Lisa Blatt

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.28.19

* Paul Weiss really showed its “commitment to putting the white in white shoe” with its new partnership class, and the New York Times is on it! See our coverage from December here. [New York Times] * President Donald Trump recently met with a group of right-wing activists led by Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, where they criticized transgender people and women serving in the military. Trump reportedly looked “taken aback“ during the meeting, which is a bit of a rarity. [New York Times] * Some pretty major lateral moves for some pretty major players when it comes to appellate practice: Lisa Blatt is returning to Williams & Connelly where she’ll lead the firm’s Supreme Court practice, and Kannon Shanmugam is leaving Williams & Connolly to lead a new Supreme Court practice at Paul Weiss. Congrats! [NLJ; NLJ] * “I'm here to speak for the people who don't have a voice.” Rappers Jay-Z and Meek Mill have launched the Reform Alliance, an initiative for criminal justice reform, with the goal of dramatically changing laws and policies to reduce “unreasonable” probation, parole, and prison terms. [CBS News] * What happened to the people who were told that they passed the D.C. bar exam, when in reality they actually failed? “Just shock. I didn’t think that could happen. I never heard of a bar committee changing the results.” Here’s a bit of a depressing update. [Washington Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.05.18

* Joel Cohen tackles a tricky issue: how far should a lawyer go when defending a controversial client -- e.g., Bill Cosby -- in the court of public opinion? [Law and Crime] * How much does being a conservative or libertarian hurt you when applying for a position as a law professor? James C. Phillips attempts to quantify the "rank gap." [SSRN] * Some thoughts on the case involving 3D-printer gunmaking instructions, from Eugene Volokh -- who, not surprisingly, has a take that's a bit more nuanced than Elie Mystal's. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Happy blogiversary to Artificial Lawyer -- a great resource for anyone interested in the intersection of AI and the law. [Artificial Lawyer] * C. Boyden Gray, a former White House Counsel, offers a clear and persuasive explanation of why seeing all the documents that Brett Kavanaugh sent or received during his time as White House Staff Secretary isn't going to aid in evaluation of his SCOTUS nomination. [The Hill] * From leading Supreme Court lawyer Lisa Blatt: "I’m a Liberal Feminist Lawyer. Here’s Why Democrats Should Support Judge Kavanaugh." [Politico] * And here's more support for the SCOTUS nominee, from Kathryn Cherry, a former Kavanaugh clerk (and an African-American woman -- one of Judge Kavanaugh's many female or minority clerks). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBjEJPdAOPo&feature=youtu.be

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.27.18

* Barbara Jones, a former federal judge who now serves as a partner at Bracewell (a firm where Rudy Giuliani was once a name partner), has been appointed as a special master in Michael Cohen’s case to decide which materials that were seized from his office are protected by attorney-client privilege and which materials can be reviewed by prosecutors. [New York Post] * This just got really interesting: The anonymous Proskauer partner who is suing the firm in a $50 million gender bias case has come forward and revealed her name. Jane Doe is better known as Connie Bertram, head of the firm’s labor and employment practice in D.C. and co-head of the firm’s whistleblowing and retaliation group. [American Lawyer] * Veteran Supreme Court advocate Lisa Blatt of Arnold & Porter received a rare honor at the high court earlier this week during oral arguments in Trump v. Hawaii when Justice Stephen Breyer mentioned her as the author of an amicus brief. This almost never happens. Congratulations on a job well done! [National Law Journal] * The Stanford Law Class of 1998 has the special sauce for producing female deans at top law schools. Kimberly Yuracko of Northwestern, Kerry Abrams of Duke, and Gillian Lester of Columbia all graduated in the same year. [The Recorder] * Cooley Law School is back in compliance with ABA accreditation standards. Apparently the school is now admitting candidates who appear capable of finishing law school and gaining admission to a state bar (even though recent bar exam pass-rate statistics seem to strongly disagree with that assessment). [ABA Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.09.16

* Following a concession call from Hillary Clinton last night, and in a "stunning repudiation of the establishment," Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States. Congratulations to President-elect Trump. How do you like them apples? This historic election wasn't "rigged" after all! [New York Times] * Marijuana also won big in the polls last night. Voters in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Maine approved recreational marijuana initiatives, with Arkansas, North Dakota, and Florida approving medical marijuana initiatives, but "[t]here are various ways in which a hostile White House could trip things up." We'll have more information on this news later today. [Washington Post] * As we saw in the ATL electoral law school poll, many practicing lawyers voted for Hillary Clinton, but alas, it was all for naught. For example, Lisa Blatt, head of Arnold & Porter’s appellate and Supreme Court practice, had this to say when asked who she voted for in the election: "Duh! Clinton; early voting; and seriously?" [Big Law Business] * Despite UCLA Law Professor Richard Sander's pleas to use the data to support his opposition to affirmative action, the California State Bar need not disclose the race or ethnicity of those who took the bar exam since 1972 because it would amount to an invasion of privacy for those promised confidentiality. [San Francisco Chronicle] * Per an ALM survey, revenue per partner slipped in 2015 to an average of $468,511, down from an average of $491,729 in 2014. This 4.7 percent decline is the largest ALM has seen since it first started tracking the metric. Why is this happening? "Demand is soft. Quite a few firms still have more lawyers than work for them." [Am Law Daily] * This must be an interesting situation for the clothing company's GC-cum-CEO: After deciding to ignore its own reorganization plan and announcing that it would be winding down its U.K. operations, American Apparel is desperately attempting to stave off another bankruptcy filing and has now resumed talks with potential buyers. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky
Antonin Scalia

A Portrait of Elena Kagan as a Young Justice

The latest issue of New York magazine contains a very interesting profile of the U.S. Supreme Court’s newest member, Justice Elena Kagan, penned by Dahlia Lithwick. Here’s the bottom-line summary of the piece (via Ezra Klein): “While Kagan is assuredly a liberal, and likely also a fan of the health-reform law, a close read of […]

By David Lat