Nondisclosure Agreements

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.19.18

* "This is crazy." Donald Trump reportedly had members of his White House senior staff sign nondisclosure agreements that are supposed to last beyond his presidency. This raised some brows, but dissenters concluded that the contracts weren't likely to be enforceable, so they signed on the dotted line. Yes, crazy. [Washington Post] * With quotes from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," President Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, said -- first on behalf of the president as his counsel, and later, on behalf of only himself (oopsie?) -- that it's time for the Mueller probe to end. [Daily Beast] * And following a tweet storm about Mueller this weekend, it certainly seems like President Trump is gearing up to fire the special counsel. Congressional Republicans are less than pleased with the president's behavior, and have issued a few stern warnings, urging Trump not to cross the "massive red [Mueller] line," because "that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency." [New York Times] * Are you ready for legal sports betting? Your bookie might not be, but America's four major U.S. sports leagues are preparing for anything and everything that could happen as a result of the Supreme Court's forthcoming ruling. [Washington Post] * "What're you in for?" "A law degree." According to a report from the ACLU, debts "from medical bills to car payments to student loans" are being criminalized, and courts across the country are issuing arrest warrants. [Idaho Statesman] * Christopher Tripp Zanetis, NYFD fire marshal, U.S. Air Force captain, Debevoise associate, RIP. We'll have more on his passing later today. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.14.18

* Ever since Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit, who had been accused of sexual harassment by 15 women, retired, a working group within the federal judiciary has been trying to come up with reforms to be made as far as sexual harassment is concerned. Thus far, they've come up with about 20 reforms, and Chief Justice John Roberts is confident the group's work will "ensure an exemplary workplace for every court employee." [National Law Journal] * Time's up, UK: The Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales has warned law firms not to use nondisclosure agreements to cover up sexual harassment and assault scandals. After all, these are instances of professional misconduct, so of course a professional regulatory agency wants to know about that. [American Lawyer] * Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be turning 85 later this week, and she says she's "feeling fine." Many hope that the self-described "flaming feminist litigator" continues to feel that way until we find a way to turn her into a little RBG judicial bot that will never, ever short-circuit -- or until there's a Democrat in office. [USA Today] * Nichole Ashley Collins, the Pennsylvania lawyer who was fired for allegedly stealing money from her firm and then returned to the firm to allegedly steal more money to buy sex toys, has been disbarred. Who would've expected such a thing... [FOX 43] * Prosecutors in Florida will seek the death penalty against Nikolas Cruz for his role as the accused gunman in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. Last week, Cruz was indicted by a grand jury on 17 counts of premeditated murder in the first degree and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree. [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.07.18

* Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who was paid six figures in exchange for not spilling the beans about her affair with Donald Trump, is now suing him, claiming that the "hush agreement" she entered into prior to the election is invalid because he never signed it. [Washington Post] * File this under Not Top Ten: Former ESPN legal analyst and sports anchor Adrienne Lawrence, a onetime associate of Greenberg Traurig, Arent Fox, and McGuireWoods, has filed a sexual harassment suit against the sports network, claiming that SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross constantly harassed her. [American Lawyer] * Not only will the government be able to seize more than $7.3 million of disgraced pharma bro Martin Shkreli's assets -- including his one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album -- but prosecutors want to throw him behind bars for no less than 15 years. [New York Law Journal] * Attorney General Jeff Sessions will announce today that the Justice Department will be filing suit against California over its "sanctuary state" laws. As alleged in the complaint, the Golden State's laws -- AB 450, SB 54, and AB 103 -- were all created to impede immigration laws. [USA Today] * "When I heard the gun went off accidentally, that just didn’t ring true. Someone has to pull the trigger. They just don’t accidentally discharge." Prospective jurors in former Biglaw partner Claud "Tex" McIver's murder trial weren't exactly buying his defense. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] * Forget about the egregious law school tuition you'll have to pay in the future, because it can cost quite the pretty penny to apply to law school in the first place. You may want to look into fee waivers so you can save yourself some cash. [U.S. News] * Billy McFarland, the millennial entrepreneur who organized the disastrous Fyre Festival, has taken a plea deal after defrauding the investors who bought into the failed event. He's looking at sentence of eight to 10 years in prison. [Big Law Business]

By Staci Zaretsky