Construction, Administrative/Regulatory
Connected buildings, connected things and security considerations
By Scott M. Wornow
If a building is wirelessly enabled with embedded sensors, cameras and other internet-capable objects, might the construction ...
Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit quietly buries music law’s inverse ratio rule
By Bill Hochberg, Brandon T. Milostan
A late-breaking amendment to the court’s ruling in the Blurred Lines case may give creatives a bit of comfort, as the court qu...
Civil Litigation, Government, Administrative/Regulatory
The FCA in 2018 and beyond
By Debra Wong Yang, Michael M. Farhang
A review of FCA developments from this past year and what to expect in 2019.
U.S. Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary
Brown’s impact: Baxter to Cuéllar
By Kirk C. Jenkins
For the past several weeks, we’ve been reviewing the impact Gov. Jerry Brown’s appointees to the California Supreme Court. Tod...
Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Judges split on First Amendment scrutiny in sugar drink case
By Andrew B. Talai, Amy P. Lally
While they agreed on the outcome, the 9th Circuit split on how to analyze San Francisco's controversial sugar drink warning or...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Collaboration with the ABC can help combat nuisance bars and clubs
By Samuel Emerson
Almost every city in California has at least one bar or nightclub that is a constant source of aggravation for law enforcement...
U.S. Supreme Court, Military Law
Ruling on transgender ban signals a shift
By Erwin Chemerinsky
Without any explanation, on January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling split along ideological lines, allowed Preside...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
The high court’s Tinker free speech decision at 50
By Donna Myrow
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District was the first Supreme Court ruling that provided protection for stu...
Law Practice, Law Office Management
Law firm resolutions to consider for a Happy New Year
By Daniel O'Rielly, Dena Roche
Now that your personal New Year’s resolutions are kaput, February is a good time to consider some resolutions for your law pra...
Why I teach procedure
By Frank H. Wu
Society needs a framework for addressing disputes, and collective decisions, as to which parties and observers do not share p...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Representing in-house attorneys in whistleblowing suits
By Tamarah P. Prevost
This conundrum presents these attorneys with a veritable Sophie's Choice: assert their legal claims and disclose privileged in...
Military Law, Labor/Employment
Employing veterans in California
By Eileen C. Moore
Lawyers might want to keep in mind that what appears to be a run-of-the-mill employment situation may be anything but. When ve...
Don’t wait until the end of the year to address collections issues
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
By waiting until the end of the year to address collections, law firms can lose the opportunity to avoid or mitigate billing i...
Law Practice
Public policy should disfavor lawyer-layperson arbitrations
By Brian R. Condon
As with sexual harassment in the workplace, lawyers can take advantage of clients in complex and nuanced ways. It makes no sen...
As digital technologies take hold within the construction industry, prudence requires a reassessment of legacy agreements and ...
Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment, California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal
Another warning shot on nonsolicits
By Fred Alvarez, Laura R. Seegal
Employers should anticipate that more employee-side attorneys will look critically at routinely imposed employee nonsolicit ag...
Government, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Trump finds himself on both Sides of the First Amendment
By Lee S. Brenner, Sarah E. Diamond
President Donald Trump recently escaped a defamation suit on First Amendment grounds. The same week, he was sued for using his...
Civil Litigation, Insurance, Construction
Construction defect cases provide guidance for coverage disputes
By Rex Heeseman
Recent construction defect decisions may influence, if not resolve, coverage disputes in certain construction defect cases. An...
Civil Litigation, Construction
Actual and economic damages in construction defect cases
By Garret D. Murai
Until recently, there has been an open question regarding whether homeowners have to comply with the Right to Repair Act’s pre...
Health Care & Hospital Law, Government
Law updates hospital discharge policy for homeless patients
By Ima E. Nsien
With its new law, Senate Bill 1152, California puts the onus on hospitals to integrate homeless patients back into the communi...
Law Practice, State Bar & Bar Associations
The cool demeanor of an experienced practitioner
By James R. Rosen
This month, we profile Christopher P. Wesierski, the hard-charging, pick-of-the-litter dynamo of the Southern California defen...
As a law professor, I wish students would hesitate before denouncing government actions, or public officials, as “racist” or “...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Holy, Holey Rules!
By Benjamin G. Shatz
Our appellate rules are pretty darn good. But they’re not perfect and can’t account for every bizarre situation.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a case that could force a hard reexamination of the past decade of Second Amend...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice
Key component of settlement agreements requires updating
By Erin R. Dunkerly
As of Jan. 1, 2019, a key component of settlement agreements in California — the release of unknown claims and waiver of Civil...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Legal ethics, personal conscience and higher notions of morality
By A. Marco Turk
What are the ethical responsibilities of overzealous lawyers who seek to “win” at all costs (“Rambo tactics”), including the t...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Appellate Practice
Blind as a Bat
By Arthur Gilbert
On bats and rules for writing opinions, which I violate with agonizing regularity.
California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Resolving Appeals Faster
By James Ardaiz, Christopher Cottle
Our last column suggested steps that you might take to get your case heard earlier. This column will explore whether the court...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property
Justices agree that secret sales bar patent protection
By Jennifer Hayes, Ben Rosborough
In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that the America Invents Act did not change the meaning of ...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice
Personal Injury Liens: An Overview
By Lars C. Johnson
This article provides an overview of personal injury liens including identifying the major lien types, discussing how these li...