* A lawsuit claims that a Minnesota law firm fired pro-Trump employees. Maybe the litigation is going to be "yuge"... [New York Post]
* A New York disbarred lawyer allegedly helped an ex-con swindle friends our of half a million dollars. [New York Daily News]
* Counsel for Derek Chauvin is seeking to probe alleged bias on the part of the jury that convicted Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd earlier this year. [AP]
* Jeffrey Toobin has returned to CNN after he took time off following an incident in which he exposed himself on a Zoom call last year. [USA Today]
* Lawyers for Stormy Daniel's former counsel Michael Avenatti claim Avenatti should get a light sentence because he is mocked and ridiculed for his fall from grace. Maybe the judge will say "basta"... [Daily Beast]
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* I share Allahpundit's take on the retirement buzz around Justice Clarence Thomas (recently discussed by Jeffrey Toobin, but also in the air at last November's Federalist Society conference): it's certainly possible, and if it happens, Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Judge Amul Thapar are the two top picks. [Hot Air]
* And Judge Barrett is protecting her prospects for Supreme Court confirmation: she just joined the opinion of a fellow shortlister, Judge Diane Sykes, that dutifully applies Hill v. Colorado, the shaky but not-overruled Supreme Court precedent about free-speech rights outside abortion clinics. [Bench Memos / National Review]
* Speaking of SCOTUS, which amici boast the best track recorders in filing certiorari-stage amicus briefs in business cases? Adam Feldman crunches the numbers -- and the dominance of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should come as no surprise. [Empirical SCOTUS]
* And speaking of the Chamber, it also seems to be making progress on its goal of forcing more disclosure of litigation-funding arrangements, with the reintroduction of the Litigation Funding Transparency Act (LFTA). [Institute for Legal Reform]
* Litigation funders don't reflexively oppose any and all disclosure requirements; Michael German of Vannin Capital, for example, argues for a sensible and limited disclosure regime. [New York Law Journal]
* If you're looking for an interesting new podcast (besides Wondery's exploration of the Dan Markel case), consider Bound by Oath from the Institute for Justice (Eugene Volokh is a fan). [Institute for Justice]
* Should Roger Stone be gagged? Joel Cohen weighs the pros and cons. [The Hill]
* Are you a lawyer who enjoys poker? Mark your calendar for February 23! [Attorney Poker Tour]
* The First Law Student is single. People reports Tiffany Trump broke up with her longtime boyfriend as part of her law school transition. [People]
* Jeffrey Toobin and Alan Dershowitz clash on television when Toobin points out that Dershowitz's cable appearances these days are less legal analysis than auditions for Sarah Huckabee Sanders's job. [Daily Beast]
* Charles Cooper says Jeff Sessions is not currently under investigation for false statements or perjury. Update your scorecards accordingly. [USA Today]
* Ninth Circuit rules in favor of the Gaye family in the Blurred Lines lawsuit. Wait, that's still going on? [Courthouse News Service]
* Former Florida State deputy general counsel arrested in child sex sting. [Tallahassee Democrat]
* In-house counsel are very concerned about GDPR. [Big Law Business]
* Some people have some entirely understandable problems with Lindsay's new ad. [Ad Age]
* CSM believes the Austin bomber case shows off law enforcement's deep surveillance powers. Yeah, they were so deep they pretty much did nothing for weeks. [Christian Science Monitor]
* Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, which took place last night in Las Vegas, Nevada. [New York Times]
* "There’s only one prediction that’s entirely safe about the upcoming term. It will be momentous." The Supreme Court's October Term 2017 begins today, and it will be Justice Neil Gorsuch's first full term. The docket features issues like voting rights, religion and discrimination, workers' rights, and digital privacy, and Trump's DOJ has radically flipped its position from that of prior administrations in many of the cases, which hasn't happened in decades. [New York Times]
* Jeffrey Toobin wonders, "How badly is Neil Gorsuch annoying the other Supreme Court justices?" Based on the junior justice's behavior thus far -- from his seemingly politicized appearances to his domination of oral arguments to his dissenting jab at Justice Kennedy -- the answer could very well be PRETTY BADLY. [New Yorker]
* You may have grown up, but you're still a Toys “R” Us kid at heart, so you'll want to know how much these Biglaw firms are charging Geoffrey the Giraffe for their representation in the toy store's bankruptcy. Partners and of counsel are billing up to $1,745 per hour, and associates are billing up to $1,015 per hour. [Am Law Daily]
* Biglaw salary wars are heating up across the pond, with Clifford Chance having recently decided to boost pay for newly qualified associates to £87,300 (~$116,933.99) a year in total compensation. Other firms like Freshfields and Linklaters have also instituted salary hikes, while Slaughter & May has frozen associate pay. [Law.com]
* "This, all of this, allows me to prove my story is useful." Reginald Dwayne Betts, the Yale Law School graduate whose dreams of being able to practice law after passing the bar exam were deferred thanks to a decades-old felony carjacking conviction, was finally admitted to the Connecticut bar. Congratulations! [Hartford Courant]
* Brad Pitt filed a motion to seal the details of his custody arrangement with Angelia Jolie to protect his children's privacy, but a judge has rejected the actor's request. A lawyer for Jolie had this to say: "His ... request is a thinly veiled attempt to shield himself, rather than the minor children, from public view." Ouch. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
* CHECK YOU EMAILS OFTEN, PARTNERS! Several Biglaw firms -- including Cravath and Weil Gotshal -- were hit by data breaches over the course of last year, and it's now been confirmed that those data breaches were carried out by Chinese operatives who were successful in stealing about seven gigabytes of data by hacking their way into partners' email accounts. [Fortune]
* Each December, Jeffrey Toobin creates a "semi-accurate, semi-serious" list of his predictions for the top legal stories for the coming year. Perhaps most notably, Toobin predicts President Donald Trump will appoint Judge Diane Sykes of the Seventh Circuit to the Supreme Court as the late Justice Antonin Scalia's replacement. [New Yorker]
* Which is more prestigious, a judicial clerkship or a first-of-its-kind Capitol Hill clerkship? Earlier this week, four senators introduced a bill to create a dozen yearlong Congressional clerkships for recent law school graduates. The bill would allow law school graduates to "spend a formative year in the legislative branch." [National Law Journal]
* Per the most recent Corporate Equity Index survey released by the Human Rights Campaign, more Biglaw firms are doing well when it comes to protecting their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees. One hundred and twelve firms earned perfect scores for their inclusive policies in the survey, up from 95 last year. [Am Law Daily]
* Does the future of transgender rights go through the Supreme Court? [Constitution Daily]
* There's been a lot of chatter about it, but what do the rules say about the scenario of Donald Trump dropping out of the presidential race? [WSJ Law Blog]
* The Olympics is great fun for nationalism, but there is a dark side behind it, as Professor Ilya Somin explains. Here is one idea to do away with that. [Volokh Conspiracy]
* The latest on what went on behind closed doors at Fox during Roger Ailes's reign. [Law and More]
* In-house lawyer Suleen Lee, general counsel to The Barre Code, gives new meaning to "character and fitness." [Chicago Lawyer]
* Law professors in defense of the working legal standard in campus rape cases. [Huffington Post]
* Shearman & Sterling partner Richard Hsu interviews leading legal journalist Jeffrey Toobin, author of the new book American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst (affiliate link). [Hsu Untied]
* And Randy Maniloff of Coverage Opinions interviews legendary law professor Arthur Miller. [Law.com]
* Congrats to Orrick's D.C. associates on more than doubling their contribution to Legal Aid's Generous Associates Campaign this year! [Orrick]
