Law Professors

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.04.15

* Fans of this man's dopey mugshot grin will be sad if they're deprived of another jailhouse picture, but lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton want their client's securities fraud indictment to be tossed over what they claim was a faulty grand jury investigation. [Reuters] * Friday is apparently "Love Your Lawyer Day," and the ABA recently passed a resolution to commemorate this special day every year. Biglaw firms can show their love for lawyers by announcing bigger, better bonuses! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Alabama thinks the legal fees and costs that are being requested by attorneys in the state's landmark same-sex marriage decision are "entirely excessive" and should be "cut dramatically." It's not like these lawyers had to "reinvent the wheel" or anything. [AL.com] * "I may be known in tiny corners of the tubes of the Internet, but I am not well-known to the American public generally." One-issue Democratic candidate Professor Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School is dropping out of the presidential race. [Boston Globe] * It's high time you joined the green rush, lawyers: although Ohioans voted against legalizing marijuana yesterday, more and more states are adding ballot measures for the legalization of marijuana or medical marijuana to be voted on in 2016. [Washington Post] * “I’m glad Houston led tonight to end this constant political-correctness attack." In other election news, voters in Texas repealed an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance that would've prevented bias related to several important areas in life. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.28.15

* Good news, everyone! Legally Blonde 3 is supposedly in the works, and Reese Witherspoon says that the movie may involve Elle Woods becoming a Supreme Court justice or some kind of an elected official. It's really too bad that SCOTUS robes aren't pink. [Washington Post] * Biglaw firms aren't the only ones that are downsizing when it comes to their headcount. Case in point, Lear Corporation's in-house legal department has dropped from 20 attorneys to 11, but its GC Terry Larking says it's working for the company. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Cornell Law School will be teaming up with Cornell Tech to launch a new LL.M. degree in law, technology, and entrepreneurship. Like most LL.M. degrees, we imagine that it will cost a pretty penny, but that its overall value on the market will be low. [Cornell Chronicle] * "Do we really need to protect people from trying to achieve their dreams?" Professor Noah Feldman of Harvard Law thinks we shouldn't coddle law school applicants who are unlikely to pass a bar or try to "save" them from a lifetime of debt. [Bloomberg View] * She shoots, she scores? An ex-cheerleader filed suit against the Milwaukee Bucks under the Fair Labor Standards Act because she alleges she was paid less than minimum wage to cheer for the team. The suit is the first of its kind filed against an NBA team. [ABC News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.23.15

* Any day Cadwalader can avoid damages in a huge, multimillion-dollar malpractice case is a great day. Yesterday, the New York Court of Appeals dismissed a never-ending suit filed against the firm by a former client over a failed commercial mortgage-backed securitization. Phew! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Say hello to Northwestern Pritzker Law: In case you missed it, Northwestern Law recently received a $100 million donation, the largest single gift ever made to a law school. For that much money, you're damn right the school has a new name. [Chicago Tribune] * This must've been a huge blow to his ego... U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara had to dismiss insider trading charges against seven defendants thanks to a Second Circuit decision that made it harder to prosecute certain financial crimes. [DealBook / New York Times] * Charleston Law fired back against professors who sued the school by saying in its answer it wouldn't be in such dire straits if they hadn't "sabotaged the transfer of the school to InfiLaw." Take that back, they did a good deed. [Charleston Regional Business Journal] * "Sorry, not sorry, narcs," says Judge Breyer. Earlier this week, a California judge informed the DEA that it needed to stop harshing medical marijuana patients' mellows by shutting down medical pot dispensaries that were operating within state laws. [TIME]

By Staci Zaretsky