Adams and Reese LLP

* The Republicans hold on to the House seat vacated by CIA director Mike Pompeo; state treasurer Ron Estes defeated James Thompson, a Wichita civil rights lawyer. [New York Times]

* So it seems the FBI did obtain a FISA warrant to monitor the communications of a Trump adviser (foreign policy adviser Carter Page). [Washington Post]

* In a time when many firms are closing offices, Adams and Reese is opening new ones, in Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale. [Law.com]

* The retirement buzz around Justice Anthony M. Kennedy persists — and stems from conversations Kennedy has had with people close to him. [Bloomberg and CNN via How Appealing]

* As for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has she been enjoying Opus One yet again? [New York Daily News]

* Yes, it’s possible for an in-house legal department to be too cost-conscious — just ask Wells Fargo. [Big Law Business]

* A professor accused of sexual harassment by a student and a staff member just lost his case before the Sixth Circuit. [Law.com]

* Speaking of things sexual… don’t write “sexual favors” in the check memo line when paying your taxes. [Billings Gazette]

Do you think lateral hires are killing your firm? Maybe you should consider getting out while you still can.

* Yeah, about that huge bonus we were going to pay our ex-finance director — we realized how silly that was, so we’re not going to do that. Aww, don’t worry, Dewey & LeBoeuf, you’ll have plenty of other chances to look absurd. [Am Law Daily]

* Not only is Samsung suing Apple for patent infringement, but the company is also trying to get a do over by getting Judge Lucy Koh to throw out the original billion-dollar verdict over jury foreman Velvin Hogan’s alleged misconduct. [Bloomberg]

* “Small deals are easier to swallow, easier to integrate.” Regional firms like Carlton Fields and Adams and Reese are gobbling up smaller firms in what seems to be the latest trend in law firm merger mania activity. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]

* Douglas Arntsen, the former Crowell & Moring associate who had to be extradited from Hong Kong after embezzling $10.7M from clients, pleaded guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence. [New York Law Journal]

* It’s tough to come up with appropriate whistleblower jokes given the background here. We’ll play it straight: Mike McQueary filed a defamation suit against Penn State, and he’s seeking $4M in damages. [ABC News]

* Jose Godinez-Samperio, an undocumented immigrant, is fighting for the ability to practice law in Florida, but the members of the state Supreme Court are literally trying to make it into a “federal case.” [Washington Post]