House of Representatives

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.22.19

* Impeachment proceedings are “possibly coming”: It’s got a little less oomph than the Game of Thrones tagline that the president is a fan of commandeering, but House Democrats are working on it in the wake of the Mueller report’s findings. [NBC News] * Per Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, there’s “nothing wrong with taking information from Russians.” And besides which, “Who says it’s even illegal?” But would he have done the same when he was running for president? “I probably wouldn’t. I wasn’t asked.” Good to know. Thanks for clarifying, Mr. Mayor. [Washington Post] * “Why in the world would you want to put your enemy on the payroll?” Donald Trump is so pissed off at “real lawyer” and former White House counsel Don McGahn that Jones Day will be kicked off campaign work that could have been worth millions. [POLITICO] * According to the latest data from the American Bar Association, the bar pass rate for first-time exam takers in 2018 was 74.82 percent, down from 77.34 percent in 2017. Hopefully things will get better in 2019. [ABA Journal] * Less is now more when it comes to Supreme Court briefs. Thanks to a new rules change, appellate advocates will only have 13,000 words to work with, down from 15,000. [National Law Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.12.19

* Judge Maryanne Trump Barry recently retired from the Third Circuit, meaning that the judicial ethics inquiry into her alleged inheritance tax evasion be all for naught. [Associated Press] * No, it isn't true that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court papers won't be released "until a hundred years after the last justice with whom she has served is no longer alive." Much like conspiracy theorists' claims about RBG's death, that would be insane. [National Law Journal] * Numerous progressive groups have asked the House of Representatives to investigate Justice Brett Kavanaugh's "sham confirmation process" after he was accused of sexual misconduct -- but it's unlikely this will go anywhere. [BuzzFeed] * In case you missed it, former Skadden partner Greg Craig was charged in connection with the Mueller investigation for making false statements to the DOJ that were tied to his work for Ukraine. If you recall, former Skadden associate Alexander van der Zwaan was the first to be sentenced in the Mueller probe. [American Lawyer] * "I’m used to always being the caretaker for other people. It’s not natural for me to accept help." Dean Lyrissa Lidsky of the University of Missouri School of Law is battling breast cancer, and her law school colleagues and students have offered her all of their support. We're with you too, Dean! #LidskyStrong [Law.com] * Pharma bro Martin Shkreli, whose prison pals "affectionately call him 'asshole," is reportly fighting an antitrust lawsuit from solitary confinement. [Big Law Business]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.15.19

* "This is not a normal vote. This will be a vote about the very nature of our constitution and the separation of powers." The Senate voted to reject President Trump's declaration of the national emergency, with 12 Republicans joining with their Democratic colleagues. Now, we'll wait for the reality TV spectacular that will be the president's first veto. [Washington Post] * A poster of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the target of anti-Semitic graffiti in New York. The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating. We’ll have more on this later. [New York Times] * Key prosecutors on special counsel Robert Mueller's team are leaving, which could signal that the Russian election interference is coming to an end. The latest prosecutor to head for the exit is Andrew Weissmann, who led cases against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. [NPR] * Was President Trump "dangling the possibility of a pardon" in front of Michael Cohen as a way to keep his former lawyer from telling the truth? If that's what happened, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says it would've been a "terrible" abuse of power.[CNN] * In a 420-0 vote, the House of Representatives "overwhelmingly" approved a resolution urging the Justice Department to make special counsel Robert Mueller's full report available to Congress. This might matter. Maybe? [POLITICO] * "About being fired, all I can say is it wasn't my decision and I wish the center the best." The Southern Poverty Law Center has fired its co-founder Morris Dees over a “personnel issue.” What happened here? [AL.com] * Marc Jacobs has filed a motion to dismiss the copyright lawsuit filed by Nirvana over the designer's use of Kurt Cobain's yellow smiley face, claiming that the fashion house "reinterpreted the design to incorporate [a Marc Jacobs] branding element into an otherwise commonplace image." [Hypebeast] * Former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, author of the Title IX law, RIP. [ESPN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.30.18

* "Please Stay, Justice Kennedy. America Needs You." The editorial board of the paper of record has penned a moving letter to Justice Anthony Kennedy, pleading with him not to retire from the Supreme Court during a moment in history when the high court -- and the country at large -- faces "an institutional crisis." [New York Times] * Par for the course? In order to be hired for her job, Attorney General Jeff Sessions's top spokeswoman apparently had to swear fealty to President Donald Trump because she had criticized him during the 2016 Republican primaries. [Washington Post] * House Republicans want to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a punishment that was last used against an executive branch employee 122 years ago. FYI, "[i]t's not meant to use to go after officials who don't share your policy views or your political goals," so it's not likely to happen, but good luck with that. [USA Today] * T-Mobile has agreed to buy Sprint (again), and this time, they think that the Trump administration will allow the deal to go through because they want Make America's 5G Great Again. To paraphrase what Sprint spokesman Paul would say, all law firms are great, but we wonder which ones are on this deal. [Wall Street Journal] * The first lawsuit has been filed against Southwest Airlines by a survivor of the deadly flight where a passenger was partially sucked out of the window following an engine explosion. The suit was filed by Lilia Chavez, who "prayed and feared for her life" after she "witnessed the horror" of the disaster, and now claims she has PTSD. [ABC News] * Judge Robert F. Chapman, senior judge of the Fourth Circuit, RIP. [Fourth Circuit]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.09.18

* What's behind the Supreme Court's sluggish pace, and does Justice Gorsuch have anything to do with it? Only 18 rulings have been sloooooowly handed down so far this Term, and the world is still waiting for decisions to be made in some of the high court's most contentious cases. [Reuters] * House Republicans are so pissed the DOJ failed to comply with a subpoena deadline to turn over more than a million documents related to investigations of Hillary Clinton's emails, alleged FISA abuses, and Andrew McCabe's firing that there's a "growing consensus" Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein could be held in contempt of Congress -- or even impeached. [Washington Examiner] * There may be a law school brain drain when it comes to a lack of applications from students at top undergraduate institutions, but the Law School Admission Council is reporting that the number of applicants with LSAT scores of 160 or higher is up by 21 percent since last year. We'll have more on this interesting news later. [Law.com] * In case you missed it, with an average deal size was $3.7 billion and a market share of about 24 percent, Skadden came out on top of Bloomberg's law firm league table for global M&A deal volume in 2018's first quarter. Congratulations! [Big Law Business] * According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal services industry added 400 jobs between February and March. The entire profession now ranges from 1.2 to 1.3 million jobs, down from pre-recession highs of 1.8 million jobs. Sorry, but after about a decade, it's looking like those jobs may be lost forever. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.14.16

* "Your complaint claims that it must speak for us because we are too afraid to speak for ourselves. That is not how we see ourselves and certainly not how any of us believes our clients and colleagues perceive us." Some female partners at Chadbourne & Parke are speaking out against the $100 million class-action sex discrimination lawsuit that's been filed on their behalf. We'll have more on this news update later today. [WSJ Law Blog] * Davis Polk is so desperate to improve gender diversity at the firm that it has launched an alumni rehiring program to give women who have opted to leave the firm to raise children a pathway back to an associate-level position. Participants in the program will earn $190K for one year, and may be offered a permanent job. [Am Law Daily] * Say hello to Michael Gerstenzang, who was elected as Cleary Gottlieb's new managing partner. He's been with the firm for his entire career as an attorney since the 1990s, and he'll continue to maintain his private equity and funds practice during his time serving as the firm's leader, or rather, its "listener in chief." Congratulations! [Legal Week] * The House of Representatives approved the Financial Choice Act, a bill meant to roll back portions of the Dodd-Frank Act, including the Volcker Rule and the Durbin Amendment. Critics had this to say: "This bill is so bad that it simply cannot be fixed. It's clear that this is a rushed, partisan messaging tool.” [DealBook / New York Times] * Sixteen years after the alleged fraud took place, ex-AIG chairman Hank Greenberg is standing trial. Although he's accused of orchestrating multimillion-dollar transactions, David Boies of Boies Schiller says "[t]his case is devoid of any admissible evidence that ties Mr. Greenberg to anything improper in either of these transactions." [Reuters] * Deborah Broyles, global diversity director at Reed Smith, RIP. [Big Law Business]

By Staci Zaretsky
Airplanes / Aviation

Morning Docket: 03.29.12

* If Obamacare gets struck down, do you think insurance companies will allow children to remain on their parents’ plans until age 26? My Magic 8-Ball says: “Outlook not so good.” [Wall Street Journal] * There’s no crying in baseball bankruptcy sales! Which Biglaw firms hit a home run for playing a part in the […]

By Staci Zaretsky