Sigfredo Garcia

* “This is not a game for us. This is deadly serious. We’re here to find the truth, to uphold the Constitution of the United States.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not hold a full vote to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump — yet. [POLITICO; CNN]

* Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, has officially failed to comply with a congressional subpoena. According to Giuliani, despite the fact that he’s reportedly the subject of numerous federal investigations, Jon Sale is no longer repping him, saying, “At this time, I do not need a lawyer.” Good luck with that, bro. [The Hill]

* You may remember Mossack Fonseca from the Panama Papers case, but now you’ll remember the firm as the one that sued Netflix for libel and trademark infringement for portraying its attorneys as villains in the new movie “The Laundromat.” Catch the flick this Friday from your couch. [Big Law Business]

* Students from Penn Law are marching to demand that Professor Amy Wax be shown the door. “We’re hoping that today people will join our call to fire her just to create a more inclusive space at the Law School that actually rectifies the harm that is being done.” But will it work? [Daily Pennsylvanian]

* In case you missed it, jurors recommended life in prison for Sigfredo Garcia after finding him guilty of murdering Professor Dan Markel, and a judge another 30 years on top for conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors still intend to retry Katherine Magbanua. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* Sign up here if you’d like to take part in a conversation between best-selling author John Grisham and former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara (S.D.N.Y.) tonight. I’ll be there to cover the event for Above the Law, and I hope to see you there. [TimesTalks]

* Remember how EU ambassador Gordon Sondland was forbidden to testify before Congress? And how he texted the Ukrainian ambassador that the president wanted “no quid pro quo’s of any kind”? He’s about to testify that language was dictacted by Trump himself. Hmm… [Washington Post]

* Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney who Trump is attempting to distance himself from, is reportedly being investigated by federal prosecutors over his ties to the removal of former Ukranian ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch and whether he violated lobbying laws in the process. [New York Times]

* After much negative publicity and a student protest, Louis Lehot, the DLA Piper partner who was accused of sexual assault by a fellow partner, was kicked to the curb by the firm. [American Lawyer]

* Art Lien, who brings the Supreme Court to life for the rest of us, is one of the last courtroom sketch artists in the nation. The justices are still against cameras in the highest courtroom in the land, but even Lien thinks his days may be numbered. [Quartz]

* In case you missed it, the jury in the Dan Markel murder trial convicted Sigfredo Garcia of first degree murder but declared a mistrial for his co-defendant, Katherine Magbanua. Garcia faces the death penalty, and Magbanua will remain jailed until her case is retried. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* Sign up here if you’d like to take part in a conversation between best-selling author John Grisham and former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara (S.D.N.Y.) this Wednesday. I’ll be there to cover the event for Above the Law, and I hope to see you there. [TimesTalks]

* “I don’t know them, I don’t know about them, I don’t know what they do. I don’t know, maybe they were clients of Rudy’s. You’d have to ask Rudy.” President Trump is trying his hardest to distance himself from Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani’s recently arrested associates. He may have been in pictures with them, though, and his son might have as well. Oopsie. [The Hill]

* “Together, we will blow our whistles against Barr, President Trump, and their enablers in Congress.” AG Bill Barr is scheduled to speak today at Notre Dame Law on “religious freedom,” and protesters are expected to be there, where they’ll literally be blowing whistles. [South Bend Tribune]

* Years after his brutal murder, the Dan Markel case is finally in the hands of a jury. Luis Rivera has already taken a deal, but will Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia be found guilty? [Tallahassee Democrat]

* Minnesota Law is celebrating its largest first-year class in about a decade. The school, which is ranked 20th by U.S. News now has reliable employment statistics for graduates, has been recovering from the recession’s effects on law school enrollment. [Minnesota Daily]

* In case you missed it, Kim Kardashian West is trying to help Brendan Dassey of “Making a Murderer” in his quest to receive clemency from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. Per Gov. Evers, “Brendan’s case will be given the same thoughtful review and consideration as any other case.” [Esquire]

* Sign up here if you’d like to take part in a conversation between best-selling author John Grisham and former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara (S.D.N.Y.). I’ll be there to cover the event for Above the Law, and I hope to see you there. [TimesTalks]

* If you shared my skepticism that the murder trial in the Dan Markel case will actually start next month, almost five long years after Markel’s murder, then you won’t be surprised by this latest development — Saam Zangeneh, counsel to Sigfredo Garcia, has moved for a continuance. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* As predicted, President Donald Trump just had his 100th Article III federal judge confirmed by the U.S. Senate; he’s now up to 102 judicial appointees, as noted by Carrie Severino. [Bench Memos / National Review]

* If my writeup of Preet Bharara’s recent event at Cleary Gottlieb left you wanting more, check out Randy Maniloff’s wide-ranging interview with the former U.S. attorney (including advice on how not to get hired at the S.D.N.Y.). [Coverage Opinions]

* Jonathan Adler flags a thoughtful debate between Michael McConnell and Josh Chafetz on the battle over subpoenas between President Trump and Congressional Democrats. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Howard Wasserman identifies an interesting argument against police officers using body-worn cameras aka bodycams — but as he also observes, we don’t really have a better solution yet to the abuse of police discretion. [PrawfsBlawg]

* My money’s on Capital Loss Carryover in the Preakness Stakes. [TaxProf Blog]

* Of course “real lawyers” take notes — but there are some nuances here, which Joel Cohen explores. [New York Law Journal]

* Frank Cross, a longtime professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law, rest in peace. [Balkinization]

* What are expert advocates’ secrets to cert success? Adam Feldman’s very interesting analysis suggests that using certain buzzwords in a petition might help. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Ilya Somin points out this fun depressing fact: one of the plants that General Motors will be closing sits on land seized in a controversial taking that forcibly displaced more than 4,000 people. [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy]

* The Third Circuit is poised to become the first (but probably not the last) circuit court to “flip” flip from a majority of Democratic appointees at the outset of the Trump administration to a majority of Republican appointees, as Ed Whelan notes. [National Review / Bench Memos]

* A June 3 trial date has been set for Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua in the Dan Markel case — almost five long years after Professor Markel’s murder. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* In the wake of a recent tragedy, Neha Sampat offers some reflections on impostor syndrome in the legal profession. [ABA Journal]

* If you’re a conservative or libertarian law student, you should consider attending the Federalist Society’s 2019 National Student Symposium, with “The Resurgence of Economic Liberty” as its theme. [Federalist Society]

* Can the Supreme Court save our democracy? David Pozen opines (and he’s not optimistic).

* Lawyers for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford say that she’s “prepared to testify next week” before the Senate Judiciary Committee on her allegations of sexual assault against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, but not on Monday (an “arbitrary” date), and only under “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.” [CNN]

* Everyone and their mother and their dog who’s been caught up in the Kavanaugh controversy has lawyered up. Patrick Smyth, one of SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s former high school classmates who was reportedly at the party where Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was allegedly assaulted, has hired Kobre & Kim to represent him. [American Lawyer]

* “Cohen’s disavowal of Trump has triggered a series of events that turned once very good friends into permanent enemies.” Michael Cohen has been chatting with Robert Mueller, and his conversations have focused on Trump’s dealings with Russia, possible collusion, and whether he’s ever discussed a pardon with Trump. [ABC News]

* When it comes to Wachtell, “[i]t may be the last true partnership,” but that’s not how 87-year-old “Poison Pill” creater Martin Lipton sees things. “If I wasn’t here tomorrow, the firm wouldn’t be any different,” he says, because he wants to pass everything on to the next generation of lawyers in the future. [Big Law Business]

* $26.5 million can buy you lots of fancy things, including a law school. The University of Alabama School of Law will now be known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at the University of Alabama after Culverhouse donated the largest gift in the school’s history. Congratulations and ROLL TIDE! [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

* For the first time in history, there are more women than men at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. Fifty-two percent of BYU Law’s first-year students are women. According to the dean of admissions, applications increased by 6.7 percent this year, with a nearly 21 percent rise among women. [Daily Herald]

* The trial for Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia, who are accused in the 2014 murder of FSU Law professor Dan Markel, was scheduled for October 8, but it’s been delayed due to a defense attorney’s medical treatment. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* Will Chief Justice John Roberts be asked to testify before Congress for his role as the appointer of judges for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court? According to House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), it could happen, even though they “don’t know the correct way to proceed because of the separation of powers issue.” [National Law Journal]

* Quinn Emanuel’s Bill Burck is representing two Trump administration rejects (Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus) and a current major player in the Trump administration (Don McGahn), all at the same time. The discussion about whether there’s any conflict of interest here between Burck’s triple-play is pretty interesting. [American Lawyer]

* Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua, who are both currently waiting to stand trial for the murder of Florida State Law Professor Dan Markel, are now facing some additional charges. The pair now face counts of conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder. We wonder when either of them will take a plea. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* In case you missed it, in a world first, Bermuda will be abolishing same-sex marriage, after legalizing same-sex marriage just one year ago. Same-sex marriages will now be referred to as domestic partnerships, conferring all the same rights that married couples have, but without the legal title. [Washington Post]

* Do you know this man? For years and years, this man’s portrait has been hanging outside the chief justice’s chambers at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, but no one has any idea who he is. Help name this mystery justice and win a prize! [AP]

* 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]