Jeff Sessions

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.16.18

* Valparaiso celebrated earlier in the week after reaching an agreement to send its beleaguered law school to Middle Tennessee. Tennessee's education officials have killed the idea of hosting another middling law school with extreme prejudice. [Chicago Tribune] * Ninth Circuit judge displays deliberate ignorance in what appears to be a looming decision to keep college athletes out of court. [Courthouse News Service] * Whenever you doubt the stupidity of humanity, remember people accused of global financial fraud tend to email each other explicit descriptions of what they're doing. [Law360] * Boies Schiller will act as special prosecutor in the Joe Arpaio appeal in what should be the easiest appellate layup ever. [The Recorder] * Republican judge dismisses lawsuit against Republican politician. [Huffington Post] * Jeff Sessions tells the Heritage Foundation that he doesn't approve of this idea that courts might consider themselves some kind of "check" or "balance" on the executive branch. [National Law Journal] * Ralph Baxter thinks Biglaw needs to change its business model to succeed. [American Lawyer]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.11.18

* When the economy tanks again next year, will Biglaw be ready? [Law360] * Lawyers are now using Janus to strike down mandatory bar fees. Let's just watch everything burn. [National Law Journal] * For lawyers, Boston is the new Houston. [American Lawyer] * Jeff Sessions straying as close to the line as he can in telling immigration judges to just ignore legal defenses and deport people on sight. [Courthouse News Service] * A thorough analysis of White House statements on immigration law. It turns out they don't have any idea what they're talking about. [Forbes] * "There she is/a $100K suit over legal fees..." Miss America sued by Fox Rothschild. [Press of Atlantic City] * John Bolton's now attacking the International Criminal Court. If you had that on your official "Erosion of International Norms Bingo Card," then congratulations. [NPR]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.07.18

* In case you missed it, Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh refused to condemn President Donald Trump's attacks on the judiciary (specifically, his insults of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), refused to say whether he believed same-sex marriage was a constitutional right, and once again denied discussing the Mueller probe with anyone at Kasowitz Benson. What will happen today? [Washington Post] * President Donald Trump has reportedly called Attorney General Jeff Sessions "a dumb Southerner" and an "idiot" without an Ivy League law degree who "couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama." This Alabama Law professor wonders what's so bad about a degree from Alabama Law. [New York Times] * Per a new study from the American Bar Association, the sky is blue and women and minorities continue to face racial and gender bias within the legal profession. But, here are some tools to fight these problems. [DealBook / New York Times] * Allen & Overy has published its 2018 gender pay gap figures, and it's the first U.K. firm to include data from its "overwhelmingly male" partners in its disclosures. A&O's median gender pay gap is 39 percent, a slight improvement. [Financial Times] * It seems that the Justice Department no longer thinks that employers should be forced to consider job applicants with criminal histories, going against Obama-era guidance that the EEOC has been following since 2012. [National Law Journal] * In an historic opinion, India's Supreme Court ruled that gay sex between adults is not a crime, casting aside an "irrational, arbitrary, and incomprehensible" colonial-era law that made the act a punishable offense within the country. [Times of India] * Fire alarms sounded at Miami Law as smoke poured through vents into a student lounge, and some students evacuated their classrooms, but others ran back in to save their laptops. Well, obviously -- they're law students, after all. [Miami Hurricane]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.04.18

* Trump blamed Jeff Sessions for not covering up suspected criminal activity by Republican legislators. We're running out of taboos to break here. [CNN] * Brett Kavanaugh will have that abortion right eliminated at lightning speed. [National Law Journal] * But the Senators will have access to 42000 pages of documents released a couple hours before the hearings. It's a move that wouldn't stand up to scrutiny in bumbledick local court but for reshaping the Supreme Court for two to three decades it's just fine. [Washington Post via OregonLive] * We may be seeing serious cracks in the wall against outside law firm ownership. And when that happens... send in the accounting firms. [American Lawyer] * Because there's no end to the Trump legal news, Giuliani is now telling people that the White House will block Mueller's final report from ever going public, which is absolutely what innocent people say. [The Hill] * After the first full weekend of college football, is there really a reason to keep Kansas on the field? [TaxProf Blog] * The first in a series on law firm office moves. [Law360] * The slogan "Ask Sherwin-Williams" my bite them in the ass as lawyers lay out the company's old ads bragging about its lead paint. [Law and More]

By Joe Patrice
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By Barbri
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.24.18

* Jeff Sessions assures people that the Justice Department won't be intimidated by the administration. Trump responds with intimidation effort, blasting Justice for not doing enough about the "other side" and then just lists a bunch of Republicans he doesn't like. [CNN] * The White House is crowing over an unsealed Starr investigation report that "fully exonerates" Brett Kavanaugh... as a media leak. The collective delusion over there that being a leak is the worst possible sin, and not, you know sexual harassment issues, continues to astound. [National Law Journal] * The Trump administration continues its efforts to raise taxes on Americans who didn't vote for him. [Law360] * After Debevoise offered a comically cozy report to help Ohio State keep winning football games, it's worth remembering the school still has another internal investigation going on into sexual abuse claims against the wrestling staff. [Corporate Counsel] * The Texas lateral market is making a whole lot of money. [Texas Lawyer] * K&L Gates gets the go ahead on Singapore merger. [International] * Ady Barkan, an ALS patient who has become an activist for patients, announced a campaign to raise money for Susan Collins's next opponent if she supports the Kavanaugh nomination. Over the course of 3 days, he's raised over $130K. [Crowdpac] * RelativityOne announces Allen & Overy to its list of clients. [PR Newswire]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.07.18

* Update from the Paul Manafort trial: Rick Gates admitted... everything in testimony yesterday. He admitted he helped Manafort under-report income, create fake loans, and hide foreign accounts. Oh, and he says he did it all "at the direction of Mr Manafort." [CNN] * HSBC to pay $765 million to end the Department of Justice's investigation into its mortgage securities business that was initiated after the financial collapse.[Law360] * In a bid to combat its financial woes, the ABA is decreasing the cost of membership. They hope this will encourage more attorneys to become members. The organization has seen a 4 percent drop in membership in 2018 from 2017. [Law.com] * Jeff Sessions has committed the DOJ to fighting U.S. District Court Judge John Bates's order that the government reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. [Slate] * New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood is going after the Department of Labor for not responding to her FOIA requests. [New York Law Journal] * The campaign of Georgia Democratic congressional candidate Steven Foster has hit a bit of a snag -- the former emergency room doctor has been convicted of driving under the influence. [Law and Crime]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.24.18

* It's the first day of the bar exam in a number of jurisdictions. These young lawyers have suggestions for your last month of freedom. [Young Lawyers Advisory Board] * Jeff Sessions is withholding funding from local law enforcement. Just the latest example of Dummy the House Elf's curious interpretation of being "tough on crime." [NJ.com] * Now Trump will meet with Mueller? Oh, he'll talk to Mueller about anything but obstruction. So I guess they could discuss the weather. [Time] * Stormy Daniels is getting a divorce. [NY Times] * After a dicey back and forth with the ABA, NCCU has retained its accreditation. [News & Observer] * The EU keeps fining American companies. American companies keep right on monopolizin'. [The Economist] * Jonathan Turley goes all "get off my lawn" about Millennials and free speech. Magistrate Judge James Donohue points out that Millennials might appreciate free speech more if they had any reason to believe people like Turley weren't trying to turn it into a pay-to-play right. [Courthouse News Service]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.20.18

* A Guatemalan woman seeking asylum in the United States has filed suit against the Trump administration, alleging that her 7-year-old son was taken from her at the border last month. She's only spoken to him once, and desperately wants to be reunited with her child. [The Hill] * Stop the inhumane insanity: A group of state attorneys general and former U.S. attorneys have written letters to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, demanding that he "immediately" reverse his policy of separating families at the border, letting him know that "the unfolding tragedy falls squarely on [his] shoulders." [National Law Journal] * After being dumped by McDermott Will, Michael Cohen has hired Guy Petrillo as his attorney. Petrillo is an ex-S.D.N.Y. prosecutor, which could make it easier for his client to negotiate a deal of some sort after he starts cooperating. [New York Times] * Seyfarth Shaw has been slapped with a $40 million malpractice suit by Manhattan's Blue Dog restaurant group, with claims that the firm "negligently, deceptively, and repeatedly" failed in its attempts to properly represent them. [American Lawyer] * The Justice Department will be holding its annual DOJ Pride event on June 26, and it's doubtful that AG Sessions will attend. To be honest, given his record, it's probably better this way for the LGBT employees who'd be celebrating. [Washington Blade]

By Staci Zaretsky