Law Clerk Hiring Plan

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.21.18

* According to Rudy Giuliani, special counsel Robert Mueller is planning to have the Russian election interference probe wrapped up by September 1 -- but that end date is apparently contingent on President Trump agreeing to be interviewed. Ooooh, stay tuned, this might get good soon! [New York Times] * Yesterday, President Trump demanded via Twitter that the Justice Department look into whether his campaign was "infiltrated or surveilled" by the FBI or DOJ for political purposes. Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein said he'd be happy to "take appropriate action," and promptly kicked the can to the Inspector General. [Axios] * In the meantime, never mind the fact that he's never once been contacted by Robert Mueller's team, but Roger Stone says he's "prepared" to be indicted as part of the Mueller investigation after they "conjure up some extraneous crime pertaining to my business." The Trump ally doth protest too much, methinks. [NBC News] * NO-NO-NO-NOTORIOUS: Elena Kagan isn't the only Supreme Court justice who's shown support for the new law clerk hiring plan. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reportedly spoke highly about the plan during a recent meeting of the Federal Judges Association. Good luck to all future clerkship applicants! [National Law Journal] * The millennials are here and make up 43 percent of all attorneys (psssstttt, they've been here for a while already), but the legal profession is just getting around to making the changes that this generation prioritizes. Law firms better hurry up and start providing all of the warm and fuzzy things they want. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.09.18

* No collusion! Michael Cohen's shell company -- the same one used to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels -- received more than $1 million in payments from a company that's been linked to a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin. The same oligarch was sanctioned by the Trump administration for election interference. Special counsel Robert Mueller is on it. [New York Times; CNN] * If President Trump does sit down for an interview with the special counsel, he could make history if he decides to plead the Fifth Amendment. No American president has ever used the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination while still in office. [TIME] * Is your law school following the new law clerk hiring plan? It better be, if your graduates want a chance to clerk with Justice Elena Kagan. The former law school dean says she'll "take into account" in her own clerkship hiring whether law schools and lower court judges have complied with the plan. [National Law Journal] * A former professor and an alumnus from Charlotte Law School have added the American Bar Association to their suit against the defunct for-profit school, claiming in an amended complaint that the ABA negligently certified the school and "failed to act as a reasonable accreditor" -- which makes sense. [Law360 (sub. req.)] * A 15-member panel comprised of Florida State University faculty, staff, students, and alumni want the name of their law school building to be changed. It's currently named after former Florida Chief Justice B.K. Roberts, who worked to keep the University of Florida's law school segregated. [News 4 JAX] * Sorry, Tommy and Kiko, but you're going to have to stay in your cages. The New York Court of Appeals refused to hear a habeus appeal on behalf of the chimpanzees, allowing a ruling that they are not legal persons and therefore have no legal rights to stand. At least the concurring opinion was a little less dour. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky
Clerkships

Non-Sequiturs: 01.13.14

* A pimp is suing Nike for not labeling its shoes as dangerous weapons after the sex work entrepreneur used his Jordans to beat the holy hell out of a john. Good luck with your suit, Superfly! [USA Today] * Tattoo artists are suing over their artwork getting featured in media without getting compensation. So add “because shooting ink through a damn needle into your skin” as a reason never to get a tattoo. [Infringe That!] * There was a dream that was the law clerk hiring plan. Well, it’s dead now. [OSCAR] * Comparing strippers to lawyers. Makes sense. [Miami Herald] * Across the Pond, a Cambridge College masturbator gets punished. I see what you did there, you clever headline writer, you. [The Tab] * Boston has stopped using license plate scanners to probe the question, “Are these even worth it?” That’s the sort of question they might have wanted to explore before spending all that money. [IT-Lex] * A Pennsylvania lawyer was busted for selling wines out of his wine cellar without a license. God, liquor laws are stupid. [Philly.com] * Congratulations to the LGBT Bar Association’s 2014 Community Vision awardees: Mary Bonauto, Brian Ellner, and Credit Suisse. [LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York]

By Joe Patrice
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 11.18.13

* The rocky relationship between McKenna Long & Aldridge and Dentons is being doubted by everyone, and it looks like Dentons may be on the verge of receiving the “it’s not you, it’s me” speech. [Daily Report] * Stephen DiCarmine, Dewey & LeBoeuf’s former executive director and resident fashionista, just hired a criminal defense attorney. We trust this man — jailhouse stripes must be so hot right now! [Am Law Daily] * Skadden cares about its people. The firm is trying to prevent a man who allegedly killed one of its legal secretaries, got high, and then ate six waffles from collecting funds from her 401(k). [New York Daily News] * Just imagine if this article were written in true BuzzFeed listicle style. It’d probably be called something like “3,742 Words on Why Mary Bonauto Is the Most Awesome Marriage Equality Lawyer Ever.” [BuzzFeed] * “I think it’s fair to say the hiring plan is kaput.” As we previously reported, the Law Clerk Hiring Plan is dead, and the heat is on to figure out a way to lure federal judges back to OSCAR. [National Law Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky