Gardere Wynne Sewell

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.02.18

* Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a little worried about President Trump's flair for hyperbole, saying that Trump should never "walk into that room with" special counsel Robert Mueller, because when you make "false statements to federal agents, that's a crime, that can send you to jail." [The Hill] * This is not an April Fools' joke. On April 1, Foley & Lardner finalized its Tex-Mex merger with Gardere Wynne Sewell. We repeat, this is not an April Fools' joke. Foley will maintain its headquarters in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Best of luck to the combined firm! [Texas Lawyer] * Long Island Judge Robert Cicale was arrested after allegedly breaking into a former intern's house to steal a pair of her panties. At his arraignment, he admitted that he'd done it before, and in his confession, he said "he has urges to steal women's underwear." We'll have more on the alleged panty thief later. [NBC New York] * According to a new report by Fairfax Associates, law firm mergers are set to meet (or perhaps beat) 2017's record. Twenty tie-ups have been completed in 2018 thus far, with another 13 announced mergers set to close later this year. [American Lawyer] * New York firm Morrison Cohen recently launched the "MoCo cryptocurrency litigation tracker," a tool investors can use to monitor when doing due diligence on crypto assets. There are currently 63 cases in the U.S., and some of the industry's biggest players have been named as defendants. [Brave New Coin]

By Staci Zaretsky
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