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Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.01.19

* Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows have referred Michael Cohen to the Justice Department, claiming that they have evidence that Trump’s former fixer “committed perjury and knowingly made false statements“ during his testimony before the House Oversight Committee. [CNN] * Meanwhile, thanks to Cohen’s testimony, Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization who has already been granted immunity by SDNY prosecutors, will be called to testify before the House Intelligence Committee. [Daily Beast] * Almost time to say hello to Judge Neomi Rao: The nominee to replace Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit got through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote, and the full Senate is likely to vote her onto the bench. [NBC News] * Lawrence Tu, the chief legal officer over at CBS, has resigned from his post and will be leaving the company in April. His leave follows the ouster of former CEO Les Moonves, who allegedly sexually harassed several employees. [New York Law Journal] * Much to the Justice Department's chagrin, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled that not only may AT&T acquire Time Warner but that such a combination would be unlikely to harm competition. [Wall Street Journal] * Ho Ka Terence Yung, the ex-UT Law student who pleaded guilty to terrorizing an admissions interviewer after he was rejected from Georgetown Law, was just sentenced to almost four years in prison for one count of cyberstalking. [Law.com] * Lincoln Bandlow, a Fox Rothschild partner who some have referred to as a "porn copyright troll," got sanctioned $750 by a federal judge after missing court deadlines in at least two dozen of those porn infringement cases. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.06.18

* Michael Cohen and DMX have a lot in common? Do you not believe that? Well, f**k what you heard, it's what you hearin'. * Better Ingredients. Illegal Employment Contracts. Papa Johns. [Law360] * The American Lawyer Awards name their "Law Firm Of The Year." I've never been to the American Lawyer Awards, but I assume the opening musical act about mid-year raises was hilarious. [American Lawyer] * It's been so long since anyone took the prospect of limiting telecom monopolies seriously, I kind of forgot we had those laws until the White House decided it didn't like CNN. [National Law Journal] * The 21st century has revolutionized the efficiency of working remotely... but getting promoted is still a 19th century process. [Legaltech News] * Mayer Brown interested in growing more in NY. Hopefully with fewer sexual harassment problems this time. [New York Law Journal] * This may shock you, but Congress is having a difficult time forging a workable set of self-driving car regulations that they can pass. Those folks are usually so on top of things... [WIRED]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.15.18

* "If the law’s not going to be improved by Congress, we have to help these young people who are drowning in student loan debt." In the past, judges would rarely consider helping people who were bankrupted by student debt payments, but now offering their support through the court system. [Wall Street Journal] * Guess which Biglaw firm helped the United States Soccer Federation secure the 2026 World Cup? If you guessed it was the firm that celebrated its bid by not raising its associates' salaries yet, you were right. Thanks, Latham! [American Lawyer] * A judge approved AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner on Tuesday, and two days later, it's now complete. Although the Justice Department isn't filing for a stay, that's not going to stop lawyers in the Antitrust Division from appealing the judge's decision in the case, though. [CNN] * As our personal-finance columnist Jordan Rothman complained of earlier this week, it's messed up that you can lose your law license after defaulting on your student loans. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Marco Rubio thought it was messed up too, so they introduced a bill to stop it from happening. [Law.com] * RBG, the documentary about the life and times of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is quite literally stealing the show. The film has made $9.2 million since its release, making it the highest-grossing movie of the Sundance Film Festival. I highly recommend seeing this movie. [Hollywood Reporter]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.13.18

* Even the mainstream media is covering Biglaw's new salary scale, but dare we say, our coverage is much better. Check it out here while you cross your fingers and pray that your firm follows the latest in associate compensation trends. [New York Post] * "We don’t create or adjudicate under secret law or procedure." Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has filed suit against the Department of Justice, alleging that the DOJ has repeatedly refused to turn over any documents or identify any policy or procedures that were relied upon when firing him. [Associated Press] * There's no vacancy on the Supreme Court right now, but Demand Justice, a liberal nonprofit group, has already spent a hefty sum on digital attack ads against some of the judges on President Trump's short list. Thus far, Judges Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh Circuit, Brett Kavanaugh of the D.C. Circuit, and Amul Thapar of the Sixth Circuit have been treated to campaign coverage. [BuzzFeed] * In case you somehow missed it, over the government's antitrust objections, a federal judge has approved AT&T’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner following a six-week trial. They hope to close the deal by or before June 20. Have hope, everyone, maybe Time Warner Cable will actually function sometime soon. [USA Today] * The ABA's president has asked members of the House to oppose the part of the PROSPER Act that would end Public Service Loan Forgiveness, because "[w]ithout PSLF, the organizations that provide life- and livelihood-sustaining services will be even farther away from being able to meet these important challenges." Plus, many law school graduates wouldn't be able to survive. [ABA Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.23.18

* A trio of big name partners -- including the group co-chairs -- are leaving the products liability group at Quinn Emanuel for Dechert. So far there's no email from John Quinn blasting the move. [Law.com] * Former Michael Cohen business partner, Evgeny "Gene" Freidman, has taken a plea deal and will cooperate with the government. The pressure on Cohen just keeps on mounting. [New York Times] * Michigan State named a new General Counsel, Robert Young. That poor bastard. [Corporate Counsel] * A couple trying to get their 30-year-old son to move out of their house resort to court proceedings. It... does not work out well for the freeloading son. [Washington Post] * You're not wrong to be worried about the merger between AT&T and Time Warner. Things could really go pear-shaped for consumers. [Slate]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.20.18

* Now that people have suddenly decided that sexual harassment is a real problem, can we revisit the guy with the lifetime appointment whose Senate confirmation testimony has been branded false by multiple accusers? Just a question from New York Magazine. [New York] * New initiative aims to mint more lawyers through apprenticeship to avoid law school debt. [The Root] * The keys to a great law firm website. The article doesn't mention it, but "dank memes" should be your top priority. [Forbes] * Vivia Chen thinks Michael Cohen's story about paying off Stormy Daniels makes him a pimp, which is... pretty fair actually. [American Lawyer] * Department of Justice tells judge that Donald Trump does have it in for CNN but that's not a reason to block the AT&T merger. "Oh Kent, I'd be lying if I said my men weren't committing crimes." [National Law Journal] * Who's paying Schulte Roth & Zabel? That's the big question in the ongoing New York state government corruption case. [New York Times]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.29.17

* Recently confirmed Judge Timothy J. Kelly (D.D.C.) has refused to block Mick Mulvaney from serving as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, denying a request from would-be director Leandra English's for a temporary restraining order. Donuts for everyone! [CNN] * The Senate has confirmed Greg Katsas, one of President Trump's former legal advisers, to the D.C. Circuit. The Thomas law clerk will replace Judge Janice Rogers Brown on one of the nation's most influential courts. [ABC News] * AT&T has responded to the Justice Department's lawsuit over its planned merger with Time Warner, and things just got ugly. AT&T claims that the government has no antitrust argument because it's not buying a competitor. [Washington Post] * For the second time this year, the Supreme Court has suspended the wrong attorney. This time around, the Supreme Court bar accidentally suspended a former Supreme Court employee. Oopsie! [Associated Press] * With the goal of having women make up at least 50 percent of the leadership roles on its litigation teams, JPMorgan is trying to make a major statement with its latest initiative for women in the legal profession. [American Lawyer] * "I don’t give a f--k, I will burn the place to the ground...." Ross Cellino and Stephen Barnes of Cellino & Barnes continue to have a very friendly relationship as the firm is dissolved. [New York Daily News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.21.17

* Pro: The DOJ is finally taking the sort of antitrust action they should've been pursuing for decades in blocking the AT&T/Time Warner merger. Con: They're only doing it because Trump hates CNN. [BBC] * State Department officials formally accuse the Secretary of State of violating U.S. law. Things seem to be running smoothly over there. [CNBC] * Husch Blackwell sheds 40 lawyers... zero associates. [Law.com] * Bob Mueller's team seems to be gearing up to get Rick Gates's counsel disqualified. [National Law Journal] * Inside the world of a Biglaw GC. [Corporate Counsel] * We all were wondering what would happen to the FCPA under an administration that publicly claims businesses need to be able to bribe local officials. The answer? It now only applies to the Chinese and Africans. That makes sense. [Law360] * Former Biglaw partner dies in around-the-world yacht race. [American Lawyer]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.10.11

* One of Roy Moore's former law school classmates says he isn't surprised that the former judge was accused of having a "sexual encounter" with an underage girl. He warns Alabama to "beware of false prophets," because he's seen "Bible-thumping, God-fearing hypocrites" all his life -- and Moore is one of them. [Washington Examiner] * Much to President Trump's the DOJ's chagrin, AT&T has no plans to sell CNN in order to push through its deal with Time Warner. [DealBook / New York Times] * Earlier this week, the Supreme Court released its first opinion of the October 2017 Term, less than a month after hearing oral arguments in the case. Justice "Rapid Ruth" Ginsburg wrote the Court's unanimous opinion in record time. [Associated Press] * Who is Kate O’Scannlain? You're not the only one who has no idea, but she's the Trump administration's pick for solicitor of labor. You may be familiar with her dad, though. He's a senior judge on the Ninth Circuit. [Big Law Business] * According to a new report by the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, although 2017 was a record year, women are still lagging behind men when it comes to making partner in law firms. This is apparently news to some people? [American Lawyer] * A juror who was dismissed from Senator Bob Menendez's bribery trial says she thinks this is going to end in a hung jury. She says if she would've stuck around, "he would have been ‘not guilty’ on every charge." [New York Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.10.17

* Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit is soon expected to publicly announce her retirement, and once she takes senior status, President Trump will have the ability to appoint another conservative judge to one of the nation's most powerful courts -- one that often serves as a training ground for future Supreme Court justices. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * Shortly after his father became the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump Jr. reportedly met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer who had Kremlin ties, after he was allegedly promised damaging information about then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. For his part, Trump's eldest son has denied any Russian collusion having to do with the 2016 presidential election. [New York Times] * When it comes to the AT&T / Time Warner merger, "[t]he business community is watching intensely to see what an antitrust D.O.J. will look like in the Trump administration and how much of the rhetoric from the campaign trickles down into policy." Meanwhile, Makan Delrahim, President Trump’s nominee for antitrust chief, hasn't had his Senate hearing yet. [DealBook / New York Times] * Marc Kasowitz has moved to dismiss a sexual harassment suit filed against the president by former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos, claiming that thanks to the SCOTUS ruling in Bill Clinton's sexual harassment case, presidents cannot be sued in state court for personal conduct while in office. If this flies, will it give rise to more federal filings against the president? [The Hill] * "These are dedicated people doing very difficult work and not paying them is like not paying teachers, cops, social workers, or firefighters. The public should be outraged." Court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts who represent the indigent are struggling financially thanks to the state's budget woes. Some of these attorneys are owed thousands of dollars. [Boston Globe]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.25.16

* From prosecutor to prisoner: former Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen Kane gets sentenced to 10 to 23 months. [CNN] * Oh, the irony: the ABA won’t publish a report calling Donald Trump a “libel bully” because of “the risk of the ABA being sued by Mr. Trump.” [New York Times] * How the AT&T/Time Warner […]

By David Lat