Pepper Hamilton

* Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton have merged to form Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders. Congrats to all involved, but they could work on their name… [The American Lawyer] * A Florida government lawyer has been fired after his arrest on child porn charges. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* Another attorney opts into the Jones Day sex discrimination suit. [Law360]

* Bill introduced to legalize sex work in New York. Eliot Spitzer wondering, “where were you when I needed you?” [NBC New York]

* Supreme Court balks at lawsuit seeking to expand constitutional protection for silencers. Remember, the only thing that can stop a bad guy performing an assassination in East Berlin is a good guy performing an assassination in East Berlin. [Reuters]

* John Dean stopped by Congress to give a history lesson since no one else is honoring their subpoenas. [Courthouse News Service]

* Pepper Hamilton more or less kept tight control of its investigation into the Baylor sexual assault case, but now it could face sanctions for potentially withholding records requested in a civil suit arising from the matter. [Texas Lawyer]

* Trump’s team takes its “legitimate legislative purpose” argument to the D.C. Circuit. Shouldn’t some wizened Republican be stepping up and putting a stop to this argument before Trump inadvertently guts the Congress that the party has worked so hard to gerrymander of any real authority? [National Law Journal]

* Student launches crowdfunding campaign to pay for legal education. But this is Britain so he only needs about $80K to go to Cambridge instead of $200K+ to go to a TTT. [Legal Cheek]

* The proposed extradition law that could allow China to nab people in Hong Kong could undermine foreign involvement in the semi-autonomous region. And that means a lot of big law firms. [CNN]

* Does Trump’s health care executive order violate ERISA? [CNBC]

* Just when law firms needed another challenge, here comes PwC. [Law.com]

* Pepper Hamilton partner brings clients to secluded private island. Enjoy Camp Crystal Lake everyone! [The Legal Intelligencer]

* On Sunday, 60 Minutes will have a profile on the fascinating career of Shon Hopwood, the Georgetown Law professor who came to his career as a jailhouse lawyer while serving time for bank robbery. [National Law Journal]

* Why aren’t there vegan wigs? It’s actually a pretty interesting question. [Legal Cheek]

* Judge was “unaware” that he gave joint custody to an accused rapist. But before the judge gets pilloried for conducting a slapdash proceeding, consider that the prosecutors never bothered to mention this. [ABA Journal]

* The gender bias suit against Proskauer reaches the Second Circuit on claims that Judge Cote erred in preventing the plaintiff from getting key discovery for her retaliation claim. [Law360]

* A guide to interviewing for introverts. The first tip should be to open every interview with, “I’m interested in tax.” In my experience, firms expect to put the tax geniuses in a dungeon and let them work their sorcerer’s ways in peace, so they’ll forgive any awkwardness as a sign of genius. [The Recorder]

* Law firm merger mania strikes Texas. [Houston Chronicle]

* The Gorsuch hearings are set for March 20th. Now what should senators ask him? [National Law Journal]

* Seriously, what should senators ask him? [SCOTUSBlog]

* The CFPB is getting battered and bruised, but the D.C. Circuit may give it a fighting chance. [Law.com]

* Pepper Hamilton had a high profile year working the Baylor matter, but PPP is down 28 percent. They lose any more and they’ll have to change their name to Peper Hamilton. [Legal Intelligencer]

* Alston & Bird, meanwhile, saw a revenue boost. [Daily Report]

* Judge finds probable cause in criminal complaint against Chris Christie. Don’t worry, New Jersey prosecutors are too scared of traffic problems in their towns to do anything about it. [Law360]

* Florida has been busy. First the Docs v. Glocks ruling and now an abortion ruling. [Orlando Sentinel]

* My God. They can’t even pass background checks. [Politico]

* The top 10 law novels of the last 10 years. I wonder if She-Hulk made the list? (Spoiler: she does.) [ABA Journal]

* Looks like Baylor University got some Biglaw sticker shock. [Deadspin]

* The judge that blocked the Obama Administration’s new overtime rules left a lot of uncertainty in his wake. [Androvett Blog]

* Can courts hold Trump accountable under the Emoluments Clause? [Huffington Post]

* A look at the changing nature of Presidential power cases before the Supreme Court and what that may mean under a President Trump. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Challenging abortion restrictions in Alaska, Missouri and North Carolina. [Slate]

* Will a cashless society mean fewer legal problems? [Law and More]