Madonna

* A New Jersey lawyer has been suspended from practice for posting a client’s criminal history in a negative online review. Guess the disciplinary review board told the lawyer: “you’re not ‘Yelp’ing”… [ABA Journal]

* Tons of my fellow Garden State attorneys in the Morning Docket today. Another New Jersey lawyer is in hot water for “friending” a litigant on Facebook to collect dirt. [New Jersey Law Journal]

* Paul Manafort is the latest high-profile figure released from prison early because of COVID-19. [Fox News]

* A paralegal for a U.S. Attorney’s Office is accused of giving information to a drug cartel. Her brother-in-law is allegedly the head of a drug-trafficking organization; seems like background checks could have been better. [CBS News]

* A staff attorney for the Cobb County, Georgia Magistrate Court was shot and killed while confronting a gunman last week. [Atlanta Journal Constitution]

* Hackers are demanding $21 million from a law firm or they may release materials related to the firm’s clients, which include Elton John, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. Hope the firm has a good “poker face.” [Variety]

* Madonna has been sued over claims that this “material girl” has been showing up late to concerts. [Billboard]

* UpCounsel, the website that matches lawyers with clients that need projects completed, has announced that it will be shuttering on March 4th. [ABA Journal]

* A Minnesota personal injury lawyer is in hot water for allegedly conspiring with chiropractors to defraud insurance companies. [Star Tribune]

* The attorney for a woman charged with busting through Mar-a-Lago checkpoints claims his client is mentally unwell. [Associated Press]

* Judge Deborah Batts, the federal judge tasked with overseeing the New York criminal trial of Michael Avenatti, passed away yesterday at the age of 72. [NBC News]

* A ray of light for Madonna as the Ninth Circuit hands her a victory in a long-running copyright infringement case, creating a circuit split in the process. [Billboard]

* The New York Court of Appeals overturns the $17.2 million award Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder earlier won against Cadwalader at summary judgment. Life’s hard for billionaires who beg regular people pay their bills for them. [Law360]

* Kirkland & Ellis plays hardball with departing partner, forcing him to repay a $120K bonus before walking out the door. [Legal Week]

* This is why we can’t have nice things. Literally. Intellectual property concerns threaten customizable goods. [Corporate Counsel]

* Texas AG Ken Paxton’s still gonna have to face those criminal fraud charges. [Courthouse News Service]

* Industry groups come out of the woodwork to challenge a Department of Labor rule requiring retirement advisors to act in the best interest of their customers. Crocodile tears abound as the groups claim they agree with the sentiment of the rule but just want the SEC to write it — knowing full well that the SEC isn’t going to write it. [Wall Street Journal]

* Add ABA President Paulette Brown to the list of people outraged that Donald Trump is criticizing a federal judge for, among other things, being of Mexican descent. [Law360]

* Irell gets sneaky in this copyright win over pre-1972 songs. [Litigation Daily]

* If you need a reminder as to why it is essential to fight for access to abortions and reproductive freedom generally, read this. [Slate]

* Is Madonna using the “fair use” doctrine to avoid paying artists whose work she uses? [DIY Photography]

* Bigger isn’t always better: how Cooley Law School is hurting legal educational standards. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

* Want a surefire way to NOT get out of educational debt anytime soon? Go to law school. [Wall Street Journal]

* You need to know your rights vis-a-vis airlines. Because the government isn’t going to fine them much anymore. [Huffington Post]

* Virginia is going to stop recognizing conceal carry permits from 25 states. [Washington Post]

* Squire Patton Boggs has announced the new leadership structure of its lobbying and public policy practice. It’s really no surprise that the head honchos of the group hail from the Patton Boggs side of the recent merger. [Politico]

* “It’s funny how the Supreme Court reaches down and picks this case.” The most important digital privacy case of our time just happened to be filed by Stanford Law’s SCOTUS Litigation Clinic. Awesome. [San Jose Mercury News]

* If you’re caught on camera sleeping during a Yankees/Red Sox game, you can probably expect abuse from ESPN announcers. If you call someone an “unintelligent fatty” as an announcer, you can probably expect a $10M defamation suit. [New York Post]

* “I’m proud to do my job.” Madonna finally rescheduled her jury duty session in New York City, but she was dismissed early so as not to create a “further distraction for the courthouse.” [New York Daily News]

* It’s been three years since Casey Anthony was acquitted of her daughter’s murder. Let us remember this most amazing voicemail: “CASEY ANTHONY NEEDS TO ROT IN HELL! SHE NEEDS TO DIE!” [CNN]

Madonna bails out on jury duty and leaves her fans in the dust to serve their civic duty with hangovers.

We chat with the attorney who starred in the viral Madonna bar mitzvah video. He is fabulous.

DeMayo defense in a five page fax...

When somebody who knows where the bodies are buried quits, hilarity ensues...

Last week, Christopher Danzig went to the Computer Forensics Show in San Francisco. He sat in on one legal technology-related panel that was particularly entertaining and informative. What he heard underscored was the importance of maintaining a technology dialogue between legal and other parts of the business. It was also chance to hear some awesome war stories from a veteran partner at a major law firm....

* While med school grads can stop a person from bleeding out, law school grads could probably treat a papercut (but that’s a bit of an overstatement). Who will be there to stop our bleeding? [Am Law Daily] * Annie Le’s family is suing Yale over her death, saying the school failed to protect women. […]

* Judge Douglas Ginsburg (D.C. Cir.) is taking senior status and joining the NYU Law faculty. Query how this will affect his feeding (and no, we’re not talking about New York versus D.C. restaurants). [The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times] * “Two Examples of Things Not to Say When You’re at Your Local IRS […]

* A scam blogger hit it hard last week, calling Cooley out for policing the internet. Guess we know why s/he chose to go by “Rockstar.” [Detroit Free Press] * Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday to remember the life of slain Mercer Law School graduate, Lauren Giddings. Rest in peace. [Baltimore Sun] * Other […]

* Conky the Robot says the word of the day at the Barry Bonds trial yesterday was…syringe. AAAAHHHH!!!!!! [ESPN] * Robert George, a prominent Boston defense attorney, stands accused of money laundering. Forget prison for a second; what is he going to do with 40 subscriptions to Vibe? [Boston Globe] * Lilo rejected a plea […]