Pornography

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.20.19

* Hail Mary pass interference? President Donald Trump reportedly asked then-acting AG Matthew Whitaker if U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman (S.D.N.Y.) -- a "perceived loyalist" -- could be put in charge of the Michael Cohen probe even though he'd already recused himself. [New York Times] * Chief Justice John Roberts once again sided with the Supreme Court’s liberals in refusing to agree with a Texas court’s decision to execute a death row inmate with intellectual disabilities, writing that the lower court’s review of the case “did not pass muster under this court’s analysis last time,” and “[i]t still doesn’t.” Justice Samuel Alito dissented, and was obviously joined by the high court’s conservatives. [Washington Post] * Emoji are popping up more and more in court cases, and courts still don't know what to do with them -- which is a shame, because "[j]udges need to be aware of the importance of the emojis to the overall communication when we run into ... odd evidentiary issues." [The Verge] * This Fox Rothschild partner is facing sanctions over missed deadlines in several cases for his client, porn producer Strike 3 Holdings. He's repped the "copyright troll" in about 2,500 infringement cases since 2017. [American Lawyer] * If you're interested in investing in the future of law, alternative legal services provider Axiom will be going public and has applied for an IPO. The number of shares up for grabs and their price range is still undecided. [ALM International]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.08.18

* While Michigan State zeroes in on another NCAA Tournament run, the Board of Trustees zero in on saving their hides in the fallout of the Larry Nassar revelations. The Board announced bringing on Akin Gump as the scandal grows. [Detroit News] * Speaking of Akin, former Akin partner Jeffrey Wertkin's criminal trial ends with a 30-month prison sentence. [Reuters] * When Wesleyan's commencement speaker Daniel Handler suffered a series of unfortunate sexual harassment allegations, the school reached out to Anita Hill in possibly the most clutch last-minute rescheduling ever. [Chronicle of Higher Education] * Donald Trump apparently keeps asking witnesses in the Mueller probe about their testimony. So it's safe to say he's not even trying to heed the advice of counsel. [NY Times] * Meaning Trump may soon be asking Erik Prince about his testimony, because that guy appears to be in hot water with Mueller now. [Vox] * Another look at the Lewis & Clark Law protest that kicked off this week. [Big Law Business] * Rhode Island considers banning free porn in an effort to ensure that the only opiate of the masses remains crippling opioid addiction.. [NPR] * Pepperdine Law had faculty dunk tanks yesterday. Just California's friendly reminder to the East Coast that we're living wrong. [TaxProf Blog]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.19.16

* Uh-oh! What's going on at Kirkland & Ellis? Sources say that the firm recently changed its framework for allocating equity partner profits, making deep cuts to some partners' shares. Litigation partners were reportedly hit so hard by these changes that multiple sources called the situation a "bloodbath." We'll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily] * Talk about a money shot: Attorneys Paul Hansmeier and John Steele, formerly of Prenda Law, have been charged in a "massive extortion scheme" after allegedly uploading porn videos they produced themselves to file-sharing websites so they could then sue those who downloaded the films for copyright violations. [NBC News] * Kerrie Campbell, the Chadbourne & Parke partner who sued her firm for $100 million over allegations of gender discrimination, has asked a court to dismiss C & P's counterclaim, referring to the claims therein as "in terrorem tactic" to silence other women at the firm and elsewhere who have similar bias claims. [Big Law Business] * Here's a question that far too many law school deans were faced with this fall: "What's the best way to share a school's bad bar exam results?" Some chose to be blunt and others chose to be empathetic, but at the end of the day, the news is devastating to recent graduates, so there's only so much one can really do to soften the blow. [ABA Journal] * Charleston church gunman Dylann Roof was convicted on federal hate crime charges and is now awaiting the punishment phase of his trial. In case you didn't know, he's also waiting to stand trial on state murder charges, which means he's the first person in the modern era to face the possibility of federal and state death penalty sentences. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky