Lawyers, judges and juries deal with this dilemma all the time. They must decide what are the facts.
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Rights
Victim of brutal CIA torture wants trial moved to federal court
By Marjorie Cohn
The government has until July 31 to respond to Add al-Rahim al-Nashiri's cert petition. The Supreme Court should review his ca...
Just this week, businesses across the globe were forced to pay ransom to hackers in order to regain access to their own data a...
Law Practice, Law Office Management
It’s not enough to react, you must plan
By Daniel O'Rielly, Dena Roche
In any law practice today, it is critically important to react to partner departures in the right way. It is equally important...
Government
Bills seek to permit union access to new public employees
By David G. Ritchie
Assembly Bill 119 and Senate Bill 104 would require public employers within the state to provide recognized employee exclusive...
No matter what type of law you practice, you’ll come across all sorts of clients — the good the bad and the ugly. The trick is...
Criminal, Corporate
The CFAA and the ‘inside hacker’ problem
By Janet I. Levine, Nimrod Haim Aviad
Today, some consider the CFAA to be "one of the most far-reaching criminal laws in the United States Code"; others call it "th...
Government, Constitutional Law
The authority to remove special counsel
By Steven D. Reske
Most pundits and politicians mistakenly believe if Special Counsel Robert Mueller is fired reviving the independent counsel la...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Government, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights, Appellate Practice
Tension in free exercise rulings
By Gunnar B. Gundersen IV
States cannot deny direct funds to churches because they are churches -- at least when it comes to building playgrounds. This ...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice
Be careful what you post. It could cost you in court
By Mark B. Simowitz
Jill’s lawyer finally fleshed out why the insurance company was not considering the surgery: His client had posted pictures of...
Intellectual Property, Corporate
Equity compensation is about retention
By William E. Growney
The reality is that for most employees at most companies, a sale of the company may mean a new car or a down payment on a new ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Immigration, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Travel ban ruling raises more questions
By Hadar Aviram
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions in several cases associated with the Trump administration's travel ban, rea...
Corporate
New accounting rule may lower perceived value of franchisors
By Barry Kurtz, Christopher L. Passmore
Franchisors will need to adjust their methods when accounting for franchise fees either this year or next, depending on whethe...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Appellate Practice
Time up for securities class action opt-outs
By Anthony J. Dick, Christpher DiPompeo
In CalPERS v. ANZ Securities, the U.S. Supreme Court continued its trend of paring back class actions and enforcing strict tim...
Intellectual Property, Corporate
Proposed generic drugs legislation divides stakeholders
By William Diaz, Michelle Lowery
The CREATES Act of 2017 is proposed bipartisan legislation targeting actions by brand name drug manufacturers that can delay e...
Tax, Criminal
When disputing a tax bill, should you go ahead and pay?
By Robert W. Wood
After soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of criminal tax evasion, some sources suggested that his team would pay the $1...
Criminal, Appellate Practice, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit ruling shows need to rein in civil forfeiture abuse
By Scott A. Meiner, Mahesha P. Subbaraman
The 9th Circuit recently rejected the use of coordinated successive traffic stops by the police to search a motorist's vehicle...
Labor/Employment, Government, Constitutional Law
Lawmakers must act to protect employees’ due process rights
By William M. Crosby
When a person's livelihood is at stake, the right to know the specific charges, identities of accusers and documents and othe...
Constitutional Law, California Supreme Court, Appellate Practice
Nice guys (get to keep their property after all)
By Michael M. Berger
A recent Supreme Court opinion cabins an older decision that has been derided as both bad law and bad policy.
Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate
IPOs: people, planning and critical path items
By Sara L. Terheggen
Once a company has determined an IPO is the right choice for them and have implemented the necessary steps to prepare for beco...
Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Appellate Practice
Federal Circuit clarifies long-standing lost profits question
By Chris Marchese, Liz Ranks
The robustness of lost profits has been undermined in recent years by an unsettled issue - whether patentees must apportion lo...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary
Contractual attorney fees fundamentals
By Matthew Ross
The objective of this article and self-study test is to review entitlement to attorney fees pursuant to contracts.
California Supreme Court, Appellate Practice
Maybe, but not necessarily, entitled to fees
By Audra Ibarra
Or so the state high court said about contract attorney fees in cases dismissed on procedural grounds.
Government, Contracts
Bill is fair compromise on design professional liability
By D. Creighton Sebra, Christopher J. Menjou
Earlier this year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 496, modifies design professionals' contractual duty to defend.
California courts have increasingly watered down or altogether ignored the substantial-factor requirement.
Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Brand owners rejoice at Google ruling
By Simon J. Frankel, Ted Karch
The 9th Circuit recently held that "verb use [of a trademark] does not necessarily constitute generic use."
In examining the building blocks of consciousness in his new book, "From Bacteria to Bach and Back," Dennett starts with billi...
David Grann has a way with creating razor-keen suspense out of already tension-filled historical narratives. "Killers of the F...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Giving offense is a viewpoint
By Blaine H. Evanson, Christina R.B. Lopez
The "disparagement clause" in Section 2 of the Lanham Act violates "bedrock" First Amendment principles and is therefore facia...
Law Practice, Criminal
Criminal competency in California courts
By Christopher M. Honigsberg
The procedure for determining competency for a criminal defendant confuses many attorneys, even criminal attorneys.