Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here's the sign-up. 


|

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

STRUGGLING AT HARVARD – Just because you're smart enough to get into Harvard Law School doesn't mean you've got it made in the shade. A new report reveals that more than half of the Harvard Law students surveyed in 2017 showed signs of depression or anxiety, Karen Sloan reports. Many students also reported not getting enough sleep and exercise. The law school has added on-site, drop-in counseling and bolstered mental health training since the survey was conducted. Dean John Manning said the school plans to offer more mental health supports in the future.

LITIGATION INVESTIGATION – We told you yesterday that Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher was named the American Lawyer's 2019 Litigation Department of the Year. But there are other lessons to be gleaned from the 50 law firms that were in the running for the prize, writes Samantha Stokes. For instance, smaller litigation departments are pulling more than their own weight at a number of firms when it comes to revenue generation. And litigation boutiques don't dominate this sphere—litigation departments accounted for less than half the attorney headcount at most of the firms under consideration in this year's contest.

E-DISCOVERY MAKES NEWS – From Kevin Spacey's legal woes to tech giants such as Google and Facebook struggling to meet lawmakers' document request timelines, the seemingly arcane world of electronic discovery made some big headlines in 2019, reports Frank Ready. There was the mother of a man who accused actor Spacey of groping him in a restaurant who didn't help her son's case by deleting data from his cell phone. Even the White House got into the e-discovery act after the Justice Department ordered officials to preserve all records of President Trump's meetings and phone calls with foreign leaders.


|

EDITOR'S PICKS

Litchfield Cavo Plots Growth Amid First Leadership Change

Will Washington Redskins General Counsel Be the Next Team President?


|

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

ORD OF THE LAWSUIT - An Irish dance teacher has sued his New York lawyer for allegedly dropping his visa application without notice and telling others that he is a pedophile, Jack Newsham reports. U.K. resident Jamie Hodges has sued his former attorney, Gary Healy of McMahon, Martine & Gallagher, claiming he was left without legal status in the U.S. after Healy withdrew his visa application, and that the attorney's badmouthing left his business relationships in tatters. Hodges previously performed in Riverdance.


|

WHAT YOU SAID

"He has no known history of anti-Semitism and was raised in a home which embraced and respected all religions and races."

—  Attorney Michael Sussman, denying claims that his client, Grafton Thomas, is a domestic terrorist. Thomas is accused of stabbing five people at a New York rabbi's home on Dec. 28.

 ➤➤ Sign up here to receive the Morning Minute straight to your inbox.