L. Felipe Restrepo

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.12.16

* Based on reading the oral-argument tea leaves, it sounds like the Supreme Court is about to school the teachers' unions (and public-sector unions more generally). [How Appealing] * Ring in the new year by making the register ring: a slew of Biglaw firms have secured (presumably lucrative) engagements working on the proposed $32 billion merger between drug makers Shire Plc and Baxalta Inc. [American Lawyer] * By a vote of 82-6, and after a wait of more than 400 days, the Senate just confirmed Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo to the Third Circuit, making him the first Hispanic federal judge from Pennsylvania to sit on that court. [Associated Press] * Good news for fantasy-sports fans: it's not (yet) "game over" for DraftKings and FanDuel, thanks to a stay issued by a New York appellate court. [Bloomberg News] * And bad news for student-loan-saddled law grads (like our own Shannon Achimalbe) who were hoping that SCOTUS might make it easier to discharge such debts through bankruptcy. [Wall Street Journal via ABA Journal] * Does Sean Penn face legal risk for his interview of El Chapo, the infamous Mexican drug lord? [ABA Journal] * A former federal prosecutor just secured a six-figure settlement and reinstatement from the Justice Department. [National Law Journal] * U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara -- who came so, so close to winning Lawyer of the Year honors -- announced that Governor Mario Cuomo is off the legal hook for his controversial shutdown of the Moreland Commission, a panel aimed at investigating public corruption. [Law360] * Avvo is starting to roll out a service featuring fixed-fee, limited-scope legal services through a network of attorneys (and Bob Ambrogi has the scoop). [Law Sites] * Professor Peter J. Henning explores the implications of the end of the government case against hedge fund magnate Steve Cohen. [DealBook / New York Times]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.15.15

* "What Law Firms Can Learn From the Business Decisions of 'Mad Men.'" I'm hoping the answer is "more drinking on the job." [Legal Times] * Hillary Clinton pledges to nominate SCOTUS justices who will overturn Citizens United. And if you agree with her, she'll gladly accept your unlimited donations to her *wink* unaffiliated SuperPAC. [Jezebel] * Seema Iyer talks about one of our favorite recent cases, Driskell v. Homosexuals. [MSNBC] * Sometimes getting fired can be a positive. As they say the Chinese word for crisis contains the word "opportunity." Crisitunity. [Wisconsin Lawyer] * A great detailed piece on California's recent decision to grant a law license to Hong Yen Chang, the Columbia Law grad denied his license over 100 years ago on the grounds of his "Mongolian nativity." [Bloomberg BNA / Big Law Business] * Bad: Being wrongfully convicted. Worse: The system strong-arming the wronged into signing away their right to compensation. [LFC 360] * Should graduate students and adjuncts unionize? Depends. Do they want to be exploited by an unappreciative institution until their souls are sucked dry? Yes? Then no. [New York Times] * Sen. Toomey wants Judge L. Felipe Restrepo on the Third Circuit. Maybe he should start talking to his obstructionist colleagues instead of whining to the paper. [Constitutional Accountability Center] * PacerPro to automatically retrieve documents referenced in notices of electronic filing from PACER. That can help cut down on some mistakes... eh, Sidley Austin? [Law Sites] * Thomson Reuters has a new social network for small law firms. For every post, users can push a little "thumbs up" icon to express, "I [and my successors, assigns, and heirs of my body, indicate my generally warm feelings, reserving all rights to reverse or withdraw this endorsement at any time for any reason whatsoever notwithstanding any prior representations] This!" [Legal Research & Writing Pro] * The 2015 World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest in Memphis is this weekend. How does that relate to ATL? Bob Cornish, a D.C.-based attorney at Phillips Lytle LLP and a trained and certified expert in BBQ is a judge. [Memphis In May]

By Joe Patrice