Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.02.18

* Justice Brett Kavanaugh isn't the only one who's relying upon calendars as a defense to sexual misconduct allegations. President Donald Trump says he'll turn over portions of his calendars and journal entries to combat allegations that he forcibly kissed Summer Zervos, a former Apprentice contestant. [USA Today] * Do you support term limits or a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices? If yes, then a majority of Americans agree with you. Fix the Court polled 1,000 people, and 78 percent of them said they'd like to restrict the length of service for SCOTUS justices. [The Hill] * Per a new survey conducted by Diversity Lab and ChIPs called the Inclusion Blueprint, the Biglaw firms with the best policies to build gender equity are Brooks Kushman and Sheppard Mullin. We may have more on this later. [Big Law Business] * Shocking absolutely no one, now that Cooley Law is magically in "compliance" with the American Bar Association's accreditation standards, the school has dropped its lawsuit against the ABA. This is terribly convenient, isn't it? [ABA Journal] * Ieshia Champs, the 33-year-old single mother of five children whose inspirational graduation photos went viral this past spring, recently found out that she passed the Texas bar exam. Congratulations! All of your hard work paid off! [Fox 10 KSAZ]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.01.18

* President Donald Trump may be putting an "indelible conservative stamp" on the judiciary, but really, it's Senator Mitch McConnell who's been responsible for pushing these controversial candidates through just because "it’s the longest-term sort of impact we can have on the future of the country." [New York Times] * MAGA hat in the streets, reaonable human being in the sheets? Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh has privately told senators that he thinks Robert Mueller's appointment as special counsel in the Russia probe is "appropriate." [CNN] * The ABA is planning to disband its law school accreditation and standards review committees to save some money. Don't worry, all of those duties will be assumed by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. [Law.com] * "Why am I still here?" Women are heading for the exits at Ogletree Deakins in the wake of the $300M gender bias suit that was filed against the firm. FWIW, Ogletree was just named as one of the 60 best law firms for women. [American Lawyer] * Getting out while the getting is good: Don LeDuc, Cooley Law's longtime president and dean, will be retiring soon. He's being replaced on an interim basis by former Michigan Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Martlew. [Lansing State Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.30.18

* Vice President Mike Pence says he's "confident" that Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the Supreme Court "before the fall is out" -- and he's probably correct about that. [FOX Business] * In other news related to the high court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she's got "at least five more years" on the Supreme Court before she'll think about stepping down. As always, RBG continues to remain NO-NO-NO-NOTORIOUS! [CNN] * According to one of President Trump's former lawyers, Rudy Giuliani has weakened the case against Michael Cohen by flip-flopping on the man's credibility, referring to him as an "an honest, honorable lawyer" and later as a "pathological liar." [CNN] * Just in case you forgot, not only did Michael Cohen go to the "worst law school in the country," but "[h]e's bitter Trump didn’t give him a job." [Page Six / New York Post] * Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has filed a "political conspiracy" lawsuit over his failed bid for the U.S. Senate seat that was left vacant by AG Jeff Sessions, claiming that false advertisements were behind his loss. [Newsweek] * Last week, Facebook lost more than $100 billion in value, the biggest single-day loss in stock market history. Shareholders have responded in the most obvious way possible, with a proposed class-action lawsuit. [New York Law Journal] * After its unexpected closure, Savannah Law School will soon find new life -- as an art school. The Savannah College of Art and Design purchased the law school building from Atlanta's John Marshall Law for a cool $27.5 million. [Savannah Morning News]

By Staci Zaretsky