Law Schools

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.25.18

* The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today on the Trump travel ban case. What's at stake here, aside from the high court potentially allowing the travel ban to become permanent? The legacy of the Roberts Court also hangs in the balance. A decision upholding the ban could very well be the next Dred Scott, Plessy, or Korematsu, and forever marring this Court's record. [Take Care] * Is AG Jeff Sessions recusing himself from the investigation into Michael Cohen, or isn't he? According to the DOJ, Sessions isn't involved in any investigations "related in any way to the campaigns for president," but according to news sources, he hasn't decided to recuse himself from the Cohen probe quite yet. [Politico; Bloomberg] * Judge John Bates of the District of Columbia has ruled that the Trump administration's decision to end the DACA program was "arbitrary and capricious" and "virtually unexplained," and therefore "unlawful." Judge Bates ordered that the government must not only continue DACA, but accept new applicants. He stayed his ruling for 90 days to give DHS a chance to explain itself. [Washington Post] * Kyle Duncan, President Trump's fifteenth federal appeals court nominee who's known for litigating disputes involving voter ID requirements, same-sex marriage bans, transgender bathroom access, and the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate, was very narrowly confirmed to the Fifth Circuit. [Big Law Business] * According to the Harvard Law Women's Law Association, there's a glass ceiling at the school. The faculty is "overwhelmingly male," and the administration is "turning a blind eye" to the success of women once they're enrolled. Something has to change so women can achieve as much success as their male classmates. [Harvard Law Record]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.24.18

* The long, drawn out saga of the "Monkey Selfie" case has crossed another milestone with the Ninth Circuit ruling that the monkey can't sue for copyright violations. Reached for comment, the monkey's attorney expressed disappointment in the decision and hurled feces. [Courthouse News Service] * Jones Day loses more partners to the lateral market. We assume they saw the Above the Law Law Firm Rankings and decided they had to get out. [American Lawyer] * Colorado passes "secret prisons" reform bill... in secret. Hurray irony! [9News] * Kimberly Yuracko named the new dean of Northwestern Law. [Northwestern University NewsCenter] * Good news for DLA Piper: the Second Circuit upholds their malpractice victory. [Law360] * K&L Gates adds firepower in Asia. That should serve them well until Trump hears a scary Pokemon Go story on Fox and cuts off all trade to Japan. [International] * Checking in on the finale of the Global Legal Hackathon. So if you got a suspicious request for money from your practice management software the other day, it was probably hacked. [Legaltech News]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.23.18

* Because there is never a moment without drama in this administration, AG Jeff Sessions has told White House counsel Don McGahn that he's probably going to have to quit if President Trump fires Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein. [Washington Post] * Meanwhile, White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short says the president "has no intention of firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and special counsel Robert Mueller." Hmm... we'll just wait right here until those firings don't happen. *insert Jeopardy music here* [CBS News] * "[T]here is no human being, on the planet, with more knowledge about federal criminal law than Michael Dreeben, and no one with more expertise than him." Meet Michael Dreeben, special counsel Robert Mueller's Supreme Court closer. He's argued more than 100 SCOTUS cases, and is a force to be reckoned with. [ABC News] * Hiring for the law school class of 2017 is "up," with 75.3 percent of graduates employed in full-time, long-term jobs that require law degrees or are considered “JD advantage” positions -- but you probably shouldn't get too excited about that. The only reason the percentage of those employed is higher this year is because the class was 6 percent smaller. In reality, entry-level hiring has decreased. [ABA Journal] * Which Biglaw firm did Wells Fargo turn to ahead of being hit with record fines that turned into a $1B settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency? That would be Sullivan & Cromwell, which "always [tries] to play absolutely straight with the regulators." [American Lawyer] * Riley Safer, a spinoff of Schiff Hardin, just elected its first managing partner, and she may be the first black woman to lead a national law firm. Congratulations to Patricia Brown Holmes as she leads the legal profession in the future. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky