Vermont Law School

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.13.16

* Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein will appear at Vermont Law School today, where she'll meet with members of the law school community to speak about her plan to transition the country using 100 percent renewable energy. Law students will be especially excited to hear about her plans to cancel all student loan debt. [VTDigger] * “Talk to your classmates, especially those with different views. Even if you come away from it disagreeing even more, at least you know what makes them tick, which is a useful thing.” Last week, Justice Elena Kagan went back to Harvard Law, the school where she once served as dean, to share helpful tips with law students. [Harvard Crimson] * Federal prosecutors may have dropped their corruption case against ex-Gov. Bob McDonnell after SCOTUS threw out his convictions, but now he's got some pretty hefty legal bills to pay to Jones Day and Holland & Knight. Right now, he owes more than $10M to the partners who helped clear his name. [Richmond Times-Dispatch] * A lot of big-time lateral moves were announced yesterday, including Kirkland & Ellis's mass hiring of all Bancroft lawyers, but Gibson Dunn's news may top all the rest we've yet to cover. Stuart Delery, the former acting associate attorney general of the Justice Department, will join the firm as a partner in Washington, D.C. [Big Law Business] * Ex-Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper has found a new home -- or rather, a "strategic affiliation" -- with a global Biglaw firm. He'll be working out of the Calgary office of Dentons, where he'll work with many former colleagues and advise firm clients on market access, managing global geopolitical, and economic risk. [Huffington Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.26.16

* Could it be? Could she really do such a thing? Rumor has it that Amal Clooney may be quitting her law firm job at Doughty Street Chambers to become a fashion designer for the likes of fashion house Oscar de la Renta. We may have more on this later today. [Inquisitr] * Maryland's AG intends to contest a ruling granting "Serial" podcast subject Adnan Syed a new trial, saying that the state would "defend what it believes is a valid conviction." Syed has been servicing a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee since 2000. [Baltimore Sun] * Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be behind bars for a 15-month term for attempting to conceal secret payments to his underage sexual assault victims in a cover-up scheme, but that doesn't mean he's not going to fight a lawsuit seeking the full $3.5 million he allegedly said he would pay to buy a victim's silence. [Chicago Tribune] * Vermont Law School, which was hit relatively hard by the recession in terms of its ability to fill its seats, has applied for a $15 million loan from the federal government to help restructure its debts. Unlike what its students face in terms of their debt, the law school may be able to get a good interest rate upon approval. [VTDigger / Valley News] * "[A]ttempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole." Congratulations (or perhaps condolences?) digital currency aficionados, because a judge just ruled that Bitcoin isn't money for the purposes of money-laundering statutes. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.24.16

* "If you give a judge a meeting, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk, because he is probably very thirsty from that one time you compared him to Idi Amin." In light of the stranglehold Republicans have on Chief Judge Merrick Garland's fate when it comes to his confirmation hearings, Dahlia Lithwick composed this cute riff on the children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. [Slate] * In an attempt to get with the times, Vermont Law is offering a Reduced-Residency Juris Doctor program, where students will be able to take up to 15 credits online in an off-campus location. Unfortunately, this flexibility comes at a price -- the same exact price as the school's regular J.D. program. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Considering the high tensions during oral arguments yesterday in Zubik v. Burwell, a legal battle having to do with the ACA's contraceptives mandate, the Supreme Court seems poised to issue another 4-4 split decision in one of the most controversial cases this term. If that happens, the lower court ruling would be left intact. [New York Times] * The ABA Journal wants to know how much you paid in law school tuition. If you graduated before the cost of a three-year legal education was akin to a mortgage, please take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are. If you're a recent graduate, you've got plenty of people to commiserate with about your hefty debt burdens. [ABA Journal] * "Did the Supreme Court make weed legal across America?" No, no it did not, and you must be stoned if you think that's what the high court did in its decision, or lack thereof, in the Nebraska v. Colorado case that it begged off on earlier this week. For now, the federal legalization of marijuana is nothing more than just a pipe dream. [Inquisitr]

By Staci Zaretsky
Books

Non-Sequiturs: 09.11.14

* Our columnist Steve Dykstra opines that Roger Goodell is not going to get fired over the Ray Rice investigation/non-investigation. But what we really want to know from Dykstra is his opinion on how badly the West is going to beat the East in this year’s Grey Cup. [Steven Dykstra] * Apparently, we’ve been banned by Reddit. I think as editors we’ve posted on Reddit maybe 3 times in the last year, so it certainly isn’t our fault. Reddit notes “above the law will no longer be receiving traffic or page views from here,” which I guess is supposed to be a threat. Hey, don’t fault us just because our content is so good. *cue unimaginative trolling* [Reddit] * A discussion of gutless women. [The Careerist / The American Lawyer] * MGM might lose the rights to a pair of Clint Eastwood classics. Specifically, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, and Last Tango in Paris. [Hollywood, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter] * The winner of the Hofstra Law School Mystery Short Story Contest is “A Prisoner of Time” by Lucian E. Dervan. That sounds like a 1980s Doctor Who episode. [Mulholland Books] * Beau Brindley pleads not guilty to telling a witness to lie. So, that case is moving right along. [My Fox Chicago] * Vermont Law School cites children’s story books. [Law School Lemmings] * D.C. lawyer Jacob McDermott is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for LiveStrong. Check out his donation site. [LiveStrong]

By Joe Patrice
2nd Circuit

Morning Docket: 07.29.14

* The Second Circuit ruled that the World Trade Center Cross may remain on display in the September 11 Memorial and Museum. Apologies, atheists, but it’s a “genuine historical artifact.” [New York Daily News] * Howrey going to get money back when judges keep tossing unfinished business claims like they’re yesterday’s trash? We’ll see if such claims will be laid to rest after a hearing later today. [Am Law Daily] * Paul Weiss had a good get this week, with Citigroup’s deputy general counsel leaving the bank to join the firm — which coincidentally has served as the bank’s outside counsel for two decades. [WSJ Law Blog] * North Carolina, a state that adopted a ban on same-sex marriage in 2012, said it will no longer defend its law in the wake of the Fourth Circuit’s ruling as to a similar ban in Virginia. Hooray! [Los Angeles Times] * If you missed it, a judge issued a preliminary ruling against Donald Sterling, meaning that the sale of the L.A. Clippers may proceed. Don’t worry, his attorney says this is just “one stage of a long war.” [CNN] * It seems that “weed-infused weddings” are a hot commodity in states where the drug has been legalized. Sorry, it may be better than an open bar, but it doesn’t seem like a very classy thing to do. [Boston.com] * Cheryl Hanna, Vermont Law School professor and praised legal analyst, RIP. [Burlington Free Press]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 04.16.14

* Noah “Kai” Newkirk, the protestor who disrupted Supreme Court arguments in February, was sentenced to time served and barred from the court. Don’t worry, we’ll get you all the SCOTUS clerk news you need, cutie. [Associated Press] * “There are still a lot of firms out there hoping the good old days are going to return, and are finally coming to the realization that that isn’t going to happen.” More on Biglaw layoffs. [Am Law Daily] * Yet another law school gets its rating downgraded by Moody’s. As a standalone school with “substantial declines in JD enrollment,” Vermont Law’s outlook is now negative. Sad trombone. [Moody's] * Jason Bohn, the heavily indebted law school grad once profiled by the New York Times, was convicted of murdering his girlfriend last month, and now he’s been sentenced to serve life in prison. [New York Post] * “Is the Tax Code really 70,000 pages long?” No, not really. We wonder who started the rumor that it was so long, because in reality, it’s only about 2,600 pages long — which is still way, way too long. [Slate] * It appears that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree with this celebrity family. Lindsay Lohan’s mother, Dina Lohan, pleaded guilty yesterday to drunken driving and speeding charges in New York. [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 02.06.14

* According to Justice Kagan, Justice Ginsburg “is responsible for eliminating sex discrimination from American law.” Whoa, that’s a nice thought, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves with wishful thinking. [New York Law Journal] * After handing out pink slips staff, Heenan Blaikie lawyers sat down and voted to dissolve the Canadian firm’s partnership and wind up its business. It’s kind of like Dewey, but with maple syrup! [Legal Post / Financial Post] * Jack W. Butler, the bankruptcy bigwig who managed to negotiate the American Airlines / US Airways merger, will leave his home at Skadden Arps after 23 years and head to Hilco Global. [DealBook / New York Times] * Vermont Law School has partnered with several historically black colleges and universities in order to put warm bodies in empty seats promote the expansion of racial diversity in the legal profession. [VT Digger] * David Savner, a corporate partner at Jenner & Block, recently donated $1 million to his alma mater, Northwestern Law, to fund a high-tech classroom. It must be nice to be rich. [Crain's Chicago Business] * The ABA Journal wants to know what the “oddest” elective course you ever took in law school was. If you took a “Law and _____” class and didn’t get an “A,” you should hang your head in shame. [ABA Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Non-Sequiturs: 09.30.13

* The lawyer who shot himself in the back and lied about it has pleaded guilty since his defense was full of self-inflicted holes. [WBIW] * Do you want to be a partner? These 12 simple rules are a good start. (Not featured: Rule 13. Have incriminating pictures of the other partners.) [At Counsel Table] * The University of Vermont and Vermont Law School are considering a joint “3-2″ degree program. So if you’re 18 years old and positive you want to grow up to be a lawyer, you may soon have a lower cost option. You’re also probably a tool. [AP via Boston.com] * Can introverts be solo practitioners? It’s an interesting question, but since Growth is Dead (affiliate link) notes that even rainmakers are tragically lacking in sociability, it’s likely that most lawyers across firms are introverted. [Lawpolis] * St. Louis University Law School has taken over and refurbished an old building in downtown St. Louis. See, it’s possible to run a law school without spending money on MOAR BUILDINGS! [Urban Review STL] * A poem about CLE. Wait, are there people not doing their CLE online? [Poetic Justice] * How to pick a good divorce lawyer. Done. [Huffington Post] * Matthew Martens, the senior SEC attorney who ran the “Fabulous Fab” trial, is leaving the agency. Possible landing spots for Martens include Kirkland & Ellis; Paul Weiss; WilmerHale; Latham & Watkins; and Cleary Gottlieb. [Wealth Management] * A judge in Kentucky moonlights as the PA announcer for high school football games. He’s also blind. Eschewing the obvious “he still sees better than the refs” joke, my question is why isn’t it just more efficient to make his spotter the PA announcer? Video after the jump…

By Joe Patrice