Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
California Pulse
-
'No Hesitation' On $7M Atty Fees For $10B Verdict, Judge Says
A California judge held up a phone book-sized printout Thursday of the 20-year docket for a case that resulted in a $10 billion verdict for four brothers who claim their real estate empire was stolen by another brother, and said she has "no hesitation" granting the plaintiff $7 million in attorney fees.
-
'You Don't Need To Be Obnoxious': Ch. 11 Hearing Gets Rowdy
A California bankruptcy judge on Thursday slammed an attorney for what he called her "obnoxious" courtroom behavior, while the lawyer argued that a proposed liquidation plan for a defunct law firm could enrich the professionals managing the case and leave little for claimants.
-
Law Firm Real Estate Report
Attorneys at a few major national and regional U.S. law firms find themselves in new surroundings this month after Norton Rose Fulbright, Venable LLP and Snell & Wilmer all completed long-planned relocation projects.
-
Ex-Littler Atty Drops Suit Alleging Firm Violated $1M Deal
A former Littler Mendelson PC lawyer has dropped her California state court lawsuit against the firm that alleged it had violated a settlement inked in a suit the firm filed in Texas state court accusing the attorney of stealing confidential information, wrapping up the dispute between the former associate and the firm.
-
Holland & Knight M&A Atty Wants You To Conquer Your Fears
Stephen J. Dietrich, a corporate partner at Holland & Knight in Denver, recently published a book on overcoming an abusive childhood. Here, Law360 Pulse talks to Dietrich about how his past struggles have shaped both his personal and professional life.
-
9th Circ. Revives Atty's Suit Against State Bar Officers
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a summary judgment win for Oregon State Bar officers, ruling in a published opinion that a member attorney established that the bar violated his constitutional right to freedom of association when publishing statements he objected to that criticized former President Donald Trump.
-
Calif. Debt Relief Firm Ran Criminal Enterprise, Judge Says
A California bankruptcy judge ruled Tuesday that the defunct Orange County debt relief law firm Litigation Practice Group operated a "criminal enterprise" and possibly a Ponzi scheme, a finding that representatives for the firm's court-appointed bankruptcy trustee say they will use to claw money back from investors.
-
Sidley Brings On McDermott's LA Litigation Leader
The head of McDermott Will & Emery LLP's Los Angeles litigation practice has moved to Sidley Austin LLP's commercial litigation and disputes department as a partner, Sidley Austin announced Wednesday.
-
LA Atty Accused Of Bilking Inmates With False Freedom Hope
A Los Angeles attorney accused of raking in thousands of dollars by giving inmates and their families intentionally misleading information about their chances for resentencing after convictions for violent crimes faces an 18-count disciplinary complaint filed this week by the State Bar of California.
-
Farella Braun Can Pursue Unpaid SVB Fees From FDIC
Farella Braun & Martel LLP can go after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for $49,000 in legal fees owed by Silicon Valley Bank's parent after the agency was appointed as the bank's receiver, a California federal judge ruled Wednesday.
-
Kaufman Dolowich Hires Longtime Employment Atty In LA
Kaufman Dolowich has hired a labor and employment attorney as a partner in its Los Angeles office who has been practicing with a firm he helped launch in 2009 for over 14 years, his new firm announced Wednesday.
-
Ex-Assistant DA Can't Revive Retaliation Suit At 9th Circ.
The Ninth Circuit declined Wednesday to reinstate a former assistant district attorney's suit claiming he was fired by the city of San Francisco for whistleblowing about what he alleged was misconduct, ruling there's not enough proof he was canned for going to the media with his concerns.
-
Hueston Hennigan Adds Section Chief At US Atty's Office In LA
Hueston Hennigan LLP has added to its Los Angeles office an attorney who worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California for more than eight years, including as chief of its criminal appeals section.
-
Why BigLaw Firms Are Investing In E-Discovery Expertise
Bolstered by technological advancements, BigLaw firms are relying more on specialized e-discovery attorneys who can provide more focused legal guidance and technical support.
-
A Winding Path: How Lawyers' Career Aspirations Shift
The road for many lawyers to their final career destination is winding. What a person thinks they want in law school may change once, twice or more in the following decades. Here, Law360 presents four stories about the winding path of lawyer career aspirations.
-
Cooley Adds O'Melveny Securities Litigation, Fintech Pro In LA
Cooley LLP has expanded its California team, announcing Wednesday it has brought in an O'Melveny & Myers LLP securities litigation and fintech expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.
-
Calif. Panel Won't Block Sanctions Over Firm's Anti-SLAPP Bid
A California appeals court has upheld a trial court's denial of an anti-SLAPP motion in a lawsuit alleging a partner in one law firm tried to misappropriate fees won in an overtime suit by another law firm where he was also a partner.
-
Google Privacy Class Action Delays Irk Discovery Judge
A California federal judge expressed frustration Tuesday with discovery delays in a years-old class action alleging Google Assistant-enabled devices surreptitiously recorded conversations, telling attorneys they've already "been around and around and around" on discovery fights, and "we need to keep this moving."
-
Fish & Richardson Adds Sterne Kessler GC In Top Legal Role
Fish & Richardson PC has hired the general counsel at Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC as its new chief legal risk officer, who is bringing her more than 15 years of experience with intellectual property law firm risk management and compliance to the firm.
-
Stradley Ronon Brings On Marketing Pro From Morgan Lewis
Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP has a new director of marketing and communications who previously served in similar roles at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
-
Disbarred Atty Tom Girardi Convicted Of Defrauding Clients
A California federal jury on Tuesday convicted disbarred attorney Tom Girardi on all four counts of wire fraud, finding that the former titan of the plaintiffs bar misappropriated $15 million of his clients' settlement funds.
-
Approach The Bench: Justice Earls On Speaking Out
North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls still believes in the importance of informing the public about the judiciary, but these days she's a little more careful about what she says.
-
Weil Adds Ex-Kirkland, Massumi + Consoli PE Pro In Calif.
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP is expanding its California team, announcing Monday it is bringing in a Massumi + Consoli LLP private equity expert as a partner in its recently opened Los Angeles office.
-
9th Circ. Chief Judge Cleared Of Judicial Misconduct Claims
The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit on Friday cleared its chief judge of judicial misconduct claims alleging she failed to timely investigate a Los Angeles judge's decision to have a lawyer handcuffed and detained during contempt proceedings, finding the allegations were unfounded.
-
Law Firm Revenue Rose At 'Historic' Rate In 2024's First Half
U.S. law firm revenue was up 11.4% during the first half of 2024 compared to this time last year, marking one of the industry's best first halves in memory, second only to 2021, according to survey results released Monday by Wells Fargo Private Bank.
Expert Analysis
-
Why I Use ChatGPT To Tell Me Things I Already Know
The legal profession is among the most hesitant to adopt ChatGPT because of its proclivity to provide false information as if it were true, but in a wide variety of situations, lawyers can still be aided by information that is only in the right ballpark, says Robert Plotkin at Blueshift IP.
-
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Use Social Media Responsibly?
Leah Kelman at Herrick Feinstein discusses the importance of reasoned judgment and thoughtful process when it comes to newly admitted attorneys' social media use.
-
Yada, Yada, Yada: The Magic Of 3 In Legal Writing
.jpeg)
Attorneys should take a cue from U.S. Supreme Court justices and boil their arguments down to three points in their legal briefs and oral advocacy, as the number three is significant in the way we process information, says Diana Simon at University of Arizona.
-
How Firms Can Stop Playing Whack-A-Mole With Data Security
.jpg)
In order to achieve a robust client data protection posture, law firms should focus on adopting a risk-based approach to security, which can be done by assessing gaps, using that data to gain leadership buy-in for the needed changes, and adopting a dynamic and layered approach, says John Smith at Conversant Group.
-
5 Life Lessons From Making Partner As A Solo Parent
Laranda Walker at Susman Godfrey, who was raising two small children and working her way to partner when she suddenly lost her husband, shares what fighting to keep her career on track taught her about accepting help, balancing work and family, and discovering new reserves of inner strength.
-
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Turn Deferral To My Advantage?
Diana Leiden at Winston & Strawn discusses how first-year associates whose law firm start dates have been deferred can use the downtime to hone their skills, help their communities, and focus on returning to BigLaw with valuable contacts and out-of-the-box insights.
-
Resume Gaps Are No Longer Kryptonite To Your Legal Career
Female attorneys and others who pause their careers for a few years will find that gaps in work history are increasingly acceptable among legal employers, meaning with some networking, retraining and a few other strategies, lawyers can successfully reenter the workforce, says Jill Backer at Ave Maria School of Law.
-
Law Firm Guardrails For Responsible Generative AI Use
ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools pose significant risks to the integrity of legal work, but the key for law firms is not to ban these tools, but to implement them responsibly and with appropriate safeguards, say Natalie Pierce and Stephanie Goutos at Gunderson Dettmer.
-
Opinion
We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court Headwinds
Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, law firms and their clients must keep up the legal industry’s recent momentum advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession in order to help achieve a just and prosperous society for all, says Angela Winfield at the Law School Admission Council.
-
Law Firms Cannot Ignore Attorneys' Personal Cybersecurity
Law firms that fail to consider their attorneys' online habits away from work are not using their best efforts to protect client information and are simplifying the job of plaintiffs attorneys in the case of a breach, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy and Protection.
-
Why Writing CLE Should Be Mandatory For Lawyers
.jpeg)
Though effective writing is foundational to law, no state requires attorneys to take continuing legal education in this skill — something that must change if today's attorneys are to have the communication abilities they need to fulfill their professional and ethical duties to their clients, colleagues and courts, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona.
-
How To Find Your Inner Calm When Client Obligations Pile Up
In the most stressful times for attorneys, when several transactions for different partners and clients peak at the same time and the phone won’t stop buzzing, incremental lifestyle changes can truly make a difference, says Lindsey Hughes at Haynes Boone.
-
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys?
Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.
-
Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud
A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.
-
Advice For Summer Associates Uneasy About Offer Prospects
There are a few communication tips that law students in summer associate programs should consider to put themselves in the best possible position to receive an offer, and firms can also take steps to support those to whom they are unable to make an offer, says Amy Mattock at Georgetown University Law Center.