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2026-07-11

MCLE

The United States Space Force: The 6th branch

Jul. 8, 2026

The Space Force is more than America's newest military br...

By Eileen C. Moore

Truth, confidentiality and the case for mediation: What ABA Opinion 518 reminds us

Jul. 2, 2026

ABA Formal Opinion 518 holds lawyer-mediators to a higher...

By David I. Brown

Can implicit bias be countered?

Jul. 2, 2026

Although California's implicit bias jury instruction enco...

By Steven S. Kimball


Special Coverage

Intellectual Property


Apple accuses OpenAI of trade secrets theft

Jul. 10, 2026
By Daniel Schrager

The lawsuit also alleges OpenAI actively recruits Apple employees and asks them to disclose confidential information throughou...



Today's News

A proposed class action filed in federal court alleges Google's Nest home cameras unlawfully collect and store facial-recognition data on passersby without t...


Civil Procedure


The judge overseeing the MacLaren Hall litigation declined to postpone upcoming trials for mediation and ordered the parties to protect settled cases from di...


Torts/Personal Injury


A San Diego County jury found Hyatt Hotels Corp. liable for wrongful death and negligence, awarding $15.5 million to the family of a guest whose reservation ...


Technology


Veteran appellate lawyer Myron Moskovitz has launched a brief-coaching service emphasizing strategy and human judgment over artificial intelligence, saying w...


Environmental & Energy


Chief U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee expressed skepticism Friday that Sable Offshore Corp. has stated viable takings and federal preemption claims over San...


Intellectual Property


U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez Olguin expressed skepticism that common legal issues predominate over the individualized questions surrounding each alle...


Columns

How not to split a baby: On 'Solomonic' decisions

Jul. 10, 2026
By Ashfaq G. Chowdhury

The Judgment of Solomon produced enduring legal metaphors, but neither "splitting the baby" nor "Solomonic" means quite what l...


Civil Procedure

Avoid vexatious litigation

Jul. 13, 2026
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair

As courts grow increasingly impatient with meritless litigation, attorneys who cross the line from tenacious advocacy to frivo...


The ruling delivers a significant victory for the registered investment industry, sharply limiting the ability of activist sha...



Verdicts & Settlements

Breach of Contract Mohammad Honarkar and 4G Wi... $1,331,889,279
Dangerous Condition of Public Property Juanita Sanchez v. City of ... $14,000,000
Consumer Protection The People of the State of ... $12,750,000
Consumers Legal Remedies Act Jonathan Beer and Thalia Ca... $9,400,000
Wrongful Termination Nicole Mehringer v. City of... $5,716,574
Wage and Hour Ruel Apruebo, individually ... $3,985,000
Wage and Hour Guillermo Gonzalez and Nich... $3,750,000
Consumer Protection Emily Chebul, individually ... $2,995,297
Breach of Contract Jason Golberg v. Jill Goldb... $2,803,603
Breach of Contract Crowdstrike Inc. v. DFND Se... $2,148,810

On the Move

Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight

Jul. 10, 2026


Michelle Wasserman joined Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight as a partner in San Diego. The move was July 8, 2026.

Wasserman represents employees, executives and whistleblowers in complex employment litigation, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, executive employment, ERISA and False Claims Act matters. She also handles whistleblower retaliation claims and other complex civil litigation. Before joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, she served as executive counsel for global investigations at GE Vernova, advising on internal investigations, ethics, compliance and regulatory matters. Previously, she spent nearly 14 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of California, where she prosecuted white collar matters involving procurement fraud, public corruption, health care fraud, financial crimes and False Claims Act cases, trying 15 cases to verdict and handling appeals before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier in her career, she practiced commercial litigation at Cooley LLP, representing clients in false advertising, unfair competition, intellectual property and securities disputes.


Details

Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight has 60 attorneys in 6 offices including San Francisco, Palo Alto and San Diego. Among the law firm's key practice areas are wrongful termination, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wage theft and overtime violations, whistleblower and qui tam, sexual violence, Title IX violations and victims' rights, financial mismanagement and ERISA litigation. The firm’s website is sanfordheisler.com

Featured Content


Community News

White-collar defense attorney Nina Marino, the incoming chair of the American Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section, said preserving judicial independence, protecting the rule of law and fostering cooperation among prosecutors, defense lawyers and judges will be her top priorities.




Daily Appellate Report

Immigration

Menjivar-Ayala v. Blanche

Board of Immigration Appeals abused its discretion by denying reopening after prior counsel failed to preserve judicial review.


Civil Procedure, Family Law

Marriage of Martinez & Camou

Family Code section 271 sanctions were supported by a party's untimely invocation of the *European Beverage* right to have the same judge hear all credibility-based issues.


Tax

Ventura Harbor Restaurant Associates v. Ventura Port Dist.

A local government commercial property lease containing a percentage rent clause based on a percentage of tenant's gross income is not a "tax" that violates the California Constitution.


Arbitration

Combs v. Netflix, Inc.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act did not apply to plaintiff's claims against Netflix because they accrued before the EFAA's enactment.


Criminal Law and Procedure

People v. Garner

Fifty-year juvenile sentence was not the functional equivalent of life without parole because section 3051 afforded a meaningful opportunity for release based on maturity and rehabilitati...