Recent Headlines from Above the Law

  • Morning Docket: 05.31.22
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.31.22

    * If Roe is overturned, the prosecutor’s veto may be the last saving grace. [NYT]

    * The DOJ will be reviewing how police failed to respond to the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting. [Reuters]

    * Thinking about reapplying to law school? Maybe don’t? But also, read this first. [US News]

    * Apple is getting bit by another antitrust suit. [Engadget]

    * Maryland is being super serial with gun purchases. [NBC Washington]

  • Morning Docket: 06.02.21
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 06.02.21

    * Dominion Voting Systems is trying to hold MyPillow liable for statements made by its CEO about the election. Might be time for MyPillow to hit the mattresses… [Business Insider]

    * Derek Chauvin is purportedly financially unable to hire a lawyer to fight off federal civil rights charges. [Insider]

    * A Maryland lawyer has been disbarred for allegedly failing to file an appeal and then lying to a client about the situation. [Daily Record]

    * The New York Attorney General is ordering the CEO of Kodak to testify about alleged insider trading. [CNBC]

    * An asparagus recipe was inadvertently included in a Belgian legal database. Would have expected a waffle recipe… [CNN]

  • Morning Docket: 04.29.21
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.29.21

    * The Charleston Water System has filed a lawsuit against flushable wipes makers for allegedly making products that aren’t fit for flushing. Bet they hope their case doesn’t go down the drain… [ABC News]

    * Maryland has finalized a $577 million settlement of a lawsuit claiming the state underfunded historically black colleges and universities. [Capital Gazette]

    * A lawsuit filed by a Southwest Airlines flight attendant blames the airline on her husband’s death from COVID-19. [Fox News]

    * A Maryland lawyer has been suspended from practice for giving paralegals the power to settle cases. [Daily Record]

    * Since Above the Law has not had a “Lawyerly Lairs” segment in a while, just wanted to relate that a Florida attorney is selling her swanky beachfront home for a pretty penny. [Real Deal]

  • Morning Docket: 03.17.21
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.17.21

    * The first general counsel of DraftKings is joining legal tech startup LinkSquares. Guess he’s taking a “gamble” on the new company… [Bloomberg Law]

    * Three more people have been arrested in connection with a home invasion that left a well-known Maryland lawyer dead. [WTOP News]

    * A mysterious person named “Ricky” seemingly accepted service of litigation papers for Donald Trump. Maybe it was John Barron. [Insider]

    * A U.S. Attorney in Ohio is accusing individuals of using a kosher meat store as a front for drug trafficking and money laundering. Can understand their beef. [Cleveland Jewish News]

    * A San Antonio fire chief was caught cursing at a lawyer during an arbitration hearing held via Zoom. Guess he needs to put out another kind of fire now… [ABC News]

  • Morning Docket: 02.26.21
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.26.21

    * A lawyer for Britney Spear’s dad defended her client’s role in Britney’s conservatorship. In other words: leave Britney’s dad alone! [Los Angeles Times]

    * TikTok has reached a $92 million settlement to resolve a class action that alleged privacy violations by the platform. [Verge]

    * The Washington Supreme Court has struck down a law that criminalizes the unintentional possession of drugs. [Seattle Times]

    * A lawyer told a congressional committee that the Department of Justice and state attorneys general need more resources to fight Google in antitrust litigation. [Yahoo News]

    * Prosecutors in Maryland are participating in a “Polar Bear Plunge” by jumping into the Chesapeake Bay to raise money for the Special Olympics. Please let this be the new “ice bucket challenge“! [Baltimore Sun]

  • Morning Docket: 12.04.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.04.20

    * A man in prison for tax fraud is accused of using a smartphone to continue committing more tax crimes. Hope he wasn’t doing the guards’ taxes like Andy Dufresne… [New York Times]

    * A Florida lawyer is in hot water for allegedly telling people to move to Georgia to vote in the upcoming runoff elections. [Fox News]

    * Sources say that President Trump has not ruled out firing Attorney General Barr before the end of his term. [NBC News]

    * A Maryland attorney has been charged for allegedly trying to steal funds from the Somali government. [U.S. News]

    * A lawsuit alleges that a newly-hired correctional officer was fired for wearing a “Black Lives Matter” shirt after guards wore “Police Lives Matter” shirts. [Seattle Times]

    * A new lawsuit against coffee-maker Folgers alleges that the plaintiff can’t make the cups of coffee advertised on the container. If true, maybe Folgers will change their jingle to “the best part of waking up is Folgers in your mini cup”… [Crain’s Chicago Business]

  • Morning Docket: 05.07.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.07.20

    * A class-action lawsuit has been filed over a water main break that recently occurred in Hudson County, New Jersey. Please make it so I don’t have to boil water again anytime soon. [Jersey Digs]

    * An attorney may face a three-month suspension for using foul language during a deposition. Feel like we all know a few lawyers who should be put on notice by this. [ABA Journal]

    * The New York Attorney General is appealing a decision that reinstated the New York presidential primary. [Bloomberg Law]

    * A fifth murder trial is expected against a Maryland man accused of killing a security guard. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie Double Jeopardy, but this must be an interesting set of facts. [Baltimore Sun]

    * The Attorney General of Texas is calling for the immediate release of a salon owner who opened her shop despite closures related to COVID-19. Maybe the AG just needed a haircut? [CBS News]

    * All lawyers in Virginia are now going to be required to maintain a valid email address. Seems like this rule is a little overdue. [Virginia Lawyers Weekly]

  • Morning Docket: 03.11.19
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.11.19

    * According to House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), special counsel Robert Mueller is making “a mistake” by not putting President Trump under oath for in-person testimony, since “he’s made plain in the past [that] he feels it’s perfectly fine to lie to the public.” [NBC News]

    * Per his lawyer, Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann will be suing CNN for at least $250M because the news network was “probably more vicious in its direct attacks” than the Washington Post. [The Hill]

    * Lynne Patton, purported “law school grad” and actual prop for Rep. Mark Meadows, will soon be seen on reality TV, with Trump’s permission, of course. [CNN]

    * Texas lawyers have filed suit against the State Bar of Texas, claiming that the use of their mandatory dues to fund diversity programming and other legislative initiatives is unconstitutional. [SE Texas Record]

    * Women are dominating the playing field at this year’s SXSW festival and conference, making up about 68 percent of the attorneys who will be featured as speakers or panelists during the event. [Texas Lawyer]

    * In a split vote, the Maryland Court of Appeals reinstated “Serial” podcast subject Adnan Syed’s murder conviction, ruling that even though he may have had ineffective assistance of counsel, that wasn’t enough to overcome the rest of the evidence against him. [Reuters]

    * Bill Powers, former UT president and former UT Law dean, RIP. [Statesman]

  • Morning Docket: 04.24.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.24.17

    * In the wake of the surprise announcement that Whittier Law School will be closing, the administrations at other schools may feel as though they’ve finally been granted permission to do the same thing. According to Professor Paul Campos, we may see as many as ten more law school close within the next five years. But which ones? [Big Law Business]

    * “Their indifference to us as a student body is unacceptable.” Angry Whittier Law students gathered last week to protest their school’s impending closure, demanding answers from the board of trustees as to why the powers that be decided to throw in the towel on their education. We’ll have more on this later today. [Whittier Daily News]

    * Two Harvard researchers have found a second parchment manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence in a records office in England. The only other parchment copy is housed in the National Archives, in Washington, D.C. They speculate that the copy was originally commissioned by James Wilson, who helped draft the Constitution and served as one of the first Supreme Court justices. Awesome find! [Boston Globe]

    * The number of transfer students may have dropped from 1,979 to 1,749 between 2015 and 2016, but it’s still a great market for first-year students who are interested in switching schools. After all, high-achieving 1Ls can “easily move to a higher-ranked school, or stay put and get bigger tuition discounts.” So, which law schools accepted the greatest number of transfers? We’ll delve into the details later today. [ABA Journal]

    * Charges were dropped against two Maryland teens who were accused of committing a hate crime after allegedly lighting a Trump campaign sign on fire “with discrimination or malice toward a particular group, or someone’s belief.” David Rocah of the Maryland ACLU said the charges were “beyond absurd” and reflected “a profound misunderstanding of what the Maryland hate-crime statute says.” [Baltimore Sun]

  • Morning Docket: 03.16.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.16.17

    * It’s not just Hawaii; a federal judge in Maryland has also ruled against Donald Trump’s revised immigration order. [CNN]

    * Every woman to ever argue before the Supreme Court. [Supreme Court Brief]

    * Accusations abound that former Yahoo GC Ronald Bell “took the hit” for CEO Marissa Mayer in the hacking matter. Now if she can someone to take the hit for the company’s overall performance, she’ll be golden. [CNBC]

    * Emma Watson pursuing legal action against hackers over leaked photos of a fitting. Expecto litigious! [Time]

    * Relatedly, Lisa Bloom warns against revenge-porn dealers peddling Mischa Barton pics. [USA Today]

    * Video game cheating can be a costly industry — Blizzard is suing a cheat-maker for $8.5 million. Or, you know, 1/200th of what Blizzard brings in annually. [Kotaku]

    * Immigration could disrupt the happily ever after ending of The Bachelor before the customary 2 months. [Chicago Tribune]

    * The Mormon Church is getting lessons in the breadth of the First Amendment. [Salt Lake Tribune]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 02.21.17
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 02.21.17

    * Hope you weren’t counting on Don McGahn to tell President Trump “no.” [Slate]

    * This is a much better reason to go to law school. [The Family Center]

    * The secret to Syracuse Law’s bar success. [TaxProf Law]

    * Tips for keeping your practice from getting stale. [Reboot Your Law Practice]

    * A look at the attorneys arguing before the Supreme Court this Term. [Empirical SCOTUS]

    * Get up to speed on all the legal issues brought about by the Trump administration in this new podcast. [Planet Lex]

    * The legal implications of the definition of “food.” [LawSci Forum]

    * This should infuriate you. [New Republic]

  • Morning Docket: 07.26.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 07.26.16

    * Could it be? Could she really do such a thing? Rumor has it that Amal Clooney may be quitting her law firm job at Doughty Street Chambers to become a fashion designer for the likes of fashion house Oscar de la Renta. We may have more on this later today. [Inquisitr]

    * Maryland’s AG intends to contest a ruling granting “Serial” podcast subject Adnan Syed a new trial, saying that the state would “defend what it believes is a valid conviction.” Syed has been servicing a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee since 2000. [Baltimore Sun]

    * Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be behind bars for a 15-month term for attempting to conceal secret payments to his underage sexual assault victims in a cover-up scheme, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to fight a lawsuit seeking the full $3.5 million he allegedly said he would pay to buy a victim’s silence. [Chicago Tribune]

    * Vermont Law School, which was hit relatively hard by the recession in terms of its ability to fill its seats, has applied for a $15 million loan from the federal government to help restructure its debts. Unlike what its students face in terms of their debt, the law school may be able to get a good interest rate upon approval. [VTDigger / Valley News]

    * “[A]ttempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.” Congratulations (or perhaps condolences?) digital currency aficionados, because a judge just ruled that Bitcoin isn’t money for the purposes of money-laundering statutes. [WSJ Law Blog]

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