Leonard Leo

* Leonard Leo used his Federalist Society contacts to secure $1.6 billion donation, which Politico suggests might “raise questions about its nonpartisan, non-political status.” Nope. We had no questions. [Politico]

* Joe Tacopina’s second day of cross-examination somehow managed to be worse according to Mitchell Epner. [Daily Beast]

* Though he may not be around for long, as eyes turn toward whether or not Joe Tacopina is conflicted out of the Donald Trump case because of past interactions with Stormy Daniels. What are the odds this is all heading toward some half-baked mistrial motion? I’m guessing around 1 in… 1. [Law360]

* All that Zooming and Teamsing (yet another reason Teams sucks — no good way to convert the product name into an activity) during the pandemic left the Justice Department a treasure trove of material. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Hollywood writers go on strike. Now you’re stuck with all the online journalists for your entertainment needs. [Reuters]

* Midsized law firms are embracing emerging companies practice while bigger firms grow more cautious. [American Lawyer]

* UK regulators investigating the abuse of NDAs. [LegalCheek]

* If you’re following the Spider-Man movie rights kerfuffle, it’s worth remembering that this was entirely Disney’s fault for screwing up copyright law in the 1990s. [Screen Rant]

* Johnson & Johnson plan to appeal verdict suggesting that handing out heroin like candy might be a bad thing. [Law.com]

* Leonard Leo got himself a mansion in Maine apparently so he could raise money for Susan Collins (R-Federalist Society). Her campaign spokesperson declared that “The fact is, Senator Collins’ votes are not for sale” by which he means “they’ve already been bought.” [Central Maine]

* At the Greg Craig trial, Skadden folks are testifying that Craig had a “very passionate” aversion to foreign agent registration. In his defense just about every lobbyist will do anything in their power to avoid actually registering as a lobbyist. [National Law Journal]

* Explaining how the Brazilian rainforest fires link back to the trade war with China. [Huffington Post]

* Dallas has a new mayor and Locke Lord has a new partner and they are the same guy. [Dallas Morning News]

* President Donald Trump has appealed a federal judge’s order allowing the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoena of his financial records to the D.C. Circuit, where — GASP! — Merrick Garland serves as chief judge. The fact that Garland is involved apparently matters a lot to the MSM, you guys. [The Hill]

* “The memo says they don’t have to assert a legitimate legislative purpose — or any purpose at all.” According to a confidential draft IRS memo, tax returns must be given to Congress upon request, unless the president claims executive privilege. This pretty much blows up Trump’s rationale for refusing to turn over his taxes thus far, but opens up a whole new way for him to avoid doing so. [Washington Post]

* “The Supreme Court is stacked against us for the first time in my lifetime. I feel like it’s scarier than ever before.” As hundreds of people protested state abortion bans before the Supreme Court, Democratic presidential candidates joined in, lending their support to all the women gathered. [Reuters]

* Meet Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society executive Vice President who serves as Trump’s unofficial judicial adviser to make the federal judiciary “great” (i.e., extremely conservative) again. How’s he doing that? With millions upon millions of dollars of “dark money.” He didn’t want to talk about that part of it. [Washington Post]

* Buckley, the law firm formerly known as Buckley Sandler, has filed suit against Johnny Depp, claiming that the actor skipped out on about $350K in legal fees and costs. Leave the poor man alone, he’s got better things to spend his money on… like scarves. [American Lawyer]