Puerto Rico

At least 33% of this firm's workforce will find themselves jobless thanks to these layoffs.

Justice White really had a bone to pick back then huh.

* It’s coming from inside the house! SCOTUS clerks lawyer up as tensions rise post-Alito leak. [Yahoo!]

* Tongue-in-cheek protection: SCOTUS makes it harder to hold our protectors accountable. Thanks for that. [Bloomberg Law]

* Though vague, over 200 CEOs are pressing lawmakers to do something about gun violence. Maybe children will be safer now that businessmen care. [Axios]

* If Correlation =/= Causation was a person: Missouri congressman thinks mass shootings are on the rise because of abortion access. [Newsweek]

* SCOTUS may step the US closer to relinquishing colonial authority. [Boston Globe]

* “What are you, an officer? Get a real job!”: Judge rules policing isn’t thought of as a profession, thwarting an attempt to get off Death Row. [AZ Central]

* Is US tech lagging for legal reasons? Some think so. [NYT]

*  SCOTUS rules denying Puerto Rico’s residents Supplemental Security Income is no biggie. [Twitter]

* Show me the money! Lawmakers hope new regulations can combat hiding assets in the states. [WaPo]

* One man’s trash is another’s 4th amendment violation…for now: Iowa Gov. wants to overturn an Iowa Supreme Court ruling that bans cops from searching people’s trash without a warrant. [DesMoines Register]

Which law schools will provide needy Puerto Rican students with assistance in their studies?

How is it even possible that this guy doesn't know how bankruptcy works?

* Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore has won the Republican primary runoff election for the Senate seat that was once occupied by AG Jeff Sessions. Perhaps we can look forward to history repeating itself and Moore being twice suspended if he wins the special election. [New York Times]

* Senate Republicans don’t have the votes for the Graham-Cassidy effort to repeal Obamacare to pass, but not to worry, because they’ll be back at it again soon via the 2019 budget reconciliation process, and next time, they’re going to be transparent, hold committee hearings, and even consult Democrats. [CNN]

* The Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security has refused to waive Jones Act shipping restrictions that are preventing Puerto Rico from getting the gasoline and supplies that are so desperately needed for the island’s recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria. Senator John McCain is pissed, and says it’s time to repeal the “archaic and burdensome” Act. [Reuters]

* Freedom hangs in the balance for Making a Murderer’s Brendan Dassey, whose case was heard before the full Seventh Circuit yesterday. According to court watchers, the judges seemed split, and we can’t help but to wonder what Judge Richard Posner would have thought. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

* Irell & Manella’s Andrei Iancu, President Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is awaiting confirmation. There’s no better way to bide our time while we wait than to discuss the fact that he’d been pulling down a $4 million paycheck at the firm. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily]

* “How can you expect companies to do the right thing when you[r] agency has not?” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton is taking heat over the fact that his agency was hacked in 2016, but nothing was mentioned about it until last week. He’s set a great example. [Big Law Business]

* According to a recent study, no matter what women do, in most cases, they’ll continue to earn less than men. The ban on asking employees about their salary history is doing nothing for women; in fact, they’re being penalized for refusing to disclose their salaries, while men are being rewarded. [The Careerist]

Please pray for their safety.

And we need to ease the rules so lawyers can help.

* Oh please, like you really care about any news other than the firms that have raised their salaries. Here’s the roster of movement news from yesterday: Keker Van Nest, Greenberg Gross, Willkie Farr, Gunderson Dettmer, Vinson & Elkins, Latham & Watkins, Clifford Chance, Sidley Austin, Munger Tolles, Proskauer Rose, O’Melveny & Myers, McKool Smith, and Fenwick & West. If you’re ever worried that you’ve missed any of our coverage, check out our omnibus 2016 salary page where we collect all of these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]

* Per Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp, Biglaw firms are “operating in a period of unprecedented turbulence and instability.” He further cited the gap between elite firms and second-tier firms, warning that “[m]any firms have lost their footing.” Hmm, maybe that’s why some associates haven’t heard about their raises yet… [Big Law Business]

* In a 6-2 decision, SCOTUS ruled that Puerto Rico isn’t a separate sovereign for the purposes of double jeopardy in criminal prosecutions. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the majority, noted that “the oldest roots of Puerto Rico’s power to prosecute lie in federal soil,” so its authority comes from Congress, not its citizens. [WSJ Law Blog]

* “I merely bade a bad decision, trying to be a good father.” An Alabama judge has held an attorney in contempt and fined him $4,000 for showing up so late to his client’s murder trial that he was forced to dismiss the jury. The attorney was late to court because he has to drop his daughter off at summer camp. [Monticello Live]

* Former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle, who was sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison for charges related to child pornography and sex with minors, had his sentence affirmed on appeal by the Seventh Circuit. He claimed that he’d been sentenced inappropriately for his crimes. Poor Jared will remain behind bars to get his footlongs. [USA Today]

"The district court’s ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin."

* Professors at George Mason are outraged that administrators agreed to rename the law school after the late Justice Antonin Scalia without any input from the people who work or study there — his opinions don’t “reflect the values of our campus community.” They’re circulating a petition to denounce the name change, but thus far, none of its signatories are law professors. [NBC News]

* “I would appreciate if we could keep things that are very serious here appropriately viewed that way.” 50 Cent got yelled at by his bankruptcy judge because he brought his cellphone into the courthouse, took a picture of himself with a stack of fake cash, and posted it on Instagram. A motion to dismiss this wanksta is needed. [WSJ Law Blog]

* SCOTUS will hear oral arguments on the appeal of securities fraud case Salman v. United States next term, and Eugene Ingoglia of Morvillo L.L.P. hopes the justices will provide some greater detail as to “what counts as a personal benefit.” Let’s just hope that they don’t make insider trading’s road any rockier. [DealBook / New York Times]

* “The district court’s ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin.” You know that when an appellate holding begins with the prior statement, the trial judge is going to be in for a doozy of a benchslap. We’ll have more on the First Circuit slapping around Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez (D.P.R.) later today. [BuzzFeed]

* Jamie Wine, who was recently appointed as the chair of Latham’s global litigation and trial department, says even though L&W already has 610 litigators, she’s looking to hire more of them in the firm’s New York and London offices. If you think you want to lateral in, you should know you may be meeting with up to 50 partners. [Big Law Business]

* Hiring for law school summer associates may be on the rise, but you shouldn’t assume this means you’ll automatically be able to land a job at a prestigious law firm. These firms tend to “put a high value on law school pedigree and grades,” so if you happen to attend a lesser school, you’ll need to be ranked very highly. [U.S. News & World Report]

* Legal showdown averted (for now): the feds were able to access the data on the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone without any help from Apple. [Washington Post]

* A Harvard Law School grad stands accused of a $95 million fraud scheme — yikes. We’ll have more on this later. [ABA Journal]

* Does a sentencing delay violate the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial? Some on SCOTUS seem skeptical. [How Appealing]

* Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announces his intention to veto the Free Exercise Protection Act, which critics claimed would have protected discrimination as a form of religious liberty. [New York Times]

* Hillary Clinton takes Republicans to task for their handling of the current Supreme Court vacancy. [Wisconsin State Journal via How Appealing]

* Some thoughts from Professor Noah Feldman on the recent Seventh Circuit ruling about the use of form contracts on the internet (which nobody reads). [Bloomberg View]

* Save money (on taxes), live better: a federal judge strikes down a tax levied by Puerto Rico on mega-retailer Wal-Mart. [Reuters]

* The Bracewell law firm, now sans Giuliani, elects Gregory Bopp as its new managing partner. [Texas Lawyer]

* Pharma bro Martin Shkreli was subpoenaed to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, so of course he took to Twitter like a mature adult to bemoan the encroachment upon his constitutional rights. [Washington Post]

* Jell-O pudding pops for all! A judge dismissed a defamation suit filed against Bill Cosby and his lawyers, ruling that denials made in response to accusations are protected by the First Amendment. [Reuters]

* “For him to be arguing now that there ought to be tort reform is completely hypocritical.” It looks like Ted Cruz’s record for winning large damages awards for clients in personal injury cases may be coming back to haunt him. [Wall Street Journal]

* U.S. states aren’t permitted to declare bankruptcy, but some say it’s a better option than a taxpayer bailout. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, doesn’t need to file bankruptcy — it just needs “an orderly process to restructure its debts.” [Bloomberg Businessweek]

* Because everyone needs a Hail Mary: As DraftKings and FanDuel take on state attorneys general in the fight to remain in business, both daily fantasy sports websites have started lobbying Congress in the hopes of changing state gambling policies. [CNBC]

* “MSNBC embarrasses itself inside San Bernardino attackers’ apartment. Un-freaking-believable, even for MSNBC. And why did the FBI allow this?” [Instapundit]

* The latest additions to the Supreme Court docket — will SCOTUS come to the rescue of Puerto Rico? [How Appealing]

* Judge removed from office for trying to pressure his clerk into having a “special friend” relationship. [Associated Press]

* Additional (and actually earlier) coverage of the “questionable entertainment” at a lawyers’ seminar in Las Vegas. [South Florida Lawyers]

* A $30 casebook? Where can law students sign up? [TaxProf Blog]

* Tips from Dan Binstock for how to get a signing bonus when you make a lateral move. [The Careerist]

* How can Asian-American lawyers break through the “bamboo ceiling”? A report from the GC roundtable discussion hosted by Major, Lindsey & Africa. [Corporate Counsel]

* Luis Salazar and Linda Jackson — founding partners of Salazar Jackson, an innovative new boutique firm — really (really, really) like their Post-it notes. [Daily Business Review]

* Stanford law professor Deborah L. Rhode, author of The Trouble with Lawyers (affiliate link), calls out Biglaw firms for their weak pro bono efforts. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

https://youtu.be/9z7pLAEPs2c

* Elizabeth Wurtzel: “I am a lawyer. The first rule of law: All the promises will be broken. Attorneys could not be in business if people did not fail to do what they agreed to do all the time — and lawyers are very busy.” [Nerve.com] * Laura Ingraham clerked for SCOTUS, so presumably she knows that Puerto Ricans are American citizens. [Media Matters] * Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, known for zero tolerance of prosecutorial misconduct, has written the foreword to a new book on the subject. [Facebook] * In addition to the one we mentioned yesterday, here’s another petition for the Obama Administration that’s aimed at addressing the student debt crisis. [WhiteHouse.gov] * Thomson Reuters Concourse keeps getting bigger and better. [Thomson Reuters] * Appellate law? In California? What’s not to like? Check out these job openings in the California SG’s office. [California Department of Justice; California Department of Justice] * Want to know the backstory behind the awesome Jamie Casino Super Bowl ad? Keep reading…. Georgia personal injury lawyer Jamie Casino spoke with Mike Sacks of HuffPost Live about the lawyer ad heard around the world. What kind of reactions has Casino been getting to the ad? Is the kid in the video really his son? And does Jamie Casino harbor any Hollywood ambitions? Watch the video to find out.

Did you know there are people who still haven't taken their 2013 bar exams?

* “The people who are paying us say this is what we want.” When it comes to cross-border mergers, law firms aren’t becoming behemoths for the hell of it. The end goal is to be able to edge out the rest of the competition. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

* It’s been six weeks since Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, and “[e]verybody wants to go back downtown,” but some Biglaw firms in New York City — firms like Harris Beach and Cahill Gordon — are still stuck in their temporary offices. [New York Law Journal]

* Following Jeh Johnson’s adieu to the DoD, drone-loving Harold Koh will be packing up his office at the State Department and returning to Yale Law to resume his professorship next month. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]

* According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector is employing 5,800 more people than it was at this time last year. We’d be in good shape if 40,000 people hadn’t graduated law school in May. [Am Law Daily]

* Another day, another wrist slap: Villanova Law has been placed on probation for by the Association of American Law Schools over its grade-inflation scandal. Does that even mean anything? [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* The Lanier Law Firm, known for its spectacular Christmas parties, hosted some country superstars at this year’s event. Guess we know where Faith Hill and Tim McGraw go for legal assistance. [Houston Chronicle]

* A slim majority of American adults think that federal government employees should just sit back, relax, and smoke a bowl instead of enforcing federal laws against marijuana use. [FiveThirtyEight / New York Times]

* “I’m sorry they are confused in the White House.” Puerto Rico’s statehood referendum received a majority of votes, but lawmakers say the results of the two-part plebiscite are too confusing to add a 51st state. [CNN]

Day 2 of the 2010 NALP Annual Education Conference had a remarkably different feel from day 1. Apparently, it took everybody a day to realize that they were in Puerto freaking Rico. After really sticking to business casual on the first day, day 2 saw the introduction of something I’d call “business beachware.” Men were […]