Tag: Criminal Justice Reform

* Paul Weiss really showed its “commitment to putting the white in white shoe” with its new partnership class, and the New York Times is on it! See our coverage from December here. [New York Times]

* President Donald Trump recently met with a group of right-wing activists led by Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, where they criticized transgender people and women serving in the military. Trump reportedly looked “taken aback“ during the meeting, which is a bit of a rarity. [New York Times]

* Some pretty major lateral moves for some pretty major players when it comes to appellate practice: Lisa Blatt is returning to Williams & Connelly where she’ll lead the firm’s Supreme Court practice, and Kannon Shanmugam is leaving Williams & Connolly to lead a new Supreme Court practice at Paul Weiss. Congrats! [NLJ; NLJ]

* “I’m here to speak for the people who don’t have a voice.” Rappers Jay-Z and Meek Mill have launched the Reform Alliance, an initiative for criminal justice reform, with the goal of dramatically changing laws and policies to reduce “unreasonable” probation, parole, and prison terms. [CBS News]

* What happened to the people who were told that they passed the D.C. bar exam, when in reality they actually failed? “Just shock. I didn’t think that could happen. I never heard of a bar committee changing the results.” Here’s a bit of a depressing update. [Washington Post]

* Eighty-three judicial ethics complaints against Brett Kavanaugh have been tossed out by the Judicial Council of the Tenth Circuit due to an “intervening event”: his SCOTUS confirmation. The Council, set up to fail by Chief Justice John Roberts, “[l]ack[s] statutory authority to do anything more.” [National Law Journal]

* The Senate passed the First Step Act in an 87 to 12 bipartisan vote, and now the sweeping criminal justice reform legislation will move on to the House for approval before being sent to the White House. This is a major victory. Thanks for the assist on this, Jared Kushner! [Washington Post]

* The tax man commeth, but not for Donald Trump. Judge Karen Henderson of the D.C. Circuit has denied a Freedom of Information Act request for the President’s IRS tax records, citing the agency’s confidentiality protections for all citizens. [CNN]

* Cross-border mergers are on the rise, and one firm has been responsible for the vast majority of them. In 2018 alone, with about 9,000 lawyers and counting, Dentons has completed more global mergers than all other U.S. firms. [American Lawyer]

* Brooklyn Law will have a new dean come July 1. Michael Cahill, who’s been serving as co-dean of Rutgers Law, will return to the place where he spent 13 years as a professor, associate dean, and vice dean. Congrats! [New York Law Journal]

* People and things in the legal profession dominated Google’s most searched for queries over the course of 2018, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford’s SJC testimony, Aaron Schlossberg, and taking some top spots. [ABA Journal]

* Yale Law School’s list of the most memorable quotes of the year is out, and Rudy Giuliani’s “truth isn’t truth” and Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s “I still like beer” coming in first and second place, respectively. Congratulations on all of your success. [Newsweek]

* After some dealmaking with Republicans, Senator Kamala Harris will remain on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The problem here is that another GOP seat will be added, but right now, it seems like there’s no one out there who wants to take up this important role. [Washington Post]

* Yup, I’m just going to leave this one right here: “Senate Lawyer Deemed ‘Not Qualified’ by ABA Confirmed to Eighth Circuit.” [National Law Journal]

* Kirkland & Ellis will have a new leader soon, but that doesn’t mean the firm’s lateral hiring spree will end. “[T]he Kirkland threat of poaching isn’t going away anytime soon and might get worse,” says one of the firm’s partners. [American Lawyer]

* The Senate will take a look at a criminal justice reform in a revised version of the First Step Act later this month. Per President Trump, the bill “looks like it’s going to be passing, hopefully, famous last words, on a very bipartisan way.” [Reuters]

* Remember that dustup at GW Law between the SBA and the Jewish Law Student Association? Students say the administration has “swept the incident under the rug” and won’t resolve the situation until next semester. [GW Hatchet]

* When do women get seats on corporate boards? When it’s required by law. That’s certainly less than than inspiring. Time to start lobbying. [Big Law Business]

* Which celebrity court appearances were the very best? [Jezebel]

* What’s in a name? The legal battle over the trademark for “Charlotte.” [The Fashion Law]

* Going crazy waiting for bar exam results? Some tips to get through the waiting game. [Excellence in Law School]

* A law prof asks: Should I retire? [TaxProf Blog]

* ICYMI, here’s a recap of yesterday’s #LegalCareerChat on Twitter, with our very own David Lat. [ABA Legal Career Central]

* The crimes in Charlottesville could be prosecuted as hate crimes. They won’t, but they could. [The Hill]

* The role of income inequality in criminal justice reform. [Harvard Magazine]

* A look at voting rights litigation under President Trump. [Take Care]