Legal Education, State Bar & Bar Associations
Redlining the legal profession
By Mitchel L. Winick
The recent statistics for the July 2021 California bar exam present further evidence that the process of lawyer licensing in C...
Corporate, Securities
SEC adopted the universal proxy rule. Will it affect shareholder activism?
By Virginia F. Milstead
On November 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted Rule 14a-19 under Securities Exchange Act of 1934, requiring pa...
Covid Court Ops, Judges and Judiciary, Law Practice
State of LASC's Civil Division: 2021-2022
By Eric C. Taylor, David J. Cowan
As 2021 comes to an end, we wanted to report on what the Los Angeles County Superior Court has been able to do this year and p...
In a highly symbolic victory, employees at a Buffalo area Starbucks store have voted to form a union, 19-8, in a National Labo...
Alternative Dispute Resolution, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Law Practice
Why ethics matter in mediation
By Randa M. Trapp
Members of the legal community should be societal leaders and live up to the California attorney’s oath, which contains the fo...
Civil Rights, Education Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Harvard admissions case gives high court chance to revitalize equal treatment
By Alison Somin
Should racial preferences in university admissions be legal? The U.S. Supreme Court has an opportunity to revisit that hotly d...
Returning to court for trial in 2021 was like being awake in a dream; many of the people and settings were familiar, but the f...
California Courts of Appeal, Criminal
Appellate ruling examines discovery rule, SOL in criminal cases
By Dmitry Gorin, Alan Eisner
The court applied the “discovery rule,” which holds in general that the statute of limitations for certain financial and fraud...
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment
Supplemental jurisdiction in ADA cases: A question of timing
By Marc D. Alexander
A recent 9th Circuit decision provides answers to questions that have bedeviled district courts and practitioners in Americans...
In 2021 the Supreme Court did not issue any estates-related opinions — LPS conservatorship opinions aside — and the appellate ...
Judges and Judiciary
Chief justice lags behind peers on conservatorship reform
By Thomas F. Coleman
Despite having knowledge of major deficiencies with every part of the probate conservatorship system, Chief Justice Tani Canti...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Law Practice, State Bar & Bar Associations
Paraprofessionals are not the way to increase access to justice
By Ian R. Friedman
The State Bar's justifications for the program ultimately fall flat.
It can sometimes seem like celebrities have it made, getting loads of free goodies and preferential treatment. Yet taxes are t...
Criminal
DA chooses not to retry murder case for ‘policy considerations’?
By Kathleen Cady
In 1997 defendant Kenji Howard was convicted of murder of Arkett Mejia, attempted murder of Travon Johnson and two others, and...
Civil Litigation, Judges and Judiciary, Law Practice
Settling can be good
By Sonya Goodwin
Enter Resolve Law LA, a little-known program offering another approach. Using judge-ordered mandatory settlement conferences, ...
Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions
Zoom-Five9 failure doesn’t spell end of China-US investment
By Tai-Heng Cheng, Li Lei
A selective reading of the facts about the failed Zoom acquisition of Five9 lends itself to a tempting clickbait headline that...
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
SB 8 ruling: A truly terrible and dangerous decision
By Erwin Chemerinsky
The U.S. Supreme Court, in its decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson on Friday, has created a roadmap for how state gove...
Labor/Employment
Changes to ‘80/20’ tip rule ahead; different but still the same
By Krista Mitzel, Sara Shok
As many employers know, the “80/20 tip credit rule” has long been at thorn in the side of employers in the hospitality and res...
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
‘A chill wind blows’: Flaws in high court’s SB 8 opinion
By Rory K. Little
So much is wrong with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Friday morning decision in the Texas abortion statute decision that it can’t al...
Appellate Practice
5 tips on appellate brief writing: perspectives from the bench & bar
By M.C. Sungaila, David A. Thompson
Brief writing and oral argument form the core of appellate advocacy.
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Dobbs could put US out of step with the global community
By Kathleen R. Hartnett, Julie M. Veroff
However the Supreme Court ultimately justifies its decision in Dobbs, one thing is clear and unrefuted: upending decades of ri...
Appellate Practice, Family
Understanding the difference between family law and civil appeals
By Victoria E. Fuller
Appellate lawyers who do not routinely handle family law appeals may puzzle over unfamiliar statutes and rules applicable in m...
Labor/Employment
PAGA pains soon might not just be for California employers
By Jamie Gross, Poline Pourmorady
California’s Private Attorneys General Act — sometimes called “the Bounty Hunter” statute — allows employees to sue their own ...
Administrative/Regulatory, Environmental & Energy
New laws in California and beyond on PFAS and consumer products
By Willis M. Wagner, Andrew Rambo
The California Legislature has recently enacted a sweeping new set of laws that prohibit food packaging, cookware and children...
Antitrust & Trade Reg., Entertainment & Sports
National Football League tackles antitrust claims
By Rachel Brass, Julian Kleinbrodt
In a ruling that should extend well beyond the gridiron, the federal appellate court delivers a timely reminder that antitrust...
Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
Abortion arguments: the justices’ most telling questions
By Anjali Srinivasan
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case that could deter...
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court
The 9th Circuit’s reactionary Second Amendment
By Donald E.J. Kilmer Jr.
Where the Legislature is silent about retroactivity, courts presume that the new statute will apply to all defendants whose ca...
Civil Litigation, Technology
5 commandments for selecting a digital forensic expert
By Daniel B. Garrie, Gail A. Andler
Corporate, Data Privacy, Government
Time to revive, reinvigorate document-retention policies in light of CPRA
By Elizabeth Balfour
With the arrival of the California Privacy Rights Act, a document-retention policy is now critical to privacy compliance.