Washington State

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.05.20

* The Attorney General of New Jersey needed to reiterate that it was still illegal to use pot in the state after a legalization ballot initiative passed. Harold and Kumar was filmed in NJ, the Garden State has a long history with cannabis... [NJ Advance Media] * A Michigan woman who allegedly pretended to be a government lawyer to defraud immigrants has been sentenced to prison. [Michigan Live] * A former convict turned lawyer has become the first formerly incarcerated person to win elected office in Washington State. [ALM] * A Minnesota lawyer has been sentenced to prison for allegedly colluding with a chiropractor to bilk insurance companies with false claims. [Twin Cities Pioneer Press] * Michigan's Secretary of State said an election lawsuit filed by the Trump Campaign is "frivolous." Other Trump lawsuits have been similarly labeled in the past... [CBS News]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.01.20

* A disbarred attorney has been sentenced to prison for stealing his dead client's pension for twelve years. This former lawyer puts the guys in Weekend at Bernie's to shame. [Providence Journal] * Two attorneys, including a Biglaw lawyer, have been charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail into an NYPD police vehicle during protests this weekend over the killing of George Floyd. [New York Daily News] * The Supreme Court has held that states have the power to regulate how many people can attend religious services during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Vox] * The top lawyer at the FBI is resigning, purportedly due to pressure to remove officials at the Bureau connected with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. [CNN] * A judge who is recovering from COVID-19 will be deciding if Washington State's safer-at-home orders should be suspended. Have to admire this judge's resolve. [Komo News]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.27.19

* Brush of your resumes everyone, a longtime general counsel of Boeing is going to retire by the end of the year. [Wall Street Journal] * A UK lawyer is under fire for claiming he killed a fox with a baseball bat. Lawyers need to learn to stop being cruel to animals. [New York Post]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.05.18

* President Trump ordered White House Counsel Don McGahn to stop Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing in the Russia probe -- and Sessions, after not recusing and incurring Trump's wrath, later submitted his signed resignation letter (which the mercurial Trump, who had told Sessions to resign, then declined to accept). [New York Times] * Brazilian oil company Petrobras just announced a $2.95 billion class action settlement, which will be the largest settlement of a class action U.S. securities fraud suit this decade if approved (by Judge Jed Rakoff, so it's not a foregone conclusion). [Corporate Counsel] * Congratulations to litigation finance firm Lake Whillans, which just concluded a $125 million round of funding. [American Lawyer] * Leigh Corfman, one of several Alabama women who accused unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct, is now suing Moore for defamation. [Washington Post] * Speaking of defamation claims, the Trump tax bill contains some very bad news for plaintiffs in such cases (and tort cases more generally, it seems). [Slate] * Tallahassee prosecutor Georgia Cappleman has thrown her hat into the ring for a judicial vacancy; what does this mean for the Dan Markel case, which she's currently handling? [Tallahassee Democrat] * The Motel 6/ICE mess has triggered a lawsuit against the company by Washington State's attorney general. [ABA Journal] * Journalist Roy Strom surveys the year ahead for Biglaw -- and highlights Bruce MacEwen and Janet Stanton's noteworthy prediction of a prominent U.S. law firm forming a joint venture with a "New Law" entity. [Law.com]

By David Lat