DICK THE BUTCHER WOULD CALL IT A START: The Supreme Court has granted cert in Frank v. Gaos, a case brought by my colleague Ted Frank. The case draws attention to the abuse of a legal doctrine called cy pres, which is used to enrich trial lawyers’ favored charities – like their alma maters – that have nothing to do with the case at hand. In this case, a class action provided $0 to class members and $8.5 million to be divided between the plaintiffs’ lawyers – who received $1000/hour on this case – and third-party charities unrelated to the class. A favorable decision in the case could rein in this lawyers’ shakedown racket. You can read more about the case here.