Original Jurisdiction

1 day ago | davidlat.substack.com | David Lat

Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here. A version of this article originally appeared on Bloomberg Law, part of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc. (800-372-1033), and is reproduced here with permission.

3 days ago | davidlat.substack.com | David Lat

This week’s Judicial Notice is sponsored byLexSelect helps lawyers work 12x faster by eliminating tedious, low-value tasks and freeing up time for high-value, billable work. It seamlessly extracts and cites text from any PDF—including transcripts, affidavits, contracts, and expert reports—cutting up to 50 hours of manual work per trial down to just 4. Save time, reduce errors, and stay focused on what matters: advocating your case and serving your clients.

1 week ago | davidlat.substack.com | David Lat

It isn’t easy being a criminal-defense attorney. Your clients are counting on you, often with their liberty on the line. You work your heart out for them. And in the end, at least once your client has been charged, the odds are high that they’ll end up convicted—whether through pleading guilty or losing at trial. In the federal system, fewer than one percent of defendants get acquitted.

2 weeks ago | davidlat.substack.com | David Lat

The prospect of massive new tariffs is sending shock waves through the global economy. Financial markets are gyrating wildly. The legal profession is under attack, with Biglaw as a top target. Lawyers and judges have an important role to play in standing up for the rule of law. Our efforts are especially useful when they’re focused on our own workplaces and communities, where we have the greatest ability to make a difference.

2 weeks ago | davidlat.substack.com | David Lat

On Monday, U.S. News published its 2025 Best Law Schools rankings. There were some hiccups, as reported by Above the Law—as there sometimes have been in the past, including times when incorrect rankings were published—but it appears that we now have the final word. This year, U.S. News left its methodology largely unchanged, so we didn’t see the huge moves that we saw in the 2023 rankings—but there were still some noteworthy shifts.