Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.01.26

* Biglaw drafts plans to protect staff in its Middle East offices. [Law.com International]

* As "Operation Epstein Fury," continues in the Middle East, it appears Trump administration insiders are cashing in, making big prediction market bets on military timing. [NOTUS]

* West Virginia's federal judges have become some of the most active voices pushing back against the Trump administration's rule of law abuses. [Politico]

* Maduro's lawyers claims the Trump administration is blocking payment, frustrating the Venezuelan president's right to counsel. [New York Law Journal]

* A deep dive into why the Epstein investigation took so long and included so many missed opportunities. [NY Times]

* Election deniers hold conference calling for Trump to "take over" the midterms. Trump officials charged with election integrity showed up. [ProPublica]

* OpenAI raises another $110 billion as it falls further and further behind its rivals. [Law360]

* Fight over California's fee-sharing ban dropped. [Reuters]

Morning Docket: 02.27.26

* Anthropic rejects Defense Department ultimatum to rewrite their contract and remove guardrails or face potentially devastating retaliation. [Axios]

* Bill Clinton due to testify about Epstein after Hillary's deposition devolved into Pizzagate and UFOs. [Reuters]

* NYPD perp walked suspect from Washington Square snowball fight. DA's office rejects assault charge because the cops were being actual snowflakes. [NY Times]

* DOJ supoosedly investigating why it just happened to withhold multiple FBI interview statements where a witness talked about Donald Trump raping a child. [Washington Post]

* Homeland Security prison camp stealing crayons from children. [Pro Publica]

* Kobre & Kim lawyer carried on business relationship with Epstein having, "intentionally waited being introduced to you... until your sentence was fully served to avoid even the appearance of impropriety." Not sure how successful that proved, but all right. [American Lawyer]

* Netflix drops out of Warner Bros. deal virtually guaranteeing Paramount will acquire the company and manage to merge the two worst studios into a giant ball of dreck. [Law360]

Morning Docket: 02.26.26

* Tom Goldstein convicted on tax evasion charges. [Politico]

* Hillary Clinton set to testify in Epstein probe, meanwhile an investigation reveals the DOJ hid documents related to Donald Trump's dealings with Epstein. [Reuters]

* Biglaw vlogger quits the law. [Legal Cheek]

* Former prosecutor charged with strangling family member. [ABA Journal]

* Democrats want an explanation for DOJ firing Antitrust chief amid administration efforts to steer deals toward donors. [Law360]

* Arrest made in murder of a retired lawyer in an assisted care facility. [WGME]

* Former plaintiffs' side lawyer facing prison for defrauding clients. [Daily Report]

Morning Docket: 02.25.26

* Majority of Supreme Court justices skip out on Trump's State of the Union. [Daily Beast]

* Isaac Hayes estate secures settlement in copyright dispute with Trump campaign over unauthorized use of the singer's work. [Rolling Stone]

* Judges want control of crumbling judicial infrastructure. [ABA Journal]

* Court blocks government access to Washington Post reporter's devices it seized. [Reuters]

* SEC announces new enforcement approach. [Law360]

* As technology provides a better picture of a company's real-time situation, the whole concept managing legal risk needs to change along with it. [Catylex]

* Inquiries about tariff refunds have made life "chaotic" for trade attorneys. [National Law Journal]

Morning Docket: 02.24.26

* NY Bar Exam's response to snowstorm canceling flights nationwide... the show must go on! [ABA Journal]

* More FOIA suits over Biglaw Pro Bono Payola deals. [National Law Journal]

* Neal Katyal says his clients want their tariff refunds. If they get them, we'll all surely see those rebates passed on to the consumer the same way they passed on the tariffs, right? [NPR]

* Former ICE lawyer testifies that the system is dangerously broken. See, now, here's a lawyer abiding by his ethical duties as opposed to many, many others. [NBC News]

* Gibson Dunn loses case over former partner's retirement pay. [Reuters]

* Thomson Reuters CoCounsel hits a million users. [Artificial Lawyer]

* State of the Union poised to get awkward for Supreme Court. [MSNow]

Morning Docket: 02.23.26

* Law firms gear up to fight for tariff refunds. [Reuters]

* Albany Law student dead after what's described as a terrorist attack on Hoover Dam. [Syracuse.com]

* Fake law firm and fake courts scammed immigrants. [Guardian]

* ABA takes steps to eliminate its law school diversity standard. Put aside the wisdom of the decision... how long does it take the ABA to vote? Because this has been a headline for at least a year. [Law.com]

* Florida AG gets $100K to teach a two-hour course as an adjunct. Presumably that's standard compensation at the law school and not at all the naked plundering of public resources. [ABA Journal]

* Todd Blanche fires the legal U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to clear the way for another illegal appointment. [Law360]

* Republicans dusting off the independent state legislature theory. [Democracy Docket]

* Joe joined the Dan Abrams Show to discuss attorney discipline for Trump administration lawyers. [The Dan Abrams Show]

Morning Docket: 02.20.26

* Files reveal Kathy Ruemmler conferred with Jeffrey Epstein on Secret Service prostitution scandal. On the one hand, it's important to confer with experts. On the other... [Yahoo Finance]

* "A furious daughter has sent an email to hundreds of law firms alleging that a legal recruiter had an affair with her father. The outraged daughter sent the email with the subject heading of “WHORE”..." [Roll on Friday]

* DHS issues new order asserting more authority to potentially detain legal refugees. [PBS]

* JPMorgan Chase argues Donald Trump fraudulently added them to his $5B debanking LOLsuit. [CNN]

* Practicing for 17 years after losing license earns $30,000 sanction. [ABA Journal]

* Trump nominating his lawyer from E. Jean Carroll losses to the Eighth Circuit. [National Law Journal]

* DOJ claims former Google engineers took trade secrets to Iran. So, soon, the Iranians will have their search results buried under 30 sponsored links too. [Law360]

Morning Docket: 02.19.26

* Biglaw lawyers are charging $3400/hour and clients are paying. Because no matter how much they gnash their teeth, they always do. [WSJ]

* Remember the episode of JAG where the military lawyer paradropped into a Minnesota habeas mess and instantly got held in contempt for failing to comply with court orders? No? Well, it's real life now. [Fox 9]

* The Artist Formerly Known as Prince... Andrew arrested in connection with Epstein investigation. Meanwhile, our [CNN]

* More lawyers sanctioned for AI-generated brief errors. [Reuters]

* DOJ defections flood the labor market with qualified attorneys. [CBS News]

* "Roberts, Alito Face New Criticism of Stock Ownership After Rule Change." Actually, it's the same old criticism, but it's nice we get to talk about it again. [National Law Journal]

* Law professor arrested and charged with possession of child porn. Somehow this is not about Jeffrey Epstein. [News 6]

Morning Docket: 02.18.26

* Federal judges granted limited freedom to respond to "illegitimate forms of criticism and attacks." [ABA Journal]

* Law firms continue to drive the commercial real estate market, with Linklaters committing to expand office by 50 percent. Maybe Biglaw isn't planning to lay everyone off and switch to AI after all. [New York Law Journal]

* Trump administration sued over removing Pride flag from Stonewall monument as if it's a national monument for its drink specials. [NY Times]

* Justice Department isn't acting like it used to say Criminal Defense Lawyers For Understatement. [NPR]

* CFTC asserts its regulatory authority to affirmatively shield websites skirting gambling laws from meaningful regulation. The president's son is deeply invested in Polymarket... probably just a coincidence. [CNBC]

* Judge declares mistrial over lawyer's attire. [Guardian]

* Harvey signs Suits star whose character inspired its name as spokesperson. [LawSites]

Morning Docket: 02.17.26

* Law student convicted over fake bomb threat. [Legal Cheek]

* Jeanine Pirro can't win a case in D.C., so she's hoping to win one in New York by suing her hometown for a $250,000 slip and fall. [The Independent]

* Law schools and students worry about new lending cap. [Reuters]

* Attorney disbarred over alleged harassment campaign against "Law by Mike." [La Jolla Village News]

* NFL discrimination claim will head to court after league effort to force arbitration fails. [Law360]

* Steve Bannon and Boris Epshteyn sued over crypto promotion. [National Law Journal]

* Judge cites Orwell in striking down Trump bid to erase mentions of slavery from historical exhibits. [CNN]

Morning Docket: 02.13.26

* Goldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer Kathy Ruemmler announces resignation amidst Epstein fallout. [Above the Law]

* Kirkland ends its concierge service that acted as personal assistants for associates. [Legal Cheek]

* Donald Trump takes the position that he's too busy as president to be sued. He also takes the position that he has plenty of time to file lawsuits against others. [Reuters]

* AI won't automatically make legal services cheaper. I'll go one better... it won't make them cheaper in any event. [Lawfare]

* Apple cleared of patent infringement. [Law360]

* Antitrust chief out as right-wing activists gain upper hand in pushing megamergers for their clients. [National Law Journal]

* Fun with patents... the human launcher! [Lowering the Bar]

* Analysis shows there's now effectively no laws against pollution in the United States. [The Guardian]

Morning Docket: 02.12.26

* Lawmakers grilled Pam Bondi over the DOJ cover-up of the Epstein files, which included both improper redactions of perpetrators and illegal disclosures of victims. Bondi responded by yelling a lot. [Reuters]

* The last remaining enforcement attorney in the Chicago CFTC office resigned. It's like the movie The Purge except for pork belly futures. [Barrons]

* Prosecutor who left Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office joins the Don Lemon defense team. [ABA Journal]

* Trump fires the official U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York to continue using the guy squatting on the job with no lawful authority. They say "no person is illegal," but then how do you explain John Sarcone? [New York Law Journal]

* Increasingly irate that the public hates him, Donald Trump started threatening to sue the media for reporting his polling numbers. So Gallup is going to stop polling. [The Hill]

* Tom Goldstein testifies to losing millions on poker in 2016. [Law360]

* Clients are figuring out what we already told them -- law firms aren't going to pass on AI savings. [Artificial Lawyer]

Morning Docket: 02.11.26

* Trump administration tried to indict lawmakers who accurately described the military's obligation to not follow illegal orders. Jeanine Pirro couldn't get a grand jury would indict. [NY Post]

* Accreditation function looks to become even more autonomous from rest of ABA. [Law.com]

* FBI raid on Georgia elections facility included government sharing classified intelligence data with crackpot lawyer rehashing debunked claims. [Politico]

* Judge Rakoff rules that materials that the defendant shared with attorneys were not privileged and confidential because they were created with assistance from a third-party AI service. [Law360]

* The Eastern District of Virginia takes another hit as white-collar chief bolts to start own firm. [Bloomberg Law News]

* Law professors argue that states should be able to write their own labor laws. [The Hill]

Morning Docket: 02.10.26

* Maxwell refused to answer questions for Congress, but dangles possibility that she would talk if granted clemency. Surely it wouldn't be an issue that her testimony directly involves the person controlling the clemency decision! [CBS News]

* Research says AI has impacted junior lawyer judgment. The results confirm what we've been telling you! [Legal Cheek]

* Axiom closes its Arizona law firm. [Reuters]

* Jury told social media companies built "addiction machine." [Law360]

* "Gap Appears Within Am Law 50." Pretty sure they mean to say the gap is growing because we've been writing about this gap for a long time. [American Lawyer]

* California law banning ICE agents hiding their faces struck down... but judge says the law could stand if expanded to all law enforcement. [Reuters]

* After actively trolling a lawyer for his clearly AI-slop defense of the hallucinations in his brief, the judge finally issued an order. It was not kind. [Ars Technica]

Morning Docket: 02.09.26

* Fifth Circuit bucks rest of judiciary, precedent, and basic statutory interpretation to authorizing indefinite detention for anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. [One First]

* Speaking of "Fifths," Ghislaine Maxwell heading to Congress, but not going to answer any questions. [Reuters]

* HBCU law school tells student not to use the word "Black" in "Black History Month" materials. Sorry, the law school probably prefers to be called an "H...CU." [Click Orlando]

* The fascinating "pay it forward" story that gave us the iconic fictional lawyer. [Tedium]

* CFTC taking on prediction markets. I've got $20 on they won't end up doing anything. [National Law Journal]

* Lawyers getting sick and tired of people using AI for legal advice. [Axios]

* Court blocks administration effort to halt NYC infrastructure until Penn Station is renamed after him. [Law360]