Lowenstein Sandler

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.16.16

* 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 President Obama hasn't withdrawn his SCOTUS nomination, but his White House Hanukkah party introduction of the jurist indicates he's all but given up on Garland's confirmation.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]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.18.15

* Are Harvard Law professors chilling the reporting of sexual assault on campus? [Huffington Post] * Amal Clooney launches a scholarship to educate Lebanese women. [Los Angeles Times] * Justices Scalia and Thomas just plain wrong on gun regulations. [The Atlantic] * Baltimore reacts to the hung jury in the Freddie Gray case. [The Root] * You know those late-night commercials for LifeLock, designed to convince elderly people to buy their product lest their identity be stolen? Yeah, the FTC announced the identity theft company would be paying $100 million to settle charges that it didn't secure its customers' info and misrepresented the strength of its product. [Washington Post] * A motion for summary judgment has been filed in the case against Alan Dershowitz for defamation. [Palm Beach Daily News] * Lowenstein Sandler Chair Gary Wingens comes out in favor of two-year law schools. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

By Kathryn Rubino
Benchslaps

Morning Docket: 01.31.14

* Quinn Emanuel got a pretty harsh benchslap from Judge Paul Grewal over its litigation strategy in the Apple / Samsung case, calling it “650 lawyers wide and one lawyer deep.” Sick burn, Judge. [Courthouse News Service] * At Cardozo Law, Jordan Belfort’s former lawyer says that the movie Wolf of Wall Street “played down the sex and drugs.” Dear Lord, if that’s the case, Leo’s muse should be happy he’s alive. [DealBook / New York Times] * “I’ve been around the block. And I’ve never seen an attorney general sanctioned.” Ahh, the rarest rose. Nevada’s AG was sanctioned for failing to provide evidence in a fraud case against a mortgage lender. [Forbes] * Eighteen people were arrested for their alleged attempts to market and sell Super Bowl “party packs” to football fans. It’s pretty sick, but you’d got to admit that hookers and blow beat wings any day of the week. [Bloomberg] * Law schools in the Southeast closed their doors because their states were “unequipped for dealing with the roadways.” Send them up here, we’ve got school when there’s a foot of snow. [National Law Journal] * A recent grad of a “good school” wanted to know how to get a job, so she asked an advice columnist. Here are five of the suggested jobs she probably already applied to and was rejected from. [Fortune] * The third time’s apparently the charm in Italy: Amanda Knox was convicted of murder, again. Foxy Knoxy must be pissed that her case has turned into an extradition question on an international law exam. [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky