With ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law, Gay Conservatives Find Their Inner Ernst Röhm
If this were the 70s, they’d be calling Anita Bryant a gay icon.
Can You Be Fired For Being Gay? The Government Says YES! And Also NO!
If the EEOC won't stand with the bigots, then the DOJ won't stand with the EEOC.
Your Law Firm’s Website Is Failing You.
Here’s What The Best Ones Are Doing Differently.
Utah Supreme Court Takes 2 Years To Rule In Favor Of Gay Parents’ Constitutional Rights To Surrogacy
The opinion is long, but it has a good ending for hopeful LGBTQ parents.
Morning Docket: 10.18.18
* Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is the subject of no fewer than 14 separate corruption investigations. So he fired the inspector general managing the probes and replaced him with a political appointee. [Outside] * Meanwhile, a Treasury official who blew the whistle on actual criminal activity was arrested. Good to see we've got our priorities straight. [Law360] * While we've been talking about global firms invading the Houston market, V&E is looking to expand to New York, DC, and London. [Texas Lawyer] * Former West Virginia Supreme Court justice found guilty. [American Lawyer] * Why are all the bigots going into baking? [Courthouse News Service] * White & Case has a plan to grow like gangbusters over the next two years. Meghan Tribe talks with the firm about this vision. [American Lawyer]
Canadian Supreme Court Shames U.S. Supreme Court On Gay Rights In Law Schools
The only good thing about climate change is that soon Canada will be warm enough to live in.
In Masterpiece Cake, Anthony Kennedy Uses Liberal Contempt For Bigotry To Authorize Bigotry
Kennedy rules Free Exercise was violated because civil rights commissioners were mean.
LexisNexis’ Practical Guidance Is Every Attorney’s Essential Concierge
This tool will — seamlessly and authoritatively — take you from initial research to final draft in just about any practice scenario.
Gay Dad’s Attempt To Adopt His Genetic Child Rejected, Child Left Without Legal Parents
The saddest part of the story is that the child is being punished for the country’s view of his family.
Which Baby Will ‘Justice Hamlet’ Stab In Masterpiece Cake?
Anthony Kennedy holds two competing rights in his hands, which one will he choose?
Morning Docket: 09.18.17
* Special Counsel Robert Mueller obtained a warrant for targeted ads that were purchased by Russia-linked Facebook accounts during the 2016 election. The fact that Mueller was able to get a warrant "may be the biggest news in the case since the Manafort raid." [Business Insider] * Speaking of the Russia probe, yet another lawyer has joined Robert Mueller's team. Say hello to Kyle Freeny, a former kindergarten teacher with a law degree from Harvard who transferred from the Justice Department's money-laundering unit to contribute her talents to the ongoing investigation. [POLITICO] * Sorry, kids, but lawyers are very, very, very expensive: Since the president has left his one-time associates high and dry, Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign advisor, has been forced to drain his children's college fund to pay for legal representation in the Russia probe. Horrible... [Washington Examiner] * "It’s not about the cake. It is about discrimination." When the Masterpiece Cakeshop case is argued before SCOTUS, Justice Anthony Kennedy -- the man who wrote the opinion that legalized same-sex marriage in America -- will likely be the deciding vote. Will be betray his legacy for free speech? [New York Times] * Columbia Law School is offering students credits to meet their 40-hour pro bono requirement for graduation if they volunteer for the Columbia Human Rights Law Review’s Trump Human Rights Tracker, which keeps tabs on President Trump’s actions and their impacts on human rights. [FOX News]
Non-Sequiturs: 06.30.17
Ed. note: Early wishes for a happy July 4th weekend! We'll be back on Wednesday, July 5 (barring unforeseen news). * I don't know that free speech is under cultural attack, as this post argues. But I do think people are using lawsuits to bash speech they don't like. Instead of lecturing people about the sacred right of Nazis to intimidate people on Twitter, I'd rather the First Amendment crowd came up with a real regime of sanctions for people who bring lawsuits against clearly protected speech. I just don't know that the Deplorable fanboys would recognize that as a sufficient way to fight for their freedom to talk out of their asses. [Popehat] * The Fifth Circuit has now conferred qualified immunity on expert witnesses, deployed to spout whatever nonsense the government thinks will help them gain a conviction. The Democrat who runs on a criminal justice reform platform that included changing the rules around qualified immunity would probably get my vote. Instead they'll probably run a Goldman executive with an innovative plan to retrain bigoted hill people for the hi-tech jobs of the future. [Simple Justice] * What Trump is actually trying to do with his voter fraud investigation is horrifying. But Professor Rick Hasen says it won't work, and I'm going to trust him because I do not want to get pissed off about a whole new thing this close to a long weekend. [Slate] * Texas isn't sure that same-sex marriage means that same-sex couples get marriage benefits. Sigh. Look, Texas is going to lose its fight against gay people, eventually. YOU HEAR THAT YOU HAT WEARIN' COWBOYS? Gay people are going to kick your ass and have sex in your Alamo. [Texas Tribune] * Based on the settlement data, The Root came up with a methodology to calculate the worth of a black life. Ballpark, the state pays about $3,364,875 per family for the right to kill us without criminal accountability. If you've got thoughts about how the state spends too much money in settlements, keep them to yourself. [The Root] * Stay safe out there this long weekend. The Texas Law Hawk has some fireworks safety tips. [Texas Law Hawk] * Checking in with the Alt-Right, I could go with all the stories about how people have called Kellyanne Conway "ugly," which is apparently the Alt-Right defense for the president mocking Mika Brzezinski? But this headline is just too good: "Germany Surrenders to Trump, Waters Down G20 Climate Plan #Winning" They're making water puns, y'all. They are defiant. You can't even blame the Earth for trying to kill all of us. [Breitbart]
How AI Is Transforming The Legal Profession (2025)
A survey of professionals reveals the impact of legal work, clients, concerns, and future roles.
Morning Docket: 05.04.17
* Harvard Law wants students to defer admission. Tuition deferral program still a no go apparently. [New York Times / Dealbook] * Trump signing executive order to let the IRS choose when to enforce the Johnson amendment. I'm old enough to remember when conservatives had a meltdown over exaggerated allegations of IRS selective enforcement. Now it's actually going to be legal and I doubt I'll hear anything about it. [CBS News] * Want to know how much a Sullivan & Cromwell partner takes home? Thankfully Donald Trump can tell us. [National Law Journal] * Alabama enacts law allowing adoption agencies to reject gay couples. Alabama has one of the worst economies in America, but this was the issue that they really needed to address. Roll Tide. [Alabama] * ABA President Linda Klein testifies on behalf of Legal Services Corporation. funding. Question: Is the ABA President job more or less difficult today? One could say "more" because she has to devote considerable energy to fighting a hostile government. Or you could say "less" because the most difficult argument she has to make is, "please don't be monsters." [ABA Journal] * FAMU fired its dean. [Orlando Sentinel] * New trend in litigation finance: buying portfolios of cases instead of investing in individual matters. We've reached the fund stage people! [Law.com] * Former Guinea mining minister convicted of taking bribes. How did they know? Perhaps they thought he was a Dickensian throwback when he kept saying "Guinea" all the time. [Law360]
Non-Sequiturs: 05.03.17
* Code Pink protesters found guilty of disorderly conduct during the Jeff Sessions hearings. One woman just laughed. I'll just wait here for the appellate courts to do something about this. [New York Times] * Non-citizens and people here illegally will be able to vote in local school board elections in San Francisco, if they have children in the school district. If the Hunchback of Notre Dame was written today, it'd be a musical about San Francisco. [NPR] * Trump canceling the White House Cinco de Mayo celebration is perhaps the most racially sensitive thing he's done. Not because Cinco de Mayo has turned into an embarrassing excuse for white appropriation of Mexican culture, but because Trump is physically incapable of eating a taco salad without insulting people. [The Hill] * The Fourth Circuit, preparing to hear a Muslim ban case, is down one conservative judge. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III will be recused because his son [UPDATE: son-in-law, acting solicitor general Jeffrey Wall] is part of the case for the government. [Buzzfeed] * What is Cantor Fitzgerald really paying Obama $400,000 to do? Give a good speech, most likely. [Bloomberg View] * Mississippi funeral home refuses to cremate a corpse because the corpse was once alive-while-gay. How you gonna run a funeral home based on hate? [Slate] * I know most of our readers don't read white supremacist news. But when I do this link-wrap, I feel like I should start adding in one headline from the Alt-Right, just so all you good people don't get too comfortable in your bubble. These people ARE IN CONTROL OF AMERICA. What they think directly influences the President of the United States. So, here's your headline: "Creepy Kimmel Politicizes Infant Son’s Health Crisis" [Breitbart]
Morning Docket: 05.03.17
* The Jeff Sessions Justice Department will decline to bring charges against Baton Rogue police officers involved in the death of Alton Sterling. The shooting of Sterling was caught on videotape and led to protests last summer. [Washington Post] * A new lawsuit alleges a funeral home in Mississippi refused to cremate a man's husband because he was gay. [CNN] * Is Apple prepping for a massive acquisition? Let the guessing game begin. [LA Times] * A judge has ruled that a defamation suit against CNN will go forward. The allegations surround a story about infant mortality at a Florida hospital. [Law.com] * The machinations behind the latest push to repeal and replace Obamacare have hit a snag over preexisting conditions. [New York Times] * The United States may pull out of the climate change Paris Agreement as early as next week. [Huffington Post]
Morning Docket: 12.01.16
* GCs just keep getting raises. Some reports suggest compensation is up almost 7 percent this year. But don't worry -- they'll still bitch and moan about Biglaw associates getting a small cost of living bump. [Corporate Counsel] * If you haven't been paying attention, William & Mary Law School has been on FIRE lately. No, literally, the school is on fire. Call 911. [WAVY 10] * Seventh Circuit may soon rule en banc to ban sexual orientation bias. You know, until Congress and the President impeach the entire Seventh Circuit to bring it back. Wow that was an absurd sentence and yet it's entirely plausible right now. [Law360] * Kelley Drye enters the Texas market. [The Am Law Daily] * Heroic big banks are demolishing patent trolls while everyone else continues to suffer, which sounds about right. [Law.com] * China's got a new cybersecurity law and it's not good news for foreign businesses. [Fortune] * But don't worry, the U.S. is now just as intrusive with new rules taking effect today that allow judges to order broader government hacking for investigative fishing expeditions. So... yay! [Ars Technica]
5 Monumental SCOTUS Decisions Every Lawyer Should Know About
As the highest court in the land, the U.S. Supreme Court serves as the final arbiter of the law and guardian of America’s constitutional liberties....