Lance Armstrong

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.11.15

* Williams & Connolly has been subpoenaed as a part of the ongoing Lance Armstrong fraud case brought by former teammate Floyd Landis. I'm just glad I don't have to put together that privilege log [Legal Times] * Two Biglaw partners, Hydee Feldstein a former partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and Paul Hastings and Peter Gregora a partner emeritus at Irell & Manella, face off in divorce court over $20 million that's gone "missing." It's probably under the couch, whenever stuff goes missing in my house it's under the couch. [The Recorder] * Legal research prevails: after "thorough" research Georgia prosecutors have dropped murder charges against Kenlissia Jones for taking the abortion pill. [Washington Post] * Pope Francis is establishing a court to deal with the bishops who woefully mishandled clerical child sex abuse allegations. Just another reason why Pope Francis is making it okay to be a Catholic again. [Wall Street Journal] * Leaders in Nepal finally reached an agreement for a new constitution. After years of infighting the terrible tragedy of the Nepalese earthquake motivated the parties to work together. [Jurist] * Ever wonder what it takes to make a successful law blog? Wonder no more -- and read tips from our own David Lat. [Law360]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket 05.15.15

* Lance Armstrong is feuding, again, with former teammate Floyd Landis -- this time over discovery [National Law Journal] * Remember July 2014 when we all learned that ExamSoft -- the bar examination software -- totally crapped out on test takers? Yeah, they just reached a $2.1 million settlement.  #NeverForgetBarghazi [Law360] * Rejoice haters of measles and other preventable diseases! California is moving to end "personal belief exemptions" for mandatory vaccines. [NPR] * In oral arguments for an appeal of the conviction of Jesse Litvak, a bond trader convicted of securities fraud involving government bailout funds, the Second Circuit was skeptical over the fairness of the trial. [New York Law Journal] * The FDA finally arrives in the year 2015; plans to ease restrictions on gay blood donors. [Jurist] *  Senate Judiciary Committee recommends prosecutor Robert Capers the next U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, filling Attorney General Loretta Lynch's vacancy. [Wall Street Journal] * An analysis of who the winners will be under Google's new plan to buy up patents before the trolls. [JD Supra]

By Kathryn Rubino
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 04.24.13

* The DOJ is seeking treble damages against Lance Armstrong over his USPS sponsorship funds, alleging the athlete was “unjustly enriched.” This lawsuit is clearly on steroids; the bike dude’s got an eye for that sort of thing. [NBC News] * Dewey know how much Steven Davis had to fork over to the firm’s estate to settle its mismanagement claims against him? It’s pocket change compared to what some former partners had to pay into the partner contribution plan. [Am Law Daily] * “Golden handcuffs,” law school style: the Texas attorney general’s office is looking into the UT Law School Foundation. Apparently giving out forgivable loans to law profs like candy is a big no-no. [Austin Business Journal] * Duncan Law hopes to get ABA accreditation through its conflict resolution center, which will “attract more students.” Yep, because more students equals more job opportunities. [Knoxville New Sentinel] * The accused ricin guy might’ve been a whackjob, but the charges were dropped. His lawyer believes he was framed by a guy who was recently arrested on child molestation charges. Cray! [Bloomberg] * Edward de Grazia, defender of sexually explicit novels in Jacobellis v. Ohio, RIP. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 02.25.13

* The horror! The horror! Sacrilege! Constitutional law nerds nationwide will weep at the very thought of someone suggesting that our country’s governing document be amended to abolish life tenure for Supreme Court justices. [Los Angeles Times] * Quite frankly, it’s pretty amazing how quickly the preclearance section of the Voting Rights Act went from being seen by states as something that wasn’t “onerous” to being “arbitrary and burdensome.” That’s politics for you. [It's All Politics / NPR] * Jim Woolery, an M&A superstar formerly of J.P. Morgan, has made the jump to Cadwalader after only two years at the bank. Upgrade or downgrade from his Cravath partnership? [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * Some law professors stop teaching classes to tend to their divorce proceedings, but others law professors teach classes from their hospital beds so their students aren’t thrown to the wolves. [Tex Parte / Texas Lawyer] * It you want to be employed, make damn sure you nail your interview because “[t]he stakes are higher than ever” — fewer than 13 percent of permanent law jobs were obtained from OCI in 2011. [National Law Journal] * Greenlight Capital’s case against Apple might have been perceived as a “silly sideshow” by some, but it looks like Judge Richard Sullivan of the S.D.N.Y. purchased front row tickets. [DealBook / New York Times] * Speaking of silly sideshows, the DOJ recently joined the fray with Floyd Landis and his False Claims Act suit against Lance Armstrong. Perhaps it’s time for the disgraced biker to take his ball and go home. [Bloomberg] * Alan Westin, privacy law scholar and professor emeritus of public law at Columbia, RIP. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Bankruptcy

NFL QB Takes Out Loans Like Uninformed Law Students

You’ll have to excuse me if this post comes off a bit more confused or muddled than it usually does. It’s being written amidst the swirl and din of Valentine’s Day preparations. This year, I’m making dinner which I thought would be the easier (read: cheaper) option. Listen, there’s a reason I’m poor. And it’s […]

By Juggalo Law
7th Circuit

Morning Docket: 01.24.13

* The revised transcript from the day Justice Thomas spoke during oral arguments has arrived, and it seems his record for not having asked a single question from the bench is still intact. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)] * The Seventh Circuit ruled on Indiana’s social media ban for sex offenders, and the internet’s filth will be pleased to know they can tweet about underage girls to their heart’s content. [National Law Journal] * Propaganda from the dean of a state law school: lawyers from private schools are forcing taxpayers to bear the brunt of their higher debt loads with higher fees associated with their services. [Spokesman-Review] * Rhode Island is now the only state in New England where same-sex couples can’t get married, but that may change as soon as the state Senate gets its act together, sooo… we may be waiting a while. [New York Times] * It’ll be hard to document every suit filed against Lance Armstrong, but this one was amusing. Now people want their money back after buying his autobiography because they say it’s a work of fiction. [Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Drugs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.20.12

* So now the judge accused of watching porn from a courthouse computer admits to watching porn on a courthouse computer. Let me just get this out of the way: if I’ve used your computer, it was probably to watch porn. [Chicago Sun-Times] * Too soon for Aurora jokes? I think it’s weird that more people believe in waiting periods for zingers than for handguns. [Tax Prof Blog] * Lance Armstrong’s suit against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks. How come the only athlete that seemed to get his day in court was Roger Clemens? [Bloomberg] * Another kid is packing in his sports dreams to go to law school. Though, in fairness, one of the few things worse than the law graduate economy is probably the NHL economy. [North Dakota Inforum] * I think Republican political candidates should know by now that they only bands they are allowed to like are country music bands. If they want to like non-country music, they should get the artist’s approval, in writing. Meanwhile, liberals are allowed like all kinds of music, even music performed by people who don’t know what they are talking about. [What About Clients?] * Attorney and rape victim Shauna Prewitt has some facts about rape that apparently Todd Akin didn’t know. [xoJane]

By Elie Mystal
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 08.13.12

* In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, Mitt Romney picked Rep. Paul Ryan as his Vice Presidential running mate. Putting politics aside, this is a great pick, if only because Ryan is so handsome. Seriously, he’s a total stud. [Wall Street Journal] * “How can I be the one guy with a good degree who is going to be chronically unemployed?” Sadly, many lawyers are still looking for jobs after (multiple) layoffs, but thanks to a lack of positions, employment is just “not in the cards” for them. [New York Times] * Deadliest clerkship? The Washington, D.C. judge who presided over one of the most violent mass shooting cases in the nation’s capital was reportedly held up at gunpoint last week, with her law clerk in tow. [Fox DC] * Something is rotten in the state of Denmark Texas. Judge Sam Sparks “know[s] the smell of bad fish,” and now wants to know why the USADA waited so long to bring charges against Lance Armstrong. [Bloomberg] * After reversing a bankruptcy court’s decision that loan repayment would be an “undue hardship” for a law-school debtor, a judge took the time to rip law schools a new one over escalating tuition. [Oregonian] * Match.com class-action plaintiffs found no love in court after a federal judge ruled that the dating website hadn’t breached its user agreement. Much like their love lives, their claims aren’t getting any action. [Reuters] * A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client: 23% of all cases filed in the federal court for the S.D.N.Y. are brought by pro-se litigants, and the vast majority of them seem to have lost their minds. [New York Post]

By Staci Zaretsky