Jay Clayton

* Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore has won the Republican primary runoff election for the Senate seat that was once occupied by AG Jeff Sessions. Perhaps we can look forward to history repeating itself and Moore being twice suspended if he wins the special election. [New York Times]

* Senate Republicans don’t have the votes for the Graham-Cassidy effort to repeal Obamacare to pass, but not to worry, because they’ll be back at it again soon via the 2019 budget reconciliation process, and next time, they’re going to be transparent, hold committee hearings, and even consult Democrats. [CNN]

* The Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security has refused to waive Jones Act shipping restrictions that are preventing Puerto Rico from getting the gasoline and supplies that are so desperately needed for the island’s recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria. Senator John McCain is pissed, and says it’s time to repeal the “archaic and burdensome” Act. [Reuters]

* Freedom hangs in the balance for Making a Murderer’s Brendan Dassey, whose case was heard before the full Seventh Circuit yesterday. According to court watchers, the judges seemed split, and we can’t help but to wonder what Judge Richard Posner would have thought. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

* Irell & Manella’s Andrei Iancu, President Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is awaiting confirmation. There’s no better way to bide our time while we wait than to discuss the fact that he’d been pulling down a $4 million paycheck at the firm. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily]

* “How can you expect companies to do the right thing when you[r] agency has not?” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton is taking heat over the fact that his agency was hacked in 2016, but nothing was mentioned about it until last week. He’s set a great example. [Big Law Business]

* According to a recent study, no matter what women do, in most cases, they’ll continue to earn less than men. The ban on asking employees about their salary history is doing nothing for women; in fact, they’re being penalized for refusing to disclose their salaries, while men are being rewarded. [The Careerist]

Who were the Top 5 earners in private practice?

A quadruple-levered ETF may be too beautiful even for Donald Trump’s America.

* “I hope you can let this go.” Former FBI director James Comey was writing memos detailing his conversations with Donald Trump to document what he believed were the president’s improper attempts to influence the Michael Flynn investigation. Comey, a damn good lawyer, likely knew that an FBI agent’s notes are admissible in court as credible evidence. [New York Times]

* The Securities and Exchange Commission just got a Biglaw-style facelift: SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, formerly of Sullivan & Cromwell, has asked Willkie Farr partner Robert Stebbins to serve as his general counsel and SullCrom associate Sean Memon to serve as his deputy chief of staff. [Big Law Business]

* Rolling your eyes and calling a federal judge’s ruling on an objection “f*cking bullsh*t” will certainly do you absolutely no favors in Judge Amy St. Eve’s courtroom. In fact, it just might get you suspended from practice for three months and barred from being a lead trial attorney for a year. [Chicago Tribune]

* “I’m an attorney in a capital case!” In videos introduced into evidence during Dylann Roof’s mental competency hearings, the convicted killer said his attorneys were “evil,” “the spawn of hell,” and “liars,” and only wanted to keep them while representing himself “so I can abuse them.” [Post and Courier]

* Drake Law School has entered into an agreement with three historically black colleges and universities to increase its diversity. Entering students will be guaranteed a scholarship to cover at least half of their tuition. Drake’s first-time bar pass rate in Iowa was 82 percent in July 2016. [Iowa Public Radio]

The SEC’s new Corporation Finance chief’s a little half-hearted on his boss’ going-public crusade.

With Donald Trump offering up daily rounds of target practice to his opponents, it would be wise to hold fire on Jay Clayton.

Why is everyone so shocked that Gary Cohn has usurped power from Steve Bannon?

What else would you expect from a Goldman(ish) guy?

A financial disclosure form gives us hints about the wealth of S&C partners.

Clayton acknowledges it all makes for some pretty bad optics.

* S&C may be Trump’s second favorite law firm, but don’t count your chickens on SEC nominee Jay Clayton yet — the Office of Government and Ethics has flagged some potential conflicts of interest. [Law360]

* Law schools often discriminate against women by undercompensating positions that skew female. Sure this is important, but is it as egregious an act of discrimination as not valuing originalist scholarship? [Law.com]

* Three firms admit to overbilling for temp and staff attorneys. [Am Law Daily]

* Ninth Circuit says Dodd-Frank provides broad whistleblower protection, which sets up an intriguing circuit split for the roughly three weeks Dodd-Frank remains a law. [National Law Journal]

* Key cybertrends of 2017. [Legaltech News]

* Fried Frank has its best year ever while the rest of you experienced 2016 as a runaway train of sadness. [Am Law Daily]

* Robot lawyer assisting refugees, making it official that even cyborgs have more of a heart than some politicians. [BBC News]

After Jones Day, is S&C the biggest "feeder firm" to the Trump Administration?

What are these “conflicts of interest” and “ethics” of which you speak, anyway?

By U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons By U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons The former SEC chair has gone home, to the white-shoe law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, her sanctuary whenever a Republican is president.

* The confirmation hearings for Jeff Sessions to serve as U.S. attorney general get underway today; here’s what to watch for. [How Appealing]

* Biglaw faces big challenges today, and even top law firms need to up their game. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law (and also holder of an NYU Law degree), will serve as senior adviser to President Trump; Kushner’s lawyer, Jamie Gorelick of WilmerHale, dismissed nepotism and conflict-of-interest concerns. [Washington Post]

* Speaking of conflicts, it’s probably a wise idea for Supreme Court justices to unload their holdings of individual stocks — as a recent snafu involving Chief Justice John Roberts suggests. [New York Times]

* Speaking of SCOTUS, the Court heard arguments yesterday in a case about a Colorado law making it more difficult for criminal defendants whose convictions get overturned to obtain refunds of fines and restitution they previously paid. [How Appealing]

* Here is Chris Geidner’s assessment of the where the Court is right now — and how it might change after President Trump’s first appointment, to be announced sometime after inauguration. [BuzzFeed]

* And here is a detailed dossier on one of Trump’s SCOTUS finalists, Judge Neil Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit. [U.S. Law Week / Bloomberg BNA]

* What can we expect from the SEC if Sullivan & Cromwell partner Jay Clayton is confirmed as chair? Thoughts from Peter J. Henning. [DealBook / New York Times]

The white-collar defense gravy train may be coming to an end.

The president-elect really can't get enough of Biglaw partners.