Noel Francisco

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.11.18

* Michael Cohen is suing Buzzfeed over publishing the Trump intelligence dossier. He says the Russia collusion allegations are "not legitimate" but to paraphrase Judge Judy, "don't pee on my leg and tell me it's a Russian prostitute." [Bloomberg] * Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is embroiled in boring, plodding lawsuit which actually sums up his offense pretty well. [Deadspin] * The IRS is getting into the Bitcoin game. Maybe they can explain blockchain in terms that don't involve magic. [Forbes] * Justice Sotomayor bluntly confronted Noel Francisco over the administration's 180 on voting rights. Francisco didn't have a clear, straightforward  answer ready which is weird because "we managed to slip in the back door of the White House so we're basically the Allstate Mayhem guy but for the Constitution" would've been a perfectly acceptable and honest answer. [National Law Journal] * Meanwhile, a federal judge threw out a challenge to Alabama's strict voter ID law finding the state had an important regulatory interest in combatting the voter fraud crisis that they can't string together any evidence of. Jeez, maybe Brett Talley would have actually improved the Alabama federal bench. [NPR] * For your daily reminder that Texas is a jerkweed backwater, the woman accused of drunkenly destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars in art faces a possible life sentence because Texas couldn't figure out how to put the death penalty on it. [Texas Lawyer] * Kirsten Gillibrand will use her blue slip to block the nomination of Greenberg Traurig's Geoffrey Berman for the SDNY U.S. Attorney post. Or, more accurately these days, Kristin Gillibrand will use her blue slip to do absolutely nothing to slow down the nomination of Geoffrey Berman for the SDNY U.S. Attorney post. [New York Law Journal] * Skadden avoids sanctions in Vijay Singh suit. Remember when the PGA was accusing people of doping... in golf? [Law360]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.05.17

* It's Masterpiece Cakeshop day! Let's all watch Justice Kennedy decide whether or not he wants to have a legacy! [SCOTUSBlog] * Hard-core Trump supporters are donating to Flynn's legal defense -- after his guilty plea -- because they have no idea what this plea deal means. [Newsweek] * Dr. Phil's son is developing a TV comedy about his experiences as a law student tasking with arguing real court cases. It sounds like How To Get Away With Murder... except not as funny. [Texas Lawyer] * Solicitor General Francisco and Texas AG Ken "Facing Felony Charges This Month" Paxton are hoping to cover up their own docket management incompetence by asking for sanctions against the ACLU. Sidley Austin's Carter Phillips, working with the ACLU is having none of it. [Dallas Morning News] * More law school grads are going in-house with start-ups. This is a sign of their entrepreneurial nature and not at all evidence that America is pumping out more grads than there are firm opportunities. [Corporate Counsel] * Mark Cohen takes a stab at attorney valuation. [Forbes] * The "middle class" may be rapidly eroding among American families, but it's alive and well among American companies, and some savvy law firms see catering to middle class companies as their key to success. [American Lawyer] * The Supreme Court closed the courtroom doors to a citizen harmed by a corporation even amidst evidence that the company withheld evidence? What a shocker. [Law360]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.27.17

* It looks like Department of Justice will try to have his cake and eat it too. The DOJ is sending Solicitor General Noel Francisco to argue on behalf of the religious freedom of bakers to discriminate against gay people while the government simultaneously argues how imperative it is to keep Muslims out of America. [National Law Journal] * Former Fried Frank associate faces charges over alleged sexual relationship with 14-year-old girl. [The Recorder] * Aetna settled a number of class actions over violating the privacy of HIV patients by distributing checks to the class in envelopes with glassine windows indicating "hey, about your HIV..." The attorneys are up in arms because they don't seem to appreciate performative irony. [New Jersey Law Journal] * Law firms ripped for cybersecurity failures. Again. [LegalTech News] * Groups from across the political spectrum unite to oppose AT&T-Time Warner merger. So expect the DOJ to swiftly approve it anyway. [Law360] * After being slapped with a sexual harassment suit yesterday, legal recruiting firm Wegman Partners announces it's parted ways with the recruiter named in the suit. [New York Law Journal] * In case you're wondering where Biglaw makes its money, here's a roundup of publicly reported legal bills from a variety of industries. [American Lawyer]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.19.17

* The Seventh Circuit -- in an opinion by Judge Diane Sykes, a top-tier SCOTUS possibility under President Trump -- just struck down Chicago ordinances regulating shooting ranges as violative of Second Amendment rights. [ABC News] * Speaking of firearms, law professor Fredrick Vars has an excellent proposal for preventing gun suicides. [Washington Post] * Possible good news for legalizing sports betting in New Jersey: the U.S. Supreme Court wants to hear from the solicitor general on this issue (although we don't yet know who the solicitor general will be). [How Appealing] * But we think we know who the principal deputy solicitor general will be -- Noel Francisco, whose imminent departure from Jones Day is now public. [National Law Journal] * In other Justice Department news, what can we expect from Jeff Sessions's DOJ in terms of civil rights enforcement? [New York Times] * Are we seeing a "fragile recovery" in the number of people interested in law school? [ABA Journal] * If you share my curiosity about the future of Chief Judge Merrick Garland in the wake of his unsuccessful SCOTUS nomination, it seems that the distinguished jurist is back on the bench -- at least for now. [National Law Journal]

By David Lat