Mary Jo White

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.18.15

* Everything's bigger in Texas, including the lateral raids of lawyers from competing law firms. Wilson Elser just poached 11 litigators from Lewis Brisbois, including the firm's regional managing partner, who now holds the same title at his new firm. Ride 'em, cowboy! [Houston Business Journal] * "I think almost 50 years of paying for those crimes is enough." Winston Moseley, the man convicted of killing Kitty Genovese in an infamous case that came to define the meaning of bystander apathy, was recently denied parole for the eighteenth time. [AP] * We love an underdog story: On the topic of lateral moves, it seems like Greenberg Traurig has a habit of "cherry picking" top talent from higher-ranked law firms like Davis Polk, White & Case, and McDermott Will & Emery. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * When it comes to the Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house judges, Chairman Mary Jo White says that while its court system could be "modernize[d]," it's still a fair process -- for the SEC. The house usually wins in these proceedings. [WSJ Law Blog] * How old is too old to be a judge? Pennsylvania voters are going to be asked this question next year when a referendum on a proposed amendment to the state's constitution to raise the judicial retirement age from 70 to 75 hits the ballot box. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.30.15

* Who says political foes can't work together? It's easy when there's a ton of money on the line. Newt Gingrich and Howard Dean make their first joint appearance as Dentons employees. [National Law Journal] * Have you been paying attention to the SEC? Catch up with is analysis of the 3 major trends of the Mary Jo White era. [Corporate Counsel] * Speaking of the SEC are they playing small ball, under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, with the makers of a popular baby formula? [Litigation Daily] * Former Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati employee, Dmitry Braverman, was sentenced to two years in jail for insider trading based on information he learned at the firm. [Wall Street Journal] * Perkins Coie helps Avvo, an online legal services marketplace, with fundraising to clock in with a $650 million valuation. [Am Law Daily]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.03.15

* C. Michael Kamps, the man who filed a pro se suit against Baylor Law with claims that he was denied admission because his GPA predated grade inflation, recently lost his bid to get SCOTUS to review his case. It's too bad -- he seems like a total gunner. [ABA Journal] * If you thought that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the biggest celebutante justice on the Supreme Court, then you'd be dead wrong. According to Professor Rick Hasen's research, it's Sonia Sotomayor who's stealing the spotlight at the high court. [WSJ Law Blog] * Senator Elizabeth Warren, the queen of taking Wall Street to task, now has her sights set on SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White. In a 13-page letter, the politician called the former Debevoise partner's tenure “extremely disappointing.” [DealBook / New York Times] * Ex-House Speaker Dennis Hastert's arraignment was rescheduled from this Thursday to next Tuesday. No reason was given for the change, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that there's still “no attorney of record" on the case. [National Law Journal] * Many doctors are hoping that tort reform will save them from litigating their malpractice cases, but there's an easy alternative. In order to be sued less often, doctors should try to talk more to their patients. What a novel concept. [The Upshot / New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.24.15

* Mary Jo White's sizable net worth is causing sizable headaches over at the SEC. [DealBook / New York Times] * If you work at a law firm and take way too long to perform simple tasks in Microsoft Word or Excel, shape up: a new test, developed by former in-house lawyer Casey Flaherty, could expose your weaknesses -- and lead to your work being discounted. [Capital Business / Washington Post] * More from Howard Bashman about the misadventures of Howard Shipley, the Foley & Lardner partner who might get spanked by SCOTUS for a bizarre filing. [How Appealing] * An S.D.N.Y. jury held the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization liable for supporting six terrorist attacks and issued a verdict of $218.5 million -- an award that will under the law get tripled (collected remains to be seen). [WSJ Law Blog] * Wall Street banks and their law firms are getting serious about cybersecurity. [New York Times] * Thanks to Emily Kelchen for her review of Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), which she calls "a true legal thriller." [Wisconsin Lawyer]

By David Lat
Airplanes / Aviation

Morning Docket: 06.06.14

* Federal judges frequently fly across the globe on other people’s dime for conferences and symposia, but 2012′s most frequent flyer is a judge who was recently embroiled in an ethics scandal: Randall Rader of the Federal Circuit. [National Law Journal] * Even though she claims nothing is “fundamentally broken,” Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman Mary Jo White proposed “sweeping” new stock market regulations in an attempt to get with the times. [DealBook / New York Times] * U. of Maine wants to combine its business and law schools, but professors are concerned about pressing questions like, “What will the diploma say?” rather than, “Do I get to keep my job?” [Portland Press Herald] * Law schools are seen as cash cows for their affiliated undergraduate universities, but this law school is hurting so bad for cash due to low enrollment the university is infusing it with millions. [Minnesota Daily] * A Pennsylvania man is suing his local police department for First Amendment violations after he was arrested for cursing in front of officers. N.W.A has a song this guy would like. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 05.28.14

* “[T]hree names are unnecessary, and over time I think you’ll see Squire Patton start to take hold.” Sanders got the boot in this law firm merger, and it won’t be long before Boggs follows. [Am Law Daily] * The “great female brain drain” at Am Law 200 firms isn’t slowing down, and it will only get better if Biglaw firms concentrate less on their failed “fix the women” approaches. [Harvard Business Review] * Mary Jo White of the SEC promised to dust off an often ignored — but “potentially [] very powerful” — section of securities law to pursue financial violations. Be wary of the “innocent instrumentality” doctrine, defense attorneys. [DealBook / New York Times] * We’ve got some breaking news for our readers from the “no sh*t” department: Law school graduates are still having a very tough time getting jobs as lawyers, and there is no real end in sight. [Sacramento Bee] * If you’re looking for a way to explain a switch in your undergrad major when applying to law school, show admissions committees how pretty your grades are now. Tada! [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Death Penalty

Non-Sequiturs: 05.05.14

* Pet therapy? This is what you’re doing with your time? This is why Cardozo can’t have nice things. [Cardozo Law] * Nobody likes name-calling, but opting for the death penalty just because you don’t want to be called “retarded”? That’s, um, what’s the word I’m looking for? [Cincinnati Enquirer] * Remember when Mary Jo White was going to bring teeth to the SEC? Well, that’s all over. [New Republic] * Live tweeting a prostitution sting. Yeah there’s no way this could go wrong. [Slate] * Law student says cops beat him so hard he lost a testicle. Um. That’s horrible. [KOB] * Do you fancy yourself a funny lawyer? Then enter New York’s Funniest Professional competition. Lawyers square off later this month. [Gotham Comedy Club / Manhattan Comedy School] * Judge sentences rapist to 45-days and community service… working in a rape crisis center. How could anyone be this tone-deaf? Oh, it’s in Texas? Never mind. [CNN] * California lawyers now must promise to be courteous. Play nice, kids. [LA Times] * Finally, it’s time to wish a happy birthday to Winston & Strawn’s Jonathan Amoona, who was on the 2014 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. I guess he won’t be anymore. His 30th birthday invitation went out to the managing partner and a bunch of the top rainmakers, which isn’t toolish at all. The invite is available after the jump….

By Joe Patrice
Arent Fox

Morning Docket: 07.22.13

* Though she be but little, she is fierce! Under Mary Jo White’s guidance, the Securities and Exchange Committee is now cracking down on financial fraud with a vengeance. [DealBook / New York Times] * When a Biglaw firm’s chairman skeptically says, “Uh, OK, I mean, maybe,” with regard to a future increased demand for legal work, you know things are bad. We’ll have more on this later today. [New Republic] * With Detroit’s downfall, vultures are swooping in left and right to snag clients. Firms retained thus far include Weil Gosthal, Arent Fox, Kirkland & Ellis, Winston & Strawn, and Sidley Austin. [Reuters] * “I’m not a 100% sure this is legal.” Two law professors have come up with a revolutionary way for law students to finance legal education that sounds like it just might work. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)] * Normally when Biglaw firms and legal departments go to court over contested litigation, something’s gone wrong, but this summer, they’re trying to do some good in the world. [National Law Journal] * Soon, it’ll be known as Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, but even with a new name, you’re still going to be Cooley, and there’s no recovery from that. [Lansing State Journal] * In Greenwich, Connecticut, the fact that people buy homes where they want their kids to go to school isn’t a “complicated concept.” The schools’ racial diversity, on the other hand, is. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 05.08.13

* “Is there a public interest in unwanted pregnancies … that can often result in abortions?” The judge who ordered that Plan B be made available to all women regardless of age is pissed at the DOJ. [The Caucus / New York Times] * Mary Jo White, the littlest litigatrix, will “review” the Securities and Exchange Commission’s policy of allowing financial firms to settle civil suits without affirming or denying culpability, but for now, she’s defending it. [Reuters] * Dewey know what this failed firm is supposed to pay its advisers for work done during the first nine months of its bankruptcy proceedings? We certainly do, and it’s quite the pretty penny. [Am Law Daily] * In a round of musical chairs that started at Weil Gotshal, Cadwalader just lost the co-chairs of its bankruptcy practice and another bankruptcy partner to O’Melveny. [DealBook / New York Times] * Another day, another law school comparison website. Take a look at Law Jobs: By the Numbers, which includes a formula from the laughable National Jurist rankings system. [National Law Journal] * In a move that shocked absolutely no one, attorneys for Colorado movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes announced they will enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity for their client. [CNN] * From the “hindsight is 20/20″ file: the judge who presided over the Casey Anthony trial thinks there was enough evidence to convict the ex-MILF. He also likened Jose Baez to a used car salesman. [AP] * Check out Logan Beirne’s book (affiliate link). Even when sensationalizing George Washington’s rise from general to president, attention must be paid to the rule of law. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

By Staci Zaretsky