Investments
Bentham IMF, Fortress Investment Group partner to create $200M investment fund for US litigation
By America Hernandez
New York-based private equity giant Fortress Investment Group has partnered with litigation funder IMF Bentham Ltd to offer it...
Litigation
Trade group reaches compromise deal to defend SF bail system
By Malcolm Maclachlan
A trade group representing bail agents has reached an agreement to be allowed limited intervention in a lawsuit that challenge...
State Bar & Bar Associations
State Bar agrees to study passing score on bar exam
By Lyle Moran
Two agency committees also approved studying whether the content of the exam aligns with the skills entry-level attorneys need...
EVP and General Counsel Fitbit Inc. (San Francisco) ...
Intellectual Property
Federal Circuit rules against German patent holding company
By Joshua Seboldn
Companies that face patent litigation from overseas holding companies got a victory Wednesday when a federal appeals court rul...
A roundup of recent transactions and the lawyers involved.
Technology & Science
As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, legal questions grow
By Steven Crighton
Can an artificial intelligence program hold a copyright, and who's liable when things go wrong? ...
Letter to the Editor
State Bar president makes great points; here are a few more
By Riley Guerin
I applaud State Bar President James Fox for acknowledging in his recent column that the bar is "shifting from an agency with a...
Tax
Criminal defense attorney sentenced to two years for not paying taxes
By Meghann M. Cuniff
Santa Barbara sole practitioner Darryl W. Genis is to spend two years in federal prison for failing to pay taxes on $3.5 milli...
A federal judge gave his blessing to a proposed settlement that accounts for the vast majority of remaining vehicles that lost...
U.S. Supreme Court
High school civics gets push from US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy
By Malcolm Maclachlan
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy pushes civic education improvements at a Sacramento event. ...
Zoning, Planning and Use
San Clemente can't build until it zones for homeless shelters
By Meghann M. Cuniff
An Orange County judge has ordered the city of San Clemente to stop issuing building permits for most of its area until it com...
Government
ABA official supports reducing the passing score on California bar exam
By Lyle Moran
Barry Currier, the ABA's managing director of accreditation and legal education, said California's high passing standard is li...
Litigation
Lawsuit claims Oracle shorted employees millions in sales commissions
By Matthew Blake
Oracle America Inc. has spent years breaking its contractual obligation to pay sales representatives' commissions, according t...
With President Donald Trump promising to spend at least $1 trillion on new infrastructure projects over the coming decade, con...
A prominent plaintiffs' firm has filed what it described as its first wave of litigation for individual condominium owners who...
California Courts of Appeal
Insurance commissioner prevails in homeowner rate dispute
By Joshua Seboldn
A state appellate court affirmed the authority of Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones to regulate insurance rates and ensure tha...
Environmental
Ongoing lawsuit, Oroville Dam flood danger poses large liability risk
By Malcolm Maclachlan
While the state Department of Water Resources tries to avert a potential disaster at the Oroville Dam, the agency's attorneys ...
Litigation
RICO suit against governor settled as judge objects to bombastic language
By America Hernandez
A case against alleged government and energy industry corruption by R. Rex Parris began with a bang, but seems to be going out...
General Counsel MapR Technologies Inc. (San Jose) ...
A roundup of recent transactions and the lawyers involved.
U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Alito laments shift from elected to appointed regulators
By Meghann M. Cuniff
"The Supreme Court has either acquiesced in this shift in lawmaking power or has actually facilitated it," Justice Samuel Alit...
U.S. Supreme Court
US. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy emphasizes civil discourse
By America Hernandez
Kennedy told the Association of Business Trial Lawyers the public should denounce speech it finds reprehensible. ...
Corporate
Crowdfunding platform names former military financial services group lawyer as GC
By Paula Lehman Ewing
RedCrow Inc., a Mill Valley-based crowdfunding platform, announced the hiring of Christopher P. Laia as general counsel and ch...
A small Brazilian nonprofit group is taking technology giant Alphabet Inc.-owned Google to court for allegedly not giving the ...
Government
Legislators try again to move judges to Inland Empire counties
By Malcolm Maclachlan
After failed efforts in the past, bills have been introduced again to allocate more judges to Riverside and San Bernardino cou...
Government
Legislative committee to review declining bar exam passage rate
By Lyle Moran
The chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee said he wants to find out why the state has such a stringent passing score. ...
US District Judge Dean Pregerson's 20 years of rulings has changed lives, protected prisoners.
A songwriting duo has sued fellow composer Marco E. Beltrami, claiming he passed as his own a song they produced to be used as...