Government
6th District justice leaves the bench to become a county executive
By Logan Noblin
Justice Miguel Márquez has resigned from the 6th District Court of Appeal and taken a new role as Santa Clara County's chief o...
California Supreme Court
State high court favors stronger anti-SLAPP protections in ruling
By Kevin Lee
Plaintiffs cannot rely on "artful pleading" to avoid a California law enacted to protect defendants' free speech rights and di...
A roundup of recent transactions and the California lawyers involved.
Litigation
Settlement reached resolving challenges to gang injunctions
By America Hernandez
A settlement resolving constitutional challenges to 26 local gang injunctions was preliminarily approved Friday by U.S. Distri...
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District handed down the decision against Stephen J. Dougan, a solo personal injury lawyer...
The 4th District Court of Appeal upheld the disqualification of Greenberg Gross LLP from a lawsuit against Broadcom co-founder...
State Bar & Bar Associations
Amended suit takes aim at former State Bar president
By Lyle Moran
A former State Bar executive assistant has amended her lawsuit over her termination to include new causes of action and severa...
Judges and Judiciary
With funding in the balance, Alameda County judge voices complaints
By Kevin Lee
Top representatives from Alameda County Superior Court, who stand to lose funding to courts in rapidly expanding areas in the ...
Kalman S. Zempleny II, executive managing director of The Rutter Group, died on July 22 after a brief and sudden illness, acco...
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury found a construction company partially responsible for the death of a worker who fell at a w...
Law firms that want to continue to do bond counsel business with the state will need to keep an eye on political donations by ...
A weekly roundup of lateral attorney moves, law firm office openings and partner promotions from around California. ...
Labor/Employment
Acerbic judge dismisses wage lawsuit against retailer
By Matthew Blake
A judge took center stage at a hearing Friday, dismissing an employment lawsuit against Williams-Sonoma Inc. while repeatedly ...
Law Practice
Use caution when discussing ethically murky client matters, State Bar advises
By Steven Crighton
Potentially confidential client information learned through the course of representation should not be discussed by an attorne...
California Courts of Appeal
4th District removes JAMS references from retired justices' profiles
By Meghann M. Cuniff
The 4th District Court of Appeal has removed all references to the mediation company JAMS from the online profiles of the reti...
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
9th Circuit: Evidence obtained using torture cannot be basis for extradition
By Saul Sugarman
Testimony obtained through torturing witnesses cannot be used as valid evidence in extradition proceedings, a divided en banc ...
Environmental
Judge approves first Prop 65 settlement to stop toxic dumps near aquifers
By America Hernandez
The first Proposition 65 environmental settlement requiring an oil and gas wastewater company to stop dumping toxic chemicals ...
Government
Bill to create contamination cleanup fund divides environmentalists
By Malcolm Maclachlan
A bill to fund cleanup of lead-acid battery contamination has prompted a fight in the state Legislature that has divided envir...
There are not enough similarities between the Home Box Office Inc. show "Ballers" and a script pitched to the network to merit...
Litigation
Suit over alleged Dodger sponsorship contract continues after summary judgment is denied
By Justin Kloczko
Allegations of a breached $10.75 million contract between the Los Angeles Dodgers and video kiosk retailer Outerwall Inc. will...
ADR Services Inc. ...
The panel that oversees the California bar exam is concerned that its ability to effectively administer the test could be hamp...
Labor/Employment
Employee-friendly arbitration decision could reach U.S. Supreme Court
By Matthew Blake
The state Supreme Court again poked holes in the Federal Arbitration Act's applicability, issuing a blockbuster, worker-friend...
Law Practice
Baker & McKenzie hiring Northern District criminal division chief
By Joshua Seboldn
Baker & McKenzie LLP is grabbing the chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern Distric...
Two lawsuits are challenging the neutrality of the 4th District Court of Appeal to hear cases involving the Orange County-base...
EVP of Specialty Finance and Chief Legal Officer BofI Federal Bank (San Diego) ...
Letter to the Editor
Letter to the editor: Reliance on court attorneys has consequences
By Riley Guerin
Steven Kimball's insightful article explains how excellent briefs can still lose to deficient briefs when judges rely upon "in...
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
9th Circuit seeks state high court guidance on Heller bankruptcy
By Kevin Lee
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has asked the state Supreme Court to decide whether a dissolved law firm can collect pro...
Sedgwick LLP is facing a putative class action filed by a partner who claims she was subjected to "systemic gender discriminat...
California Courts of Appeal
Hikers cannot use old fire road, a split 2nd District panel rules
By Saul Sugarman
A divided 2nd District Court of Appeal on Wednesday ruled hikers can no longer use an old Los Angeles fire road that for decad...