Mark Shurtleff

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.17.15

* The legal battle that pits Jenner & Block and the Motion Picture Association of America on one side and Google on the other just got uglier. In response to Google's subpoena of documents related to Jenner & Block and the MPAA's lobbying efforts, Jenner & Block partner, David Handzo, called out Google tactics saying, "The court should not allow Google’s abuse of the litigation process." [National Law Journal] * The repercussions of the Sony data hack just keep on coming. A federal judge ruled that Sony employees that had personal information leaked to the world had standing to sue even if they couldn't prove that criminals used their information. [The Recorder] * Former Utah AG Mark Shurtleff now faces lesser charges of bribery and accepting improper gifts (though he could still face up to 30 years in jail if convicted), including allegations that accepting a partnership at Troutman Sanders impaired his judgement as a civil servant. [The American Lawyer] * How far would you go to save your sinking law firm? The saga of failed firm, Butler & Hosch, got stranger amid allegations that CEO Robert Hosch created fake invoices to the tune of $7 million to secure a loan for the firm. [Daily Business Review] * Litigation surrounding the May 12th Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia continues forward along with criticism that federal law limits the recovery for all victims combined to $200 million. [Legal Intelligencer]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.08.15

* “Take it from me, dealing with the complex criminal legal system can be difficult and intimidating for most people." This ex-Troutman Sanders partner may be facing nine felony charges, but who cares? He's starting his own firm. [Am Law Daily] * It's kind of cute when law school deans lie to themselves to make themselves feel better. For example, the dean of Oregon Law says now is "excellent" time go to go law school, and he doesn't make decisions “based on what moves the rankings needle.” [Daily Emerald] * Per the latest Altman Weil survey, the first quarter of 2015 was one of the best ever for law firm mergers. The pace with which law firms merged was the second-quickest since the company started tracking mergers to begin with in 2007. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * The Rutgers Board of Governors has approved of the proposed merger between Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden Law. Now they just have to wait for the ABA's rubber stamp, which they'll obviously get -- the ABA would rubber stamp a shoe. [NJ Advance Media] * "[T]he law is a noble profession – but it’s also an oversubscribed one, due in large part to excessive federal lending." Maybe if the government stopped handing out student loans like candy, law schools would be forced to lower their tuition rates. [Washington Post] * The University of Virginia's chapter of Phi Kappa Psi is definitely going to try to sue Rolling Stone over its fraternity gang-rape story, but the question is whether "bad journalism [will] amount to legal liability." What do you think about this? [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Crime

Non-Sequiturs: 07.17.14

* A company has limited bathroom breaks to 6 minutes daily. Well, gutting pensions and suppressing wages hasn’t caused a revolution, why not let it ride. [Slate] * A Florida town has imposed criminal sanctions against sagging pants. But Chief Justice Roberts told me racism was over in the South… [Fashionista] * Who says crime doesn’t pay? [CBS News] * Mayer Brown wants you to think the Supreme Court wasn’t tilted toward business interests this Term. Yes, we all know how Homer City turned out, but maybe it’s worth evaluating this based on how important the cases were. Is Petrella really equivalent to Noel Canning? [Mayer Brown] * Not one, but two former Utah Attorneys General charged with corruption. [Deseret News] * The CFPB brought suit against a debt collection lawsuit mill. A working CFPB. One more great thing we used to get from recess appointments. Thanks Breyer. [CFPB] * Oh no. A law school tuition Kickstarter. [Kickstarter] * New York tried to help homeowners facing foreclosure. Unfortunately, the law didn’t create a remedy if the banks refused to follow the law. Well, it was our fault for thinking Albany could do something right. [WiseLaw NY]

By Joe Patrice
Death Penalty

Quote of the Day: The Twitter Firing Squad

WARNING! This page informs on real world of crime and punishment. “If u can’t stand the TWEET, get out of the TWITCHEN” Harry Truman #utpol — Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who set off a heated debate about the appropriateness of tweeting about Utah’s firing squad execution last week.

By Kashmir Hill