* Biglaw collections experience slowdown. Time for Cravath to break out Rocco and Sal to break a few thumbs over at PwC. [American Lawyer]
* A look at how judges manage to deal with gift offers besides just hopping on a private jet. [Bloomberg Law News]
* JP Morgan fined by SEC after deleting 47 million emails involved in multiple investigations. Oopsie! [CNBC]
* Fenwick doesn't have to produce documents in Sam Bankman-Fried case with judge ruling that the defense was just looking for value in nothing. [Law360]
* Judge Luttig, formerly of the Fourth Circuit, wrote a brutal rebuke of the Republican party's Trump addiction. [New York Times]
* Microsoft remains cool as workers organize, putting pressure on the rest of the video game industry. [Bloomberg Law News]
* A ranking of television lawyers. Not sure about any list without Harvey Birdman, but all right. [Giant Freakin Robot]
* A sneak peek at Am Law 200 reports. [American Lawyer]
* Two lesser charges against Tex McIver shot down. [USNWR]
* The Waffle House sextortion case ends in acquittal. Defendants celebrate at IHOP. [Daily Report Online]
* Four Thomas clerks are behind the new "HAWA" legal challenge to make Harvard All White Again. [National Law Journal]
* A quick look at Robert Khuzami, the former SEC Enforcement honcho who most likely fulfilled the SDNY USAO's role in ordering the Cohen raid. [Courthouse News Service]
* JP Morgan decided to join the cryptocurrency revolution by declaring that customer purchases of cryptocurrencies were really "cash advances" instead of regular transactions... a move that allowed them to charge higher fees. Now cryptoheads are suing. Look, you can't have it both ways. [Law360]
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* Three UCLA basketball players were arrested for shoplifting in China and face the prospect of being stranded there while the case plays out -- which some experts say could take years. International law expert LaVar Ball doesn't think it's a big deal though, so there's that. [CBS News]
* Jury finds JPMorgan Chase liable for unlawful retaliation, prompting Judge Denise Cote to rail against the jury as prejudiced and suggest that she'll be throwing out the verdict. The case has dragged on for seven years, but Judge Cote seems adamant that we'll continue to try it again and again until people realize that banks can't commit wrongdoing. [Law360]
* Fish & Richardson and Fish IP Law end their legal fight over the rights to the name. Good for them... there's plenty of Fish in the sea. [The Recorder]
* Hundreds of civil rights groups have lined up to oppose the latest DC Circuit Nominee Greg Katsas. While the groups outline multiple problems with his nomination, the fact that he's been actively involved in vetting other Trump judicial nominees seems the most damning indict of his judgment. [National Law Journal]
* Deutsche Bank names Florian Drinhausen of Linklaters as its new GC. Deutsche Bank previously had two GCs working in tandem but realized that undermined their ability to complain about bills reflecting inefficient work. [Corporate Counsel]
* FCPA cases are on the decline -- is Trump's animosity toward anti-corruption laws to blame? [NPR]
* Apparently Donald Trump dictated the Donald Trump Jr. statement that’s going to land his son in trouble. Here’s a bit of free advice: when you’re the subject of a criminal probe, let your lawyers draft your statements as opposed to washed up steak salesmen. [Washington Post] * Hooboy! Ad links Airbnb to terrorism. That’s… […]
* Nixon Peabody's profits per partner are up. You know what that means... everyone's a winner at Nixon Peabody! [Am Law Daily]
* Apparently House Republicans are drafting the Obamacare repeal in the Room of Requirement. [Slate]
* Mike Pence faces some harsh criticism amid reports that as governor he used private email for state business and got hacked, but you're missing the real story of how this humanitarian really wanted to help that Nigerian prince. [Indianapolis Star]
* "At best, unprofessional" isn't the ideal ceiling. [ABA Journal]
* JP Morgan whistleblower wants a new judge. The key to this story is seeing Judge Sweet described as "snarky." [Law360]
* Sitting down with the newest leaders in Biglaw. [Law.com]
* A profile of one of 2017 Skadden Fellow Tarra Simmons from Seattle University Law, who spent 20 months in prison for drug offenses and plans to work on prisoner re-entry issues.
* Gavin Grimm has drawn support from 53 companies who all know how to properly caption a filing. [National Law Journal]
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* Which Biglaw giants are "committing tens of millions of dollars in free legal services" to the gun control cause? Seems like they're getting a great return on that investment... [New York Times / Dealbook]
* The EU fined JPMC and two other banks $552 million for manipulating futures. As if the EU has any future now! [Courthouse News Service]
* Lawsuit filed against teacher for 16-year-old bad grade that trapped lawyer in low prestige career. It's like the Plasgraf of bad life choices. [Legal Cheek]
* Police called because man whistled "Closing Time." Good. [Lowering the Bar]
* Celebrate the holidays with this buyer's guide for trademark disputed beer and wine! [Trademark & Copyright Law Blog]
* Immigrant children need assistance coping with trauma. Pro bono lawyers can help. [Psychology Today]
* A short reaction to today's piece on Tiffany Trump's law school plans -- and make sure to note the update to that story about her experience taking the LSAT. [Law and More]
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* Most folks think the police overreacted by issuing a civil disobedience warning for a 3-year-old girl, but those people need to watch Children of the Corn. [UPI]
* Speaking of the Brits, authorities detained Glenn Greenwald’s partner (interestingly, Greenwald’s partner is named Miranda) for nine hours and “confiscated his computer, phone, camera, memory stick, DVDs and video games” while passing through Heathrow. Wow, this is the sort of thing that might make Greenwald mad at the surveillance state. [ABA Journal]
* A detailed analysis of confidential sources. I’m pointing this out to publicly clarify that ATL keeps its tipsters confidential unless they specifically ask to be cited. So feel free to tip away! [Talking Biz News]
* Tales of Ted Cruz as a young man. So we’re calling parliamentary-style debate “debate” now? OK. [Daily Beast]
* Professor Rick Hasen examines North Carolina’s new voter suppression law and how it proves that the country still needs the Voting Rights Act. [Slate]
* Maybe bar exams should write better questions that actually cover all the material candidates have to learn. Personally, I was just fine not having to memorize a lot about New York commercial paper law. [Ramblings on Appeal]
* The tale of a wealthy couple evading the law. The article describes the story as an “arthritic version of Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw in The Getaway, perhaps, moving at nursing-home speed.” Hollywood just found a plot for Expendables 4. [Seattle Weekly]
* The government’s obsession with FCPA enforcement has bit JP Morgan over hiring the children of Chinese officials to woo business. [Dealbreaker]
* Chief Judge Michael P. Mills of the Northern District of Mississippi weighs in on a copyright suit between the estate of William Faulkner and Woody Allen. The judge is apparently not a fan of Sharknado because he has no soul. Video of the quirky conflict after the jump…