Undocumented Immigrants

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.23.17

* According to Justice Gorsuch, you don't need to "suppress[] disagreement" to be civil. Disagreeable, eh? Maybe this is why there seems to be such animosity between him and Justice Kagan. [Associated Press] * President Trump has reportedly promised to pay $430,000 to "defray the costs of legal fees for his associates, including former and current White House aides." Meanwhile, some of his former associates have lawyers' bills from the Russia probe that are higher than that. [Axios] * President Trump has apparently been interviewing candidates (i.e., Biglaw attorneys with close connections to Rudy Giuliani and Marc Kasowitz) for key U.S. attorney positions, which is outside the norm for most presidents. Despite the gravity of the situation, Senator Lindsay Graham had a clever quip about the situation: "It's kind of an extension of 'The Apprentice,' I guess." The ratings on this will be YUGE. [CNN] * "She can leave the country or she cannot get her abortion, those are her options?" Over the objections of the D.D.C. judge who ruled that the government must allow an undocumented 17-year-old seeking an abortion to get one, thanks to the D.C. Circuit, she needs to find a sponsor and further delay the procedure. [New York Times] * Ex-Kaye Scholer partner Evan Greebel is on trial for conspiracy, and he's desperately trying to distance himself from his former client, Martin Shkreli. He claims this was a big misunderstanding, and that he was victimized by Shkreli. [Big Law Business]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.06.16

* "I find it highly amusing and somewhat heartening to know that Donald Trump is indirectly subsidizing the defense of undocumented immigrants." Jones Day may be representing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, but the firm is also fighting for the rights of more than 100,000 undocumented refugees, all of whom Trump would likely want to see deported if he were to be elected as president in November. [Yahoo!] * Believe it or not, but Donald Trump's political career in the Republican Party closely tracks that of a Biglaw legend of the bar. In 1940, Wendell Willkie of Willkie Farr & Gallagher fame was an outsider presidential candidate with absolutely no public service experience to his name -- just like Trump. Willkie later went on to lose the election, and only time will tell if Trump will suffer a similar fate in Election 2016. [Big Law Business] * Professors at George Mason University have demanded that the law school's renaming to honor the late Antonin Scalia be delayed until school leaders answer their questions about the funding of scholarship monies being tied to the ongoing service of the current dean, but according to law school senior associate dean David Rehr, "[e]ven with this action, we are moving forward ... and expect a favorable resolution." [Washington Post] * After receiving the largest gift in its history, Pace Law has been renamed in honor of an environmentalist, and will now be known as the Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law. The donors do not want the amount of their gift to be disclosed, but Pace says it's comparable to the $30 million and $25 million gifts George Mason and Villanova respectively received for their recent name changes. Congratulations! [WSJ Law Blog] * The trial between Sumner Redstone and Manuela Herzer over the media mogul's mental competence is slated to begin today and will last for a week. With lurid allegations about the 92-year-old's supposed sexual proclivities, his penchant for eating steak through a feeding tube, as well as his incontinence, this is sure to be an incredibly salacious matter that will play out in the public eye. [DealBook / New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Sponsored Content

Skills That Set Firms Apart

Legal expertise alone isn’t enough. Today’s most successful firms invest in developing the skills that drive collaboration, leadership, and business growth. Our on-demand, customizable training modules deliver practical, high-impact learning for attorneys and staff—when and where they need it.

By Barbri
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.05.15

* Per Dean David Herring, applications have tanked at New Mexico Law (ATL #18) -- we're talking a 30% drop over the past five years. Wait, no, nevermind, the school's assistant admissions dean says things are great. Oops? [Albuquerque Journal; Albuquerque Business First] * Gov. Chris Christie thought he was through with the Bridgegate scandal, but oh, how wrong he was. His former deputy chief of staff's lawyers want to subpoena Gibson Dunn's work product, but the firm claims it doesn't exist. [Talking Points Memo] * ¡Ay dios mío! This week, a New York appellate court ruled that Cesar Vargas, an undocumented immigrant, should be eligible to practice law in the state, completely sidestepping federal law and a Justice Department brief to the contrary. [WSJ Law Blog] * Concordia Law is getting a second chance at obtaining provisional accreditation from the ABA. This would've been way more helpful before the majority of its third-year students transferred to an accredited school so they could take the bar exam. [Idaho Statesman] * The ex-GC of Zara has filed a discrimination suit against the fashion retailer, claiming that he was fired because he's Jewish, American, and gay. Apparently senior executives used slurs as ugly as the company's clothes. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

By Staci Zaretsky
2nd Circuit

Morning Docket: 01.03.14

* Now that a federal judge has ruled against the NSA’s domestic spying program, maybe government prosecutors will cut Edward Snowden some slack — or maybe haha, yeah right. [WSJ Law Blog] * On that note, the ACLU is appealing the other federal ruling that says the agency’s activities are constitutional. The NSA will let you know what the Second Circuit’s decision is this spring. [Guardian] * Alas, Judge Shira Scheindlin knew from the get-go that her stop-and-frisk ruling would be contested, and she even warned the lawyers involved that they ought to consider a jury. [New York Times] * “How do you say, ‘I’m married, but not really? I’m divorced, but not really?’” Thanks to Utah’s same-sex marriage ruling, unhappy gay couples who married in other states are rejoicing over the fact that they can finally get divorced. [Deseret News] * Facebook, a social network that constantly changes its privacy settings to make your life less private, is being sued over its alleged interception and sharing of messages with advertisers. Shocking. [Bloomberg] * It goes without saying that Sergio Garcia is having a happy new year. The California Supreme Court ruled that the undocumented immigrant will be able to legally practice law in the state. ¡Felicitaciones! [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 10.03.12

* Yeah, about that huge bonus we were going to pay our ex-finance director — we realized how silly that was, so we’re not going to do that. Aww, don’t worry, Dewey & LeBoeuf, you’ll have plenty of other chances to look absurd. [Am Law Daily] * Not only is Samsung suing Apple for patent infringement, but the company is also trying to get a do over by getting Judge Lucy Koh to throw out the original billion-dollar verdict over jury foreman Velvin Hogan’s alleged misconduct. [Bloomberg] * “Small deals are easier to swallow, easier to integrate.” Regional firms like Carlton Fields and Adams and Reese are gobbling up smaller firms in what seems to be the latest trend in law firm merger mania activity. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * Douglas Arntsen, the former Crowell & Moring associate who had to be extradited from Hong Kong after embezzling $10.7M from clients, pleaded guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence. [New York Law Journal] * It’s tough to come up with appropriate whistleblower jokes given the background here. We’ll play it straight: Mike McQueary filed a defamation suit against Penn State, and he’s seeking $4M in damages. [ABC News] * Jose Godinez-Samperio, an undocumented immigrant, is fighting for the ability to practice law in Florida, but the members of the state Supreme Court are literally trying to make it into a “federal case.” [Washington Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
American Bar Association / ABA

Morning Docket: 07.19.12

* How many of Above the Law’s Scalia groupies tuned in to watch the opinionated Supreme Court justice on Piers Morgan last night? Now we all know what Justice Scalia’s favorite pasta dish is! [CNN] * In other news, the Supreme Court’s approval rating has dropped even lower in the wake of the Affordable Care Act decision — just 41% of Americans are satisfied with SCOTUS. [New York Times] * Dewey know if D&L is going to be able to pay out bonuses and retention fees? Not if the U.S. Trustee can help it. They’re not “cost effective or economically feasible” — go figure. [Bloomberg] * City records for Boaz Weinstein’s and Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s $25.5M lawyerly lair have officially hit the books. Not too shabby for a federal prosecutor. [New York Observer] * “I am not a racist. I am not a murderer.” George Zimmerman sat down for an interview with Sean Hannity to tell his side of the story. Prosecutors must be thanking Zimmerman’s attorney for this gift. [Orlando Sentinel] * Duncan Law is appealing its accreditation appeal before the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. This must be the three strikes approach to accreditation. [ABA Journal] * Give this undocumented immigrant one of the documents he’s earned. Immigration law professors are lining up to support Sergio Garcia’s attempt to win admission to the California bar. [National Law Journal] * California’s foie gras ban will remain in effect due to the lack of a “satisfactory explanation” as to why a TRO should be granted. Sorry, but wanting to eat classy French food isn’t a good enough reason. [Businessweek]

By Staci Zaretsky