"My question to the court would be that if a lawyer who reports his or her own misbehavior is going to be disbarred anyway, then what incentive does that lawyer have to report the misbehavior in the first place?" said former Maryland attorney Edward A. Malone.

"The rankings of academic institutions clearly have a readership, and we wish to prevent the use of inaccurate information," Dean Thomas J. Miles said.

"I have spent my entire professional career working not only to promote diversity and belonging, but also, recognizing that neither diversity nor inclusion are power-neutral, advancing civil rights and equality in education," Nancy Chi Cantalupo said in a statement. "However, that work has almost always been bifurcated—either focusing on research or on the implementation of DEI programs and initiatives."

"The response by U.S. News to recent announcements by other law schools that have also chosen to withdraw—without responding to the substance of any of the significant issues raised—has caused greater concern, contributing to our decision," University of California, Irvine School of Law Dean Austen Parrish wrote in a statement to the community Wednesday.

We'll be updating this page regularly with news and analysis as the highly-influential U.S. News & World Report law school rankings undergo potentially profound changes.

Trust, in my experience, is built by showing genuine care about the team's success at critical times.

"We are under no illusion that UCLA Law's decision will have a substantial impact on how law schools are evaluated by U.S. News," Interim Dean Russell Korobkin continued. "Approximately 80 percent of a law school's U.S. News 'score' is based on publicly available data and the surveys of reputation that U.S. News itself conducts, so U.S. News undoubtedly will continue to rank all of the law schools, perhaps with only minor methodological adjustments.

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Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced a pardon for simple possession of marijuana, a move that will impact an estimated 45,000 individuals and will forgive more than $14 million in fines and fees.

Happy Wednesday from Avalon and Brad, and welcome to another round-up of the week's news about the judiciary. We are a few days early because of Thanksgiving.

• Bench Report: Why These Judges Are Worried About Confirmation Hearings - Enclosure
• Bench Report: Biden's Focus on DC Circuit Nominations + Fixing Judicial Succession - Enclosure
• Bench Report: Are Biden's Purple State Nominations Fleeting? Plus, Finding a Middle Ground on SCOTUS Reforms. - Enclosure

The effect of the First Department's decision is that a seven-count indictment against the defendant, based in part on him allegedly forging deeds and using them as exhibits in real property actions as part of a fraud scheme targeting the elderly, has been dismissed.

I'm Amanda Bronstad. Feel free to reach out to me with your input. My email is abronstad@alm.com, or follow me on Twitter: @abronstadlaw.

Many trademark practitioners have noted the USPTO's recent penchant for issuing refusals to register trademarks on the ground of failure to function as a trademark. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board picked a colorful case to set precedent and provide some initial guidance on how it will evaluate failure to function refusals going forward.

"My god ... I don't think I've ever heard an oral argument go worse for a litigant," one lawyer said of the hearing.

The Boston Bar Association is hosting the no-cost event Friday, Dec. 2, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Hotel Commonwealth. Reservations are required.

"More and more, opioid addiction impacts our friends, neighbors, and loved ones," said Nick Brown, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington. "These grant funds from the Justice Department are for locally designed programs to help with the addiction crisis."

The first criminal actions to come out of the Tom Girardi scandal targeted Christopher Kamon, the former CFO of Girardi Keese, who was charged with one count of wire fraud this month and accused of siphoning firm finances to pay for exotic sports cars, private jet trips and escorts.

"To add bite to our writ, we will retain jurisdiction and monitor EPA's progress," wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

An Oregon woman now faces federal charges under allegations that she used her deceased spouse's identity to fraudulently obtain nearly $40,000 in federal student aid, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced last week.

"Collaboration is a much more powerful force than competition. Treat people well—both colleagues and adversaries. Have an abundance mindset."