SCOTUS

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.11.16

* Professor Victor Williams of the Catholic University of America School of Law, who's been called the "Republican Lawrence Lessig" by some, is running a write-in campaign for president with the sole intent of eliminating Ted Cruz as a candidate due to his birth in Canada. He alleges that the Texas senator committed ballot access fraud by falsely swearing that he was a natural born citizen. Thanks to Williams's allegations, a primary disqualification hearing is being held today in New Jersey. [PR Newswire] * Does SCOTUS have a diversity problem? One justice thinks so. In the wake of President Obama calling attention to his nominee's whiteness, Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted the Court's homogeneity, saying that SCOTUS is currently at a "disadvantage from having [five] Catholics, three Jews, [and] everyone from an Ivy League school." [TIME] * Here's an interesting theory: According to Patterson Belknap senior partner Gregory Diskant, because the Senate has failed to give President Obama its advice and consent with regard to his Supreme Court nominee, it can be said the Senate waived its rights, leaving Obama free to appoint Judge Garland to the high court. [Washington Post] * "There is something seductively subversive about having a name that has a secondary street meaning, which, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing to think of your lawyers as being." MoFo -- a law firm that's perhaps known as Morrison & Foerster in more conservative circles -- has fully embraced its sexy "street name." [Big Law Business] * Prosecutors say former House speaker and disgraced Dickstein Shapiro partner Dennis Hastert paid $3.5M to silence a boy he sexually abused, and molested at least four more children. Because the statutes of limitations have long since run on those crimes, he'll likely serve only six months for banking crimes related to his hush-money payoffs. [AP]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.08.16

* Donald Trump is facing a lawsuit over comments he made at a Louisville rally. The case alleges Trump incited a riot after peaceful protestors showed up. [WDRB] * Walk through the history of the Uniform Commercial Code with this fun infographic. It charts all the changes in the law from the 1700s to those planned for 2018. [Corporation Service Company] * Judge Ed Spillane on his refusal to send defendants who cannot pay fines to jail, and what the alternatives to jail look like. [Washington Post] * On the virtues of fighting in the moment. [Katz Justice] * As we mentioned previously, Senator Chuck Grassley has finally agreed to take a breakfast meeting with Merrick Garland, but he appears unlikely to do anything about the Supreme Court vacancy. Meanwhile, that lack of action has become a bigger election issue in Grassley's home state of Iowa. [Iowa State Daily] * This British law student is reeeeeeally into cosplay. [Legal Cheek]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.08.16

* Professors at George Mason are outraged that administrators agreed to rename the law school after the late Justice Antonin Scalia without any input from the people who work or study there -- his opinions don't "reflect the values of our campus community." They're circulating a petition to denounce the name change, but thus far, none of its signatories are law professors. [NBC News] * "I would appreciate if we could keep things that are very serious here appropriately viewed that way." 50 Cent got yelled at by his bankruptcy judge because he brought his cellphone into the courthouse, took a picture of himself with a stack of fake cash, and posted it on Instagram. A motion to dismiss this wanksta is needed. [WSJ Law Blog] * SCOTUS will hear oral arguments on the appeal of securities fraud case Salman v. United States next term, and Eugene Ingoglia of Morvillo L.L.P. hopes the justices will provide some greater detail as to "what counts as a personal benefit." Let's just hope that they don't make insider trading's road any rockier. [DealBook / New York Times] * "The district court’s ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin.” You know that when an appellate holding begins with the prior statement, the trial judge is going to be in for a doozy of a benchslap. We'll have more on the First Circuit slapping around Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez (D.P.R.) later today. [BuzzFeed] * Jamie Wine, who was recently appointed as the chair of Latham’s global litigation and trial department, says even though L&W already has 610 litigators, she's looking to hire more of them in the firm's New York and London offices. If you think you want to lateral in, you should know you may be meeting with up to 50 partners. [Big Law Business] * Hiring for law school summer associates may be on the rise, but you shouldn't assume this means you'll automatically be able to land a job at a prestigious law firm. These firms tend to "put a high value on law school pedigree and grades," so if you happen to attend a lesser school, you'll need to be ranked very highly. [U.S. News & World Report]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.07.16

* Feel utterly powerless at your law firm? You aren't alone, and here are some tips for reclaiming your power. [Law and More] * When you are engaging with a threatening opponent, make sure you never let your guard down. [Katz Justice] * One of the lasting legacies of the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing, about to get the dramatic treatment by HBO, is the creation of the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative, anti-feminist powerhouse. [Slate] * Barbara MF Streisand is weighing in on the state of the Supreme Court, because why wouldn't you care about what Funny Girl has to say about the Court. [Huffington Post] * U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Fogel is preaching the benefits of mindfulness. [WSJ Law Blog] * Looking back on the history of legal blogging. [Big Law Business] * Yeah, cops have no idea how they are supposed to enforce the North Carolina anti-LGBTQ bill. [Gawker] * Don't forget! We are taking submission for ATL's annual Law Revue Contest. Deadline is April 18th. [Above the Law]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.07.16

* "Every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime." New York Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich dismissed part of singer Kesha's claims against producer Dr. Luke because the pop star's allegations of rape and abuse were time barred and happened outside the state. Tick tock on the clock for a similar suit she filed in California. [WSJ Law Blog] * Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has scheduled an appointment to meet with Judge Merrick Garland for breakfast next Tuesday, despite his opposition to President Obama's Supreme Court nominee. Senator Grassley's courteous refusal to perform his job presumably pairs well with eggs and bacon. [Quad-City Times] * The Department of Justice has filed suit against Halliburton and Baker Hughes, seeking to block the oil-field services companies' pending merger. According to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, completion of the deal would "eliminate vital competition, skew energy markets, and harm American consumers.” [DealBook / New York Times] * Panama papers law firm Mossack Fonseca seems to have pulled off the perfect magic trick. Shortly after the firm's exploits in hiding client assets in offshore accounts were revealed via hack, its U.S. operations all but disappeared. The firm's website has now been scrubbed completely clean of any connection to its Miami office. [USA Today] * Bart Williams, a top partner at Munger Tolles -- a firm that's been likened to the Wachtell of the West -- will be leaving the place where he's called home for 21 years to become the co-chair of Proskauer Rose's Los Angeles litigation department. This is a real coup for Proskauer, since partners rarely leave Munger. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.04.16

* Good news! You can still RSVP for Georgetown Law Center's Supreme Court Book Fair. Bonus: you can hear David Lat (and several other authors) speak about the Court. [Georgetown Law] * Has Donald Trump tipped his hand regarding who'd he nominate for the Supreme Court should the seventh seal be opened and he's elected? [South Florida Lawyer] * Will you "keep calm" in the face of campus open carry? [Harvard Law & Policy Review] * A law firm leak reveals Vladimir Putin's friends have shuffled $2 billion through a series of offshore accounts. Color me not at all surprised. [Slate] * Lawyers who find themselves in the contract workforce can find a way to survive. [Law and More] * Terrible U.S. infrastructure may stop the self-driving car revolution. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.04.16

* "Say you'll remember me, standing in a black robe, waiting for a hearing, babe. Begging the SJC, say you will confirm me, even if it's just in my wildest dreams, ah-ha ohh." SCOTUS nominee Judge Merrick Garland has something in common with an overwhelming number of teenage girls: he loves Taylor Swift sing-alongs. That's cute! [People] * "A judge does not check his First Amendment rights at the courthouse door." Judge Olu Stevens has filed suit against the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission on free-speech grounds in an attempt to stave off an ethics sanction for publicly commenting on Facebook about all-white juries and their "disproportionate and disparate impact on black defendants." [Courier-Journal] * Hardly any partners leave Cravath, but a very important one just did, and his exit is making people talk. Scott Barshay, once a top M&A partner at the firm that tends to set the associate bonus scale, has defected to Paul Weiss, where he'll become its global head of M&A. Which clients will he take to the "dream team"? [DealBook / New York Times] * This plaintiff's antitrust allegations against Uber's CEO may be "wildly implausible" and representative of an "impossibly unwieldy conspiracy," but in Judge Jed Rakoff's eyes, they were enough to overcome a motion to dismiss that was filed by Boies Schiller. Something tells us Uber's legal bills are going to see some surge-pricing. [WSJ Law Blog] * Per a study by Ravel Law, in a new index that tracks federal judges by their rulings and subsequent citations to those rulings, Michigan produces the most influential judges on the federal bench, followed by Chicago, Harvard, and Yale. Harvard has finally gotten one over on Yale -- but for a measly bronze trophy. [Crain's Detroit Business] * According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector gained 1,200 jobs in March. On top of that positive news, February's numbers were revised from a loss of 1,500 jobs to a gain of 100 jobs. In any case, what with the huge discrepancy, we're happy to see Dewey's bookkeepers found new work. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.01.16

* Combining April Fools' Day, tax season, and furry pets into a single joke. Well played, sir. [TaxProf Blog] * Booooo! This spoilsport argues that judges should stop issuing benchslaps. We disagree. [SSRN] * Prepare to have your worldview shaken: Richard Nixon and William Rehnquist are actually the ones responsible for paving the path for transgender rights. [Slate] * This term, the Supreme Court is on track for the fewest signed opinions in recent history. Take a detailed look at the Court's first 19 decisions. [Empirical SCOTUS] * President Obama is taking the fight over Merrick Garland to UChicago Law. [Huffington Post] * A judge is allowing a lawsuit against a Northwestern's journalism school to go forward. The suit alleges the school's "innocence project" uses unethical practices in its wrongful conviction investigations. [Journal-ism] * Get the rundown on the rules that will govern the GOP convention and the establishment's last stand against Trump. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 03.31.16

* The essential questions every in-house counsel should ask before they pick a law firm. [Forbes] * Donald Trump's comments advocating punishment for women who have abortions have been turned into an attack ad. That didn't take much time at all. [The Hill] * Read up on the lawsuit filed by the US Women's National Team filed against US Soccer alleging discriminatory wage practices. [Huffington Post] * What are the best practices for answering emails when you are at home? [Corporette] * Another reason to not have lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices. [Medium] * Yup, this is real: Missouri lawmakers made quite the mistake. [Gawker] * Are you preparing mentally for the possibility of a brokered convention? Then read up on the last person to emerge as the candidate from a brokered convention to win the presidency. [Slate]

By Kathryn Rubino