Jan. 7, 2021
Good morning. It's hard to say those words a day after the Capitol was overtaken by pro-Trump protesters angry about the election's outcome as proceedings to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win, normally a formality, were delayed. Leaders of many of the country's largest law firms and bar associations are expressing outrage over yesterday's events. Amid the craziness, news emerged that Judge Merrick Garland is Biden's pick for AG. Outside of Washington, the Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell is unveiling a succession plan. And the Supreme Court is preparing to hear a major climate change case.
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Merrick Garland didn't get SCOTUS gig. He's now in line for AG. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque More than four years after Republicans blocked Judge Merrick Garland's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, the D.C. Circuit jurist is being tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to take charge of the beleaguered Justice Department as his attorney general.
News of the planned nomination of the 68-year-old centrist judge, who was a prosecutor before joining the bench, came on a day of chaos, as pro-Trump protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol and halted Congress's vote to confirm Biden's electoral victory over President Donald Trump. Congress ultimately early today certified his victory, and Trump pledged an "orderly transition," even as some lawmakers called to remove him from office before Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20 through impeachment or by invoking the 25th Amendment.
Runoff elections a day before in Georgia put Democrats in control of the Senate, where Garland's nomination by former President Barack Obama died in 2016. Biden will also nominate DOJ veterans Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general and Kristen Clarke as the assistant attorney general to the Civil Rights Division, Jarrett Renshaw and Sarah N. Lynch report. Vanita Gupta will be nominated as associate attorney general, the No. 3 person in the department.
News of Garland's expected nomination was welcomed as a "sound choice" by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. Others who had been in consideration for the AG spot included former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Senator Doug Jones. Find out more about how the DOJ could change under Garland.
"Storming the Capitol and disrupting the procedure of certification is not a peaceful protest. It is criminal conduct."
"Like so many across the globe, I watched in horror today as the disgraceful results of this attempted coup spilled into the hallowed halls of Congress."
"We cannot take our democracy for granted, and need to recognize that when you fan the flames of violence, it can cause that fire to get out of control."
Patricia Lee Refo, the president of the American Bar Association and a partner at Snell & Wilmer in Phoenix; Brad Karp, the chair of New York-based Paul Weiss; and Kim Koopersmith, chair of Akin Gump, respectively. They were among a wave of leading figures in the legal profession who condemned Wednesday's violent mobbing of the U.S. Capitol. (Reuters)
Sullivan & Cromwell names presumed successors to Chair Joseph Shenker Photo courtesy of Sullivan & Cromwell Elite Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell has named its heirs apparent to Chair Joseph Shenker. The firm tapped litigation partner Robert Giuffra and corporate partner Scott Miller as vice chairs of the firm, Caroline Spiezio reports.
Shenker himself had been named vice chair in 2006 as part of a succession plan to take the reins from legendary lawyer H. Rodgin Cohen. Shenker took over as chair in January 2010. Now, 11 years later, Miller and Giuffra are up next to lead the 900-lawyer firm, one of the oldest in New York.
Miller joined Sullivan & Cromwell in 1986 and was previously managing partner of its Palo Alto office. He represented Fiat Chrysler in its pending $50 billion merger with Peugeot S.A. and led the IPOs and listings of Ferrari and DraftKings. Giuffra joined the firm in 1989 and his work has included advising global financial institutions during the 2008 financial crisis and representing Volkswagen in class actions and government investigations over its diesel emissions scandal. Read more here.
Industry buzz
Video: COVID-19 vaccine issues facing employers Employers considering mandating vaccines for employees returning to the office face a series of legal issues that could affect their ability to do so. Alex Cohen takes a look at a few of them. Watch the full video here.
Coming up today
Reporter's notebook: Climate change litigation against oil companies headed to SCOTUS REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi Energy and environment reporter Sebastien Malo on state and local government climate change lawsuits:
Over the last months, I've been increasingly riveted by the lawsuits by local governments and states accusing oil and gas companies like BP, Chevron and Exxon Mobil of concealing their knowledge that their fuels contribute to climate change’s destructive effects.
States and municipalities in the about two dozen lawsuits are seeking to force the companies to foot part of the bill that would help communities adapt to weather patterns gone berserk. They've been scoring a series of procedural victories, most recently when the 1st Circuit in October rejected efforts by energy companies to bump a state court lawsuit by Rhode Island to federal court.
With President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration and its climate change priorities, legal experts have wondered whether DOJ will weigh in by filing amicus briefs backing the plaintiffs moving forward.
The cases get a major airing on Jan. 19, when the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments over whether a lawsuit by the city of Baltimore against the energy companies should be heard in state courts, where the plaintiffs see judges as more attuned to the damages they claim, or in federal court.
If this story were a boxing match, I'd say we're nearing the end of the first round.
In the courts
Industry moves
Columnist spotlight: Courts must examine deep roots of pay inequality - 7th Circuit On Tuesday, the 7th Circuit said a high school director's "offhanded" comment that a female teacher, Cheryl Kellogg, did not need a higher salary because her husband worked was enough for her to prove pay discrimination, and revived her lawsuit. But that’s not all. Alison Frankel takes a look at how the 7th Circuit made clear that when a plaintiff alleges that long-ago discrimination underlies years of pay inequality, courts must examine the roots of the problem. After-the-fact rationales, the 7th Circuit said, cannot justify actions that began with discrimination. “It’s disheartening that we still have suits like Kellogg’s – that women still raise credible allegations that they’ve been thwarted by gender discrimination that stretches back through decades of inequitable pay. But thank goodness for judges who understand that rot spreads from its source. To get rid of it, you have to dig deep,” Frankel writes. Read more about the case here.
Check out other recent pieces from all our columnists: Alison Frankel, Jenna Greene and Hassan Kanu.
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