Military Law, Government, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Trump can’t fire transgender troops
By Maureen Johnson
Refusing to allow transgender people to serve — and indeed, kicking to the ground those who already do — violates the equal pr...
While U.S. VC activity appears to be in the middle of a self-correction period, the German venture market almost doubled in th...
Corporate
10 legal mistakes to avoid in your startup’s early stages
By Katherine Fleming Ashton
In the fast-paced, high stakes startup environment in California, a company’s legal needs may seem a nuisance and not get the ...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Warning: Ethical Lapses Will Cost You Money (Special Credit)
A recent decision highlights the need to pay attention to the Rules of Professional Responsibility when handling privileged ma...
Intellectual Property, Corporate
Ensure you’re using the Defend Trade Secrets Act to your advantage
By Cristopher Hohn
Many businesses, especially those in the tech sector, spend a great deal of time and money obtaining patents to protect their ...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Catch up with byzantine cannabis regulations
By Robert W. Selna
The state agencies responsible for issuing licenses spent the past several months convening public hearings and accepting writ...
Oftentimes, solo attorneys are faced with a difficult task of practicing law, managing a business, while continually promoting...
Across the United States, millions of people have been incarcerated while awaiting a court date simply because they cannot com...
Letters, Government, Criminal
Distortions about prosecutorial misconduct
By Marc Debbaudt
Defense attorney Michael Ogul recently wrote an opinion piece titled “A clearer prosecutor rule would benefit all.” Here’s my ...
Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate
Looming specter: post-closing fraud claims
By Eva Davis, James P. Smith
So-called “reliance disclaimers” and “fraud carve-outs” in private company purchase agreements — designed, respectively, to pr...
Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Bill will ease joint employer rules
By Michael J. Lotito, Missy Parry
On July 27, House Republicans unveiled a bill, the Save Local Business Act (H.R. 3441), that would amend two labor and employm...
Government, Constitutional Law
An amendment to reduce abuses of the pardon power
By Robert Nida
Newspapers, television and social media have been forums for recent commentary on whether President Donald J. Trump could use ...
Lithium — the natural resource mined from the Earth’s crust — is perhaps the best-known commodity that people know the least a...
Government, Criminal, Administrative/Regulatory
Challenge to cannabis’ Schedule I status will fail, again
By Hilary Bricken
Five plaintiffs that use medical cannabis to treat their ailments, recently filed suit to remove marijuana from its Schedule I...
The president of the United States may block you if you do — but is he allowed to do that?
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Food labeling cases may finally proceed
By Jason D. Russell, Hillary A. Hamilton
A number of “natural” food labeling class actions have been lingering in California federal courts for some time, many waiting...
California Supreme Court
E-filing blues at the California Supreme Court
By Thomas M. Hall
I thought, why not try the new e-filing system? Cutting down on paper copies, and not having to pay a filing service to cart a...
Criminal, Constitutional Law, California Supreme Court
A clearer prosecutor rule would benefit all
By Michael Ogul
Prosecutors, individuals accused of crimes, and all Californians would be better served by making it clear that a prosecutor’s...
Government, Environmental & Energy
Sea level suits are the next frontier in climate change litigation
By Richard M. Frank
Recently, three California local governments filed lawsuits against 37 major energy companies, seeking damages for the compani...
Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit has chance to vindicate First Amendment
By Mark Chenoweth
Does it violate the First Amendment for the state of California to force merchants who charge more to customers paying with cr...
It is believed that this decision is the first which extends the concept of computer “use” or “violation” to the practice of “...
In one recent criminal tax case, a man and woman filing their taxes jointly got three years in prison — each. We’ll come back ...
Criminal, Civil Rights, Books
The human costs of a flawed legal system
By Vaughn R. Walker
Former District Judge Vaughn R. Walker reviews Joel Cohen’s new book, “Broken Scales: Reflections on Injustice.”
U.S. Supreme Court, Letters, Constitutional Law
Supreme Court improperly amended the Missouri Constitution
By Richard A. Nixon
On July 18, a column by Erwin Chemerinsky, “A troubling free exercise decision,” strongly disagreed with the decision by the U...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Questions remain about cap-and-trade implementation
By Thomas L. Sheehy, Jillian C. Kirn
Last week, the California Legislature approved a 10-year extension of California’s cap-and-trade program. When signed into law...
Government, Administrative/Regulatory
Trump’s NLRB will reverse union unit ruling
By Mark S. Ross
President Donald Trump's recent appointments of labor law traditionalists, Marvin E. Kaplan and William J. Emanuel, to the NLR...
U.S. Supreme Court, Letters, Constitutional Law
Chemerinsky on Trinity: 3rd time won’t be the charm
By Mitchell Keiter
In each of the past two weeks the Daily Journal has printed Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s assertion that the U.S. Supreme Court hel...
U.S. Supreme Court, Letters, Constitutional Law
Supreme Court improperly amended the Missouri Constitution
By Richard A. Nixon
On July 18, a column by Erwin Chemerinsky, “A troubling free exercise decision,” strongly disagreed with the decision by the U...
Most real estate professionals are aware of the so-called “owner-builder” exemption to California’s contractors’ license laws....
Health Care & Hospital Law, Government, Administrative/Regulatory
An unhealthy congressional mess
By Craig B. Garner
To be sure, a congressional defunding of the ACA could be every bit as dangerous as a president with a smartphone. Outright el...