Presidential Pardons

It would, of course, break presidential norms for a president to hand out secret pardons. But, no matter what you think of Trump, he surely wasn’t a president who respected the norms. 

Convicted former Nixon Peabody partner got a coveted pardon.

* Some think Justice Clarence Thomas may be dropping hints that he’s about to retire (e.g., this little First Amendment gem), but those who know him well think he’s getting ready for a conservative revolution, and he’s got an army of former clerks to back him up. [CNN]

* It’s Mueller time! Special counsel Robert Mueller’s sentencing memo for Paul Manafort is 800 pages long and makes the president’s former campaign chairman out to be a “hardened” and “bold” criminal who “repeatedly and brazenly” broke the law and “presents a grave risk of recidivism.” [New York Times]

* A federal judge has ruled that the all-male military draft that requires men to register with the Selective Service System is unconstitutional, as “the time has passed” for debate on women’s roles in the armed services. [USA Today]

* Paul Manafort’s get out of jail free card might not save him from more charges. New York prosecutors are ready to file a case against Donald Trump’s ex-campaign chairman if he’s pardoned by the president for all of his other crimes. [Bloomberg]

* Benjamin Rauf, the Temple Law School graduate accused of killing one of his classmates in a drug deal gone bad, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a weapons charge and been sentenced to 15 years behind bars. [Delaware News Journal]

* Thanks to ATL’s 2018 Lawyer of the Year Michael Avenatti, R. Kelly was indicted and arrested on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. His bond was set at an “exceedingly reasonable” $1 million, but he’s already spent some time in jail because he couldn’t come up with the $100,000 bail needed to leave. [Chicago Tribune]

* In case you missed it, Brooklyn Law School graduate Shawn Sinclair was kicked out of the running to become DJ Pauly D’s girlfriend on MTV’s “Game of Clones” because she’s more “dinner, couch, sweatpants” than “gym, tan, laundry.” [MTV]

* This weekend, a passerby recognized Michael Cohen on the street, calling him out as “that guy that’s going to jail.” For his part, President Trump later recognized Michael Cohen as a “good person,” calling him out as “not my lawyer anymore.” Ouch. [The Hill]

* For what it’s worth, Michael Cohen may not have to worry about jailtime for too long. After all, Rudy Giuliani says that the president may pardon Paul Manafort after the conclusion of the Russia investigation. His longtime personal lawyer could very well get a pardon thrown his way too. [Washington Post]

* Justice Anthony Kennedy had dinner in Manhattan this weekend following his grandson’s graduation, and he was treated like the superstar that he is. Per sources, as soon as Justice Kennedy arrived at Antica Pesa for his meal, “a security detail almost shut down a street, as onlookers wondered who he was.” [Page Six / New York Post]

* According to a survey conducted by the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, some in-house leaders are really angry about the latest Biglaw associate raises, and other in-house leaders aren’t angry about them at all — so long as they don’t have to pay more for their outside counsel, that is. [Corporate Counsel]

* Hot off the heels of her settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was recently indicted on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in an alleged scheme to con investors and mislead doctors and patients. [MedCity News]

That... clears nothing up.

* Hooooo boy, this just got even better! President Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen plan to file a motion to stay the Stormy Daniels suit on the grounds that in the wake of the FBI raid on Cohen’s office and the ensuing criminal investigation, continuing the Daniels litigation could violate Cohen’s right not to incriminate himself under the Fifth Amendment. [THR, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter]

* In other news, President Trump is set to pardon Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney‘s former chief of staff, who was convicted in 2007 of lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice in the investigation into the leak of former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity. [ABC News

* When the AP was investigating a $30K payout that American Media Inc. made to a doorman to keep quiet about a rumor involving President Trump’s love child with a former employee, reporters had some trouble with a Biglaw firm that was recently involved in another sexual misconduct case — Boies Schiller. [American Lawyer]

* HoLove learning to show love? The firm is ditching its “broken” associate performance review system for its new “Pathways” program, which will provide them with “flash feedback” from partners about how they’re doing on a year-round basis. [National Law Journal]

* Your tuition dollars actually at work: Georgia State Law is using predictive modeling and data analytics to identify students who may be at risk for failing the bar exam after their first year of studying law. Administrators at the school want to be able to help students before it’s too late. [Daily Report Online]

* Savannah Law School may not be closing after all? It seems that talks are underway to donate the law school’s charter to another college or university, like Savannah State and Georgia Southern. Savannah Law’s new owner would get everything but the law school building itself. [Fox 28 Media]

Robert Mueller won't back down from this fight.

* Under cover of a natural disaster, President Donald Trump decided to pardon former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of criminal contempt after ignoring a federal judge’s order. Trump, who has shown contempt for judges since the start of his campaign, now seems to be using his “weaponized pardon power” to circumvent the powers of the judiciary. [New York Times]

* Speaking of Hurricane Harvey, we know that many lawyers, law students, and law professors in Texas have been and continue to be affected by the devastating after effects of the storm. How has your firm or your law school handled the destruction and historic flooding? Please get in touch with us via email, text message (646-820-8477), or tweet (@atlblog) to let us know. [Above the Law]

* Getting back to Joe Arpaio’s pardon, lawyers, former government officials, and current lawmakers of all stripes have spoken out against the president’s unconventional action. Perhaps our favorite comment of all came from Professor Orin Kerr of USC Gould School of Law: “Trump shows his love of the Constitution by pardoning a man who refused to stop violating it.” [Law.com]

* Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating whether former national security adviser Michael Flynn played any kind of a role in obtaining Hillary Clinton’s emails from Russian hackers. If he did have something to do with it, Flynn may be more concerned about Clinton’s emails right now than the average Trump voter was in the lead-up to the election. [Wall Street Journal]

* Thanks to President Trump, Irell & Manella now stands to lose one of its top rainmakers. In a Friday announcement, patent litigator Andrei Iancu, a partner at the firm, was nominated to become the next Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. We wonder how long it’ll take for him to be confirmed.[Am Law Daily]

8 Most Likely Results Of A Trump Self-Pardon, In Order.

Maybe Obama could have done more...

It's high time to question our current system and government sentencing policies.

* Yup, the criminal justice system is super broken. After being jailed for 2 years in Rikers and still fighting to clear his name for a crime even the victim’s family doesn’t think he committed, Enger Javier now wants to be a lawyer. [Gawker]

* Emotional tale of the lives behind mandatory minimums, though this one might have a happy ending. Demaryius Thomas’s mother, recently released from prison after 15 years after being pardoned by President Obama, is going to the Super Bowl. [ESPN]

* Should conservatives accept the delegation of legislative power? Heresy! [Library of Law and Liberty]

* Is there an issue with cognitive decline on the U.S. Supreme Court? And will anyone do anything about it? [Los Angeles Times]

* It’s a jungle out there: If you’re a lawyer, when you wake up, you better be running. [Associate’s Mind]

* Yup, a law student is suing over a wafer-less Kit-Kat. [Yahoo]

* We previously mentioned Orrick’s opening up in Houston; here are the identities of 13 of the new partners. [Legal Business]

* Great advice for making the most of networking opportunities. [Rebooting Your Law Practice]

* ATL managing editor David Lat will be in San Francisco a week from today, and you’re cordially invited to meet him at this cocktail reception and Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link) book signing. [FBANC via Eventbrite]

A controversial decision doesn't always derail a career.

How on earth did this strange tradition get started?