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Probate, Family, California Supreme Court, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

The 9th Circuit is asking the California Supreme Court to interpret the impact of a state law bearing on the parental status a...


Government, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

If courts allow companies to use the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to block automated access by competitors, it will threaten o...


Law Practice, Judges and Judiciary, Government

Dangerous courthouses put employees at risk

Mar. 27, 2018
By Eric Siddall

If a private landlord rented a commercial office space and the building was considered unfit to withstand an earthquake, we wo...


Civil Litigation, Criminal, California Supreme Court, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Preliminary hearings and issue preclusion

Mar. 26, 2018
By Denis Binder

Does a finding of probable cause in a preliminary hearing preclude a subsequent false arrest claim? Courts are split.


Civil Litigation, Government, Contracts, Construction, California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal

Ruling is a windfall to second-place bidders

Mar. 26, 2018
By Michael J. Maurer, Dana M. Howard

A recent California appellate court opinion highlights the danger that the design-bid-build system can bring when it is not ap...


Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

En banc review of 'Blurred Lines' case is warranted

Mar. 26, 2018
By Elliot N. Brown, Moon Hee Lee

In a split decision, the 9th Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment after a jury trial that Pharrell Willi...


Ethics/Professional Responsibility, State Bar & Bar Associations, Appellate Practice

5 things you should know about State Bar Court appeals

Mar. 26, 2018
By Jennifer Teaford

The court follows different procedural rules from other appellate courts — and attorneys brought before the court for discipli...


Labor/Employment, Government

The Public Employment Relations board: a primer

Mar. 26, 2018
By David G. Ritchie

In all, approximately 4,200 public employers within the state of California and an estimated 2.7 million public employees, are...


Law Practice

Truth decay and the spirit of the law

Mar. 23, 2018
By Daniel Grunfeld

The widening gap between how the law is expected to be (and generally is) practiced, and certain events transpiring in our pol...


U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Ruling may lead to split on infringement by tweet

Mar. 23, 2018
By Elliot N. Brown

The Southern District of New York disagreed the 9th Circuit about the so-called "server test."


U.S. Supreme Court, Tax, Criminal, Administrative/Regulatory

Justices rein in IRS obstruction prosecutions

Mar. 23, 2018
By Nathan J. Hochman

By rejecting the government's expansive interpretation of the tax obstruction statute, the Supreme Court has required fair war...


Judges and Judiciary, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Criminal

Elected DAs shouldn't be so politically motivated

Mar. 23, 2018
By Patrick Dixon, Mario Mainero

One wishes that the elected district attorney of a county were not so politically motivated as to skirt the ethical rules and ...


Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility

Disaster readiness: Ethics in a new age

MCLE
Mar. 23, 2018
By Heather L. Rosing

Even in light of a life-altering disaster, an attorney must act competently, preserve confidentiality, maintain confidentialit...


Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility

The difficult decision to sue a client for unpaid fees

Mar. 23, 2018
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair

Some attorneys and firms make a principled decision to never sue their clients. Whether altruistic or risk-adverse, a law firm...


Family

When is your separate property liable?

Mar. 23, 2018
By Jeffrey P. Blum

Thanks to a Court of Appeal case, family law attorneys can answer with more clarity questions concerning when a spouse’s separ...


U.S. Supreme Court, Securities, Civil Litigation

Federal securities statutes say what they say

Mar. 22, 2018
By Alex G. Romain, Jenna G. Williams

This week, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act grants state courts the j...


Judges and Judiciary, Government, Criminal

Lawmakers must heed call to make more just bail system

Mar. 22, 2018
By Peter P. Espinoza

During Monday’s State of the Judiciary address, Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye once again called on California lawmakers...


Securities, Civil Litigation, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Corporate mismanagement and scienter in securities class actions

Mar. 22, 2018
By Ellen M. Murphy, Stephanie Albrecht

Earlier this month, the 9th affirmed dismissal of a securities class action against on the basis that the inference of sciente...


Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment, Administrative/Regulatory

Joint-employer standard left unsettled after NLRB vacates ruling

Mar. 22, 2018
By Charles S. Birenbaum, Jamie R. Rich

Franchisors must be mindful of their business practices to avoid being held liable for labor law violations committed by franc...


Letters, Judges and Judiciary, Criminal

Politics has no place in California courts

Mar. 22, 2018
By Edward R. Leonard

When elected officials choose to issue personal attacks, suggest bias or collusion, or otherwise attempt to politicize the cou...


Securities, Environmental & Energy, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory

A sea change in climate change disclosure?

Mar. 21, 2018
By Don J. Frost Jr., Thomas J. Ivey

In years past, shareholder initiatives to enhance climate change reporting beyond this basic level of disclosure typically exp...


Securities, Civil Rights

Yahoo! Inc. recently stipulated to an $80 million settlement related to its massive 2013 and 2014 data breaches. But not one d...


Government, Criminal, California Courts of Appeal

Court: ‘Hold my beer’

Mar. 21, 2018
By Brian M. Hoffstadt

Does the judicial branch ever tell the political branches of government, "Hold my beer"? The recent efforts to reform Californ...


Civil Litigation, Letters, Government, Alternative Dispute Resolution

I write to follow up on Michael Leb’s March 20 column on the restraining order in the legal conflict between Stephanie Cliffor...


Letters, Judges and Judiciary, Government

Data tell more positive story of Brown's impact on the bench

Mar. 20, 2018
By Joshua D. Wayser, Therese M. Stewart

We feel the recent story on Jerry Brown’s judicial picks doesn’t paint an accurate picture of all that the governor has done t...


U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation

FCA traps, zaps and zingers

Mar. 20, 2018
By Carolyn F. Mcniven

Defense attorneys are applauding a district judge’s recent ruling in a False Claims Act case.


Civil Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution

Although grounds for vacating an arbitration award are few and the burden is hard to meet, she seems to have a plausible argum...


Tax, Government, Administrative/Regulatory

The IRS recently released Revenue Procedure 2018-15 clarifying the circumstances in which an exempt entity that undergoes a co...


Obituaries, Civil Litigation, Law Practice

At a time when our society’s civility and decency are being threatened every day, I feel compelled to write about the passing ...


U.S. Supreme Court, Securities

Searching for fraud on the market

Mar. 19, 2018
By Thomas A. Zaccaro, Nicolas Morgan

The questions raised by Barclays' petition for certiorari require answers to clarify the application of the fraud-on-the-marke...