SCOTUS tackles religious bias claim, law schools attack U.S. News rankings over 'errors,' and Davis Wright and Shearman both lose a partner ??

?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here are today's top legal stories:

?? US Supreme Court tackles religious bias claim against Postal Service

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear an evangelical Christian former mail carrier's claim of religious discrimination against the U.S. Postal Service after he was disciplined for refusing to work on Sundays in a case that could make it harder for employers to deny religious accommodations.

The nine justices are due to hear oral arguments in an appeal by Gerald Groff, a former mail carrier in Pennsylvania. Lower courts threw out Groff's lawsuit, finding that the Postal Service's refusal to exempt him from delivering mail on Sundays, when he observes the Sabbath, did not violate federal anti-discrimination law because it would place too much hardship on his co-workers and employer.

The Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has a track record of?expanding?religious rights, often siding with Christian plaintiffs. Groff's case gives the court another chance to rule for a plaintiff claiming religious bias.

The dispute has also sparked?debate?over whether religious people are more legally deserving than others to have weekend days off from work. Unions representing postal workers have urged the justices to consider the hardship that religious accommodations have on co-workers who, for example, lose out on a day to rest or spend with family when they have to cover for shift gaps.

?? Law schools say US News rankings include faulty job data, as release delayed

Some law schools are flagging what they say are potential errors related to graduate employment data in the upcoming U.S. News & World Report rankings, which the publication has delayed releasing by a week.

U.S. News planned to publish its full graduate school rankings on April 18 but said it would?delay that release?until April 25 to address an "unprecedented number of inquiries from schools." A U.S. News spokeswoman declined to provide further clarification on the cause of the delay.

But some law schools say they've identified possible problems with its data based on an early copy of the rankings U.S. News gave to schools on April 11, as part of its usual procedure prior to releasing its lists.

University of California, Berkeley School of Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky asked U.S. News to review his school's employment numbers, noting discrepancies between the employment figures it reported to the American Bar Association and those that appear in the April 11 version of the rankings.

No. 1-ranked Yale Law School, which this year led a?rankings boycott?that spread to nearly a third of ABA-accredited law schools, saw a more than 9-percentage-point drop in its 10-month employment rate between the April 11 version and last year's ranking, despite having one of the largest cohorts of 2021 grads in school-funded fellowships and in grad school.

Law school admissions consultant Mike Spivey said the April 11 rankings have caused widespread confusion among law school administrators.

“Based on all the conversations I’ve had with multiple law schools, I think it’s highly likely [U.S. News] made an error, or multiple errors,” he said.

?? 1st Amendment lawyer Corn-Revere leaves firm for free speech non-profit

First Amendment lawyer Robert Corn-Revere has left the partnership of U.S. law firm Davis Wright Tremaine to be chief counsel for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the non-profit free speech advocacy group said Monday.

The role of chief counsel at FIRE is new and was created for Corn-Revere, a spokesperson said. Corn-Revere was already a member of the group's advisory council, according to its website.

Previously known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, FIRE changed its name in June and announced a $75 million expansion initiative that would take the group's work beyond college campuses. One focus of that initiative is litigation, the group said.

Legal director Will Creeley said Corn-Revere will be a "force multiplier" to FIRE's litigation efforts,

"Bob brings us decades of experience fighting for First Amendment freedoms in a variety of contexts," Creeley said.

FIRE recently challenged Florida's Individual Freedom Act, also known as the Stop WOKE Act, on the grounds that it prohibited professors from endorsing particular viewpoints in public university classrooms. The state is appealing after a federal judge?blocked key provisions?of the law in November.

?? Shearman practice leader jumps to rival law firm Weil in Houston

Shearman & Sterling's former energy innovation practice leader, Omar Samji, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges, marking the latest partner departure from New York-based Shearman in recent months.

Weil said Samji, who advises companies and investors on energy innovation and transition matters, will be a member of the New York-founded firm's corporate department in Houston.

Samji has counseled clients on matters relating to hydrogen, carbon capture, use and sequestration (CCUS), energy storage, and renewable fuels, the firm said.

Shearman & Sterling, where Samji spent more than five years, has seen a string of partner departures over the past few months to rival firms in the?United States,?London,?Paris,?Abu Dhabi, Dubai,?and Munich.

Shearman also called off a?potential merger?with Hogan Lovells in March. The firm?laid off?12 associates and 26 staff members in February and cut?an unspecified number of business professionals last week in a new round of staff reductions.

?? That's all for today! Thank you for reading?The Legal File!

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