Law School Enrollment

* In completely unshocking news, despite advice from ethics officials, Acting Attorney General and former Tight End Matthew Whitaker has refused to recuse himself from oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian election interference probe. [USA Today]

* Corporate clients are trying to control their spending, and that means more and more Biglaw firms are having trouble collecting on their year-end bills, such that “on average [a firm] can lose 20 percent of its original billing amount.” [Big Law Business]

* First-year law student enrollment increased by 3 percent this year, and two New Jersey schools played a really big role. Rutgers Law increased its 1Ls by 17.87 percent and Seton Hall Law increased its 1Ls by 24.87 percent. [New Jersey Law Journal]

* Another day, another law school that’s willing to accept the GRE for admissions. Starting this fall, the University at Buffalo School of Law will accept the alternative test in place of the LSAT to “eliminat[e] barriers to access to education.” [UB Now]

* In case you missed it, earlier this week, Nick Wilson, a public defender, won the latest season of Survivor. Now the 2013 graduate of Alabama Law has $1 million to pay off his loans after becoming the Sole Survivor. Congratulations! [Kentucky Today]

* Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws when he made payments to women “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office … for the principal purpose of influencing the election.” In response, Rudy Giuliani, who apparently prefers to look at the bright side of things and because the truth isn’t the truth, said, “There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen.” [New York Times]

* Oopsie… Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife were indicted by a federal grand jury on 60 counts on charges related to the misuse of more than $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses (like family vacations and school tuition) and then trying to conceal it by filing false campaign finance records. [USA Today]

* Venable is merging with New York IP firm Fitzpatrick Cella, and the deal is expected to close on November 1. The combined firm will have 800 lawyers, a major presence in the Big Apple, and revenue that’s expected to top $620 million. [American Lawyer]

* We know that law school enrollment is up, but at some law schools, it’s really up. Several schools have seen their first-year enrollments climb by double-digit percentages, which is a welcome change for some schools. [Law.com]

* Speaking of law schools, if you’re trying to get into an elite school, then your GPA obviously needs to be really high. But how high are we talking here? All of the top 10 schools have median GPAs of 3.7 or higher. Good luck out there! [U.S. News]

* President Donald Trump claims he has no plans to fire special counsel Robert Mueller — which, according to past precedent in the Trump administration, means Mueller’s days as special counsel may be numbered. [Washington Post]

* By order of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, the Second Circuit will be handling the formal inquiry into Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s alleged harassment of women who once served as his clerks and externs. [The Recorder]

* Like father-in-law, like son-in-law: a law firm is suing Jared Kushner’s real estate company for failure to pay any of its legal fees for work performed from December 2014 to May 2015. [New York Daily News]

* Uh oh… In other Kushner-related news, word on the street that’s since been confirmed by Abbe Lowell is that the first son-in-law’s legal team is trying to find a crisis public relations firm to handle inquiries into their client’s role in the Trump-Russia investigation. [Washington Post]

* According to recently released Standard 509 reports, law school enrollment was essentially flat between 2016 and 2017, with a negligible 0.7 percent decrease in law students. What’s more interesting is the fact that for the first time ever, law schools’ bar passage rates weren’t included in the reports. That information will be out next March, when it’s less helpful for prospective students. [ABA Journal]

* “[W]e will do whatever we have to do to properly protect his rights vis a vis the company.” Film producer and accused rapist Harvey Weinstein has hired Hollywood power lawyer Patricia Glaser to represent him in his fight against his own company. [Hollywood Reporter]

* Hogan Lovells has been in the legal press a lot lately for its decision to shut things down, like careers. Now, the firm has decided to shut down an office in a far away land called Ulaanbaatar that you’ve likely never heard of before. [Legal Week]

* What’s the easiest way to get a new practice group running? By acquiring a boutique firm that’s got an “innovative approach.” That’s what LeClairRyan did when it swallowed up Pizzo & Haman, a workers’ compensation firm which is unique in that… its attorneys charge more than others in the same practice area. [Am Law Daily]

* Enrollment has gone up in a major way at the Appalachian School of Law. The school’s new 1L class is about 86 percent larger than last year’s entering class, and its overall enrollment has increased by almost 40 percent. Considering that the school has been struggling in recent years, this must be nice for everyone in Grundy. [WCYB]

* “What Could Equifax CLO John Kelley Have Done Differently?” Literally, anything. [Corporate Counsel]

* Are conservative partners giving smaller bonuses to female associates? Per the results of a recent study, political ideology impacts how partners allocate discretionary income to associates based on gender. If you thought this couldn’t happen in Biglaw since bonuses are largely lockstep by class year, think again. The firm studied has 1,000+ lawyers. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily]

* “We’ve got one of the country’s finest jurists, who I happened to have nominated to the Supreme Court and who’s going to continue to serve our country with distinction as the chief judge on the D.C. circuit, Merrick Garland is here.” President Obama hasn’t withdrawn his SCOTUS nomination, but his White House Hanukkah party introduction of the jurist indicates he’s all but given up on Garland’s confirmation. [Washington Post]

* “Just because you didn’t go to law school doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have more time to bond with a new child.” Lowenstein Sandler has adopted a gender-neutral family leave policy that’s being offered to all of the firm’s employees — not just its lawyers. Congrats to the firm on taking an important leap towards parental equality. [Big Law Business]

* According to the latest ABA data, first-year law school enrollment has increased for the first time since 2010. Don’t get too excited over this news, because only 36 more 1Ls were enrolled in law school in 2016 compared to 2015, and one of the schools with the largest enrollment increase (Indiana Tech) is closing for good. [National Law Journal]

* “Once again, public schools have decided that their commitment to diversity does not extend to Christians.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is going to war over a religious Charlie Brown Christmas poster that was banned from a local middle school. AG Paxton has filed suit, but some say he did so as a distraction from his own indictment. [Reuters]

* In honor of the upcoming Labor Day holiday, FLSA compliance and the American worker. [ADP]

* What lawyers can learn from Judge Richard Posner, according to William Domnarski’s new biography (affiliate link). [ABA Journal]

* Should law reviews be worried? [Chronicle of Higher Education]

* One law school’s enrollment is down 26%. [TaxProf Blog]

* Transparency report from the most recent Supreme Court Term. [Fix the Court]

* A look at FCPA enforcement actions concerning charitable foundations. [FCPA Professors]

* “Congress is the only source for such an appropriation, and no public money can be spent without one.” The House was successful in its suit over the improper funding of an Obamacare subsidy program, but this victory may serve as a setback to those who have come to rely upon it. You can expect the Obama administration to appeal. [POLITICO]

* The Ninth Circuit will allow attorneys who secured a victory in the Stetson BARBRI antitrust case to get a second chance to score the nearly $2M in attorneys fees they originally requested before Judge Manuel Real shot them down. Due to his prior “erroneous findings and conclusions,” the Ninth Circuit has essentially removed Judge Real from the case. [Courthouse News Service]

* “People are turned off on legal education because of a lack of suitable paying jobs.” Even while facing a dearth of applicants, Minnesota Law has decided to scale back on the size of its first-year class — taking in less of the tuition income that it needs to survive — in order to preserve its standing as a top law school. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Former partners of the dearly departed Dickstein Shapiro will no longer have to worry about that $8.4 million sublease lawsuit filed by Sullivan & Worcester after they left the firm’s New York office to lateral en masse to Blank Rome. Both sides have amicably resolved their dispute, but we wonder how much it cost to do so. [Big Law Business]

* A grand jury has upgraded the charges against Ryan Petersen, the man alleged to have shot 23-year-old law firm clerk Chase Passauer to death in his office chair. Peterson had been charged with second-degree murder in Passauer’s death, but now faces a charge of premeditated first-degree murder for the commission of the crime. [Star Tribune]

* How low can you go? For the first time in years, enrollment is up at Cooley Law — by three students. That’s the only thing the school will be able to brag about, because the average GPA and LSAT scores of its most recent entering class are the lowest the school has seen in at least a decade. Yikes. [Lansing State Journal]

* President Obama has to make quite the decision when it comes to choosing who will be his next SCOTUS appointment. He already faces an uphill battle, so if he were to pick any these five candidates (even the one who was recently confirmed 97-0), it’d likely make things even harder than they already are. [The Fix / Washington Post]

* “I’ll stay as long as necessary.” Activists from Reclaim Harvard Law are occupying a lounge to create a safe space for minorities, and they plan to remain there indefinitely. Armed with blow-up mattresses and blankets, they mean business. [Harvard Crimson]

* Charlotte Law launched a compliance certificate program, and anyone who can pay can receive training. Since compliance is booming right now, as InfiLaw graduates, they’re better equipped than most for jobs that don’t require a law degree. [Charlotte Observer]

* A New York judge who prosecuted drunk driving cases earlier in her career was arrested for allegedly driving drunk… while on the way to work to handle arraignments. It’s unlikely that she’ll return to the bench any time soon. [Democrat and Chronicle]