UC Berkeley School of Law

Prestigious law schools are starting to question the legacies of their donors.

A free speech debate between First Amendment expert, Ken White, and, like, me.

Welcome to the (GRE) party!

Dean Chemerinsky is pulling the plug on the troubling name.

* Sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were recently brought to light and while he may be spending his time “hoping and praying” before the vote, his supporters say it’s highly likely he’ll be confirmed anyway. [Big Law Business]

* Well, except for the fact that senators are calling for the delay of Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote now that his accuser has come forward to reveal the details of the judge’s alleged attack on her when they were students in high school. [NBC News]

* And was Judge Kavanaugh a member of Judge Alex Kozinski’s sexually explicit “Easy Rider Gag List”? Kavanaugh says he doesn’t remember receiving any of those emails, but Heidi Bond, one of Kozinski’s former law clerks, thinks that there could be a very easy way to find out if the would-be SCOTUS justice is lying. [Slate]

* The most controversial Biglaw firm? Federal prosecutors are considering bringing charges against former Skadden partner Greg Craig and taking action against the firm itself in a probe related to Paul Manafort. Will the prestigious Biglaw firm wind up with a civil settlement or a deferred prosecution agreement? [CNN]

* Shearman & Sterling has announced that the firm will soon bring Sandra Bang, its first-ever chief diversity and talent strategy officer, into its C-suite. She’ll be leading a new global task force aimed at increasing diversity at the Wall Street firm. Congratulations! Perhaps additional firms will follow their lead. [American Lawyer]

* The body of Brian Lewinstein, the rising second-year student at Berkeley Law who crossed a safety line and fell while trying to get a picture of Toketee Falls from above, has been found. More than a month had passed since the accident occurred. Our sincere condolences go out to all of his family and friends. [SFGate]

A law school by any other name would smell as prestigious...

* Law schools in North and South Carolina have canceled classes for the foreseeable future so that students, faculty, and staff can evacuate the area and hunker down before Hurricane Florence arrives. Please be careful and stay safe, everyone. [Law.com]

* President Trump is eager to choose Emmet Flood to succeed Don McGahn as the next White House counsel. Ty Cobb, one of Trump’s former lawyers, is in Flood’s camp because he’s “battled investigations from the White House before—[and] that’s what will be coming.” [Wall Street Journal]

* Earlier this week, Bob Woodward said that former Trump attorney John Dowd told the president he couldn’t testify in the Russia investigation because he’s “disabled” and “can’t tell the truth.” That sounds just about right. [People]

* The University of California Berkeley School of Law may soon be doing away with almost all references to John Henry Boalt thanks to his racist views. Public comment on the issue will close on Halloween, and then Dean Erwin Chemerinsky may formally apply to dename Boalt Hall. Let’s see what happens with this one. [ABA Journal]

* “This is clear interference with an ongoing criminal investigation.” Representatives from the New York state tax department reportedly met with Michael Cohen’s attorney yesterday over the objections of Southern District of New York. [CNN]

* A family of conspiracy theorists: Donald Trump Jr. says he’s not worried about going to jail as a result of Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, but “[t]hat doesn’t mean they won’t try to create something” that could put him in jail. [USA Today]

He was trying to take a photograph when he fell.

She's been referred to as a 'good role model for women navigating a healthy lifestyle and an ambitious career.'

Participating in clinics can be an amazing opportunity to gain valuable practical experience.

This millennial attorney is running for office, and his story is inspiring.

* Harvard Law School is conducting a mental health survey. But will the respondents answer with candor? [Law and More]

* Transitions are hard, if not almost impossible to pull off. David Boies is eager to help his firm outlive him. [Big Law Business]

* Friday Fun Fact: Donald Trump’s campaign is spending $1 of every $10 donated on legal fees. [CNN]

* Highlights on a legal ethics course taught through collaborative learning. [Just Resolutions]

* That time Cy Vance took a donation right before a letting someone slide without charges. No, not that time. Or that time. This is a new time. [CBS News]

* Boalt law student defends the clone troopers for executing all the Jedi. Still no one able to defend George Lucas for making the prequels. [Legal Geeks]

* Congrats to Fix the Court for getting some transparency by securing an audio stream of this morning’s D.C. Circuit argument. [Fix the Court]

Alan Dershowitz complained of censorship, but he really ran afoul of the ongoing effort to hack free speech.

Does this law school stand a chance?

* Statues of Chief Justice Roger Taney may have been removed in his native Maryland, but don’t expect his bust to be removed from the Supreme Court’s Great Hall or his portrait to be taken down from the high court’s East conference room in the near future. The visage of the Dred Scott opinion’s author will remain. [National Law Journal]

* The Charlotte School of Law may be dead, but that doesn’t mean that former students’ proposed class-action lawsuits against the school have been put out to pasture. Though the bulk of the claims were dismissed, two such cases with allegations of unfair and deceptive trade practices have survived motions for summary judgment. Best of luck against Infilaw’s first fallen school. [Law.com]

* Much to his defense attorney Benjamin Bratman’s chagrin, the names of the jurors who convicted Martin Shkreli of securities fraud have been released. They’ve been talking to the press about the disgraced pharma bro, and one of them referred to him as “his own worst enemy.” [DealBook / New York Times]

* Meanwhile, Martin Shkreli’s ex-lawyer, former Kaye Scholer partner Evan Greebel, remains charged with wire fraud conspiracy, a charge on which Shkreli was acquitted by a jury. Greebel’s defense attorneys at Gibson Dunn have called this “a Kafkaesque scenario,” that is “frightening for every corporate lawyer in America simply doing their jobs representing clients.” [New York Law Journal]

* Berkeley Law is planning to launch a hybrid online/on-campus LL.M. program for foreign-educated attorneys. Students will be able to complete their fall and spring semesters online, but must attend classes on campus at the law school during the summer months. Tuition is a whopping $57,471. [The Recorder]

* Earlier this week, a California jury handed down the largest verdict thus far in a talcum powder cancer case against Johnson & Johnson. The plaintiff, Eva Echeverria, who had used J&J baby powder since the 1950s and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, was awarded $417 million. [Consumer Affairs]

Please see the update to this story.

Making license plates just isn't a J.D. advantage job.

The work of the late Herma Hill Kay, a crusader for gender equality in the legal profession, is far from done.

* Several people were reportedly shot this morning at a GOP baseball practice, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who is now in stable condition. The gunman is in custody. We may have more on this later today. [The Hill]

* The Supreme Court has granted Acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall more time to file papers in order to respond to the recent Ninth Circuit decision upholding a lower court decision which blocked President Donald Trump’s travel ban. This means that any action taken by the high court on the administration’s emergency pleas for certiorari will be even further delayed. [Reuters]

* “I am protecting the right of the president to assert [executive privilege] if he chooses.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions seemed to have no desire to speak about his interactions or conversations with President Donald Trump regarding James Comey’s handling of the Russia probe during his Senate hearing yesterday, and didn’t feel the need to provide a real legal basis for his refusal to answer questions on the topic either. [New York Times; Washington Post]

* In the meantime, even though rumors have been swirling about President Donald Trump’s supposed desire to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says he has no reason to fire Mueller at this time: “If there were good cause, I would consider it. If there were not good cause, it wouldn’t matter to me what anybody says.” [Law360 (sub. req.)]

* Marc Kasowitz may have taken a “career-defining” role representing the “predisent,” but one wonders what will happen to his law firm while he pursues this ambitious undertaking. Kasowitz Benson could suffer when it comes to recruiting new talent to the firm thanks to its leader’s choice of clientele, not to mention the fact that its revenue has been on the decline. [Am Law Daily]

* In an effort to fight the “historic drug epidemic” that in no way involves marijuana, AG Jeff Sessions has asked Congress to roll back the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which prohibits the DOJ from using federal funds to prosecute states that have instituted their own laws authorizing the “use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” [Washington Post]

* Herma Hill Kay, the first female dean of Berkeley Law, RIP. [The Recorder]

* Congratulations to Erwin Chemerinsky, the next dean of Berkeley Law! [How Appealing]

* Speaking of deans, this Yale dean — note, not a dean at the law school — “loves diversity, except for ‘white trash.’” [Instapundit]

* The latest entrant into the FBI director sweepstakes: former senator Joe Lieberman, now senior counsel at one of Donald Trump’s “go-to” law firms, Kasowitz Benson. [Newsweek]

* “Americans like piece of paper? I have piece of paper!” [Althouse]

* In case you were wondering, “Did Rosie O’Donnell ever study constitutional law?” [NewsBusters]

* Legal nerds, let’s get ready to rumble! Professor Gerard Magliocca asks: “Is Justice Story overrated?” [Concurring Opinions]

* Shearman & Sterling partner (and podcaster) Richard Hsu is joining the Major leagues — legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa, that is. [LinkedIn]

* Randy Maniloff interviews celebrated lawyer/author Scott Turow, whose new book, Testimony (affiliate link), just came out. [Coverage Opinions]

* An argument in favor of protecting your cellphone with your thumbprint and a password. [Katz Justice]

* “If you had to choose a law partner from the characters in Better Call Saul, who would you choose?” [Guile is Good]

* If you’re a law student interested in ediscovery, check out this contest, sponsored by kCura. [kCura via PR Newswire]