Media and Journalism

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.17.15

* Following NBC's announcement of his six-month suspension without pay, Brian Williams turned to Robert Barnett of Williams & Connolly to save his career. The pair met when they were Supreme Court clerks -- oopsie, we guess that's another misrepresentation. [Am Law Daily] * "We weren’t about to ask them to risk life and limb to get in." As Boston braces for yet another snowstorm, Biglaw firms are trying to figure out how they can continue to operate. Punxsutawney Phil is keeping the wheels of justice from turning. [National Law Journal] * The Supreme Court has granted Colorado an extension to respond to a lawsuit filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma which claims that its decision to legalize marijuana was unconstitutional. Puff, puff, pass this cert vote, SCOTUS. [Cannabist / Denver Post] * Regulators! Mount up... and then run away to your new Biglaw firms. Preet Bharara's S.D.N.Y. roster is constantly changing thanks to the golden handcuffs large law firms offer, but Bharara still "love[s] all [his] children equally." [DealBook / New York Times] * David Messerschmitt, the DLA Piper associate who was found dead in a Washington, D.C., hotel room last week, is remembered by his colleagues as "someone so talented and so nice." There have been no new breaks in his murder investigation. [Legal Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.13.15

* With fewer and fewer students applying to law school, acceptance rates have skyrocketed. Some, like GW Law, have even been accused of "laundering [their] credentials" by padding their enrollment numbers with transfers. [GW Hatchet] * "People don't graduate from law school understanding the business of law." That's just one of the reasons recent grads are having such a tough time getting jobs as associates. Suffolk Law thinks it can help change that. [Boston Business Journal] * "This is an example of the system working as intended": Hundreds of thousands of dollars are due to successful plaintiffs in same-sex marriage cases, and millions of dollars in attorneys' fees for that work is racking up interest. [National Law Journal] * James Risen, the New York Times reporter who refused to out his source as part of a CIA investigation, has won the right to keep his journalistic integrity intact after a long legal battle. Prosecutors have officially dropped him as a witness. [Bloomberg] * After much talk about partners heading for the exits before, during, and after the Patton Boggs and Squire Sanders merger, and Bob Luskin has finally left the building for Paul Hastings. We hope his parting wasn't "painful" for him. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.16.14

* "If you can't disagree on the law without taking it personally, find another day job. You shouldn't be an appellate judge." You've really got to admit that sometimes, Justice Scalia has an absolutely wonderful way of putting things. [Associated Press] * David Boies sent everyone and their mother and their dog a letter asking them to destroy all docs leaked from the Sony hack, lest they face legal consequences, but there's just one problem with that pesky First Amendment. [WSJ Law Blog] * The law students who requested exam delays due to unfair grand jury decisions claim they're not "coddled Millennials" -- no, they're members of the new regime of lawyers who are willing to ask, "If not us, then who?" [National Law Journal] * Please keep in mind that these students are likely the same ones who may be missing out about learning the intricacies of rape law because they want their professors to "protect them from causing or experiencing discomfort." [New Yorker] * Well, this is an interesting round of musical chairs: Vice Media just poached James H. Schwab, the chairman of the media and entertainment practice group at Paul Weiss, to join the company as co-president. [DealBook / New York Times] * Undergrad students at Boston University are trotting out the latest edition of the school's pre-law review. Feast your eyes upon the genius of future gunners, or don't, because it'll help them learn early that no one actually reads law reviews. [BU Today]

By Staci Zaretsky