U.S. Supreme Court, Government, Constitutional Law
Our Constitution keeps on ticking
By Kris Whitten
We do not know how current disputes will be resolved, but thanks to the Constitution’s Framers, we have a process for resolvin...
Transportation, Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
The future of privacy
By Jonathan A. Michaels
Consider that the first space shuttle contained some 500,000 lines of software code. Today, the average 2018 automobile contai...
Labor/Employment
Workplace romance in the age of #metoo
By Danielle H. Moore, Megan E. Walker
With the confessional floodgates open, our current society has a renewed awareness of harassment likely unseen since Anita Hil...
Government, Environmental & Energy, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
New front in Proposition 65 litigation opens up later this year
By Kristin Larson
While most of the 2018 revisions have been characterized as simple clarifications, they also appear likely to spawn an entire ...
Civil Litigation, Corporate, Construction, California Supreme Court
Intentional interference claims and losing bidders
By Garret D. Murai
What about after a contract is awarded? Is there a remedy available to unsuccessful bidders after an apparent low bidder is aw...
Tax, Government, Banking
Arizona may become first state to accept bitcoin payments
By Robert W. Wood
If passed, Arizona's Senate Bill 1091 would allow income taxes to be paid in bitcoin and other cryptocurrency that is approved...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
The Perils of Unauthorized Disclosure
When an attorney discovers she has received privileged documents in error, crucial ethics questions arise, and they have serio...
U.S. Supreme Court, Government, Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
Got a WOTUS challenge? Go straight to district court
By Clark Morrison, Julia Stein
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously held that challenges to the so-called "Waters of the United States" rule must be heard ...
Judges and Judiciary, Government, Criminal, Civil Rights
‘Public defender’ isn’t just another job
By Brendon D. Woods
The Los Angeles public defender has the potential to be the most influential public defender in the nation — and the office mu...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Terrorist advocacy and the First Amendment tipping point
By David S. Han
First Amendment protection has practical limits. What if, for example, counterspeech proves to be ineffective, and tens of tho...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Administrative/Regulatory
Drone Searches: A New Frontier for the Fourth Amendment
By Brandon K. Franklin, Kevin O. Moon
The use of drones spurs reassessment of time-honored privacy concerns.
Law Practice, Government
John Adams: John Hancock’s very own consiglieri
By James Attridge
Americans all know that your signature is also called your John Hancock, after the patriot who signed the Declaration of Indep...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, International Law, Corporate, California Supreme Court, State Bar & Bar Associations
California is missing out on international arbitration business
By Richard Chernick, Howard B. Miller
Foreign lawyers and foreign parties to international commercial agreements have largely bypassed California and have chosen to...
Judges and Judiciary, Government, California Supreme Court, State Bar & Bar Associations, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Will ‘informed consent’ save mediation confidentiality?
By A. Marco Turk
Senate Bill 954 would put responsibility on attorneys to explain the possible consequences of mediation confidentiality and ob...
Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, State Bar & Bar Associations
California has an anachronistic bar membership requirement
By TImothy R. Snowball
The Golden State should reform unnecessary, out-of-date and overly protectionist bar admission policies in federal district co...
Law Practice, Law Office Management, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Avoiding unintended attorney-client relationships
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
There are many seemingly innocuous situations where — if an attorney is not careful — a party could believe or a court could f...
Real Estate/Development, Construction, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mediating a luxury home construction defect case
By Ross W. Feinberg
Luxury home cases are a far cry from the mass produced tract home or condominium construction defect cases that typically arise.
Government, Civil Rights
Lessons learned from the Patriot Picnic in San Diego
By William Slomanson
The Feb. 3 event ostensibly pitted the “Patriots” against the “Chicanos.” They were separated by the police-laden Logan Avenue...
Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports
Is it a right of publicity violation or copyright infringement?
By Delia Ramirez
California law is very specific about what is considered a violation and what would be preempted by federal law.
Government, Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
Beware climate policy shaped through lawsuits
By Richard A. Epstein
Filing public nuisance suits against oil companies for making and distributing fossil fuels is not the right way to fashion in...
Intellectual Property
4th Circuit says ISP liable for copyright infringement
By Mitchell L. Stoltz
The ruling is the first to hold an internet service provider liable for copyright infringement by its customers, making it a c...
Securities, Corporate, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit decision clarifies securities fraud loss causation rule
By Ex Kano S. Sams II, Jonathan M. Rotter
While establishing loss causation in securities fraud actions is not always factually simple, it is helpful to be reminded tha...
Government, Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
As reporting regulations proliferate, so does risk to industry
By Maureen F. Gorsen, Geoff Rathgeber
Agencies are increasingly finding small errors in the reports and assessing significant penalties — they consider these paperw...
Civil Litigation, Family
Why aren’t more law firms willing to handle non-marital cohabitation agreements?
By Jeffrey P. Blum
Despite the fact these contracts end up in civil court when litigated, few civil attorneys, let alone family law attorneys, ha...
Letters, Judges and Judiciary
What’s missing from the Nassar discussion
By Eugene M. Hyman
Judges are required to be fair, neutral and impartial and to be perceived as such at all times.
Civil Litigation, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Anti-SLAPP appeals: extensions and civility are not bad faith
By Don Willenburg
Civility and professionalism are neither indicia of bad faith, nor “hallmarks of … delay.” Yet a recent Court of Appeal decisi...
Immigration, Government, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Ruling denying immigrant minor right to counsel conflicts with precedent
By Rachel K. Prandini, John E. Schreiber
The 9th Circuit recently denied a petition for review of a deportation order filed on behalf of a child who had been forced to...
This should sound obvious. But litigation is complicated, and a win rarely emerges after a completely one-sided process.
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports
What does it mean to register a copyright?
By Corey Field
With a history going back to 1790, it may come as a surprise to learn that the U.S. Supreme Court is about to decide for the f...
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property
The evolving standard for patent claim definiteness
By Lingling Zhao Ph.D., Clark Zhang Ph.D.
A recent Federal Circuit opinion clarified the “reasonable certainty” standard for patent claim definiteness established by th...