When the facts are ambiguous about whether you have to pay back the money, thinking of it as a loan can seem expedient.
Transportation, Administrative/Regulatory
Representing clients (or yourself) when buying preowned aircraft
By John T. Van Geffen
When considering buying a used aircraft, protecting against expensive mistakes is essential.
Practicing family law is not for the faint hearted
By Jeffrey P. Blum
With the marriage deteriorating, Husband tricked Wife into returning to Fiji. He also tore out the page in her passport contai...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation
Ruling will prevent an ‘infinite’ statute of limitations
By Jeremy K. Robinson
On Monday, the Supreme Court revisited the “American Pipe tolling” rule and, resolving a split among the federal circuits, sai...
Criminal, Constitutional Law, California Supreme Court
Prosecutorial laundry lists create Batson/Wheeler problems
By Mai Linh Spencer
A recent ruling by the California Supreme Court shows that defendants arguing error still have a steep uphill appellate climb.
Administrative/Regulatory
More IoT devices means increased risk of cyberattacks
By Daniel B. Garrie, Sean McKee
Estimates suggest that by 2020, there could be around 50 billion devices of one type or another connected worldwide.
Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports
Video games, basketball, tattoos and copyright lawsuits
By Delia Ramirez
Earlier this year, a judge in New York denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings asking the court to find that the defenda...
A key tax question on each transfer is the market value at the time of the transfer. With the wild swings in value that many c...
U.S. Supreme Court, Labor/Employment, Constitutional Law, California Supreme Court
California’s discriminatory approach to agriculture regulation is in a class of its own
By Erin E. Wilcox
While California farmers are the most recent casualty of state overreach, without the protection of the class-of-one doctrine,...
Civil Litigation, Government, Construction
California courts are wrestling with lease-leaseback posers
By Garret D. Murai
The lease-leaseback method of project delivery allowed new schools in California to be built without the need for up-front pro...
The Supreme Court should hear the case of Brendan Dassey, the intellectually disabled youth whose confession was obtained thro...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
What the court got wrong in Masterpiece Cakeshop
By Erwin Chemerinsky
The seemingly narrow ruling is going to make it easier to find that the government is impermissibly discriminating against rel...
Labor/Employment, Government, Civil Rights, Administrative/Regulatory
Bills address #MeToo concerns
By Natalie B. Fujikawa, Benjamin M. Ebbink
Several bills wending their way through the California Legislature aim to ramp up sexual harassment training in California wor...
U.S. Supreme Court, Entertainment & Sports, Constitutional Law
Sports betting and the creation of the Constitution
By Charles S. Doskow
To fully understand the ruling in Murphy v. NCAA, we must first go back to the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Family
Assisted reproduction technologies: advances and complications
By Katie Burke
As the legal field tries to keep pace with medical advancements, complicated and interesting cases arise.
Tax, Real Estate/Development
New tax law created new real estate opportunities
By Phil Jelsma
Could a program included in President Donald Trump’s tax reform bill help fuel development in economically distressed areas of...
Law Practice, Health Care & Hospital Law, Government
VA hospitals and legal aid must team up to serve veterans
By Antoinette Balta
How the JD-MD duo is the modern day Batman and Robin.
State Bar & Bar Associations
Some unintended(?) consequences of California’s inflated cut score
By Mai Linh Spencer
Like many, I found the 27.3 percent February 2018 bar pass rate distressing — particularly because some of the 2,644 unsuccess...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Respond the right way if faced with malpractice claims
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
For attorneys, being sued for legal malpractice can give rise to a host of emotions, ranging from embarrassment to guilt to an...
Law Practice
Learn the language of clients: How to engage junior law firm associates both early and often
By Kimberli A. Williams
The inclusion of junior associates in these non-traditional assignments will allow them to acquire a holistic understanding of...
Labor/Employment, Alternative Dispute Resolution
The #MeToo movement and confidential settlements
By Patricia K. Gillette
With the advent of the #MeToo movement, however, some people are questioning the ways in which these allegations are addressed.
Transportation, Administrative/Regulatory
Preemption takes off
By Kristine Meredith, Mike Danko
Aviation accidents spawn a defense to state law tort claims.
Please, people, I beg you to stop saying "that begs the question," unless it actually does.
Judges and Judiciary, California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Citing the uncitable
By Benjamin G. Shatz
Lawyers can’t cite unpublished appellate opinions, except...
U.S. Supreme Court, Criminal, Constitutional Law
Admission of guilt by counsel leads to new rule of constitutional law
By Charles S. Doskow
The recent case of McCoy v. Louisiana asked the Supreme Court whether an admission of guilt by counsel, made as for tactical r...
Criminal
Reevaluate the use of ‘package deal’ plea bargains in California
By George K. Rosenstock
In my experience, the use of “package deals” is the default position of most county district attorney’s offices in California ...
Native Americans, Administrative/Regulatory
Cannabis regulation and tribal sovereignty: Why not both in California?
By Blaine I. Green, Kevin J. Ashe
California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control force upon tribes a Hobson’s choice: waive sovereignty in order to participate in the ...
Civil Litigation, Insurance, California Supreme Court
Broad high court ruling is a win for insureds
By Kirk A. Pasich
The state high court issued a decision on Monday that examines what “occurrence” means in a commercial general liability policy.
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Kennedy cuts a narrow slice of cake
By Julie A. Werner-Simon
Just in time for June nuptials, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued the long-awaited decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop.
Government, Constitutional Law
The president’s power to keep Congress at work
By John C. Eastman
Nearly a year and a half in to his first term as president, the Senate still has not acted on more than 100 of Donald Trump’s ...