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What you need to know

BAD INFLUENCE – Here's a list of names you're not likely to see together in an ALM publication again: Jennifer Lopez, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Allen Iverson, Lindsay Lohan and Heidi Klum. Have they teamed up to start a new  litigation funding firm? Unfortunately, no. But they did all receive letters from the FTC as part of its campaign to promote clearer disclosures of endorsement deals, as revealed by the agency's response to a FOIA request filed by reporter C. Ryan Barber. The FTC has recently shown concern about social media posts that do not adequately disclose the business relationship between the influencer and the brand. To date, the agency has put the burden on the brands themselves to ensure appropriate disclosures. But Kristen Strader, a campaign coordinator for Public Citizen, one of the organizations whose petitions spurred the FTC letters, said she hopes for more of a crackdown. “It seems like, without any consequence, these marketers and influencers have no reason to take these letters seriously and change what they’re doing,” Strader said, making the shocking intimation that Snooki might not already be a strict adherent to FTC guidelines. READ MORE HERE

DEAN DRAIN – As far as job stability goes, the position of law school dean now ranks somewhere near "losing NFL coach" and "drummer for Spinal Tap." The leadership of Florida A&M University on Tuesday removed Angela Felecia Epps as dean of its law school—part of a larger purge that included the deans of its journalism, pharmaceutical and education programs, Karen Sloan reports. Interim Provost Rodner Wright has not specified why Epps and the other deans were ousted from their positions, but he issued a statement Tuesday saying they will remain tenured faculty members of their respective schools. Epps had only led the law school for 16 months. While Florida A&M leaders thus far remain mum on why Epps and the other deans were removed, the law school’s low bar-pass rates are likely a factor. Just 18 of the 39 Florida A&M graduates who sat for the February 2017 bar exam in Florida passed, according to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. That 46% pass rate was the third lowest among the state’s 11 American Bar Association-accredited law schools, and lower than the statewide average of 58%. It was the first time the school’s pass rate had ever fallen below 50%. READ MORE HERE

DECIDING FACTORS – One of the 4th Circuit's most prominent conservative voices, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, is likely to be benched from the bench for the upcoming May 8 hearing on the Trump administration's travel ban. He's expected to recuse because his son-in-law, Jeffrey Wall, is arguing the case for the Trump administration. The court will release the list of judges hearing the case the day of the argument, but reporter Cogan Schneier has identified five judges to keep an eye out for. Some are known for being vocal during arguments and others have a rep for waiting to make their presence known when it's decision time. Click the link to get acquainted before the hearing, which will be live streamed for the first time ever. READ MORE HERE

ONE HAND IN MY POCKET – Alanis Morissette’s business manager was forced to swallow a jagged little pill yesterday when he was sentenced to six years in federal prison for embezzling $7.2 million from the singer-songwriter and other celebrities, Todd Cunningham reports. Jonathan Todd Schwartz was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles, following his guilty pleas to wire fraud and tax fraud charges. Schwartz was a money manager to the stars, but admitted that between May 2010 and January 2014, he withdrew approximately $4.8 million belonging to Morissette without her knowledge. Pretty ironic, don't ya think? Schwartz’s attorney, Nathan Hochman of Morgan Lewis, had argued for a far more lenient sentence that included just one year of prison time based on his client’s pathological gambling addiction. But in court Thursday, Morissette told Gee that Schwartz had stolen from her in a “long, drawn-out, calculated and sinister manner.” And like everyone in the '90s, the judge listened to Alanis. READ MORE HERE

While you were sleeping

NEW ASSOCIATES – Ashurst has entered into a formal law alliance with a Singapore law firm, a move made in the wake of several partners leaving the firm in the city-state over the past several months, Anna Zhang reports. The association is with boutique firm ADTLaw, founded in 2013 by former Rajah & Tann litigation partner Dawn Tan. The nine-lawyer firm advises on disputes, mergers and acquisitions and banking and finance deals. Through the alliance Ashurst ADTLaw, the global firm will be able to access Singapore law practices in various areas, including litigation. In addition to Tan, who practiced with Rajah & Tann between 2006 and 2010 and had been a deputy trade director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, ADTLaw has two more directors: Lifen Tang, a former Allen & Overy associate who joined the firm in 2016, specializing in financing transactions; and Ashurst's project finance partner Patrick Phua, who has joined as an associate director. READ MORE HERE