Involuntary Bankruptcy

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.18.16

* "[He] exited the passenger seat wearing nothing but what appeared to be an adult diaper." Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl, the husband-and-wife lawyers accused of torturing and nearly killing a law firm partner and his wife, are back in the news. Andrew's trial began this week, and he's utilizing an involuntary intoxication defense. [Washington Post] * President Obama needn't worry about what he's going to do to keep busy after his presidency ends -- job offers are already pouring in for him, including one from Bin Haider Advocates & Legal Consultants, a smaller firm in Dubai. But why go to the Middle East when he could easily become a partner at Sidley Austin? [Am Law Daily] * "If I had my way, I would make pro bono a service requirement." During the American Law Institute's annual meeting, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she thinks pro-bono work should be mandatory for lawyers, and that she "believe[s] in forced labor" when it comes to access to justice and closing the justice gap for the poor. [National Law Journal] * Non-lawyers likely won't be able to stake a claim in law firm ownership anytime soon since the ABA Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession failed to submit a formal proposal to the ABA House of Delegates before a deadline had passed. It's just as well, as lawyers remain adamantly opposed to the proposition. [Big Law Business] * IP lawyers better get ready to party like it's 1999, because Minnesota lawmakers have introduced the broadly written Personal Rights in Names Can Endure Act, perhaps better known as the PRINCE Act, named for the recently deceased musician to establish a right of publicity for celebrities and their heirs within the state. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 05.17.12

* What information Dewey know about the ongoing criminal investigation that’s being conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office? From the sound of it, ex-chairman Steven Davis’s LeBoeuf may be cooked. [Am Law Daily (reg. req.)] * Dewey know when to admit defeat? A spokesman for the failing firm has insisted that it’s “not formally closed.” Great, because that’ll certainly make it easier to prepare for the involuntary bankruptcy filing that’s in the works. [Reuters] * Meanwhile, D&L amended its WARN notice with the New York State Department of Labor to raise its total employee count by 100, for a grand total of 533 — 433 of whom have been laid off thus far. [Bloomberg] * “The defense wasn’t sexy, but the defense doesn’t want sexy. It wants an acquittal.” John Edwards’s legal team rested its case yesterday without calling any of the major players involved to testify. [Associated Press] * Show me your papers: the California Supreme Court will be deciding whether a law license should be granted to an illegal immigrant who’s already been certified by the State Bar of California. [Los Angeles Times] * Thank you, Jesus! Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law now has an additional $4M in its collection plate to put toward a new building thanks to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [National Law Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky