University of Pennsylvania Law School

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.24.19

* Donald Trump seems particularly irritated that former special counsel Robert Mueller will be testifying today before the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees on the "witch hunt" that's plagued his presidency. Get ready for a tweetstravaganza! [CNN] * Professor Amy Wax of Penn Law has been professionally scolded by the dean of the school after condemning her recent comments as racist and "repugnant," and now comes news that she'll soon be taking a previously scheduled -- but awfully conveniently timed -- sabbatical. [Law.com] * But before you get too excited, Professor Wax says that she has "no plans" to leave Penn Law on a permanent basis. In fact, here's what she said about the speculation that she'd be leaving for good: "The students need me. When I’m gone, the place goes full North Korea. (It’s 95% there)." [Big Law Business] * Professor Bruce Hay of Harvard Law gets taken for the ride of his life after an alleged paternity trap left him homeless, out of work thanks to sexual harassment claims, and up to his eyeballs in litigation. [The Cut / New York Magazine] * This personal finance website wants to know: What is Biglaw, and what kind of salary should you expect? Very cute! If you want to know the real deal, you happen to be looking at the website that most closely tracks Biglaw salaries. [Nerdwallet] * Xi Chen, the bus driver who struck and killed Kimberly Greer, a law clerk at the Southern District of New York, took a no-jail plea deal earlier this week. He'll lose his license for six months and must pay $1K in fines. [New York Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.22.19

* In a series of wide-ranging interviews across the political spectrum — or “Fake News,” per President Trump — the commander in chief’s closest allies admitted that they didn’t think he had any idea what he’d done or what kind of havoc he’d wreaked with his racist tweets. [Washington Post] * According to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report contains "very substantial evidence" that the president is "guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.” Let’s see if Mueller’s testimony can change any minds on impeachment. [CNN] * After one scandal too many, it looks like Deutsche Bank has decided to hire someone new to look after its legal and regulatory affairs. [Corporate Counsel] * Students and alumni from Penn Law are calling for Professor Amy Wax’s ouster from faculty teaching duties following her latest foray into racism. [Big Law Business] * Aside from Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld and Clayton Kozinski, who else will be clerking for Supreme Court justices for the upcoming October term? In addition to these controversial choices, we’ve got the second blind person to ever clerk at the high court, and someone who was picked dead last in the 2010 MLB draft. [Associated Press] * Joan Bullock, former dean of Thomas Jefferson Law School, has decamped to become Dean at the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Congrats! [National Jurist]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.13.18

* Winston & Strawn revenue up 19 percent last year after securing a hefty contingency fee in the pink slime matter. Despite their victory, we suspect these lawyers are using their windfall on grass-fed free-range beef. [American Lawyer] * In the continuing war on class actions as a lingering nuisance to our corporate overlords, the Supreme Court may be taking aim at cy pres settlements to "protect the class" by making class actions harder to pull together. [National Law Journal] * The photographer from the horrendous decision ruling that embedded Tweets are copyright violations is fighting an effort by defendants to get an interlocutory appeal to clear up this travesty as quickly as possible. You know, to save the Internet. [Law360] * In an article that manages to avoid any reference to Ready Player One, Rhys Dipshan considers the IP challenges facing widespread adoption of VR and AR products. As an example, the article considers what would happen if someone put that famous picture of Albert Einstein into the game. Perhaps the better question is why isn't that in the public domain and can VR be the technology that finally reverses the broken IP regime Sonny Bono dropped on us? [Legaltech News] * Can California's sanctuary laws survive federal assault? Professor Noah Feldman says they should. [Bloomberg] * Professor Tobias Barrington Wolff considers the sideshow of a career his Penn Law colleague Amy Wax has decided to pursue. [Faculty Lounge]

By Joe Patrice