Judicial Notice (07.15.23): Call of Duty

New SCOTUS ethics controversies, an arrest of an accused serial killer, Biglaw's emerging four-day workweek, and other legal news from the week that was.

A Microsoft store in New York, New York (photo by David Lat).

Greetings from Denver—a wonderful city, especially in the summer. I had a speaking engagement here a few days ago, and Zach and I decided to spend some time with family in Colorado before heading back to the East Coast. While the heat wave hasn’t spared the state, with temperatures in the 90s, at least the humidity is relatively low. I’ve been able to engage in outdoor exercise, including jogging and hiking, and stay in shape (and I haven’t gotten altitude sickness, as I sometimes do in the Mile High City).

Now, on to the news.

Lawyer of the Week: Beth Wilkinson.

In a relatively quiet week in the courts, the biggest legal news was Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley (N.D. Cal.) denying the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the video-game giant most famous for Call of Duty. I discuss the decision below as Ruling of the Week, but for now I’d like to bestow Lawyer of the Week honors upon Microsoft’s lead lawyer: Beth Wilkinson of Wilkinson Stekloff, who burnished her reputation as one of the nation’s top trial lawyers with this epic win.

Speaking with Ross Todd of the American Lawyer, who named her Litigator of the Week, Wilkinson shared the backstory behind the remarkable effort, which made it possible for her team to conduct a five-day evidentiary hearing, effectively a super-expedited trial, on just ten days’ notice. She shared credit for the victory with three other firms: Weil Gotshal, which oversaw the regulatory aspects of this antitrust case; Sidley Austin, which drafted the briefs, findings of fact, and conclusions of law; and Skadden Arps, which represented Activision. “The people we worked with were fabulous,” Wilkinson said, “and it was a true team effort.”

Other lawyers in the news:

• In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss offered more detailed denials of whistleblower claims related to his handling of the Hunter Biden investigation. More specifically, he denied seeking “special counsel” status to pursue the case more aggressively.

• The Real Lawyers of Los Angeles? Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana declared a mistrial in a malpractice case against celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos’s law firm, Geragos & Geragos, after a trashy courthouse confrontation that might have gotten physical. It allegedly featured one lawyer calling another a “b***h” and asking, “Do you want to get a piece of me now?” How charming.

• At least the squabbling lawyers didn’t try to blame their misdeeds on a “generation gap”—the excuse offered to the ABA Journal by Illinois lawyer Robert Edward Lewin, when the publication asked him to comment on allegations of inappropriate behavior towards female courthouse staffers.

In memoriam:

• Melvin Wulf, the pathbreaking constitutional litigator and legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1962 to 1977, passed away at 95.

• Benno Schmidt Jr., a leading scholar of constitutional law who went on to serve as president of Yale University, passed away at 81.

May they rest in peace.

Judge of the Week: Judge Michael Ponsor.

Another week, another set of ethics controversies at the Supreme Court. But the latest controversies, especially what I’ll call “Venmogate,” strike me as pretty weak.