![]() ![]() Jan. 8, 2021
Good morning. Fallout from the violent mobbing of the U.S. Capitol is continuing to mount, and now the leaders of a major law firm, Crowell & Moring, are calling on their peers to push for President Donald Trump's removal. In other news, law schools are seeing a surge in applications particularly from prospective students of color, Boeing is paying billions to resolve criminal charges over the 737 Max's fatal problems, and liberal activists are pushing for Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement. Let's get through this Friday together people!
Were you forwarded this email? Subscribe here.
Trump supporters who mobbed Capitol could face sedition charges, prosecutor says The top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia says charges including sedition are "on the table" for those who participated in the violent pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, as calls for President Donald Trump to resign or be removed from office mounted, Sarah N. Lynch reports.
"We're not going to keep anything out of our arsenal," Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin told reporters when asked about possible charges of sedition, rioting or insurrection. He said the DOJ has filed 55 cases about events this week, and more are coming.
The news came as shock continued to spread through the legal profession about the mobbing of the Capitol, prompting a call from one major law firm's leaders for their peers to urge for Trump's removal from office before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.
As Democrats weighed impeaching Trump for a second time, D.C.-based Crowell & Moring's management board issued a statement going a step beyond other law firm leaders who have condemned the riots by calling on Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, Caroline Spiezio reports. Its management board urged other lawyers to join its call, and at least one other firm, Phillips Nizer, said it would. Learn more.
Students of color drive spike in law school applications ![]() REUTERS/Adam Hunger Law schools are seeing a surge in applications, especially from prospective students of color, a trend experts attribute in part to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and racial justice movement sparked by the death of George Floyd.
Rick Linsk reports that about 33% more prospective students have applied for the fall 2021 cycle compared to the same period the previous year. The trend among Black applicants is even stronger, with the Law School Admission Council reporting that applications are up 39%.
"I've never seen anything like this," said Andrew Cornblatt, dean of admissions at Georgetown Law School, where as of December applications were up about 60% from a year earlier.
He said 2020 saw a "perfect storm of events" that has impressed on students "that law is involved in everything, and not just most things, but everything, and that means lawyers are involved in everything."
The trend is up in other demographics as well. Hispanic and Latino applicants increased 33%, while Asian applicants were up 31% as of Dec. 22. The overall spike was consistent across every region of the country and was especially strong from applicants in New England and the Midwest. Find out more about who is applying.
Industry buzz
Liberal activists call for Breyer's SCOTUS retirement after Democratic wins ![]() REUTERS/Joshua Roberts With Democrats having secured control of the U.S. Senate, Justice Stephen Breyer is facing calls from liberal activists to retire so President-elect Joe Biden quickly can appoint a successor to the Supreme Court's oldest member, Lawrence Hurley reports.
Stung by how President Donald Trump was able to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she died at age 87 with a conservative, Amy Coney Barrett, activists on the left want to ensure that Breyer, 82, is succeeded by a fellow liberal. He has served on the top court since his 1994 nomination by Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Brian Fallon, executive director of the liberal advocacy group Demand Justice, noted Biden has pledged to put the first Black woman on the nation's top court. "Timing his retirement in the coming year would guarantee that opportunity, and it would be wise to do so because the window may prove a narrow one," he added.
Breyer told Slate last month he would "eventually" retire, adding "it's hard to know exactly when." Potential Biden nominees include Leondra Kruger, who serves on the California Supreme Court, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal district court judge in Washington who served as a law clerk to Breyer. Learn more.
Coming up today
Video: What it's like to work with Merrick Garland Former Republican Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating worked with Biden’s pick for AG on the investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Keating talks about what it was like teaming up with Merrick Garland and how they later reconnected after Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court. Watch the full video here.
What we learned this week
"Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception."
Acting Assistant Attorney General David Burns, in announcing that Boeing will pay over $2.5 billion to resolve the DOJ's investigation into two deadly 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people. The company was not forced to plead guilty to criminal charges, though, and instead entered into a deferred prosecution agreement filed in federal court in Dallas. Mark Filip of Kirkland & Ellis and Richard Cullen of McGuireWoods led the defense teams at their firms for the company. (Reuters)
In the courts
Industry moves
Columnist spotlight ![]() Google's union could be a major force for workplace rights. The recent rollout of an employees’ union at Google and it’s parent company, Alphabet Inc, was met with much fanfare. But can the Alphabet Workers Union successfully galvanize a diverse cross-section of Google's roughly 100,000 workers to potentially become one of the most influential labor organizations in the country? It's a tall order. Hassan Kanu takes a look at the early days of the AWU and spoke with several Googlers who have raised concerns about whether the newly-announced union can take an authentically inclusive, anti-racist approach to workplace organizing. Read more here.
![]() For Giuliani, a trial by history. Less than three years ago Rudy Giuliani was a partner at 2,200-lawer Greenberg Traurig, where he was global chair of the firm’s cybersecurity and crisis management practice. Jenna Greene looks at Giuliani’s ruinous decline cemented by the attack on the U.S. Capitol. "It's hard to imagine a more perfect example of how the rule of law has suffered under the Trump administration than the president’s personal lawyer goading on an angry mob," Greene writes. Read more here.
![]() Walmart denies suit v. DOJ intrudes on prosecutors' discretion. Can a prospective Justice Department target use a preemptive declaratory judgment suit to shape the parameters of the government’s case? Or must defendants wait to be sued in an enforcement action to contest DOJ's interpretation of the law? Alison Frankel takes a look at one of the key questions in what she calls "a fierce and highly consequential fight" between Walmart and the U.S. government, which alleges Walmart violated the Controlled Substances Act by failing to police opioids prescriptions. The government is seeking maximum penalties. Read more here.
Check out other recent pieces from all our columnists: Alison Frankel, Jenna Greene and Hassan Kanu.
Lawyer speak: Will the EEOC's proposed rule on conciliation withstand a change in administration? The future of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's proposed changes to its presuit conciliation process with employers is up in the air. The comment period is over and the EEOC will review the comments and may amend it prior to issuing a final rule. However, as Baker Donelson’s Elizabeth Liner notes, the impending change in administration could slow or halt the approval of a final rule if it’s viewed as too employer-friendly.
Want more legal news?
Contact and follow us
Nate Raymond nate.raymond@thomsonreuters.com
Caitlin Tremblay caitlin.tremblay@thomsonreuters.com
Thanks for reading The Daily Docket. Invite friends to subscribe here.
Contact us with feedback.
Copyright © 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 610 Opperman Drive, Eagan, MN 55123
Want to change how you receive these emails? |