Judicial Notice (07.20.25): Not-So-Wonderful Secrets
The firing of a prominent prosecutor, Trump’s Epstein-related defamation lawsuit, the launch of Dunn Isaacson Rhee, and the latest hires at Paul Hastings.
This week’s Judicial Notice is sponsored by
Burford Capital helps companies and law firms unlock the value of their legal assets. With a $7.2 billion portfolio and listings on the NYSE and LSE, Burford provides capital to finance high-value commercial litigation and arbitration—without adding cost or risk or giving up control. Clients include Fortune 500 companies and Am Law 100 firms, who turn to Burford to pursue strong claims, manage legal costs, and accelerate recoveries. Learn more at burfordcapital.com.
After two weeks of travel, our family stayed home last week—and it was great. While I enjoy trips, being out of my usual environment and routine creates challenges for me in terms of child care, exercise, and eating healthy. So I was grateful for some time back home, especially since we have more family travel coming up.
Speaking of travel, I’m starting to book speaking engagements for the second half of 2025 and first half of 2026. My new “stump speech” is about Biglaw in the age of Trump, with a focus on the executive orders issued against law firms and their implications for the legal profession. But I’m happy to speak on a wide range of other subjects as well; feel free to email me, at davidlat@substack.com, to learn more.
Now, on to the news.
Lawyer of the Week: Maurene Comey.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to fire career employees, in possible violation of civil-service protections and whistleblower laws. Last Friday, for example, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired her senior ethics adviser, Joseph Tirrell. He posted his termination letter (in which his first name is misspelled) on LinkedIn—and as you can see, it gives no reasons.
The most high-profile termination was the Wednesday firing of Maurene Comey as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.). Like Tirrell, she also received no explanation for her termination. Some wondered whether she was fired because of something related to the various high-profile cases she has handled over almost a decade as an AUSA—including the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein, discussed below, or the recent trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Others raised the possibility that she was targeted because she’s the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, a longtime Trump adversary. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer had been calling for Maurene’s termination since May, based on her being the daughter of Jim—and Loomer took a victory lap after news of the firing broke—but according to multiple news outlets, it’s not clear Loomer was responsible.
On Thursday, Maurene sent what Politico described as a “defiant” letter to her ex-colleagues. Here’s the most quotable part of her message (via Lisa Rubin of MSNBC):
If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else.
It has been an honor to fight for those principles by your side.
L’Affaire Comey might seem like just more Trump-driven drama, but it does have larger significance. As noted by The New York Times (gift link), it “typified the chaos that has gripped four U.S. attorney’s offices in the New York region since President Trump reclaimed the White House, taking closer control of the Justice Department than any president in the last half-century and rattling the nation’s legal system.”
The four offices in question—the Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of New York, as well as my former office, the District of New Jersey—all lack permanent, Senate-confirmed heads. Instead, per The Times, “Trump has concentrated power within the DOJ in Washington and, in two of the offices, has elevated loyalists with little prosecutorial experience, leading to confusion and plummeting morale.”
The interim U.S. attorneys lacking prosecutorial experience are Alina Habba (D.N.J.), who had worked as a spokesperson and personal lawyer for Trump, and John A. Sarcone III (N.D.N.Y.), who had been an administrator for the General Services Administration (which manages federal property). Habba’s tenure has been rocky, and when her 120-day appointment as interim U.S. attorney runs out on Tuesday, the district judges are reportedly unlikely to appoint her on a permanent basis.
As for Sarcone, after his 120-day interim appointment expired, he claimed to a local news outlet that the district judges had appointed him permanently—until the judges said, in a statement, “Oh no we didn’t.” Main Justice then appointed Sarcone to serve as “special attorney to the attorney general,” with the portfolio of exercising the powers of the U.S. attorney for the Northern District—and according to an office spokesperson, this had the effect of making Sarcone the acting U.S. attorney. The move appears unprecedented. But during the second Trump administration, which is six months old as of today, we’ve seen a number of unprecedented things.
Other lawyers in the news:
Ryan Powers lost his job as a tax associate at Davis Polk after writing a series of opinion pieces critical of the Trump administration, according to Bloomberg Law and Law360. One of his pieces, discussing government surveillance of the public, called out Palantir Technologies—whose 2020 direct listing was a deal that Davis Polk worked on in 2020, representing the company’s financial advisers.
Shon Hopwood—bank robber turned “jailhouse lawyer” turned “lawyer lawyer” turned Georgetown Law professor—could be returning to prison. On Friday, a D.C. jury found him guilty of three counts of simple assault, five counts of contempt, and two counts of obstructing justice, all related to domestic violence committed against his wife, fellow lawyer Ann Marie Hopwood, in 2023. For a closer look, see this Washington City Paper piece by Chandra Bozelko.
In memoriam:
Professor Richard “Dick” Fallon—who clerked for Justice Powell and served for more than 40 years on the faculty at Harvard Law School, where he was a renowned scholar of constitutional law and beloved teacher—passed away at 73.
William H. “Bill” Neukom, a former general counsel at Microsoft and president of the American Bar Association (ABA), passed away at 83.
Another former ABA president, R. William “Bill” Ide III—who was a partner at Long Aldridge (now part of Dentons), before serving as general counsel at Monsanto—passed away at 85.
Donald Cameron Findlay III—a former Scalia clerk, Sidley Austin partner, and general counsel to three Fortune 500 companies—passed away at 65.
Robert “Bob” Josefsberg, an acclaimed trial lawyer and towering figure in the South Florida legal community, passed away at 86—while conducting a deposition, with his grandson by his side.
May they rest in peace.
Judge of the Week: Judge Loren AliKhan.
Last Thursday, Judge Loren AliKhan (D.D.C.) ruled that the Trump administration’s attempt to fire Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “was unlawful and without legal effect.” Accordingly, for the reasons laid out in her 42-page opinion, Judge AliKhan granted Slaughter’s motion for summary judgment and entered a permanent injunction blocking her removal. (In the same opinion, Judge AliKhan dismissed similar claims brought by former FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya; he resigned from the Commission in June, explaining that he couldn’t go without income while the litigation wound its way through the courts, so his case became moot.)
The administration announced that it would appeal Judge AliKhan’s decision—and the judge expected as much, writing that “[t]his court has no illusions about where this case’s journey leads.” Yes, she acknowledged a Supreme Court ruling on the short-order docket that casts into doubt the continued viability of Humphrey’s Executor, the key precedent relied upon by Slaughter. But Judge AliKhan noted that “[i]t does not represent a final, definitive, and reasoned decision on the merits”—so until the high court conclusively resolves the underlying legal issues, Slaughter can keep her job.
This is not, by the way, Judge AliKhan’s first time at the Trump rodeo. Off the top of my head, I’m aware of two other Trump-related cases she’s handling: National Council of Nonprofits v. Office of Management and Budget, a challenge to the administration’s attempt to suspend certain federal financial assistance, and Susman Godfrey v. Executive Office of the President, the litigation powerhouse’s challenge to the executive order issued against it by Trump. She ruled against the administration and entered permanent injunctions in both cases—but as in Slaughter v. Trump, Judge AliKhan is unlikely to have the last word.
Speaking of judges voting against the Trump administration, I’d like to clarify earlier comments of mine about Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. In referring to her as “Justice of the #Resistance,” I’m simply saying that she’s the justice who’s most widely admired in anti-Trump circles, seen by them as their hero at One First Street. Contrary to some listener pushback on a recent episode of Advisory Opinions, I’m not claiming that she’s a political hack or acting in bad faith. For more from me on Justice Jackson, see my recent post, “The Liberal Justices Are Not A Monolith.”
In nominations news:
Donald Trump’s first second-term judicial nominee, Whitney Hermandorfer—who graduated from GW Law, clerked for then-Judge Kavanaugh and Justices Alito and Barrett, practiced at Williams & Connolly, and worked in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office—was confirmed to the Sixth Circuit, 46-42.
Trump nominated Professor Jennifer Mascott—currently on leave from Catholic Law, while serving in the White House Counsel’s Office—to a Delaware-based seat on the Third Circuit. Like Hermandorfer, Mascott graduated from GW Law and clerked for then-Judge Kavanaugh, followed by SCOTUS (Justice Thomas).
Speaking of Third Circuit picks, the nomination of principal associate deputy attorney general Emil Bove continues to be contentious. Eighty former federal and state judges, led by retired judges Nancy Gertner (D. Mass.) and J. Michael Luttig (4th Cir.), signed a letter opposing his nomination, as did more than 900 former Justice Department lawyers. But the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Bove’s nomination, sending it to the Senate floor—and I’m guessing he’ll be confirmed, since he’s supported by Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) sent the White House five recommended nominees for a Wisconsin-based seat on the Seventh Circuit, who emerged from their bipartisan nominating commission: state-court judges Cynthia Davis, Kevin Martens, and Thomas Michael Hruz; assistant U.S. attorney Rebecca Liane Taibleson, chief of appeals for the Eastern District of Wisconsin; and former federal defender Joseph Bugni, now in private practice. But don’t be surprised if Trump doesn’t stick to this list.
Job of the Week: an opportunity for real-estate associates in Dallas or Houston.
Lateral Link is working with a top-tier Am Law firm that is actively seeking to expand its real-estate practice in either Dallas or Houston. This is an exciting opportunity to join a well-established and highly respected team that handles complex, high-value transactions across the country. The firm is looking for associates with 1-5 years of experience, ideally gained at a large law firm or in a similarly demanding and sophisticated environment, who have broad exposure to commercial real-estate matters, including purchases, sales, leases, loans, and joint ventures. To learn more about this fantastic opportunity to advance your career at a leading firm with a strong pipeline of work, supportive culture, and clear path for growth, please email Wendy Boone Jaikaran at wendyboone@laterallink.com.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Original Jurisdiction to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.