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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

 

GETTING STARTED - The release of the Mueller report to the public leaves an array of loose ends. Among them, the special counsel’s report made 14 criminal referrals for other crimes, including 12 that aren't public. (We already know about those for Michael Cohen and Greg Craig.) Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has called on Robert Mueller to testify “as soon as possible.” And a hearing before the committee with AG Bill Barr is set for May 2.

ANOTHER LOSS - The Trump administration's losing streak in court continues. The Ninth Circuit has largely affirmed California laws limiting the state’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement officials. As Cheryl Miller reports, the laws authorize the California attorney general to inspect immigrant detention facilities, require employers to notify workers of an upcoming inspection of their work-eligibility documents and limit the information jails and prisons share with immigration agents about undocumented inmates. Add that to the earlier losses for the administration on matters of the environment, health care and more.

HELP - Here’s what troubling your legal support staff: keeping up with court rules and state statutes, managing their time and handling e-filing, in that order. Frank Ready reports on a study built from the responses of more than 2,000 legal support professionals working across the U.S. by One Legal. The good news? A full 75 percent of respondents feel that new technology is making their jobs easier.

EDITOR’S PICKS

 

Derivative Suit Accuses Alphabet Directors of Fostering Workplace Harassment

Sheppard Mullin Closes Beijing Office Following Team Departure

Blank Rome Adds New CMO, Joining Big Law Marketing Merry-Go-Round

Former Visa Associate General Counsel Joins Bass, Berry & Sims

Mueller Report Details Trump Organization, Family Roles in Russia Probe

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

 

CUTS DOWN UNDER - Almost half of the in-house legal departments in Australia anticipate cuts to their legal budgets this year, John Kang reports. Forty-five percent of the 73 senior legal counsel in Australia surveyed in a report by Acritas and Thomson Reuters expect legal spending reductions in 2019.

WHAT YOU SAID

“Wow. This performance is a legal embarrassment.”

— RICK HASEN, PROFESSOR AT U.C. IRVINE SCHOOL OF LAW, TWEETINGABOUT U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL BILL BARR’S COMMENTS HE MADE REGARDING PRESIDENT TRUMP AT A PRESS CONFERENCE PRIOR TO THE RELEASE OF THE MUELLER REPORT.