U.S. News

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.11.15

* As we mentioned, U.S. News is giving law schools less credit for hiring their own grads. Rumor has it that a few schools would've done better in the rankings but for their high percentage of school-funded jobs. Which ones? [WSJ Law Blog] * Two students in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity from Oklahoma University were expelled after a video of their racist chanting was leaked online. Lawyers want to know: was their expulsion a First Amendment violation? [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * UC Irvine Law debuted on the 2016 U.S. News law school rankings at No. 30, missing Dean Erwin Chemerinsky's goal of starting out as a Top 20 school. Not to worry, Dean, there are still ways to game the rankings. Keep your head up! [National Law Journal] * Don't bother delaying your law school education just because the economy's bad. The professors who told us that a law degree is worth $1 million think that its value will only drop by about $30K in times when unemployment is high. Yeah, okay. [ABA Journal] * The grisly murder of DLA Piper associate David Messerschmitt, who was found stabbed to death in a Washington, D.C., hotel, remains unsolved. Police are still searching for the "person of interest" who was seen on video from the hotel's security camera. [Legal Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.19.15

* "Let’s face it: There are some people here that will not vote for her unless she says what they want her to say, that the president committed an illegal act by these [immigration] executive orders." Loretta Lynch is having a tough time making Republican friends. [The Hill] * Some new details have been released on the investigation into DLA Piper associate David Messerschmitt's death. Per police records, he was stabbed in the back, and was found in his hotel room with "lubricant and condom" and an "enema." We'll have more on this development later today. [Legal Times] * The rankings are coming! THE RANKINGS ARE COMING! Rankings guru Bob Morse, the man who holds law school deans' jobs in his hands, says the 2016 U.S. News Law School Rankings will be out on March 10. [Morse Code / U.S. News & World Report] * A patent lawyer with Asperger's syndrome is suing Patterson & Sheridan for discrimination. In his suit, he claims that a prominent partner was allowed to continually harass him in a purported quest to drive him out. Ah, law firm life. [The Recorder] * The case against the ex-leaders of Dewey & LeBoeuf hinges on the testimony of the failed firm's former employees. Defense attorneys, of course, are trying to get things barred from admission -- including one defendant's link to a mob member. [New York Law Journal] * “We’re still in the same position we’ve been in. There’s progress, but things are moving at a snail’s pace.” As we mentioned earlier this week, according to NALP, the percentage of women associates in law firms is up... but not by much. [DealBook / New York Times] * One of the best law schools in the country will have a brand new dean come this summer. Congratulations to Theodore Ruger, a longtime law professor who will assume the deanship at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in July. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Crime

Morning Docket: 03.31.14

* The NCAA’s president thinks Northwestern’s sports union will be the first case of its kind to be heard by the Supreme Court, and his brain hasn’t even been scrambled by concussions. [Bloomberg] * “If I’d come up with it, I’d probably be proud of it.” If this Georgia lawyer had used the “my client is too handsome for rape” defense, perhaps there wouldn’t have been a conviction. [Daily Report (reg. req.)] * A few weeks ago, we wrote about the best law schools for making money. Since then, the rankings were revised due to error. Where does your school stand now? We’ll chat about this today. [Forbes] * “[L]awyers aren’t retiring or dying nearly fast enough for us to fill their spots.” Perhaps statements like this about the job market wouldn’t be so prevalent if U.S. News told pre-law applicants the truth. [NPR] * Law students will call you out for your behavior, even if you’re a police officer This one is suing the NYPD for false arrest after questioning their food truck tactics. We’ll have more on this later. [New York Post]

By Staci Zaretsky