Labor/Employment
'Persuader rule' would destroy attorney-client privilege and duty of confidentiality
By Michael J. Lotito
Organized labor, among others, is aggressively pushing the Senate to pass the Protective the Right to Organize Act, commonly r...
“Your honor, we are asking for 271 sanctions against the other party” is the refrain often hurled by one, or both, counsel dur...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
The limits of the appellate process and effective storytelling
By David M. Axelrad
The appellate process has many limitations that can deter a disappointed litigant’s pursuit of relief on appeal.
Judges and Judiciary, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Fixing appellate delay
By Jon B. Eisenberg
Three months ago, I filed a complaint with the Commission on Judicial Performance about egregious decisional delay by three ju...
Law Practice, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
The importance of judicial economy
By David M. Axelrad
As litigation becomes more complex and courts continue to be over-burdened, the principles of judicial economy and efficiency ...
Letters, Judges and Judiciary
Protecting our courts is protecting the rule of law
By Thomas A. Delaney, Nicole Virga Bautista
The California Judges Association applauds the Daily Journal for publishing: “Lawyers must help protect judges,” on April 23.
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Tips for avoiding risk when acting as replacement counsel
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
When clients choose their attorneys, they place faith in the attorney to handle the matter effectively and consistently with t...
Law Practice, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Should we ‘flip the system’ from litigation to mediation first?
By Leonid M. Zilberman
Full disclosure: I’ve learned and practiced in the litigation and trial system for over 25 years. Yet, it appears more and mor...
Labor/Employment
Horrible bosses: Does the law allow you to be a jerk at work?
By Robert J. Hudock
Former employees of Scott Rudin have alleged the prominent Hollywood and Broadway producer engaged in extreme workplace conduc...
Criminal, Constitutional Law
Crime victims in California are being denied due process
By Antonio R. Sarabia II
Crime victims have California constitutional rights to be heard in criminal cases and to restitution for any losses caused by ...
Technology, Labor/Employment
Want to pay your employees in cryptocurrency? Not so fast
By Eliot J. Rushovich
Cryptocurrency is the future of money in a world where cash is becoming obsolete. But until the world catches up with the cryp...
Labor/Employment, Government
What Joe Biden’s vow to be the most pro-union president means
By Lori Armstrong Halber, Kirsten B. White
Unions have a champion in President Joe Biden, and all employers — whether currently unionized or not — need to be prepared. T...
Technology, Law Practice
Bad artificial intelligence will be a lawyering goldmine
By Lance Eliot
There is a lot of discussion about AI for Good, along with qualms about AI for Bad. The Bad AI is likely to become the subject...
Law Practice, California Supreme Court
John Fremont and Mexican land grands in California
By Donald E. Warner
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican-American War was entered into by Mexico and the United States on Feb. 2, 19...
Government, Criminal
Ending law enforcement immunity is within California’s reach. Pass Senate Bill 2
By Carl Douglas
The three guilty verdicts handed down in Derek Chauvin’s case last month were a uniquely American rarity; a glimmer of justice...
Government
Infrastructure: Where we’re going and how we plan to get there
By Elizabeth Dubeck, Denise Raytis
On March 31, the Biden administration released its American Jobs Plan, an ambitious conceptual proposal around which implement...
Labor/Employment, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Ruling sets up worker classification test for high court review
By Joshua Lipshutz, Thomas F. Cochrane
Truckers have been described as America’s last cowboys. For more than 70 years, independent owner-operators have moved the nat...
Labor/Employment, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Truck drivers in California will finally have their day in court
By Ronald L. Zambrano
On April 28, the wheels came off the California trucking industry’s big rig. An appellate panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court ...
Civil Rights
Civil rights agencies in California are MIA for conservatees
By Thomas F. Coleman
Three California civil rights enforcement agencies are effectively missing in action when it comes to protecting people with d...
Construction
Ruling examines enforceability of ‘pay-when-paid’ provisions
By Garret D. Murai
Most construction attorneys know that “pay-when-paid” contractual provisions are enforceable but that “pay-if-paid” contractua...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
The chicken or the egg: temporal primacy and California law
By Brian M. Hoffstadt
In Caniglia v. Strom, 20-157, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether there is a “community caretaker” exc...
Criminal, Constitutional Law
Take qualified immunity out of the equation
By Sanford Jay Rosen
It is time to take “qualified immunity” out of the police and government accountability equation. It is a judicial construct t...
Civil Litigation
Are politicians’ sex lives a ‘matter of public concern’?
By Krista L. Baughman
In a 2020 revenge porn lawsuit by former congresswoman Katie Hill, Hill alleged that her privacy was violated when her ex-husb...
Criminal
Court upholds Terry stop and frisk, prompting strong dissent
By Dmitry Gorin, Alan Eisner
Flores is a disappointing result for the defense bar, who might have reasonably concluded that a suspect who simply ducks and ...
Intellectual Property
Consideration of non-traditional trademarks in branding strategy
By Dariush Adli
Many are surprised to learn that a scent can be a trademark.
Torts/Personal Injury, Civil Litigation
Athletic orgs have a duty to protect against child sex abuse
By Jesse Creed
When the California Supreme Court took up Brown v. USA Taekwondo, these organizations hoped for a judicial victory limiting th...
Strategies for addressing discrimination in civil disputes
By Jan Frankel Schau
The subtleties of both implicit and explicit biases are not limited to our streets and neighborhoods, boardrooms or courthouse...
Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, California Courts of Appeal
Revelations II
By Arthur Gilbert
The intriguing title of my February column “Revelations” was an intimate look (not exposé) on how appellate opinions are “proc...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Appellate Adventures, Chapter 21: “I Won My Appeal! Now What?
By Myron Moskovitz
Starring ace trial lawyer Flash Feinberg and his trusty sidekick Professor Plato
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
The glorious history of the Committee on Appellate Courts
By Benjamin G. Shatz
Once upon a time, the State Bar of California not only licensed, regulated and disciplined lawyers, but also formed committees...