Law Student Takes Job As Uber Driver Due To Law School’s Extreme Delay In Distributing Loan Funds
Law school continues to screw students after calling off classes for fall semester.
Morning Docket: 08.09.18
* The Keystone Kops that are Trump's legal team have rejected Mueller's interview request and posed a counteroffer to answer only questions about the weather. [ABA Journal] * If you're getting tired of hearing that the Big 4 will soon come in and crush the rest of the legal landscape... well, too bad, because here's the latest ominous development. [ALM Legal Intelligence] * Rep. Chris Collins will continue to seek re-election after getting indicted. He must have some hot inside info on his re-election chances. [NBC] * New York issues a wage base for Uber, Lyft, and other ride-share drivers. And then promptly squanders that good deed by putting a cap on licenses, artificially jacking up the price. [Law360] * TIL there's a Mexican condom cartel. Now all I can think about is a show like Queen of the South... but for condoms. [Corporate Counsel] * Alex Jones's lawyer is looking to dox the parents of the children killed at Sandy Hook because everyone involved with Alex Jones is an inhuman monster. [The Hill] * The law requiring drivers to only use the left lane to pass is "routinely ignored by drivers" This story should read "routinely ignored by bad drivers." [KRISTV]
AI-Enabled Marketing: Your Secret Weapon for Growing Your Legal Practice
Drowning in marketing to-dos? Learn how firms use AI—the right way—to build lead magnets, rank in AI search, turn referrals into revenue, and craft data-driven business plans.
Morning Docket: 07.10.18
* A quick primer on the key Judge Kavanaugh opinions to understand before this grueling process gets underway. [Law360] * Dianne Feinstein hiring MoFo to vet Brett Kavanaugh. [The Recorder] * After briefly flirting with looking outside the two schools, the Supreme Court will remain exclusively for people who attended either Yale or Harvard (including Justice Ginsburg, who transferred from Harvard). [Washington Post] * Uber brings in top Justice Department attorney. [Wall Street Journal] * Harvey Weinstein spared fate of living on Riker's Island after judge lets him out on bail. Just like any random person accused of raping three women would be! [Mercury News] * The Young Lawyer Editorial Board scolds profession for slow progress on diversity. This drive has to start somewhere and it may as well be at the firms since it's increasingly clear that the law schools don't have the courage to do it. [American Lawyer] * Ty Cobb going to scum punk shows now. I have no joke for this. [The Hill]
Law Professor’s Terrifying Uber Ride
This sounds awful.
Morning Docket: 03.28.18
* Is the Supreme Court about to take a right turn? With lengthy delays in issuing opinions and apparent infighting that's leaked onto the bench during oral arguments, pundits think that the high court may soon become as "politically fractured as the rest of Washington." [CNN] * Speaking of SCOTUS, the justices spent an hour debating whether they should abandon the longstanding rule in Marks, which guides whose holding controls when the decision is split. [National Law Journal] * New York, California, and several other states will sue to prevent the U.S. government from asking about citizenship status in the 2020 census whether people are citizens, contending that such a question could stop immigrants from participating and skew the makeup of Congress. [Reuters] * Uber will pay $10 million to settle a discrimination class-action that was brought on behalf of hundreds of women and minority software engineers. [The Recorder] * Remember the little boy who was decapitated while riding the world's tallest water slide in 2016? The co-owner of the waterpark where it happened was arrested earlier this week and charged with second-degree murder. [New York Times]
When AI Kills
Reflections on the recent Uber tragedy, and what it means for AI applications to legal practice.
Chrometa: Turning Time Into Billable Value For Modern Lawyers
Adoption of Chrometa represents more than a technological upgrade; it reflects a professional philosophy that values accuracy, transparency, and efficiency.
Self-Driving Uber Finally Kills Somebody, And I For One Welcome The Coming Test Of Their Liability Shield
Now that we have a corpse, we're going to have a lawsuit.
The Uber-Waymo Case: Self-Driving… To A Settlement
IP lawyers once again see that the most important skill we can develop is the ability to help our clients settle their cases.
Non-Sequiturs: 02.11.18
* Uber and Waymo settled, so now we can have flying cars. Or something. [Corporate Counsel] * New charges in the Dan Markel murder case. [U.S. News] * Trump can pretty much get away with anything, so why not talk to prosecutors and just take the Fifth? [The Hill] * A look at the difficult work of navigating a romance at work. [Law and More] * A week in the life of a mom working as a solo practitioner. [CorporetteMoms] * An excellent new podcast for aspiring trial lawyers, from McKool Smith and Benchmark Litigation, kicks off by interviewing legendary litigator Evan Chesler of Cravath. [McKool Smith]
Morning Docket: 02.08.18
* “Nobody should live their life as a bystander. You’re going to do bigger things than me,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells an audience in what will almost assuredly turn out to be a lie. [Daily Report Online] * While examining Uber's former CEO, Charles Verhoeven of Quinn Emanuel successfully played a clip from Wall Street for jurors in the Uber-Waymo trial. Next up, "Dude where's your car?" while interviewing the engineer who allegedly stole automotive plans. [The Recorder] * Andy Sandler is leaving Buckley Sandler to concentrate on his other three full-time jobs. Slacker. [Litigation Daily] * After winning a case for a wheelchair-bound former prosecutor and netting a share of her back pay settlement, attorney Mark Moody is suing his client, seeking a share of her salary on the logic that he technically "won" her job back entitling him to a share of her salary going forward. Wow. [NY Post] * Judge says serial objector engaged in conduct “unfitting for any member of the legal profession.” But, you know, offered no sanction whatsoever so that was more of an FYI. [American Lawyer] * Why Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels probably won't be sued by the Colts despite the fact that they clearly detrimentally relied on his promises. [Sports Illustrated] * If you saw high-heeled shoes with a red sole, would you know who made them? Obviously. Yet Louboutin is embroiled in litigation over whether or not the brand really has a trademark. Another example of how if you parse every legal conundrum to death, you will only achieve absurd results -- [Quartz]
How 8am LawPay Takes The Sting Out Of Legal Billing
Getting paid can be an arduous task. You should make it as easy on yourself and your clients as possible.
Morning Docket: 02.06.18
* Waymo and Uber head to court in self-driving car battle. Uber's characterizing Waymo's allegations of industrial espionage as a conspiracy theory and hopes no one reads too much into the fact that Uber ran an industrial espionage group for years. [NPR] * On February 2, Ropes & Gray was engaged by USA Gymnastics to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by Larry Nassar. Hey gang, we all loved the movie, but Groundhog Day doesn't mean you actually get a do-over on all the stuff you screwed up before. [American Lawyer] * John Dowd and Jay Sekulow don't want Mueller to interview Trump. Ty Cobb thinks transparency and cooperation are the best policy. The existence of this story suggests Dowd and Sekulow are winning the internal struggle. [Business Insider] * The Supreme Court isn't going to intervene to protect Pennsylvania's gerrymandered districts... [Courthouse News Service] * ... So, Pennsylvania Republicans are looking into impeaching the state supreme court justices who ruled against them. [Daily Intelligencer] * Is this the least qualified lawyer to helm a Gitmo case? He certainly thinks so. [NY Times] * Speaking of Gitmo, there's a fight brewing over the Defense Department's recent decision to strip prisoners of their rights to own their own art. [Hyperallergic] * When the Brits refuse to extradite to the U.S., maybe it's time to reconsider prison conditions. [The Intercept] * Katten Munchin opens up in Dallas. [Law360]
Morning Docket: 02.01.18
The American Bar Association needs some new blood! A new report from Law School Transparency and the Iowa State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division recommends adding some younger members to the ABA's Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. [Law.com] Partisan gerrymandering challenges may be making their way through the court system, but don't expect them to be a deciding factor in the midterm elections. [Big Law Business] It's never a great start to a trial when the judge has to explain the case isn't about whether your client is "evil." [Law360] Another day, another looming "constitutional crisis." [Washington Post] Everyone is out at USA Gymnastics. It is the absolute least they could do. [CNN] Stephen Cutler may be moving from JPMorgan Chase to Simpson Thatcher, but he says his practice will still focus on internal and government investigations, corporate governance matters and crisis management. [Law.com] Hank Greenberg of Greenberg Traurig is the president-elect designee of the New York State Bar Association. [New York Law Journal]
Aiming At Uber
It is hard to see Uber disappearing, even if it loses soundly on each legal front it is currently fighting on.
Morning Docket: 11.30.17
* "On the surface it looks like you covered this up," is never the most encouraging message to hear from the federal judge on your case. [The Recorder] * Jeffrey Wertkin, the former Akin Gump partner who sold whistleblower complaints to targeted companies, pleaded guilty. [Reuters] * Juror dismissed from FIFA corruption trial for falling asleep, proving a trial about soccer is just as thrilling as a game of soccer. [Law360] * The highest paid GCs in America. [Corporate Counsel] * Jones Day continues its drive to scoop up SCOTUS clerks by the bushel. [American Lawyer] * Neal Katyal has passed Thurgood Marshall as the minority lawyer with the most Supreme Court arguments. [Litigation Daily] * It looks like justices from both ends of the philosophical spectrum will come together to rule that the DOJ still needs to get warrants. Glad we can all come together to agree on this very, very low bar. [National Law Journal]
The Angry Drunk
When we are in the middle of problem drinking, self-awareness can be elusive.