Category: News Feeds

Once upon a time, a law school’s decision to bring a Supreme Court justice to campus to teach a class was a no-brainer. It would bring prestige to the school, it would be a unique educational opportunity for their students, and everyone would be pleased with the outcome. But now that increasingly controversial people are being appointed to lifetime appointments to the Court, it fundamentally changes the calculus for law schools.

The University of Florida Levin College of Law announced that in spring 2020, Justice Clarence Thomas is teaching a compressed course on the religious clauses of the First Amendment. That decision has been met with complaints by students at the law school. A new advocacy group, We Believe Survivors, wrote a letter in the student newspaper, The Independent Florida Alligator, asking Dean Laura Rosenbury and school administrators to “explain how the celebration of Clarence Thomas’ presence on campus will help the effort to address the culture at UF that has led to an increase in campus sexual assault.”

The letter calls attention to the allegations of sexual harassment Anita Hill made against Thomas as well as a recent UF survey on sexual assault and misconduct which found UF undergraduate female reports of nonconsensual sexual conduct increased from 23 to 26 percent since 2015. Given the concerning uptick in sexual misconduct at the school, We Believe Survivors believes treating Thomas as a honored guest at the law school will send a problematic message to survivors:

“If we come forward, will we be treated like Hill?” the letter said. “Will we be ignored while our abusers are paraded as esteemed guests at our law school? Does Levin really believe survivors? Or do we only believe survivors when their abusers aren’t powerful?”

As reported by Law.com, second-year law student Dalia Figueredo believe the issue was exacerbated because students weren’t told before Thomas was invited:

But it’s about accountability, the way Figueredo sees it, as she’d hoped her university would have first told students about the idea of inviting Thomas.

“Our administration is here to serve us, and I think it’s very important to question what kind of message law school is sending to potential survivors of assault or harassment when they invite someone who has been credibly accused to campus,” Figueredo said.

Dean Rosenbury’s statement on the controversy says she supports student advocacy at the law school:

“We are a diverse law school, and our students, faculty and staff care deeply about a range of issues,” Rosenbury said. “We encourage all of our students to become effective advocates, whether through student groups or other means.”

But Thomas will still be teaching at the law school next year.

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).

Safe bet the New York City Bar won’t be inviting Attorney General Bill Barr to the next Young Lawyers Happy Hour event. In fact, he’s pretty much persona non grata for the foreseeable future since the organization just published an open letter telling the Attorney General to GET THE F*** OUT OF TOWN. Well, they phrased it somewhat more diplomatically, calling for him recuse himself from any “Ukraine-related issues.” And if not, “he should resign or, failing that, be subject to sanctions, including possible removal, by Congress.”

Alrighty then!

Citing the president’s infamous July 25 call with President Volodymyr Zelensky when Trump promised twice to have Attorney General Barr coordinate the Ukrainian investigation of Joe Biden, the NYC Bar says, “Mr. Barr was obligated to recuse himself from any involvement in DOJ’s review of either the whistleblower complaint or the substance of the President’s actions once the President offered Mr. Barr’s services to President Zelensky.”

Barr’s name also came up in the Whistleblower Complaint, and yet the AG failed to recuse from the criminal referral to the Office of Legal Counsel, which buried it after a cursory investigation and refused to turn it over to Congress in accordance with the law. In fact, Barr was aware of the substance of the allegations weeks earlier, since the whistleblower tried to make an informal complaint through the general counsel at his agency, but Barr and his deputy John Demers decided that a criminal referral didn’t count unless it was in writing.

More recently, the Attorney General has been gallivanting all over Europe trying to gin up evidence for Trump’s crackpot theory that the entire intelligence community is lying about Russians hacking the DNC, and somehow the DNC server was spirited away to Ukraine. (Yes, this theory relies on murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich being the “real” leaker, and yes, they actually believe this horsesh*t.) And just last week, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney took to the podium to confess on national television that congressionally allocated funds for Ukraine were being held up to ensure that country’s compliance with that DOJ probe — a clear quid pro quo.

So, yeah, Barr’s up to his jowls in it. And by failing to live up to his basic professional obligations — including 28 CFR 45.2, 5 CFR 2635.502, and the U.S. Attorney’s Manual 3-2.170 — the Attorney General sets a lousy example, both for young lawyers sitting for the MPRE and for the thousands of lawyers under him at the Justice Department.

Because respect for law is central to our nation’s governance, the Attorney General of the United States bears a special responsibility to see that our laws are justly administered for the benefit of the American people.  The Attorney General is, and must be seen as, the representative of the nation in advising the President and other federal officers and must demonstrate an unquestioned commitment to compliance with law by all who exercise the powers of government.

Even Jeff Sessions, who was too stupid and racist to win judicial confirmation from his own party — look it up! — understood his ethical obligation to recuse from an investigation in which he was likely to be a fact witness. And when you’re being compared unfavorably to a guy who said in open hearing, “I am not insensitive to blacks,” it’s probably time to turn off Fox News and do some serious thinking.

But serious thinking isn’t really Bill Barr’s thing. He’s far too busy at the moment planning his Christmas party at the Trump Hotel in D.C.

Your move, D.C. Bar!

Attorney General Barr Should Recuse Himself from Department of Justice Review of Ukraine Matter [NYC Bar]
New York City Bar Calls for US AG William Barr’s Recusal in Ukraine Matter [Law.com]

* Rudy Giuliani is reportedly looking for another defense lawyer.  Guess he listened to the old adage about he who represents himself… [CNN]

* Rose McGowan is suing the lawyers Harvey Weinstein enlisted to discredit her, including David Boies.  I’m sure the defendants know a few good attorneys to represent them. [New York Times]

* The D.C. Bar just released an ethics opinion on what managers and employees should do if they think a lawyer is impaired. Based on some of the stories on this website, such guidance is sorely needed. [American Lawyer]

* A Clarence Thomas documentary is set to be released in 2020.  Guess Justice Thomas wanted his own RBG. [Time]

* A lawyer who is suing her former employer must pay the legal fees of her former law firm because she failed to produce critical evidence for 17 months. [New Jersey Law Journal]

* A man caught on video punching his own lawyer in court was acquitted of the assault, since the injuries were deemed not serious.  Apparently being injured with a concussion and a broken nose from an assault by a client is just a job hazard for lawyers. [WTVR.com]

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.

A 50,667-hectare area has been given the designation, miner Tharisa said, and is on bits of land covered by special mining grants to Karo Zimbabwe Holdings Ltd, of which Tharisa owns 27%.

The designation gives Karo some special incentives, such as reduced tax rates, duty-free importation of raw materials, and different exchange control rulings.

Tharisa Chief Executive Phoevos Pouroulis said: “Zimseza’s award of the special economic zone status to Karo’s license in Zimbabwe is a critical step in the development of what could become a world-class vertically integrated PGM operation. The Karo mine could transform the Zimbabwean PGM sector, bringing significant economic benefits to all stakeholders and building a long-term sustainable mining industry.

“The SEZ status, as well as the completion of the initial resource classification, are key milestones prior to investing in the various phases that a project of this scale requires for it to succeed. We look forward to working closely with Zimseza and the government of Zimbabwe, together with the local, regional and national stakeholders, as well as our financial partners, to bringing this project to fruition.”

Tharisa’s London shares were 0.9% lower at 109.50 pence each, and Johannesburg shares were 0.3% lower at ZAR19.59.

Post published in: Business

In an unusual political move, the Zimbabwean government this week has declared Oct. 25 to be a national holiday to protest longtime U.S. sanctions against the Southern African country.

News of Zimbabwe’s anti-U.S. sanction holiday was reported by The Washington Post on Oct. 22. The Zimbabwean government said its Anti-Sanctions Day will specifically highlight the economic harm allegedly caused to the country by U.S. sanctions.

To celebrate the new national holiday, The Washington Post said Zimbabweans from around the country are expected to be transported to Harare, the country’s capital, to “march, watch a soccer match between the country’s two biggest teams and attend an all-night concert.”