Alexandra Lahav
@alahav.bsky.social
Law professor at Cornell
Subjects: litigation risk, torts, civil procedure
https://www.alexandralahav.com/
Subjects: litigation risk, torts, civil procedure
https://www.alexandralahav.com/
Pinned
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
*Women receive substantially lower "potential" ratings despite receiving higher performance ratings
*Differences in potential ratings account for half of the gender promotion gap
*Women’s lower potential ratings do not reflect future performance: women subsequently outperform male colleagues
*Differences in potential ratings account for half of the gender promotion gap
*Women’s lower potential ratings do not reflect future performance: women subsequently outperform male colleagues
Forthcoming in the AER: "“Potential” and the Gender Promotion Gap" by Alan Benson, Danielle Li, and Kelly Shue. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
“Potential” and the Gender Promotion Gap
(Forthcoming Article) - We show that subjective assessments of employee “potential” contribute to gender gaps
in promotion and pay. Using data on 29,809 management-track employees from a
large retail ...
www.aeaweb.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
*Women receive substantially lower "potential" ratings despite receiving higher performance ratings
*Differences in potential ratings account for half of the gender promotion gap
*Women’s lower potential ratings do not reflect future performance: women subsequently outperform male colleagues
*Differences in potential ratings account for half of the gender promotion gap
*Women’s lower potential ratings do not reflect future performance: women subsequently outperform male colleagues
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
On the blog: In approving Trump's transphobic policy of listing sex assigned at birth on passports, SCOTUS said govt was "merely attesting to a historical fact," thus echoing the obtuseness of Plessy v Ferguson's statement that Black folks were only choosing to see segregation as white supremacy. 👇
SCOTUS Echoes Plessy v Ferguson in Greenlighting Trump's Transphobic Passport Policy
Repeating a pattern that has become all too familiar, late last week the Roberts Court issued a per curiam order staying a lower court rulin...
www.dorfonlaw.org
November 10, 2025 at 12:27 PM
On the blog: In approving Trump's transphobic policy of listing sex assigned at birth on passports, SCOTUS said govt was "merely attesting to a historical fact," thus echoing the obtuseness of Plessy v Ferguson's statement that Black folks were only choosing to see segregation as white supremacy. 👇
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
Even though it mustered only 356 words to justify putting Trump's spiteful anti-trans passport policy back into effect, #SCOTUS managed to show us two of the flawed analytical moves it keeps making *only* in Trump cases to provide cover for granting emergency relief.
My latest, via "One First":
My latest, via "One First":
189. The Breezy Inequity of Trump v. Orr
The Supreme Court's latest grant of emergency relief to the Trump administration illustrates in technicolor the direct (and ugly) consequences of the two different ways it keeps messing up "equity."
www.stevevladeck.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Even though it mustered only 356 words to justify putting Trump's spiteful anti-trans passport policy back into effect, #SCOTUS managed to show us two of the flawed analytical moves it keeps making *only* in Trump cases to provide cover for granting emergency relief.
My latest, via "One First":
My latest, via "One First":
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
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🧵
November 6, 2025 at 8:43 PM
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
🧵
🧵
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
NEW: Foreign food safety inspections have hit a historic low after Trump staffing cuts. The dramatic shift in oversight comes as the U.S. has never been more reliant on foreign food.
“It’s only a matter of time before people die,” one expert said.
“It’s only a matter of time before people die,” one expert said.
Foreign Food Safety Inspections Hit Historic Low After Trump Cuts
The dramatic shift in oversight comes at a time when the U.S. has never been more reliant on foreign food, which accounts for the vast majority of the nation’s seafood and more than half its fresh fruit.
www.propublica.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:00 PM
NEW: Foreign food safety inspections have hit a historic low after Trump staffing cuts. The dramatic shift in oversight comes as the U.S. has never been more reliant on foreign food.
“It’s only a matter of time before people die,” one expert said.
“It’s only a matter of time before people die,” one expert said.
Fondly remembering my elementary school metal lunchbox that looked like a little suitcase. Was it Scooby doo themed? I can't remember.
Asks, “Would a man genuinely injured, genuinely offended by having a sandwich thrown at him proudly, happily, joyfully” keep a plush sandwich on his shelf and a “Felony Footlong” patch on — yes! — his lunchbox?
November 5, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Fondly remembering my elementary school metal lunchbox that looked like a little suitcase. Was it Scooby doo themed? I can't remember.
The defense team presses Lairmore on whether the sandwich really 'exploded.' They return to the photo of the sandwich and wrapper on the ground.
"That sandwich hasn't exploded at all, has it?" defense asks.
"It looks like a little bit is coming out towards the bottom," Lairmore replies.
"That sandwich hasn't exploded at all, has it?" defense asks.
"It looks like a little bit is coming out towards the bottom," Lairmore replies.
November 4, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
A case I litigated in the Court of Appeals is at SCOTUS today: I think it’s fascinating.
Assume a plaintiff sues a Texas and non-Texas entity. The defendants remove to federal court. The district judge keeps the case on improper joinder grounds: the Texas entity shouldn’t have been sued. /1
Assume a plaintiff sues a Texas and non-Texas entity. The defendants remove to federal court. The district judge keeps the case on improper joinder grounds: the Texas entity shouldn’t have been sued. /1
November 4, 2025 at 1:30 PM
A case I litigated in the Court of Appeals is at SCOTUS today: I think it’s fascinating.
Assume a plaintiff sues a Texas and non-Texas entity. The defendants remove to federal court. The district judge keeps the case on improper joinder grounds: the Texas entity shouldn’t have been sued. /1
Assume a plaintiff sues a Texas and non-Texas entity. The defendants remove to federal court. The district judge keeps the case on improper joinder grounds: the Texas entity shouldn’t have been sued. /1
Very interesting and worthwhile analysis
In which I respond to William Barr's arguments for preempting climate suits.
reason.com/volokh/2025/...
reason.com/volokh/2025/...
William Barr Discovers the Economics of Tort Law (and Misrepresents the Law Governing Interstate Pollution)
Another reply to the former attorney general on climate litigation that may end up in the Supreme Court.
reason.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Very interesting and worthwhile analysis
@proffoohey.bsky.social @dalie.bsky.social
what do you think about this? There's a story here somehow connecting the anti-consumer bankruptcy reforms and mass torts...
what do you think about this? There's a story here somehow connecting the anti-consumer bankruptcy reforms and mass torts...
Larry Friedman says he sees a golden opportunity to go beyond talking and writing about the need for bankruptcy reform by using the Boy Scouts proceedings to expose the inflated fees and shoddy representation plaguing mass tort cases.
Scouts Lawyer Seeks to ‘Shine a Light’ on Mass Tort System Flaws
Larry Friedman says he sees a golden opportunity to go beyond talking and writing about the need for bankruptcy reform by using the Boy Scouts proceedings to expose the inflated fees and shoddy representation plaguing mass tort cases.
bit.ly
November 3, 2025 at 1:45 PM
@proffoohey.bsky.social @dalie.bsky.social
what do you think about this? There's a story here somehow connecting the anti-consumer bankruptcy reforms and mass torts...
what do you think about this? There's a story here somehow connecting the anti-consumer bankruptcy reforms and mass torts...
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
On the blog, I preview the issues in Wednesday's SCOTUS oral argument in the tariff case. I also discuss the prominent quotations of Trump's idiocy in the SG's lead brief, which cannot be persuasive but are probably included as a warning to the justices not to cross the mad king who loves tariffs.
Some Major Questions for Wednesday's Oral Argument in the Tariff Case
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in two consolidated cases that present the question whether President Trump's impos...
www.dorfonlaw.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:35 PM
On the blog, I preview the issues in Wednesday's SCOTUS oral argument in the tariff case. I also discuss the prominent quotations of Trump's idiocy in the SG's lead brief, which cannot be persuasive but are probably included as a warning to the justices not to cross the mad king who loves tariffs.
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
Timeline cleanse: I present a series of photos of irritated animals
October 31, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Timeline cleanse: I present a series of photos of irritated animals
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
Pay to Plead, @claireraba.bsky.social and my article on California debt collection is available! Drawing on more than $2M debt collection cases covering 80% of CA's population from 2009-2020, we draw a detailed picture of how mass debt lawsuits operate as a regressive system of wealth transfer. 1/3
Pay to Plead: Finding Unfairness and Abusive Practices in California Debt Collection Cases
<div>
In this Article, we report on one of the largest in-depth studies of debt collection lawsuits ever attempted. We collect, normalize, and analyze a data s
papers.ssrn.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Pay to Plead, @claireraba.bsky.social and my article on California debt collection is available! Drawing on more than $2M debt collection cases covering 80% of CA's population from 2009-2020, we draw a detailed picture of how mass debt lawsuits operate as a regressive system of wealth transfer. 1/3
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
4th Cir. revives bellwether case from localities against drug distributors they allege are partially responsible for the opioid epidemic.
Held: under West Virginia law conditions resulting from over-distribution of
opioids can constitute a public nuisance.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/221...
Held: under West Virginia law conditions resulting from over-distribution of
opioids can constitute a public nuisance.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/221...
October 28, 2025 at 7:30 PM
4th Cir. revives bellwether case from localities against drug distributors they allege are partially responsible for the opioid epidemic.
Held: under West Virginia law conditions resulting from over-distribution of
opioids can constitute a public nuisance.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/221...
Held: under West Virginia law conditions resulting from over-distribution of
opioids can constitute a public nuisance.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/221...
Another torts exam just dropped
October 28, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Another torts exam just dropped
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
I am glad to see the judges that used GenAI to hallucinate opinions have written letters coming clean, but the two letters contain parallel language in parts that suggests they were coordinated before being sent.
www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
October 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I am glad to see the judges that used GenAI to hallucinate opinions have written letters coming clean, but the two letters contain parallel language in parts that suggests they were coordinated before being sent.
www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
Your torts exam....
October 22, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Your torts exam....
Post your favorite malapropism:
"It takes two to tangle"
"It takes two to tangle"
Not to be THAT dictionary, but…
It’s ‘per se,’ not ‘per say.’
It’s ‘dog-eat-dog world,’ not ‘doggy-dog world.’
It’s ‘hunger pangs,’ not ‘hunger pains.’
It’s ‘one and the same,’ not ‘one in the same.’
It's 'buck naked,' not 'butt naked.'
It’s ‘per se,’ not ‘per say.’
It’s ‘dog-eat-dog world,’ not ‘doggy-dog world.’
It’s ‘hunger pangs,’ not ‘hunger pains.’
It’s ‘one and the same,’ not ‘one in the same.’
It's 'buck naked,' not 'butt naked.'
October 20, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Post your favorite malapropism:
"It takes two to tangle"
"It takes two to tangle"
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
Johnson & Johnson is facing the first lawsuits in Britain over allegations that its talc products cause cancer. KP Law said it filed the case on behalf of more than 3,000 people reut.rs/42HgenU
October 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Johnson & Johnson is facing the first lawsuits in Britain over allegations that its talc products cause cancer. KP Law said it filed the case on behalf of more than 3,000 people reut.rs/42HgenU
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
Extraordinary NEW story: We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days. @nicolefoy.bsky.social w/ photos by @sbmaneyphoto.bsky.social
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Extraordinary NEW story: We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days. @nicolefoy.bsky.social w/ photos by @sbmaneyphoto.bsky.social
This was a great newsletter. Made me laugh and I learned something.
Right now I’d say there’s lots of fuzz on this newsletter, and as it gets closer it’s going to start to take real shape. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/news...
OpenAI Has a Business Plan
Also 18/5 stock trading on 24 Exchange and Nobel Prize betting on Polymarket.
www.bloomberg.com
October 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM
This was a great newsletter. Made me laugh and I learned something.
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements
we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)
www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)
www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports
CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.
www.consumerreports.org
October 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements
we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)
www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)
www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
Reposted by Alexandra Lahav
Oral argument today in Bowe v US presents one of the most profound constitutional questions: Just how much power does Article III's Exceptions Clause give Congress to strip SCOTUS of appellate jurisdiction? I offer some history and context in my latest column for @justiaverdict.bsky.social 👇
Will SCOTUS Decide What Its “Essential Functions” Are?
Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses the U.S. Supreme Court case Bowe v. United States, which raises the question of whether limits on successive habeas petitions for state prisoners also a...
verdict.justia.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Oral argument today in Bowe v US presents one of the most profound constitutional questions: Just how much power does Article III's Exceptions Clause give Congress to strip SCOTUS of appellate jurisdiction? I offer some history and context in my latest column for @justiaverdict.bsky.social 👇