Environmental & Energy, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Can courts help avoid an environmental apocalypse?
By Erin Daly, Helen Kang
On Jan. 20, the 9th Circuit found that a “substantial evidentiary record [that] documents that the federal government has long...
Law Practice, Labor/Employment, Civil Rights
Legislation cannot prevent sexual harassment in the workplace
By Michael H. Leb
A good place to start trying to effect change is in our own profession. Because we lawyers love our pretentious Latin phrases,...
Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate
IPOs vs. SPACs: 2 paths to public
By Sara L. Terheggen
Initial public offerings are generally viewed as the option of choice for companies who have reached a critical juncture in th...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Dealing with deepfakes
By Melanie J. Howard, Adam Shapiro
California and social media platforms take aim at deepfakes while federal lawmakers take a 'studied' approach.
Letters, Entertainment & Sports
Column on horse death investigation is misguided
By Nathaniel J. Friedman
In a word, these dilettantes that have nothing better to do with their time than attack horseracing will go to their graves in...
Military Law, Health Care & Hospital Law, Government
Fixing Feres
By Antoinette Balta, Brendan M. Ford
Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent known as the “Feres doctrine,” active members of the military, along with their heirs, are ...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Moral perception and judgment vs what is permissible
By A. Marco Turk
As was publicized recently in the press, a slimmer, weakened appearing, and clean-shaven Harvey Weinstein showed up at a court...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
The 7 deadly sins of legal writing
By Louie H. Castoria
Don’t let your writing be false, late, noncompliant, unsupported, unpersuasive, unfocused or boring.
Law Practice, Law Office Management
Time to dust off your law firm partnership agreement
By Daniel O'Rielly, Dena Roche
We counsel our law firm clients to be at least as diligent about planning ahead for their own practices as they would suggest ...
Bankruptcy
Selling bankruptcy estate property free and clear of any interest
By Stuart B. Rodgers
In the decision of In re PW, LLC, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the 9th Circuit held that the protections provided to a b...
Entertainment & Sports
Recent horse deaths prompt calls for industry change
By Elizabeth Holtz
Regardless of the fate of any legislative initiatives, it’s clear that the industry will have to change — and soon. As people ...
Labor/Employment
Keep on truckin’ (for now): AB 5 may not apply to truckers
By Annette Mijanovic, Philip McDermott
For decades, the trucking industry has used owner-operators to provide the transportation of property in interstate commerce. ...
Judges and Judiciary, California Supreme Court, Appellate Practice
Justice Leondra R. Kruger by the numbers
By Kirk C. Jenkins
Today, we turn our attention to the sixth in our series of data-driven profiles of the justices of the California Supreme Cour...
Immigration, Government
The power of California’s Sanctuary Law: SB 54 after 2 years
By Elizabeth M. Fratarcangeli
In 2018, the California Senate Bill 54, aka the California Values Act and more commonly known as the “sanctuary city law,” bec...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Criminal
Getting the most out of an expert at trial
By Jaime L. Bartlett
It is not uncommon for lawyers to lament the moment that a jury trial becomes a “battle of the experts” — years of work develo...
U.S. Supreme Court, Labor/Employment, Alternative Dispute Resolution
The enforceability of class waivers in arbitration agreements
By Richard T. Fields, Barry D. Kaye
Examine the pitfalls in drafting an enforceable arbitration clause after Lamps Plus v. Varela
As we start the new year, here is a checklist for your case negotiations. Since 98% of all cases filed do not proceed to trial...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Litigation over massive Equifax breach coming to a close
By Anita Taff-Rice
Almost three years after Equifax belatedly announced it had suffered one of the largest data breaches in history, litigation i...
I was a deputy public defender for four years before I became a career (31-year) deputy district attorney. I believe in the va...
International Law, Government, Constitutional Law
FISC: Who’s watching the watchers?
By Jeffrey A. Aaron
The FISC should have applied the same standard for its amicus appointment as for the judges themselves, or that of an appearan...
U.S. Supreme Court, Tax, Government
2019’s top 10 California SALT developments
By Eric J. Coffill, Alexandra Louderback
While compared to some years in the past, 2019 was not a “big” year in terms of the overall number of California developments ...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
TRACED Act gives the government bigger hammer to curb robocalling
By Artin Betpera
Earlier this month the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act was signed into law. TRA...
Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit 4th Amendment jurisprudence in action: Blight v City Manteca
By Kevin Allen
In a recent ruling, a unanimous panel upheld summary judgment for the defendants. The court found probable cause, reasonable s...
What to expect and how to prepare.
Law Practice, Labor/Employment, Civil Rights, Alternative Dispute Resolution
A significant blow to firms looking to arbitrate discrimination claims
By Gay C. Grunfeld, Cara E. Trapani
A California Court of Appeal decision has dealt a significant blow to law firms seeking to force women lawyers to arbitrate cl...
Environmental & Energy, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th: Climate is just too complicated for the courts
By Dave-Inder Comar
The en banc court's Jan. 17 message to the plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States, was clear: You're right about your constitu...
A while back, I dabbled in writing screenplays. One of the books on how to write a script said something that has stuck with m...
Labor/Employment
The impact of AB 5 on court interpreters in the private sector
By Esther M. Hermida
This will cause a major disruption to the legal system that relies on the availability of interpreters to communicate with cli...
U.S. Supreme Court, Health Care & Hospital Law
Insurers fight to get their promised Affordable Care Act premium subsidies
By Vinay Bhupathy, Christine Clements, Arytan Dahukey, Dhara Waghela
Three consolidated cases are the latest cases related to the Affordable Care Act to make their way to the Supreme Court. Last ...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Reforming the internet
By Douglas E. Mirell, Joshua Geller
Recognizing the sea change in information technology in the 21st century, Congress is finally beginning to consider in earnest...