Jeffrey Epstein

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.12.23

* Trump indicates that he would consider a plea deal if the DOJ would "pay me some damages." It's possible he's not receiving top notch legal guidance right now. [Newsweek] * JPMorgan Chase has settled with Jeffrey Epstein's victims. [MarketWatch] * Civil rights lawyer arrested for filming a traffic stop as creeping fascism breaks into a sprint. [ABC News] * 3M tried to wiggle out of earplug liability through bankruptcy. The courts seem to have grown wise to this strategy. [Financial Times] * Government digging into allegations of COVID test fraud, where people ordered free tests on behalf of dead people. Look, I don't know if anyone in DC is tracking the level of COVID denialism out here but maybe we don't need to complain about anyone wanting tests. [Bloomberg Law News] * Title IX changes expected to trigger wave of litigation. [Law.com] * Marvel settles with classic creators who possessed the most important superpower of all: a colorable copyright interest. [Law360]

By Above the Law
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.18.23

* Fifth Circuit judge scolds attorney for "personal attack" because she accurately described the district court opinion as unprecedented. As Inigo Montoya would put it, "I don't think that word means what Judge Elrod thinks it means. [Slate] * After watching Disney's experience beating up on Florida lawyers, Penguin Random House is starting to sue Florida school districts for banning books. [AP] * Montana has banned TikTok in a reminder that "free speech" is now limited to punishing students for carrying mean signs during FedSoc events. [Wall Street Journal] * Deutsche Bank paying $75 million to settle claims that the bank facilitated Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operations. Another win for Boies Schiller Flexner and Edwards Pottinger representing Epstein's victims. [Reuters] * Massachusetts US Attorney accused of abuse of power "to achieve a political goal epitomiz[ing] the type of 'political justice' that Congress intended to prohibit." Too bad she wasn't a judge taking free vacations from parties before the court... she'd be home free by now.[Law360] * WilmerHale earned 5 percent of its total revenue from Meta, the company you remember as Facebook before they completely retooled to chase a creepy VR chat room that they've since killed after costing the company about $13 billion. Which is all to say that Wilmer may want to diversify its revenue streams at this rate. [Bloomberg Law News] * A discussion of Shadow Docket by Steve Vladeck (affiliate link). [ABA Journal]

By Above the Law
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.21.23

* NYC is prepared for protests surrounding Trump indictment. Precaution is always good, but most of his supporters inclined to go out and do something dangerous are probably already serving their January 6th sentence. [Reuters] * Meanwhile, the House GOP wants Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg to testify to Congress about this process because federalism and states rights are just empty slogans. [Courthouse News Service] * Fox producer claims Winston & Strawn and network attorneys pressured her to be evasive in Dominion suit deposition. Sometimes witnesses misinterpret "don't speculate" for "be evasive" but reading some of the details, this seems to be... not that. [Law360] * Proposed class action against JPMorgan Chase for aiding in sex trafficking moves forward. [New York Law Journal] * Debevoise partners took the firm's headcount growth on the chin with average profits dipping to a mere $4.42 million per partner. This might look very smart in a few months when they're going to need all those retained associates for ramped up work because... [American Lawyer] * ... Biglaw projects an M&A revamp over the second half of the year. Which is the prediction Above the Law has made for months so it's nice to see the firms catching up. [Bloomberg Law News] * Kevin Costner's case heads to the South Dakota Supreme Court. I didn't like The Postman either, but we don't need to make a whole case out of it. [Kelo]

By Above the Law
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.09.23

* Industry report suggests firms should stop the layoffs and hold off on billing rate increases. Nice try, clients! Thought you could slip one by us. [American Lawyer] * JP Morgan blames former executive for not keeping them in the loop on the Jeffrey Epstein thing sooner. Presumably they mean because they would've stopped doing business with him and not because they wanted in. [Law360] * Bankman-Fried lawyers suggest possible delay. Hold that pre-trial release to the moon! [Reuters] * Senator wants access to exactly WHICH classified documents Trump, Biden, and Pence had, and is threatening to kill 702 until he gets it. Watch as the intelligence community struggle with what they love more: overclassification or warrantless wiretapping. It's like asking a robot to define love. [NY Times] * Feds probing Memphis police and specialized police forces across the country generally. Could it be that giving a small unit of cops military grade equipment and functional immunity for whatever they want has led to abuse? [Courthouse News Service] * Corporations run from their own diversity pledges at the first sign of white blacklash. The times they are a-staying the same. [Bloomberg Law News]

By Above the Law