Presidential executive order seeks to preempt California laws that prevent AI fraud.
Litigation & Arbitration
Behind the fine print: The legal trap of arbitration agreements
By John C. Carpenter
Everyday clickwrap arbitration clauses strip consumers of impartial justice, replacing courts with private forums where repeat...
California has long flirted with a wealth tax, but a new ballot measure targeting the state's billionaires could finally break...
Will California cities rise to the housing challenge in 2026?
By Steven Stenzler
California's housing crisis has become a tale of two cities--with San Francisco charging ahead and Los Angeles backpedaling--o...
Tax
Can Congress really hand the president the power to tax?
By Christopher J. Duncan, Anya Bharat Ram
The Supreme Court's IEEPA tariff cases put a sharp question front and center: Can Congress really give the president a blank ...
Criminalizing homelessness in Fresno? Lawsuit claims city's ordinance punishes poverty
By K. Chike Odiwe
A constitutional challenge in Fresno raises an issue faced by cities across the country: Whether municipalities can lawfully c...
One of Trump's biggest and most dangerous lies this term is that his deportation regime targets the "worst of the worst"--a cl...
Education Law, Civil Rights
Loan cap changes could spark Title IX battles: Are schools ready?
By Madeline Buitelaar
Federal loan cap changes may appear neutral on their face, but could disproportionately harm women seeking graduate degrees in...
Immigration, Constitutional Law
Sunlight fails when government shadows immigration speech
By John H. Minan
Government coercion of private platforms to suppress apps like ICEBlock exemplifies "censorship by proxy," raising urgent Firs...
Survival cannibalism at sea and the necessity defense
By Marc D. Alexander
Adam Cohen's "Captain's Dinner" recounts the shocking true story of shipwreck, cannibalism and murder that upended English law...
When corporate narratives shape law: Understanding Uber's campaign within a long American tradition
By Monica Washington-Rothbaum
When powerful interests redefine accountability through public narratives, perception can begin to outweigh evidence in shapin...
Entertainment & Sports
The cost of free coaching: NCAA's $303M volunteer coach settlement
By Jill M. Manning
A $303 million settlement over the NCAA's 31-year ban on compensating volunteer coaches signals that coordinated wage-fixing a...
Pardon my feuilleton
By Myron Moskovitz
A "feuilleton" is a light, engaging essay or short piece that blends observation, humor and insight, and after a long career w...
Technology
California's legal system is sleepwalking into an AI crisis
By Nathan Mubasher
From fake case citations in court briefs to deepfake audio in custody battles, AI is already reshaping California litigation -...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Treat your (human) colleagues as allies - and your LLMs as adversaries
By Caroline Radell, Michael M. Rosen
As large language models like ChatGPT and Claude proliferate, attorneys must balance their promise for efficiency and insight ...
Contracts, Construction
New laws make quick payments and limited retentions the rule in California
By Daniel D. McMillan, Carolyn A. Woodson
California's 2026 laws turn slow payments and oversized retentions into legal risks for construction contracts.
Technology, Constitutional Law
AI defamation suits test anti-SLAPP shields and speaker rights
By Lan P. Vu
As AI-driven defamation suits emerge, courts must not only weigh who's accountable, but also whether anti-SLAPP laws -- and fr...
From grade school lessons on immigrants of every language, faith and skin color forming a "melting pot," to today's U.S. as a ...
Litigation & Arbitration
The Federal Arbitration Act at 100: An opportunity for reform?
By Hiro N. Aragaki
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Federal Arbitration Act, a cornerstone of American arbitration that has remained ...
Litigation & Arbitration, Ediscovery, Civil Procedure
Arbitration discovery: A new paradigm
By Victor E. Bianchini
California's SB 940 has transformed arbitration from a streamlined alternative to litigation into a process nearly as cumberso...
Military Law, Constitutional Law
Celebrating home and remembering peace
By Robert L. Bastian Jr.
Holiday rituals and hard-won lessons in war and peace remind us of what it means to come home.
Construction
SB 440: How California's Fair Payment Act will reshape construction disputes in 2026
By Brenda K. Radmacher, Jay R. Houghton
California's Senate Bill 440 takes effect Jan. 1, imposing new non-waivable dispute resolution rules on private construction c...
San Francisco's proposal to order private attorneys to represent indigent criminal defendants ignores a fundamental reality: c...
Torts/Personal Injury, Tax
Wildfire victims face Dec. 12 deadline for certain IRS tax refunds
By Robert W. Wood
Taxpayers who paid income tax on wildfire lawsuit recoveries from 2020 or 2021 may be eligible for refunds -- but the window t...
Construction, Civil Procedure
There's the 5-second rule: Then there's the 5-year rule
By Garret D. Murai
Oswald v. Landmark Builders proves the 5-year rule waits for no one -- not even a pandemic.
Securities, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
SEC at the door? Mind your ethics - and your client
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
When the SEC comes knocking, corporate counsel must call in reinforcements, guard confidences, spot conflicts and tread carefu...
Torts/Personal Injury, Evidence
Evidence Code § 801.1: Leveling the playing field in personal injury cases
By Robert S. Glassman, Joe O'Hanlon
California's Evidence Code Section 801.1 requires all medical causation opinions -- whether from plaintiffs or defendants -- t...
Construction, Administrative/Regulatory
California's bike lane boom is outpacing safety oversight
By Yosi Yahoudai, Stephen Lockard
California's infrastructure boom is delivering new bike lanes and roadways at record speed -- but oversight hasn't kept pace. ...
Corporate
DOJ's growing enforcement: Are tips and terror designations fueling cases?
By William Frentzen, Brian R. Michael
New DOJ policies and enforcement tools are shifting the legal landscape, exposing organizations to heightened investigation an...
Nonprofits, foundations, and sanctuary cities face intensified DOJ scrutiny as the Trump administration cracks down on progres...
