University of North Carolina School of Law

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.21.17

* Everyone in the Trump administration who is in some way related to the Russia probe has now lawyered up with outside counsel, including the attorney general. AG Jeff Sessions is being represented by Chuck Cooper, a longtime champion of conservative causes. If you recall, Cooper also prepped Sessions for his confirmation hearing. [USA Today] * Let's not go crazy: Earlier this week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and outside counsel Keker & Van Nest were denied certiorari on the Lenz v. Universal Music case -- perhaps better known as the "dancing baby" case. Thanks to the SCOTUS decision, or lack thereof, we'll not know "whether or not the DMCA includes meaningful protections for online fair uses" anytime soon. [Law.com] * Judge Gonzalo Curiel will not make a Trump University settlement objector post a $146,888 bond to pursue an appeal. Sherri Simpson, a Florida bankruptcy lawyer, paid $19,000 for Trump U. seminars and mentorship, but now she wants out so she can sue the president over the alleged fraud. [POLITICO] * Concerned Veterans for America, a political action committee that's funded by the Koch brothers, is running an ad in support of a Penn Law Professor Stephanos Bibas's nomination to the Third Circuit. "Generally a candidate would have to be pretty inflammatory or at risk to justify this kind of spending," said election law attorney Adam Bonin. [Legal Intelligencer via ABA Journal] * UNC Law's budget has officially been cut by the state Senate, but it's not as bad as the $4 million budget buster that was previously proposed. The law school will have to do without $500K in state appropriations if the legislature approves the move. Yes, that's the sound of your tuition going up. [News & Observer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.19.15

* The North Carolina legislature's war on UNC Law School continues. The Senate just proposed a $3 million budget cut. Tarheels adjust by ending Civ Pro right before International Shoe. [The Herald Sun] * U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer enjoys living dangerously. When the D.C. Circuit tells her the CIA needs to disclose more about drone policy, she... tells the CIA to keep its mouth shut. AC/DC has a song about that behavior. [Politico] * Most attention is, justifiably, fixed on marriage equality and health care, but there are some huge pending decisions we're overlooking. [Slate] * Will Chief Justice Roberts save Obamacare again? [Mother Jones] * Speaking of SCOTUS, Professor Ilya Somin and Constitutional Accountability Center chief counsel Elizabeth Wydra talk Supreme Court in this podcast. [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Career hiccups begin with you. So, you know, stop doing that to yourself. [Corporette] * Why have car insurance in this case? A fair question. [Legal Juice] * If you didn't make it to see David speak with a panel of distinguished guests at the Fix the Court/Politico Supreme Court event this week, here's the video! [Politico]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 02.20.15

* A special committee of the Board of Governors at UNC Law is trying to shut down its Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity because its butthurt that the center spends it time talking about "poverty." UNC Dean Boger thinks this is some bulls**t and says so. [UNC School of Law] * Becoming a patent lawyer has been one of the safest bets in an otherwise atrocious market. That may change. Study predicts a huge drop off in job openings. [The Faculty Lounge] * If you're a radical law student, you'll want to read this. [National Lawyers Guild] * So many social media contests are illegal. So be careful. [Grow] * Good to see scandals about fudging employment data aren't confined to the U.S. [Legal Cheek]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 11.21.14

* A breakdown of Thomas M. Cooley’s bar passage rate. It’s… about as depressing as you’d expect. [Third Tier Reality] * Rapper being prosecuted on the argument that he benefitted from gang activity because the gang’s exploits made his rap music more popular. What the hell? [Popehat] * The state of the clerkship hiring process gets mixed reviews from Yalies. [Yale Daily News] * UNC is looking for a new dean. You know, if you’re interested in becoming a dean. [The Faculty Lounge] * The Flash and res ipsa loquitur. [The Legal Geeks] * Fun fact: people interested in the law also seem to love anchovy paste and Destiny’s Child. At least in the U.K. [Legal Cheek] * The Marshall Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization devoted to criminal justice reform, just went online. Check ‘em out. [The Marshall Project] * Don’t overdo it when you go about “thinking like a lawyer.” [Law and More] * The long-running, racist soap opera in Manhattan state court takes a new turn. After playing a key role in the events that led to the ouster of the top aide to the New York County Clerk, Justice Milton Tingling has applied to be the new New York County Clerk. [WiseLaw NY] * In light of Speaker Boehner’s new lawsuit over Obamacare, this is a good time to look back at this interview with Laurence Tribe evaluating Boehner’s chances. [Coverage Opinions]

By Joe Patrice
5th Circuit

Morning Docket: 10.03.14

* SCOTUS justices added 11 cases to this term’s docket yesterday following their megaconference earlier this week. Alas, no same-sex marriage cases have been added yet. [New York Times] * The Fifth Circuit allowed Texas to enforce its new abortion clinic restrictions. The only thing that will stop its “devastating impact on abortion access” is SCOTUS intervention. [MSNBC] * Two more women just joined the ranks of the highest tier of Biglaw firm leadership. Congrats to Jami Wintz McKeon of Morgan Lewis and Therese Pritchard of Bryan Cave. [WSJ Law Blog] * Gibson Dunn poached a prominent partner from U.K. firm Ashurst following his fall from grace as its leader last year. He’s thrilled to work for “one of the strongest U.S. firms around.” [Am Law Daily] * The Thomas Jefferson School of Law may be “California’s worst-performing law school,” but it certainly performs well in terms of providing entertainment for those who are big fans of schadenfreude. [City Journal] * Many schools pay their grads to count them as employed — but not UNC Law. Its career services office is aware that “jobs don’t grow on trees,” but hey, at least they’re trying to be transparent. [Daily Tar Heel]

By Staci Zaretsky
10th Circuit

Non-Sequiturs: 06.30.14

* For all of you gearing up for the bar exam, take heart that failure isn’t the end of the world. At least if you fail with a last name like “Roosevelt” or “Kennedy.” [Buzzfeed] * Hobby Lobby may be behind us, but there are still anti-ACA cases on the horizon. [The Advisory Board Company] * Morning Docket noted Neal Katyal’s op-ed suggesting the Supreme Court was less divided these days. Consider this a detailed response. [mitchellepner] * Thoughts on Kitchen v. Herbert. [Pollvogtarian] * The great unpaid internship revolt is on. And based on Harris, we should expect the working stiff’s got a great chance here. [Capital New York] * Some right-wing college paper is bent out of shape that a full law professor teaching one class (and running a clinic) is paid over $200,000. That salary actually doesn’t sound all that shocking. Now what would be interesting (though these folks probably wouldn’t care) is how that salary stacks up to his female colleagues’ pay. [The College Fix] * Ever see Jimmy Kimmel’s “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” sketch? Here’s video of professors reading mean evaluations… [TaxProf Blog]

By Joe Patrice
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 03.21.14

* Lawyers from top New York City firms like Skadden, Proskauer, Stikeman, Weil Gotshal, Kaye Scholer, and Bailey Duquette took to the ice to compete for the Lawyers’ Cup. The team with Canadian imports won, obviously. [Forbes] * Andre Bouchard was nominated to replace Judge Leo Strine as Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery. We can only hope he’ll be as outspoken as his predecessor. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)] * UNC Law has been receiving fewer applications, and perhaps that’s the reason why its acceptance rates have gone up, up, up — from 36 percent to 45 percent — in the last year alone. Yikes. [Daily Tar Heel] * A woman alleges her Uber driver “fondled [her] legs, groin area and breasts” as she tried to give him directions. That extra customer service is what makes it cost more during peak times. [Chicago Tribune] * A watch repairman was so pissed about this Yelp review he sicced his lawyer on the man who handed out the two-star report. Of course his lawyer’s one-paragraph demand letter barely makes sense. [Gawker]

By Staci Zaretsky