Michelle Friedland

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.07.17

* Judge William C. Canby Jr, Judge Michelle T. Friedland, and Judge Richard R. Clifton will hear tonight's oral argument on Trump's travel ban. Or should we say they're the "so-called judges" who will hear tonight's argument. [CNN] * Weil Gotshal announces significant gains in both revenues and profits. No associates were mangled in the making of this news. [Am Law Daily] * Former Bio-Rad GC Sanford Wadler wins big in his whistleblower retaliation case. Bio-Rad has attempted to cast him as a jerk who yelled at his underlings, but the jury realized that just made him "a lawyer" and not a justification to terminate him. [Corporate Counsel] * Vizio settled with the FTC over turning all of their customers into unwitting "Nielsen Families." But you should still be worried about that toaster that's been spying on you. [Litigation Daily] * Dewey still even care about this case? [Law360] * Gibson Dunn opens a Houston office because oil and gas are still big business. [Texas Lawyer] * You may have seen the viral post about a subway car full of New Yorkers who go to work scrubbing swastika graffiti off the walls. The man who started the effort was Wilson Elser associate Gregory Locke. [Am Law Daily]

By Joe Patrice
9th Circuit

Morning Docket: 04.29.14

* Michelle Friedland, a Munger Tolles partner, has been confirmed to the Ninth Circuit. Congratulations! This marks the first time in years that the court has had a full slate of 29 judges, which is also pretty cool for law nerds. [Legal Times] * L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling is probably going to be flopping around just like LeBron now that the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, a former Cravath attorney, has launched a full court press against him. [Am Law Daily] * This is something completely new and different. The United Church of Christ filed a lawsuit against North Carolina over its ban on gay marriage saying it restricts its clergy’s religious freedom. [New York Times] * Dear Low Grades, High Hopes: You don’t need an addendum to your law school application. You’ll get in everywhere you apply — they’re desperate to fill their seats. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News] * Singer-songwriter Paul Simon was arrested yesterday alongside his wife after she “picked a fight” with him. Given how “disorderly” things were, perhaps all he wanted to hear was the sound of silence. [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky
9th Circuit

Morning Docket: 08.02.13

* Hiring a Supreme Court clerk might not be worth a $500,000 gamble for some Biglaw firms. Some will take that sweet sign-on bonus and remove their golden handcuffs before a year is out. [Capital Comment / Washingtonian] * Akin Gump partner and D.C. Circuit nominee Patricia Millett won approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee by a margin of 10-8 along party lines, and now her nomination will head to the full Senate for a vote. [Huffington Post] * President Obama nominated Michelle Friedland and John Owens, two young Munger Tolles & Olson partners, for seats on the Ninth Circuit. If confirmed, that’ll make three partners from the same firm on the bench. [The Recorder] * Sorry, law firms, but it’s no longer cool to inflate hourly billing rates for contract attorneys when you pay them substantially less. You can thank Ted Frank for this judicial revelation. [WSJ Law Blog] * The ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education thinks that just about everything having to do with law schools is “deeply flawed” and needs “serious re-engineering.” How comforting. [ABA Journal] * Law School Transparency is willing to assist schools with the reporting of their ABA post-graduation job placement statistics, for a price. How much is integrity worth these days? [National Law Journal] * For $25K, Casey Anthony’s bankruptcy trustee won’t make her sell the worldwide rights to her story — like her theory of the crime she was acquitted of, it “exists solely within [her] mind.” [Sun-Sentinel]

By Staci Zaretsky