Minnesota

This recent legislative development should serve as a cautionary tale for other states trying to regulate intoxicating hemp-derived products.

* A lawsuit claims that a Minnesota law firm fired pro-Trump employees. Maybe the litigation is going to be “yuge”… [New York Post]

* A New York disbarred lawyer allegedly helped an ex-con swindle friends our of half a million dollars. [New York Daily News]

* Counsel for Derek Chauvin is seeking to probe alleged bias on the part of the jury that convicted Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd earlier this year. [AP]

* Jeffrey Toobin has returned to CNN after he took time off following an incident in which he exposed himself on a Zoom call last year. [USA Today]

* Lawyers for Stormy Daniel’s former counsel Michael Avenatti claim Avenatti should get a light sentence because he is mocked and ridiculed for his fall from grace. Maybe the judge will say “basta”… [Daily Beast]

* Florida’s Ron DeSantis threatened litigation unless the CDC greenlights cruises to resume by summer. Maybe he just wants to galivant around the Caribbean… [Yahoo News]

* Amazon is facing litigation over allegations that it failed to provide required meal breaks. [Verge]

* A Brooklyn judge has dismissed a case because a lawyer refused to wear a mask. [Daily News]

* A Minnesota lawyer has been sanctioned for allegedly filing election challenges without the plaintiffs’ knowledge. [Twin Cities Pioneer Press]

* A small Chicago bookseller is suing Amazon for allegedly using anticompetitive tactics. Sounds like this could be a sequel for You’ve Got Mail… [Oregonian]

* The Attorney General of New Jersey needed to reiterate that it was still illegal to use pot in the state after a legalization ballot initiative passed. Harold and Kumar was filmed in NJ, the Garden State has a long history with cannabis… [NJ Advance Media]

* A Michigan woman who allegedly pretended to be a government lawyer to defraud immigrants has been sentenced to prison. [Michigan Live]

* A former convict turned lawyer has become the first formerly incarcerated person to win elected office in Washington State. [ALM]

* A Minnesota lawyer has been sentenced to prison for allegedly colluding with a chiropractor to bilk insurance companies with false claims. [Twin Cities Pioneer Press]

* Michigan’s Secretary of State said an election lawsuit filed by the Trump Campaign is “frivolous.” Other Trump lawsuits have been similarly labeled in the past… [CBS News]

Minnesota clearly blew off its legal writing homework.

* A disbarred attorney has been sentenced to prison for stealing his dead client’s pension for twelve years. This former lawyer puts the guys in Weekend at Bernie’s to shame. [Providence Journal]

* Two attorneys, including a Biglaw lawyer, have been charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail into an NYPD police vehicle during protests this weekend over the killing of George Floyd. [New York Daily News]

* The Supreme Court has held that states have the power to regulate how many people can attend religious services during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Vox]

* The top lawyer at the FBI is resigning, purportedly due to pressure to remove officials at the Bureau connected with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. [CNN]

* A judge who is recovering from COVID-19 will be deciding if Washington State’s safer-at-home orders should be suspended. Have to admire this judge’s resolve. [Komo News]

The decision to engage in civil disobedience as opposed to litigation is a unique turn of events.

* A federal judge has upheld an Ocean City, Maryland, rule banning women from being topless on beaches. It would be amazing if this case ends up at the Supreme Court… [Baltimore Sun]

* Some attorneys in Minnesota need to be sworn into the bar curbside because of social distancing guidelines. Check out the pictures in the article, it looks like an interesting process. [Fox News]

* An Egyptian lawyer is filing a multi-trillion-dollar lawsuit against China over damages allegedly incurred because of COVID-19. Hey, stop taking ideas from American lawyers! [Daily Sabah]

* The Massachusetts Attorney General has launched an investigation of a retirement home over a COVID-19 outbreak that led to dozens of deaths. [Boston Herald]

* Costa Cruises is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company allowed a ship to sail knowing that it was a “ticking coronavirus time bomb.” [Fox News]

* An Oklahoma City attorney and her boyfriend have been linked to a triple homicide. Hopefully, she’ll put her law degree to good use. [Oklahoman]

* Corey Lewandowski is suing his lawyer for malpractice. Maybe he should ask his former boss for a list of lawyers he can use. [Boston Globe]

* Attorneys for the House Judiciary Committee have hinted that more articles of impeachment may be filed against President Trump. [NBC News]

* Am attorney who abandoned his client after receiving $8,000 in settlement funds has been disbarred. [Bloomberg Law]

* Actor Edward Norton is set to be deposed in a case involving a deadly Harlem fire. He should be fine, he played attorneys on screen. [New York Post]

* A Minnesota “revenge porn” law has been struck down on First Amendment grounds. This is definitely what the founders intended… [Pioneer Press]

Is it time to bury the hatchet when it comes to judicial confirmations?

This is absolutely disgusting. Shouldn't courthouse employees know better?

* “[S]he didn’t earn the nickname ‘The Notorious RBG’ for nothing.” During a press briefing yesterday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that he was not surprised that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had decided to weigh in about presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his qualifications. [POLITICO]

* In a recent Twitter poll, Law.com asked whether Justice Ginsburg’s comments related to Trump were “out of bounds” for a Supreme Court justice. After thousands upon thousands of user votes poured in, the results were split, with 51 percent responding “no,” and 49 percent responding “yes.” What do you think? Email us. [Law.com]

* Cravath Swaine & Moore partners have elected a new presiding partner to succeed C. Allen Parker. Faiza Saeed is currently the co-head of Cravath’s mergers-and-acquisitions practice, and will soon serve as the first-ever female presiding partner of the firm. Congratulations! We’ll have more on this exciting news later today. [Am Law Daily]

* Like his balls, Tom Brady must be a little down since it looks the challenge to his four-game “Deflategate” suspension has officially been sacked. The Second Circuit has flat-out refused to rehear the case or rehear it en banc, and now the New England Patriots quarterback’s hopes rest on a Hail Mary to the Supreme Court. [Big Law Business]

* It’s well-known that music icon Prince died of an accidental drug overdose without a will, but according to a recent order from the judge presiding over the probate of his estate, a Minnesota law firm that previously represented the singer “might possess confidential information potentially relevant” to who his true heirs are. [USA Today]

* “Elle [Woods] embodies fighting for what is right, staying true to yourself, and defeating the odds.” It’s been fifteen years since the film first hit theaters, but Legally Blonde is still inspiring people to go to law school, despite the bleak employment scene that awaits graduates. Unfortunately, the bend-and-snap won’t win you a job. [People]

Crisis averted.

* “[He] exited the passenger seat wearing nothing but what appeared to be an adult diaper.” Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl, the husband-and-wife lawyers accused of torturing and nearly killing a law firm partner and his wife, are back in the news. Andrew’s trial began this week, and he’s utilizing an involuntary intoxication defense. [Washington Post]

* President Obama needn’t worry about what he’s going to do to keep busy after his presidency ends — job offers are already pouring in for him, including one from Bin Haider Advocates & Legal Consultants, a smaller firm in Dubai. But why go to the Middle East when he could easily become a partner at Sidley Austin? [Am Law Daily]

* “If I had my way, I would make pro bono a service requirement.” During the American Law Institute’s annual meeting, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she thinks pro-bono work should be mandatory for lawyers, and that she “believe[s] in forced labor” when it comes to access to justice and closing the justice gap for the poor. [National Law Journal]

* Non-lawyers likely won’t be able to stake a claim in law firm ownership anytime soon since the ABA Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession failed to submit a formal proposal to the ABA House of Delegates before a deadline had passed. It’s just as well, as lawyers remain adamantly opposed to the proposition. [Big Law Business]

* IP lawyers better get ready to party like it’s 1999, because Minnesota lawmakers have introduced the broadly written Personal Rights in Names Can Endure Act, perhaps better known as the PRINCE Act, named for the recently deceased musician to establish a right of publicity for celebrities and their heirs within the state. [WSJ Law Blog]

He’d worked for the firm for just under one year’s time, and was considering applying to law school in the future.

* If you’re searching for a city where women lawyers elbow out men when it comes to leadership positions, then Chicago may be the place for you. Eight women serve as office managing partners there, more than any other city. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* Conservative advocacy group Citizens United is back in the news, but this time it’s in search of correspondence between Chelsea Clinton and State Department officials during her mother Hillary Clinton’s time as Secretary of State. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Sometimes all it takes is a Tweet: After being referred to as a “slave” by a law firm partner, this African-American woman took to Twitter to vent about needing to start her own law firm, and she ended up meeting her new law firm partners as a result. [ELLE]

* A widow of an American who was killed during a terror attack in Jordan is suing Twitter because she claims the social networking site has given ISIS “unfettered” means to spread its hateful messages in violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Retweet? [Reuters]

* “18 year olds have nearly every burden and privilege of adults… except the right to drink alcohol.” That’s why three states — New Hampshire, California, and Minnesota — may soon lower their legal drinking ages, through legislation or ballot initiatives. [MTV]

Which major law firm is consolidating its back-office operations, in which state?

* The Eighth Circuit axed a $900K jury award after a lawyer recounted her tale of sexual harassment by a law professor at Drake University Law during closing arguments. Well, that sucks, but we’d really love to know which professor this was. [ABA Journal]

* If flat is the new up, then mergers must be the new growth. The new year is upon us, and law firms are on track to either meet or break the merger record set in 2013. Thus far, 22 firms have announced mergers or acquisitions in 2014. [Washington Post]

* A lawyer in Minnesota who’s been in trouble with the bar quite a few times was recently charged with setting his girlfriend on fire. Yikes, someone’s way too excited about the Fargo mini-series. [Star-Tribune]

* Oscar Pistorius took the stand in his murder trial yesterday, revealing that when he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, he was really trying to protect her. This case gives us the sads. 🙁 [New York Times]

* Sorry we’re not sorry about the toupee: Paramount wants this Wolf of Wall Street suit dismissed since it’s undeniable the plaintiff was part of “bizarre travesty that was Stratton Oakmont.” [Hollywood Reporter]

* A Minnesota court ruled that it is not a crime to encourage people to commit suicide. So… keep commenting assholes, just know that you’ll feel really bad if I do it. [Gawker] * I might be in the market for a used car, and I’m hoping to get a really good deal on one of these “recalled” GMs. I hope the DOJ doesn’t screw up my plans. [Reuters Legal] * Speaking of cars, Alan Dershowitz calls for vigorous prosecution of reckless drivers. I call for vigorous prosecution of any box-blocking suburbanite who drives around Manhattan on a Saturday like they’re cruising to the country fair. [ABA Journal] * Alabama thinks that people over 70 should be excused from jury duty. YES, they deserve to be excused and I hope they burn in Hell! [WSJ Law Blog] * Narc is the new tattletale. [Simple Justice] * Are you an IP lawyer, especially a patent litigator? Here’s a symposium you should consider attending (featuring ATL columnist Gaston Kroub). [Markman Advisors] * Speaking of conferences, who wants to hang out with Lat in Las Vegas? Read on for details (plus video)…. Lat will be speaking next month at Avvo’s big Lawyernomics conference in Vegas. Here’s the agenda, here’s the registration from, and here’s Lat’s speaker spotlight video:

Court decides it's better for woman to take her husband's blows than blow .08.