Data Privacy
NetScout decision signals limits on CIPA web tracking claims
By David J. Oberly
California Court holds CIPA's pen register provision does not apply to websites: What the NetScout ruling means for you...
The Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC keeps freight brokers in the crosshairs of truck...
Technology, Law Practice, Guide to Legal Writing
The brief on my desk is good
By James Mixon
A lawyer's prose used to be evidence of the lawyer's skill because you could not produce the writing without doing the thinkin...
Technology, Law Practice
The $0 referral engine: How free AI legal sites are sending clients straight to small firms and solo lawyers
By Michael J. LeVangie
AI-powered legal guidance platforms are emerging as a new client intake tool by helping confused consumers better understand t...
Criminal
State Supreme Court resolves constitutional clash over bail
By Dmitry Gorin, Alan Eisner
In In re Kowalczyk, the California Supreme Court narrowed the path to pretrial detention and reinforced limits on unaff...
Labor/Employment
DOL proposes new rule covering 'vertical' and 'horizontal' joint employer relationships
By Holly Williamson, Michael Reed
The Department of Labor's proposed rule would standardize the joint-employer test under federal labor laws and expand clarity-...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
A mediator's perspective on need: It's not always about the money
By Gary N. Stern
Effective civil mediation succeeds when it recognizes that parties' deeper psychological needs--validation, control, trust and...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Judicial reference vs. arbitration in California: Key differences for dispute resolution clauses
By Linda M. Burrow
Judicial reference combines many of arbitration's advantages--party-selected neutrals and streamlined procedures--with the pro...
Criminal, Constitutional Law
Kowalczyk gives LA County a constitutional path out of its jail crisis
By William M. Paparian
Los Angeles County's rising in-custody deaths amid overcrowding and inadequate care underscore a constitutional and moral cris...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
New guidance, proposed rule changes on generative AI in legal practice
By Susie Dent
The State Bar of California's updated guidance and proposed rule changes on generative AI emphasize that lawyers remain respon...
The housing crisis is about inequality, not environmental law.
Wills, Estates & Trusts, Probate, Military Law
The VA goes to probate court: protection or paternalism?
By Eileen C. Moore
A little-known agreement between the DOJ and VA will allow federally appointed VA attorneys to seek state court conservatorsh...
Civil Procedure
A long overdue limitation on CCP 170.6 challenges
By Bruce M. Brusavich
The California Supreme Court's decision in J.O. v. Superior Court preserves the important right to file a peremptory challenge...
Health Care, Pharmaceuticals, Biotech
The West Coast Strike Force and the next phase of health care fraud enforcement
By William Frentzen, Christine Y. Wong
The federal government's creation of a West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force reflects a significant expansion of coordinat...
Intellectual Property
There are limits to California Uniform Trade Secret Act's displacement rule
By Joseph V. Miceli
In Guild Mortgage Co., LLC v. CrossCountry Mortgage LLC, the Court of Appeal held that CUTSA does not bar tortious inte...
The Sixth Amendment may require a new trial where a racially biased juror participates in deliberations, because removing the ...
Family
7 deadly sins: A framework for family law
By Emily Lonsdale, Catherine A. Thompson
Divorce litigation can operate like an addiction loop driven by revenge, trauma bonds, and other "sins," and warns that while ...
Technology
Growing use of AI tools creates litigation risk
By Gregory Markow, Sean Gaffney
Generative AI is reshaping legal practice by improving efficiency, but it also introduces significant risks around privilege, ...
International Law
Seeking collaboration amid competition: Building a constructive Sino-U.S. relationship
By Xinying Huang
A high-profile U.S.-China summit marked a pragmatic step toward reopening dialogue and stabilizing relations amid enduring str...
Consumer Protection Law
One year later: California lemon law litigation after the 2025 procedural reforms
By Joseph A. Kaufman
California's 2025 Song-Beverly reforms aim to speed lemon law litigation and force early resolution through strict deadlines a...
When is a 60-day deadline only 20 days?
No matter how good the language in a settlement agreement may be, tax language in a settlement agreement does not guarantee th...
Labor/Employment
The algorithm in the courtroom: How California's new AI rules are reshaping employment litigation
By Pankit J. Doshi, Nicholas Neathamer
LA28 Olympics Coverage
The World Cup is LA's Olympic stress test, and the cracks are already visible.
By Jason Javaheri, Yosi Yahoudai
As Los Angeles prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, unresolved infrastructure, safety and accountability concerns are beginni...
A former court commissioner was singled out for broader judicial and AI-related citation failures and retroactively applied st...
Although trial and appellate lawyers practice in different arenas, both ultimately succeed through the same art of strategic p...
Tax, Government
Assessor: Wildfire victims would be hit with $10k extra tax under Measure A
By Jordan Marks
San Diego County Assessor Jordan Marks argues that Measure A would unfairly impose costly taxes on wildfire victims, grieving ...
Although AI may transform--and even threaten--the future of human work and decision-making, it cannot replace the distinctly h...
Consumer Protection Law
California fashion compliance enters a new era
By Warren Koshofer
California is turning fashion compliance into full-spectrum accountability, binding brands to labor, climate and supply-chain ...
Civil Procedure
A court's own remedy for the civil backlog: the early 'enabling hearing'
By Robert J. Shulkin
California's severely under-resourced and overburdened court system should adopt an early case-screening "enabling hearing" to...