Environmental & Energy
Suits strongly argue NEPA final rule is ‘not in accordance with law’
By John H. Minan
The National Environmental Protection Act has been called the “Magna Carta of environmental laws” for good reason. Its twin ai...
There comes a time when it’s time to rethink old things. The institution of the grand jury has been around for a long time, si...
Labor/Employment
Proposition 22 money may have simply bought (expensive) time
By Ronald L. Zambrano
You can buy a lot with $200 million. The most expensive ballot proposition in California’s history delivered almost exactly wh...
Appellate Practice, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
‘Healthy lawyerly paranoia’: federal appeal deadlines
By Jeffrey E. Raskin
A common dilemma faces counsel regarding the timing of an appeal of a partially adverse merits judgment while an attorney fees...
Law Practice
An interview with: Protima Pandey of Santa Clara County
By Mallika Kaur, Protima Pandey
Next in the Negotiating Trauma & the Law series, Protima Pandey speaks about why her experiences across nonprofit, public,...
During the 2016 presidential campaign, there was plenty of talk about estate taxes — death taxes to use a common pejorative te...
Military Law, Criminal
Accountability for sexual assault in the military: Time for reform
By Michael E. Rubinstein
Consider the following hypothetical: A successful, charismatic businessman attends an out-of-town conference with his female a...
Data Privacy, Civil Litigation
Here comes a wave of data privacy litigation
By Gary S. Lincenberg, Steven Zipperstein
Data privacy law is quickly becoming the hottest legal issue of the 2020s. Over the previous decade — amid the rapid growth of...
Military Law
Reconciling veteran law’s insanity exception with the insanity defense
By Charles Kohorst, Ariana Barlas
Every person who served in the United States' armed forces is not a "veteran," under the law. Instead, Congress gave the Depar...
Letters, Criminal
Domestic violence columnist should look to San Diego
By Eugene M. Hyman
In an Oct. 26 column “A dangerous policy of inaction in domestic violence cases,” Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
High court to rule whether bullets always qualify as a seizure
By Brian Hoffman, J. Scott Tiedemann
The Fourth Amendment protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures, including the excessive use of force by ...
Technology, Law Practice
Artificial intelligence may spur a need for more lawyers
By Lance Eliot
A recent research study carefully examined the growth in the laws over a 25-year period. This alone provides important and fas...
Law Practice
#FreeBritney movement calls for conservatorship reforms
By Thomas F. Coleman
Since 2008 when she was involuntarily placed into a probate conservatorship in California, she has not been able to control he...
Tax, Labor/Employment, Covid Columns
Remote workers and out-of-state employers raise tax issues
By Suzanne Mulvihill
As more and more workers are required or encouraged to work from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the consideration ...
Intellectual Property, Civil Litigation
Induced infringement ruling could have far-reaching effects
By Daniel Knauss, Alissa Wood
A recent Federal Circuit ruling has potentially far-reaching impacts in cases involving allegations of induced infringement.
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
When an attorney is sick, who and when must they tell?
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
With flu season approaching and the COVID-19 pandemic enduring, there is extreme concern about the possibility of getting sick...
The latest instance involves Goldman Sachs, which is paying about $2.9 billion to settle its role in the 1MDB scandal.
Constitutional Law
This land is your land, but Malibu won’t let you tell anyone
By Christopher M. Kieser
Whether you live in a city, a suburb, or out in the country, you have probably seen a “private property” or “no trespassing” s...
Construction, Appellate Practice
Appellate ruling confirms duty to defend is immediate
By Garret D. Murai
A recent decision confirms that the duty to defend is immediate and, as can be surmised from the Crawford decision although it...
The Double-O designation gives Bond a license to kill, but when lawyers misuse it, they’re merely abusing their license to ill.
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Commission on Judicial Performance adopts amended rules
By Kathleen Ewins, David McMonigle
This year, the commission considered amendments to six rules — Rule 115 (Notice of Tentative Public Admonishment); Rule 116 (P...
U.S. Supreme Court, Immigration, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Who may enforce Congress’ appropriations powers
By Douglas A. Winthrop, Irvin Nathan
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to hear a pair of important 9th Circuit cases that seek to enjoin President Donald Tru...
Do alligators and crocodiles provide a blueprint for protecting commercial trade in wildlife?
By David Frulla, Bret Sparks
Last month, the Eastern District of California granted a preliminary injunction against the state of California regarding Pena...
Environmental & Energy
How to divide the groundwater pie and avoid legal challenges
By Christina Babbitt, Valerie C. Kincaid
Five years into California implementing the most sweeping change to state water law in a century, the first lawsuits are hitti...
Arthur Gilbert and I have some things in common: we both have two first names — only mine, Gilbert Arthur, sounds literary. An...
When I receive an appellant’s opening brief or respondent’s brief from my opponent, I print it out. Then I close my eyes and h...
Administrative/Regulatory
FDA proposes rule clarifying evidence for determining product’s intended use
By David M. Hoffmeister, James R. Ravitz
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement and proposed rule clarifying the types of evidence that the...
Civil Litigation, California Courts of Appeal
Ruling requires public records act petitioners to post undertaking
By Ruthann G. Ziegler
In a recent ruling, the 3rd District Court of Appeal considered whether Code of Civil Procedure Section 529 requires parties g...
U.S. Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary, Government
We shouldn’t appoint judges just because we can
By John H. Minan
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has been peppered with questions about whether he will “pack the court” by adding ...
Technology, Law Practice
Infusing the dualism of both law and morality into AI
By Lance Eliot
There is an ongoing need to contend with differences between what the law states and what morality proffers. This is going to ...