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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

OPEN HOUSE – After playing out for weeks behind closed doors, the presidential impeachment inquiry is set to spill out into public view today, with William Taylor, a former ambassador to Ukraine, and career diplomat George Kent both appearing before the House Intelligence Committee. C. Ryan Barber reports on how lawyers representing clients involved in the impeachment inquiry have faced numerous challenges in navigating the high-pressure proceeding rife with murky legal questions and rules unfamiliar even to experienced defense attorneys. "There aren't firm answers on the legal questions, and that makes it really difficult," says one lawyer involved.

NAME GAME – Will the "Penn" moniker makes its way back into the official shorthand for the newly dubbed University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School? At least 1,000 students and alumni are pressuring the school—which initially insisted on "Carey Law" as the new nickname—to do so after the W.P. Carey Foundation donated a record-breaking $125 million to the school. Karen Sloan reports that administrators now say they're considering adding "Penn" back into the school's official shorthand, which is used on law school merchandise, among other things. But they also say returning to the longstanding "Penn Law" is not an option. Students have vowed to keep up the effort to bring Penn Law back in some form.

BUMMER – Seventy-six percent of chief legal officers believe a recession is coming in the next two years, which is affecting their overall budgets, Dan Clark reports. Altman Weil's 2019 Chief Legal Officer Survey found more economic uncertainty expressed by respondents than in recent years, stemming from the threat of a recession, unpredictable trade policy and a more volatile global political environment.


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EDITOR'S PICKS

With a Flurry of Announcements, Bonus Season Is in Full Force

Legal Timekeeping Startup Raises $13.2 Million in Series A Round


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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

LABEL LAW – The European Union's top court has ruled that products made in Israeli settlements must be clearly labeled as produced in the Occupied Territories when sold in EU countries. As Simon Taylor reports, Psagot Winery, which is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, challenged a French law requiring wine labels to state that their products came from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. The practice of labeling products made in the Occupied Territories as coming from Israel could mislead consumers, the court said.


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WHAT YOU SAID

"If I never hear the name of Andrea Vassell for the rest of my life, I would be perfectly happy."

—  Terry Ekl, lawyer for Bill Voge, the former Latham chairman who stepped down following a sexting controversy involving Vassell. Vassell unsuccessfully lodged disciplinary complaints against Ekl, who unsuccessfully sought criminal charges on behalf of Voge against Vassell.

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