Civil Litigation, Construction, California Courts of Appeal
Court broadly interprets ‘ongoing operations’ of additional insureds
By Tiffany Casanova
A California Court of Appeal broadly interpreted what an insurer classified as an "ongoing operations" endorsement and emphasi...
Letters, Judges and Judiciary
Recusal story should have included full judicial complaint process comment
By Teri L. Jackson
It is with extreme rarity that I, as presiding judge of the San Francisco County Superior Court, would respond with displeasur...
Down the PAGA hole: Guidance needed as claims go up
By Gene F. Williams
With an ever increasing number of California employers requiring employees to sign arbitration agreements that include class a...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Judges and Blogging: An Ethical Minefield
A recent decision from the Ninth Circuit highlights the problem when a judge participates in social media.
Year in Review Column, U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Corporate, Appellate Practice
Where did all the patent trolls go?
By Christian E. Mammen
For much of the last several years, the "patent troll problem" dominated trade-publication discussions of patent law. But the ...
Year in Review Column, U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Corporate, California Supreme Court, Appellate Practice, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Procedural rules drive class action case law
By Christopher J. Lovrien, Jason C. Wright
This past year both plaintiffs and defendants had something to celebrate.
Year in Review Column, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports, Corporate
Trademarks, free speech and cannabis
By Jane Shay Wald
In 2017, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the First Amendment precluded the Patent Office from refusing regist...
Year in Review Column, Labor/Employment, Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Predictive scheduling laws are spreading
By Gary M. McLaughlin, Stephanie P. Priel
Laws combatting unpredictable scheduling practices may be the next wave of wage and hour regulation.
Tax, Government, Corporate
Tax overhaul bill could make it to Trump’s desk this week
By Phil Jelsma
The Senate passed the Republican tax reform bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, early Wednesday morning. The House is expected to...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Return of the light-touch ISP regulation
By Bennett L. Ross
Late Friday the legislative branch released its conference tax reform bill, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for which voting is set...
Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory, Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Chairman Grinch delivers princely gift to ISPs
By Anita Taff-Rice
Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, may come to be known as Chairman "the Grinch" Pai for leading the...
Tax, Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act appears poised to become law
By Megan Lisa Jones
Late Friday the legislative branch released its conference tax reform bill, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for which voting is set...
Tax, Government, Family
Divorced, divorcing couples have reason to fear proposed tax law
By Jeffrey P. Blum
A little publicized provision in the proposed tax bill will dramatically affect many divorced or divorcing couples.
Civil Litigation, Law Practice
Substituting out when your client is a minor
By Thomas E. Wall
When the client is a minor, the rules are very different and may even cause one to be unable to be relieved from representation.
We lawyers spend a good chunk of our waking hours writing stuff. We write briefs, letters, emails -- you name it. So it's wort...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Criminal, Constitutional Law, California Supreme Court
Batson/Wheeler objections to peremptory challenges
By Gregory L. Prickett
The objective of this article and self-study test is to review the law regarding objections to the use of peremptory challenge...
Civil Litigation, Entertainment & Sports, Contracts, California Courts of Appeal
Incontestability clauses and profit participation claims
By David A. Klein
The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled earlier this year that profit participants could not rely on the discovery rule to brin...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Contracts, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Beware boilerplate settlement agreement language
By Carey L. Cooper
A cautionary tale on the perils of "plugging in" those standard settlement terms when more careful drafting is warranted.
Government, Education Law, Constitutional Law
Controversial campus speakers and the law
By Karen A. Feld
This year has seen different responses on college campuses with regard to controversial speakers.
Real Estate/Development
Buying out a tenant in San Francisco
By Michael McLaughlin, Craig Ackerman
If you are thinking about selling a tenant-occupied property in a rent control jurisdiction with eviction protections, such as...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, California Supreme Court, State Bar & Bar Associations, Administrative/Regulatory
The evolution of the State Bar
By James Otto Heiting
Whatever your view, changes are aplenty, and more are coming. If you get a chance, make your own contribution to the bettermen...
Government, Constitutional Law, California Supreme Court, Administrative/Regulatory
Justices should uphold state Reproductive FACT Act
By Amy Myrick
Imagine that you're one of the more than 350,000 women in California who becomes unexpectedly pregnant every year. Maybe you f...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Corporate
Ruling begins to explore the new patent venue landscape
By Jeffrey M. Fisher, Nadia C. Arid
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's groundbreaking decision narrowing venue in patent infringement cases, unanswered questions ...
Civil Litigation, Government, Constitutional Law, Administrative/Regulatory
Forcing animal cruelty down our throats, literally
By Bruce Wagman
Preventing animal abuse is an issue many Californians support. But now 13 states are suing California over a law that says tha...
Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Judging on the graveyard shift
By Lawrence P. Riff
The world of graveyard shift night owls is unfamiliar to lawyers who go on to become judges.
By now you likely know of the unfolding, slow-motion public crucifixion of 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski.
Labor/Employment, Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
DOL to reverse course on tip pooling, but might not affect California
By Pooja S. Nair
The Department of Labor announced last week that it intends to reverse course on the issue of tip pooling and give employers g...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Admiration for those who struggle to be on juries
By Anthony J. Mohr
Half the state may want to avoid jury duty, but the other half includes not just those who serve with alacrity, but some who s...
Civil Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution
It ain't over til it's over
By Carlos Moreno
Yogi Berra's famous baseball tautology resonates with its obvious simplicity. This adage also rings true especially in litigat...