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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Remember this when the DOJ complains about weaponized bar grievances against government lawyers.

Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I've had the conversation in recent expert witness engagements where I have to pinkie-promise that I'm not using GenAI (which is fine with me because I hate AI), but yeah, lawyers are thinking about this.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

What happened? (Washington was my first state of admission.)

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

So I'm going to try some questions in a format I learned from my co-author: Essentially sophisticated true/false statements that call for explanation, with a hard word limit. /3

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

But I also know the students get freaked out if they think they have to memorize. I didn't want them buying or making flash cards. That's stupid. /2

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Me too - I was seriously tempted to fail students who talked about cases we hadn't read, as it was clearly just a cut-n-paste job from the outlines that go around in student orgs. /1

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

This is a problem I have increasingly seen in the last several years. Using short, focused questions with a hard word limit is a response to that, but I'm not sure closed book would be, since it would be hard to know how to pre-write those answers.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The DOJ's motion to disqualify Susman Godfrey under Rule 3.7 in the ABA litigation is so bad that I wonder how these lawyers passed the MPRE. But clearly they're getting nervous about what Susman might turn up in discovery.

open.substack.com

Back to School on the Advocate-Witness Rule

A Shameless DOJ Motion

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

The Schmitt and Arendt references are on point, but I'd also cite the great Texas journalist Molly Ivins's reaction to Pat Buchanan's belligerent speech at the Republican National Convention in 1992, that it probably sounded better in the original German.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I fly a ton through Washington-Dulles and when Trump was talking about having it renamed for him I thought oh well, I guess I'm taking the bus a lot. Thanks, PBI, for taking the hit.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I work in a university and I don't know an actual communist.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Whoops. Texas is very hard core with their anti-solicitation rules.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

One of my favorite movies and sadly underappreciated.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Agreed very much on #2, but you have to read a few pages to see what it's about before the title makes sense.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Normally down for the criticism of uncouth American spectacles, but Buc-ee's is awesome.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

"Rule of law" is an empty slogan that can mean anything at all. I don't think so, and neither do many legal philosophers. I am aware that everyone hates philosophers, but this little explainer may still be helpful.

open.substack.com

A Rule of Law Explainer

I was at a conference recently with several sessions dedicated to topics related to the rule of law.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Read the comments on this post: The chatbot admits communications with it aren't privileged and, even better, admits that a legal chatbot like this would be engaging in UPL. Who greenlighted this thing? h/t @jtlg.bsky.social

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Raised in San Antonio, lifelong Spurs fan . . . but I guess I'm rooting for the Knicks now.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Tortillas from H-E-B make everything better. GSG!

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

A little late, I know - other stuff got in the way - but here's my reaction to the D.C. Circuit oral argument in the law firm executive order litigation. TL;DR - it was all about the security clearances.

open.substack.com

The Law Firm Executive Orders Appeal

Reactions to the Oral Argument

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

South Texas native, now living in Upstate NY, and I've made many a Taylor ham, egg, and cheese breakfast taco. I highly recommend it.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

I might actually use #1 in class to illustrate the principle that strict liability only goes for the hazardous propensities of an activity. For dogs that's biting, not carelessness with firearms. It's a proximate cause-ish idea.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

I'm proud of my kids for many things but near the top of the list is that they're both good cooks (and have the good sense not to waste their money on DoorDash).

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

"'There will be no additional cost for the Trump-themed passports,' the State Department said." But an extra $500 to avoid having the picture of Trump in your passport - brilliant fundraising!

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Compare the burden of doing something the old fashioned way with the expected cost of forcing the firm's head of the bankruptcy practice to grovel before the court if you screw something up that he signed. Seems like an easy call to me. /4

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

And yes, dear associates, I know you are under enormous time pressure and GenAI tools seem like a way to manage your workload effectively, but as a Torts teacher I'll just say . . . B<PL. /3

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

To be clear, one of the principles emerging from the AI hallucinations sanctions cases is that the ONLY appropriate response to having filed something containing hallucinated citations is this kind of abject apology. But you, soon-to-be associates, do not want to be the cause of it. /2

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Dear associates starting jobs at big law firms soon: At the risk of being Captain Obvious, if your mistake causes an extremely powerful partner at your firm to have to write this kind of abject apology to a court, you will rue the day you were born: www.law360.com/articles/246... /1

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I'm there for the cabeza tacos!

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Recalibrating the standard of care may require serious sanctions, like striking pleadings or dismissal. /4

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I can say this until I'm blue in the face, but I bet lawyers are now going to argue it's not objectively unreasonable to submit filings with fake citations. /3

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

It's a subtle point, and hard to get students to grasp at first, but objective standards aren't determined by majority rules. Even if every firm screws something up it still may be objectively unreasonable. /2

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I'm seriously worried that the argument of every lawyer facing a show cause order for fake AI citations is going to be "even S&C did it - it's standard of care now." Defining deviance down. /1

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Thanks, James - that's incredibly kind! I try to do all of those things, so I'm glad it comes through in the writing.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Thanks, Beau! The PR/rules issues aren't super complicated on their own, but the Liptak case would be marginal. I'm pretty confident in the analysis of 8.4(d) and (f). As for the 1st Amendment here, we're entering territory not fully mapped.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I'll be on the lookout. I'm on here pretty regularly.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

That's exactly the question. The Court has created a new puzzle (one we didn't need) of how to analyze rules of professional conduct under its speech-is-speech approach.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I'm Protestant, so this kind of isn't my fight, but imagine the world-historical level of narcissism it would take to believe that 121 cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new Pope gave you even a moment's thought.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Yeah, and he really helped Viktor Orban by campaigning for him.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Jeff Clark tried it too. District court said nope, it's untimely. D.C. Circuit affirmed: 23-7073-2064293.pdf share.google/kK0uTpLJuv3h...

share.google

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Now that Pam Bondi has joined Kristi Noem under the Trump bus, it's time for the Senate to step up and take its advice and consent function seriously. Here are some questions the Judiciary Committee can, and should, get answers to.

open.substack.com

Some Questions for the Attorney General Nominee

Shoot, I was planning to get some work done today, but Trump had to go ahead and allow Attorney General Pam Bondi to retire from government service and take up “a much needed and important new job in ...

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Reposted by Brad Wendel

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 23/03/2026

From @theathletic.com: During a recent San Antonio Spurs game, a video of a woman in the crowd sending a message disparaging Hispanic fans went viral. On Saturday, the fans responded. nyti.ms/3NBzH5a

Spurs fan Aidan Sterling wore a shirt stating "Crazy Hispanic Fan" to Saturday's game, in response to a disparaging video that went viral.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

RIP one of the greats from my hometown of San Antonio, Augie Meyers, whose distinctive conjunto organ playing was essential to the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados. Not for nothing is "Hey Baby, Que Paso?" considered the unofficial anthem of San Antonio.

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

If Julie Le thought her job as temporary AUSA sucked, she's going to love being in Congress.

nytimes.com

ICE Lawyer Who Told Judge She Was Overwhelmed Seeks New Role: Lawmaker

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Brad Wendel @bradwendel.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

This is what happens when you have an Attorney General who talks about "zealous advocacy" and forgets about the "within the bounds of the law" part. Total collapse of the distinction between prerogative and lawful authority.

wsj.com

Exclusive | Trump Ordered Justice Department Reversal on Law Firm Sanctions

“I never signed off on that,” the president told aides in the Oval Office, expressing displeasure with Justice Department leadership.

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