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ADR Profile

Handling with Care

Dave Carothers
ADR Services, Inc.

From The Archive


MCLE

How to advertise your services without running afoul of the ethics rules?

May 7, 2025

To ethically reach out to potential clients during a disa...

By Christine C. Rosskopf

Cf. 9th Cir.: How the Ninth Circuit stands out

May 6, 2025

The Ninth Circuit stands out among the federal courts of...

By Benjamin G. Shatz

Income tax considerations in estate planning: Part 2

May 5, 2025

Estate planning involves strategic decisions about asset ...

By Alex Z. Brown, Robert W. Wood

Special Reports

CLAY Awards 2025

May 7, 2025

The annual list highlighting some of the best lawyers and legal work in California over the past year.

Today's News

Ethics/Professional Responsibility


Attorney Tom Feher accuses defense counsel of orchestrating a mistrial through unethical tactics in a $100 million personal injury lawsuit, alleging corporat...


Environmental & Energy, Civil Litigation


Fresno judge overturns State Water Resources Control Board's order, ruling it overstepped authority in blocking BlueTriton's groundwater use in the San Berna...


Securities


California and New York investors sue Coinbase, alleging the platform hides transaction fees in a "bait and switch" scheme, deceiving users by embedding spre...


Judges and Judiciary


Bradley W. Sullivan received a public admonishment for multiple violations during his short tenure as a court commissioner, including ex parte contact with l...


Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals


A 9th Circuit en banc panel upholds a federal law barring nonviolent felons from possessing firearms, reversing a prior ruling and deepening a circuit split,...


Civil Litigation


A $950,000 personal injury settlement with Los Angeles County unraveled, forcing a trial in September. Plaintiff's attorneys accuse the county of stalling, c...


Columns

Alternative Dispute Resolution

The mediation privilege: A sword and a shield

May 12, 2025
By Mark B. Wilson, Manoah S. Marton

California's mediation privilege, governed by Evidence Code sections 1115-1129, is broadly construed and strictly enforced to...


Alternative Dispute Resolution

Public policy considerations in California's mediation privilege

May 12, 2025
By Kevin Kayhanian, Brandon Brousseau

Mediation aims to promote candor, but critics argue that the privilege can sometimes prioritize secrecy over justice.


Construction, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

The Ninth Circuit took a common-sense approach in the case, steering clear of case law and legislative history, and focusing ...



Verdicts & Settlements

False Claims Act People of the State of Cali... $236,500,000
Copyright Infringement MGA Entertainment Inc. v. C... $71,489,012
Water Contamination The People of the State of ... $35,000,000
Auto v. Pedestrian Francisco Muhlbach v. Luz A... $13,698,662
Sexual Harassment Sarah Freeman v. Bitchin' I... $9,102,028
Premises Liability Estate of Jenelle Foster v.... $8,525,390
Premises Liability Buffi Maughan, Robert Maugh... $2,950,000
Auto v. Auto Raquel Enrriquetta Herrera ... $1,400,000
Excessive Force A.H., a minor, individually... $975,000
FEHA Brian Gate v. Auto-Chlor Sy... $700,000

On the Move

First Amendment Coalition

May 9, 2025


Aaron Field joined First Amendment Coalition as an associate in First Amendment Coalition. The move was May 5, 2025.

Field comes to FAC after nearly 10 years at San Francisco-based law firm Cannata, O'Toole, & Olson LLP, where he represented journalists, whistleblowers, media organizations, and others in public records, First Amendment, newsgathering, libel, defamation, and other civil matters. Field is no stranger to FAC, as he previously served as a legal intern in 2013 while in law school. Since then he has collaborated with FAC several times, including on two public records cases, *City of Gilroy v. Superior Court* and *San José Spotlight and First Amendment Coalition v. City of San José*. He also was part of the legal team that represented FAC -- along with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter (SPJ NorCal) -- in moving to unseal search warrant materials in the case of journalist Bryan Carmody, whose apartment was raided by San Francisco Police Department officers in 2019. In *Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times v. Sacramento County Sheriff's Department*, Field brought and won one of the first Public Records Act lawsuits by news media organizations to enforce SB 1421, California's landmark police transparency law. As Senior Staff Attorney, Field will oversee a newly expanded legal portfolio, with a focus on strategic litigation that holds California public agencies accountable under free speech and open government laws.


Details

First Amendment Coalition has four attorneys in four offices. Among the law firm's key practice areas are First Amendment, public records and press rights. The firm’s website is firstamendmentcoalition.org

Address

534 Fourth St , San Rafael CA 94901 USA
T: (916) 897-2792

Featured Content


Community News

Slideshow, Judges and Judiciary, Community News




Podcasts

In January, communities in Los Angeles were devastated by wildfires, permanently displacing thousands and destroying property ...



Daily Appellate Report

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Procedure

U.S. v. Duarte

Under Bruen, restricting non-violent felons from possessing firearms does not violate the Second Amendment.


Torts

Modification: Doe 3 v. Superior Court (John Roe DZ 20)

Code of Civil Procedure Section 340.1.3's revival provision did not revive claim against employer based on an employee's conduct because an action against the employee had already been li...


Criminal Law and Procedure

U.S. v. Plancarte

Government did not breach plea agreement by submitting supplemental memorandum opining about defendant's "worrying" conduct and past arrest history.


Civil Procedure

Miroth v. County of Trinity

Rooker-Feldman doctrine limiting district courts' jurisdiction did not apply where plaintiffs were not challenging state-court judgment but rather seeking to redress alleged injury by adv...