Rod J. Rosenstein

The Justice Department is no longer a tool for law, it's just a tool.

* Yes, it’s true: Jeff Sessions came thisclose to resigning as attorney general, after Donald Trump berated him following the appointment of special counsel Bob Mueller in the Russia probe. [New York Times]

* Bye-bye to blue slips? It wouldn’t exactly be “nuclear,” since their treatment has varied greatly over the years. [BuzzFeed]

* The State Bar of California tries to cut down the arguments in favor of a lower cut score on the bar exam. [ABA Journal]

* Technology platforms are driving an increase in transparency that’s having profound consequences for the employer/employee relationship (as I recently discussed on the podcast of Akerman employment-law partner Matt Steinberg). [Akerman]

* Embattled Equifax has turned to Phyllis Sumner and King & Spalding for much-needed legal help in the wake of its massive data breach. [Law.com]

* Statutory interpretation question: can you be both the victim and the perpetrator in a child pornography case? [How Appealing]

* The ranks of nonequity partners continue to grow; has this trend gone too far? [Big Law Business]

* Prosecution of individuals in cases of corporate wrongdoing (aka the Yates Memo), and Justice Department policy on enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states where it has been decriminalized — both are “under review” at the DOJ, according to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. [Law.com]

* Congratulations to Howard Bashman and our sister site How Appealing on 15 great years! [How Appealing]

* Roger Ailes, RIP. [Instapundit]

* Fellowships for training law professors are now a thing — but are they a good thing, wonders Professor Paul Horwitz? [PrawfsBlawg]

* “Immigration, Freedom, and the Constitution” — reflections on these timely topics from Professor Ilya Somin. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]

* Professor Leah Litman breaks down Rod Rosenstein’s appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel in the Trump/Russia investigation. [Take Care]

* Tips from cyberspace lawyer Andrew Rossow for victims of the recent “WannaCry” ransomware attack. [Huffington Post]

* What’s the over–under on how long acting FBI director Andrew McCabe will keep his current post? [New York Times]

* And Democratic senators want answers — lots of answers — from deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. [Washington Post]

* Following up on our list of top law schools with great employment outcomes, here’s a broader look at the latest ABA employment data. [ABA Journal]

* And following up on our recent round-ups of possible judicial nominees in the Trump administration, here’s a name for one of the open Third Circuit seats in Pennsylvania. [CA3 blog via How Appealing]

* A lawsuit claims that a Biglaw behemoth is trying to invalidate the same patents it prosecuted — not a good look. [Daily Business Review]

* Former Biglaw chair J. Stephen Poor ruminates on the riches of this year’s top Am Law 100 firms. [Big Law Business]

* Robert Post looks back over his eight years as dean of Yale Law School. [Law.com]

There are no rules coming to save you.

I hope Comey's last employed words were: 'But her emails...'

* As you might imagine, Trump travel ban 2.0 hasn’t done much to quell its opponents. Many, including New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, vow to fight this version as well. [Law.com]

* In an seemingly unnecessarily cruel move designed to ‘deter’ families from illegal immigration, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly confirmed DHS is considering separating children from their families at the border. [CNN]

* Jeff Sessions updates his testimony to Congress, admitting he did indeed meet with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice during the campaign. However, he doubles down on his originally testimony, insisting it was ‘correct.’ [Washington Post]

* Rod J. Rosenstein’s nomination for Deputy Attorney General has gotten super messy now that Jeff Sessions’s contact with the Russian ambassador is under scrutiny. What is it they say about lying with dogs? [New York Times]

* Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge is a big fan of the regulatory environment (or more accurately lack thereof) under Donald Trump. [The Hollywood Reporter]

* Norton Rose Fulbright’s Australian office is being sued by a former partner, Tom Martin. [Asian Lawyer]