Gloria Allred

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.18.19

* Sorry, bro, but one of them doesn’t like beer anymore: The Tenth Circuit denied 20 appeals of its earlier decision to dismiss misconduct complaints against now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, but this time, the panel was split, with one judge saying the "entire council should be disqualified." [National Law Journal] * "It’s not enough to legalize marijuana at the federal level — we should also help those who have suffered due to its prohibition." If you're a Democratic candidate running for president in 2020, you better be down with legalizing weed in the name of social justice. [New York Times] * Preet Bharara, ex-U.S. attorney for the S.D.N.Y., knows his former coworkers could cause Trump trouble. They're "very aggressive," "very fearless," "very independent," and they don't even "care about politics" -- they'll prosecute anyone. [NBC News] * The National Women’s Hall of Fame recently announced its Class of 2019, and three lawyers of note were honored: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, women's rights attorney Gloria Allred, and Native American tribal law expert Sarah Deer. [AP] * According to a new new report from Thomson Reuters and Acritas, there's a "disheartening" lack of diversity in corporate legal departments. Given how "diverse" law firms are, this isn't exactly shocking news to anyone. [Corporate Counsel]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.09.17

Ed. note: In honor of Columbus Day (and Canadian Thanksgiving), Above the Law will be on a reduced publication schedule. We'll be back in full force tomorrow. * Justice Neil Gorsuch's arrival as a member of the Supreme Court hasn't been the most graceful, and word on the street is that some of his new colleagues on the bench may bear some ill will towards him. A rift might even be developing between Gorsuch and Chief Justice Roberts. [CNN] * Because Gorsuch is the Supreme Court's newest justice, he has to share his office with Leroy. He's being hazed by Scalia from beyond the grave. [Associated Press] * As part of its new legal strategy in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russian election interference investigation, the Trump administration has decided to -- gasp! -- be cooperative. Trump's lawyers think that maybe if they play nice, Mueller will publicly clear the president's name a little more quickly, or at all. [New York Times] * In other news, President Trump took to Twitter this weekend to invoke the Federal Communications Commission's equal time rules because he's sick and tired of "unfunny" late-night TV hosts making fun of him without an opportunity to respond in kind. Perhaps you ought to stick with Twitter, Mr. President. [Fox News] * Much like what happened with Traci Ribeiro's case against Sedgwick, Winston & Strawn is trying to push Constance Ramos, a partner who left the firm amid allegations of gender bias and discrimination, into arbitration. [Am Law Daily] * Lisa Bloom has been criticized left and right for taking on Harvey Weinstein as a client. Even her own mother, Gloria Allred, objected. Because mother knows best, Bloom resigned as counsel. Lanny Davis has also left the producer's legal team. Down two lawyers, Weinstein was fired from his own company. [New York Times] * A Michigan judge recently awarded joint legal custody and parenting time to a rape victim's attacker. The child involved in this case is an 8-year-old boy, and the fellow who sexually assaulted his mother also happens to be a convicted sex offender. According to the victim's attorney, "[t]his is insane"; she's not wrong. [Detroit News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.25.17

* It's Long Conference Day. For the unaware, this is arguably the most important day of the year for Supreme Court hero-worshippers, as the Court reads and evaluates around 2000 petitions and doesn't at all phone it in (no matter what the statistics say) because they're MAGIC! [Constitution Daily] * Months into his new job -- a job that requires a public financial disclosure -- Ty Cobb hasn't yet figured out if he made $5 million or $25 million at Hogan Lovells. Maybe Don McGahn is hiding that information from him too. [Law.com] * Lawyer accused of flashing girl's basketball teams. This is all just a big misunderstanding -- if his buddies had shown up, it would have been obvious he was just they'd spelled out "Go Team!" on their balls. [Indy Star] * Jared Kushner apparently used his private email for some White House business. It doesn't sound like a big deal at all, but that's not going to prevent everyone from freaking out about it. [Huffington Post] * Convicted Hunton partner seeks probation in securities fraud case. The government is asking for 51 to 64 months in prison so at least the two sides are pretty close here. [Law360] * NBC is developing a Supreme Court show following the clerks. It'll be like The West Wing, except with standing and patent disputes! [Law.com] * Speaking of the Supreme Court, in what ways are the top law firms making it to the Supreme Court? [Empirical SCOTUS]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.19.17

* Hot on the heels of the news that Amazon would be purchasing Whole Foods, legal nerds wanted to know which firms would be handling the $13.7B transaction. SullCrom is representing Amazon and Wachtell is representing Whole Foods in Bezos's bid to sell asparagus water on Prime. [Texas Lawyer] * Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated Appellate Division Justice Paul Feinman to replace the late Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam on the New York Court of Appeals. If confirmed, Feinman will be first the first openly gay judge to be seated on the bench of New York's highest court. Congrats! [Journal News] * But her his emails! The state of Indiana will be paying "small-town firm" McNeely Stephenson $100K to handle a backlog of public records requests having to do with the contents of then Governor Mike Pence's private AOL account from which he conducted state business over email. [Chicago Tribune] * Shortly after a mistrial was declared in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case, his spokesman had some sarcastic remarks to share with those who represented the comedians accusers: "For all those attorneys who conspired -- like Gloria Allred -- tell them to go back to law school and take another class." [FOX News Insider] * Legal documents related to the dissolution of annoying jingle firm Cellino & Barnes are currently under seal, but several media outlets are trying to convince a judge to unseal the records because the "litigation over the dissolution of [the firm] is an issue of local and national importance." [New York Daily News] * "They’ve been great at dodging this. But they know they’re not going to be able to dodge it for much longer." New York City may finally do away with its nearly century-old ban on dancing in restaurants, bars, and clubs thanks to a proposed a bill seeking the repeal of the city's 1926 "Cabaret Law." [New York Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.19.17

* An interesting look at the life and career of Gloria Allred -- who has litigated groundbreaking civil rights cases as well as TMZ fodder. [Coverage Opinions] * Lawyer Jose Baez intends to investigate the death of his client Aaron Hernandez, who was found dead in his prison cell after apparently hanging himself. [Deadspin] * Footnote of the day (gavel bang: Raffi Melkonian aka @RMFifth Circuit). [Twitter] * Professor Jonathan Adler still has doubts about the Emoluments Clause lawsuit against President Trump (although it's much stronger now, thanks to some additional plaintiffs). [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Professor Glenn Reynolds has some doubts about diversity (although I suspect he strongly supports intellectual diversity). [Instapundit] * Professor Ann Althouse has her doubts about... Democrats (even though she has voted for more Democrats than Republicans over the years). [Althouse] * And Professor Eugene Volokh has his doubts about the constitutionality of this order. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * In honor of national haiku poetry day, here are some verses from Dean Dan Rodriguez of Northwestern Law. [PrawfsBlawg] * Congrats to the ACLU of Massachusetts, the national ACLU, the state public defender’s office, and Fick & Marx LLP on a huge and historic win! [ACLU]

By David Lat
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By Barbri
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.21.16

* Florida AG Pam Bondi admits she took donation money from Donald Trump when she was toying with an investigation of Trump University, but says she has no regrets about keeping the cash. "If I had returned it, you would have reported 'Bondi accepted a bribe, got caught and returned it." [AP] * Could President Barack Obama sue Donald Trump over the "birther" conspiracy? If so, what would be his cause of action? He could potentially file suit for defamation, but as a public figure, he'd have an uphill battle proving actual malice and damages. [Big Law Business] * Ahmad Rahami, the man accused of Saturday's bombings in New York and New Jersey, has been federally charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction, bombing, destruction of property, and use of a destructive device. His bail has been set at $5.2 million. There's been no word yet as to whether he has hired an attorney. [CNN] * According to Judge Alison Nathan of the Southern District of New York, bitcoins are, in fact, money -- at least under this federal anti-money laundering statute. If you think "funds" are "pecuniary resources… generally accepted as a medium of exchange or a means of payment," you better believe bitcoins are a form of money. [WSJ Law Blog] * "We think that they are attempting to use civil discovery to get around the limits on criminal discovery in the criminal case." According to Gloria Allred, the civil sexual abuse case her client has filed against Bill Cosby in California is going to be put on the back burner for a time into his criminal charges can be more fully litigated. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.07.16

* Bill Cosby will face trial in June for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania woman, and now his lawyers claim her attorney, Gloria Allred, trampled upon his civil rights in a "campaign ... buil[t] on racial bias and prejudice that can pollute the court of public opinion." [NBC News] * As we mentioned yesterday, Peter Kalis -- the man who's served as chair of K&L Gates for about two decades -- will not seek re-election to his post, and everyone is wondering who will succeed him. According to a recently departed partner, "[t]hey don't have enough groomed for top-level management." Uh oh! We'll have more on this. [Law.com] * Yet another Biglaw firm is losing a longtime managing partner. Mark Silow of Fox Rothschild will step down from his position in April 2017, after 13 years in leadership. He'll be replaced by Mark Morris as managing partner, but will transition to becoming the firm's chair, retaining a seat on its executive committee. [Big Law Business] * Sullivan & Cromwell is stepping up its digital security practice with a major hire. Earlier this week, the firm announced that Nicole Friedlander, who previously worked as co-chief of the complex frauds and online crime unit for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, would join the firm as special counsel. [DealBook / New York Times] * Not only is New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman breathing antitrust accusations down EpiPen-maker Mylan Pharmaceutical's neck, but now a proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against the company with allegations that its "unconscionable ... price gouging" violated Ohio's consumer protection laws. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.07.16

* Bill Cosby will face trial in June for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania woman, and now his lawyers claim her attorney, Gloria Allred, trampled upon his civil rights in a "campaign ... buil[t] on racial bias and prejudice that can pollute the court of public opinion." [NBC News] * As we mentioned yesterday, Peter Kalis -- the man who's served as chair of K&L Gates for about two decades -- will not seek re-election to his post, and everyone is wondering who will succeed him. According to a recently departed partner, "[t]hey don't have enough groomed for top-level management." Uh oh! We'll have more on this. [Law.com] * Yet another Biglaw firm is losing a longtime managing partner. Mark Silow of Fox Rothschild will step down from his position in April 2017, after 13 years in leadership. He'll be replaced by Mark Morris as managing partner, but will transition to becoming the firm's chair, retaining a seat on its executive committee. [Big Law Business] * Sullivan & Cromwell is stepping up its digital security practice with a major hire. Earlier this week, the firm announced that Nicole Friedlander, who previously worked as co-chief of the complex frauds and online crime unit for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, would join the firm as special counsel. [DealBook / New York Times] * Not only is New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman breathing antitrust accusations down EpiPen-maker Mylan Pharmaceutical's neck, but now a proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against the company with allegations that its "unconscionable ... price gouging" violated Ohio's consumer protection laws. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.07.16

* Amber Heard, who is going through a tumultuous divorce with Johnny Depp amid accusations that he abused her throughout the marriage, met with women's rights attorney Gloria Allred last week. We wonder if the famed feminist lawyer will take the case after a four-hour consultation. [PEOPLE] * Life just got a little more mellow at this firm: Florida-based Greenspoon Marder opened a cannabis and hemp practice group yesterday, opening offices in San Diego and Denver, and putting lawyers to work in Las Vegas. The firm won't be puff-puff-passing up business from the marijuana industry anymore. [Big Law Business] * Doctor-assisted suicide became just legal across the Great White North, but the government took so long to draft a law to go along with the Canadian Supreme Court's ruling that the decision went into effect without any legislation to back it up. [CBS News] * If you're still thinking about applying to law school, here's a surefire way to brownnose your way into the school of your choice: do yourself a favor and include school-specific details in your personal statement. Good luck! [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News] * How can you tell if you're going to make big money after graduating from law school? First, take a look at the ATL Top 50 Law School Rankings to see how your employable graduates from your law school are, and then watch this video. [Business Insider]

By Staci Zaretsky