Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer for accused Capitol rioter says 'biatch' less offensive; charge dropped against Boies Schiller partner
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Lawyer for accused US Capitol rioter says ‘biatch’ is less offensive
A lawyer for accused U.S. Capitol rioter Richard “Bigo” Barnett of Gravette, Arkansas, has said his client didn’t use the B-word to describe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a note that he left for her. Barnett, photographed with his feet on Pelosi’s desk, actually used the word “biatd,” which was apparently intended to be “biatch,” lawyer Joseph D. McBride of New York City said in a court filing. The slang word is less offensive than the B-word and, according to the Free Dictionary, it can be “a term of endearment or disparagement for another person,” McBride said. The full note read: “Hey Nancy Bigo was here biatd.” A federal judge released Barnett to home detention with GPS monitoring Tuesday after a federal prosecutor said the government was in plea negotiations with Barnett. (The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Mercury News, 4029 News, WUSA 9)
Prosecutors drop charge against Boies Schiller partner
Prosecutors have dropped a misdemeanor domestic abuse charge against Boies Schiller Flexner partner Joshua Schiller. A judge in Marin County, California, dismissed the charge Tuesday. Schiller’s lawyer, Douglas Horngrad, told Law.com and Bloomberg Law that the prosecutor dismissed the case “because there was no case to prove. As we’ve stated from the beginning, there was no physical harm or instance of domestic violence in this case.” Schiller, the son of firm co-founder Jonathan Schiller, had recently returned from a leave of absence that began after his Jan. 14 arrest. An internal review reportedly found no evidence of physical abuse. (Bloomberg Law, Law.com)
Daughter of Cuban immigrants will lead Sidley Austin management committee
Dallas lawyer Yvette Ostolaza will chair the management committee at Sidley Austin beginning in April 2022. She will be the first woman to lead Sidley and the only woman of color to lead one of the nation’s 10 highest-grossing law firms. Ostolaza is the daughter of Cuban immigrants. She joined Sidley with an eight-partner group from Weil, Gotshal & Manges in 2013 and led her new firm’s Dallas office. (Bloomberg Law, the Dallas Morning News, Sidley Austin press release)
5 BigLaw firms are founding members of well-being institute
Five large law firms are “Inaugural Founding Champions” of a new nonprofit called the Institute for Well-Being in Law. The law firms are Crowell & Moring; Katten Muchin Rosenman; Latham & Watkins; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; and Reed Smith. The law firms are members of the nonprofit’s advisory board and are offering financial support. The institute’s predecessor was the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, launched by the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and other organizations. The institute plans to address issues of mental health, substance use, addiction and stress that affect lawyers. (Law.com, Law360, Institute for Well-Being in Law press release)
