National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

The biggest impediment to anything meaningful moving the needle of diversity is the lack of honest discussion.

* Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is trying to raise funds to pay for his legal bills thanks to the numerous investigations into the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia. His legal tab could range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to about $1 million. Someone, anyone, please tell this man to set up a GoFundMe account. [Bloomberg Politics]

* Earlier this week, Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was in favor of completely reinstating President Trump’s travel ban from six majority Muslim countries, regaled a group of newly naturalized citizens with his thoughts on the importance of tolerating different viewpoints during “polarizing” times, even if it’s difficult to do. We are living in very strange times. [Associated Press]

* The law school brain drain continues to wreak havoc, with a 45 percent drop in applicants with LSAT scores of 160 or above over the past six years. How in the world can law schools convince these people to apply? Eleven leaders offered their (painfully obvious) ideas, with many of them saying tuition costs must be lowered in light of the state of the weak job market. Gee, ya think? [Law.com]

* According to a study released by Yale Law School and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Asian Americans may be the fastest growing minority population in the legal profession, but they seem to have hit a “legal glass ceiling” when it comes to attaining leadership positions in private practice, academia, and public service. We may have more on this. [Washington Post]

* “I hope to see you and your four children homeless. I will do whatever I can to assure this.” Martin Shkreli is such a peach. A letter the pharma bro allegedly sent to a former employee’s wife was entered into evidence earlier this week during testimony on the manipulation of Retrophin, one of the eight fraud charges Shkreli is currently facing at trial. [DealBook / New York Times]

A Vietnamese refugee and Princeton grad with a Southern twang, an infectious laugh, and a commitment to helping others.

Inspiration and advice from a leader in the Asian-American bar and a Biglaw firm.

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The media environment has evolved a lot in the past 20 years, and lawyers handling major cases must evolve along with it.

* “Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys potheads.” Country singer-songwriter and OG stoner Willie Nelson says marijuana will be legal in all 50 states within the next decade. Who knows, maybe his cannabis-crazed dreams will come true. [San Antonio Express-News]

* Where do lonely hearts go? To court. This ex-Illinois Law student was accused of stalking a classmate and barred setting foot on campus for a two-year time period. A new trial was ordered, and now he may be able to graduate. Yay? [National Law Journal]

* Law firms of all sizes are merging at a record pace, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to continue like this ad infinitum. Eventually, all of the fun is going to stop, and it’ll likely because there isn’t any more profitability to be had for these firms. Womp. [Am Law Daily]

* Corporate legal departments are pushing for more diversity among their ranks, with companies like Xerox leading the way. NAPABA is hopeful that we’ll see 20 Asian-American lawyers as general counsel of Fortune 500 companies by 2020. [WSJ Law Blog]

* For a man who wanted to “get rich or die tryin,” things don’t seem to be working out so well: Bankrupt rapper 50 Cent was busy denying ownership of many of his luxury items in court this week. He says he rents, borrows, and leases most of his bling. [Associated Press]

* Harvard Law’s Langdell Library hosts a bevy of legal treasures. Including the personal lunchbox of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. [The Harvard Crimson]

* Per a new survey, watching the Kardashians makes one twice as likely to want an aggressive lawyer. When I have to watch the Kardashians I become an aggressive lawyer. [Avvo]

* The Supreme Court spent Cyber Monday denying review to two cases challenging the imposition of sales taxes on Internet purchases. [The Blog of the Legal Times]

* New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman cracked down on fake Yelp reviewers. Apparently, reviewers who gave a pet groomer 4 stars are a bigger priority than the reviewers who gave subprime-backed securities AAA ratings. [Corporate Counsel]

* Not exactly breaking news, but Philly has caught on that law firms are merging because the market is so terrible with a new piece on the merger craze. Specifically, they’re looking at the planned merger of BakerHostetler and Philly’s own Woodcock Washburn L.L.P. we mentioned last week. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Lakers guard Steve Nash’s ex-wife is battling him for child custody. She’s hired a Phoenix law firm whose most famous attorney is jacked up NFL ref Ed Hochuli. For now Hochuli isn’t working on the case directly. For now. [TMZ Sports]

* Congratulations to Kobre & Kim on being named Law Firm of the Year by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. [Newsday]

* Who says Civil Procedure isn’t sexy? Some UNLV Law students take to YouTube to bring (Civ Pro) SexyBack. [You Tube]

* Better late than never: congratulations to everyone who passed the New Jersey bar exam. You’re just in time to get in on some Sandy class-action litigation. [New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners] * Congratulations to all the honorees from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association conference in D.C. last weekend — including, but not limited to, the Best Lawyers Under 40 awardees. [NAPABA] * And congrats to Professor Sherrilyn Ifill, incoming president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. [Concurring Opinions] * Does every bra made in America have Gloria Allred’s phone number sewn into it? [WSJ Law Blog] * Who is “Portfolio Manager A” in the latest major insider-trading scandal? [Dealbreaker] * You don’t need to be a dog lover to find these allegations abhorrent. [Alabama Live] * Want to avoid dating Democrats (or Republicans)? There’s an app — okay, two websites — for that. [Jezebel] * After the jump, Jeffrey Toobin and Alan Dershowitz discuss Obamacare…. Toobin is the author of The Oath (affiliate link). Dersowitz is the new owner of a $1.7 million Manhattan apartment. Their conversation took place last Friday, November 16, at the 92nd Street Y.

Specialty bar associations can be great opportunities for in-house lawyers to grow their network and develop their careers. Unlike some mega bar associations, they tend to feel more intimate and collegial, even if their membership numbers are pretty large, because the members share a common interest. A couple of weeks ago, I attended the NAPABA […]