IMDb

  • Morning Docket: 09.18.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.18.20

    * Nicki Minaj has scored a win in a lawsuit alleging that one of her songs infringed on another artist’s copyright. Hope there were live performances at the motion hearing… [Vulture]

    * If you ever wanted to know the amazing story of New York personal injury powerhouse Cellino and Barnes, check out this article… and listen to the jingle. [Intelligencer]

    * InfoWars founder Alex Jones has been denied a delay in a defamation lawsuit stemming from Jones’s statements about the Sandy Hook shootings. [Newsweek]

    * The family of a UPS driver who was killed during a shootout in south Florida last year has filed a lawsuit over the driver’s death. [AP]

    * Eric Trump is attempting to delay his deposition relating to a probe initiated by the New York Attorney General until after the presidential election. [NBC News]

    * IMDB has defeated a lawsuit filed by a lawyer-producer seeking to force the website to change the listed release date of a film. Found out I still have an IMDB listing while writing this… [Hollywood Reporter]

  • Morning Docket: 02.23.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.23.17

    * Administration ordered to release the names of all those detained under its ill-considered executive order. This of course rests on the questionable premise that the administration kept any paperwork at all while it ran around nabbing people. [National Law Journal]

    * ATTACK ROOSTER!!! [Law.com]

    * Hank Greenberg calls the Martin Act a “very dangerous weapon,” which it probably is if you’re an unrepentant fraudster. [Law360]

    * Tips for writing non-compete agreements when you absolutely, positively want to screw your employees. [Corporate Counsel]

    * Trump nixes transgender protections in schools, opting to leave the issue for the states — a mantra we should probably get used to hearing about all civil rights protections. [Washington Post]

    * Suge Knight thinks he needs greater access to his attorneys. Attorneys too scared of Suge Knight to disagree. [Courthouse News Service]

    * Sidley had a good year — no matter how they got their money. [Am Law Daily]

    * IMDb can officially tell you how old stars are again. Our long national nightmare is over. [Fox News]

  • Morning Docket: 01.09.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.09.17

    * “It’s Washington’s bloodsport. It’s like the gladiator going into the arena and the public watching.” Senator Jeff Sessions has been preparing for his confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general since December, and he expects to be grilled on the same allegations of racism that precluded him from landing a federal judgeship in 1986. Something tells us that he won’t have a similar problem this time around. [CNN]

    * “We are very pleased to announce that after extensive discussions with our regulators, we will be starting classes as scheduled.” Charlotte School of Law will be reopening for the spring semester (albeit one day later than previously scheduled), but at this point in time, there’s no word on whether students will be able to procure federal loans to finance the costs of attendance. How are these students supposed to pay? [Charlotte Observer]

    * According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector had a great month in December, adding 2,000 jobs and outpacing national figures for the month. All in all, the legal industry is up by 4,100 jobs since the start of 2016, but this is a far cry from where the numbers used to be prior to the recession. By that logic, the legal industry still down by 52,000 jobs since its high in 2007. [Am Law Daily]

    * On January 19, the justices of the Supreme Court will discuss whether they will take up the case to legalize polygamy being brought by the reality TV “Sister Wives” family. If they decide to grant certiorari, it will be the first time in more than 100 years that an issue of this kind will be reviewed by the high court. Just imagine the special episodes and the ratings extravaganza that could result from oral arguments. [FOX News]

    * IMDb.com doesn’t care if celebrities don’t want their true ages revealed online, so in the name of the First Amendment, the site is refusing to comply with a new California law that would require the removal of their age information upon demand. Instead of passing age discrimination laws, California has “chosen instead to chill free speech and to undermine access to factual information of public interest.” [WSJ Law Blog]

  • Morning Docket: 11.14.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 11.14.16

    * Shortly after being urged to settle the Trump University lawsuit, lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump have filed a motion to continue the trial — now scheduled to begin just after Thanksgiving — until after his inauguration in January. If no settlement can be reached, we may get to see a sitting president on trial for fraud. [San Diego Union-Tribune]

    * Before he even nominates another judge to take the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court, President-elect Donald Trump could significantly alter the high court’s trajectory this term by undoing Obama administration policies on immigration, climate change, cost-free contraceptive care, and transgender rights. [Associated Press]

    * Many New York law schools saw their bar exam passage rates soar thanks to the state’s first-time administration of the Uniform Bar Exam this past summer, but some law schools didn’t fare quite as well and saw their passage rates decline. Which law schools did well and which ones didn’t? We’ll have more on this later. [New York Law Journal]

    * IMDb.com has filed suit against California over a new law set to take effect in January that will allow actors to conceal their ages in their biographies on the television and film site. The state believes this will prohibit age-based discrimination in Hollywood, but the website claims that the law infringes upon its First Amendment rights. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “It is unfortunate that the DOJ continues to fight for an interpretation of BMI’s consent decree that is at odds with hundreds of thousands of songwriters and composers (and) the country’s two largest performing rights organizations,” but it seems the DOJ hopes the Second Circuit will force BMI to change the way it collects royalties. [Reuters]

  • Morning Docket: 09.27.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.27.16

    * “Even with a new Republican appointee, [Justice Clarence] Thomas is likely to remain somewhat isolated on the extreme right.” In the case of Justice Thomas, it wouldn’t even matter if Donald Trump won the presidency — he’d still be the most conservative justice in the modern history of the Supreme Court. [New York Times]

    * The Supreme Court’s long conference was yesterday, and we’ll likely find out later today (or in the days to come) the cases for which the justices decided to grant certiorari for the 2016-17 term. One of those cases may be NCAA v. O’Bannon, where the question of sports amateurism for the purpose of athletes’ pay is up for debate. [CBS Sports]

    * Hot on the heels of the news that Dentons dragged down revenue per lawyer rankings for the entire 2016 Global 100 thanks to its mega-merger with Dacheng, the firm had a more upbeat announcement. Partners Mike McNamara, Jeff Haidet, and Peter Wolfson have ascended to national and global leadership positions. Congrats! [Big Law Business]

    * Under a new California law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, actors may conceal their age and force websites like IMDb to remove their age from bio pages in order to shield themselves from age-based discrimination in casting. Critics of the law are calling this an attack on free speech — and it’s too little, too late for Junie Hoang. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Judge Leonard I. Garth, Third Circuit Court of Appeals jurist, RIP. [Washington Post]

    * Daniel O. Bernstine, president of LSAC, RIP. [ABA Journal]

  • 9th Circuit, Biglaw, Crime, Insider Trading, Job Searches, Law Firm Mergers, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Patents, R. Ted Cruz, Sports, Technology, Trials

    Morning Docket: 11.11.13

    * After months of gains, the legal industry lost 900 jobs in October, just as some of the big state bar exam results came out. We imagine the folks who rallied for the 10-months-after-graduation employment statistic are as pleased as punch. [Am Law Daily]

    * “How do we find a new inventory of high net worth clients?” The answer for Kelly Drye was really quite simple: it seems that pro athletes are willing to pay just about anything to keep themselves from going bankrupt. [Capital Business / Washington Post]

    * “I don’t know why it’s better to use a bigger firm.” When it comes to the latest law firm mega-mergers, some say that it’s not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

    * It’s like Groundhog Day for these Biglaw attorneys: Apple and Samsung are preparing for the “patent trial of the century,” part deux, and both MoFo and Quinn Emanuel have enlisted new lineups. [The Recorder]

    * SAC Capital’s general counsel is okay, “[a]ll things considered.” His painful appendectomy is nothing compared to the $1.2 billion his hedge fund has to pay the government. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * Ted Cruz might be an “AASS,” but he’s done at least one awesome thing in his life. He once drank so much Everclear that he completely ruined a play put on by the Harvard Law drama society. [Boston Globe]

    * The Z-list actress who sued IMDb for revealing her age filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit because hey, some of those judges are pretty old. Maybe they’ll sympathize. [Hollywood, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter]

  • Basketball, Clerkships, Environment / Environmental Law, General Counsel, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Old People, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants

    Morning Docket: 04.12.13

    * Earlier this week, after some political wrangling, Senator Chuck Grassley proposed the Court Efficiency Act in the hope of paring down the D.C. Circuit. But really, come on, what are the odds of that happening… again? [National Law Journal]

    * Biglaw partners, rejoice, for it seems that your legal secretaries will be unable to sue you for defamation over emails written to your wives. Spousal privilege, baby! (N.B. This doesn’t apply to your girlfriends.) [New York Law Journal]

    * Which law schools placed the highest percentage of grads in federal clerkships? This info comes from the rankings guru himself. We may have more on this later. [Morse Code / U.S. News & World Report]

    * The Rutgers basketball scandal claimed another scalp yesterday after the school’s former general counsel resigned. Rutgers Law dean John Farmer will be stepping in for a brief assist. [Star-Ledger]

    * So, do you remember that environmental report Steven Donziger allegedly had made up in the Chevron case? Yeah, the consulting firm just disavowed all of the evidence in the report. Oops! [Businessweek]

    * Say so long to your retirement money, sweetie: Junie Hoang, the actress who sued IMDb for revealing the fact that she was over the hill, received a less than favorable jury verdict. [Houston Chronicle]

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  • Asians, Biglaw, Blogging, Law Schools, Lindsay Lohan, Morning Docket, Old People

    Morning Docket: 04.02.12

    * Thinking of going to law school and leading a stereotypical Biglaw life of luxury? Perhaps you should consider taking ex-K&E partner Steven Harper’s class at Northwestern. You might just change your mind. [Chicago Tribune]

    * The HuffPo’s unpaid bloggers are going to stay that way for now, because Jonathan Tasini’s $105M class action suit has been dismissed. Perhaps he’ll get another SCOTUS case under his belt. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]

    * Parts of Junie Hoang’s lawsuit against IMDb have survived dismissal, but she can kiss her $1M damages claim goodbye. Too bad, because at her age, she could really use the retirement money. [Hollywood Reporter]

    * Hofstra’s going to Havana, but it’s not to get career advice from Fidel. Instead, students will learn about U.S. export law. Sigh. You don’t need to go to Cuba to find out you can’t bring back cigars. [National Law Journal]

    * Who’s the latest lady love in Lindsay Lohan’s life? Shawn Holley. LiLo reportedly whispered sweet nothings into her lawyer’s ear after she was freed from the bonds of supervised probation. [Los Angeles Times]

  • Asians, Hotties, Movies, Old People, Privacy, Technology, Women's Issues

    Who's the 40-Year-Old Asian Actress Suing the Internet Movie Database for Revealing Her Age?

    The Internet Movie Database, aka IMDb, found itself under attack for revealing an actress's age and "real Asian name." Kash detailed the charges last October. A few weeks ago, we noted that the woman would have to put up (her name) or shut up (legally speaking). Well, we don't want to waste any more of your precious time. The grand reveal is finally here. After the jump, pictures of an attractive Asian woman....
  • American Bar Association / ABA, Barack Obama, Celebrities, Deaths, Free Speech, John Roberts, Law Professors, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Sports, Supreme Court

    Morning Docket: 01.09.12

    * Is the Roberts court really as pro-First Amendment as we’ve been led to believe? Lawyers aren’t really that good at math, but they’ve done studies, you know. And 34.5% of the time, it works every time. [New York Times] * The people at the ABA aren’t concerned that William Robinson’s remarks made him seem […]

  • Celebrities, Food, Gay Marriage, Hair, Hotties, Kids, Morning Docket, Old People, Pregnancy / Paternity, Texas, Weddings, Women's Issues

    Morning Docket: 11.15.11

    * Deborah Batts, the first openly gay judge to serve on the federal bench, got married this weekend. We hope she doesn’t become the first openly gay federal judge to get divorced. [New York Times] * Things are getting hairy for Kim Kardashian, and not just because she’s Armenian. A hair removal company is suing […]

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