Department of Education

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.30.17

* Former President Barack Obama has been called for jury duty in November, and unlike most Americans, he's not looking for a way to get out of serving. [ABC Chicago] * The pivot you're looking for is in another castle: Now that a grand jury's approved the first charges in the Russian collusion investigation and someone's about to be taken into custody, President Trump took to Twitter to demand that Hillary Clinton be investigated. [New York Times] * Paul Manafort is turning himself in. Surprise! (Is this really a surprise?) [CNN] * Like it or not, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is planning to be around for the long haul. Don't count on this "flaming feminist litigator" retiring any time soon. [The Hill] * Justice Don Willett of the Texas Supreme Court, the state's Tweeter Laureate, hasn't tweeted a single time since he was nominated to the Fifth Circuit. How long will this god-awful silence from everyone's favorite Twitter judge last? [Texas Lawyer] * So long, borrower-defense rule? Betsy DeVos is thinking about only partially forgiving loans for students who were defrauded by for-profit schools. [AP]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.25.17

* On Tuesday, a Major League Baseball game had fewer than 6,000 in attendance. At the same time, the Second Circuit has to grapple with the fact that we still give this sport an antitrust exemption. [Law360] * Justice William O'Neill of the Ohio Supreme Court took to Facebook to blast Cleveland Browns players for staging a silent, reverential protest of racial violence in America. With that, O'Neill successfully completes the first step in running for governor. [ABA Journal] * "How do you go from the sixth-largest media market to the 40th and call it a win?" Antitrust attorney James Quinn on the NFL's decision to move the Raiders to Las Vegas. [New York Law Journal] * The battle between the St. Louis Cardinals and an animal welfare organization has stepped up a notch. I promise there's non-sports legal news after the jump. [Deadspin] * Hilarity ensues when Jeff Flake holds a hearing on splitting the Ninth Circuit and the hard-core Trump people use it to troll him. [The Recorder] * Children conceived from frozen sperm can't get survivor benefits. Well, this is a wacky one. [Law.com] * Department of Education outlines the options available to Charlotte Law students. [Inside Higher Ed] * Ministry objects to SPLC "hate group" label issued over a history of staunch anti-LGBT activism. [Sun-Sentinel]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.02.17

* "We have a very crappy judicial system." Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit says the Supreme Court has far too few justices, and is calling for 10 more to be added to the high court's ranks, as he thinks the current arrangement on the bench is "[m]ediocre and highly politicized." Tell 'em how you really feel, Your Honor. [Chicago Tribune] * "This is deeply disturbing." The Justice Department's civil rights division is planning to sue colleges and universities that engage in "intentional race-based discrimination" in their affirmative action policies -- that is, discrimination against white applicants. Hmm, wasn't this recently before SCOTUS... twice? [New York Times] * RIP, billables: Microsoft wants to completely eliminate the billable hour by entering into alternative fee arrangements with all of the firms it works with in the future. Twelve Biglaw firms and one intellectual property firm will spearhead this movement as the company's strategic partners. [Big Law Business] * The Department of Education has filed a motion for summary judgment in a suit brought by the ABA over public service loan forgiveness, claiming that its forgiveness eligibility determinations won't be final until 10 years have passed and that any eligibility letters sent thus far are nonbinding and merely advisory. How comforting for law grads drowning in debt? [Law.com; ABA Journal] * The Senate has confirmed King & Spalding partner Christopher Wray as the new director of the FBI. During his hearings, Wray said he'd resign if he were ever asked to do something immoral or illegal, as his "commitment is to the rule of law, to the Constitution, to follow the facts wherever they may lead." [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.01.17

* The gaggle of Jones Day lawyers who joined the Trump administration received a blanket waiver from ethical rules because what's the point when there's no integrity left to protect? [National Law Journal] * The ABA is discussing a massive overhaul of its law school accreditation regime in order to appease critics from the Department of Education (at least the former DOE). Hey, DOE... we already solved this problem for you! [Law.com] * Historically the Silk Road connected China to Europe. According to the Second Circuit it connects Ross William Ulbricht to a life sentence. [Law360] * Because it wasn't big enough yet, Dentons opens an office in Myanmar. [Legal Week] * In-house counsel complain that they receive too much marketing material. But that's not stopping firms from piling on more, because in-house lawyers don't know what's good for them. [Am Law Daily] * George Mason students have filed a lawsuit accusing the school of violating public records law in an effort to obscure funding the school -- especially ASS Law -- may receive from the Koch brothers. [Courthouse News Service] * "Lawyer who killed lover’s dog blames being lone Jew at boarding school." I'm just going to leave this here. [NY Post]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.23.17

* Trump's reportedly close to selecting outside counsel. According to these reports, the top contenders are Robert Giuffra Jr., Marc Kasowitz, Theodore Olson and Reid Weingarten. [The Hill] * Speaking of Trump, he's asking the D.C. Circuit to delay a ruling on health care subsidies because throwing markets into chaos is the new normal. [NY Times] * Sessions suggests that sanctuary cities will lose Justice and Homeland Security funds if they don't affirmatively prove that they're deputizing themselves to federal immigration officials. That really puts in the proper perspective exactly how committed this guy is to actually keeping people safe from crime. [USA Today] * La La Anthony has hired a top-notch divorce lawyer. “Carmelo is still in denial and thinks he can fix his marriage.” Well, he still thinks he can fix the Knicks too so.... [Page Six] * Dorsey & Whitney is out and Proskauer is in, much to the judge's dismay. [Law360] * DOE releases some loan money to Charlotte Law students. [ABA Journal]

By Joe Patrice