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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

BYE BYE, LSAT? – A move to abolish the standardized testing requirement for American Bar Association-accredited law schools appears to be gaining momentum. And it could mean defeat for those who want to see the Law School Admission Test, or LSAT, remain a requirement, Christine Charnosky reports. Proposed changes from the ABA would make law school admission tests, such as the LSAT, optional instead of mandatory. "As the ABA should know, the law school applications process is extremely elitist, and caters to the wealthy in just about every way possible," commenter Chun Lee wrote after the association published proposed amendments to Standard 503 for public comment. "Coming from an international background, I personally know how extreme this is." But not everyone agrees. Proponents of the exam include Mexican college student Manuel Delgado, who is considering studying law in the U.S. "I can't think of a way to level more the admission process than the LSAT," Delgado commented. "[A] standardized test like the LSAT really helps international students who are at a disadvantage with U.S. college students applying to Law school."

FEE FIGHT – What started as a 60-40 partnership to represent college students in academic misconduct cases has turned acrimonious, amid accusations of extortion and racketeering. Charles Toutant reports that New Jersey attorney Joseph Lento claims in a suit that a Michigan lawyer who was recruited to work on his student defense cases in exchange for 40% of fees collected is refusing to turn over the case files unless he gets paid more. The relationship is so strained that the other attorney, Keith Altman of Farmington Hills, Michigan, demanded that Lento pay him $500,000 immediately, or else he would file a lawsuit and a disciplinary complaint against Lento, and would notify the alliance's roughly 100 clients that he was ceasing work on the cases due to non-payment, Lento claims in court papers.

HORROR SHOW – The king of horror brought the laughs when Mel Schwarz, a trial attorney in the U.S. Justice Department, asked Stephen King to state his occupation. "I'm Stephen King. I'm a freelance writer," King responded, an understatement for the author of more than 60 best-selling books that have sold hundreds of millions of copies and defined the horror genre for generations. This story by Andrew Goudsward captured the statement that began King's turn on the witness stand in support of DOJ's challenge of the proposed merger of publishing giants Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. King's testimony brought a heavy dose of star power and occasional levity to a trial that will feature heavy discussions of antitrust concepts like the Herfindahl–Hirschman index, relevant product markets and monopsonies. And everyone seemed to relish the moment, Goudsward reported.

EDITOR'S PICKS

Republican Congressmen Can't Dodge Fines for Skipping US House Security Screenings, Judge Says By Brad Kutner