Recent Headlines from Above the Law

  • Morning Docket: 12.06.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.06.16

    * Please clap: Jeb! Bush has been tapped by Buchanan Ingersoll, a firm that employs almost 500 lawyers across 18 offices, to act as a “strategic consultant.” Bush will not be lobbying for the firm, but believes that “putting [his] knowledge and experience together with Buchanan’s professional acumen will help Buchanan’s clients grow and prosper.” [Big Law Business]

    * Greg Gegenheimer, a white, male lawyer, has filed suit against the State Bar of Texas, accusing the organization of using an unconstitutional racial classification that discriminates against its white members. The Bar requires that at least four of its governing board members be racial minorities or women, and Gegenheimer wants to be considered for one of the minority seats that will soon be vacant. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “We need to learn to adapt so we can make the most of this talent. Any good leader needs to understand and figure out how to be relevant and resonate with their workforce.” Andrew Glincher, CEO of Nixon Peabody, thinks that Biglaw firms need to commit to collaboration and teamwork in order to succeed in the new economy, and to do that, they need to learn how to work better with their millennial lawyers. [Forbes]

    * Bill Cosby will not be able to keep prosecutors from using his questionable 2005 civil suit testimony against him during his criminal sexual assault trial. Specifically, in exchange for being “promised” that he would not be prosecuted, Cosby testified that he gave women Quaaludes before engaging in allegedly consensual sexual acts with them. A judge recently ruled that no such written promise was ever made with Cosby. [Reuters]

    * “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.” If Senator Jeff Sessions is confirmed as attorney general, then years of work to normalize the use of medical and recreational marijuana could be quickly cached. As our very own marijuana law columnist has discussed, Sessions could interfere with the rights of millions who voted to legalize medical and recreational forms of the drug and arrest growers, retailers, and users. [POLITICO]

  • Morning Docket: 07.24.15
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 07.24.15

    * Most Biglaw firms are downsizing their office space, but Ropes & Gray just inked a deal to increase the size of its New York office by 40,869 square feet. It’ll occupy more than 300,000 square feet in Rockefeller Center. Hope the firm has lawyers to fill it! [Commercial Observer]

    * Yikes! Thanks to a string of lateral hires by Buchanan Ingersoll, the newly formed Philly office of Novak Druce appears to have been left without a single lawyer. The firm decided to “refrain from commenting” on the departures. [Legal Intelligencer]

    * The same jury that found James Holmes guilty of several counts of murder in the Dark Knight movie theater massacre completed the first phase of sentencing and decided that aggravating factors existed for him to incur the death penalty. [Los Angeles Times]

    * A former court clerk in Indiana is suing because she claims she was fired for refusing to process same-sex marriage licenses, even though doing so went against her “sincerely held” religious beliefs. We may be seeing a lot more of these in the future. [Indy Star]

    * Per Texas prosecutor Warren Diepraam, medical examiners have ruled that Sandra Bland’s death was a suicide by hanging, and he has “full faith” in the autopsy results. The community remains outraged, and investigation into the case is ongoing. [NBC News]

  • Morning Docket: 10.17.14
    Biglaw, Canada, Cellphones, Morning Docket, Privacy, Technology

    Morning Docket: 10.17.14

    * “There’s too much at stake—too much money and interest.” Biglaw firms in West Africa are surviving, nay, thriving, despite the fact that the area is afflicted by the terrors of Ebola. [Am Law Daily]

    * “[T]ake a step back, to pause to consider, I hope, a change of course.” The head of the FBI is pissed about cell encryption, and he wants tech companies to cut it out with this privacy stuff. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney has a new chief financial officer. At Pittsburgh’s third-largest firm, the former litigation practice director could really make a name for himself. [Pittsburgh Business Times]

    * Former employees — even lawyers — of the recently failed Canadian firm Heenan Blaikie are filing suit, seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in severance pay. Good luck with that, eh? [Globe and Mail]

    * According to NY AG Eric Schneiderman, 72% of Airbnb rental sites in New York City are operating illegally. This is going to be problematic for those who enjoy the services of faux hotels. [New York Times]

  • Morning Docket: 03.14.14
    Attorney Misconduct, Biglaw, Fast Food, Food, Law Firm Mergers, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Partner Profits, Rankings, U.S. News

    Morning Docket: 03.14.14

    * Valerie Ford Jacob, leader of Fried Frank since 2003, is stepping down from her post prior to her official 2015 departure date. At least she’s leaving on a high note, with the firm’s highest profits per partner ever. Yay. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]

    * Ralph Lerner, the ex-Sidley Austin partner who billed extra car charges to his clients, claims he went into work on weekends to do work for free to make up for it. Aww, how nice of him. [Am Law Daily]

    * When we first covered this in January, it was just a rumor, but now it’s officially set in stone. The deed is done: Buchanan Ingersoll is picking up Tampa firm Fowler White Boggs. [Pittsburgh Business Times]

    * Many New York law schools moved in the recent U.S. News rankings, but not necessarily in the right direction. Four out of 15 schools moved up; the rest stayed the same or slipped. [New York Law Journal]

    * Would you like damages with that? McDonald’s corporate and its franchisees are facing lawsuits filed by employees over their allegedly “stolen wages.” Class actions have been filed in three states. [Bloomberg]

  • Morning Docket: 01.08.14
    American Bar Association / ABA, Biglaw, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Drugs, Law Firm Mergers, Law Professors, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Police, Privacy, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Technology

    Morning Docket: 01.08.14

    * A Supreme Court whose members are still afraid of using email will most likely have the final say on the NSA case, one of the biggest technology and privacy rulings in ages. Well, that’s comforting. [Talking Points Memo]

    * Pittsburgh firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is reportedly in merger talks with Tampa firm Fowler White Boggs. Boy, a merger between two firms from lackluster cities sure sounds promising. [Daily Business Review]

    * Law professors are completely outraged by the ABA’s proposal to cut tenure from its law school accreditation requirements. Quick, somebody write a law review article no one will read about it! [National Law Journal]

    * Struggling to find a topic for your law school personal statement? You should ask someone who knows next to nothing about you and your life for advice. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

    * Michael E. Schmidt, the lawyer killed in a police firefight, had some interesting things in his apartment, including a “green leafy substance,” a “white powdery substance,” and lots of pills. [Dallas Morning News]