Civil Litigation
Frequency analysis in settlement
Frequency analysis gives the mediator a variety of ways to tweak the numbers to suggest to the parties that their gut estimate...
Government
It’s a bird, it’s a plane… It’s a super statute
Sometimes, the potential clash between new Legislature-enacted laws and prior voter initiatives is obvious, and the Legislatur...
Health and safety receiverships are a legal remedy to repair major nuisance properties and increase affordable housing.
California Supreme Court
California Supreme Court Review: January 2023
The California Supreme Court's recent decision, Yahoo Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, articulated...
Technology
Deepfake defense emergence needs ethical oversight
Because the norms of professional ethics require lawyers to advocate zealously, deepfakes invite lawyers to raise new objectio...
Military Law, Civil Procedure
Many of the symptoms of PTSD, including avoidance and anxiety, often prevent veterans from facing their trauma for years. Yet ...
Immigration, Criminal
California Supreme Court protects rights of noncitizens seeking relief from consequences of uninformed guilty pleas.
The court martial of Black sailors for mutiny by the Navy.
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
The decision may not break much new doctrinal ground, but it likely will have a huge practical effect.
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure
California cannabis businesses may walk the line – paying state taxes and obtaining licenses – but that doesn’t mean they will...
“No mere monkey business”: Why a federal judge rejected an artist’s First Amendment defense to trademark infringement, keeping...
Law Practice
Fighting for a “turnaround”
Before the judge rules, you have an ethical duty to fight like hell. After she rules, you have an ethical duty t...
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure
While the decision eliminated one potential tool for cannabis companies to protect themselves against predatory and unethical ...
Technology
Did I write this column or …?
One can imagine the turmoil that will occur when ChatGPT decides to take credit for what it writes. Believe me, that is in the...
Wills, Estates & Trusts
In the trust and estate context, ethical rules take on a bigger role as an attorney advising a fiduciary or a beneficiary may ...
Real Estate
This year, the city of Anaheim offered a prime example of what not to do in response to NIMBY pressures to prohibit unwanted p...
Intellectual Property, Antitrust & Trade Reg.
A control group is not always needed, but be cautious about skipping one, and make sure it is an intentional and educated choice.
Securities, Banking
2023 IPOs: bull or bear market?
Delaying an IPO debut during a year when a company’s business and strategy were tested could be a recipe for potential disaster.
Technology
The Chatbot lawyer
While the A.I. response is interesting, even thought-provoking, it is not on the mark. It mixed general ethics issues with tho...
Government
The reasonably careful jaywalker
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because he didn’t have to use a crosswalk to get to the other side.
Ediscovery
It’s not “a discovery system” that’s the problem. It’s the participants’ behavior derived from a long-broken civil discovery c...
Contracts, Intellectual Property
Before you leave, check your employment contract to see what post-departure restrictions there may be, such as non-solicitatio...
Tax, U.S. Supreme Court
When the government knows a law firm caters to a particular type of client – worst case, criminals not known to the government...
Contracts
Non-competes no more?
The Non-Compete Clause Rule was an unprecedented move by the FTC, both because the agency had not previously attempted to regu...
Litigation & Arbitration, Wills, Estates & Trusts
Logical analysis may give structure to estate or trust negotiations. But each dispute will be based on factors that cannot con...
California Supreme Court
The persuasive attorney and wise jurist recognize that the historical underpinnings of a law, decision, or custom is critical ...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
2023 headwinds and your practice
Some partners will be de-equitized, while others will be gently nudged out. We are already seeing an increase in “stealth layo...
Judges and Judiciary, Government
Of the 26 recent vacancies on the federal courts in California, only 11 remain – with nominees pending confirmation in the Sen...
Tax
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the IRS may issue a summons seeking an innocent party’s records without pr...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
These disclosures promote compliance with rules of professional conduct, which require the client, and not an unnamed entity b...