Texas family law boutique Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, LLP, announced that attorneys Holly Rampy Baird and Ryan Kirkham have been selected to D Magazine’s annual listing of the Best Lawyers Under 40.

“Holly and Ryan are exceptional attorneys with unique perspectives and experiences that set them apart from most other family law attorneys, regardless of age,” said firm partner Keith Nelson. “We are proud to have them as colleagues, and more importantly, their clients love them.”

Baird’s practice focuses on divorce and complex property division, modification actions, enforcement actions and child custody litigation and mediation. In addition to this D Magazine honor, she has earned a place on the Texas Rising Stars list of the Top 100 Up-and-Coming lawyers and the Top 50 Up-and-Coming Women lawyers.

Kirkham works in international family law issues. He lived and worked abroad for several years before joining Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson. His practice focuses on divorce, jurisdictional disputes, asset tracing and complex property issues. He has twice been selected among the leading young family law attorneys in the state by Texas Rising Stars.

The 2018 list includes 135 of the top young attorneys in North Texas. Honorees are selected in a process that includes peer nominations and extensive review by a blue-ribbon panel of attorneys and D Magazine’s editorial leadership.

Trial lawyer Mark Werbner of Dallas litigation firm Sayles Werbner will address Texas lawyers about his decade-long quest to hold the Arab Bank responsible for providing financial support to U.S.-designated terror organizations.

Werbner will discuss Linde, et al. v. Arab Bank PLC in a presentation titled, “Fighting Terror-Financing in the Courtroom,” during the State Bar of Texas Litigation Update Institute’s 34th annual course Jan. 11–12, 2018.

In 2014, a jury in New York sided with Werbner, finding Jordan-based Arab Bank responsible for providing financial services to Hamas for 24 terror attacks during the “Second Intifada” in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The verdict was the culmination of a lawsuit filed in 2004 to obtain justice for nearly 300 American victims and their families. The case marked the first liability verdict against a foreign bank for violating the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Interview: Mark Werbner discussing Arab Bank case

Currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court is Jesner, et al., v. Arab Bank, a related case that would clarify if the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) applies to corporations under the 1789 U.S. law.

The Linde verdict earned Werbner the 2016 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from Public Justice, which honors attorneys who made the greatest contribution to the public interest through their work in precedent-setting, socially significant cases. His work has also been consistently recognized in top legal publications, such as The Best Lawyers in America.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced that former U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Mehta have joined the firm’s Tampa office as partners in the Government Enforcement and Investigations Practice Group. Both served the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, based in Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla., respectively.

Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Beau Grenier said, “As former federal prosecutors with extensive experience handling diverse criminal and civil fraud cases at the highest levels, Lee and Jason offer invaluable insights and skills for securing successful outcomes for our clients and defending their interests in every stage of an investigation. They each add significant depth to several key industries of interest for our clients: healthcare, government-contract defense, financial services, higher education, and cybersecurity.”

“The strengths of Lee and Jason, along with the recent addition of former Assistant United States Attorney Scarlett Singleton Nokes in our Nashville office, expand our already robust capabilities. We have a truly premier group of government enforcement attorneys, which enables us to provide unparalleled service to clients dealing with compliance issues, corporate investigations, and regulatory, civil, and criminal enforcement matters,” said Ty Howard, chair of the firm’s Government Enforcement and Investigations Practice Group.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lee and Jason to Bradley’s Tampa office,” said Bradley’s Tampa Office Managing Partner Robert B. Glenn. “Both are great additions to our team of experienced attorneys that supports and defends our clients’ pro-business efforts in today’s challenging enforcement environment. Our clients, both in Florida and nationally, will receive an outstanding defense team with Lee and Jason in place.”

Bentley now focuses his practice on defending False Claims Act and qui tam matters, handling federal criminal and regulatory matters, and conducting internal investigations. He has more than 30 years of experience in complex civil litigation and criminal matters and has handled trials and appeals in numerous federal and state courts. Bentley has served as sole or lead counsel in nearly 40 civil and criminal jury trials, the firm said in a news release.

As U.S. Attorney, Bentley oversaw more than 120 civil and criminal prosecutors. During his tenure, his office led the country in the number of qui tam cases prosecuted and was routinely one of the highest performing offices throughout the country, the firm said. Bentley participated in and supervised high-profile matters in the healthcare, defense procurement, and white-collar criminal areas.

Previously, Bentley served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and as an attorney advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Legal Counsel, advising the White House and executive branch agencies on constitution and statutory questions. He also spent time in private practice in Washington, D.C., and in Atlanta.

Bentley received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Order of the Coif and an editor of the Virginia Law Review, and his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia. Following law school, Bentley clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for Chief Judge Haynsworth and for the Supreme Court of the United States for Justice Powell.

The firm said Mehta helps businesses and individuals navigate government investigations, conduct internal investigations, and defend False Claims Act and business litigation matters. His litigation and regulatory experience includes matters related to healthcare, defense procurement, cybersecurity, and financial services.

During his time as Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mehta recovered nearly a quarter of one billion dollars for the U.S. government, working on matters throughout the Middle District of Florida, including in Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando, and Ocala. He was recognized in 2017 with the DOJ’s Director Award, one of the highest honors bestowed upon the department’s employees.

Previously, Mehta worked as an attorney-adviser for the U.S. State Department in Washington, where he led the department’s responses to various Congressional investigations and represented the department in lawsuits throughout the country. In 2012, Mehta was recognized with the department’s Exemplary Service Award. His experience also includes private practice in Washington and clerking for Judge Gerald Tjoflat of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Mehta earned his J.D. (magna cum laude) from Harvard Law School, where he was senior editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy and editor of the Harvard Journal on Legislation, and received his Bachelor of Arts with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley.

D Magazine has selected Sayles Werbner shareholder Rob Sayles to the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers Under 40, a list that recognizes outstanding young attorneys in North Texas.

“I’m truly honored to be included among this group of impressive lawyers,” said Sayles. “When you are recognized by your peers for working hard to represent your clients in tough legal disputes, it means a lot. I am truly grateful.”

Sayles represents plaintiffs and defendants in a litigation, including commercial disputes, product liability, personal injury and wrongful death claims. His success record in 2017 includes obtaining a summary judgment on a covenant not to compete claim where his client faced more than $3.6 million in damages and negotiating significant settlements on behalf of clients injured in car accidents. He also defended the City of Dallas in several lawsuits filed by firefighters and police officers claiming billions of dollars in back pay.

Sayles is among 135 attorneys included in the Best Lawyers Under 40 list, which is selected from peer nominations and a review by a blue-ribbon panel of lawyers and D Magazine editors. The full list is available in the January issue of D Magazine.

In addition to the D Magazine recognition, Sayles has been featured on the Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars list annually since 2012. He was also honored in the 2017 edition of D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas for representation of clients in business and commercial litigation. He is a graduate of the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and the University of Texas at Austin.

Los Angeles Times reporter David G. Savage takes a look at the most-interesting legal issues that the U.S. Supreme Court will be facing during the first half of the new year.

First on the list is a case that can have implications for religious liberty and gay rights: Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado.

Other cases involve cellphone tracking and privacy, jail before deportation, voting rolls and purges, sports betting, and public employees and union fees.

In NLRB vs. Murphy Oil USA, the court will consider: Can companies require workers to waive their rights to join any class or collective action against their employer and instead resolve disputes as individuals through binding arbitration?

 Read the LA Times article.

Legal experts and historians said the decision by President Trump to threaten “imminent” legal action against a publishing house, a journalist and a former aide represented a remarkable break with recent precedent and could have a chilling effect on free-speech rights, according to Slate.

The threats did not appear to work, at least as far as the scathing book by Michael Wolff. His publisher announced Thursday that publication had been moved forward four days to Friday because of what they described as “unprecedented demand.”

Reporters Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey talked to Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University, who likened Trump’s actions this week to those of Richard M. Nixon.

“Though several presidents — including Jimmy Carter and Theodore Roosevelt — have sued for libel after leaving office, it is uncommon and potentially damaging for a current occupant of the Oval Office to try to use the powers of the presidency to take on personal and political rivals, Brinkley said.”

Read the Slate article.

Fortune is reporting that Southwest Airlines agreed to pay $15 million to settle nationwide antitrust litigation by passengers who accused the four largest U.S. carriers of conspiring to raise fares by reducing seating capacity.

The Dallas-based carrier denied wrongdoing but said it settled to avoid the cost and distraction of further litigation.

The remaining defendants, including American Airlines Group, Delta Air Lines and United Continental Holdings, have not settled.

The report says Southwest agreed to help plaintiffs with their suit against the other three.

Read the Fortune article.

Sidley Austin LLP announces that Brian Stretch, current U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, will join the firm in San Francisco as a partner in its White Collar: Government Litigation & Investigations practice. Stretch will focus his practice on the full range of federal enforcement and internal investigation matters, with a particular emphasis on corporate investigations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and criminal defense matters.

In a release, the firm said Stretch is a highly accomplished lawyer with a distinguished history of public service and prosecution of criminal matters. During his 18-year tenure in the U.S. Attorney’s office, Stretch has held various high-level positions, including that of U.S. Attorney, First Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of its Criminal Division. Stretch was appointed to the U.S. Attorney post by the Chief Judge of the Northern District. As the U.S. Attorney, he leads an office of over 130 lawyers and other professionals in addition to personally handling an array of criminal prosecutions.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s office, Stretch served as a Deputy District Attorney (DA) in the Marin County District Attorney’s Office. As a Deputy DA, he participated in all aspects of civil and criminal litigation, including investigation, charging, discovery, negotiation and settlement.

Stretch has tried more than three dozen jury trials to verdict and argued three appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the firm said.

“Brian’s substantial experience as a first chair trial lawyer in high-stakes cases will add value to the San Francisco office as well as to the robust national practice,” said Sharon Flanagan, managing partner of Sidley’s San Francisco office and member of its Executive Committee. “We look forward to drawing from his tremendous knowledge to advise our clients facing government investigations and other complex white collar matters.”

Hogan Lovells announced that 31 of its lawyers have been promoted to partner.

Speaking on the promotions, Hogan Lovells’ CEO Steve Immelt commented:

“We are seeing real momentum with these promotions – in terms of diversity of our practices, our offices, by gender, and by ethnicity. They represent the globally diverse nature of our business. With that in mind, I am particularly pleased that more than a third of our new partners and new counsel are women. I congratulate all those who were promoted and wish them every success as they continue their career with us.”

Each of Hogan Lovells’ five practice groups is represented in the 2018 partner promotions:

• Seven in Corporate (including in Corporate, Financial Institutions Group, Real Estate, and Tax)
• Ten in Litigation & Arbitration (including in International Arbitration, Investigations, White Collar and Fraud, and Litigation)
• Five in Government Regulatory (including in Environment and Natural Resources, Government Contracts and Public Procurement, Government Relations and Policy Advocacy, Food & Beverage, and Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology)
• Five in Finance (including in Banking, business Restructuring and Insolvency, and Infrastructure, Energy, Resources and Projects)
• Four in Intellectual Property

New partners include:

• 15 in Europe, spread across our London, Munich, Amsterdam, Madrid, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, and Hamburg offices
• 13 in the United States & Latin America, spread across our Mexico City, Denver, Miami, New York, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. offices
• Three in Asia, spread across our Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo offices.
• Eleven women and twenty men.

In addition to the 31 new partners, 38 lawyers have been promoted to counsel.

New partners are:

• Michael J. Bell – Government Regulatory (Government Relations and Policy Advocacy) Washington D. C.
• Meryl Rosen Bernstein – IPMT, Northern Virginia
• Jaime Bofill – LAE (Litigation) Madrid
• Sean Conaty* – Finance (Infrastructure, Energy, Resources and Projects) Tokyo
• Matthew E. Eisler – Corporate (Corporate Transactional) Denver
• Elizabeth B. Fawell – Government Regulatory (Food & Beverage) Washington D. C.
• Matthew Felwick – LAE (Litigation) London
• Gaston P. Fernandez – Finance (Infrastructure, Energy, Resources and Projects) Miami
• Alex Harrison – Finance (Infrastructure, Energy, Resources and Projects) London
• Jörg Herwig – Corporate (Corporate Transactional) Frankfurt
• Alex Kay – Finance (Business Restructuring and Insolvency) London
• Valerie Kenyon – LAE (Litigation) London
• Jorge Valdés – LAE (International Arbitration) Mexico City
• Inken Knief – LAE (International Arbitration) Munich
• A. Elizabeth Korchin – LAE (Litigation) New York
• Henrik Lehment – IPMT, Düsseldorf
• Stephen A. Loney Jr. – LAE (Litigation) Philadelphia
• Carla Luh – Finance (Infrastructure, Energy, Resources and Projects) Hamburg
• Désirée Maier – LAE (Investigations, White Collar and Fraud) Munich
• David B. Massey – LAE (Litigation) Miami
• Daniel S. Metroka – LAE (Investigations, White Collar and Fraud) Philadelphia
• Jeremy Pickles – Corporate (Funds) London
• Allison D. Pugsley – Government Regulatory (Government Contracts and Public Procurement) Washington D. C.
• Bryan R. Ricapito – Corporate (Funds) Washington D.C.
• Joanne Rotondi – Government Regulatory (Environment and Natural Resources) Washington D. C.
• Benjamin Schröer – IPMT, Munich
• Arne Thiermann – Corporate (Commercial) Hamburg
• Florian Unseld – Corporate (Commercial) Munich
• Hein van den Bos – Government Regulatory (Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology) Amsterdam
• Helen Xia – IPMT, Beijing
• Lu Zhou – Corporate (Corporate Transactional) Beijing

New counsel are:

• Tifarah Roberts Allen – Corporate (Corporate & Commercial) Washington D. C.
• Michael A. Applebaum – Corporate (Tax) New York
• Fiona Bantock – Corporate (Tax) London
• James Black – Corporate (Corporate FIG/ Financial Institutions Group) London
• Stella Bliss – Corporate (Real Estate) London
• Joke Bodewits – Government Regulatory (Privacy & Cybersecurity) Amsterdam
• Chava Brandriss– LAE (Litigation) Washington D. C.
• Florian Brechon – Corporate (Corporate & Commercial) Paris
• Yu-An Chang – IPMT, Shanghai
• Charles Clayton-Payne- Finance (Banking) Singapore
• Jennifer Dickey – LAE (Litigation) London
• Brian D. Eyink – Government Regulatory (Food & Beverage) Washington D. C.
• Mary Carmen Fuertes – LAE (Employment) Mexico City
• Vidal Galindo – LAE (Employment) Madrid
• Alexander Gasparyan – Finance (Banking) Moscow
• Björn Handke– LAE (Litigation) Munich
• Sabrina Handke – Corporate (Real Estate) Munich
• Danielle C. Humphrey – Government Regulatory (Medical Devices and Technology) Washington D. C.
• Thorsten Klinger – IPMT, Hamburg
• Alexander Koch – Corporate (Corporate & Commercial) Luxembourg
• Ingo Kühl – LAE (Litigation) Düsseldorf
• Serena Lim – IPMT, Hong Kong
• Roy Liu – Government Regulatory (International Trade and Investment) Washington D. C.
• James Maltby – Finance (Business Restructuring and Insolvency) London
• Marc A. Marinaccio – LAE (Litigation) Baltimore
• Fabian Pfuhl – IPMT, Frankfurt
• Vironika Pilyugina – IPMT, Moscow
• Stefan Richter – LAE (Employment) Düsseldorf
• Bartosz Romanowski – Corporate (Corporate & Commercial) Warsaw
• Marcus Schönknecht – IPMT, Düsseldorf
• Aimee Sharman – Finance (Banking) London
• Jason D. Sternberg – LAE (Litigation) Miami
• Ben Sulaiman- Finance (Infrastructure, Energy, Resources and Projects) London
• Adriana V. Tibbitts – Corporate (Corporate & Commercial) Baltimore
• Thomas M. Trucksess – LAE (Litigation) Northern Virginia
• Stella Wong – IPMT, London
• Kate Wilford – LAE (International Arbitration) London
• Ernest Yakob – IPMT, New York

Williams & Connolly announces that, effective Jan. 1, 2018, Steven Cady, Colette Connor, Christopher Mandernach, Liam Montgomery, and Katherine Trefz became partners of the firm.

“We would like to extend our thanks and congratulations to the five tremendously talented lawyers who will be joining our partnership this year,” said Chairman Dane Butswinkas. “Each of these extraordinary attorneys embodies the firm’s dedication to our clients and commitment to excellence.”

The five new partners include:

Steven Cady – Cady focuses on civil and criminal trials and on government investigations, principally in matters relating to financial services and banking and on corporate governance. Cady’s practice is national in scope, having litigated cases in the state and federal courts throughout the country. His recent work includes serving as trial counsel in a month-long civil jury trial defending a national bank, serving as lead outside counsel for non-profit organizations, and defending against a federal class action lawsuit alleging hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Colette Connor – Connor focuses on civil and criminal trial work. She has tried bench and jury trials and has litigated in state and federal courts around the country. Most recently, Connor served as trial counsel defending against defamation and product disparagement claims seeking a multi-billion dollar damages award, and defending a first-degree murder case. Connor has represented corporate clients in a number of industries, including financial services and banking, real estate, healthcare, and media. Connor also has experience defending law firms facing malpractice and securities fraud claims.

Christopher Mandernach – Mandernach focuses his practice on civil litigation in federal and state courts and before arbitration tribunals. He has extensive patent litigation experience, having represented brand name pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and software companies in patent infringement matters. He has defended against legal malpractice allegations relating to patent prosecution. Mandernach  as also successfully handled a range of high-stakes litigation matters related to securities, bankruptcy, and the False Claims Act.

Liam Montgomery – Montgomery focuses on civil trial work, principally in matters relating to products liability and life sciences, as well as financial services and banking, antitrust, and actuarial services. Montgomery ’s litigation practice extends to the state and federal courts and arbitration tribunals throughout the country. His recent work includes serving as trial counsel in a civil jury trial for the family of the inventor of groundbreaking cardiology technology, in an armed robbery criminal jury trial, and in an arbitration for a national bank.

Katherine Trefz – Trefz focuses on criminal defense and on government and internal investigations. Trefz has a national practice. Her experience includes representing companies and individuals involved in civil and criminal investigations, guiding companies through internal investigations, and serving as counsel at trial. Her recent work includes serving as trial counsel in a major federal securities trial. Her work focuses on defending against allegations of corporate dishonesty, including securities fraud, mail and wire fraud, antitrust crimes, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the False Claims Act.

Farrell Fritz announces the promotions of Matthew D. Donovan and Frank T. Santoro to partner effective Jan. 1, 2018.

Matthew D. Donovan, a Scarsdale, NY resident, is a commercial litigation attorney. He earned his J.D. degree at the University of St. Thomas School of Law; his M.A. degree from Boston College and his B.A. degree from Marquette University.

Frank T. Santoro, a Forest Hills, NY resident, is an estate litigation attorney. He earned his J.D. degree from Brooklyn Law School and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Six years ago, former Manhattan lawyer Tor Ekeland traded in his fat paycheck for a not-so-lucrative private practice as one of a handful of defense lawyers who specialize in computer crimes.

Mother Jones profiles the 48-year-old, who says his boring corporate job for leading to alcoholism.

Reporter A.J. Vicens writes that Ekeland has strong feelings about the perceived nefarious intent of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Hackers “scare people. They make them feel vulnerable; there’s a hysteria about it.”

Ekeland has defended hackers against charges ranging from probing the defenses of municipal websites to conspiring to access federal email accounts.

Read the Mother Jones article.

Tom Petty
Image by musicentropy

A music publishing company has filed a lawsuit in California federal court that alleges that Spotify is using tens of thousands of popular songs without a license and compensation, reports Billboard.

Reporter Eriq Gardner writes that Wixen Music Publishing is seeking damages worth at least $1.6 billion plus injunctive relief.

The report says Wixen administers song compositions by Tom Petty, Zach De La Rocha and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, David Cassidy, Neil Young, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, Stevie Nicks, and many others.

During 2017, Spotify was hit by lawsuits from some other songwriters.

Read the Billboard article.

A former partner of a California law firm showed up at the firm’s holiday party and killed his ex-boss before turning the gun on himself, reports the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Police named John Alexander Mendoza, 58, as the man who shot two colleagues, one fatally.

The incident occurred at the party held for Perona, Langer, Beck, Serbin and Harrison. Mendoza’s name had been removed from the firm’s name after he was fired in recent days.

Above the Law also reported on the incident: “Mendoza reportedly told all lower-level staff members to leave the building before he opened fired upon senior managing partner Major A. Langer and Ronald Beck, who ran day-to-day operations at the firm. Langer was shot in the upper body and died at the scene, while Beck was shot in the leg and had a bullet graze his stomach.”

Mendoza was found dead at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Read the Press-Telegram article.

Black Duck will present a complimentary webinar reviewing the past year’s legal developments in open source software.

The event will be on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Two of the leading open source legal experts, Karen Copenhaver, partner at Choate Hall & Stewart and counsel for the Linux Foundation, and Mark Radcliffe, partner at DLA Piper and general counsel for the Open Source Initiative, will lead the discussion.

This annual review will highlight the most significant legal developments related to open source software in 2017, including:

• Current litigation
• An open source security update
• Blockchain and its forks
• Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX) and OpenChain
• GDPR
• And more

Register for the webinar.

Evan Greebel, former lawyer of “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, was convicted Wednesday by a federal jury of conspiring with his ex-client to defraud investors, reports Newsweek.

Greebel, “who was an outside counsel to Shkreli’s former company, Retrophin Inc, was found guilty of conspiring to commit wire fraud and securities fraud when he helped Shkreli steal $11 million from a pharmaceutical company to pay back investors after the former pharma bro lost their money in risky investments,” writes Christina Zhao.

Prosecutors accused Greebel of conspiring with Shkreli by helping him devise sham settlement and consulting contracts to pay back investors, using Retrophin assets.

Read the Newsweek article.

Image by C_osett

Reuters is reporting that General Motors Co. on Thursday won a court ruling that could reduce the private litigation it faces over flawed vehicle ignition switches, which have been linked to 124 deaths and triggered a big recall.

“U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said the plaintiffs in two bellwether cases, involving accidents where airbags had deployed, could not introduce expert testimony to show how defective ignition switches might have played a role in the crashes,” reports Jonathan Stempel.

The judge in the multi-district litigation ruled that the expert testimony offered by plaintiffs was unreliable, and their opinions “do not pass muster.”

Read the Reuters article.

William W. Graham, a lawyer, investor and philanthropist who was a member of the family that owned and published The Washington Post for many years, died Dec. 20 at his home in Los Angeles, according to The Post. He was 69.

Reporter Matt Schudel writes that the cause was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Graham’s brother, Donald E. Graham, a former Post publisher and chief executive.

“Graham was a lawyer at the prominent Washington firm of Williams & Connolly in the 1970s before settling in Los Angeles, where he taught trial law at his alma mater, the University of California at Los Angeles,” the report says.

Fox News reports that the death was reminiscent of the suicide of Graham’s father more than 50 years ago.

Read the Post‘s article.

A Ninth Circuit ruling on President Trump’s “travel ban” case offers the U.S. Supreme Court a clever way to reject the ban without limiting government power over immigration, writes Garrett Epps for The Atlantic.

The court does not question the statute that the administration relies on as the basis for the travel bans, but it denies that the bans conform to it.

Epps explains that “a travel ban is perfectly possible, and the administration is always free to ask Congress for one. Had it done so in January, Congress might have enacted one by now. The Supreme Court may be concerned that a decision against the government in this case may weaken the nation; the Ninth Circuit opinion suggests a way to avoid doing so—while still rejecting Trump’s demand for personal powers that ‘will not be questioned.’”

Read The Atlantic‘s article.

Bloomberg Law reports that IPhone users have begun racing to courthouses, infuriated by an Apple Inc. software update that slowed down the operation of their smartphones.