Democratic National Committee

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.19.16

* "Donald Ducks," the DNC's mascot that's being used to taunt Donald Trump for his undisclosed tax returns, bears a striking resemblance to Disney's Donald Duck, and people are starting to wonder: "Is Donald Ducks waddling over Disney's intellectual property rights?" [WSJ Law Blog] * The Third Circuit declined to re-seal excerpts of depositions in the Bill Cosby case where he admitted to giving women Quaaludes, but included in its opinion an interesting footnote calling out the district court judge's decision to unseal the records in the first place, saying its "public moralist rational" had "no basis in our jurisprudence," and that the term itself was "vague and undefined." [THR, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter] * This fall, Indiana Tech Law will welcome its largest class ever, with 55 students set to begin their legal studies next week. With only 15 students in its inaugural class, this huge jump in enrollment could possibly be due to the fact that the ABA gave the school a provisional rubber stamp (as it's wont to do) back in March. [Indiana Lawyer] * "There is a disconnect between what banks are doing and what consumers want," and what they want is the ability to sue. More and more big banks -- 72 percent of them, in fact -- are using mandatory binding arbitration clauses in their contracts to prevent customers from filing suit. Read the find print, people. [DealBook / New York Times] * "What if somebody gets injured on somebody else's property? Trip on a rock or get bitten by the neighbor's dog? There would be a whole host of responsible parties." A New York firm already filed a class-action suit against the company behind Pokemon Go, but this lawyer thinks there's a minefield of tort actions available to sue over. [Mlive.com]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.25.16

* 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]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.28.15

* The lawsuit the Bernie Sanders campaign filed against the Democratic National Committee is far from over. Will a "full investigation from top to bottom" reveal that the DNC was trying to burn the Bern in the polls? [Yahoo!] * It seems like the whole two-year law school gambit isn't working out as planned, but maybe that's because it hasn't been properly executed yet. Sorry, Northwestern, but we're really not sorry for saying that. [DealBook / New York Times] * DraftKings and FanDuel threw the challenge flag after Illinois AG Lisa Madigan declared that daily fantasy sports betting was illegal in her state. Gibson Dunn and Boies Schiller hope review of the play won't result in another "Fail Mary." [Chicago Tribune] * "I thought I was the only person who felt that way." Feeling left out at law school? USC Law is trying to make legal education a little less intimidating for students who are the first in their family to attend institutions of higher education. [Los Angeles Times] * iDamages: If you thought Apple liked gouging its customers, then you should see what it does to its adversaries. Samsung just paid the company more than $548 million in patent infringement damages, but Apple wants about $180 million more. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.21.15

* Nobody puts Bernie in the corner! The Democratic race for president has been a little more exciting ever since the Bernie Sanders campaign sued the Democratic National Committee over a data breach involving Hillary Clinton's voter information. [New York Times] * Everyone else and their mother has been disciplined in the Pennsylvania Porngate scandal -- except for AG Kathleen Kane's twin sister, prosecutor Ellen Granahan. Her emails were just as awful, but nothing's going to happen to her. Ain't nepotism grand? [Morning Call] * A few weeks ago, Dentons announced that it was interested in swallowing up two Latin American firms, and now a three-way merger has been approved. With 7,400 lawyers, Dentons will become an even bigger Biglaw behemoth. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * The house always wins? Before its sale to billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Review-Journal reporters were asked to investigate and write about a judge who may soon make a ruling adverse to his interests. [DealBook / New York Times] * Arkansas Law wants to dismiss Prof. Robert Steinbuch's suit over its admissions data. The school's defense essentially amounts to this: "Just because we accidentally gave you all that info last time doesn't mean we'll do it again now." [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

By Staci Zaretsky