Illinois Law

Morning Docket: 07.20.18

* What will happen if SCOTUS were to overturn Roe v. Wade? For one, abortion wouldn't automatically become illegal across America -- that would be up to each individual state. In fact, some states have "trigger laws" ready to go to ban abortion if Roe is ever overturned. Hopefully this won't happen any time soon, or ever. [BuzzFeed] * The University of Illinois at Chicago is moving forward with its planned merger with John Marshall Law School to to establish the UI Chicago John Marshall College of Law. Dean Vikram Amar of Illinois Law wants to make very sure that everyone knows this is "not a joint enterprise in any way." [News-Gazette; Chicago Tribune] * Bless their hearts, but it looks like Winstead won't be taking Troutman Sanders to the rodeo after all. According to inside sources, this Texas-sized merger was simply not meant to be due to billing rates and preferred clientele. [Texas Lawyer] * All rise for new royalty at Dechert, for Sheila L. Birnbaum, the "Queen of Torts" is here! Her Majesty left Quinn Emanuel and brought 28 other lawyers and staff with her to form a product liability and mass torts team at the firm. [Big Law Business] * The White House has named Steven Dillingham as its nominee to direct the U.S. Census Bureau. In case you weren't aware, Dillingham has a law degree from the University of South Carolina. No word yet on whether he's still practicing. [NPR]

How Law Deans Spend Their (Or, At Least, How One Dean Spent His) ‘Summer Vacation’

There's a lot to keep law school deans busy over the summer.

First Monday Musings By Dean Vik Amar: How The Bar Exam Might Be Improved

In light of how high bar-exam stakes are today, we need to ask some basic questions about this crucial test.

First Monday Musings By Dean Vik Amar: Reflections On Judge Posner’s ‘Divergent Paths’

Some of Judge Posner's points are clearly correct; in other cases, the situation is more complicated than he seems to appreciate.

Non-Sequiturs: 05.16.16

* Nurkhan Zhumabekov, a lawyer in Kazakhstan, is suing the Russian-Kazakh television channel First Channel-Eurasia for allegedly "insulting Kazakhs." Nobody tell this guy about Borat, OK? [Radio Free Europe] * The too perfect name of the litigants in Loving v. Virginia is finally getting its due. Loving, a new film about the case that legalized interracial marriage, looks primed to garner some Oscar buzz. [Hollywood Reporter] * Illinois Law graduates were a no-show at graduation; Jane Genova wonders why. [Law and More] * Poorly written laws and regulations are part of why the Supreme Court has to get involved in the immigration case of U.S. v. Texas, as Laura Murray-Tjan explains. [Huffington Post] * Is there a way to save access to personal email accounts at work without compromising a law firm's security? [Authentic8] * Laverne Cox has been cast in CBS's new legal drama, Doubt, along with Katherine Heigl and Steven Pasquale. [Jezebel] * Radiohead isn't being a "Paranoid Android," they may be getting sued. [Radio.com]

First Monday Musings By Dean Vik Amar: 4 Tips For Law Students For Final Exams

Dean Vikram Amar offers advice to law students about how to show their stuff come exam time.

First Monday Musings By Dean Vik Amar: Bureaucracy And Metrics

Please welcome our newest columnist, Dean Vikram Amar of the University of Illinois College of Law, who will be writing about legal education.