Environment / Environmental Law

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.06.16

* "I find it highly amusing and somewhat heartening to know that Donald Trump is indirectly subsidizing the defense of undocumented immigrants." Jones Day may be representing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, but the firm is also fighting for the rights of more than 100,000 undocumented refugees, all of whom Trump would likely want to see deported if he were to be elected as president in November. [Yahoo!] * Believe it or not, but Donald Trump's political career in the Republican Party closely tracks that of a Biglaw legend of the bar. In 1940, Wendell Willkie of Willkie Farr & Gallagher fame was an outsider presidential candidate with absolutely no public service experience to his name -- just like Trump. Willkie later went on to lose the election, and only time will tell if Trump will suffer a similar fate in Election 2016. [Big Law Business] * Professors at George Mason University have demanded that the law school's renaming to honor the late Antonin Scalia be delayed until school leaders answer their questions about the funding of scholarship monies being tied to the ongoing service of the current dean, but according to law school senior associate dean David Rehr, "[e]ven with this action, we are moving forward ... and expect a favorable resolution." [Washington Post] * After receiving the largest gift in its history, Pace Law has been renamed in honor of an environmentalist, and will now be known as the Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law. The donors do not want the amount of their gift to be disclosed, but Pace says it's comparable to the $30 million and $25 million gifts George Mason and Villanova respectively received for their recent name changes. Congratulations! [WSJ Law Blog] * The trial between Sumner Redstone and Manuela Herzer over the media mogul's mental competence is slated to begin today and will last for a week. With lurid allegations about the 92-year-old's supposed sexual proclivities, his penchant for eating steak through a feeding tube, as well as his incontinence, this is sure to be an incredibly salacious matter that will play out in the public eye. [DealBook / New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
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By Barbri
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.06.15

* Cops arrest a stormtrooper in Massachusetts. See, J.J. Abrams! This is what happens when you have a black stormtrooper. [Lowering the Bar] * Litigation finance crosses a new threshold: Gerchen Keller announces that it now has $1.4 billion in assets. [Am Law Daily] * Understanding how humans cocoon makes you a better lawyer. But cocoons apparently can't cure Wilford Brimley's "dia-beet-us." [Katz Justice] * Deep look at Rob Billot whose career as a corporate lawyer took a wild turn when he decided to take on DuPont for the last 16 years. [New York Times Magazine] * The law of using submarines to spy. That damn caterpillar drive again. [Lawfare] * Are you going to San Diego ComicCon? Are you willing to cosplay to participate in a mock trial? These folks want to talk with you. [The Legal Geeks] * Americans lost their minds -- one way or the other -- over President Obama's tears yesterday, but they're a well-established part of advocacy to be handled lightly. Or you could just bawl over everything and see if that works. [Law and More] * Let's check in at the AALS Conference. Yep, everything seems perfectly normal over there... CYEMetCUkAAh5b- That's the CALI.org booth if you're visiting the show (photo grabbed off Twitter).

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.05.16

* If you haven't been watching Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, then you're missing Dean Strang's turn on the catwalk. The compassionate defense attorney has turned into an "unlikely sex symbol." Are you part of the #StrangGang? [The Guardian] * Sometime later today, President Barack Obama will announce a sweeping package of executive actions related to gun restrictions. Stay tuned, grab your popcorn, and get ready for some hardcore constitutional litigation. [Washington Post] * Happy New Year! We're not even a full week into 2016, and the first Biglaw merger has already been announced. Lewis Roca Rothgerber has picked up Christie Parker & Hale, a 40-lawyer Southern California IP boutique. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Hipsters, thou shall be avenged sevenfold: The Justice Department has filed suit against Volkswagen in the wake of the automaker's massive emissions scandal. The DOJ is seeking billions in damages over VW's air-pollution violations. [New York Times] * According to Ethan Couch's lawyer, it may be weeks or months before the affluenza teen returns to the United States. A judge issued a temporary stay in his case after Couch argued that being deported from Mexico would somehow violate his civil rights. [CNN] * Robert Wonsch, an Oklahoma process server, was arrested after allegedly coercing his female clients into performing sex acts in exchange for lowering his fees. He's now facing several criminal counts. Good Lord, talk about ineffective service of process... [Reuters] * Dale Bumpers, President Clinton's impeachment defense lawyer, RIP. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.11.15

* Lindsay Lohan is heading back to community service. This time someone decided the party girl should be helping out at a preschool. She's apparently working down the block from me so I'll keep my eyes out. [Jezebel] * Exploring the labor issues involved in ESPN's hasty and petty considered decision to fire Bill Simmons because he is willing to speak honestly about Roger Goodell. [PrawfsBlawg] * Whoa. Vermont State Senator arrested late last week accused of raping three women. One of the alleged victims was a 15-year-old intern at the time. And then the court released the victims' contact information in direct violation of a judge's order. [VT Digger] * Next time you're in Yellowstone, be careful what you do with your photos: Wyoming just made it illegal to give them to a government agency lest they use the photos to figure out how badly Wyoming is poisoning the environment. Rationality! [Slate] * Bernardo Roman III, who had earned more than a little ire for his representation of the Miccosukee Tribe has, apparently, gotten canned. [South Florida Lawyers] * Meanwhile, Native Americans are both underrepresented and ignored in the profession. [The National Law Journal] * Staci spoke with Nicole Abboud about Women in the Law. [The Gen Why Lawyer] * Shearman partner Richard Hsu chats with Nathan Sawaya, the attorney who left it behind to become The Lego Brick Artist. [Hsu Untied]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.22.15

* Oh no you didn't. Benchslap comes down on firm who tried to squeeze words together and tighten spaces to stay within page limits. [How Appealing] * "Five Charts That Show You Should Apply to Law School This Year." Slightly less educational than the 30 Cats That Are More Badass Than You. [Bloomberg Business] * In fact, law schools are really almost indistinguishable from the show Community. Funny but not quite as funny as 4 years ago? Well, maybe that too. [The Legal Watchdog] * I'll just leave this as a prompt for your own short fiction: "Lexington woman being strangled with bra fights off attacker with ceramic chicken"... [WKYT] * Following on Alex Rich's post about the "blame game" in eDiscovery, the problem goes well beyond that industry -- even if it's the most recent manifestation. [Law and More] * Do you know your Earth Day history? Like which lawyer turned Senator founded the occasion? [What About Clients?]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.16.15

* Authorities have cleared the robot built specifically to buy illegal stuff off the dark web. In related news, officer, all that panda meat was bought by my robot... for an art project. [Hopes and Fears] * The Biglaw pup who posted an anti-West, pro-Islamist rant on YouTube continues to be a headache for Clifford Chance. [Legal Cheek] * Laurence Tribe's arguments are getting closer and closer to Homer Simpson's. [Lawyers, Guns & Money] * In case you weren't counting, there've been 95 Senate roll call votes while Loretta Lynch has been waiting... [People For The American Way] * Lawyer suspended for handing out ecstasy to drug women into sex. I don't disagree with the outcome, but there's one pretty troubling aspect of the opinion: "The OLR noted... that his victim was much younger." She was 22! At a certain point can we just admit women are adults? Focus on the drugging predatory behavior instead of constructing her as an addled-brained ingenue. [Legal Profession Blog] * Daredevil's courtroom antics evaluated by New York Judge Matthew Sciarrino. [The Legal Geeks] * If you're interested in the legal landscape of marijuana, here's a cool infographic summing up where we are and how we got here. [Diego Criminal Defense] * If you're interested in February bar exam results from across the country, Bar Exam Stats is keeping a running tally complete with a nice map. [Bar Exam Stats] * Former Facebook GC Ted Ullyot has joined VC firm Andreessen Horowitz to lead a new policy and regulatory affairs group in the firm. [Dealbreaker; TechCrunch]

By Joe Patrice