Category: News Feeds

I felt him in my heart and in my chest. All the way through the counting of the electoral college votes and through the nightmare of the armed attack on the Capitol. It really is Tommy Raskin, and his love and his values and his passion, that have kept me going.

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), commenting on the recent loss of his son, Harvard Law second-year student Thomas Bloom Raskin, whose funeral was held the day before an angry horde of President Trump’s supporters descended upon the Capitol to wreak havoc as members of Congress certified the election. In the wake of the attempted coup, Raskin, a constitutional law professor, drafted a resolution asking Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, as well as an article of impeachment against him. Raskin said if his son were here today, he’d have called the deadly invasion at the Capitol “the absolute worst form of crime against democracy.”

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

It is one of the worst types of communication a wholesaler can get from one of their retail customers: “____ has alleged that the following product(s) supplied by you infringe on at least one of ______’s patent/copyright/trademark(s). Please confirm within 48 hours that your company will fully comply with its indemnification obligations. Failure to do so will result in us selecting our own counsel to defend against ______’s claims at your expense.” Or something like that. The point is simple. In an age where the number of financially viable retailers is dwindling, wholesalers are lucky to have any customers to sell to. And those customers, to the extent anyone raises any allegations of IP infringement against them, often do not hesitate to demand full compliance with the indemnification obligations that are part-and-parcel of wholesaler-retailer relationships. Typically, the task of making sure that indemnification obligations are met is left to in-house counsel at the retailer, working in concert with the buyer for that wholesaler in order to communicate the retailer’s demands.

For the vast majority of wholesalers, failure to comply with the retailer’s demands is simply not an option. Yes, there may be situations where a wholesaler takes a calculated risk that the retailer is headed for imminent bankruptcy and as such can be ignored when it comes to indemnification. But even in this age of constant retailer blow-ups, such a scenario is rare. Instead, it is more likely that the wholesaler will have no choice but to respond quickly to the retailer’s demands, including by providing full assurance that it values the relationship with the customer and will take full responsibility for defense of the IP claims. There really is often no other option, considering the increased sway large retailers have with their vendors, who are often increasingly dependent on the sales they are making to the shrinking pool of retailers for their company’s viability.

Savvy wholesalers will usually decide not to offload handling of the defense to the retailer’s chosen counsel, though there could be certain situations where the retailer insists on choosing counsel and leaves the wholesaler with little room to protest. The latter situation is perhaps more likely to arise where the retailer has had prior experience with the company making the allegations — and pushes the wholesaler to pay for the same counsel that previously represented the retailer (hopefully with some success) against that same claimant. Add in the fact that it is often the retailer that pushes the wholesaler to produce products that skirt (and sometimes cross) the line of IP infringement and the whole dynamic can feel like an unfair one. But what choice does a wholesaler really have in an environment where the pool of potential retailers is so limited?

Another situation where the retailer’s selection of counsel may be thrust down the throat of the wholesaler is where the allegations of IP infringement target a series of products supplied by different vendors to the retailer. In that situation, it can be more efficient (and cheaper) for the retailer to select one firm as defense counsel to coordinate the defense of all the claims against the retailer. With each wholesaler contributing to the defense cost in an amount proportional to its sales of accused products to that retailer.

That said, it is usually in the interest of the wholesaler when confronted with an indemnification request to make clear to the retailer that its indemnification obligation only extends to products it actually supplied to the retailer. Moreover, it is also almost always better for the wholesaler to be able to retain its own counsel, under engagement terms that it negotiates, to handle IP disputes related to products it supplies to retailers. At a minimum, of course, the wholesaler will also look to its own suppliers for potential indemnification from them for the products accused of infringement as well.

Part of the problem for wholesalers is that their competitors know that retailers will lean on existing suppliers to meet their indemnification obligations. That incentivizes challengers to try and disrupt retailer-wholesaler relationships by making claims of IP infringement, either against products already on the shelves of the retailer or even for products that the retailer is considering.

In short, a wholesaler’s competitors will sometimes try to create an impression of risk for the retailer in selecting the wholesaler’s goods. How effective these tactics are often depends on the level of IP sophistication at the retailer, as well as the depth of the relationship between the retailer and the threatened wholesaler. The more confident the retailer is in the indemnification promises of the wholesaler, the less likely it is that random infringement claims will be enough to disrupt dealings between the two parties. When a retailer is less confident, however, threats of IP infringement can be enough to foreclose that retailer from doing business with an accused wholesaler.

To be sure, wholesalers accused of IP infringement are not powerless, but the burden is often placed on them to act decisively in response to allegations of infringement. In fact, at least one prominent example of a wholesaler deciding to proactively make representations of noninfringement to retailers recently came to light, in a patent dispute over super-luxe “female stimulation devices.” The plaintiff in that recently filed case is the maker of the hit “Womanizer” (link may be NSFW) line of devices, which sued an Oregon-based competitor for patent infringement. One of the interesting things about the complaint was that the defendant had apparently sent a notarized letter from its general counsel to “various retailers and distributors in the industry” arguing that its products were not “in conflict with” any patents. Whether or not this type of tactic gains steam remains an open question, but it is illustrative of the lengths wholesalers will go to in order to head off retailer IP concerns.

Ultimately, there is a strong element of “the customer is always right” when it comes to consideration of indemnification requests regarding IP infringement allegations. While the majority of wholesalers do what they can to live up to their indemnification obligations, there is always the temptation for a wholesaler to decide to make themselves scarce when it comes to a dispute lodged with, or filed against, a customer. Depth of relationship, amount in controversy, and the retailer’s own contribution to the alleged infringement are all factors for consideration in any indemnification situation. In most cases, however, the recognition of the wholesaler’s obligations are straightforward. IP claims are serious — and the wholesaler is expected to indemnify … or else.

Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.

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Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.

One of the more immediate consequences of being a part of a violent insurrection is finding yourself unwelcome on airlines. The videos of Trump supporters finding out they can’t fly back home after trying to overthrow the government has been a real highlight. It turns out the Congress’s protocols for coordinating with with the Transportation Security Administration and the FBI to put folks that participated in the Capitol attack on the no-fly list has already begun, and some airlines have taken additional steps to make sure they cannot use their services.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to this domestic terrorism. In a Monday appearance on SiriusXM’s The Joe Madison Show, Thompson was asked some tough questions about those implicated in the violent insurrection at the Capitol. But he has a pretty clear vision about what should happen to them:

“First of all, these folks, in my opinion, can be classified as domestic terrorists because of the actions they participated in on Wednesday. Now under normal circumstances international terrorists are out on no-fly lists,” Thompson said.

“These are domestic terrorists—same thing. A terrorist is a terrorist, no matter who you are.”

He was asked, specifically, about Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz — who’ve come under fire for fanning false allegations about the 2020 election — as well as Congress member Lauren Boebert — the QAnon House Representative who has come under sharp criticism for live-tweeting Nancy Pelosi’s location amid the siege — “If these folks are found liable, should they be on the no-fly list?” Thompson’s response indicates there just might be a place for the lawmakers on the no-fly list:

“Well, there’s no question about it,” Thompson said. “There’s no exemption for being put on the no-fly list.”

He continued:

“Even a member of Congress that commits a crime, you know, they expel from the body. There are ethics charges that can be brought against those individuals. And people are looking at all this,” Thompson said.

“What Hawley did and what Cruz did was horrible. What—the new member from Colorado [Boebert], who basically tweeted directions and everything that was going on—that’s not something you do.

“Somebody said, well, she’s new. Well, the point is, ignorance of the law is no excuse. So if you don’t know, you’ve still done something wrong.”

Of course, that’s only if they’re found liable, a legal determination that is far from being reached.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

A chain of surgery centers owned by UnitedHealthcare was indicted by a federal grand jury for agreeing with competitors not to poach each other’s top talent.

According to the Department of Justice, Surgical Care Affiliates reportedly violated antitrust law by striking agreements with healthcare companies in Texas and in Colorado agreeing not to solicit each other’s senior-level employees. These agreements continued through at least 2017.

Surgical Care Affiliates was acquired by OptumCare in 2017, a network of physicians owned by UnitedHealth Group. The company owns more than 230 ambulatory surgery centers and 8,500 physicians, according to its website.

For example, recruiters were instructed not to reach out proactively to competitors’ high-level employees, according to court documents. For senior-level employees to be considered as a candidate at one of the other companies, they had to notify their current boss first that they were seeking a new job.

In an emailed statement, Elizabeth Castro, a spokesperson for Surgical Care Affiliates, said that the matter involves alleged conduct seven years before UnitedHealth Group acquired the company.

“The position taken by the government in this matter represents a novel application of the antitrust laws as they relate to employee recruitment, for which there is no precedent or foundation,” she wrote in an email. “SCA disagrees with the government’s position, and will vigorously defend itself against these unjustified allegations.”

The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. The investigation is still ongoing.

“The charges demonstrate the FBI’s commitment to ensuring a free market and protecting opportunities for American workers,” Steven M. D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, said in a news release.  “The FBI will continue to work with our partners to root out this type of illegal activity and deter employer collusion that harms the American people and workers.”

Photo credit: Mykola Velychko, Getty Images

Do a web search and you’ll find endless advice — from decent to total BS — about how to get media attention. There’s less emphasis on a critical part of that aspiration: Being a good source.

As a reporter and editor working in newspapers, magazines, and online spaces for many years, I’ve found good sources are more memorable than awards. I’ve developed long-term relationships with many of them. And I’ve noticed they all have traits in common that make me think of them first when deadlines are closing in.

I started paying closer attention to what makes a good source when I pushed my ABA Journal team years ago to seek more diverse sources for interviews and photos. Women and marginalized lawyers were underrepresented, and I needed at a minimum to see equity in the way we reflected the makeup of the profession we covered. I began auditing the pages of the magazine and kicking stories back to editors and reporters that didn’t meet my diversity expectations.

There’s plenty of discussion about why publications end up quoting older, white men more often than any other group. Wisconsin Public Radio recently acknowledged the problem and is taking corrective steps to diversify its source pool.

For the sake of better storytelling from diverse perspectives, I do what I can to reach out to and rely on experts that, for many reasons, remain under the radar and lesser-known. Yet when news breaks and I need a source right away, it’s hard not to rely on the usual suspects.

For those aiming to be the go-to expert that a reporter thinks of first, I’ve included a few attributes of a good source. Good sources make life easier for reporters juggling multiple stories on tight deadlines.

Good sources are:

Responsive. Quick to respond to requests for comment or background. The early bird gets the worm. If reporters have the luxury of long lead times, they may wait to hear back from the first people they call or email. Otherwise, the first to respond is likely to be given priority.

Flexible. They are flexible and make themselves available. If you’re playing hard to get, it’s likely that unless you’re already a superstar or a critical piece of a story, the reporter will just move on.

Tolerant. Complainers and second-guessers are the worst. At best they return to reporters asking for unnecessary adjustments, word changes, or quotes. At worst they claim the reporter misquoted or introduced an error. This triggers a set of internal reviews at news outlets and sometimes an enormous amount of work that can create bad feelings about a source. If there is an error of fact or clear misquote, it’s important to get that corrected. But if you don’t like the way you sound and think you could have articulated it better, use that as a lesson learned and move on. If there is an error, be respectful and kind when requesting a correction or clarification.

Understanding. By this, I mean that a source should know at least a little bit about the reporter’s job. Most journalists have professional ethics policies that preclude them from sharing articles in advance or allowing sources to negotiate language. Before an interview, it’s good to understand the reporter’s methods and ground rules. What is “background” for instance? And will the reporter allow you to review or will the reporter repeat back direct quotes?

Supportive. Good sources are grateful for the opportunity and let the reporter — and possibly the reporter’s superiors — know that they appreciate the work that went into a story.

The best sources:

Are generous. Reporters don’t forget when a source goes out of their way to help make a story happen. That can be helping gather or interpret documents or spend time helping a reporter understand an arcane aspect of the story.

Share. The best sources understand that the reporter isn’t a PR agency. Reporters have wide-ranging beats and assignments. When a source can offer newsworthy tips that don’t directly benefit the source, that source gains credibility.

Sponsor others. The very best sources promote those who don’t get as much ink or air time. They take the time to note others in the field with similar or, importantly, differing perspectives. This should be natural for many lawyers I know who enjoy surrounding themselves with peers who have viewpoints that can be civility debated.

Know when to pass. I can name sources who will be quoted on absolutely anything, even when they have zero experience in a particular subject. This is a disservice, especially to the publication. This also is a perfect opportunity for a go-to source to (see above) sponsor others or be a referral. This is a win, win, win, win. The reporter gets a better source for the topic, the source wins brownie points with the reporter AND the individual they promoted, and the previously unknown source gets a chance to speak.

When legal professionals ask me about how to get quoted, a good pitch is only a part of the equation. Being accommodating and reliable can help build credibility and develop a reputation as a go-to source.

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Molly McDonough, a veteran legal affairs journalist, is a producer for the current events show “Legal Talk Today.” She also is a media and content strategist with McDonough Media LLC. McDonough previously served as editor and publisher of the ABA’s flagship magazine, the “ABA Journal.” She writes about access to justice at “A Just Society.”

No single event triggered the assault on the Capitol last week, but one of the more significant signposts was the wide dissemination of the cockamamie theory that the vice president of the United States wields the hidden constitutional power to just ignore electoral college votes. It’s a measure of authority that, if it existed, one assumes John Adams would’ve liked to have known about. Alas, it does not exist.

So how did something this stupid get into the right-wing ether? Donald Trump promoted it of course. But how did Donald Trump become convinced of this nonsense…

As Kyle McEntee of Law School Transparency reminded us yesterday, Mark Martin is currently a law school dean, molding impressionable young lawyers at the Regent University School of Law. The school, founded by a guy who thinks hurricanes target gay rights and that earthquakes are the natural result of overthrowing slavery and whose most memorable legal alum was Monica Goodling — the relatively inexperienced lawyer who for some reason was a high-ranking DOJ official and plunged the W. administration into the U.S. Attorney firing scandal — enjoys outsized influence when it comes to this administration. Trump lawyer and charity tax status issue-spotter Jay Sekulow, who you may remember from some of the more bizarre Trump theories during the first impeachment, got a Ph.D. from Regent. It’s basically Hogwarts for questionable legal advice.

Which brings us to Martin, the former North Carolina Chief Justice, where the Times reporting doesn’t offer much depth on his involvement:

At one point, Mr. Trump told the vice president that he had spoken with Mark Martin, the former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, who he said had told him that Mr. Pence had that power. Mr. Pence had assured Mr. Trump that he did not. Mr. Trump made the vice president defend his rationale in a meeting with lawyers whom Rudolph W. Giuliani had helped line up.

It’s hard to believe someone with Martin’s experience would botch the law this badly, though the lesson of the last several months is that attorneys with reasonably solid reputations have been willing to delve into wildly off-kilter territory. Remember, law schools were honoring Lin Wood less than a year ago. Still, Trump is an unreliable narrator so take his impression of Martin’s words with a grain of salt, though even if this doesn’t accurately reflect Martin’s thinking, we’re well past the point where it should be incumbent upon any attorney speaking with the president to be cautious about how any legal advice can be twisted and misinterpreted. WRAL reached out to Martin but the dean did not respond to the inquiry.

That’s probably a good move. Maybe don’t respond to the next Oval Office inquiry either.

House Moves To Force Trump Out, Vowing Impeachment If Pence Won’t Act [New York Times]
Did Trump consult a former NC chief justice ahead of Capitol attack? [WRAL]

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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

Last Friday, Professor Maybell Romero invited me to a panel discussion at AALS. Because I’m anonymous, it was impossible for me to attend. Unlike SEALS, AALS doesn’t allow anonymous folks to present. But, thanks to Professor Brian Frye and a Nixon mask, I was able to communicate some thoughts.

What follows are the thoughts I communicated:

Greetings, friends:

First, as Brian Frye is my voice today, allow me to say ironically that the words of LPB are in no way connected to Brian Frye. That absolves him of liability for the words which he quotes to you. Unless he chooses to plagiarize them, in which case, sue away.

Also, allow me to congratulate Brian and Maybell on their wedding. I think the topic of a future AALS session should be: Who got the better end of the deal? A discussion of the right to marry and the aftermath. We are not going to send out a poll, however. Because Brian will create 1,000 fake Twitter accounts just to show how lucky he is. Just admit it Brian. We love you, ya hipster.

Today, I want to talk to you about hubris. I’m supposed to be talking to you about social media. They are the same. Hubris is pride unbounded. When you enter social media, you should be wary of your own ambition, for it is quite easy to be brought down, labeled, canceled, or worse. All for a single tweet. I can’t guarantee your safe passage, I can only tell you what has avoided getting me canceled up until now. It may change tomorrow.

1.  Do not attack people’s belief systems. People have belief systems to which they cling. The thing that keeps people going is their belief systems. It is a mistake to start off on social media attacking belief systems. A belief system could be political, spiritual, or anything else that motivates the person. When I attack hierarchies in academia on Twitter, I am attacking the belief systems of professors who believe that to be an excellent professor you must come from a small group of schools. Attacking belief systems is dangerous, and will cause massive backlash.
2. Do not engage #ContrarianMan. Contrarian man likes to be controversial.  He (and it almost always is a he for reasons that don’t escape me) looks to present the antithesis of common belief. They will pretend to be objective while assuring you that you’re an idiot for not having the same cranial capacity as them. If they are senior professors, they will bring you down, and that will hurt. He is a type of troll, and one should not engage trolls, unless you are trying to cross a bridge and they are guarding it. Or you’re playing Zork.
3. Show and tweet the works of others. The best way to get a good reputation is to share the works of others. There is an economist who I follow who is delightful at this, spinning entire threads as he reads articles. It is flattering to the author, and shows the engagement of the tweeter.  Reading scholarship, it seems, is quite novel. It is a great way to stand out.
4. Always be kind. It is easy to mock students, especially as you are grading.  But don’t. They see you, and they will immediately assume any tweet is about them. You don’t want that on your conscience. The same goes with colleagues. In my early days, after some particularly insulting things were said to me by a colleague, I decided to air my grievances. But it didn’t make me feel better. Instead, it makes things worse. Take the high road, no matter what. Insecure people will be mean and vicious. Don’t be that.
5. Be yourself. That means that you are fallible. I don’t stan, but the accounts of the people who I find the most, for lack of a better term, beautiful are the ones who show their hard-core research and also their flaws. Because humanity is beautiful. It is the reason I’m on social media. Being vulnerable is a way to show strength. Or at least that is the takeaway I got from Brenee Brown. I have started (mostly mock) wars against Instant Pots, spacing once after a period, and pineapple on pizza. Harmless debates based upon preferences. That’s different than going after someone’s religion, political philosophy, and the like.
6. Write your social media posts as if everyone will read them. That includes your mother, your dean, everyone. Because they will live forever. For this reason, never tweet angry. Never tweet to show someone up.
7. Engage. Don’t just post things out into the realm. It might be nice to every so often promote your articles, but if that is ALL you do, no one will pay attention. I mute accounts like that. The world is a bigger place than you.  And that means discussing ideas with others, engaging their ideas, and sometimes promoting them. This is the way to being welcomed into the community.
8. Manage your timeline. The list function on Twitter came to me late in the game. But it is a way I can parse out the noise from things I want to see.  Everyone on this panel is on my lawprof list. I’m always happy to see tweets from them. And I look forward to meeting them in person someday. Muting people is also a blissful thing.
9. People are human. That means you might not get along with everyone.  Not everyone likes me. I know this comes at a shock. Even close friends and I have had disagreements that could have ended friendships. If you have repeated bad interactions with someone, don’t continue to engage them, no matter how popular they are. Avoid it. For chances are it will continue to be the same. Comedian John Mulaney says, “I want everybody to like me SO much.” That goal of external validation can end up being not great for your ego. And your center. You can read my article (yeah, that’s right, I burned time writing an article anonymously) about it. Read it here.
10. Have fun and be yourself. The more you speak from the heart, the more people appreciate it. I’m surprised that while I try to be funny, the connections I’ve made with people have been about serious topics. That is the joy of social media — connection to humanity.
11. If you choose to be anonymous on social media, understand you will not be helping your own brand name. Also, you should always assume you will be outed and discovered. Thus, you should always act and post as if everyone knows who you are.

These are good first steps.  I’m always available for guidance.  Lawprofblawg@gmail.com. Or you can DM me on Twitter. Blawg is spelled B-L-A-W-G. Apologies to profsblawg.

I also gave some advice on op-eds. You can find that here.

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LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here. He is way funnier on social media, he claims. Please follow him on Twitter (@lawprofblawg) or Facebook. Email him at lawprofblawg@gmail.com.

Ed. note: This column originally appeared on Original Jurisdiction, the new Substack publication from David Lat, but various updates have been made, including an updated death toll and additions to the list of the deceased at the end. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction on its About page, and you can register to receive updates through this signup page.

Take it from me: COVID-19 is not a hoax.

As many of you may know, last March I came down with a severe case of COVID-19. I spent 17 days in the hospital, including almost a week in critical condition in the ICU, hooked up to a ventilator. I ran up a $320,000 hospital bill (which I thankfully did not have to pay). Even after getting out of the hospital, I experienced a painfully slow recovery, including a terrible cough and shortness of breath that lasted for months.

And I consider myself lucky. Thanks to the valiant efforts of my care team at NYU Langone here in New York, as well as the prayers and support of so many in the legal profession and beyond, I survived my COVID-19 ordeal, and I feel fairly recovered today. Many Americans — more than 370,000 dead, as of this writing, and an unknown number with lingering health effects — have not been as fortunate.

The coronavirus pandemic has not spared the legal profession. I suspect that many of us personally know, or are just a few degrees removed from, lawyers or judges who lost their lives to COVID-19. One thing I’ve learned from my years working in and covering the legal profession is that it’s a surprisingly small world — and it grows only smaller in grief.

I’d like to use this post to acknowledge some of those we as a profession have lost. I’ll mention two by way of example, but they are just two of many.

One was someone I was proud to call a friend, Stephen D. Susman. Steve was one of the nation’s greatest trial lawyers, founder and managing partner of Susman Godfrey, one of the nation’s greatest law firms. On April 22 of last year, Steve — an avid cyclist, who every year biked 180 miles from Houston to Austin to raise money for multiple sclerosis research — sustained a serious head injury in a cycling accident.

I had last seen Steve and his wife, Ellen Spencer Susman, at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends in November 2019. It was shortly before Thanksgiving, and I remember chatting with Ellen in our friends’ foyer about our respective holiday plans.

Steve was, as usual, in fine form that evening — a great storyteller, as you’d expect from a legendary trial lawyer, with a mischievous glint in his eye. He could be a bit of a joker, and every time we crossed paths, he subjected me to good-natured teasing about something or other. Whenever I was with Steve, I somehow always wound up in the role of “straight man” (not my typical role).

Despite his ferocity in the courtroom, Steve was caring and compassionate outside of it. When I was in the hospital in late March, he emailed me a note of encouragement and support. When I belatedly responded to thank him in late April, after getting home from the hospital, his son Harry Susman replied from his father’s account, sharing with me the news of his dad’s bike accident.

Steve was unconscious for several weeks. Ever the fighter, he regained consciousness by mid-May and was recovering well in a Houston rehabilitation facility. He improved to the point where he was responding physically to verbal commands, talking, and even singing some of his favorite songs, such as “I Walk the Line” and “Under the Boardwalk.”

On June 24, however, Steve was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. He passed away a few weeks later, on July 14. Ellen announced his death on the CaringBridge website, where many of us had been following his struggle:

Our gallant Steve left us today. He fought a valiant battle, from his accident to rehab, but the combination of COVID and his weakened lungs were finally too much for his body. We are brokenhearted, but at peace with the fact that he is free and whole at last. He went peacefully, and we were by his side.

Rest in peace, Steve. You are sorely missed by so many of us.

Steve was a titan of the bar. A few weeks later, COVID-19 claimed a titan of the bench.

On August 7, Judge Stephen F. Williams, a longtime member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, passed away from complications of the coronavirus. Judge Williams was one of the most brilliant and highly esteemed members of the D.C. Circuit, the most powerful and prestigious court after the U.S. Supreme Court.

Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan eulogized his colleague well:

[Judge Williams] committed his professional life to teaching, writing, and serving the public, including service on our court for more than three decades. He had an uncommon love of ideas, an extraordinarily broad-ranging intellectual curiosity, an infectiously good-spirited demeanor, and a joyful sense of humor. We have been immeasurably enriched by the privilege of serving with him.

We will sorely miss our dear friend, and will long cherish fond memories of engaging with him on the work of the court, of sharing a smile with him about matters large and small, and of seeing him on his trademark bike rides to and from the courthouse. We extend our deepest condolences to Judge Williams’s wife Faith and their children, grandchildren, and extended family.

Judge Williams, rest in peace.

I would like to maintain a running list of people in the legal profession who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. It is fitting and proper for us to remember them, even if this list is just a small thing. I’ll include judges, lawyers, law professors, law students, paralegals, legal assistants, and anyone else who would be considered part of the legal community, broadly defined. If you have a name to add, please email me at davidlat@substack.com, subject line “In Memoriam.”

Please provide me with the person’s name and affiliation, as well as a link to a publicly available news article, obituary, or death notice. Out of respect for the privacy of deceased individuals and their families, I will limit my list to people whose passings are already noted online.

Here is an initial list, which I will maintain here and update from time to time. I have listed the individuals in alphabetical order by last name, followed by their current (as of the time of their death) or former affiliation.

Each person’s name links to an article, obituary, death notice, or other confirmation of their passing. As you can see, the coronavirus has claimed lives from across the country and from so many different precincts of the profession — from the federal, state, and local benches, and from Biglaw to boutiques and beyond.

Please keep these individuals and their families in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

In Memoriam (as of January 11, 2021 — this date will be changed with each update)

Donald Adair, founding partner, Adair Law Firm, Rochester, New York

Donn Baker, judge, City of Tahlequah Municipal Court, and former U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Oklahoma

Lawrence Barber, solo practitioner, Odessa, Texas

Karen Batten, judge, Brantley County Probate Court, Georgia

Johnny Lee Baynes, justice, Supreme Court of New York (Kings County)

Allan S. Botter, solo practitioner, Garden City, New York

Russ Broman, special assistant district attorney, Allegheny County District Attorney, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

George H. Carley, former chief justice, Supreme Court of Georgia

Benton (Ben) Chafin Jr., Virginia state senator

Michael Cooper, of counsel and former partner, Sullivan & Cromwell, New York

Melton Cude, judge, Wise County Court at Law No. 1, Texas

Noach Dear, justice, Supreme Court of New York (Kings County)

Francis DeCaro, former solo practitioner, New Rochelle, New York

William J. Doyle, former partner, Wiggin and Dana LLP, Branford, Connecticut

Bruce Drucker, former managing partner, Rivkin Radler LLP, Wellfleet, Massachusetts

Kevin Thomas Duffy, former judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Raymond P. D’Uva, founding partner, D’Uva Law Firm, Newark, New Jersey

Steven M. Edwards, of counsel, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, and former partner, Hogan Lovells US LLP, New York

Mike Farley, former partner, Holland & Hart, Denver, Colorado

Jon FitzMaurice, former solo practitioner, Tuckahoe, New York

Phil Foglia, special deputy and chief of investigations, New York State Inspector General’s Office, New York, New York

Mayer Greenberg, partner, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, and former partner, Stroock & Stroock & Levan LLP, New York, New York

Robin Greenfield, former executive deputy counsel, New York City Department of Education, New York, New York

Ray Grimes, judge, Montgomery County General Sessions Court, Georgia

William (Bill) Hyder, William F Hyder P.C., Scottsdale, Arizona

Paul Kalill, partner, Kalill Glasser & Associates, Springfield, Massachusetts

Joseph V. Kaplan, partner, Passman & Kaplan P.C., Washington, D.C.

Charles Kleinberg, former assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of New York

Ruth Klotz, district associate probate judge, Judicial District 5, Iowa

Thomas J. Leonard, partner, Barry, McTiernan & Moore, Montclair, New Jersey

Robert D. Lipman, founding partner, Lipman & Plesur, Jericho, New York

Tyler Charles Lockett, former justice, Kansas Supreme Court

Jim McGoldrick, professor of law, Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law

Henry G. Miller, senior partner, Clark, Gagliardi & Miller, P.C., and former president, New York State Bar Association, White Plains, New York

Steven Milligram, justice, Supreme Court of New York (Orange County)

Jon Payne, judge, Chattooga County Probate Judge, Georgia

Brenda Ravenell, former member, Giscombe & Ravenell LLP, East Orange, New Jersey

Stephen L. Reineke, partner, Levinson, Reineke & Kimple, Central Valley, New York

Dalton Roberson, former judge, Wayne County Circuit Court, Michigan

Mordie Rochlin, of counsel and former partner, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York, New York

George Salerno, former justice, Supreme Court of New York (Kings County)

Angelo Scaricamazza, partner, Naulty, Scaricamazza & McDevitt LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Joseph A. Sena, Jr., solo practitioner, White Plains, New York

Louis G. Solimano, counsel, Law Office of William A. Gallina, Bronx, New York

Nancy Stephenson, judge, Dougherty County Probate Judge, Georgia

Steven Susman, managing partner and founder, Susman Godfrey LLP, Houston, Texas

Rice M. Tilley Jr., former senior counsel, Haynes and Boone LLP, Fort Worth, Texas

George Valentine, deputy director for the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel, Washington, D.C.

Paul L. Weafer, former chief counsel, New York State Legislative Bill Drafting Commission, Albany, New York

Richard Weber Jr., partner, Gallo Vitucci Klar LLP, New York, New York

Harold Weisman, former partner, Weisman & Calderon LLP, Hartsdale, New York

Stephen F. Williams, judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Washington, D.C.

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David Lat, the founding editor of Above the Law, is a writer, speaker, and legal recruiter at Lateral Link, where he is a managing director in the New York office. David’s book, Supreme Ambitions: A Novel (2014), was described by the New York Times as “the most buzzed-about novel of the year” among legal elites. David previously worked as a federal prosecutor, a litigation associate at Wachtell Lipton, and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@laterallink.com.

We know what you’re thinking: With Steve Mnuchin about to leave the public stage after four very entertaining years to begin the launching SPACs portion of his career, what will we ever do without Louise Linton? What will we ever do without her propensity to step in it, figuratively and literally? Without some occasional shade thrown in her husband’s direction? Without cause to imagine the tragedy that is her sex life?

* Pope Francis has changed church law to allow women slightly larger roles in church services. Maybe he was inspired by the movie On the Basis of Sex… [Washington Post]

* An NYPD lawyer is under investigation for allegedly threatening to shoot another attorney in her unit. [New York Daily News]

* A show based on the film The Lincoln Lawyer has been greenlit for a ten-episode run on Netflix. [Deadline]

* A black lawyer claims he was racially profiled by law enforcement for not wearing a suit in court. [New York Post]

* A lawsuit against the publisher of Dungeons and Dragons has been settled. Maybe they resolved the case using 20-sided dice… [Polygon]

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Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.