Foley & Lardner

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.01.17

* "Nothing about recent events or any of these actions of the special counsel has altered the president’s determination to support the special counsel and fully cooperate and that is where we are," said White House lawyer Ty Cobb, twirling his mustache as he presumably wondered how to extricate himself from this situation. [Big Law Business] * An Akin Gump partner who initially refused to testify before the grand jury in Paul Manafort's case was ordered to do so under the "crime fraud" exception to attorney-client privilege. She's (understandably) not responding to media requests for comment at this time. She's already said her fair share. [National Law Journal] * The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary gave Eighth Circuit nominee Leonard Steven Grasz, who happens to be a Husch Blackwell partner, a "not qualified" rating because its members were concerned he wouldn't be able to follow precedent due to his "passionately-held social agenda." [ABA Journal] * Foley & Lardner is in merger talks with Gardere Wynne Sewell. Last we heard, the firm was in merger talks with New York boutique Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman. While the firm claims that a final decision on the merger hasn't been made yet, they've already set up a new website. That's probably just a coincidence. [Am Law Daily] * Speaking of mergers, the one between Womble Carlyle and Bond Dickinson is now official, and the combined firm, Womble Bond Dickinson, is now one of the world's 100 largest. More than 1,000 lawyers work for the new firm across 24 offices in the U.S. and U.K. As with most mergers, some layoffs could be ahead. [Chronicle Live]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.15.17

* "When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, they invoked our creator four times, because in America we don't worship government we worship God." Guess who was awarded an honorary law degree this weekend? It was none other that President Donald Trump, who delivered the commencement address at Liberty University on Saturday morning. [The Hill; TIME] * The Pink Ghetto (Partner Edition)? A Proskauer Rose partner has filed a $50M gender bias suit against the firm, claiming she was not only paid less than male colleagues, but that she was "overtly objectified based on her sex" when a fellow partner allegedly "made inappropriate comments regarding her appearance, body, clothing, or 'sexiness'" on numerous occasions. [Am Law Daily] * Tarra Simmons has quite the résumé: she's a convicted felon and former drug addict who also happens to be the recipient of a prized Skadden fellowship. Unfortunately, she may not be able to practice law thanks to a recommendation from the Washington State Bar Association’s Character and Fitness Board that she be denied bar admission. She plans to appeal. [Northwest Public Radio] * Walter "Chet" Little, a former Foley & Lardner partner, has been arrested on insider trading charges that stem from his time at the firm. Soon after finding out about the nature of the charges, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, his current firm, politely showed him the door. If convicted, Little will likely face quite the lengthy prison term and a fine of up to $5 million. Ouch. [WSJ Law Blog] * "There was never a question of whether I was going to go to law school or not. It was just when I was going to go...." Chris Carr, a former cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens, is set to graduate from GW Law School this weekend. He'll be taking the California bar exam this summer, but he recently accepted a job offer at an immigration law firm in Virginia. Congratulations! [Washington Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.26.17

* Can you hear me now? Modern marvels of technology like cellphones and other electronic devices are barred from the Supreme Court during oral arguments, but yesterday, justice was interrupted by the ringing of... a Justice's cellphone. Who was the culprit? The offending phone belonged to Justice Stephen Breyer. Oopsie! [AP] * After a week charged with sexual harassment allegations and the ouster of Bill O'Reilly, just when Fox News thought its troubles were over, a group of current and former employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the network alleging "abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination." The plaintiffs' lawyers got in this zinger of a statement: "When it comes to racial discrimination, 21st Century Fox has been operating as if it should be called 18th Century Fox." [DealBook / New York Times] * Ever since it dumped Eversheds, Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner has been out on the prowl for another merger partner, and it looks like the firm has finally found its ideal mate in New York boutique Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman. The whole thing seems to be a bit "incestuous" if you ask us. We'll have more on this later today. [Am Law Daily] * Ahead of his confirmation hearing todays, Makan Delrahim, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the antitrust division of the Department of Justice who's been called a "centrist nominee," has pledged to recuse himself from all matters involving his prior work as a lobbyist, including the merger between Anthem and Cigna. [Big Law Business] * At some firms, like Ballard Spahr, senior partners must "transition[] their practices" by age 60, but at other firms, like Cozen O'Connor, age is nothing but a number. "We have so many lawyers who are extremely productive and terrific lawyers and if they want to work well into their 70s, God bless 'em," says CEO Michael Heller. [Philly Inquirer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.10.15

* Freshly exonerated, the Dersh is going after his accusers in court. [The Telegraph] * A lawyer prays... [Mormon Cartoonist] * This gal got married 10 times. Simultaneously. To different dudes. That's mighty big of her. [New York Times] * Speaking of marriage, here's a profile of Doug Hallward-Driemeier of Ropes & Gray, half of the dynamic duo arguing for marriage equality this month. [BuzzFeed] * Today is also the anniversary of the argument in Loving v. Virginia. [Louisville Courier-Journal] * Judge gives pedophile a break claiming the girl -- who was THREE by the way -- caused her own rape. [Addicting Info] * Going to Coachella? Planning to get arrested? This is your website. [Arrested at Coachella] * Oakland is sad. We're talking about the baseball team specifically, but that sentence works generally. [The Legal Blitz] * Sad news: Foley & Lardner partner Marc Marotta, a basketball star who turned down the NBA to go to Harvard Law, has passed away at age 52. [Breitbart]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.24.15

* Justice Anthony Kennedy says that while the Supreme Court is trying to attract more minority law clerks, lower court judges have it easier because they can recruit from local schools. Some justices have an Ivy League addiction, and thus, a diversity problem. [Legal Times] * The next step in the confirmation process for Loretta Lynch, the lawyer who will someday be the first black woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, isn't likely to occur until at least mid-April. Why the wait? SENATE SPRING BREAK, WOO! [Reuters] * Give me maple syrup, or give me death: According to legal experts from the National Constitution Center, even though Republican candidate Ted Cruz was born in Canada, he still counts as a "natural born citizen" who's eligible to be president. [WSJ Law Blog] * Foley & Lardner partner Howard Shipley avoided a supreme spanking from SCOTUS over his submission of a garbled cert petition last year, but the high court took the opportunity to remind all lawyers to write "in plain terms." [National Law Journal] * How badly do you want to go to a top law school? Exactly how desperate you are to feel the warm and gentle embrace of prestige? How hard can you gun? Would you be willing to take the LSAT three times? [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 03.23.15

* Chicago Law grad went up to Alaska and challenged an Iditarod musher to an arm wrestling match. That's when she broke her arm. This decision should trigger an automatic two-spot drop in the U.S. News rankings. [Alaska Dispatch News] * An interview with Keith Wetmore, former Chairman of Morrison and Foerster, diving into his childhood growing up in a funeral home. From working with one group of stiffs to another. [Hsu Untied] * The Howard Shipley saga has come to an end. [Wall Street Journal] * Ruh roh. Biglaw partner earns a hearty benchslap for deliberately misleading the court. You can't do that -- save it for the summer associates asking about having a family. [Legal Business] * California lawyer Matt McLaughlin continues his Quixotic drive to have the state execute all the gay people. Now we have a pithy name for his proposed amendment: "The Intolerant Jackass Act." [Slate] * David talks to Bloomberg about why Above the Law hurts people's feelings. It's more diplomatic than my answer: because they're soft. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * A lawyer testifies to the state legislature about how great a right-to-work law will be... for his bankruptcy practice. Troll hard, my friend. [YouTube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwnwXFhKObI

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket 02.23.15

* Welcome back my friends, to the case that never ends: attorneys for Alexandra Marchuk lodged a request for $1.4 million in attorneys fees after her Pyrrhic victory in the Faruqi & Faruqi case. [Law360] * In the wake of the Oscars, it's worth remembering that David Boies is a movie producer. Next up for his shop, Boies/Schiller Film Group, a movie starring Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor. Because their last movies together were so frigging fantastic. [The Am Law Daily] * Speaking of the Oscars, just how much will nominees be regretting that $160,000 swag bag come tax time? [TaxProf Blog] * Former Port Authority Chairman David Samson is under scrutiny for enjoying some untoward perks. Like the United Airlines flight route direct from Newark to Samson's weekend home that was routinely bereft of passengers and ceased to exist days after Samson left the job. Something's clearly suspect if someone is willingly flying United. [North Jersey.com] * We've previously discussed the benchslap potential for Howard Shipley over his unorthodox Supreme Court brief. Now his lawyers, including SCOTUS mainstay Paul Clement, have told the Court that it's basically all the client's fault. [Legal Times]

By Joe Patrice