Jonathan Schiller

Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 04.21.19

* What's the future of Elizabeth Prelogar, the beauty queen turned Harvard Law School grad turned Supreme Court clerk turned Team Mueller member? Not clear, except that it's blindingly bright. [Ozy] * How often do you see this? A federal judge praises counsel -- specifically, J. Christian Adams of the Election Law Center, Douglas R. Cox of Gibson Dunn, Michael E. Rosman of the Center for Individual Rights, and local counsel Mun Su Park -- for their "conscientious billing practices." [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Another Lawyerly Lair of Jonathan Schiller, of Boies Schiller Flexner fame: a stunning modern retreat on Martha's Vineyard, designed by his son, architect Aaron Schiller (whose firm also did the new BSF offices in Hudson Yards). [Martha's Vineyard] * Amicus brief of the month: a compelling -- and, sadly, entertaining (see the Appendix) -- analysis of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's utterly incoherent approach to supposedly "immoral or scandalous" trademarks, filed by William Jay and Goodwin Procter on behalf of law professors Barton Beebe and Jeanne Fromer. [Supreme Court of the United States] * Here's a clear and concise explanation of the "Rule of 80," taking "senior status" as a federal judge, and what this all means for the ideological balance of the judiciary, courtesy of Ed Whelan. [Bench Memos / National Review] * How should we think about President Donald Trump's branding of the press as "the enemy of the people"? Negatively, to be sure -- but let's also keep in mind that the media is not a monolith, as First Amendment lawyer Charles Glasser helpfully reminds us. [Daily Caller] * Stephen Cooper survived a stabbing -- then went on to defend violent criminals for many years as a federal public defender. [Alabama Political Reporter] * Cooper argues that we need to be less punitive and more thoughtful in our treatment of offenders -- and Joel Cohen seems to agree, defending an unusual but wise sentence recently handed down by Judge Valerie Caproni (S.D.N.Y.). [New York Law Journal]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.22.18

* Paramedics rushed to Justice Sonia Sotomayor's apartment on Friday after the diabetic jurist experienced a low blood sugar episode. She was not hospitalized, and went to work because she's "doing fine." Somewhere, President Trump is cackling gleefully about one of his predictions. [POLITICO] * After a months-long drought, the Supreme Court will finally issue some opinions today. This is the slowest the high court has been in issuing opinions since 1868. Did Justice Neil Gorsuch’s arrival on the bench set SCOTUS efficiency back by 150 years? [Big Law Business] * Taylor Weyeneth, the 24-year-old who was recently appointed by Trump to be the nation’s deputy drug czar, is just like most Trump appointees without any experience. His résumé full of “errors,” and he forgot to mention that he lost his job at a law firm after not showing up. [Washington Post] * “Even though David Boies has the energy of a 4-year-old, he is in the twilight of his career,” so a new generation of partners at the firm are preparing to move Boies Schiller into the future after Boies and Jonathan Schiller step back from their active leadership roles. [American Lawyer] * A Dentons partner whose firm was gobbled up by the Biglaw behemoth last year has been suspended and placed on a leave of absence after word of his alleged inappropriate sexual behavior with female employees at his legacy firm for around to management. [American Lawyer via RollOnFriday] * California has been going after the LSAC for years over its disability accommodations for people who want to take the LSAT, and now the state wants the council to be held in contempt. LSAC thinks California needs to study reading its comprehension. [The Recorder] * Are you ready for some disparaging team names in football?! Many people are likely to continue calling them the “Washington team,” but in the wake of the Matal v. Tam Supreme Court case, the Fourth Circuit has officially vacated the decisions that canceled the Washington Redskins’ trademark registrations. [USA Today Sports]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.23.14

* "Instead of ordering the Marshal to permit a desegregated Christmas party at the Court, the Court hosted no party at all." Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote in his diary of the SCOTUS Christmas party that never was due to the high court's unspoken racism. [Supreme Court Brief] * We know of at least one lawyer who may be receiving a lump of coal in her stocking. A former partner of two major New York City firms allegedly stole millions of dollars from them to live a life of luxury. We'll have more on this later today. [Bergen Record] * Since "interest in law schools [is] dwindl[ing] nationally," the easiest cost-cutting measure comes in the form of faculty buyouts at another school. Don't hate the playa, hate the game, law professors. It's a "necessary" evil these days. [The Advocate] * President Obama is going to nominate Sally Quillian Yates, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, for the position of deputy attorney general. If confirmed, there'll be two women at the top of the DOJ. Yay! [Miami Herald] * Guess who just got promoted to partner at Boies Schiller & Flexner? It's none other than Joshua Schiller, the son of the firm's cofounder and managing partner. Aww. That's the most precious thing ever. We just want to pinch his cheeks. [Am Law Daily] * Before you submit your law school applications, you should probably make sure that you've read and followed all of the instructions, because just in case you forgot, you're applying to follow instructions for a living. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

By Staci Zaretsky