Trials

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.26.16

* Could it be? Could she really do such a thing? Rumor has it that Amal Clooney may be quitting her law firm job at Doughty Street Chambers to become a fashion designer for the likes of fashion house Oscar de la Renta. We may have more on this later today. [Inquisitr] * Maryland's AG intends to contest a ruling granting "Serial" podcast subject Adnan Syed a new trial, saying that the state would "defend what it believes is a valid conviction." Syed has been servicing a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee since 2000. [Baltimore Sun] * Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be behind bars for a 15-month term for attempting to conceal secret payments to his underage sexual assault victims in a cover-up scheme, but that doesn't mean he's not going to fight a lawsuit seeking the full $3.5 million he allegedly said he would pay to buy a victim's silence. [Chicago Tribune] * Vermont Law School, which was hit relatively hard by the recession in terms of its ability to fill its seats, has applied for a $15 million loan from the federal government to help restructure its debts. Unlike what its students face in terms of their debt, the law school may be able to get a good interest rate upon approval. [VTDigger / Valley News] * "[A]ttempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole." Congratulations (or perhaps condolences?) digital currency aficionados, because a judge just ruled that Bitcoin isn't money for the purposes of money-laundering statutes. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.08.16

* "Our goal will be to be as transparent as possible about our results, while complying with our various legal obligations." The Justice Department may have chosen not to bring charges against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, but that didn't stop the State Department from reopening its investigation into her email scandal just one day later. [Associated Press] * Has the Roberts Court turned liberal? Not really, says Linda Greenhouse. Considering that "today's conservative justices are a good deal more conservative than the liberal justices are liberal," the results of the high court's last two blockbuster cases were really about righting wrongs that flew in the face of existing laws. [New York Times] * This month, Risa Goluboff, the first woman to ever serve at the helm of UVA Law, began her stint as dean, and a great number of the burning questions that she was asked in this interview relate to work/life balance. Perhaps the next time another man is named dean at a law school, he'll have to answer similar questions. [Big Law Business] * A judge has ruled that Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial may proceed over the objections of his lawyers, who were apparently upset they weren't able to cross-examine Andrea Constand, the comedian's accuser, during a preliminary hearing earlier this year. "It's our position we're not going to re-traumatize victims," said a prosecutor. [NBC News] * Arthur Olick, bankruptcy pioneer and Anderson Kill partner, RIP. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.05.16

* In case you haven't been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Kilpatrick Townsend, Sutherland, Norton Rose Fulbright, Morgan Lewis (additional details), Troutman Sanders. If you’re worried you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, you can check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law] * “The plan was always to retire after this summer, retirement just came a little sooner than I’d hoped." Olympic gold medalist Shannon Vreeland isn't going to the Rio Olympics this summer; instead, she'll be swimming in the completely the uncharted waters of law school at Vanderbilt. Will she be the new Aquagirl? [SwimSwam] * Worried about Brexit? So are clients who have hired Mischon de Reya lawyers to make sure the British government doesn't try to leave the EU without consulting parliament. "Everyone in Britain needs the government to apply the correct constitutional process and allow parliament to fulfill its democratic duty," says a firm partner. [Bloomberg] * Judge Richard Posner would like to sincerely apologize for saying that the Constitution isn't worth the time judges have spent studying it. What he really meant to say was that he thinks the Constitution is so vague that judges are simply "do[ing] the best they can" to make the 17th century document applicable to our modern world. [WSJ Law Blog] * "I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it! You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don't get why you aren't." Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts teen who walked her boyfriend through his suicide via text, will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter. [AP]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.02.16

* A judge has ruled that Andrew Schmuhl, the attorney accused of torturing and nearly killing the managing partner of the law firm his wife was fired from, will not be allowed to use an involuntary intoxication defense at trial. We may have more on this later today. [Washington Post] * Congratulations to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg! A newly discovered species of praying mantis with a decorative neck plate, the Ilomantis ginsburgae, has been named after Her Honor thanks to her "commitment to women's rights and gender equality... and her appreciation of the jabot." This is an honor that is truly fitting for the Notorious R.B.G. [New York Magazine] * Partners continue to head for the exits at Kenyon & Kenyon. This time, the chair of the IP firm's life sciences and chemical prosecution practice fled for Fox Rothschild, and he took two others with him. What's going on as this firm, and did they decide finally decide to officially pull the plug on the summer program? Let us know. [Big Law Business] * "There's absolutely no showing of any federal violation. The citizens of California are smart enough to know what their rights are." Sorry, Bernie bros, but because unaffiliated voters' rights haven't been harmed, voter registration will not be reopened ahead of next week's primary in the Golden State. Best of luck in the polls. [Los Angeles Times] * People are still raging against this JOP: The Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a group of defense lawyers 150 strong, have filed an ethics complaint against Judge Conrad Hafen, saying he showed a "complete disregard for the law" when he handcuffed a public defender as she tried to represent her client. [Las Vegas Review-Journal] * Boyce Martin Jr., chief judge emeritus of the Sixth Circuit, RIP. [Courier-Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.31.16

* Do not mess with federal judges: Shortly after presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the Southern District of California at a political rally by calling him a "hater," the judge ordered that internal Trump University documents from a consumer fraud trial be unsealed. [POLITICO] * The Clark County Defenders Union that represents Zohra Bakhtary condemned Judge Conrad Hafen in an open letter, writing, "[h]andcuffing an attorney who is merely doing her job to teach her a lesson is simply improper and has never been done in the history of Nevada." [WSJ Law Blog] * When we last checked in with Stephen DiCarmine, Dewey's ex-executive director, he told a judge that due to financial constraints, he'd like to represent himself at retrial. Now, he's hired Rita Glavin of Seward & Kissel for the job. [DealBook / New York Times] * Uh-oh... Mossack Fonseca, the law firm behind the Panama Papers leaks, announced via Tweet its plans to close offices in several offshore tax havens. The firm will shutter offices in the island nations of Jersey, Gibraltar. and the Isle of Man. [VICE News] * Who knew a Libor-rigging trial could be so exciting? Former Barclays trader and criminal defendant Ryan Reich was scolded by a judge after he interrupted a co-defendant's testimony with shouts of "no, no, no, no." [Big Law Business] * Cassandra Q. Butts, former deputy White House counsel and longtime friend and advisor to law school classmate President Barack Obama, RIP. [Washington Post]

By Staci Zaretsky