Jed Rubenfeld, Amy Chua, Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, Amy Chua's parents and her sister.

 

Here's my latest take on news and gossip:

The tigers cubs are alright. Remember poor Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, daughter of Yale Law School professors Amy Chua (aka Tiger Mom, as if you needed reminding) and Jed Rubenfeld (a person in his own right)? You might recall that in “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” Chua wrote about forcing Sophia to practice hours of piano a day, make perfect grades and forfeit all invitations to sleepovers.

At the time, there was a lot of worry about how little Sophia would turn out. (The bet was that she'd be committed to a mental institution, succumb to drug addiction or become a Taoist nun.)

Here's the official postscript: She just graduated from Yale Law School!

And, proud mom Chua emailed me this news: “Sophia will be clerking for one year on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, then she will do three years of JAG Corps.” Chua added that Sophia did ROTC during college, and “believe it or not, it is increasingly popular among our law students.” And what about her more rebellious sister Lulu? She's graduating from Harvard College (as did Sophia, of course), then, according to her mom, she'll be working in New York before applying to grad school.

As for residual resentment against Chua's parenting methods? There is none. Both Sophia and Lulu are tireless defenders of their mom (see here and here).

So there, Tiger Momming works—splendidly! Wish I had done the same.

Aaron Schlossberg.

Well, look who's sorry now. You guessed it: Aaron Schlossberg, the lawyer who went on a racist tirade, attacking workers for speaking Spanish in a sandwich/salad bar in New York. His rant, which was caught on video, included threats to turn the employees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Barely a week later, Schlossberg is a changed man. The New York Law Journal reports that he's issued this statement: “What the video did not convey was the real me. I am not a racist.”

Beside that “This is not who I am” spiel, he's practically declaring his love for immigrants: “One of the reasons I moved to New York is precisely because of the remarkable diversity offered in this wonderful city. I love this country and this city, in part because of immigrants and the diversity of cultures immigrants bring to this country.”

What got to him? Was it the condemnation on social media, the crummy reviews he got on Yelp, the blare of the mariachi band playing outside his apartment or the way Above the Law's Joe Patrice keeps trolling him? In any case, he couldn't be more sorry. (His role model President Donald Trump wouldn't be caught dead admitting regret, but how many of us can be as manly as our dear leader?)

It's hard to believe that his apology is genuine after his extraordinary display of spitefulness and intolerance. But if he really wants to express his contrition, I have a suggestion: How about donating to groups that represent refugees? Better yet, how about doing pro bono for immigrants? I mean, golly, he does claim he speaks Spanish and Chinese on his website.

Oh, no, don't tell me that she's super-qualified. You know what makes me think that a woman is being set-up to be a failure? When everyone keeps talks about how brilliant and superbly qualified she is.

Such is the case with Barbara Underwood, who's the newly appointed interim attorney general of the state of New York (and the first woman in that position). Until recently the state's solicitor general, Underwood succeeds Eric Schneiderman, who resigned after The New Yorker published allegations of abuse from four girlfriends. Beside graduating first from her class at Georgetown Law Center, she's clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and argued 20 cases before the Supreme Court.

So why am I so nervous that this eminently—some say the “most”—qualified lawyer for the AG position got the job she deserved? Because last time we lauded a woman for being so prepared and qualified, she ultimately got knocked to the ground.

Associate least likely to stay in law. I know this might be grossly unfair since the guy hasn't even started his job at Paul, Weiss, Rifkund, Wharton & Garrison, but I'm betting that Chad Klitzman won't be long for Big Law.

The reason? He wrote the screenplay for the new Netflix film “Candy Jar,” which stars his sister Sami Gayle of “Blue Bloods” and Jacob Latimore of “ The Maze Runner,” reports Law.com's Karen Sloan. Oh, then there are the supporting actors: Helen Hunt, Christina Hendricks and Uzo Aduba.

Still think he'll stick it out at Paul Weiss? Well, when he was asked if he ever thought “about putting law aside and making a go of it in Hollywood,” he answered: “Absolutely.” He then goes on about how he “struggled” with the decision through his years as an undergraduate and law student.

Of course, he now says, “Looking back, I definitely think I made the right decision. I really learned a lot in law school.”

Yeah, yeah.