Zachary Warren

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.17.17

* "Every single racial slur you can think of for Asian Americans is a trademark right now. And almost any kind of slur you could think of for any group is a registered trademark right now. The law’s not working." Asian-American rock band The Slants will make their debut before the Supreme Court this week, and when all is said and done, trademark law's prohibition on the registration of disparaging marks may be forever changed thanks to their First Amendment argument. [Washington Post] * Zachary Warren, the low-level Dewey & LeBoeuf employee who wound up being criminally charged along with the failed firm's head honchos, has been cleared of all charges. After completing 350 hours of community service in accordance with the requirements of a deferred prosecution agreement, Warren's indictment has been sealed, and he's now working as an associate at Williams & Connolly. [Big Law Business] * For all of their talk about wanting to prevent women from leaving the practice of law, many Biglaw firms that once made big promises about onsite day-care facilities have allowed those plans to fall to the wayside after being hamstrung by significant costs and liability issues. Today, about 10 law firms have set up day-care programs for attorneys' children, and for those that have, it's a real "distinguisher in recruiting." [Am Law Daily] * According to the results of a new study performed by Justice Goodwin Liu of the California Supreme Court in conjunction with students at Yale Law School, while Asian-Americans are plentiful within our country's attorney workforce, very few of them have managed to ascend to the most prestigious leadership roles in the legal profession. What could be causing this to occur? Implicit bias may be playing a role. [Washington Post] * "[I]t would be your word against mine and nobody will believe you." A Republican politician in Connecticut who "love[s] this new world" because he "no longer [has] to be politically correct" currently stands accused of grabbing a town employee by the p*ssy pinching a town employee's groin. He's been charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, and he's scheduled to appear in court at the end of the month. [Westport Daily Voice] * The University of Washington at Tacoma is rethinking its plans to create a law school that's separately accredited from the one at the University's Seattle campus. Before moving forward, UWT wants to build up its undergraduate pre-law program to make sure the demand will be there in the future. Unlike some schools, "[t]he last thing [UWT] want[s] to do is to start a law school and it not to be successful early." [News Tribune]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.08.15

* My, but how quickly things change! Manhattan prosecutors might not be retrying the D&L criminal case after all. Instead, they've offered all of the remaining defendants plea deals. Dewey know if any of the former execs of this failed firm will take a deal? [WSJ Law Blog] * In case you're wondering what's going to happen to Zachary Warren after all of this, it looks like Cyrus Vance found it in the goodness of his heart to offer the would-be Biglaw associate a plea deal: he'll have to plead guilty to a misdemeanor to get 200 hours of community service. [DealBook / New York Times] * Law students, get ready to lobby even harder for this, because a proposal to do away with the American Bar Association's ban on law students receiving academic credit for paid externships is moving forward to a notice and comment period. [ABA Journal] * If you're preparing for a law school interview, you should stop freaking out about it and focus on the things that matter -- like showing off your social skills to prove you'll be employable in some way after graduation. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News] * After having a culpable homicide conviction for which he already served time overturned and turned into a murder conviction instead, Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was granted $688 bail since he's not considered a "flight risk." [NBC News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 11.10.14

* “I think the court has to take a case now. This is their job.” It’s time to hurry up and wait: SCOTUS is running down the clock when it comes to taking a gay marriage case this Term. [National Law Journal] * Zach Warren will be tried separately from the former leaders of D&L on criminal charges in the wake of the firm’s failure. Dewey think lawyers still care about him? [DealBook / New York Times] * Good news, everyone! According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector added 300 jobs in October. This sure is exciting for the fraction of the class of 2014 that number represents. [Am Law Daily] * A Long Island attorney requested that one of her trials be postponed during her high-risk pregnancy, but lawyers from the S.D.N.Y. allegedly “shouted at and insulted” her in response. Wow. :( [New York Times] * Since enrollment dropped off, law schools are competing to attract transfer students. Georgetown, for example, recently took more than 100 transfers — a 75 percent increase in two years. [Washington Post] * Just because your state puff, puff, passed the vote to legalize smoking pot, it doesn’t mean you won’t be fired for doing it. Careful with your dope, unless you’d like to see your career go up in smoke. [CNN Money]

By Staci Zaretsky
Crime

Morning Docket: 06.16.14

* They know where to find a deal: Justice Sonia Sotomayor ran into Hillary Clinton at Costco this weekend where the former secretary of state was hawking her book (affiliate link). It’s almost like this wasn’t arranged. [Huffington Post] * “[T]his is my chance to do what I love and I am going to seize it!” Judge Randall Rader stepped down from his role as chief of the Federal Circuit less than a month ago following an ethics issue, and now he’s retiring for good. [Reuters] * The government says that Zachary Warren’s prestigious legal accomplishments “left him well-able to understand the criminal nature of his conduct at Dewey.” Ouch, the People just turned it around on him. [WSJ Law Blog] * “The reasons they have are the reasons they have.” The ex-dean of Indiana Tech Law quit his job weeks ago, but no one has any idea why. We guess he got out while the getting was still good. [Journal Gazette] * Kenan Gay, the Charlotte Law student charged with murder after allegedly tossing a man into traffic, was acquitted. He graduated this spring. Nice work, but loans are still a life sentence, bro. [Charlotte Observer] * It’s been 20 years since the O.J. Simpson case — aka the “trial of the century” — came to its dramatic conclusion. If you want to know what happened to all of the lawyers involved, we’ve got you covered. [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky
4th Circuit

Morning Docket: 05.14.14

* Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may retire by the end of summer 2015, or she may retire by the end of summer 2017, or she may retire whenever she damn well pleases. For the love of God, please stop with this. [Legal Intelligencer] * The Fourth Circuit appears to be split on Virginia’s gay marriage ban. The Tenth Circuit appeared to be split on Utah’s gay marriage ban. We’ll give you three guesses on the eventual Supreme Court outcome. [New York Times] * Law deans lose their jobs when their schools drop in rank, and it seems Biglaw chairmen lose their titles when their firms post the worst single-year drop in revenue ever. Sorry Bingham McCutchen. [Am Law Daily] * Ex-D&Ler Zach Warren wants to sever his case from the likes of Joel Sanders and the Steves, using a “guilt by association” argument. The only thing he’s guilty of is being too cute. [National Law Journal] * The drama continues at Albany Law, where faculty members now face possible pay cuts or being put on unpaid leave following a “smear campaign” waged against Dean Penelope Andrews. [Albany Times Union]

By Staci Zaretsky