Kasowitz Benson Torres

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: 06.26.17

* Kasowitz Benson may have gotten a minor "Trump bump" from other associates in the most recent edition of the Vault 100 law firm rankings thanks to Marc Kasowitz's representation of the president, but the firm's own associates don't seem to be too impressed. In fact, they listed "Trump" as one of the things they dislike most about the firm. [DealBook / New York Times] * Despite protests from her lawyers that a deposition would "interfere with her ability to perform her duties [as an unpaid advisor] at the White House," a judge has ruled that Ivanka Trump may be deposed in the IP infringement suit that was filed by Aquazzura over the First Daughter's look-alike shoes. [CNN Money] * No matter how many times we think we've dispelled this rumor, it keeps rearing its ugly head again and again. Word is somehow still on the street that Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire from the Supreme Court, as early as this Term or next. But... what if it actually turns out to be true that the justice who holds abortion rights in his hands will be leaving the bench? [Newsweek] * Three months have passed since Trinh Huynh, an in-house attorney at UPS, was gunned down during her commute, and her accused killer has now been indicted on murder charges. Raylon Browning may have targeted Huynh, as surveillance footage indicated that he was following her. [Daily Report] * After 69 years as a journalist -- 58 of them spent reporting on the high court -- Lyle Denniston, the dean of the Supreme Court press corps, will be officially hanging up his press pass after today. He'll be teaching a course at Baltimore Law this fall, but after that, he has no set plans. Congratulations on a remarkable career! You'll be missed. [Constitution Daily / National Constitution Center]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.02.17

* Let's get ready to rumble: the Trump administration seeks Supreme Court review -- and rescue -- of its travel ban. [New York Times] * In other federal judicial news, the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that courts cannot routinely shackle defendants during proceedings; Judge Alex Kozinski wrote the majority opinion, and former Kozinski clerk Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote the dissent. [How Appealing] * Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) -- who isn't shy about telling lawyers how he really feels -- has a new bee in his Article III bonnet: "I’m sick and tired of lawyers from white-shoe law firms marching into my courtroom and getting a deferred-prosecution agreement for their clients." [ABA Journal] * Why did President Donald Trump hire Marc Kasowitz to represent him in the Russia inquiry -- and could DJT already be second-guessing that decision? [Weekly Standard] * Speaking of the Russia probe, Robert Mueller is getting some high-powered help: outgoing Justice Department official Andrew Weissmann joins his former boss's team. [Law360] * Interesting new data from our friends at NALP: the $180K starting salary might not be as widespread as you think. [Law.com] * President Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate deal -- but withdrawal can't be finalized until near the end of his term because of the accord’s legal structure and language. [Washington Post]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.24.17

* President Donald Trump has hired his longtime lawyer, Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson, to represent him as his independent counsel in the investigation of claims that his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Is anyone really surprised that Trump chose to hire Kasowitz? Moreover, is anyone really surprised that he'd further complicate hiring Joe Lieberman as FBI director by doing so? [FOX Business] * In somewhat related news, despite having worked as a partner at WilmerHale -- a firm that represents former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as well as Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner -- Robert Mueller has been approved by ethics experts at the Justice Department to go ahead as special counsel in the Trump/Russia investigation, as he did not participate in those matters. Things are about to start heating up. [NPR] * President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 fiscal budget includes a $1.1 billion cut in funding for the Department of Justice. The $27.7 billion request for the DOJ represents a 3.8 percent decrease from its current funding level, while the antitrust division's funding will remain the same, at just under $165 million. It makes you wonder which initiatives will be discontinued. [Big Law Business] * Speaking of the Trump budget, American Bar Association President Linda A. Klein has spoken out against it, criticizing its "egregious cuts to the Constitution’s promise of a fair legal process." Funding for the Legal Services Corporation and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program have been completely eliminated, and if the money is not reinstated, "severe damage [could be done] to the most vulnerable people in our society." [ABA Journal] * Convicted killer Dylann Roof, who was found guilty of 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and religious rights violations, has appealed his conviction and his death sentence to the Fourth Circuit. According to his lawyers, Roof wanted to appeal to drag the case on as long as possible, since he thinks white supremacists will eventually take over the country and pardon him. Wow. [AP]

By Staci Zaretsky