editor’s legal news picks

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Morning Docket:11.04.25

Morning Docket:11.04.25

* Eleventh Circuit benchslaps Aileen Cannon for refusing to release Jack Smith’s full report. [MSNBC] * It’s a good time to do a transatlantic merger. [Law.com International] * SBF’s lawyers want a new trial. [Reuters] * Pam Bondi announces a new title for Lindsey...

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When You Pick Your Law School At 13…

When You Pick Your Law School At 13…

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! Stephen Baccus is the youngest person ever to get a J.D. from an American law school. Which law school did he attend? Hint: He got his J.D. at 16 in 1986. He went on to get a doctorate in neuroscience,...

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Prepare For Another Day At The Office — See Also

Prepare For Another Day At The Office — See Also

Prepare For Change, Goodwin Associates: The firm will expect to see you Monday-Thursday in person starting next year. So Much For Not Attacking Protestors In Costumes: All thanks to the 7th Circuit! There Goes $400M!: Justin Baldoni’s lawyers miss multimillion-dollar...

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NCBE to Beta Test NextGen UBE Early Next Year

NCBE to Beta Test NextGen UBE Early Next Year

The beta testing for the NextGen UBE will be conducted starting on Jan. 8 and running through Jan. 10.       The beta testing for the NextGen UBE will be conducted starting on Jan. 8 and running through Jan. 10.       

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ABA Changes Diversity Scholarship Language

ABA Changes Diversity Scholarship Language

The change was revealed in a recent court filing in a case between the American Bar Association and the American Alliance for Equal Rights.       The change was revealed in a recent court filing in a case between the American Bar Association and the American Alliance...

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Goodwin Becomes Latest Firm With 4-Day In-Office Policy

Goodwin Becomes Latest Firm With 4-Day In-Office Policy

Personnel in the U.S. and U.K. will be expected to work from the firm's offices from Monday through Thursday starting in January.       Personnel in the U.S. and U.K. will be expected to work from the firm's offices from Monday through Thursday starting in...

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2026 Tech Outlook for Small to Mid-Size Law Firms

2026 Tech Outlook for Small to Mid-Size Law Firms

Preparing Law Firms for 2026: Embracing AI, Strengthening Cybersecurity, and Modernizing IT Strategies.       Preparing Law Firms for 2026: Embracing AI, Strengthening Cybersecurity, and Modernizing IT Strategies.       

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Netflix Privacy Chief Jumps to Uber

Netflix Privacy Chief Jumps to Uber

"Millions of people and partners worldwide use Uber every day to go anywhere, get anything, or earn, and as the innovation in this space accelerates, data privacy, security and AI governance will continue to be essential," said Krystal Denley Bowen, Uber's chief...

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Weil Gotshal Partner Caught In Spyware Scandal

Weil Gotshal Partner Caught In Spyware Scandal

Weil Gotshal partner Gerhard Schmidt, co-managing partner of the Biglaw firm’s German offices and a private equity and mergers & acquisitions attorney, is on the hot seat thanks to a €5 million personal investment. According to reporting by the Financial Times, in...

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Law Students Are Forming AI Student Groups Nationwide

Law Students Are Forming AI Student Groups Nationwide

“Make sure you join a study group!” is great one size fits all advice that 1Ls hear all the time. Why? Because you’re there to be a cog in a Biglaw firm learn, and the immediate feedback, problem solving, and note-sharing opportunities of being in a study group are...

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Stat(s) Of The Week: Right Place, Wrong Time

Stat(s) Of The Week: Right Place, Wrong Time

As more people use AI-powered searches to get a quick handle on the latest news, it’s worth considering how reliable the information they’re getting is. Not very, it turns out. According to research recently published by the BBC and the European Broadcasting Union, AI...

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Law Firm Disrupted: Leave the Full-Service Focus Behind

Law Firm Disrupted: Leave the Full-Service Focus Behind

“When firms are trying to be all things to all people, they're going to suffer, because the market is facing disruption, said legal consultant Kristin Stark.       “When firms are trying to be all things to all people, they're going to suffer, because the market is...

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How Appealing Weekly Roundup

How Appealing Weekly Roundup

Ed. Note: A weekly roundup of just a few items from Howard Bashman’s How Appealing blog, the Web’s first blog devoted to appellate litigation. Check out these stories and more at How Appealing. “All It Took for Trump to Dismantle the Justice Dept.” Carol Leonnig...

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Morning Docket: 10.31.25

Morning Docket: 10.31.25

* Judge Nichols heaps praise on DOJ lawyers suspended for acknowledging the January 6 riot. [Reuters] * Next big executive power showdown? National monuments. [Bloomberg Law News] * Government tells Supreme Court that overturning tariffs would jeopardize all the trade...

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Happy Halloween To Our Advertisers

We’d like to express gratitude to our fantastic sponsors here at Above the Law: 8am™ AffiniPay 8am™ CasePeer 8am™ LawPay 8am™ MyCase Aon Axiom BARBRI Brightflag Caret Legal CobbleStone Software Concord CosmoLex Draftable  Filevine FlexOffers.com GLG iManage InfoTrack...

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Kirkland’s Litigation Business Is White Hot

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! According to reporting by Roy Strom, after hiring almost 300 litigators since the beginning of last year, Kirkland & Ellis is set to rake in how much money for their litigation business? Hint:...

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Being Proactive: How To Advance Your Cases

Being Proactive: How To Advance Your Cases

Whether you are on the plaintiff or defense side, you have an obligation continually to advance your case.  I’m surprised how often lawyers allow their cases to languish, to the detriment of their clients. At the beginning of each case, you need to define a win with...

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Legal Business Development As A Team Sport

People assume that because I have a Michael Jordan jersey on my wall, I’m a huge Chicago sports fan. When the Bulls were in their prime, nothing was more exciting than going to a game or watching them dominate from a local bar. The truth is, I don’t really watch or...

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Amazon Cloud Outage Highlights Widespread Risk for Business

Amazon Cloud Outage Highlights Widespread Risk for Business

“When you have so many organizations depending on a single provider, the risk is high, said F. Paul Greene, a partner at Harter Secrest & Emery.       “When you have so many organizations depending on a single provider, the risk is high, said F. Paul Greene, a...

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Election Law Experts Calmly Describe End Of Democracy

Election Law Experts Calmly Describe End Of Democracy

Will we actually have Midterm elections next year? That was the question posed to three veteran conservative election law experts last week and they unanimously agreed that there would be elections… and that they probably would not be free and fair. These aren’t...

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Dispatches From The Collapse Of The Rule Of Law

Dispatches From The Collapse Of The Rule Of Law

Catching up with the slice of the conservative legal movement who have stared into the moral abyss of the Trump administration and recoiled in horror. The Society for the Rule of Law held its annual summit and while many attendees voiced clear-eyed opposition, some...

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Playing The Blame Game Over The Biglaw Trump Deals

Playing The Blame Game Over The Biglaw Trump Deals

Earlier this week, Fabio Bertoni, General Counsel at the New Yorker, took to the pages of the magazine for a long, hard look at the deterioration of the rule of law that characterizes 2025. Unsurprisingly, for those of us who follow the legal industry, he points the...

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