Russian Probe

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.20.17

* Hogan Lovells shows the love to its support staff -- as long as they head for the exits -- by offering voluntary retirement to 400 employees. [Legal Week] * Another jailhouse pal of Sigfredo Garcia, one of the defendants in the Dan Markel murder case, claims that Garcia acknowledged participating in the killing. [Tallahassee Democrat] * The Texas-sized drama over those open Fifth Circuit seats shows no signs of being resolved anytime soon. [BuzzFeed via How Appealing] * One of outgoing dean Daniel Rodriguez's biggest achievements at Northwestern Law: bringing down average student indebtedness by roughly a third. [Law.com] * The gold that Donald Trump is showering upon his lawyers in the Russia probe reportedly comes from donations to his re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee. [Reuters via ABA Journal] * Speaking of the Russia inquiry, can White House counsel Don McGahn claim attorney-client privilege to withhold information from special counsel Robert Mueller? [Reuters via How Appealing] * Unintended consequences: the high cost of Biglaw associates is driving entry-level hiring of in-house lawyers. [Am Law Daily] * What's behind the trend of women leaving Biglaw to start their own boutiques? [Big Law Business]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.08.17

* The Ninth Circuit, President Donald Trump's judicial archnemesis, affirms Judge Derrick Watson's (modified) preliminary injunction against the "grandma ban." [How Appealing] * Donald Trump Jr. opens up to the Senate Judiciary Committee about that infamous June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer. [New York Times] * Consolidation continues in the legal-services world: Counsel On Call acquires e-discovery company DSicovery LLC (DSi). [ABA Journal] * The Trump administration sides with the anti-gay-marriage baker in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case that will be decided this coming Term by SCOTUS. [How Appealing] * ICYMI: Deborah Farone -- Cravath's chief marketing director for the past 14 years, and the "gold standard" in legal marketing -- is leaving Cravath to start her own consulting firm and to write a book on law firm marketing (to be published next year by the Practising Law Institute). [Law.com] * Cooley raids Wilson Sonsini for talent for the second time in three months, this time hiring emerging growth specialists Jon Avina, Calise Cheng, and Rachel Proffitt. [Big Law Business] * Legal research startup Casetext -- led by CEO Jake Heller, COO Laura Safdie, and VP Pablo Arredondo -- continues on its upward trajectory. [ABA Journal]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.04.17

* The White House announces ten new judicial nominations, including two for circuit courts (previously predicted in these pages). We'll have more on this later. [Washington Times] * King & Spalding joins Jones Day and Sullivan & Cromwell as a "feeder firm" for the Trump administration. [Law.com] * Will the Trump Justice Department's possible attack on affirmative action succeed? Law professors disagree. [How Appealing] * Michelle Carter, the woman convicted for basically texting her boyfriend into committing suicide, gets sentenced to 15 months. [ABA Journal] * White-collar criminal defense lawyers discuss what to expect from the grand jury convened by special counsel Robert Mueller. [National Law Journal] * The trend continues: fewer law school graduates, better employment statistics. [ABA Journal] * Elliot Katz, a leading lawyer in the self-driving-car space, motors from DLA Piper to McGuireWoods. [Law.com] * If you'll be online in the afternoon on Wednesday, August 16, join me and ABA Legal Career Central for a Twitter chat about career paths for lawyers, especially alternative careers. [American Bar Association]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.21.17

* Congratulations to John K. Bush, who won confirmation to the Sixth Circuit despite his controversial undercover blogging. [How Appealing] * Team Trump is digging into the backgrounds of special counsel Robert Mueller's all-star team of attorneys, looking for discrediting dirt. [New York Times] * DLA Piper swallows up Liner LLP, a California-based boutique with 60 lawyers -- so, DLA's idea of breakfast. [Law.com] * Justice Alito defends his tenure on the Supreme Court cafeteria committee (in this hilarious piece by Jess Bravin). [Wall Street Journal via How Appealing] * Ex-Dentons associate Michael Potere, represented by a public defender, pleads not guilty to charges that he tried to extort his former firm. [Law360] * Is the relationship of President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions damaged beyond repair? [New York Times] * Is Charles Miller's move to Tarter Krinsky & Drogin the beginning of a partner exodus from Kasowitz Benson -- one possibly driven by the debacle of the Donald Trump representation? [New York Law Journal] * Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law gets censured by the ABA in the wake of sex-discrimination allegations. [ABA Journal]

By David Lat