James Leipold

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.17.15

* “The top is eroding and the bottom is growing." Even as class sizes get smaller and tuition gets lower, the law school brain drain continues. America's best and brightest won't be fooled into studying law when the job market is still so unstable, but others have been. [Bloomberg] * Attorneys for California's sex workers have filed suit to overturn the state's ban on prostitution, claiming that "[t]he rights of adults to engage in consensual, private sexual activity (even for compensation) is a fundamental liberty interest." Yeah, okay. [AP] * “The simple story is that $160,000 as a starting salary at large law firms is less prevalent than it was immediately prior to the recession." You can scream "NY TO 190K!" all you want, but starting salaries have remained flat. Sowwy. [DealBook / New York Times] * U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York has involved himself in an "escalating war of words" with members of the federal judiciary that he may come to regret. Will this “petulant rooster" be able to kiss and make up? [New York Times] * Per a recently filed lawsuit, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees still hasn't paid a single law firm for their representation in the Biogenesis case. He allegedly owes Gordon & Rees $380,059 in unpaid fees. Come on, A-Rod. You've got the cash. [New York Daily News] * Infamous plaintiffs' attorney Steven Donziger of the $9.5 billion Chevron / Ecuador kerfuffle decided that if he can't win his case in a court of law, he might as well try to win it in the court of public opinion. Check out his side of the story. [Law360 (sub. req.)]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.25.15

* Smart women, foolish choices? Alexandra Marchuk might regret turning down a $425,001 offer of judgment from the defendants in Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi, in which she wound up getting a $140,000 verdict. [Law360 (sub. req.)] * In other news from high-profile sexual harassment cases, the trial in Harvard Law grad Ellen Pao's lawsuit against venture capital behemoth Kleiner Perkins got underway yesterday. [USA Today] * A guilty verdict and a life sentence in the "American Sniper" trial. [New York Times] * Embattled politico Sheldon Silver has turned to the talented Steven Molo in seeking to get the criminal charges against him dismissed. [New York Post] * J.J. Nelson v. Adidas: coming to a 1L Contracts casebook near you? [ESPN] * Law schools dropping the LSAT: a trend in the making? [BloombergBusiness] * The latest in Deidre Clark v. Allen & Overy: is plaintiff Deidre Dare ready for her close-up psychological exam? [New York Law Journal] * Is the job outlook for law school graduates brightening? Some thoughts from Jim Leipold of NALP. [National Law Journal via ABA Journal] * As he runs for Congress, what does Staten Island district attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr. have to say about the Eric Garner case? [New York Times]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.18.15

* Could it be? Did Justice Clarence Thomas ask a question during oral arguments at SCOTUS? No, but he did ask a question at Yale Law during a presentation, noting that he doesn't ask "irrelevant, useless questions" at the high court. [Legal Times] * Per NALP, gains were made by women and minorities in law firms for the first time in years, but be careful, because Jim Leipold is watching you: "Individual law firms should not be allowed to hide behind the national figures." [National Law Journal] * Meet Judge Robert C. Brack of the District Court of New Mexico, who recently earned quite the accolade. Judge Brack has sentenced more defendants than any other federal judge in the past five years. He won't be celebrating his achievement. [WSJ Law Blog] * This Georgetown Law professor, who happens to be the cofounder of one of the country's largest litigation finance firms, wants to see a law firm IPO, but others wonder if lawyers would be able to ethically practice while reporting to shareholders. [Washington Post] * A Chadbourne & Park employee has been banned from ever working for another law firm again following his theft of $15,360 from C&P's coffers. Not to worry, no client money was pilfered from the firm -- the cash was taken from an open office account. [Am Law Daily] * If you haven't heard, David Lat wrote a book called Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), and "[w]riting the novel was almost therapeutic for [him] in a way" -- he's "kind of over" the fact that his résumé doesn't include a SCOTUS clerkship. [Chicago Daily Law Bulletin] * Martha Africa, name partner of Major Lindsey & Africa, RIP. [San Francisco Chronicle]

By Staci Zaretsky