Insurance, Civil Rights
Conditional settlement demands: defusing third-parties’ tactics
By Albert K. Alikin, Landon Greene
California Supreme Court Justice Otto Kaus once prophetically said, “It seems to me that attorneys who handle policy claims ag...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
What is discrimination because of ‘sex’?
By Rex S. Heinke, Jenna M. Nalchajian
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the issue this week.
Civil Litigation, Appellate Practice
Appellate lawyers in trial courts?
By Myron Moskovitz
Recently, trial attorneys have begun to call me at the outset of a case, while it’s still in the trial court. “This case invol...
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal, Constitutional Law, California Supreme Court
Protecting victims in the courtroom is not a violation of the confrontation clause
By Kymberlee C. Stapleton
The state has a compelling interest in encouraging victims to report their abuse so that their assailants can be prosecuted fo...
Law Practice
Will the artificial intelligence please take the stand
By Paul F. Rafferty
As fully autonomous vehicles stuffed with Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) ready to take to our roadways and commandeer the live...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The taxonomy of mediators
By Michael H. Leb, Paul P. Cheng
Bullies, butterflies, status quo and compliance
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
The essential timing of ethical screens to prevent firm disqualification
By Stephanie Yee
Due increasing lateral movement, it is more important than ever that firms take a close look at who they are hiring and how to...
U.S. Supreme Court, Environmental & Energy
Does the CWA cover groundwater? It’s not an easy question
By Steven L. Hoch
Critical amendments in 1972 forever changed the protection of WOTUS. Simply put, it became unlawful for any person to discharg...
Law Practice, Family
Valuing the professional goodwill of an attorney in divorce
By Timothy D. Reuben, Stephanie I. Blum
The courts have struggled with this topic for years, leading to uncertainty and allowing widely varying opinions from forensic...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property
High court will address split over trademark infringement remedies
By Benjamin L. Wagner, Katherine Harihar
The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Inc., 18-1233, to resolve a circuit split regardi...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Legal ethics: from the White House to the doghouse
By A. Marco Turk
Politics aside, how far is a lawyer permitted ethically to go in assisting a client?
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Navigating the requirements for reporting attorney misconduct
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
As set forth in Rule 1.0 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct, a primary purpose of rules governing attorney conduc...
Judges and Judiciary, California Supreme Court, Appellate Practice
Justice Goodwin Liu by the numbers
By Kirk C. Jenkins
Today, we pass the halfway point in our ongoing series of data-driven profiles of the justices of the California Supreme Court...
Government
Chinese spying, Chinese-Americans racially profiled — or both?
By Frank H. Wu
The increasing concerns of many Americans about the Chinese has been summed up by FBI Director Christopher Wray as a “whole of...
Letters, Criminal
Presumption of innocence is a trial right only
By Richard J. Chrystie
The Sept. 23 article on bail, “Critics unsure bail changes moving in right direction,” quotes Phil Telfeyan, executive directo...
Government, Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
The auto emissions war against California
By Richard M. Frank
The Trump administration’s waiver revocation is unwanted by anyone but President Trump (along with, perhaps, Big Oil, which al...
Law Practice, State Bar & Bar Associations
Bar proposals will upend legal profession
By Erin M. Joyce
The State Bar’s proposals to authorize nonattorneys and for-profit corporations to practice law will upend the legal professio...
Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment
Lawson and the outlook of PAGA litigation in the 2020s
By Kenneth D. Sulzer, Matthew Scholl
For the past 15 years, California employers have been plagued by mass actions brought under the Private Attorneys General Act,...
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property
Are PTO attorney fees expenses under Section 145?
By B. Todd Patterson, Kyrie K. Cameron
The issue before the Supreme Court is: Whether the phrase “[a]ll the expenses of the proceedings” in Section 145 encompasses t...
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property
High court to consider appealability issues in IPR proceedings
By Charan Brahma, Craig Crockett
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider appealability of timeliness determinations within inter partes review proceedings under 3...
Letters, Labor/Employment
AB 5 language will cause unexpected disruption
By David Amkraut
Whether or not Assembly Bill 5 was really aimed only at the “gig economy,” its absurdly broad language will cause widespread a...
Civil Litigation, California Supreme Court
High court to clarify standing to enforce conflict of interest law
By Michael G. Colantuono
On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that will resolve a split in authority on standing to...
Judges and Judiciary, Civil Rights
Judicial Council has been misinforming about the ADA
By Thomas F. Coleman
The Judicial Council has been misinforming the judiciary about the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act since t...
Family
Are assisted reproduction children included in your dynasty trust?
By Kristine Knaplund
With thousands of children born each year using assisted insemination, in vitro fertilization, gestational carriers, many cour...
Immigration, Government, Constitutional Law
Federal judges shut down Trump administration in 3 immigration cases
By Stephen F. Rohde
Impeachment isn’t the only trouble President Donald Trump is facing. Last Friday, three different federal judges rejected his ...
An appellate opinion's primary purpose is to resolve whatever dispute the parties have brought to the court. And yet there are...
Securities, Corporate
A primer on preferred: Getting your yield’s worth
By Sara L. Terheggen
The difficult aspect of investing in preferred stock is understanding what characteristics are best suitable depending on an i...
State Bar & Bar Associations
The ABA could learn from California about online legal education
By Martin H. Pritikin
The State Bar of California recently amended its rules to allow distance learning law schools to apply for state accreditation...
This year I authored Senate Bill 17 to mitigate some of the gamesmanship that has become endemic in civil litigation. The meas...
Civil Litigation, Insurance, California Supreme Court
California high court is weighing significant coverage issue
By Rachel E. Hobbs
In Yahoo! Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, S253593, the California Supreme Court is considering a ...