Patricia Millett

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.15.19

* President Trump had a hell of weekend on Twitter, where he implied that Democractic Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley -- all women of color -- weren't American citizens and told them to "go back" to their home countries. [CNN] * Federal prosecutors have now accused Jeffrey Epstein of witness tampering, alleging that the sex-trafficking defendant paid out six figures to buy the silence of those who could testify against him. [New York Times] * Speaking of people related to Alex Acosta's resignation as labor chief, Patrick Pizzella, formerly of K&L Gates legacy firm Preston Gates Ellis, an associate of Jack Abramoff who notably wasn't charged and convicted of corruption, has been named as acting labor secretary. [Big Law Business] * The D.C. Circuit didn't really seem all that receptive to Trump's attempts to block Congress from subpoenaing records from one of his accounting firms. Picture Judge Patricia Millett asking this with a raised brow: "When it comes to a president’s conflict of interest, there’s nothing Congress can do ... to protect the people of the United States?" [Washington Post] * How did Justice Clarence Thomas go from being a "Black Panther type" in law school to being the Supreme Court's "conservative beacon"? [NPR] * According to Citi Private Bank, law firm leaders are feeling a little less confident about the second half of the year, but no one is expecting a recession just yet. In fact, they seem downright "optimistic" about the rest of 2019. Yay! [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 03.06.15

* I guess 15 minutes of fame can really mess with you. The "cute mugshot girl" who took the Internet by storm a while back managed to get arrested again. Negative attention is still attention. [Gawker] * The DOJ is about to file corruption charges against Senator Robert Menendez. Corruption in New Jersey? [CNN] * With the assistance of the pro bono legal teams at WilmerHale and Polsinelli, 303 conservatives filed a historic amicus brief in support of marriage equality. [WilmerHale] * A nice review of "A Conversation on Clerking" moderated by U.S. Supreme Court reporter Anthony Mauro of the National Law Journal, with panelists including our own David Lat; Judge Patricia Millett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and Lucas Townsend, an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. [American Bar Association] * Looking for an extra $1,000 this year? Enter this legal fiction writing contest. Maybe you'll write the next Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). [The Expert Institute]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.28.15

* SWAT team called in to break up a poker game between a bunch of rich people. The militarization of the police seems like it's going great. [Washington Post] * The SPLC is lodging an ethics complaint against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore after he explained that he intends to defy federal law. He's such a delight. [WAAY TV] * Rutgers-Camden's student evaluation controversy unfortunately fits right into the grand scheme of legal industry misogyny. [Salon] * South Carolina has finally vacated the convictions of the Friendship Nine -- protesters busted for sitting at the diner counter who pioneered the "jail, no bail" strategy that dominated the 60s civil rights movement. It only took 54 years. [Huffington Post] * Another day, another embarrassing development for the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell. This time it's former Senator Ben Nelson who Obamacare challengers cite for their claim that the Senate never intended subsidies to go to states without their own exchanges. Well, Senator Nelson wrote his own brief blowing this theory out of the water. This is basically SCOTUS's version of the Marshall McLuhan scene. [Washington Post] * A list of upcoming books about the Supreme Court. [SCOTUSBlog] * An enterprising law office discovered that the courts in Oklahoma publish social security numbers all the time. [Wirth Law Office] * D.C. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett talks clerking diversity. [National Law Journal] * UC Hastings Law student Hali Ford is competing on the 30th season of Survivor. Her interview video is below. [TV Grapevine] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ydBekmEOw

By Joe Patrice
Alan Dershowitz

Morning Docket: 12.16.13

* “She changed how the world looked at us: from scrappy lawyers to a force to be reckoned with.” As the very first female name partner of an Am Law 100 firm, the Biglaw world is Kathleen Sullivan’s oyster. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan thanks you kindly. [American Lawyer] * “You hate to lose a great lawyer, but if you’re going to this is the way to do it.” Akin Gump might have recently lost partner Patricia Ann Millett to the D.C. Circuit, but her replacement, Pratik Shah, is working hard to fill her impressive shoes peep-toes. [National Law Journal] * Alan Dershowitz will be stepping down from his position at Harvard Law School at the end of the week. Perhaps he’ll be able to find some time to join O.J. Simpson in the hunt for the real killers. [Boston Globe] * Stephen McDaniel, the law grad accused of dismembering classmate Lauren Giddings, is back in the news. His alleged condom-stealing burglary capers are inadmissible at his murder trial. [Macon Telegraph] * As if TLC’s critically acclaimed “Sister Wives” couldn’t get any better, a judge declared parts of Utah’s polygamy statute unconstitutional. Just imagine the ratings gold because of this ruling. [Salt Lake Tribune] * It appears crack isn’t so wack after all, because Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor has a bevy of supporters who have stepped up to pay all of his legal bills. Waste your bonus money by donating here. [CBC News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Attorney Misconduct

Morning Docket: 12.11.13

* When it comes to the air pollution case that’s currently before the Supreme Court, it seems like the justices had absolutely no difficulty at all in evaluating the type of problem at hand. It’s apparently a “tough” one and a “hard” one. [New York Times] * Thanks to the historic new Senate rules put into action last month, Patricia Ann Millett, the co-head of Akin Gump’s Supreme Court and national appellate practice group, has been confirmed to the D.C. Circuit. You go girl! [Post Politics / Washington Post] * The Senate showdown isn’t quite over yet, folks. We could see another confirmation vote on Georgetown Law professor Nina Pillard’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit sometime today. [Blog of Legal Times] * “We risk failure in having a profession that is as diverse as the country we serve.” OMG guys, the legal profession is bad at diversity. This is new information that no one’s heard before. [National Law Journal] * Now that the recession is over, women are gaining their jobs back faster than all their male counterparts. Not to worry, guys — they’re still being paid 77 cents to every dollar a man earns. [Corporate Counsel] * Here are the top five social media mishaps by lawyers and law students of 2013. If you value your career, you should really try not to do any of these embarrassing things during the new year. [Strategist / FindLaw]

By Staci Zaretsky
2nd Circuit

Non-Sequiturs: 10.31.13

* The Second Circuit has remanded the New York Stop and Frisk decision, demanding that a new judge hear the case. Among the reasons: that Judge Shira Scheindlin gave “media interviews and public statements purporting to respond publicly to criticism of the District Court.” So basically, act like a contemptuous prick in the press and when the judge calmly reaffirms her impartiality, get her thrown off the case. Thankfully this will all stop being an issue on about January 1, 2014. [U.S. Courts] * Attorney networking and referral site wireLawyer gave itself a Halloween makeover. Personally I wouldn’t want a Fett as an attorney — they have a tendency to lose their heads or fall into pits of despair. Screenshot if you check out the site after they’ve moved on to what we can only assume is their All Saints Day makeover. [wireLawyer] * Joe Biden’s niece appeared in court after she clashed with police last month, “swinging at a female officer then slapping another” before being dragged away in handcuffs all while touting how she “studied law.” This actually sounds more like something Joe Biden’s Onion persona would do. [NY Post] * Penn Law is sporting pumpkins carved with the likeness of all nine Supreme Court justices. [Under the Button] * Vivia Chen’s epic fail as a mother on Halloween. We still love you. [The Careerist] * The House of Representatives has now introduced a use restriction on videos of House hearings to prevent the footage from being used for political purposes. That doesn’t sound all that legal. The Republicans just desperately don’t want people to know what they actually do at “work.” [Patently-O] * Meanwhile, the Senate GOP is going filibuster on Patricia Millett’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit despite lacking any objection to her. [Huffington Post] * NYU Law carried on its annual tradition of acting out the Erie case. Screw that! They should act out Palsgraf…

By Joe Patrice
Airplanes / Aviation

Morning Docket: 10.31.13

* Let’s get ready to rumble! Senate Democrats are threatening to go “nuclear” on existing filibuster rules if Senate Republicans decide to band together to block Patricia Millett’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit. [New York Times] * AMR Corp. and US Airways are reportedly trying to broker a deal with the Department of Justice that would allow the airlines’ merger to go through. And this is the room full of people who care. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * Proskauer Rose and the zombie corpse of Dewey & LeBoeuf received a Halloween treat from Judge Martin Glenn in the MF Global case. The firms will each be receiving a combined $9 million for their work. [Am Law Daily] * Twitter is facing a $125 million fraud suit filed by two financial firms claiming that the social media giant had them organize a private sale of shares and then canceled it. #OhShiat #LawyerUp [Businessweek] * Jill Bjorkholm Easter, the lawyer accused of planting drugs on a PTA volunteer at her son’s school, has pleaded guilty to false imprisonment. Her hubby’s trial is next week. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times] * She’s got the right to remain topless: Holly Van Voast, the photographer famous for roaming the streets of New York with breasts bared, settled a lawsuit against the city for $40,000. [New York Daily News] * “Ed,” the anonymous editor of the defunct Blawg Review site, RIP. [Trial Warrior Blog; Simple Justice]

By Staci Zaretsky
9th Circuit

Morning Docket: 08.02.13

* Hiring a Supreme Court clerk might not be worth a $500,000 gamble for some Biglaw firms. Some will take that sweet sign-on bonus and remove their golden handcuffs before a year is out. [Capital Comment / Washingtonian] * Akin Gump partner and D.C. Circuit nominee Patricia Millett won approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee by a margin of 10-8 along party lines, and now her nomination will head to the full Senate for a vote. [Huffington Post] * President Obama nominated Michelle Friedland and John Owens, two young Munger Tolles & Olson partners, for seats on the Ninth Circuit. If confirmed, that’ll make three partners from the same firm on the bench. [The Recorder] * Sorry, law firms, but it’s no longer cool to inflate hourly billing rates for contract attorneys when you pay them substantially less. You can thank Ted Frank for this judicial revelation. [WSJ Law Blog] * The ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education thinks that just about everything having to do with law schools is “deeply flawed” and needs “serious re-engineering.” How comforting. [ABA Journal] * Law School Transparency is willing to assist schools with the reporting of their ABA post-graduation job placement statistics, for a price. How much is integrity worth these days? [National Law Journal] * For $25K, Casey Anthony’s bankruptcy trustee won’t make her sell the worldwide rights to her story — like her theory of the crime she was acquitted of, it “exists solely within [her] mind.” [Sun-Sentinel]

By Staci Zaretsky