Labor/Employment, Government
The Public Employment Relations board: a primer
By David G. Ritchie
In all, approximately 4,200 public employers within the state of California and an estimated 2.7 million public employees, are...
The widening gap between how the law is expected to be (and generally is) practiced, and certain events transpiring in our pol...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Ruling may lead to split on infringement by tweet
By Elliot N. Brown
The Southern District of New York disagreed the 9th Circuit about the so-called "server test."
U.S. Supreme Court, Tax, Criminal, Administrative/Regulatory
Justices rein in IRS obstruction prosecutions
By Nathan J. Hochman
By rejecting the government's expansive interpretation of the tax obstruction statute, the Supreme Court has required fair war...
Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Criminal
Elected DAs shouldn't be so politically motivated
By Patrick Dixon, Mario Mainero
One wishes that the elected district attorney of a county were not so politically motivated as to skirt the ethical rules and ...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Disaster readiness: Ethics in a new age
By Heather L. Rosing
Even in light of a life-altering disaster, an attorney must act competently, preserve confidentiality, maintain confidentialit...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
The difficult decision to sue a client for unpaid fees
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
Some attorneys and firms make a principled decision to never sue their clients. Whether altruistic or risk-adverse, a law firm...
Thanks to a Court of Appeal case, family law attorneys can answer with more clarity questions concerning when a spouse’s separ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Securities, Civil Litigation
Federal securities statutes say what they say
By Alex G. Romain, Jenna G. Williams
This week, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act grants state courts the j...
Judges and Judiciary, Government, Criminal
Lawmakers must heed call to make more just bail system
By Peter P. Espinoza
During Monday’s State of the Judiciary address, Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye once again called on California lawmakers...
Securities, Civil Litigation, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Corporate mismanagement and scienter in securities class actions
By Ellen M. Murphy, Stephanie Albrecht
Earlier this month, the 9th affirmed dismissal of a securities class action against on the basis that the inference of sciente...
Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment, Administrative/Regulatory
Joint-employer standard left unsettled after NLRB vacates ruling
By Charles S. Birenbaum, Jamie R. Rich
Franchisors must be mindful of their business practices to avoid being held liable for labor law violations committed by franc...
Letters, Judges and Judiciary, Criminal
Politics has no place in California courts
By Edward R. Leonard
When elected officials choose to issue personal attacks, suggest bias or collusion, or otherwise attempt to politicize the cou...
Securities, Environmental & Energy, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
A sea change in climate change disclosure?
By Don J. Frost Jr., Thomas J. Ivey
In years past, shareholder initiatives to enhance climate change reporting beyond this basic level of disclosure typically exp...
Securities, Civil Rights
Settlement a first for data breach-related securities class action
By Anita Taff-Rice
Yahoo! Inc. recently stipulated to an $80 million settlement related to its massive 2013 and 2014 data breaches. But not one d...
Government, Criminal, California Courts of Appeal
Court: ‘Hold my beer’
By Brian M. Hoffstadt
Does the judicial branch ever tell the political branches of government, "Hold my beer"? The recent efforts to reform Californ...
Civil Litigation, Letters, Government, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Is contract provision at issue in Stormy Daniels lawsuit contrary to law?
By Barry Winograd
I write to follow up on Michael Leb’s March 20 column on the restraining order in the legal conflict between Stephanie Cliffor...
Letters, Judges and Judiciary, Government
Data tell more positive story of Brown's impact on the bench
By Joshua D. Wayser, Therese M. Stewart
We feel the recent story on Jerry Brown’s judicial picks doesn’t paint an accurate picture of all that the governor has done t...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation
FCA traps, zaps and zingers
By Carolyn F. Mcniven
Defense attorneys are applauding a district judge’s recent ruling in a False Claims Act case.
Civil Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Did the arbitrator exceed her power in Stormy Daniels case?
By Michael H. Leb
Although grounds for vacating an arbitration award are few and the burden is hard to meet, she seems to have a plausible argum...
Tax, Government, Administrative/Regulatory
IRS updates on exemption applications after restructuring and DAF guidance
By Erin Bradrick
The IRS recently released Revenue Procedure 2018-15 clarifying the circumstances in which an exempt entity that undergoes a co...
Obituaries, Civil Litigation, Law Practice
The civility and decency of a legal titan: Maxwell M. Blecher
By David W. Kesselman
At a time when our society’s civility and decency are being threatened every day, I feel compelled to write about the passing ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Securities
Searching for fraud on the market
By Thomas A. Zaccaro, Nicolas Morgan
The questions raised by Barclays' petition for certiorari require answers to clarify the application of the fraud-on-the-marke...
I just lost an appeal. It really hurts. I can console myself with the fact that the appellate judges didn’t seem to like my cl...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Data breach standing ruling invites review
By Ian C. Ballon
The 9th Circuit recently said merely having personal information exposed in a breach is sufficient harm to justify Article III...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Government, State Bar & Bar Associations, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mediation confidentiality reform still up for grabs
By A. Marco Turk
The battle between eliminate certain aspects of mediation confidentiality continues with a proposed Senate resolution to reaut...
Law Practice, Law Office Management, California Supreme Court, Bankruptcy, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
No more unfinished business
By Suzzanne Uhland, Jennifer M. Taylor
Does a dissolved law firm, under California law, have a property interest in unfinished hourly fee matters upon its dissolutio...
Tax, Government, Administrative/Regulatory
IRS is set to end offshore voluntary disclosure program
By Nathan J. Hochman, Andrew Allen
The Internal Revenue Service announced this week that it will close the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program on Sept. 28, 2018.
What’s magical about the number 68? Nothing at all.
After moving West and joining the California and Hawaii Bars, I have never stopped traveling to practice law. Here are some ti...