Labor/Employment, Immigration, Corporate
What to know while DACA is in flux
By Brandon T. Milostan, Wendy E. Lane
With so much uncertainty surrounding employment-immigration laws, employers should be aware of a few best practices.
U.S. Supreme Court, Intellectual Property
Patenting AI: Why incentives to innovate should be restored
By Ben Hattenbach, Gavin Snyder
As large as investments in the area have been, the long-term economic and societal benefits of artificial intelligence are pro...
Corporate, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Hacked? Don’t waste time pointing fingers
By Daniel B. Garrie, Michael Mann
Cybersecurity attacks, data breaches and hackings can be devastating and demoralizing to a company, leaving it with a difficul...
Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions, Civil Litigation, Corporate
Is it the end of deal litigation as we know it?
By Amy S. Park, Claire A. McCormack
The SEC’s recent Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation regarding Regulation G should bring an end to one popular claim tha...
U.S. Supreme Court, Securities, Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Justices will consider a broad range of securities issues this term
By Alex G. Romain, Jenna G. Williams
These cases deal with the statutory interpretation of the Dodd-Frank Act and its whistleblower protections, the jurisdictional...
In the wake of the FCC's decision to remove net neutrality rules, some state legislatures, including California's, have stated...
Insurance, California Courts of Appeal
Appellate courts issue significant insurance decisions
By Kirk A. Pasich
In 2017, California appellate courts issued several insurance-related decisions. Three are of particular significance.
Tax, Corporate
Tax Court considers the deductibility of family business expenses
By Phil Jelsma
Under the Tax Cuts and Job Act enacted last month, the ability to make miscellaneous itemized deductions -- including for mana...
U.S. Supreme Court, Securities, Constitutional Law, Administrative/Regulatory
SEC ALJs and the accumulation of power
By Oliver J. Dunford
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the Securities and Exchange Commission's use of administrative law judges violates ...
Securities, Government, Corporate, Administrative/Regulatory
Cryptocurrency actions signal new trend at SEC
By Kenneth Herzinger, Rob Stern
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent initial coin offering enforcement actions signal a new trend in securities enf...
Labor/Employment, Government, California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal
It could be a while before we get vested pension rights answers
By Isabel C. Safie
Since a pension dispute in Alameda has been remanded back to the trial court for further consideration, we are in for a longer...
Securities, Civil Litigation, Corporate, California Courts of Appeal
Ruling in Apple case provides shareholder litigation guidance
By Richard S. Horvath Jr.
The decision gave derivative lawsuit guidance involving review demand futility claims, the Braddock rule, and the applicabilit...
Civil Litigation, California Courts of Appeal, Appellate Practice
Pursuing frivolous anti-SLAPP appeals is a dangerous game
By Kelly Woodruff
Lawyers who try to game the system by appealing a frivolous anti-SLAPP motion may succeed in causing their opponent undue cost...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Appellate Practice
Appellate Adventures, Chapter One: “The Odds of Winning”
By Myron Moskovitz
Starring ace trial lawyer Flash Feinberg and his trusty sidekick Professor Plato
Tax, Corporate
‘To C or not to C?’ is the question under new tax law
By Bruce Givner, Owen Kaye
The most striking aspect of the new tax law is the corporate tax rate reduction to 21 percent. What does this mean for us and ...
Amnesty seems overdue. Even government officials have mentioned the idea of an IRS tax amnesty. There’s a good deal of tax cle...
U.S. Supreme Court, Immigration, Government, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
DACA decision won’t hold up
By Mitchell Keiter
Unfortunately, cynics who insist judges are just political actors with robes now have their "exhibit A": Judge William Alsup's...
Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment, Government, Administrative/Regulatory
PAGA priorities should become clearer in 2018
By Jeffrey C. Bils
California is setting priorities for its role in monitoring the resolution of claims under the 14-year-old Private Attorneys G...
The current investigation by the Los Angeles County district attorney into Sheriff's Department files on officers with a recor...
Civil Litigation, Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, State Bar & Bar Associations, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mediation confidentiality changes on the horizon
By A. Marco Turk
A new day could be dawning in California for mediation confidentiality. The state's Law Revision Commission, after express aut...
Military Law, Government, Criminal
Command influence tainted Bergdahl case
By William W. Bruzzo
Is a man who did not bother to learn the facts of the case, and who deferred the draft five times and never served, in a posit...
Civil Litigation, International Law
Best practices for early patent damages contentions in ND Cal
By Jed Greene, Scott Spertzel
The Northern District of California revised its local patent rules last year, requiring the patent holder to provide early dam...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Lawyers shouldn’t let themselves drown in emails
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
While email is often used to send important information and documents, it is by no means a foolproof method of communication f...
Law Practice, Law Office Management
Resolution: Dust off the partnership agreement
By Daniel O'Rielly, Dena Roche
Since it's the new year, it's a good time to tackle those things you been meaning to do, but never do. Clean the closets. Exer...
Real Estate/Development, Civil Litigation, Construction
Developers in California face omnipresent threat of litigation
By Richard A. Schulman
An unfortunate trend developing in California is a tendency to mete out justice based on who or what you are, rather than base...
We all have many benefits by living in this great country, but as citizens we also have some obligations. One is for each of u...
U.S. Supreme Court, Letters, Criminal, Constitutional Law
Silk Road column has fatal flaw
By Richard A. Nixon
A Jan. 10 article by attorney Tor Ekeland, "Searches, seizures and the Silk Road," advocates for updating the Fourth Amendment...
Whenever you disagree with the IRS, procedure is important. Pay attention to the order in which notices arrive, and to the spe...
U.S. Supreme Court, Civil Litigation, Labor/Employment, Administrative/Regulatory
Justices weigh overtime rules
By Christian J. Scali, Jennifer Woo Burns
On Wednesday, the nation's highest court heard oral argument in a case which may send a broader signal as to whether the Trump...
Government, Environmental & Energy, Administrative/Regulatory
Environmental court battles take a backseat
By R. Morgan Gilhuly, David M. Metres
There was no shortage of litigation, but it was climate change and policy shifts and climate change that made the biggest impact.