Marchuk v. Monteverde

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.25.15

* Smart women, foolish choices? Alexandra Marchuk might regret turning down a $425,001 offer of judgment from the defendants in Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi, in which she wound up getting a $140,000 verdict. [Law360 (sub. req.)] * In other news from high-profile sexual harassment cases, the trial in Harvard Law grad Ellen Pao's lawsuit against venture capital behemoth Kleiner Perkins got underway yesterday. [USA Today] * A guilty verdict and a life sentence in the "American Sniper" trial. [New York Times] * Embattled politico Sheldon Silver has turned to the talented Steven Molo in seeking to get the criminal charges against him dismissed. [New York Post] * J.J. Nelson v. Adidas: coming to a 1L Contracts casebook near you? [ESPN] * Law schools dropping the LSAT: a trend in the making? [BloombergBusiness] * The latest in Deidre Clark v. Allen & Overy: is plaintiff Deidre Dare ready for her close-up psychological exam? [New York Law Journal] * Is the job outlook for law school graduates brightening? Some thoughts from Jim Leipold of NALP. [National Law Journal via ABA Journal] * As he runs for Congress, what does Staten Island district attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr. have to say about the Eric Garner case? [New York Times]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.13.15

* From the "Why the hell didn't you settle this?" file: Now that Alexandra Marchuk's case against Faruqi & Faruqi and Juan Monteverde has gone to trial, it seems the firm is getting all sorts of publicity -- mostly negative. [New York Post] * Supreme Court justices are really just like us... they show up late to work, too. Because Justice Antonin Scalia was stuck in traffic this morning, Chief Justice John Roberts had to summarize two of Scalia's opinions from the bench. Oops! [NPR] * Speaking of Justice Scalia, the Supreme jurist managed to sneak in a citation to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in his opinion in Whitfield v. United States to show the common usage of the word “accompany." [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Remember Dennis Doyle, the lawyer who lost his job and dropped $25K to see every single Knicks game this season? He said this of his tragic endeavor: "I can’t shut it down. I’m in too deep. ... I’ll see it through—if it doesn’t kill me first." [Bleacher Report] * An Idaho prosecutor is having regrets over the fact that he chose to issue an arrest warrant for a 9-year-old boy on gum-stealing charges, calling it “a mistake under the circumstances.” That kid must be the coolest on the playground. [ABA Journal] * "Trying to suppress [the value of parody] with violence is a fool’s errand." In the wake of the horror of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, it's worth recognizing that here in the U.S., we owe much to rappers who have capitalized on free speech. [LinkedIn]

By Staci Zaretsky