Prisons

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 09.09.16

* The ABA is finally cracking down on law school accreditation... and ham-fistedly came down on the wrong school. [Big Law Business] * The EU Playboy verdict could undermine the online press. [Engadget] * Today, on the anniversary of the Attica uprising, prisoners across several states planned a mass work stoppage to protest systemic injustices. How does something like this come together? [Wired] * Meanwhile, across the pond, the Supreme Court is selling off art made by prisoners for £30-£500 a pop. [Legal Cheek] * We need more judges like this. [Katz Justice] * A chat with activist Amanda Nguyen on the occasion of President Obama's expected signing of the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights. [NPR] * The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline is generating as much buzz as anything can over the cacophony of the election and football, but is there a legal case to be made for putting a stop to the project? [The Atlantic] * Forget about the Prime Directive, why doesn't Star Fleet have a duty to warn about some of the crazy stuff they run across? [The Legal Geeks] * Speaking of Star Trek, the National Marine Fisheries Service just delisted nine humpback whale populations from the endangered species list. Thanks, Admiral Kirk! [Courthouse News Service]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.12.16

* How would a Gingrich VP run impact Dentons? Because Gingrich getting a 4-month vacation is the most pressing question about the Trump ticket at this point. [The Am Law Daily] * North Carolina enacts legislation to keep police cam footage out of the public record in a move that isn't a cynical cover up effort at all. [ABC 11] * International arbitration panel rules against China's claims to South China Sea territory. It's like that apocryphal story about Andrew Jackson saying of John Marshall "let him enforce it" if Andrew Jackson was armed with nuclear weapons. [Huffington Post] * The Department of Justice is going to bat to protect the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule as plaintiffs beg judge to take a bat to the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule. [The National Law Journal] * In a pending gender bias suit, Bank of America denies having a "Bro's Club" culture. I'm fuzzy on the regulations, but I'm pretty sure in that statement BofA just forfeited its status as a "bank." [Law360] * Did you know prison laborers are planning to go on strike on September? Me neither, but there you go. [Occupy] * Straightforward review of the CFTC's proposed Regulation AT aimed at the practice of automated trading. [Morrison Cohen] * University of Houston Law Center professor and former dean Stephen Zamora died last week. He was 72. [UH Law Center]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.07.16

* Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius may recently have been sentenced to six years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend, but according to South African legal analysts, he'll be eligible for parole in just three years, and will most likely be freed from behind bars at that time, despite his murder conviction. [ABC News] * DLA Piper partner Brian Pendleton has been fined $10K for violating a court order related to interfering with witnesses and then lying about it. DLA Piper has also been ordered to pay all of opposing counsel's attorney fees and costs thanks to its errant partner's behavior. The firm, of course, "respectfully disagree[s]" with the judge. [New York Law Journal via ABA Journal] * FBI Director James Comey is being "praised" and "slammed" at the same time for his recommendation that no criminal charges be brought against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over her emails. In the meantime, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that the case had been closed. [WSJ Law Blog; CNN] * Law firm mergers are coming fast and furious, with a total of 48 combinations announced since the beginning of 2016. "Small firms are increasingly vulnerable in the current market," and last year's number of mergers (91) could be exceeded by year's end as many smaller firms struggle to stay in business. [DealBook / New York Times] * Not only is Adnan Syed, the subject of the first season of the popular Serial podcast, getting a new trial, but he's also got some brand new Biglaw attorneys representing him. Lawyers from Hogan Lovells, including the head of the firm's pro bono practice and the managing partner of its Baltimore office, will now be involved. [Big Law Business]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.24.16

* On the subject of raises, yesterday we heard -- a mixed bag of news -- from Linklaters (technically the night before), Barack Ferrazzano, Chadbourne & Parke, Pryor Cashman, Tensegrity, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and Reed Smith. [Above the Law / 2016 Salary Increase] * If you're an associate serving in your firm's London office, I sure as hell hope you're getting paid in dollars. [BBC] * UK legal experts explain why this vote isn't legally binding. [Legal Cheek] * On the other hand, could this be a boon for lawyers? [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Who's on first in front of Second. [Law360] * Dentons global government sector co-chair leaves for boutique. As you're statutorily obligated to say to every Biglaw lawyer moving to a small firm: "you're not going to have the same support services... are you ready for that?" [The Am Law Daily] * Penn State's former general counsel testified that at least he understood that the school needed to report Jerry Sandusky back in 2001 and told the school as much. Which is impressive, since he told the New York Times in 2011 that he'd never even heard of any allegations against Sandusky. [Fox News] * Former law firm executive sentenced to prison. [Atlanta Journal Constitution] * A deep look at the horrific side of criminal justice: a long-form account of four months as a private prison guard. Think of it as "Orange Is The New Black" without having to listen to Piper prattle on. [Mother Jones]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.05.16

* Florida public defender disbarred over sex and drugs with inmates. Amazingly, this is not just an update of this story about... a Florida public defender allegedly caught banging an inmate. What's going on with these Florida public defenders? [NY Daily News] * Law firms know they need to radically change their model and yet haven't done anything about it. But they're telling GCs it's the clients' fault for not pushing firms harder to change. Holy blame the victim, Batman. [Law360] * As some of you may have heard by now, Milbank Tweed is ditching its downtown home for relatively law firm-free Chelsea. Cue Steve Winwood: "Back on the High Line again..." [Real Estate Weekly] * Law school rechristening its building over its namesake's KKK ties. Political correctness run amok -- remember when you could support lawless acts of terrorism against minorities and be venerated by institutions of higher learning? [CBS News] * Judge Alan Simon has already received a suspension after a commission found a "history of bullying and verbally abusing court staffers" and now he may be losing his job. [Law360] * Cass Sunstein explains the Constitution with Darth Vader's help. As it turns out he's got a book about it too (affiliate link). [National Law Journal] * A panel discusses the labor and employment implications of legalized marijuana. Pretty sure Afroman already covered these when he intoned: "I was gonna go to work but then I got high/I just got a new promotion but I got high/now I'm selling dope and I know why yea hey/cause I got high/cause I got high/cause I got high." [Corporate Counsel] * A breakthrough, "gotcha" moment on cross-examination in a big case is such a holy grail achievement of Matlockian proportions that we should celebrate it whenever it happens. Skadden managed to net one in a $2.1 billion suit this week. [Litigation Daily] * Kirkland & Ellis offering "emotional fitness training" at its offices. Pretty sure the curriculum for Biglaw attorneys should be a primer on Wheaton's Law and this video with the word "baseball" replaced with "law." [Kirkland & Ellis]

By Joe Patrice