THEY’RE HEEEERE… - You can sleep now. Finally, the very long-awaited U.S. News & World Report “Best Law School” rankings are out, featuring revised methodology, several dozen schools moving 20 or more spots and data from 63 schools that refused to actively participate. As you may recall, U.S. News had released the preliminary rankings for the T14s on April 11 and then rescinded it 10 days later. But at 12:01 ET this morning, the real deal dropped. As Law.com’s Christine Charnosky reports, the final T14 rankings differ from the preliminary list in two key ways: Harvard Law dropped from being tied at 4th—leaving Penn Carey Law alone at 4th place—to being tied at 5th with New York University School of Law and Duke University Law School. Duke, meanwhile, rose to that position from a two-way tie at 6th in the preliminary rankings.
WHISTLEBLOWN AWAY - A nearly $280 million award issued by the SEC is leading corporate lawyers to warn clients and could make the work of whistleblower attorneys even more busy in the face of a historically aggressive agency. The award, announced Friday in connection with a multiagency, unnamed enforcement action, sent shock waves through the securities law world, multiple lawyers told Law.com’s Brad Kutner. It’s more than double any single previous whistleblower award from the SEC, and it’s about $50 million more than the total awards issued by the agency in 2022. Lawyers who work with companies on the receiving end of such investigations said they hope it serves as a wake-up call. “There are a lot of important conversations that need to continue to happen with clients,” said Morrison & Foerster partner Haima Marlier. “These awards are now so large the whistleblower program has to be part of the conversation.”
