Above The Law - Thinking Like A Lawyer

Joe and Kathryn have a lot to break down this week. Amy Coney Barrett's supporters tried to give her a nickname and managed to make an even bigger mess of it. As she begins her hearings, you'll not be able to get her new nickname out of your head. Meanwhile, Biglaw firms are split on whether or not to give bonuses to associates right now, but Kathryn explains that it looks better to pay now than to wait. And the online bar exams held last week were riddled with glitches, but examiners are committed to pretending it went off without a hitch. Special thanks to our sponsors, Paper Software and LexisNexis® InterAction®.

Obviously Trump's biggest mistake with ACB involved causing a White House superspreader event, but we didn't know that when we recorded this week's show. So we spend some time talking about his other mistake -- nominating ACB before the election and giving "never Trumpers" everything they want and leaving them with zero incentive to reelect him. We also discuss the wave of Fall bonuses among Biglaw firms and more importantly, the firms that aren't joining the party and what it means for the legal landscape. Special thanks to our sponsors, Paper Software and LexisNexis® InterAction®.

Justice Ginsburg's loss is a blow to the profession in almost every dimension. A legendary advocate, a long-tenured Supreme Court justice, and a genuine legal celebrity that provided a familiar touchstone with people mostly closed off from the law and its role in society. Joe chats with former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal about arguing before Justice Ginsburg and his experience clerking at the Supreme Court while she was a new justice. Joe and Kathryn also discuss the impact Justice Ginsburg had and the track records of her likely replacements (which was promptly narrowed to Amy Coney Barrett after recording). Special thanks to our sponsors, Paper Software and LexisNexis® InterAction®.

What was a nice trickle has turned into a tsunami. Law firms are falling over themselves to hand out big time bonuses to associates to show the world how they've weathered COVID. And yet some firms are being forced to admit that they aren't able to keep up with the Biglaw Joneses. Speaking of Joneses, we also check in on a Jones Day associate likely bound for the federal bench despite all normal rules of the profession. Special thanks to our sponsors, Paper Software and LexisNexis® InterAction®.

Professor Rick Hasen of UCI Law and the Election Law Blog joins us to talk all things election. Following up on his new book Election Meltdown we cover dangerous media expectations, vote-by-mail rules, how ballots are processed, the "Blue Shift" and the impact COVID is having on an already strained election system. Special thanks to our sponsors, Paper Software and LexisNexis® InterAction®.

One of America's most venerable legal institutions has fallen into rank buffoonery and it's genuinely tragic to watch. From Bill Barr declaring racism over -- except on college campuses -- to a stumbling effort to get Michael Flynn out of his own sworn testimony, Joe is joined by ATL and Wonkette columnist Liz Dye to discuss what's gone wrong over there. And we check in on Kyle Rittenhouse's legal team who've made some... let's just say "interesting" strategic decisions. Special thanks to our sponsors, Paper Software and LexisNexis® InterAction®.

If you watched the Republican National Convention, you heard a lot of coverage about the Hatch Act and the constant stream of violations occurring on live television. But does anyone really care about this? Maybe more to the point, is the law so over broad that it's blunted its own impact? We also check in on Yale Law School where a prominent professor is suspended for two years after an internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations. Special thanks to our sponsor, Paper Software.

Examinees across the pond give us a preview of the October exam process by urinating in bottles as proctors refuse to allow bathroom breaks. In case you were wondering if the bar exam fiasco could get any worse, there's your answer. Meanwhile Kirkland & Ellis faces a new discrimination suit, and we chat about the Supreme Court and the election a little bit. Special thanks to our sponsor, Paper Software.

As law schools return, one student gets a stern warning about a COVID kegger, law firms get a new ranking, and an unqualified judge issues the sort of baseless decision that landed him on the bench in the first place. A rundown of the week that was in legal news. Special thanks to our sponsor, Paper Software.

America's bar examination authorities have turned to threatening Character & Fitness repercussions for their critics marking a new, darker phase of the bar exam drama. How in the world did it come to this? Also, we talk about Kanye's double agent attorney and PACER gets a slap from the federal courts. Special thanks to our sponsor, Paper Software.

It may be too early to declare the legal profession back to normal, but we've now seen some major law firms reverse course on cost cutting and even announce some bonuses. Meanwhile, it took all of a couple hours for the in-person bar exam experiment to net its first positive COVID test. Special thanks to our sponsor, Paper Software.

Well, we're really doing this. States are beginning bar in-person bar examinations this week despite persistent warnings from public health officials and we hope everyone comes out of this experience safely. Joe and Kathryn offer a final roundup of what's going on with the bar examinations this week, from social distancing seating plans to the bogus claim that the bar tests "minimum competency." And, Joe unveils what the ideal attorney licensure regime would look like.

It's still hard to believe that there will actually be bar exams next week. But even in states with a basic respect for public health warnings, the exams are mostly just delayed requiring applicants to keep ramping up for a test only to be forced to forget everything again when the next delay is announced. The only way to avoid this cycle is to adopt an emergency diploma process. This week, Joe chats with Dr. Pilar Escontrias, Donna Saadati-Soto, Efrain Hudnell, and Emily Croucher, co-founders of United for Diploma Privilege. Follow them @DiplomaPriv4All.

Chief Justice Roberts was hospitalized for a head wound and managed to keep the news from the public for weeks. But it didn't seem to slow him down on the final day of the Supreme Court season, authoring two opinions punting on Trump's subpoenas, kicking things back for a nice, long, litigious delay. The rule of law is upheld theoretically if not practically and that's just where Roberts likes it. Also, we catch up on the looming in-person bar exams, which have crossed into farce refusing public health warnings while issuing dress code modifications.

It was an eventful week in legal news, but the biggest story was definitely the St. Louis personal injury attorneys who pulled guns on protesters and why lawyers have special obligations to maintain professionalism at all times. All that and more of the major stories of the week.

A new account compiles the acts of racism that compound at Harvard Law School, but they could emanate from almost any law school. We take a look at this account and the response of law schools around the country to recent events, including one law school that's taking an aggressive anti-racism stance. Also, we discuss Neomi Rao's Michael Flynn opinion which left a lot to be desired as a work of professional legal writing. Special thanks to our sponsor, Logikcull.

A decidedly conservative Supreme Court made discrimination against the LGBTQ community illegal and then turned around and wiped out the Trump Administration's effort to cancel DACA. What was in the water last week? Joe and Kathryn break down why the opinions weren't nearly as revolutionary as the results they brought might make them seem. Special thanks to our sponsor, Logikcull.

With an independent report by a federal judge branding the Department of Justice "corrupt" this seems like a good time to revisit exactly how we got here. Your elderly aunt on Facebook has a lot to say about Michael Flynn and most of it is wrong. Joe and Kathryn unpack the case and also discuss the case of a lawyer who egged a judge's car. Special thanks to our sponsor, Logikcull.

As law firms struggle to demonstrate to clients and their own attorneys that they take societal ills seriously, Kathryn's starting to notice some patterns in the statements getting released. Meanwhile, Joe is covering the state bar exams, where many are continuing to insist on shoving hundreds of people into small rooms in July and making applicants sign away their rights for the privilege of exposing themselves to disease. Special thanks to our sponsor, Logikcull.

Lawyers are pulling guns over facemasks? That... seems excessive. But here we are staring into the COVID abyss again. Austerity measures continue throughout the industry, lawyers are getting edgy, and a new assault on "the law that built the internet" issues from the White House. Special thanks to our sponsor, Logikcull.