Now we move on to unveil another pair of matchups. Voting is open until Monday at 7:59 p.m. Eastern. <\/p>\n
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THE JOHN EASTMAN REGION<\/h2>\n
John Eastman, former dean of Chapman University\u2019s law school and former clerk to Justice Thomas, authored the legal theory that the Vice President gets to unilaterally decide what the electoral votes say. His work became the intellectual scaffolding for January 6th and the government lawyers in this region follow in his footsteps.<\/p>\n
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(1) Todd Blanche vs. (4) David Warrington<\/h3>\n
1. Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General of the United States (Brooklyn Law School)<\/strong><\/p>\n Todd Blanche was a Cadwalader partner before giving it up to serve as Donald Trump\u2019s personal criminal defense attorney. He is now the number two official at the Department of Justice, with oversight of matters that directly implicate his former client\u2019s political interests. If you were trying to design a conflict of interest hypo for a law school exam, you\u2019d be told to shelve this one and come up with something less ridiculous.<\/p>\n From ongoing immigration enforcement violations<\/a> to personally keeping Epstein files under wraps<\/a>, Blanche is at the center of it all. He\u2019s asked lawyers to join a \u201cwar\u201d against federal judges<\/a> and threatened Trump\u2019s hecklers with organized crime charges<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whenever the government needs to have a lawyer say something loony and downright detrimental to the public perception of the profession, Blanche is there.<\/p>\n 4. David Warrington, White House Counsel (ASS Law)<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019d think the White House Counsel would earn higher than a 4 seed. And yet the daily transgressions piling up from both DOJ HQ and the various U.S. Attorney\u2019s offices are so glaring that the White House\u2019s top lawyer fades into the woodwork. But he\u2019s the one laying out the framework for pardoning the January 6 rioters<\/a> and concocting the theory that court orders barring the government from deporting certain individuals don\u2019t apply if the plane already took off. <\/p>\n The executive order threats to coerce Biglaw firms to cave to the administration would\u2019ve come across his desk. <\/p>\n Also, it\u2019s kind of amazing that this is our first ASS Law participant.<\/p>\n VOTE HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 2. Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (Albany Law School)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Fox News personality became the top federal prosecutor for the nation\u2019s capital after Senate Republicans made it clear that they would not support Ed Martin. Her old bosses at Fox privately called her a \u201creckless maniac<\/a>,\u201d which at the time seemed harsh and now seems prescient.<\/p>\n Since joining the administration, Pirro\u2019s been collecting no bills<\/a> like she can win a free sandwich. And sandwiches are a touchy subject down there<\/a>. She attempted to convince a grand jury to indict six Democratic lawmakers for filming a video that accurately restated the Uniform Code of Military Justice\u2019s provisions on refusing illegal orders. The grand jury declined. She tried to use the threat of prosecution to intimidate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell into lowering interest rates \u2014 or something. It flopped in court with Lawfare describing the evidentiary record as one of \u201cvaporous, speculative malice<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n 3. Kash Patel, FBI Director (Pace)<\/strong><\/p>\n Technically, Patel isn\u2019t practicing law in his current role, which may be the only thing standing between him and a bar complaint. But he has a law degree and publicly names people he wants investigated even though they aren\u2019t facing any charges at the time.<\/p>\n Patel announces his intentions through podcasts, social media, and celebratory locker room appearances with hockey teams. He maintained a public \u201cenemies list\u201d before taking the job. He has co-opted the FBI\u2019s messaging apparatus to broadcast political threats. The professional conduct rules in his licensing jurisdiction prohibit lawyers from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, and from engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Whether running the FBI while maintaining a public hit list qualifies remains a question a bar authority might want to consider.<\/p>\n VOTE HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Remember voting is open until Monday at 7:59 p.m. Eastern!<\/p>\n The post Bracket Challenge Continues: Which Trump Administration Lawyer Most Deserves To Lose Their License?<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yesterday, we unveiled the first two regions of our 2026 March Madness bracket: the Roy Cohn and Rudy Giuliani Regions. Those regions featured some spectacular individual performances in the art of iffy professional decisions. From Lindsey Halligan\u2019s star turn as an insurance lawyer cosplaying as a federal prosecutor to Ed Martin\u2019s decision to\u2026 well, do everything he\u2019s done.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve just joined us and want to go back and vote in the earlier regions\u2026 head here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now we move on to unveil another pair of matchups. Voting is open until Monday at 7:59 p.m. Eastern. <\/p>\n John Eastman, former dean of Chapman University\u2019s law school and former clerk to Justice Thomas, authored the legal theory that the Vice President gets to unilaterally decide what the electoral votes say. His work became the intellectual scaffolding for January 6th and the government lawyers in this region follow in his footsteps.<\/p>\n 1. Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General of the United States (Brooklyn Law School)<\/strong><\/p>\n Todd Blanche was a Cadwalader partner before giving it up to serve as Donald Trump\u2019s personal criminal defense attorney. He is now the number two official at the Department of Justice, with oversight of matters that directly implicate his former client\u2019s political interests. If you were trying to design a conflict of interest hypo for a law school exam, you\u2019d be told to shelve this one and come up with something less ridiculous.<\/p>\n From ongoing immigration enforcement violations<\/a> to personally keeping Epstein files under wraps<\/a>, Blanche is at the center of it all. He\u2019s asked lawyers to join a \u201cwar\u201d against federal judges<\/a> and threatened Trump\u2019s hecklers with organized crime charges<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whenever the government needs to have a lawyer say something loony and downright detrimental to the public perception of the profession, Blanche is there.<\/p>\n 4. David Warrington, White House Counsel (ASS Law)<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019d think the White House Counsel would earn higher than a 4 seed. And yet the daily transgressions piling up from both DOJ HQ and the various U.S. Attorney\u2019s offices are so glaring that the White House\u2019s top lawyer fades into the woodwork. But he\u2019s the one laying out the framework for pardoning the January 6 rioters<\/a> and concocting the theory that court orders barring the government from deporting certain individuals don\u2019t apply if the plane already took off. <\/p>\n The executive order threats to coerce Biglaw firms to cave to the administration would\u2019ve come across his desk. <\/p>\n Also, it\u2019s kind of amazing that this is our first ASS Law participant.<\/p>\n VOTE HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 2. Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (Albany Law School)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Fox News personality became the top federal prosecutor for the nation\u2019s capital after Senate Republicans made it clear that they would not support Ed Martin. Her old bosses at Fox privately called her a \u201creckless maniac<\/a>,\u201d which at the time seemed harsh and now seems prescient.<\/p>\n Since joining the administration, Pirro\u2019s been collecting no bills<\/a> like she can win a free sandwich. And sandwiches are a touchy subject down there<\/a>. She attempted to convince a grand jury to indict six Democratic lawmakers for filming a video that accurately restated the Uniform Code of Military Justice\u2019s provisions on refusing illegal orders. The grand jury declined. She tried to use the threat of prosecution to intimidate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell into lowering interest rates \u2014 or something. It flopped in court with Lawfare describing the evidentiary record as one of \u201cvaporous, speculative malice<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n 3. Kash Patel, FBI Director (Pace)<\/strong><\/p>\n Technically, Patel isn\u2019t practicing law in his current role, which may be the only thing standing between him and a bar complaint. But he has a law degree and publicly names people he wants investigated even though they aren\u2019t facing any charges at the time.<\/p>\n Patel announces his intentions through podcasts, social media, and celebratory locker room appearances with hockey teams. He maintained a public \u201cenemies list\u201d before taking the job. He has co-opted the FBI\u2019s messaging apparatus to broadcast political threats. The professional conduct rules in his licensing jurisdiction prohibit lawyers from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, and from engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Whether running the FBI while maintaining a public hit list qualifies remains a question a bar authority might want to consider.<\/p>\n
\n(2) Jeanine Pirro vs. (3) Kash Patel<\/h3>\n
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