Email Scandals

* “Absent a showing that the requested enforcement action could not shake loose a few more emails, the case is not moot.” Because 2016 isn’t over yet and we love kicking horses thought to be dead, the D.C. Circuit has revived a legal challenge regarding Hillary Clinton’s private email server that was once considered to be moot. [Reuters]

* The Supreme Court may be taking a turn to the conservative side come 2017, but not immediately. It’s expected that shortly after his inauguration, President Trump will announce his nominee in either late January or early February, with confirmation hearings held in March, and a vote sometime in April. By the time a new justice is sworn in, there will be just a few days left of oral arguments for the current Term. [NPR]

* “This case of cyber meets securities fraud should serve as a wake-up call for law firms around the world.” Three Chinese hackers have been charged with breaking into the servers of several Biglaw firms — firms like Cravath and Weil Gotshal — to illegally trade on stolen information. They made more than $4 million, but only one of them has been arrested thus far and is awaiting extradition to the United States. [Bloomberg]

* “Providing a profit motive to make arrests gives officers an incentive to make improper arrests.” In counties across the country, those who are arrested must pay “booking fees,” regardless of whether or not they are found guilty of their crimes. Two cases regarding these fees will soon be heard by the Supreme Court in early 2017, and one county was so brazen that it didn’t even bother to submit a brief in opposition. [New York Times]

* If you’re applying to law school, you may be wondering how you can make the strongest argument for your acceptance in your application. Focus on your essays and make sure that you provide compelling examples of the type of person you are and your career goals. If you can sway just one person on the admissions committee to give you a chance, then you might soon find an acceptance letter with your name on it. [U.S. News]

* Brad Pitt filed a motion to seal the details of his custody arrangement with Angelia Jolie to protect his children’s privacy, but a judge has rejected the actor’s request. A lawyer for Jolie had this to say: “His … request is a thinly veiled attempt to shield himself, rather than the minor children, from public view.” Ouch. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* CHECK YOU EMAILS OFTEN, PARTNERS! Several Biglaw firms — including Cravath and Weil Gotshal — were hit by data breaches over the course of last year, and it’s now been confirmed that those data breaches were carried out by Chinese operatives who were successful in stealing about seven gigabytes of data by hacking their way into partners’ email accounts. [Fortune]

* Each December, Jeffrey Toobin creates a “semi-accurate, semi-serious” list of his predictions for the top legal stories for the coming year. Perhaps most notably, Toobin predicts President Donald Trump will appoint Judge Diane Sykes of the Seventh Circuit to the Supreme Court as the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s replacement. [New Yorker]

* Which is more prestigious, a judicial clerkship or a first-of-its-kind Capitol Hill clerkship? Earlier this week, four senators introduced a bill to create a dozen yearlong Congressional clerkships for recent law school graduates. The bill would allow law school graduates to “spend a formative year in the legislative branch.” [National Law Journal]

* Per the most recent Corporate Equity Index survey released by the Human Rights Campaign, more Biglaw firms are doing well when it comes to protecting their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees. One hundred and twelve firms earned perfect scores for their inclusive policies in the survey, up from 95 last year. [Am Law Daily]

Ed. note: As mentioned on Wednesday, we will be publishing today, but at a reduced level. We’ll be back in full force on Monday. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

* President-elect Donald Trump will likely pick a lawyer as his nominee for Secretary of State: Rudy Giuliani (NYU Law ’68) or Mitt Romney (Harvard Law ’75). [New York Times]

* Where do broken hearts go? Some precedents for Chief Judge Merrick Garland to follow from unsuccessful Supreme Court nominees. [Associated Press via How Appealing]

* A pre-Thanksgiving ruling from the Florida Supreme Court that gave one prisoner something to be grateful for could signal more upheaval to come in the nation’s second largest death row. [BuzzFeed]

* Three more judges participated in Pennsylvania’s “Porngate” email exchanges — but it seems that Bruce Beemer, the state’s new attorney general, won’t be naming names. [ABA Journal]

* What does the future hold for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and its chief, Chicago Law grad and former SCOTUS clerk Richard Cordray? [New York Times]

* It’s not just a plot line from Suits: Reginald Taylor, accused of posing as a lawyer by stealing an attorney’s bar number, apparently delivered decent results for his clients. [The Daily Beast]

* Don’t mess with (federal judges from) Texas, Mr. President; Judge Amos Mazzant, who blocked President Obama’s proposed extension of overtime pay, isn’t the first Lone Star jurist to cause problems for the Obama Administration. [New York Times via How Appealing]

* Thinking of hitting the movies over the long weekend? Tony Mauro shares our own Harry Graff’s enthusiasm for Loving. [National Law Journal]

* There are many questions, but no answers, as Judge Merrick Garland’s “final reckoning” approaches. His nomination will die if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is elected, but would he be confirmed in a lame-duck session if Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wins? In that case, if Senate Republicans refuse to confirm him after the election, will Clinton re-nominate him after she’s sworn in? Will he ever receive a hearing? Someone please help this poor man. [Reuters]

* With apologies to Judge Garland, the only thing that seems to remain certain is that Senate Republicans are firm in their stance that they’ll continue to prevent the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court from being filled. Senator John McCain, for example, asked supporters to re-elect him so he can assist his GOP brethren in “prevent[ing] that four-to-four split from tilting to the left.” [Huffington Post]

* According to FBI director James Comey, after review of additional emails found in an unrelated investigation into Anthony Weiner, there’s still no evidence that Hillary Clinton should face any criminal charges over the handling of her email communications while she was Secretary of State. Voters can breathe a little easier now, because there will be no indictments coming for the Democratic presidential nominee. [New York Times]

* Chadbourne & Parke has finally responded to partner Kerrie Campbell’s $100M gender discrimination suit, and the firm didn’t pull any punches, alleging that her practice area was a “poor fit” for the firm, that she “exhibited questionable legal judgment,” and that its decision to ask her to leave was for “entirely legitimate and proper business reasons and without a scintilla of consideration being given to her gender.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* “No purpose will be served by letting him rot in prison for years on end.” Judge Jed Rakoff, a longtime critic of federal sentencing guidelines, has sentenced Harvard Law School graduate-cum-Ponzi schemer Andrew Caspersen to four years in prison for his $38.5M fraud, even though prosecutors sought almost 16 years of time behind bars for his financial crimes — a proposition which Rakoff referred to as “absurd.” [Reuters]

* E. Barrett Prettyman Jr., founder of the first appellate practice, RIP. [Hogan Lovells]

* Janet Reno, first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, RIP. [New York Times]