Pennsylvania

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.17.16

* "There’s no unwritten law that says it can only be done in off years. That’s not in the constitutional text." Angering armchair constitutional scholars, President Obama vowed to appoint someone to replace Justice Scalia following his death, despite the fact that it's an election year. [New York Times] * "My gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas." The fact that Justice Scalia was found dead with a pillow over his head has made conspiracy theorists come out in droves. Some are "stunned" that an autopsy wasn't performed on the late justice. [Daily Intelligencer / New York Magazine] * Dickstein Shapiro partners were informed via letter that they'd face "the almost certain loss of all firm capital." For some equity partners, that's more than $1 million -- and the letter wasn't even signed "sincerely." How rude! [National Law Journal via ABA Journal] * Justice Scalia's passing could have an impact on the anti-marijuana legalization suit filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma against Colorado. The Court was supposed to discuss it this week, but the justices may not want to overpack their bowls, so to speak. [Guardian] * Troubled Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane will not be seeking reelection after her term expires in January 2017. With her license to practice law suspended and criminal charges pending, we'll see if she's even able to make it that far. [WSJ Law Blog] * Vigilante justice on the internet swift: Despite Google listing the firm as "permanently closed" and its brutal one-star Yelp rating, "Making a Murderer" prosecutor Ken Kratz assured reporters his law firm was still open, contrary to appearances. [Post-Crescent] * Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former U.N. Secretary General, RIP. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.09.16

* Demand for corporate work may be down, but that's not stopping senior Biglaw partners from ramping up their hourly billing rates. Partners at some firms have rates that exceed $1,400 per hour. They're not making it rain, they're making it monsoon! [WSJ Law Blog] * No law license, no pretty huge problem: Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane's license to practice law is still suspended, so the state Senate has scheduled a historic vote for her removal. For her part, Kane, of course, thinks this is "unwarranted and unconstitutional." [PennLive.com] * Herbert Sudfeld Jr., an ex-partner at Fox Rothschild, was convicted of insider trading. He'd apparently eavesdropped on discussions related to a firm merger client and purchased stock based on what he'd overheard. [Legal Intelligencer via ABA Journal] * Washington & Lee Law settled a suit filed by a former student who claimed he was dismissed as a result of a campus judicial proceeding because he was accused in a sexual assault case. The terms of the deal won't be disclosed. [Richmond Times-Dispatch] * When your firm's founding partners have been disciplined by the state Supreme Court a few times too many, you should probably hurry up and change the firm's name to something kooky like LawyerASAP to distract your existing clients. [Orlando Sentinel]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.04.16

* Although he's only seen commercials for the show, O.J. Simpson is none too pleased with the way The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story portrayed his lawyer, Johnnie Cochran. The Juice thinks Cochran is being "unfairly depicted as ruthless and overly ambitious." [Washington Post] * A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby can move forward and include the comedian's 2005 deposition testimony, despite the fact that he only sat for that deposition because he was promised by a district attorney that he wouldn't be prosecuted. [CNN] * While Dentons may have been written off dismissively about two years ago, since then, the Biglaw firm has "grown faster than any law firm ever," and now people are starting to wonder whether the megafirm will be able to live up to all of the hype. [Legal Business] * Perhaps we need to start a Blue Ghetto series for our male readers? A former editorial director at Yahoo! has filed a wrongful termination suit against the company, with claims that he was discriminated against by his superiors because he was a man. [Fox News] * Under the guidance of his new lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, Martin Shkreli has adopted an intelligent new legal strategy: shutting his incredibly punchable mouth before it gets him into even more trouble. Let's see how long this lasts. [DealBook / New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
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By Barbri
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.22.15

* Getting arrested on federal criminal charges accusing you of conspiring with loathed pharma CEO Martin Shkreli is very stressful — so one can understand why Biglaw partner Evan Greebel needs a Cancun vacation right about now. [USA Today; BloombergBusiness] * Speaking of Evan Greebel, here is a closer look at the charges against him, […]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.21.15

* Nobody puts Bernie in the corner! The Democratic race for president has been a little more exciting ever since the Bernie Sanders campaign sued the Democratic National Committee over a data breach involving Hillary Clinton's voter information. [New York Times] * Everyone else and their mother has been disciplined in the Pennsylvania Porngate scandal -- except for AG Kathleen Kane's twin sister, prosecutor Ellen Granahan. Her emails were just as awful, but nothing's going to happen to her. Ain't nepotism grand? [Morning Call] * A few weeks ago, Dentons announced that it was interested in swallowing up two Latin American firms, and now a three-way merger has been approved. With 7,400 lawyers, Dentons will become an even bigger Biglaw behemoth. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * The house always wins? Before its sale to billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Review-Journal reporters were asked to investigate and write about a judge who may soon make a ruling adverse to his interests. [DealBook / New York Times] * Arkansas Law wants to dismiss Prof. Robert Steinbuch's suit over its admissions data. The school's defense essentially amounts to this: "Just because we accidentally gave you all that info last time doesn't mean we'll do it again now." [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.25.15

* Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit completely obliterated a Wisconsin law that required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Posner said any health benefits conferred by the law were "nonexistent." [Reuters] * Judge Richard Sullivan (S.D.N.Y.) wasn't a fan of the Bank of China essentially telling Gucci to "suck it up" when it came to "ridiculous" delays in providing counterfeiters' records, so he held the bank in contempt and is considering assessing millions of dollars in fines. [WSJ Law Blog] * A Pennsylvania attorney activist who launched the "Kane is not Able" campaign has asked the state's highest court to provide clarification on how AG Kathleen Kane should delegate her duties considering the fact she has a suspended law license. [PennLive.com] * A proposed class-action suit has been filed against fashion company Kate Spade over its alleged "imaginary discount prices." If this goes the way of the $4.88M Michael Kors settlement over the same issue, then Kate Spade could be in trouble. [Consumerist] * "Talk about being uprooted!" Vendors who sell wares outside of Brooklyn Law are pissed about the school's plans to install planters on the sidewalks around the building, thereby kicking the vendors not to the curb, but out onto the street. [Brooklyn Paper]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.18.15

* Everything's bigger in Texas, including the lateral raids of lawyers from competing law firms. Wilson Elser just poached 11 litigators from Lewis Brisbois, including the firm's regional managing partner, who now holds the same title at his new firm. Ride 'em, cowboy! [Houston Business Journal] * "I think almost 50 years of paying for those crimes is enough." Winston Moseley, the man convicted of killing Kitty Genovese in an infamous case that came to define the meaning of bystander apathy, was recently denied parole for the eighteenth time. [AP] * We love an underdog story: On the topic of lateral moves, it seems like Greenberg Traurig has a habit of "cherry picking" top talent from higher-ranked law firms like Davis Polk, White & Case, and McDermott Will & Emery. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * When it comes to the Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house judges, Chairman Mary Jo White says that while its court system could be "modernize[d]," it's still a fair process -- for the SEC. The house usually wins in these proceedings. [WSJ Law Blog] * How old is too old to be a judge? Pennsylvania voters are going to be asked this question next year when a referendum on a proposed amendment to the state's constitution to raise the judicial retirement age from 70 to 75 hits the ballot box. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.26.15

* “Cases swing. I don’t." Justice Anthony Kennedy would really like it if folks would stop referring to him as the high court's swinger swing vote. In other news, the Supreme jurist thinks Legally Blonde is a "pretty good movie." [Harvard Gazette] * Hey, everyone, it's high time we did something about this law school debt crisis. Have you somehow never heard about or experienced this before (despite reading Above the Law for eons)? Not to worry, because the New York Times is on it! [New York Times] * "She’ll still be fighting for the things she cares about. But this time, she’ll be asking us to join her." Irin Camron, co-author of Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (affiliate link), thinks we'll see more Badass Bader this Term. [New York Times] * The Pennsylvania Senate is trying to kick embattled Attorney General Kathleen Kane out of office because she's working with a suspended law license. Come on, it must be pretty embarrassing when your AG can't even refer to herself as a lawyer. [Morning Call] * According to Professor Paul Campos, the law school scam will keep on trucking thanks to the for-profit institutions -- Arizona Summit Law, Charlotte Law, and Florida Coastal Law -- that are run by InfiLaw. Well, at least they're good at one thing, right? [The Atlantic] * Toke the vote! The next states that will likely legalize recreational marijuana by ballot referendum come November 2016 include California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada. Vermont, on the other hand, may pass marijuana-friendly legislation. [Rolling Stone]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.22.15

* In case you missed it, on top of her perjury and obstruction charges, Pennsylvania AG Kathleen Kane's license to practice law was suspended. As a law professor attempting to make a sick burn noted, “She may be at this point our paralegal general." [WSJ Law Blog] * Tracy Morgan made an appearance at The Emmys on Sunday night that earned him a standing ovation, but David Jay Glassman, the attorney representing the Walmart truck driver who hit the comedian's car last summer, wasn't applauding. Hmm, perhaps his wife suddenly got pregnant? [The Wrap via Yahoo!] * If the former leaders of failed firm D&L are convicted this week, we seriously hope that they're not so disillusioned as to believe they'll be shipped to a "Club Fed" facility. How long Dewey think these Biglaw alums will last at a place like Rikers? [Am Law Daily] * New Biglaw associates at some firms are being treated to a second college experience filled with orientation programs, resident advisers, summer reading, and even parties. (At least they get to drink champagne, not Franzia.) [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * The president of UMass says its law school will be fully accredited by the American Bar Association within one year's time. Given that everyone gets a turn when it comes to ABA accreditation, this is one low-expectation-having educator. [Boston Business Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky