* Blame Kelly Drye for the lack of exotic snake regulations, because what could go wrong in an unregulated market for spitting cobras? [Slate]
* New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is instating mass pardons for youthful offenders. [New York Times]
* A Texas alumni group has apologized for calling Justice Scalia a racist. I guess scientists are made of sterner stuff. [Chronicle of Higher Education]
* The founding fathers were better about defending the rights of Muslims than (some) modern Republicans. [Washington Post]
* Preet Bharara's latest target -- the evils of auto-subscribing. [Law and More]
* Ah, the Christmas season. That time of the year when customer service is paradoxically at its best and worst. [That's My Argument!]
* The verdict against former White House counsel J. Michael Farren has been affirmed by the Connecticut Appellate Court. [Legal Profession Blog]
* The Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation looking at potential price collusion between major airlines. The airline industry doing something to make customers' lives difficult? Surely you jest. [Associated Press]
* Loretta Lynch went back to her hometown of Durham, North Carolina yesterday and held a roundtable on civil rights. She called particular attention to the recent violence at historically black churches “whether they are burned or through bullets." [WNCN]
* J. Michael Farren, a White House attorney under George W. Bush, was disbarred in the District of Columbia. He was convicted of attempted murder for beating his wife, a former Skadden attorney, and sentenced to 15 years in jail. [National Law Journal]
* Is there a gender bias in job descriptions? And if there is, what should be done about it? [American Lawyer]
* Biglaw is making big bucks, but only giving small amounts to pro bono efforts. [ABA Journal]
* An Ohio courthouse was evacuated Tuesday after a woman brought a bottle of perfume, shaped like a grenade to the court. I guess you can't be too careful. [Huffington Post]
* Even more law schools are doing away with their LSAT requirements. Let's give a great big welcome to Drake Law and St. John's Law, who are joining the likes of SUNY Buffalo Law and Iowa Law. Woohoo, welcome aboard the bandwagon, folks! [U.S. News & World Report]
* Judge James W. Haley Jr. of the Virginia Court of Appeals held a drunk intruder at gunpoint while he waited for the police to arrive. This unwanted houseguest was only wearing one shoe as he wandered through the judge's home. Oopsie! [Free Lance-Star]
* Well, that was quick. Fried Frank has hired away James “Jamie” Wareham, DLA Piper's $5 million man, about four years after he lateraled to the firm from Paul Hastings. April Fools' Day was his last day at the firm... or was it? J/K, it was for real. [Am Law Daily]
* J. Michael Farren, the ex-White House lawyer who was convicted of attempting to murder his wife and sentenced to 15 years in prison, is now facing the loss of his law license. This should really be the very least of his worries. [Connecticut Law Tribune]
* The U.S. Marshals Service has increased the reward for tips related to the shooting of U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg. Now you'll get $50,000 if you've got information that'll lead to arrests and convictions of the suspects who shot a federal jurist. [Detroit News]
* People keep asking Justice Ginsburg how many women she thinks will be "enough" for the SCOTUS bench, and she keeps giving us the same amazing answer. Flip the page to find out what the Notorious R.B.G. thinks. [Mother Jones]
* Law school deans gone wild! From sex scandals to rankings rumpuses, here's a look at the crazy and sometimes criminal activities that law school administrators and faculty members have been accused of over the years. [National Law Journal]
* "That’s it. Case dismissed. Your behavior is contemptuous." Adriana Ferreyr, the on-again, off-again girlfriend of George Soros who filed a $50 million lawsuit over a $2 million apartment, allegedly went "berserk" in court... yet again. [Dealbreaker]
* The job market would like to wish the legal profession a very unhappy New Year. According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector lost 1,400 jobs in January, with overall jobs down by 4,500 since last year. [Am Law Daily]
* "I felt like my head was just mush inside, and I thought, 'I’m dying.'" Mary Margaret Farren, the former Skadden attorney who survived her ex-husband's brutal attack on her life, recounts the flashlight bludgeoning that nearly killed her. [ABC News]
* Is there no relief in sight for law schools? Moody's says: "This continued decrease in student demand is consistent with our belief that the legal industry is experiencing a fundamental shift rather than a cyclical trend." [Indianapolis Business Journal]
(Flip to the next page to see how many women Justice Ginsburg thinks SCOTUS needs.)
http://youtu.be/vJs1H5tQlDc
* In his year-end report, Chief Justice Roberts wrote about the high court's belated adoption of the latest technological advances, but promised SCOTUS briefs and filings would be online... next year. [New York Times]
* It's been recommended that J. Michael Farren, the former White House lawyer who attempted to murder his ex-wife -- a former Skadden Arps attorney -- be disbarred in D.C. Apparently the bar considers a conviction for something like this a big no-no. [Legal Times]
* Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's terrorism trial for his involvement in the Boston Marathon bombings will begin in Boston on January 5, despite his legal team's best efforts to avoid the inevitable. At least fangirls won't have to travel to admire him. [Bloomberg]
* Here's one law prof's thoughts on Harvard Law's lame response to sexual assault complaints: "I believe ... that Harvard University will be deeply shamed at the role it played in simply caving to the government’s position." Well then. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Remember the Idaho prosecutor who recited the lyrics to "Dixie" during closing arguments at a black man's trial? The defendant's conviction was overturned because the prosecutor "inject[ed] the risk of racial prejudice into the case." [NBC News]
* "People asked me what I want as an epitaph: He tried." Mario Cuomo, the three-term New York governor and Willkie Farr alumnus who was once considered to replace Supreme Court Justice Byron White, has passed away. RIP. [New York Times]
It's hard to believe how badly everything turned out for this former power couple; she was once a lawyer at Skadden, and he served as general counsel to a Fortune 500 company and as a deputy White House counsel.
* The DOJ is looking to retry an accused Somali pirate. They’re totally on top of piracy as long as it doesn’t take place here. [The Blog of the Legal Times]
* Yesterday we posted our holiday tipping thread, heavily citing Corporette’s Kat Griffin. Now she’s posted her own guide and we’re linking to it. It’s like Inception up in here. [Corporette]
* Why fashion gets knocked off: delving into the world of design patents and trade dress. [Fashionista]
* Comparing the modern NSA to the intelligence-gathering techniques employed during the American Revolution. Interesting stuff, but a total cover-up job. Where’s the discussion of Ben Franklin’s “electric kite drones,” eh? You must think we’re pretty naïve, Logan Beirne. [Fox News]
* Incredibly sad, but also incredibly fascinating: if a child is rendered brain dead by a possible medical mistake, should the state honor the wishes of the family to keep the kid on life support even though every day on life support makes an investigation into the cause of death harder? [CNN]
* Loyola University Chicago introduces a new curriculum to give students an opportunity to get real-world experience with a judge or practicing lawyer before graduating. A law school focusing on training lawyers to be lawyers? This isn’t all that surprising when you look back at Dean Yellen’s previous work. [Loyola University Chicago]
* Congratulations to Therese Pritchard on her election as the first female chair of Bryan Cave. We’re big fans… until you fail to leak your bonus memo to us first. The ball’s in your court now Pritchard. [WSJ Law Blog]
* The venerable Green Bag is parting ways with GMU Law. Thankfully, it has already found a new home. [PrawfsBlawg]
* Former White House attorney John Michael Farren who we reported on a lot in the past about beating his wife nearly to death… was found liable for beating his wife nearly to death. So that happened. [News Times]
For some reason, today brings lots of news about lawyers and the criminal justice system. And we’re not talking about lawyers representing clients, but lawyers who are the clients: John Michael Farren, the former White House lawyer accused of attempting to murder his wife; Scott Rothstein, the Florida attorney who ran a massive Ponzi scheme; […]
In January, a former Bush Administration lawyer was charged with attempted murder after allegedly strangling and beating his wife, a counsel at Skadden Arps. John Michael Farren, 57, served as deputy counsel to the president under President George W. Bush, as general counsel at Xerox Corp., and as Under Secretary of Commerce under President George […]
Earlier this month, former Bush White House attorney John Michael Farren allegedly attacked his wife, after she told him she wanted a divorce. Farren pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, first-degree strangulation, and assault last week. The alleged attack — with a flashlight — was a brutal one. Mary Margaret Farren, who is also a […]
A former Bush Administration lawyer has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly strangling and beating his wife, a counsel at Skadden Arps. John Michael Farren, 57, served as deputy counsel to the president under Fred Fielding in the most recent Bush administration, as general counsel at Xerox, and as Under Secretary of Commerce for […]
Some hiring news from the White House counsel’s office, via the WSJ Law Blog: Though many of these White House hires have been reported already elsewhere, its press office issued an official release — dateline “Rostock, Germany” — announcing nine lawyers White House Counsel Fred Fielding has added to his “great little law firm.” President […]
