John Bush

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.26.19

* 3M is asking Biglaw to care for attorney mental health in its new procurement process. The fourth "M" is for "Mindfulness." [Corporate Counsel] * In today's installment of "intellectual property law is broken," publishers are suing over audiobooks that offer captions. [New York Law Journal] * A guy who legally changed his name to Atticus Finch when he was 8 is now in law school. If you think you hated Go Set A Watchman... [Texas Lawyer] * Second Circuit doing all sorts of fact-finding because adhering to the record and precedent is out of fashion apparently. [Law360] * Anti-gay blogger Judge John Bush calling out Kim Davis for "antihomosexual bias" is peak 2019. [National Law Journal] * Famous football players who became lawyers. [Law.com] * Convict seeks sheriff job. [HuffPo]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.19.18

* Happy Shutdown!!! In case you're wondering, the looming crisis won't close the federal courts... for a few weeks. [National Law Journal] * Sixth Circuit rules that cops can bust into your home and search for any reason at all. Who'd have thought putting an internet troll on an appellate court was a bad idea? [Slate] * Coming off turning over their op-ed page to the lowest common denominator, the New York Times pens a thinkpiece that could easily have been titled, "Did you ever see Person of Interest? That was awesome." [New York Times] * Apparently judges stealing cocaine from evidence lockers is frowned upon. [Legal Intelligencer] * DLA Piper forced to do some rearranging in Saudi Arabia. [American Lawyer] * Frank Darabont is suing Walking Dead again. Just when you thought these suits were dead, they come back to life. [Law360]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.21.17

* Congratulations to John K. Bush, who won confirmation to the Sixth Circuit despite his controversial undercover blogging. [How Appealing] * Team Trump is digging into the backgrounds of special counsel Robert Mueller's all-star team of attorneys, looking for discrediting dirt. [New York Times] * DLA Piper swallows up Liner LLP, a California-based boutique with 60 lawyers -- so, DLA's idea of breakfast. [Law.com] * Justice Alito defends his tenure on the Supreme Court cafeteria committee (in this hilarious piece by Jess Bravin). [Wall Street Journal via How Appealing] * Ex-Dentons associate Michael Potere, represented by a public defender, pleads not guilty to charges that he tried to extort his former firm. [Law360] * Is the relationship of President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions damaged beyond repair? [New York Times] * Is Charles Miller's move to Tarter Krinsky & Drogin the beginning of a partner exodus from Kasowitz Benson -- one possibly driven by the debacle of the Donald Trump representation? [New York Law Journal] * Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law gets censured by the ABA in the wake of sex-discrimination allegations. [ABA Journal]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.14.17

* The Second Circuit vacates the corruption convictions of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Congratulations to his counsel, the high-powered litigation boutique of MoloLamken (which handled the appeal as well as the trial). [How Appealing] * And congrats to federal judicial nominees John K. Bush (Sixth Circuit) and Kevin Newsom (Eleventh Circuit), who just got voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. [Washington Examiner] * In other nomination news, the White House seems to be taking its time in announcing a Ninth Circuit nominee from Oregon. Delay may strengthen the case for frontrunner Ryan Bounds; his main competition, Chief Judge Michael Mosman, gets older by the day (turning 61 later this year). [Portland Tribune] * Meet Michael Murray, an ex-SCOTUS clerk and Jones Day alum, who is the Justice Department's new point person on pot. (Fun fact: Kevin Newsom, Ryan Bounds, and Michael Murray all clerked for my former boss, Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain of the Ninth Circuit.) [U.S. News] * Former Ropes & Gray COO Hugh A. Simons wonders: "Are Law Firms Too Sophisticated for Their Own Good?" [Am Law Daily] * Will law school applications see a "Trump Bump," as idealistic aspiring attorneys seek law degrees to join the resistance? We might have more on this later. [Law.com] * Yes, lawyers should stand up for their beliefs -- but they also can (and must) understand the arguments on the other side, as new Yale Law dean Heather Gerken explains. [Time] * The Ninth Circuit has ruled in the Case of the Tweeting Judge. We might have more on this later as well. [How Appealing] * Congratulations to Stephen Kane, an alum of O'Melveny & Myers and Lex Machina, on securing $1.8 million in funding for his FairClaims startup -- which he describes as "a virtual Judge Judy." [TechCrunch]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.19.17

* Holy smokes! What subject just led the en banc Eleventh Circuit to issue almost 300 pages worth of opinions? [How Appealing] * I'm all in favor of anonymous blogging, but there's no denying that it can be hazardous to one's Article III ambitions. [BuzzFeed] * It's not just President Donald Trump's handshakes that can be dangerous (just ask Justice Neil Gorsuch); he's weaponized the hug as well, as James Comey learned. [Althouse] * A high-profile visitor over at the Volokh Conspiracy: renowned First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams will be blogging about his new book, The Soul of the First Amendment (affiliate link). [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Speaking of books, here's Professor Lisa Pruitt on J.D. Vance's (critically acclaimed, bestselling) memoir, Hillbilly Elegy (affiliate link): "I knew Yale law degrees were valuable, but Vance’s seems to be working miracles." * And here are some reflections from Professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson on whether fear should be part of the law school experience. [PrawfsBlawg] * Mark your calendars: June 14 in San Francisco, Battle of the (Law Firm) Bands! [Family Violence Appellate Project]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.19.17

* Remember when Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) flipped out at Kirkland & Ellis for not sending a partner to cover a status hearing? It seems K&E and its client Facebook's groveling won over the judge: cases dismissed. [ABA Journal] * A big settlement in the Takata air bags litigation -- and presumably big legal fees for some of the firms involved. [National Law Journal] * Congratulations to Judge Amul Thapar (E.D. Ky.) on clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee; he should hopefully be on the Sixth Circuit soon. [Washington Times] * Congratulations to Rachel Brand on her confirmation as associate attorney general -- although it's unfortunate that more Democrats didn't cross the aisle to support her. [Law360] * And be careful what you wish for, Democrats: now that we have Robert Mueller as special counsel, congressional inquiries into Trump/Russia-related matters could stall. [Washington Post] * Speaking of Russia probes, should President Donald Trump hire outside counsel to represent him? да, да. [New York Times] * A closer look at prominent lawyer John K. Bush, nominated by President Trump to the Sixth Circuit. [Vetting Room via How Appealing] * Does size matter? Yes -- at least in this murder case where the defendant is invoking a "big penis" defense. [New York Post]

By David Lat