Environmental
Drought spurs new court rulings, legislation governing state water rights
By Fiona Smith
Cities, farmers and environmentalists have also been focusing on the state Legislature and the courts as the drought has spawn...
Judges and Judiciary
Tulare County judge faces discipline for trying to be clerk's 'special friend'
By Don Debenedictisn
The state Commission on Judicial Performance is formally investigating Judge Valeriano Saucedo over giving cash and a car and ...
Entertainment & Sports
North Korea and Raging Bulls: The year in entertainment litigation
By Matthew Blaken
2014 brought a massive data breach of a major motion picture studio and watershed copyright rulings for the television and mus...
After a $40 million settlement with the FTC over false advertising, Skechers faces new claims alleging sneaker injuries. ...
On Dec. 8, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced plans to limit the economic disaster, personal injuries and loss of life ...
Public Interest
Elderly widow to recover $150,000 thanks to Katten lawyers
By Melanie Brisbon
An 88-year-old woman suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's will recover nearly $150,000, thanks to attorneys at Katten Muchi...
California Courts of Appeal
Coblentz Patch loses appeal of San Francisco's partnership distribution tax
By Joshua Seboldn
San Francisco law firms hoping to dodge increased taxes from a 2008 voter proposition suffered a defeat when the 1st District ...
A roundup of recent transactions across the state and the lawyers involved.
They say two of the biggest cowboy lies are, "I own that truck and I won that buckle." Gregory L. Dillon - a lawyer by trade a...
Although California presents opportunity, it also presents an often unique set of employment risk propositions, which are ofte...
California has 40 percent of the nation's ADA lawsuits, but only 12 percent of the country's disabled population. By Katherine...
This year, while the Supreme Court was expanding false advertising access to the Lanham Act, the circuit courts were busy maki...
As the year comes to a close, it's increasingly clear that the future of communications - whether business or consumer voice, ...
Facebook Inc. must face a lawsuit accusing it of scanning users' private messages for advertising purposes in violation of fed...
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Immigration appeals board getting tough treatment by 9th Circuit
By John Roemer
Immigration cases continued to dominate the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' docket in 2014 as judges wrestled with and ofte...
Labor/Employment
California's worker-friendly laws passed in 2014 could spread across the nation
By Laura Hautalan
Attorneys are eyeing a handful of laws passed this year by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown as signs of la...
Year in Review Column
High court takes a bite out of patent litigation in 2014
By Katharine Malonen
While the U.S. Supreme Court decided six patent cases this year, one has emerged as the most important with profound practical...
Environmental
Nossaman attorney battling U.S. Forest Service to help Sierra Nevada frog survive
By Fiona Smith
The Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog is facing extinction and in his own small way, Nossaman LLP partner Paul Weiland hopes to...
Intellectual Property
Supreme Court rulings mark shifts in patent, copyright law
By Kevin Lee
Patent law underwent a seismic shift in 2014, thanks in large part to a series of groundbreaking opinions from the U.S. Suprem...
A weekly roundup of lateral attorney moves, law firm office openings and partner promotions from around California.
Municipal and environmental law attorney Karen A. Feld Feld swam for the first time in the FINA World Masters Championships l...
There are six important lessons from this year, which demonstrate that a holistic approach to cybersecurity is crucial. By Hsi...
To me, a lifelong civilian, torture was something practiced by barbaric and brutal enemies. It was something Americans suffere...
Law Practice
Brothers land adjacent courtrooms after side-by-side careers in personal injury litigation
By Daina Beth Solomon
Mark S. Algorri and Ernest P. Algorri win large verdicts after serendipity brings the partners from DeWitt Algorri and Algorri...
Intellectual Property
Judges stingy with patent protection following high court ruling
By Kevin Lee
Six months after a high-profile U.S. Supreme Court decision, judges have responded to questions of whether patent protection s...
Entertainment & Sports
High-stakes Smokey Robinson case nears settlement
By Matthew Blaken
The Motown legend is set to settle with his ex-wife in a case that would have tackled novel issues of federal copyright and st...
Discipline
Lawyer who took a default against his own client should be disbarred, court says
By Don Debenedictisn
A Fresno lawyer served his lawsuit for fees on himself as the client's agent for service and then obtained a default judgment....
As a dispute resolution specialist with JAMS, former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ann Kough is guided by two tenets...
Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday named nine judges to superior courts in Los Angeles, Kern, Stanislaus and Orange counties. ...
Third party litigation funding appeared to gain momentum in the U.S. market this year, with more investments by established fu...