United Kingdom / Great Britain

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.29.15

* Everyone was under the impression that Dickstein Shapiro and Bryan Cave would be tying the knot by the year's end, but instead, it looks like their brief love affair has turned into a bad romance. Oh no! Will Dickstein Shapiro be left at the altar? [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * “The idea they own the name ‘blue’ for a manual for legal citations is ridiculous." A rival citation guide to The Bluebook will be released in 2016, using the name "BabyBlue." Since a Biglaw IP attorney is involved in the copyright clash, this is already more exciting than techciting. [WSJ Law Blog] * Ethan Couch, the Texas teen who was too rich to realize his actions had consequences, was apparently also too rich to realize he shouldn't hide out in a ritzy vacation locale in Mexico while on the run from police with his mother. Damn you, affluenza! [CNN] * If you're looking for a law firm where you can take time off whenever you want and still earn a healthy paycheck, then look no further than Ashton KCJ Lawyers in England. That's a perk we're sure attorneys in the U.S. would love their firms to adopt. [Mirror] * Annie, get your gun: Gun-toting Texans are going to have a very happy new year, because come January 1, 2016, the state's new open carry law will go into effect. The open carrying of handguns had previously been banned in the state since 1865. [RT] * Jeffrey Feulner, founder of the Men's Divorce Law Firm, was charged with domestic violence battery after he allegedly attacked his wife. She filed for divorce three days later -- and presumably used a more woman-friendly lawyer as counsel. [Orlando Sentinel]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 10.08.15

* Even Bill Cosby cannot escape the power and force of the American judicial system. [Gawker] * A #tbt look at a bygone era when people took honest-to-goodness lunch breaks. [Slate] * Let the fanfic commence! Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tells of the time Justice Scalia serenaded her. [Huffington Post] * More people pile on Mary Jo White. [Above the Law] * A primer on the legal issues that will dominate the next year. [Pacific Standard] * The British legal system is going to war over offensive tweets. [Overlawyered] * The closing you use at the end of your email can say a lot about you. [Daily Lawyer Tips]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.18.15

* Talk about Texas justice: After an elderly couple called animal control on a family with four dogs and caused them to be assessed a $121 fine, the dog-owning family posted this eloquently worded sign on their lawn. [San Francisco Chronicle] * Chicago Blawkhawks hockey player Patrick Kane has been accused of rape, so naturally, his lawyer took to Facebook to defend his client in a hat trick of idiocy by engaging with bloggers, commenters, and witnesses, as one does. [CBS Chicago] * Just when you thought you'd memorized all of the hearsay exceptions, the judiciary says it's thinking of tossing one out. It may be popular on the bar exam, but it's time to say goodbye to the otherwise rarely used ancient documents rule. [National Law Journal] * British firms are borrowing "record sums" to fund expansion, and many have increased associate pay to compete with the U.S. firms with higher pay scales across the pond. Perhaps Biglaw firms ought to consider spreading the wealth over here. [Financial Times] * After having served 10 months in prison for killing his girlfriend, a law school graduate turned model, Oscar Pistorius is ready to move on to "mansion arrest" for the remainder of his sentence. Man, it must be nice to be a wealthy convict in South Africa. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky