Administrative/Regulatory
After fur bans, expect local animal protection laws to gain momentum
By Elizabeth Holtz
San Francisco’s law goes into effect in January, paving the way for it to become the largest city in the United States to ban ...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, California Supreme Court
Clients get notice, period
By Samuel C. Bellicini
The unmistakable takeaways from a recent California Supreme Court ruling: (1) Clients get notice. Period. No exceptions. And (...
International Law, Criminal, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Appellate ruling curtails FCPA accomplice, conspiracy liability
By Nathan J. Hochman
The 2nd Circuit recently ruled that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act does not apply to nonresident foreign nationals, acting...
Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Constitutional Law
Is scandalous trademark bar unconstitutional, too?
By Ned Snow
The scandalous clause prohibits trademark registration of expression that offends a person’s conscience or moral feelings, whi...
Government, Constitutional Law
Emoluments suit helps Congress discharge its duty
By John H. Minan
Senator Richard Blumenthal and 200 other members of Congress have sued Trump in federal district court in Washington, D.C. to ...
Civil Litigation, Government, California Supreme Court
Referendum can lead to zoning inconsistent with general plan
By Stephen P. Graham
The California Supreme Court heldthat a referendum challenging a zoning ordinance amendment seeking to make the ordinance cons...
Law Practice, Law Office Management
Keep cyberthreats from ever entering your firm's system
By Paul R. Kiesel
By forcing your server to jump through these hurdles you are keeping the bad actors out. If you take nothing away from this ar...
Law Practice, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Did you notice that this fact was not in the record on appeal?
By Benjamin G. Shatz
An appellate court's review is generally cabined by the universe of facts that were "before the trial court for its considerat...
These might be quibbles. Most of the Style Manual is helpful. I just needed to get this off (my chest). Or — coming soon — [my...
Judges and Judiciary, Criminal
Budget constraints call for rethinking felony procedures
By George K. Rosenstock
Proposed here is the global replacement of preliminary examinations in felony cases by the use of multiple month-long impanele...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Administrative/Regulatory
Lawyers with cannabis clients are caught in the ethical weeds
By Hanspeter Walter
Lawyers face unique ethical and professional issues when representing cannabis businesses.
Litigation & Arbitration, Construction, Civil Rights, California Courts of Appeal
A curious case of construction defects and unwaivable rights
By Timothy D. Reuben
Disappointingly, the 4th District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court confirmation of an arbitration award that took away a...
Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
David’s green slingshot
By Christa Lim
It only takes a village (in New York) to alter environmental review under California’s regulatory regime.
Matthew Kneale has attempted to compress 2,500 years of Roman history into less than 400 pages by taking an ingenious approach...
Tax
Guidance lists ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ of new pass-through tax break
By Phil Jelsma
Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service issued sweeping proposed regulations for the pass-through entity tax break ou...
Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
Wildfires, farms, fish and meeting water demands
By Meredith E. Nikkel
California’s record-breaking wildfires in 2018 raise not only climate change and forest management issues, but also spotlight ...
Labor/Employment
A thin line: brand protection vs infringing on employee rights
By Deborah Birndorf Zeiler
Employers still must grapple with the tug-of-war between protecting the brand on infringing on employee rights.
Government, Criminal
Bail law might leave some accused stuck in jail
By Louis J. Shapiro
Under SB 10, for some offenses, a person will have to wait in jail for up to three days to be assessed at arraignment to deter...
Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Interest? You think we owe you interest?
By Michael M. Berger
As the 9th Circuit put it, the teachers charged that interest had been "skimmed" from their accounts and given to others.
A hybrid strategy for protecting your cannabis-related IP
By Dariush Adli
Businesses face unique IP challenges since cannabis is still illegal under federal law.
Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Plaintiffs in pre-1972 recording cases scored a big win
By Morgan Pietz, Daniel B. Lifschitz
The 9th Circuit said a remaster is ineligible for independent protection unless its essential character and identity reflect ...
A new school year is starting, and I will be teaching Asian-Americans and the Law. I believe it is worthwhile to explain the c...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Supreme Court cy pres case could change class action landscape
By Sylvia Rivera
This October the Supreme Court will consider the permissibility of cy pres-only class action settlements.
The baby shoe has dropped. Just when you started to wonder what could possibly happen next, the National Enquirer has given th...
Tax, Probate
Leaving no will, Aretha reprises Prince. Don’t copy them.
By Robert W. Wood
Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul, beloved as a recording artist and person. She had a reported net worth of $80 million o...
Letters, Judges and Judiciary, Government
Judicial election response doesn’t hold up
By Louis A. Lipofsky
The issue of judicial elections is again become a subject of debate.
Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment, California Supreme Court
Does the high court’s Dynamex decision apply retroactively?
By Michael H. Leb
In what is, apparently, the first widely disseminated ruling, one court has already answered this question with a resounding “...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, California Courts of Appeal
Causation against lawyers who conceal conflicts
By Kenneth C. Feldman, Patrik Johansson
A Court of Appeal ruling muddles law concerning the applicable causation standard when a lawyer is sued for fraud or intention...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Don’t walk into a post-trial motion trap
By Ben Feuer
If you lose a trial or dispositive ruling, your first instinct may be to file a post-trial motion. But if you don’t need to pr...
Intellectual Property, Civil Rights, California Supreme Court
California courts will be vigilant about attempts to dodge the CDA
By Armen N. Nercessian
The California Supreme Court's Hassell v. Bird ruling suggests courts will see through litigation tactics that attempt to avoi...