Stephen M. McDaniel

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 02.25.18

* Audacious: former Mercer Law student Stephen McDaniel, who took apart the body of Lauren Giddings after brutally murdering her, seeks habeas corpus. [WGXA] * "Did #MeToo really bring a reckoning to the legal industry?" A discussion featuring Katherine Ku, Dahlia Lithwick, Leah Litman, Ian Samuel, and me. [Vice] * Speaking of #MeToo and the legal profession, look for more disturbing stories like this one to emerge in the weeks ahead. [Medium] * Best friends: which amici in the Supreme Court have the strongest track records in major cases? [Empirical SCOTUS] * Speaking of SCOTUS, if you were a billionaire who dropped $32.5 million on beachfront property, you too would hire Paul Clement to seek certiorari in your takings case. [SFGate] * As someone with a mild case of prosopagnosia (aka face-blindness), I totally agree with Eugene Volokh's recommendations about nametags at conferences. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Divorce lawyer and former Playboy model Corri Fetman, no stranger to our pages, is running for Cook County Circuit Court judge -- and calling out her opponents for running body-shaming attack ads. [Chicago Reader] * Here's what the United States can -- and can't -- learn from the small, happy, and fairly homogenous nation of Denmark (by Megan McArdle via Glenn Reynolds). [Instapundit] * If you share my confusion about blockchain, here's a recommendation: check out the new Integra Wallet, just released by legal-blockchain pioneer Integra Ledger. [Artificial Lawyer] * Speaking of leveraging the power of blockchain, you simply must check out Casey Flaherty's new Magic Money Machine™. [3 Geeks and a Law Blog] * If you work a lot with expert witnesses, you might want to check out Courtroom Insight, for reasons explained by Jean O'Grady. [Dewey B Strategic] * Congratulations to Professor Jennifer Levi, recipient of the ABA Stonewall Award for her pioneering work on transgender rights! [Western New England University]

By David Lat
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 06.19.13

* You think you know Justice Clarence Thomas, but you have no idea. Here are several myths about the silent Supreme Court star that he was capable of busting in just this term alone. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)] * According to the CBO, the immigration reform bill being considered in the Senate would allow eight million immigrants to gain legal status and lower the deficit by billions. But alas, dey still terk er jerbs! [NPR] * Google is doing its best to try not to be evil by asking the FISA court to ease up on gag orders preventing the internet giant from telling the world about what it’s required to give to the government. [Washington Post] * Florida firm Becker & Poliakoff will withhold 20% of equity partners’ pay, a move that made some lawyers cry. The firm is apparently planning to save the cash for a rainy day. [Daily Business Review] * Paul Mannina, an attorney with the Labor Department charged with sexually assaulting a coworker, was found in his cell with his throat slashed. Police are investigating the death. [Washington Post] * FYI, your aspirational pro bono hours — or complete and utter lack thereof — will now be public record in New York, and you must report them on your biannual registration forms. [New York Law Journal] * Coming soon to a law school near you: really old books from the 13th century that’ll probably turn into dust if you dare try to read them. You can find this nerdgasm over at Yale Law. [National Law Journal] * The family of Lauren Giddings, the slain Mercer Law graduate, has filed a $5 million wrongful death suit in federal court against accused killer Stephen McDaniel in the hopes of finding her remains. [Telegraph]

By Staci Zaretsky
American Bar Association / ABA

Morning Docket: 06.19.12

* Dewey know how many professional services firms it takes to wind down a Biglaw firm? According to new D&L bankruptcy filings, there are at least eight of them — including Togut Segal & Segal, a leading law firm that reportedly charges $935 an hour. [WSJ Law Blog] * Despite Barack Obama’s pledge of support, Brett McGurk has withdrawn his name from the White House pool of ambassadorial candidates amid much salacious controversy. Apparently this man knows a lost cause when he sees one. [Washington Post] * So many DOMA lawsuits, so little time: what’s happening in the six major cases on this statute? The majority are in various stages of appeal, and the world at large is currently awaiting a cert filing to get a final take from the Supreme Court. [Poliglot / Metro Weekly] * LSAC will now vet incoming law students’ GPAs and LSAT scores. The ABA won’t do it because they need the insurance policy of someone else to blame in case something happens to go wrong. [National Law Journal] * Oh, my sweet little Mittens, you’re making it really hard for moderates like me to consider voting for you in November. Protip: you went to law school, so you should probably stop telling people that you didn’t. [Ology] * Stephen McDaniel’s lawyers are expected to ask a judge to reconsider his $850K bond today. If he’s released, it seems like there’s a high probability that he’ll become an ATL commenter. [Macon Telegraph] * Remember the legal fight over the Tyrannosaurus bataar? Well, now Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the S.D.N.Y., is on the case, and he wants to be seized for return to Jurassic Park Mongolia. [New York Observer]

By Staci Zaretsky
5th Circuit

Morning Docket: 04.04.12

* AG Eric Holder can thank Obama for this homework assignment from Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, because it seems like our president, a former con law professor, forgot about Marbury v. Madison. [CBS News] * Dewey need to buy this Biglaw firm a functional calculator? New information shows that the imploding firm was off by roughly $153M when partners reported 2011 earnings to the American Lawyer. [Am Law Daily] * You know there’s got to be something questionable about a law school when the accreditation machine that is the ABA gives it the side eye. And no, Duncan Law, a judge still won’t force its hand. [National Law Journal] * Stephen McDaniel pleaded not guilty at his arraignment for the murder of Mercer Law classmate Lauren Giddings, but will he be released on bail before trial? Only if he’s got $2.5M sitting around. [Macon Telegraph] * More law school lawsuits are coming down the pipeline, but local lawyers in Massachusetts don’t think that they stand a chance. Why? The highly-educated consumer argument strikes again. [Boston Business Journal] * Thanks to Gloria Allred, transgender beauty queen Jenna Talackova may be able to participate in the Miss Universe pageant if she can meet the legal requirements for being a woman in Canada. [MSNBC]

By Staci Zaretsky
American Bar Association / ABA

Morning Docket: 12.09.11

* DLA Piper is blaming the Occupy Wall Street movement for Biglaw’s sad, 2011 bonus season. It looks like we can expect a Cravath match from that firm. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * We could really use some more law schools — fourth tier law schools, in particular. Say hello to the Savannah Law […]

By Staci Zaretsky
Crime

Stephen McDaniel Indicted for Murder of Lauren Giddings

This should not come as a great shock, since he’s been in jail since July, but Stephen Mark McDaniel has been indicted by a grand jury for the murder of Lauren Giddings. McDaniel and Giddings graduated earlier this year from Mercer Law School, where they were classmates, and they were also neighbors in the Barristers […]

By David Lat