Nolan, Thompson & Leighton

This recent legislative development should serve as a cautionary tale for other states trying to regulate intoxicating hemp-derived products.

* A lawsuit claims that a Minnesota law firm fired pro-Trump employees. Maybe the litigation is going to be “yuge”… [New York Post]

* A New York disbarred lawyer allegedly helped an ex-con swindle friends our of half a million dollars. [New York Daily News]

* Counsel for Derek Chauvin is seeking to probe alleged bias on the part of the jury that convicted Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd earlier this year. [AP]

* Jeffrey Toobin has returned to CNN after he took time off following an incident in which he exposed himself on a Zoom call last year. [USA Today]

* Lawyers for Stormy Daniel’s former counsel Michael Avenatti claim Avenatti should get a light sentence because he is mocked and ridiculed for his fall from grace. Maybe the judge will say “basta”… [Daily Beast]

* Florida’s Ron DeSantis threatened litigation unless the CDC greenlights cruises to resume by summer. Maybe he just wants to galivant around the Caribbean… [Yahoo News]

* Amazon is facing litigation over allegations that it failed to provide required meal breaks. [Verge]

* A Brooklyn judge has dismissed a case because a lawyer refused to wear a mask. [Daily News]

* A Minnesota lawyer has been sanctioned for allegedly filing election challenges without the plaintiffs’ knowledge. [Twin Cities Pioneer Press]

* A small Chicago bookseller is suing Amazon for allegedly using anticompetitive tactics. Sounds like this could be a sequel for You’ve Got Mail… [Oregonian]

* 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]

Minnesota clearly blew off its legal writing homework.

* 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]

The decision to engage in civil disobedience as opposed to litigation is a unique turn of events.

* A federal judge has upheld an Ocean City, Maryland, rule banning women from being topless on beaches. It would be amazing if this case ends up at the Supreme Court… [Baltimore Sun]

* Some attorneys in Minnesota need to be sworn into the bar curbside because of social distancing guidelines. Check out the pictures in the article, it looks like an interesting process. [Fox News]

* An Egyptian lawyer is filing a multi-trillion-dollar lawsuit against China over damages allegedly incurred because of COVID-19. Hey, stop taking ideas from American lawyers! [Daily Sabah]

* The Massachusetts Attorney General has launched an investigation of a retirement home over a COVID-19 outbreak that led to dozens of deaths. [Boston Herald]

* Costa Cruises is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company allowed a ship to sail knowing that it was a “ticking coronavirus time bomb.” [Fox News]

* An Oklahoma City attorney and her boyfriend have been linked to a triple homicide. Hopefully, she’ll put her law degree to good use. [Oklahoman]

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

* Corey Lewandowski is suing his lawyer for malpractice. Maybe he should ask his former boss for a list of lawyers he can use. [Boston Globe]

* Attorneys for the House Judiciary Committee have hinted that more articles of impeachment may be filed against President Trump. [NBC News]

* Am attorney who abandoned his client after receiving $8,000 in settlement funds has been disbarred. [Bloomberg Law]

* Actor Edward Norton is set to be deposed in a case involving a deadly Harlem fire. He should be fine, he played attorneys on screen. [New York Post]

* A Minnesota “revenge porn” law has been struck down on First Amendment grounds. This is definitely what the founders intended… [Pioneer Press]

* 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]

Does this law school stand a chance?

Is it time to bury the hatchet when it comes to judicial confirmations?

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.

* 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]

Berkeley, Penn, or Harvard, at varying price points -- where would you go?

This is absolutely disgusting. Shouldn't courthouse employees know better?

Choudhry claims that Berkeley has brushed aside complaints of sexual harassment against white faculty members.

* Former Berkeley Law dean Sujit Choudhry is suing the school, claiming that Berkeley discriminated against him by punishing him more harshly for alleged sexual harassment compared to white professors. [Law.com]

* The family of Sandra Bland settles its lawsuit over her death for $1.9 million. [New York Times]

* The Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc (and rather splintered), rules that the mental-health ban on gun ownership could violate the Second Amendment. [How Appealing]

* Congratulations to Miami corporate partner Ira Coleman, who will replace Peter John Sacripanti and Jeffrey E. Stone as chair of McDermott Will & Emery in January. [Big Law Business]

* Ashurst remains in a tailspin, with five partners (including two office heads) leaving in the span of 24 hours. [Ashurst]

* In other U.K. law firm news, Freshfields is replacing “Dear Sirs” with gender-neutral salutations in all communications and legal documents. [The Lawyer via Big Law Business]

* More exciting news for Bancroft: recognition for its pro bono work, which partners pledge will continue after they move over to Kirkland. [Law360]

* Paging parents who left Davis Polk to raise their kids: here’s a program to bring you back into Biglaw. [Law.com via ABA Journal]