Ken Starr

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.18.17

* IBM says Watson's about to take away your job, which is an announcement IBM makes roughly every three months because they're taunting us. [Corporate Counsel] * Betty Shelby acquitted in the killing of a black motorist because apparently it's always reasonable to believe a random black guy is going to pull a gun. [NBC News] * Former client seeks $1.4 million back that it spent trying to disqualify BakerHostetler. [Law360] * Latham's Alice Fisher has pulled out of the FBI Director sweepstakes. All eyes are on Joe Lieberman right now, but folks G. Gordon Liddy is just sitting there raring to go. [National Law Journal] * And apparently Sheriff Clarke (who I'm sure was Trump's personal pick) is taking a Homeland Security job so he can focus on harassing the poor and disadvantaged without having to bother all those nice bankers. [New York Times] * Judge Charles Breyer took a break from writing the best benchslaps of all time to issue a groundbreaking video game ruling citing Star Wars and Love Actually -- two movies that should never, ever be mentioned in the same sentence. [Hollywood Reporter] * Stupid fan lawsuit against Warriors center ZaZa Pachulia moves on. [KENS5] * More horrific allegations from Ken Starr's world-class leadership at Baylor. [Huffington Post]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.01.16

* Will wearing makeup increase your earning potential? (Yes, they only mean for women, the patriarchy is a real bitch like that.) [Corporette] * Ken Starr says he is resigning from his position as Baylor chancellor "as a matter of conscience." Yup, he still plans on teaching at the law school. [ESPN] * Donald Trump's terrible comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel are all part of a branding exercise. [Lawyers, Guns and Money] * Law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw is fighting to make people remember the women killed by police. #SayHerName [The Guardian] * The cleanup after a storm can be even more challenging than weathering the storm in the first instance. [Katz on Justice] * Has Election 2016 convinced you our electoral system is hopelessly broken? Here are the best ways to fix it. [Brennan Center for Justice] * Reflections from Richard Levick on Peter Thiel v. Gawker (including commentary from our very own David Lat). [Forbes]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.27.16

Ed. note: Above the Law will not be publishing on Monday, May 25, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. * John Quinn is opening up a museum for the brokenhearted. Yes, this is real. [Big Law Business] * Chris Martin is getting some really good legal advice. [Jezebel] * It may have seemed like Baylor was super forthcoming when it fired Art Briles and demoted Ken Starr to law school professor for failing to adequately deal with allegations of sexual assault by football players, but really, they've mastered the art of saying nothing. [Lawyers, Guns and Money] * NBCUniversal to a federal judge: watch Straight Outta Compton. Actually, in context of the case, this request makes sense. [The Hollywood Reporter] * David Lat on why Peter Thiel shouldn't be mad at Gawker for reporting that he is gay. [Washington Post] * Walgreens allegedly didn't verify that the blood-testing technology Theranos was peddling actually worked before it partnered with the startup. [Law and More] * You may not like that Peter Thiel is trying to sue Gawker out of existence, but that doesn't mean the practice should be illegal. [Slate]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.26.16

* David Mourey, the former assistant dean for bar preparation and academic success at Barry Law, was fired after students continued to fail the bar exam, but in a recently filed gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, he claims he was discriminated against because he was "singled out for discipline by an all-female management team." We may have more on this later. [Orlando Sentinel] * Despite the wishes of the public and rumors of his firing in the face of the Baylor University coverup of reports of rape and sexual assault by football players, "Ken Starr is [still] president and chancellor of Baylor University." According to a university spokeswoman, the school has not yet finished reviewing Pepper Hamilton's report on the matter, but Baylor will likely make an announcement by June 3. [Associated Press] * "We are willing to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to." Eleven states have filed suit against the Obama Administration in an effort to get around its guidance on transgender rights for children in schools, calling the policy a "massive social experiment." The states suing are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. [Reuters] * Sumner Redstone turns 93 years old tomorrow, and he's been in and out of court for the past few months in a battle to prove he's mentally competent. The salacious case filed by his former female companion may have been dismissed, but now he's attempting to fend off claims from Viacom directors who were ousted from a trust that will control his media holdings if he dies or is found incompetent. [DealBook / New York Times] * Now that the world knows that PayPal's co-founder provided funding for Hulk Hogan's invasion of privacy suit against Gawker, it's time to take a look at the lawyer who's been representing the wrestler. Charles Harder is no stranger to Hollywood cases, and may be a longtime fan of litigation finance since he "[tries] to win and do so in a way that's cost effective for a client, so they don't lose when they're winning." [WSJ Law Blog] * Since revenge litigation finance's recent invention, what's there to keep billionaires from destroying you with lawsuits? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not much, especially when "there is no obligation to disclose the litigation financing arrangements" that have been made. Ethical issues aside, we really hope the super-rich wield their new power to ruin lives through rented lawsuits carefully. [Fortune]

By Staci Zaretsky