In my latest issue of “Popular Woodworking” (don’t’ ask — we all have our little hobbies) there was a fascinating article on t...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Ethical duties and data breaches
By Alison Buchanan
On Oct. 17, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion ...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Consider using mandatory arbitration provisions to recover fees
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
Fee disputes with clients are never pleasant, but they are especially painful when such disputes result in litigation. Not onl...
Government, Environmental & Energy, Construction
State and local leaders turn their attention to building efficiency
By Jennifer Tung
It’s no surprise given that buildings account for 25 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions — and 70 percent of emiss...
For defense attorneys, a new GPS system might be in order. We need to rethink and refresh the way we’ve historically represent...
Labor/Employment, Entertainment & Sports
Talent agencies required to provide anti-harassment training
By Susan E. Groff
While Gov. Jerry Brown signed several bills into law addressing sexual harassment this fall, Assembly Bill 2338 pays special a...
Since the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the depth of the Depression, great emphasis has been placed on the firs...
Tax
How long must you worry about the risk of being audited by the IRS?
By Robert W. Wood
It pays to know how far back you can be audited. You can influence the answer, and there are steps you can take to cut your risk.
‘Go ahead then... prove it!’
By Brian M. Hoffstadt
Burdens of proof are presented in law school as if they are well-settled and purely procedural. In actuality, they are neither.
Intellectual Property
EU high court OKs color trademark for Louboutin shoes
By Dariush Adli
The European Court of Justice’s recent trademark ruling that Christian Louboutin’s red-soled shoes are eligible for trademark ...
Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit continues to enforce well-crafted arbitration agreements
By Cary D. Sullivan, Steven M. Zadravecz
Recent cases demonstrate the utility of clear, unambiguous language designating the question of arbitrability to an arbitrator...
Litigators earn their living by speaking up, and especially for reactively responding, so it does not come naturally to hold o...
Securities, Civil Litigation, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit puts to rest decade-old Northstar litigation as preempted by SLUSA
By Peter Wald, Gavin M. Masuda
One thing Northstar and other recent 9th Circuit cases make clear is that district courts in the 9th Circuit must read complai...
Law Practice, Government
Next case, no client: Lawyers turned candidates
By James Attridge
Thanks to the new science of smearing candidates with the opprobrious epithet “lawyer” we may never see the likes of courthous...
Intellectual Property
Balenciaga vs Little Trees: when anti-fashion leans toward anti-legal
By Olfa B'Chir
Civil Litigation, Letters
Clarification on PG&E settlement story
By Gerald B. Singleton
I write to clarify a single sentence in the article that appears to have been misunderstood by, or which has created confusion...
On Oct. 31 it was reported that mobster James “Whitey” Bulger was beaten to death just hours after he was transferred from a f...
U.S. Supreme Court, Tax
Justices brushed aside legitimate concerns in online sales tax case
By John H. Minan
The court acted appropriately in abandoning the physical presence test. But the burden of collecting sales taxes in different ...
Part III: Aristotle talks of the art of rhetoric; Sun Tzu talks of the art of war. Litigation is an adversarial exercise of rh...
Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Be careful what you wish for
By Christopher Cottle, Paul Katz
When appellate attorneys discuss case law, we often focus on an opinion’s reasoning. Judicial reasoning is the grist of our cr...
Over the years I have participated in so many panel discussions that I lost count. But the panel I was on last week made an im...
Construction, Civil Rights
Litigating construction cases can be like making sausages
By Garret D. Murai
A case involving construction delay damages, insurance and the recovery of attorney fees, makes sausage making look easy.
Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Officials think 4th Amendment protections are for the birds
By TImothy R. Snowball
The U.S. government began regulating falconers and falconry practices in the 1970s. In 2008, the regulations were modified to ...
The actor has had a number of run-ins with the IRS over the years. His latest loss was part of his running feud over old IRS b...
Earlier this week President Donald Trump called to abolish birthright citizenship, which few reputable scholars believe would ...
Criminal, Civil Rights
The intersection of LGBTQ domestic violence and criminal defense
By Mieko Failey, Christopher Hawthorne
At first glance, criminal defense and survivor rights lawyering may seem at odds, but in reality many similarities exist betwe...
U.S. Supreme Court, Native Americans
Supreme Court to weigh a state’s stake in tribal hunting
By Tim Evans
How the 1868 tribal treaty case Herrera v. Wyoming currently before the U.S. Supreme Court may preempt current-day state regul...
My sit-down with “Gil” Jones began at 9:15 one recent morning at a corner table at the downtown Jonathan Club. It was already ...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Criminal
Instructing the jury on the use of common sense
By Steven S. Kimball
Jurors in California and across the nation are routinely called upon to exercise their common sense in deliberations.
Immigration, Government, Constitutional Law
Proposal to end birthright citizenship not likely to get far
By Gabriel J. Chin
President Donald Trump recently announced plans to eliminate citizenship by birth faces profound legal hurdles.