Moody’s

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.30.18

* Trump Tweets out his demand that Chief Justice Roberts crack down on Judge Collyer for not using the FISA court to undermine the Russia probe. Did Trump do misspell Judge Collyer's name in the process? Oh you know by now that of course he did. [Reuters via Huffington Post] * No sooner did a jury actually convict a cop of killing an unarmed black teen, did they turn around and sentence him to less than even the defense attorneys dreamed of. [Courthouse News Service] * The SEC fined Moody's over poor controls, which seems about a decade too late, but whatever. [Corporate Counsel] * Is Rudy Giuliani using his relationship to the president to further his lobbying career? That would be really shocking for someone involved with this administration! [National Law Journal] * Eighth Circuit approves corporate discrimination efforts. [The Recorder] * FIFA convict compared to John McCain... I guess because they'll both be spending time in captivity? [NY Post] * Clifford Chance slapped with fine for discriminating against non-U.S. citizens. You can take the firm out of Rogers & Wells, but you can't take the Rogers & Wells out of the firm. Seriously though, this was just a misunderstanding of ITAR regulations. [Law360]

By Joe Patrice
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 05.08.14

* Footnote fight! Justice Sonia Sotomayor has been clashing with quite a few of her fellow Supreme Court jurists lately, aside from Chief Justice John Roberts. She recently inspired the wrath of Justice RBG herself. [New York Times] * After months of being poked and prodded for cash, 60 former Howrey equity partners have reached clawback deals with bankruptcy trustee Allan Diamond, and it looks like a few of them agreed to pay pretty hefty sums. [Am Law Daily] * Here’s a headline we could’ve told you was coming: “The US lawyer bubble has conclusively popped.” It’s not a terribly good decision to attend now, but if you do, people who can’t pay you need your help. [Quartz] * Cutting law school tuition may be a good idea to attract more students, but in the long run, it could hurt the schools, says Moody’s. Aww, let us shed some tears for those poor law schools. [WSJ Law Blog] * Crim Law prof not guilty of… crime. Stephen Smith of Notre Dame Law was acquitted on a misdemeanor invasion of privacy charge, and the felony battery charge he faced was dismissed. [South Bend Tribune] * The University of Arizona will be the first school in the U.S. to offer a bachelor’s degree in law. The degree is being marketed to people who eventually want to have lots of law-related debt. [National Law Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 04.16.14

* Noah “Kai” Newkirk, the protestor who disrupted Supreme Court arguments in February, was sentenced to time served and barred from the court. Don’t worry, we’ll get you all the SCOTUS clerk news you need, cutie. [Associated Press] * “There are still a lot of firms out there hoping the good old days are going to return, and are finally coming to the realization that that isn’t going to happen.” More on Biglaw layoffs. [Am Law Daily] * Yet another law school gets its rating downgraded by Moody’s. As a standalone school with “substantial declines in JD enrollment,” Vermont Law’s outlook is now negative. Sad trombone. [Moody's] * Jason Bohn, the heavily indebted law school grad once profiled by the New York Times, was convicted of murdering his girlfriend last month, and now he’s been sentenced to serve life in prison. [New York Post] * “Is the Tax Code really 70,000 pages long?” No, not really. We wonder who started the rumor that it was so long, because in reality, it’s only about 2,600 pages long — which is still way, way too long. [Slate] * It appears that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree with this celebrity family. Lindsay Lohan’s mother, Dina Lohan, pleaded guilty yesterday to drunken driving and speeding charges in New York. [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Law Schools

Will Sued Law Schools Take A Hit To Their Credit Ratings?

We’re still waiting to see if the lawsuits marshaled against law schools over their questionable employment statistics will have any effect. Obviously schools are misleading people about the employment outcomes of recent graduates — notice that the law schools aren’t even arguing that they give students an accurate picture. They just say their numbers shenanigans […]

By Elie Mystal