Letters
In defense of LACBA's Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee
By Steven S. Fleischman
Criticism about the lack of criminal law opinions is misplaced, as PREC's ethics opinions are based on the California Rules of...
Constitutional Law
The death of the 2nd Amendment: Part III - Scalia's 'history'
By Myron Moskovitz
Justice Antonin Scalia's historical arguments, which sought to demonstrate that the Second Amendment's wording supported indiv...
Health Care & Hospital Law, Antitrust & Trade Reg.
$2.8 billion settlement signals a new era for health care competition
By Jennifer Paley
The settlement includes provisions for BCBS to change its business practices to foster competition and improve transparency. T...
Environmental & Energy
End without a means? 'General Prohibitions' in the Clean Water Act
By Whitney Hodges, Brooke Miller
The Supreme Court appears divided, with some justices suggesting General Prohibitions are acceptable if the EPA lacks sufficie...
Immigration
Ninth Circuit's asylum ruling hits a different note
By Avantika Shastri, Christine Raymond
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled in Singh v. Garland that the government cannot arbitrarily r...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Can the LACBA's committees evolve beyond wallpaper?
By Antonio R. Sarabia II
There is a difference between having principles and acting on them, and the effectiveness of LACBA's committees in incorporati...
Technology, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Data Privacy
Ethical and privacy standards in forensic psychiatry in the AI era
By Laura Davies , MD, Patricia Thaine
Patients may not fully understand how their data will be used by AI, making informed consent challenging. Algorithmic transpar...
State Bar & Bar Associations, California Supreme Court
Trying to make sense of the bar exam debate
By Claire M. Solot
The California Supreme Court has rejected a proposal for a Practical Bar Exam (PBE) as a method of licensure, citing procedura...
Bankruptcy
Urgent alert for debtors and creditors: Act fast in bankruptcy cases
By Baruch C. Cohen
Meeting statutory deadlines in bankruptcy cases is crucial for both debtors and creditors to protect their rights and maximize...
Judges and Judiciary
Reviewing C.C.P 231.7's prohibition on peremptory challenges based on cognizable group
By Anthony J. Ferrentino
Recent cases show conflicting interpretations about whether presumptively invalid reasons can be used to justify excusal, with...
Regulation of Big Tech is urgently needed due to the harmful impact of social media on mental health, particularly among minor...
FCC's $31 million cyber breach settlement allows T-Mobile to spend half to improve security for three years of data breaches.
High tax rates may prompt some Californians to consider relocating, particularly before significant income events like lawsuit...
Technology, Litigation & Arbitration
Navigating the mirage of deepfakes in court and arbitration
By Daniel B. Garrie, Gail A. Andler
The rise of deepfakes, hyper-realistic digital fabrications created through AI, poses significant challenges to the legal syst...
Resident managers must live on-site and handle issues like leaks and noise. They earn minimum wage and can receive liquidated ...
Probate
Psychiatric Advance Healthcare Directives: How to plan for mental health crises
By Megan A. Moghtaderi
Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs) in California let individuals specify their mental health treatment preferences for futu...
Technology, Civil Procedure
Addressing social media's influence on jurors
By Jeffrey Kravitz
Jurors, being part of the social media universe, are susceptible to biases formed by online voices, which can affect their imp...
Tax
Major changes to California retirement plan protections coming in January 2025
By Jacob Stein
California law currently exempts tax-qualified retirement plans and their distributions from creditor claims, provided distrib...
Technology, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Ethical and policy issues as to lawyers' use of AI - it's not that complicated!
By Michael G. Colantuono
Some judges require disclosure of AI use in cases, and lawyers should check local rules. Applying existing ethical rules to AI...
Law Practice
The Performance Ladder: A modern assessment tool for oral communication
By Paul Marchegiani
The Performance Ladder is a framework for assessing the elements of a successful interaction, including self-knowledge, conten...
Corporate
Central district implements new self-disclosure and whistleblowing incentives
By Brian R. Michael, Christina Randall
The Central District of California has joined other U.S. attorneys' offices across the country in implementing new self-disclo...
Government, Contracts, Construction
Rancho Palos Verdes is quietly, and with eyes wide shut, sliding into a bigger disaster
By Antonio R. Sarabia II
Many houses in Rancho Palos Verdes are now considered substandard due to various defects, and the city has not adequately comm...
Law Practice
Five strategies for women attorneys to showcase their expertise and stand out in a competitive legal field
By Deb Feder
Women attorneys can distinguish themselves by leveraging their unique experiences and expertise to build stronger client relat...
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Sharpening the focus on 'alternative' in alternative dispute resolution
By Deb Graceffa
Mediators can (and should) do far more than shuttle offers back and forth.
Insurance
Why California drivers should carry uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage
By Steven Jensen
California has one of the highest rates of uninsured and underinsured drivers in the U.S., with 17% of drivers lacking suffici...
State Bar & Bar Associations
California missed an opportunity to reform the bar exam
By Mitchel L. Winick
The State Supreme Court rejected lowering the bar exam score despite racial disparities--but left the door open for future rev...
The California Supreme Court's recent decisions on bar exam reforms have sparked controversy by rejecting both innovative an...
State Bar & Bar Associations, Ethics/Professional Responsibility, Criminal
When to report attorney criminal matters to the State Bar
By Christine C. Rosskopf
California attorneys must report criminal indictments or felony convictions to the State Bar within 30 days. Failing to do so ...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Workplace bullying in big law is a persistent issue that's far from new
By Erin Gordon
A new report reveals that nearly a quarter of attorneys last year were victims of workplace bullying, with women, racial minor...
Judges and Judiciary, Family, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Between a rock and a hard place
By Scott M. Gordon, Jessica C. Kronstadt
Cardona v. Soto (2024) No. A167089: Judges face difficulties in balancing due process and protecting children from trau...