DLA Piper is bolstering its securities, litigation and IP groups with a team of five partners poached from Reed Smith’s Silicon Valley office. Richard Scudellari, who helped open the office for Reed Smith in 2008, cited the lure of DLA’s international platform.

Baker & McKenzie’s San Diego office, which has been shrinking for several years, is set to lose two IP partners. Industry sources say the firm’s business model, which ties partner pay to the financial fortunes of the office where that attorney works, has been fueling departures, along with speculation the office may close.

An opinion published by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel in late December has opened the way for state lotteries to sell tickets via the Internet. And now people are wondering if poker, casinos and other online gaming enterprises can be far behind.

The U.S. Supreme Court took the New Orleans prosecutor’s office to the woodshed Tuesday, scolding its lawyer for what one justice said was a long history of accusations that the office has ignored defendants’ right to receive exculpatory evidence before trial.

Back in September, the U.S. Justice Department took a lot of heat for reportedly spending $16 on muffins, with the Office of the Inspector General noting the price in a report that scrutinized DOJ conference expenses, down to the cost-per-ounce of coffee. But now, the OIG has issued a revised report.