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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat

@catmoon.bsky.social
2.8K followers 526 following 673 posts

'Be ignited, or be gone.' - Mary Oliver #MakeLawBetter provocateur Credentials for those who care: Prof at Vanderbilt Law, Co-Director of the Program on Law + Innovation and the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab ailawlab.bsky.social

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Reposted by Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat
ICYMI (Law) @icymilaw.org · 12/05/2025
I'm a discovery tool for law talk on Bluesky—distilling a firehose of law-themed posts into something more approachable. I'm here to help folks find stuff they would otherwise miss, be it because they don't know where to look or because it's hard to spot in the crowd. This is what I do: 🧵👇
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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 12/05/2025
My new project @icymilaw.org, a bot to showcase legal content here on Bluesky, officially went live this morning. As I write this, it looks like it could cross 100 followers today. You know what to do.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
This is marvelous. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYta...
youtube.com
Eminem - LOSE YOURSELF (Sung by 331 Movies!)
YouTube video by The Unusual Suspect
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Things we value only have value because we agree that they have value. It is a reality that we co-create. We can choose to no longer agree. This choice will affect some more than others.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
this feels . . . fiesty
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Democracy dies in silence.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
If only the Naval Academy and everyone else would carry on as usual. Nothing would happen. Nothing. Would. Happen. It's only happening now because of stupid shit like this.
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Barry Friedman @barryfriedman1.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Very proud of our faculty and our unity in this moment. Piggybacking on @cjsprigman.bsky.social and here's a link: drive.google.com/file/d/1yysJ...
drive.google.com
NYU LAW FACULTY LETTER_041725.pdf
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Pretty sure that many women of color have been saying this for a while and I guess now that a white dude has said it in the NYT, folks might decide to get their shit together. One can hope.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
the definition of fabulous
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
I've had this very conversation with so many colleagues. Students have told me that they are waiting for us to say something. To do something.
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Kate Jackson @katejackson.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
The war on academics opens a new front
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
"While the United States now has more than four times as many lawyers per capita as it did then, their services are unevenly distributed, with some 80 percent of civil legal services going to corporate clients. “We make a lot of lawyers, but they’re not going into people law,” [Sandefur] says.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Fewer. Not less.
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Joe Dudek @joedudekjd.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
In case you're curious why some random guy (me) has been filing self-represented amicus briefs in the Abrego Garcia case:
Identity and Interest of Amicus1 

I have been a member of the Bar of this Court since December 29, 2017. Like Mr. Abrego Garcia, I reside in Maryland with my American-citizen wife. R.161.2 Defendants’ (the “Government’s”) motion asserts the power to send me to the same Salvadoran prison, then do nothing to get me back. That is not how our constitutional system of government works.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
We always have less time than we think. Lawyer friends, the time is now.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
I fear it's too late for biglaw. But, this is less than half of the lawyers in the US. Think of how much a small law mobilization could accomplish!
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
We literally suck at our primary job.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Brilliant. We should make the 2025 equivalent of School House Rock videos [is this Tik Tok?] and help the entire US understand, TBH.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Not only do I use a period . in texts. I also use parens ( ) and the em dash — . And I will never stop.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Friends in London, I'm hosting a Women+AI event at Dentons on April 25, workshop at 2 and networking mingle at 5. Open to all women who work in AI, use AI, or are simply curious about AI. If you're in town, please join! www.eventbrite.com/e/women-ai-l...
Logo for Women + AI London, superimposed over the initials WAI
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Niko Bowie @nikobowie.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
An email from Harvard University President Alan Garber to the university community, titled "The Promise of American Higher Education," links to the DOJ's letter and Harvard's response: www.harvard.edu/research-fun... www.harvard.edu/research-fun...
Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
 
For three-quarters of a century, the federal government has awarded grants and contracts to Harvard and other universities to help pay for work that, along with investments by the universities themselves, has led to groundbreaking innovations across a wide range of medical, engineering, and scientific fields. These innovations have made countless people in our country and throughout the world healthier and safer. In recent weeks, the federal government has threatened its partnerships with several universities, including Harvard, over accusations of antisemitism on our campuses. These partnerships are among the most productive and beneficial in American history. New frontiers beckon us with the prospect of life-changing advances—from treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and diabetes, to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, quantum science and engineering, and numerous other areas of possibility. For the government to retreat from these partnerships now risks not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals but also the economic security and vitality of our nation.
 
Late Friday night, the administration issued an updated and expanded list of demands, warning that Harvard must comply if we intend to “maintain [our] financial relationship with the federal government.” It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner. Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the “intellectual conditions” at Harvard.
 
I encourage you to read the letter to gain a fuller understanding of the unprecedented demands being made by the federal government to control the Harvard community. They include requirements to “audit” the viewpoints of our student body, faculty, staff, and to “reduc[e] the power” of certain students, faculty, and …
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
"The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms as an agreement in principle."
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
Using Clause to sort through all the data points about participants in tomorrow's Hacking Pro Bono event and it is simply a beautiful thing to watch teams instantly being formed with an ideal blend of experience, interests, and skills. This would've taken me hours. It's taking Claude a hot minute.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
whitehouse.gov
Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose.
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Robert Chang @korematsuctr.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
The attacks on law firms and lawyers must stop. Full stop. On behalf of race and law centers, @seiu.org, @aftunion.bsky.social, @aaup.bsky.social, and several advocacy organizations, we offer our thoughts on why it must stop. www.law.uci.edu/centers/kore...
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Northwestern: Defend Our Rights! Today, faculty at Northwestern Law delivered statements from many, many 100s of people and orgs to the BoT chairman before the start of its faculty senate meeting — all in support of Northwestern Law’s Community Justice Clinic and Professor Sheila A. Bedi.
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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
NEW: The Energy Dept. instructed employees to gather information on business dealings between government contractors and law firms targeted by Trump’s executive orders—a directive that likely ran afoul of court orders barring portions of the executive orders. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/ener...
lawfaremedia.org
Energy Dept. Instructs Employees to Gather Info on Deals with Law Firms
Emails obtained by Lawfare reveal that DOE instructed employees to gather information on business dealings between contractors and law firms. 
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Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 09/04/2025
I am running out of new ways to describe how dire things are getting, and how quickly ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
ballsandstrikes.org
If the Trump Administration Can Disappear Kilmar Abrego Garcia, It Can Disappear Anyone
The White House is asking the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority for a Fifth Amendment pass.
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ailawlab.bsky.social @ailawlab.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
What exactly is a hackathon, anyway?! Timely post from VAILL team members Emily Pavuluri and Kyle Turner, about legal hackathons and our upcoming Hacking Pro Bono event at Vanderbilt Law School on Saturday, April 12. vaill.substack.com/p/understand...
vaill.substack.com
Understanding Hackathons through VAILL's Hacking Pro Bono event
What's a hackathon? What's that mean for lawyers? And how can you get involved?
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
The only way forward, that I can see, requires both courage and collective action. If we’re not going to fight for our students and our scholarship, then what the hell are we doing anyway?
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
there is nothing that is not going to get more expensive
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
the irony now? all these biglaw firms now have to represent for free even if they find the causes or people reprehensible sure, had they paid, happy to represent curious if it will feel different when they aren't paying
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
So when I was studying for the bar I listened to this tape (I borrowed barbri tapes from a friend because I could not imagine spending one more minute in a classroom) and in one of the lectures, this guy says "LAWYERS ARE NOT A BUS"
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Something fitting and emblematic of the American spirit we wish we had that a small business was the first to sue over the tariffs. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
independent.co.uk
First lawsuit against Trump’s China tariffs claims he illegally used emergency powers
‘These unlawfully implemented tariffs cause harm to American businesses, American jobs, and American consumers,’ says Florida entrepreneur who filed suit
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Every day, solo and small lawyers are doing the work to support people directly affected by what is happening. I appreciate that BigLaw and those leaving to make a point are getting attention. But who is really doing the work? Most lawyers in the US are not BigLaw lawyers.
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
we are frogs in the proverbial pot that is slowing reaching a boiling point
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Lisa Bee (she/her) @leebee4life.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
In case folks aren’t clear, this is Jeffries doing something. And I’m sure Johnson will be too 🐔💩 to take him up on the offer. @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social
Hakeem Jeffries
Democratic Leader
April 8, 2025
Dear Speaker Johnson:
I write to request a one-on-one debate, formally known as a colloquy, on the House Floor tomorrow with respect to the Republican Budget Resolution.
Over the weekend, the Senate passed a Budget Resolution that would cut Medicaid, food assistance and veterans benefits in order to provide a $7 trillion tax break that would primarily benefit wealthy billionaires like Elon Musk. Republican Members of Congress have repeatedly denied that painful cuts will be made. However, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that based on the text of the budget proposal there is nowhere else for cuts of such magnitude to come from other than areas like the critical healthcare programs relied upon by everyday Americans to survive.
The American people deserve to know the truth. I look forward to a onc-on-one debate with you on the House Floor to fully and transparently explain and defend our differing budget values to the American people.
Sincerely,
Hakeem Jeffries
Democratic Leader
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 08/04/2025
The Associated Press wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its journalists, citing the 1st Amendment.
bit.ly
AP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its journalists
A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events.
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Kendyl Hanks @kendylhanks.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/u... this is insanity.
nytimes.com
Trump Officials Freeze $1 Billion for Cornell and $790 Million for Northwestern
The funding pause amid civil rights investigations into both universities sharply escalates the Trump administration’s campaign against elite colleges.
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Rebecca Bact @rebeccabact.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
We are torturing people based on speech alone. Absolutely reprehensible, and shocking that the fact that we are doing so barely makes a ripple. Are people not afflicted by this?
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
So gross. Shame on the firms who capitulated. Of course, some of them rep the coal industry. Law is a business. No judgment. Except, IDK, rule of law, democracy, yadda yadda
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Lady Lawyer Diaries @ladylawyerdiary.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Being afraid to speak up about right/wrong and defend yourself when attacked bc you might make him mad is a 🚨🚨🚨 that you’re in an abusive relationship. Just sayin.
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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
If you are an alum of Brown University, please sign this and forward it around to your alum friends and contacts. It's important that the administration hears our voices! #EverTrue
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NPR @npr.org · 08/04/2025
A federal judge has ordered the Trump White House to let Associated Press journalists return to the Oval Office and other spaces to cover news events, ruling it was unlawful to block the news service in a dispute over its choice of words.
npr.org
Judge orders White House to allow AP access to news events
U.S. Judge Trevor N. McFadden rules the White House cannot deny the Associated Press access to news events because the wire service continues to use "Gulf of Mexico" rather than "Gulf of America".
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Cat Moon aka @inspiredcat @catmoon.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
We don't talk about this enough in law school. About our obligation as public citizens, and doing pro bono publico work. And how (if?) this squares with your values as a human. Maybe this was the push we needed? IDK. I'm hosting an event called Hacking Pro Bono on Saturday. Bring the 🔥
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O'Neill Institute @oneillinstitute.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
@michelebgoodwin.bsky.social argued that Trump’s actions are anti-democratic and anti-constitutional. “This dismantling, the firing of people, the gutting of various institutions, may take decades in some instances to rebuild and to restore.” www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
independent.co.uk
Why plans are already in motion for a Trump third term – no matter what the law says
Donald Trump has claimed he could serve a third term as president despite it going against the US constitution. In an interview he said there were ways around the rules and that his supporters wanted ...
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Jackie Gardina @jackiegardina.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
I just want to note who is conspicuously absent from this list. The Association of American Law Schools and the law school deans. Let's have lawyers reach out to their schools and ask what's up with that. #LawSky #AppellateSky 29/
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Jackie Gardina @jackiegardina.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Lawyers for Good Government, @l4gg.bsky.social, has created a letter for any American lawyer to sign. 25 or thereabouts/ www.lawyersforgoodgovernment.org/constitution...
lawyersforgoodgovernment.org
Defending Constitutional Democracy: An Open Letter from America's Lawyers — Lawyers for Good Government
As members of the legal profession, we have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. As such, we have no choice but to sound an urgent alarm at this moment in our nation's his...
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