National Security

But where else can I find cool dancing content and youth targeting radicalization? PragerU?

* Out of the mouths of babes federal judges: “Those conclusions – that the president’s statements on national security are not always to be taken literally or to be trusted – are legal victories for his Justice Department….” Did you think you’d ever see a something like this written about the U.S. president? That’s our Trump! [USA Today]

* A good New Year’s resolution for the federal judiciary? Chief Justice John Roberts says that while progress has been made when it comes to protecting law clerks from sexual harassment, “[t]he job is not finished until we have done all that we can to ensure that all of our employees are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect.” [Washington Post]

* The American Federation of Government Employees, a labor union for federal employees, has filed suit against the government, claiming that requiring essential employees to work without pay during the shutdown — an “inhumane” practice for people who don’t know when their next paycheck is coming — violates the Fair Labor Standards Act. [CNN]

* Barbara Underwood really made a name for herself during her short tenure as New York’s first female attorney general. After she was thrust into the role, she quickly began her assault against President Donald Trump, eventually taking down his charitable foundation after alleging that he was using it as a front for his his private businesses and political campaign. [NBC News]

* Yet again, it’s time for women in Biglaw to celebrate fractional achievements for gender equality. According the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance, 39 percent of new partners named at Am Law firms were women, which was a “slight uptick,” but “the numbers really haven’t changed that much in the last five years.” Hooray. [Big Law Business]

* It’s a new year, so you know there are going to be a bunch of interesting new laws. Here are just a few: In California, domestic-violence convicts can lose their gun rights for life; in Hawaii, physician-assisted suicide is now legal; in Virginia, legislators and their staff members must undergo mandatory sexual-harassment training; and in New York City, non-binary people can now list their gender as “X” on birth certificates. [Wall Street Journal]

Ed. note: We will not be publishing on Monday, February 19, in observance of President’s Day.

* Congratulations to my friend and former co-clerk, John Demers, on his long-overdue confirmation as head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. [Reuters]

* Which lawyers and justices take the lead on the most important Supreme Court cases? Adam Feldman has the answers, as always. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Professor Ilya Somin breaks down the recent Fourth Circuit ruling on Trump’s Travel Ban 3.0. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* A leading legal technology company, Kira Systems, is looking for a few good law librarians (to apply for its new job as a Machine Learning Knowledge Analyst). [Dewey B Strategic]

* Lawyer and activist Glenn Magpantay, executive director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), explains what’s at stake with the Dream Act. [Advocate]

* Stroock’s Joel Cohen draws lessons for lawyers from the buzz-generating new movie, The Post. [New York Law Journal]

* What role can expert witnesses play in #MeToo litigation? Lawyer Kat Hatziavramidis shares some insights. [Forensis Group]

* The Mrs. Palsgraf of the United Kingdom — a famous torts plaintiff named May Donoghue, who sued a beverage manufacturer after she discovered a decomposing snail in a bottle of ginger beer — is getting a statue erected in her honor. [Legal Cheek]

* Not as bad as sexually assaulting a student intern, but another Biglaw partner stands accused of making degrading, sexually charged comments to a junior attorney. [RollOnFriday]

* In advance of its Global Legal Hackathon (February 23-25), the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium welcomes a new member: Fasken, a leading Canadian law firm. [Artificial Lawyer]

Key DOJ components, such as the Criminal Division and National Security Division, still lack Senate-confirmed leaders.

Candidates include current and former judges, prosecutors, Biglaw partners, and other impressive individuals.

Three experts in technology and security discuss the challenges we'll face going forward.

There is no law requiring that the candidates get the briefings; it is a courtesy.

The Last Week Tonight host tackles Apple's clash with the government over iPhone security with trademark wit.

Apple lays out the battle lines in its bout with the federal government over privacy, law enforcement, national security, and hacking.

The realism of national security is being sacrificed at the altar of immigration. And it’s costing American lives.

* A true model of what political discourse should look like in this country: West Point cadets and Bard College students squared off in a debate over individuals’ right to privacy over national security concerns. [Huffington Post]

* The debate over bail reform in New York gets real, and some judges get angry. [Wise Law NY]

* Oof! Which Massachusetts law school saw a 14% drop in its bar passage rate? And other trends from the latest states to release its bar exam results. [Bar Exam Stats]

* Lawyers fighting the good fight, and standing up for your right to wear a pasta strainer over your head in your driver’s license photo. [Boston Globe]

* So it looks like the Supreme Court will be revisiting the reproductive choice rights set forth in Roe, but how did we get here? [RH Reality Check]

* Tom Hanks plays a lawyer that can predict the future. [Guile is Good]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of focusing on a niche practice area?

Opinions get redacted or sealed all the time, but the latest from the Seventh Circuit is a doozy....

* A lawyer who sold 2200 pounds of marijuana can’t practice in Minnesota any more. That’s a metric tonne, by the way. Jeez, now I sound like Thomas Corwin Mendenhall. [Minneapolis Star-Tribune] * If you can use Craigslist to commit crime, you can use it to solve crime. Awesome. Now, if you can use Craigslist to spark a race to the bottom in legal wages, can you use it to reverse that trend. No. [Legal Juice] * And if you think it’s tough for young lawyers to find a job here, then was a U.K. firm really asking prospective lawyers to invest money in the firm in exchange for a job? [Legal Cheek] * McGruff the Crime Dog wanted to take a bite out of crime… with a grenade launcher. [CBS Houston] * How to keep yourself productive. I’m very intrigued by this browser add-on she mentions… [Corporette] * This may come as a shock, but Glenn Greenwald is troubled by the Obama administration’s legal justification for killing American citizens overseas via drone. [The Guardian] * The Careerist’s Vivia Chen interviewed David during LegalTech. You can watch it at this link. [Law Technology News] * Did you see The Daily Show take on a recent trend in election law? Professor Rick Hasen did. And the video is embedded below… [Election Law Blog]