King & Wood Mallesons

It's not a merger, but this money isn't going to make itself.

No more sleeping under your desk...

* Jane Genova explores the implications of Jones Day’s representation of the embattled Cardinal Donald Wuerl, former bishop of Pittsburgh. [Law and More]

* Why did President Trump (or his personal lawyers) allow White House Counsel Don McGahn to speak so freely to special counsel Robert Mueller? Here are some thoughts from veteran litigator Joel Cohen. [The Hill]

* As I recently discussed with Judge Jeffrey Sutton, Chevron-style deference to administrative agencies is being reconsidered in a number of states — and you can add Ohio to that list, as Eugene Volokh notes. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Charles Glasser calls out the Washington Post for its selective invocation of the value of transparency. [Daily Caller]

* If you’re an ambitious law student or lawyer, then you need to watch your words on social media, as this report from Patrick Gregory makes clear. [Big Law Business]

* The justices will consider more than 1,000 certiorari petitions at the “long conference” on September 24 — and Adam Feldman identifies some of the standouts. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Speaking of SCOTUS, if you’ll be in or near New Haven this coming Wednesday, please join me and Linda Greenhouse for a wide-ranging discussion of President Trump’s transformation of the federal judiciary. [Yale Federalist Society]

* The World Bank launches the world’s first BONDI, or “blockchain operated new debt instrument,” with an assist from King & Wood Mallesons. [Artificial Lawyer]

Yikes! This isn't very good...

* Both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have now been dragged into the legal battle between Kesha and producer Dr. Luke that’s been ongoing since October 2014. During a recent discovery hearing, a judge ruled that Dr. Luke may show Perry a text message sent from Kesha to Gaga that had previously been sealed by the court. The contents of the mysterious message are currently unknown to the public. [Daily Mail]

* Oopsie! U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is recusing himself from the Life Technologies v. Promega patent case that was heard on December 6. As it turns out, Roberts owns $175,000 of stock in Thermo Fisher Scientific — which owns Life Technologies — but his chambers “inadvertently failed to find this potential conflict.” Thanks to the error, only seven of the high court’s eight justices will render a decision in the case. [Reuters]

* Democratic leaders of the California Legislature have hired former AG Eric Holder, now a partner at Covington & Burling, to represent them in any legal fights against Donald Trump’s Republican White House administration. Having Holder on their side will cost a pretty penny, but “[t]he cost will be very minimal compared to the billions of dollars at stake if California doesn’t adequately make its case.” [New York Times]

* Uh-oh… The European and Middle Eastern arm of King & Wood Mallesons has stopped paying its staff members ahead of its forthcoming administration. The number of staff who have been placed on unpaid leave pending expected layoffs is around 100 at the moment. They were notified earlier this week that while they’re still technically employed by the firm, they won’t receive pay checks. Happy New Year! [Legal Week]

* “Their malfeasance has made it to where we can’t get federal loans anymore, but they still want us to pay full price and give them that same amount and pretend like they didn’t do anything wrong – like it was our fault.” Charlotte Law students aren’t too keen about taking out private loans to complete their degrees at Florida Coastal Law, and in fact, they’d like to see the school president and dean loss their jobs. [WBTV]

* According to CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, sources have said that President-elect Trump has narrowed his list of potential Supreme Court nominees down to five candidates: Bill Pryor (Eleventh Circuit), Thomas Hardiman (Third Circuit), Steve Colloton (Eighth Circuit), Diane Sykes (Seventh Circuit), and Joan Larsen (Michigan Supreme Court). Which judge do you think the PEOTUS will choose? [Face the Nation / CBS News]

* President-elect Trump isn’t just inheriting a Supreme Court vacancy — he’s inheriting much, much more. Thanks to an “unprecedented level of obstruction” on the part of Republican senators when it came to President Obama’s federal judicial nominees, there are more than 100 judicial vacancies, which will give the Trump administration the leeway to reshape the judiciary through lifetime appointments. [Washington Post]

* Is the end near for the European and Middle Eastern branch of King & Wood Mallesons? As other Biglaw firms poach partners, the firm has filed a notice to appoint administrators, and according to a spokesperson, this legal move was “designed to protect the firm from its creditors … as it continues to explore all available options.” The firm is not expected to file for pre-pack administration until January. [Am Law Daily]

* There is a dire shortage of rural lawyers in flyover country, and it’s causing the justice gap to become even wider in some states. For example, Nebraska has 93 counties, and 11 of them are without a single lawyer. This is a problem that’s left other lawyers traveling far and wide to see clients and potential clients attempting to handle their legal matters themselves — which has caused errors in business matters, divorces, and wills. [NPR]

* If you’ve applied to law school, you may be wondering how you can best prepare for a recorded video interview. You may think it’s tough to impress an admissions committee through such impersonal means, but if you prepare for this as if it were a live interview, keep your answers short and sweet (think one minute or less), and be yourself, you’ll have this one in the bag. You can review some of these practice questions. [U.S. News]

* “As a federal prosecutor for 19 years… I know better.” Leslie Caldwell, who oversees the Justice Department’s criminal division, sent a letter of apology to federal prosecutors across the country for remarks made at a Federalist Society event where she intimated that many of them don’t understand rules for white-collar criminal cases. [WSJ Law Blog]

* It seems that D.C.-based Crowell & Moring and New York-based Herrick Feinstein are hoping to bump into each other under the mistletoe this year, because they’re reportedly in close merger talks. A combination would create a firm with about 570 lawyers and $478 million in gross revenue. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily; Real Deal]

* Biglaw behemoth Dentons is politely bowing out of the competition when it comes to a takeover of the European and Middle Eastern arm of King & Wood Mallesons. With Dentons out of the picture, it’s unlikely that a single firm will rescue the entirety of the branch, but numerous firms are interested in picking apart bits and pieces. [Legal Week]

* Calling their behavior “uncivil,” Judge Steven O’Neill was forced to scold lawyers on both sides during a dramatic shouting match that erupted at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial after the defense team insisted that the comedian’s accusers ought to be named in public documents, saying they’re “witnesses in a trial, not children.” [USA Today]

* Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Victoria Brennan, who was accused of using a metal pipe to smash a man’s windshield this summer (but was never formally charged), is going to step down from her position on the bench. Her last day will be December 31, and per her resignation letter, she is “looking forward to the future.” [Miami Herald]

* Duncan Lloyd, the Philadelphia assistant city solicitor who spray-painted “F*ck Trump” on a building while wearing an ascot and holding a glass of wine, will be able to keep his job after completing 40 hours of community service. We’re sure many Americans feel that he has already completed his community service through his actions. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who took a leave of absence from Greenberg Traurig to support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump through the end of the election, has removed his name from consideration for any position in President-elect Trump’s administration (but only after reportedly being offered three other positions that he didn’t want). He’ll now be returning to his law firm. [ABC News]

* The struggling European and Middle East arm of King & Wood Mallesons has received “a number of indicative purchase offers” from other law firms. Biglaw behemoth Dentons is rumored to be a potential merger partner for firm’s EUME branch, with DLA Piper and Greenberg Traurig ready to make lateral offers to partners. [Big Law Business]

* Just because your law school isn’t one of the best in the nation, it doesn’t mean that you can’t dream big. Case in point: The most recent winners of the prestigious Skadden public interest fellowships has been announced, and two of them will graduate from CUNY School of Law. We’ll have more on the new Skadden Fellows later. [Skadden]

* Dislike? A woman who wanted to serve her estranged husband with divorce papers via Facebook has been denied by a judge who noted that the social networking profile had been inactive for two-plus years, writing that to allow service would be “akin to the Court permitting service by nail and mail to a building that no longer exists.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* Fresh off a five-month stint in prison for defrauding clients, Todd Malacuso, a lawyer who once represented Casey Anthony, has been arrested and accused of conspiring to smuggle almost two tons of cocaine into the United States from Central America on his own plane. He’s being held without bail as he’s been deemed a flight risk. [Daily Mail]

* “Taking a fee when you’ve got people literally still paying off their credit cards is a lot different than when it’s essentially found money for the plaintiffs.” In a wide-ranging interview, Jason Forge, a partner at Robbins Geller, explains why plaintiffs’ lawyers in the Trump University fraud case decided to forgo attorneys’ fees. [WSJ Law Blog]

* SCOTUS justices seem poised to block Texas from executing a man due to the fact that an outdated definition of intellectual disability is being used in its capital punishment regime. Justice Stephen Breyer said that the Texas standard to determine impairment “would free some, while subjecting others to the death penalty.” [USA Today]

* “We are refusing to comment on speculation around partners being in discussion with other firms.” Biglaw firms are circling King & Wood Mallesons like vultures, hoping to pick off partners as its EUME operations struggle. Goodwin Procter and Chadbourne & Parke are reportedly in talks to extend offers to KWM partners. [Big Law Business]

* According to the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-led Congress may be able to tweak some elements of Dodd-Frank without completely dismantling or rewriting the law. After all, “federal agencies have wide latitude to undo reforms” and “there is room to change things.” [Reuters]

* Thanks for ruining the holidays for millions of hard-working Americans, Your Honor: Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas has granted a nationwide injunction to block a rule proposed by the Obama administration that would have extended mandatory overtime pay to 4.2 million people who make $47,500 per year or less. The rule was to take effect as of December 1. [Reuters]

* Desperate times apparently call for desperate measures? The European and Middle Eastern arms of King & Wood Mallesons may seek to merge with another firm after their partners failed to raise enough capital, a move that would sever those branches from the rest of the firm as a whole. Consultants fear that “if a bunch of people desert the sinking ship, all bets are off and the run on the bank will be coming.” [Big Law Business]

* Sure, President-elect Donald Trump says that his Supreme Court nominees will overturn the landmark case of Roe v. Wade, but it may be a feat that’s easier said than done. While some of the jurists on Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist have come out on the record as being firmly against abortion, others don’t have public records of any kind showing how they feel about abortion rights. Will this go his way? [Bloomberg]

* Last week, during a citizenship ceremony over which he was presiding, Judge John Primomo of the Western District of Texas informed newly sworn-in Americans that if they didn’t like President-elect Donald Trump, they should find a new country to live in. Judge Primomo has since been sanctioned by Chief Judge Orlando L. Garcia, and as a “permanent resolution,” can no longer oversee citizenship ceremonies. [WSJ Law Blog]

* “This is his first return to the silver tube. Going on the Netflix platform is a win-win for both Netflix and for Dave.” Fresh off of an awesome performance on Saturday Night Live, and thanks to Frederick Nance, the incoming U.S. managing partner of Squire Patton Boggs, the world will be be able to see three Dave Chappelle standup specials on Netflix. The deal has been valued at about $60 million. Congrats! [Am Law Daily]

* “You never say no, but I’d rather help him find someone else who can do it. I’m very happy not being in the government.” Word on the street is that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is being considered for attorney general in the Trump administration, but the Greenberg Traurig partner doesn’t exactly seem interested. Hmm, perhaps Governor Chris Christie will be AG after all? [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

* Judge Gonzalo Curiel is now urging litigants on both sides of the Trump University case to settle, noting that “[i]t would be wise for the plaintiffs, for the defendants, to look closely at trying to resolve this case given all else that’s involved.” The judge who President-elect Trump once accused of being biased due to his Mexican heritage is now trying to save Trump from being on trial for fraud early in his presidency. [Reuters]

* The hits just keep on coming for King & Wood Mallesons. The firm’s Australian and Chinese partnerships will likely be bailing out its troubled European and Middle Eastern offices, but Stuart Fuller, its managing global partner, has decided to step down by the year’s end, which has prompted an immediate search for a successor. Fuller will remain a partner with the firm, and will return to full-time practice in 2017. [Am Law Daily]

* Jones Day has teamed up with the American Bar Association to start VetLex, a program that will connect veterans with pro-bono and low-bono lawyers across the country. VetLex will be the first nationwide network dedicated to legal service referrals for veterans. The program will “revolutionize the way we deliver pro bono resources to veterans.” A hearty congratulations to Jones Day and the ABA! [Big Law Business]

* Former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois has been indicted for defrauding the government out of about $100,000 after allegedly submitting false invoices for the costs of redecorating his office with a “Downton Abbey” motif and various personal expenses. Schock’s attorney says the government is “criminalizing a handful of administrative mistakes” made by his client — six figures worth of alleged mistakes. [Chicago Tribune]

This firm needs to take action to prevent worse damage from being done.

* The ABA Forum on Communications Law will publish First Amendment lawyer Susan Seager’s Donald Trump “libel bully” article, despite its reservations about doing so — reservations that resulted in a media firestorm. The ABA said the following: “Hopefully, this matter will shine a light on the problem of frivolous lawsuits that turn the justice system into a weapon that has a chilling effect on free speech.” [ABA Journal]

* Uh-oh! Following the abrupt departure of four of its senior partners, King & Wood Mallesons has opted to pause its partner recapitalization plan in order to reassess its financial footing. The firm believes it will take about four weeks to complete that process. “If I was a partner there I would be pretty worried,” said a former partner. [Legal Week]

* “I never thought that my restroom use would ever turn into any kind of national debate.” The Supreme Court has taken up its first true transgender rights case. Many fear that the justices may return a 4-4 deadlock decision that will not create a nationwide precedent, but in that case, the Fourth Circuit’s decision would be left in place. [Reuters]

* “If these guys think they’re going to stonewall the filling of that vacancy…, then a Democratic Senate majority will say, ‘We’re not going to let you thwart the law.'” Vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine says that should he and his running mate win the election, then his party will try to eliminate SCOTUS filibuster rules. [Huffington Post]

* The Justice Department and “election year sensitivities”: Some people are wondering why FBI Director James Comey decided to announce he’d essentially reopened the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails — but had he waited to disclose the information, the FBI’s credibility could have been called into question. [WSJ Law Blog]

* James Gilliland Jr., Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton intellectual property litigation partner, RIP. We’ll have more on his untimely death later today. [CBS San Francisco]

This firm may not be out of the woods just yet...

* In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, Brendan Dassey — one of the subjects of the Netflix hit documentary “Making a Murderer” — had his conviction overturned on Friday. In his ruling, Judge William Duffin cited the misconduct of Dassey’s trial lawyer as “indefensible.” He’ll be released from prison within 90 days. [Reuters]

* “I wasn’t a pedophile. I wasn’t a preferential sex predator. I wasn’t the monster I was made out to be.” Seeking a new trial, ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky is arguing ineffective assistance of counsel thanks to his lawyer’s decision to keep him off the stand and allow him to take a televised interview with Bob Costas. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Uh-oh! Even after an enormous partner capital call of $18.1 million, it seems that King & Wood Mallesons may not be out of the woods just yet. The firm failed to make any partner profit distributions at the end of the month in July, and it’s “not painting a particularly positive picture” as to the overall health of the firm. [Big Law Business]

* ASU Law’s new school is set to open today in Phoenix, Arizona, and there will be a few special appearances from political and judicial hotshots to commemorate the very special occasion, including speeches from Senator John McCain and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the law school’s namesake. Congratulations! [Downtown Phoenix Journal]

* Meet Jerry Guerinot, the Texas defense attorney who’s earned the honor of being referred to as the “worst lawyer in the United States.” He’s represented about three dozen capital murder defendants over the course of 40 years and he has a perfect record — in that not a single one of his clients has been found innocent. [Houston Chronicle]

* Singer Kesha has dropped her lawsuit in California against producer Dr. Luke, but will continue her appeal in New York. She says she dropped the suit because she’s “focused on getting back to work,” but Dr. Luke’s lawyer says it’s because she has “no chance of winning.” Ouch, that’s got to sting. [People]

* Get off my lawn, you damn kids! A New Jersey personal injury attorney has filed a class-action lawsuit against Niantic, the company behind Pokemon Go, for the “unlawful and wrongful” invasion of his property. It seems that in the rush to catch ’em all, people have been gathering outside of his home, knocking on his door, and asking to enter his backyard. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Following up on his tentative oral ruling, Juge Gonzalo P. Curiel has ruled that a Trump University fraud case filed against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may proceed to trial, but he refused to release Trump’s videotaped deposition. We suppose that the transcript will have to be good enough. [New York Times]

* “These are things that don’t just affect one job; it keeps women’s wages down over their entire lifetime.” Thanks to a new law geared toward closing the gender wage gap, in Massachusetts, it is now illegal for employers to ask about applicants’ salary history before offering them jobs. This goes into effect in 2018. [DealBook / New York Times]

* “We are confidently looking to the future.” Following a series of “regrettable departures” and a capital call that successfully raised about $18.4 million from the firm’s existing partners, it looks like the “modernization” and restructuring of the King & Wood Mallesons partnership is finally going to be drawing to a close. [Big Law Business]

* Jenner & Block has teamed up with the University of Chicago Law School to create a Supreme Court and Appellate Clinic, with the goal of “educat[ing] and train[ing] the next generation of extraordinary appellate advocates and continu[ing] the tradition of helping clients hanks their most important litigation problems.” Congratulations! [ABA Journal]

* Martin Shkreli’s hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been rescheduled due to this weekend’s blizzard. This will give the reviled pharma bro even more time to brush up on constitutional law. [CBS News]

* Uh-oh! Thanks to some “cash flow issues” — like partners not being paid on time — King & Wood Mallesons is currently in the process of raising capital and will be conducting a review of its overall financial structure. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* Cert denied! The justices of the Supreme Court may have bought these lawyers’ arguments and struck down a crucial part of the Voting Rights Act in the Shelby County case, but they’re certainly not buying their request for $2 million in legal fees. [Reuters]

* A hate crime without a resolution? Police are closing their investigation into the defacement of black professors’ portraits at Harvard Law without having found a perp. Maybe they decided to take Elie Mystal’s advice not to feed the trolls. [Boston.com]

* Florida State settled a lawsuit filed by Erica Kinsman, a former student who claimed Jameis Winston raped her, for $900K, but the school claims $700K of that amount will go to her legal team. Her lawyers, however, would politely beg to differ. [USA Today]

* Daniel Chong, the student that the DEA locked in a cell and forgot about for a few days, has settled his lawsuit against the government for $4.1 million. No snark here, congratulations. [CNN] * Meanwhile, O.J. Simpson is getting parole (but not quite getting released yet). Here comes Naked Gun 4! [ABC News] * A Kenyan lawyer is challenging the trial of Jesus Christ at the International Court of Justice. [Legal Cheek] * Professor Paul Campos notes that from 2004-2013, it’s gotten much easier to get into law school. This year 80 percent of students applying to law school will get in somewhere. At least the profession is upholding its high standards. [Lawyers, Guns & Money] * DMX declared bankruptcy because bankruptcy actually makes it easier to get a passport. How is DMX broke? Are the residuals from Exit Wounds not paying the bills? [Grantland] * King & Wood Mallesons and SJ Berwin LLP are merging to create one of the largest law firms in the world. Dewey think a merger is a good idea? [WSJ Law Blog] * A follow-up on a previous item, checking in on the status of the petition to save the federal defenders one week in. [PrawfsBlawg] * A profile of the “eighth governor” of the Federal Reserve and Georgetown Law grad, General Counsel Scott G. Alvarez. I would say this is a fascinating look at a prominent regulatory staff member, but the article makes it clear that “regulation” is not exactly the Alvarez agenda. [DealBook] * Watch the dean of a law school defend a 0 percent bar passage rate. [ABC 33/40] * Another new resource out there — LawTrades. Basically, it’s ZocDoc for lawyers where lawyers can register and prospective clients can search for an attorney who meets their needs. [LawTrades] * What are the greatest legal novels of all time? The ABA Journal assembled a panel including our own David Lat and provided a list. You can disagree, but I see one of Archer’s favorites made the list (clip after the jump)…