Sweat, one of the New York inmates who led authorities on a three-week manhunt after he escaped from prison in June, pleaded not guilty to felony escape charges at his arraignment. He'll likely get a few years added onto his life sentence if he's convicted. [Reuters] * Oh baby: Valeant is buying Sprout Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the "female Viagra," for a cool $1 billion. Skadden Arps and Sullivan & Cromwell, the firms repping the companies, must be turned on by the deal. [DealBook / New York Times; Am Law Daily] * Prosecutors in the David Messerschmitt case are seeking a 25-year sentence for Jamyra Gallmon, the woman who stabbed the DLA Piper associate in a robbery-gone-wrong and left him for dead in a D.C. hotel room. Her attorney is asking for 18 years. [Legal Times] * The Florida Bar is recommending disbarment for a group of attorneys accused of arranging a DUI arrest for a rival attorney during a high-profile trial. You've got to admit this set-up was a particularly bold move, even for Flori-duh lawyers. [Tampa Bay Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.06.15

* Hillary Clinton's email practices while Secretary of State "not acceptable." She promises not to do it while she's in the White House. [Politico] * What does a test prep professional have to say about New York adopting the Uniform Bar Exam? [Kaplan Bar Prep] * Going to school in the Midwest? Here's a ranking of the 42 Midwest law schools based on employment after graduation. [ChicagoInno] * The defendant who assaulted his lawyer -- while on trial for assaulting his previous lawyer -- is relieved after the court declared a mistrial. [ABA Journal] * Whether you dress up or dress down, remember to talk to people like people if you want to be a good lawyer. [Katz Justice] * Which occupation suffers from the most drug use/abuse? It's not lawyers!!!! [Treatment4Addiction] * ATL regulars Jeena Cho and Keith Lee discuss the aftermath of her recent article in this publication and along with it "professionalism in law, constructive vs. destructive criticism, sexism and racism in law." [The Anxious Lawyer / Resilient Lawyer Podcast] * We've talked about the David Messerschmitt case and the phenomenon of double lives. Fundamentally all of us maintain one on at least some level. [Law and More]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.28.15

* Trying Meredith Grey for wrongful death. Can we put her on How To Get Away With Murder and then have Hydra massacre them all in an all-purging ABC Network fire? [Lowenthal & Abrams] * If the Supreme Court dismisses a case as improvidently granted, it's a DIG. If they did it in the past, was it DUG? Professor Carissa Byrne Hessick ponders the linguistics that we'd never ever have considered. And that probably bodes well for us. [PrawfsBlawg] * Did you hear about that two-way mirror that a bar installed to watch the women's room? Police say no privacy rights were implicated, because apparently women understand that the bathroom door was unlocked so they expected guys to walk in on them. Stellar legal analysis. [Jezebel] * NYC moves into the 20th Century with its summons process. No, that's not a typo and yes, that's still a good thing. [LFC 360] * It's important to remember that the revelation that David Messerschmitt may have led a double life doesn't mean that it doesn't happen all the time. And we're not talking about a Matt Murdock-style double life here, which doesn't happen much. [Law and More] * Nice shout out to Lexis-Nexis Blog for getting into the content production game. [Forbes] * In the post-Jenner announcement world, here's what employers can do to help transgender employees. A good start would be "don't be Saks." [LXBN] * Interviewing people waiting in line for Supreme Court oral arguments and lamenting how much of their day is wasted because we can't have a goddamned camera in the room. [Fix the Court]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.09.15

* Police claim David Messerschmitt's killer stole only $40. [Washington Post] * Lil Wayne vs. Cash Money. Which is, apparently, not an in rem action. [FactMag] * What is the difference between confidence and arrogance? Obviously, I know the answer, but let's see if you can figure it out. [Corporette] * One angle I missed from today's news that a gunman attacked a courthouse in Milan is that this is life imitating art, eerily reminiscent of a plotline on The Good Wife. [Law and More] * Immigration attorney is a no-show at her sentencing for 13 felony theft counts for accepting fees and botching her work. You'd think she skipped the country except we know she sucks at immigration law. [ABA Journal] * Former president of the World Bank's LGBT employee organization is under investigation. He thinks this seems pretty suspicious. [Buzzfeed] * The Tsarnaev trial highlights the continuing stupidity of keeping cameras out of the courtroom. [Vanity Fair] * Another installment of "Roberts at 10," looking at his 10 years as chief. What's his legacy on LGBT rights? Well, unsurprisingly, we're not going to know for sure for a couple months. [Constitutional Accountability Center] * A new study reveals that judges are less ideologically biased than law students. Again, it's not that judges are less firm in their ideology, it's that they've learned to pick their battles. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.26.15

* If you thought Squire Patton Boggs would be able to meet its projection of $1 billion in combined revenue after its merger, you'd be wrong. If you thought the firm would be able to meet its projection of having more than 1,500 lawyers after its merger, you'd also be wrong. [National Law Journal] * Use this slideshow to compare how California law schools are doing in terms of job placement. Stanford was on top, and Golden Gate was dead last. Bonus: If you strip out school-funded jobs, the numbers look even worse. [Sacramento Business Journal] * Uh... oops? Keila Ravelo, the ex-Willkie Farr partner who was accused of stealing millions of dollars from two of her former firms, is now at the center of questions over settlements in credit-card cases she worked on. [New York Law Journal via ABA Journal] * "Please help us heal." David Messerschmitt's widow is begging for information about the DLA Piper associate's death. The case is being actively investigated, and police believe the person of interest who was seen on surveillance footage is a woman. [Legal Times] * In case you missed it yesterday, U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The first charge could result in up to five years in jail, while the second could result in a life sentence. Yikes! [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.11.15

* As we mentioned, U.S. News is giving law schools less credit for hiring their own grads. Rumor has it that a few schools would've done better in the rankings but for their high percentage of school-funded jobs. Which ones? [WSJ Law Blog] * Two students in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity from Oklahoma University were expelled after a video of their racist chanting was leaked online. Lawyers want to know: was their expulsion a First Amendment violation? [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * UC Irvine Law debuted on the 2016 U.S. News law school rankings at No. 30, missing Dean Erwin Chemerinsky's goal of starting out as a Top 20 school. Not to worry, Dean, there are still ways to game the rankings. Keep your head up! [National Law Journal] * Don't bother delaying your law school education just because the economy's bad. The professors who told us that a law degree is worth $1 million think that its value will only drop by about $30K in times when unemployment is high. Yeah, okay. [ABA Journal] * The grisly murder of DLA Piper associate David Messerschmitt, who was found stabbed to death in a Washington, D.C., hotel, remains unsolved. Police are still searching for the "person of interest" who was seen on video from the hotel's security camera. [Legal Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.19.15

* "Let’s face it: There are some people here that will not vote for her unless she says what they want her to say, that the president committed an illegal act by these [immigration] executive orders." Loretta Lynch is having a tough time making Republican friends. [The Hill] * Some new details have been released on the investigation into DLA Piper associate David Messerschmitt's death. Per police records, he was stabbed in the back, and was found in his hotel room with "lubricant and condom" and an "enema." We'll have more on this development later today. [Legal Times] * The rankings are coming! THE RANKINGS ARE COMING! Rankings guru Bob Morse, the man who holds law school deans' jobs in his hands, says the 2016 U.S. News Law School Rankings will be out on March 10. [Morse Code / U.S. News & World Report] * A patent lawyer with Asperger's syndrome is suing Patterson & Sheridan for discrimination. In his suit, he claims that a prominent partner was allowed to continually harass him in a purported quest to drive him out. Ah, law firm life. [The Recorder] * The case against the ex-leaders of Dewey & LeBoeuf hinges on the testimony of the failed firm's former employees. Defense attorneys, of course, are trying to get things barred from admission -- including one defendant's link to a mob member. [New York Law Journal] * “We’re still in the same position we’ve been in. There’s progress, but things are moving at a snail’s pace.” As we mentioned earlier this week, according to NALP, the percentage of women associates in law firms is up... but not by much. [DealBook / New York Times] * One of the best law schools in the country will have a brand new dean come this summer. Congratulations to Theodore Ruger, a longtime law professor who will assume the deanship at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in July. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

By Staci Zaretsky