LA Fires, Insurance
Emergency-specific property insurance rules: Key state laws for wildfire recovery
By James D. White
In the wake of the Southern California wildfires, property owners filing insurance claims should know California laws offer ex...
The Supreme Court's Jan. 9 ruling allowing Trump's sentencing to proceed highlights the Court's adherence to established legal...
Civil Procedure
Section 998: The high-stakes settlement strategy you need to know
By Peter R. Boutin, Christopher A. Stecher
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 shifts costs when a settlement offer is rejected. This article answers 20 key q...
Native Americans, Criminal
Federal Indian law through the prism of criminal jurisdiction
By Mark Vezzola
Federal Indian law reflects a complex interplay between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. governme...
Criminal
What California's Prop 36 means for legal professionals in drug crime cases
By Arash Hashemi
While a tougher approach to repeat offenders may appease public safety concerns, its success will ultimately depend on whether...
Criminal
The new Independent Defense Counsel Office manages the county's panel of private lawyers who work as independent contractors a...
California's youth justice reforms focus on rehabilitation over punishment, but new policies pushing harsher juvenile prosecut...
From paranoid schizophrenia to substance abuse, California's treatment-first approach is keeping troubled defendants out of pr...
Criminal
Criminal law cases to watch in the 2025 Supreme Court term
By Michael G. Freedman
The 2025 Supreme Court term will tackle key federal criminal issues, including the scope of fraud statutes, "crime of violence...
Government, Criminal
Crime, punishment and public opinion: Lessons from the 2024 election
By Lauren Johnson-Norris
Despite data showing limited crime increases, California voters approved tougher penalties for drug and theft crimes in 2024. ...
Criminal
Justice through redemption: How diversion programs strengthen communities
By Ricardo D. García
Criminal
Criminal, Civil Rights
A look at discrimination in the enforcement of Los Angeles' anti-gang injunctions
By K. Chike Odiwe
Los Angeles' gang injunctions, intended to curb gang activity, have faced criticism for overreach, discrimination, and civil r...
Criminal
Sentencing 2025: California cracks down, feds ease up
By Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky
Sentencing trends highlight a stark divergence between California, where Proposition 36 signals a return to harsher penalties ...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Supreme Court case could shape the future of trans rights
By Amanda Goad
The U.S. Supreme Court heard L.W. v. Skrmetti on Dec. 4, challenging Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming hormone therap...
Remedies, Family
Laches, limitations & equity - Oh my!
By Ira M. Friedman, David Friedman
In the recent cases of Shayan and Saraye, California courts addressed the application of laches and statute of l...
The unprecedented invitation for Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the U.S. presidential inauguration highlights a diplom...
LA Fires, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Administrative/Regulatory
Los Angeles and the Great London Fire Court
By Howard B. Miller
In response to the legal complexities hindering rebuilding after disasters like the Great Fire of London, which was resolved q...
Law Practice, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
If it's not in writing, did it happen?
By Shari L. Klevens, Alanna G. Clair
Can you put that in writing? Reduce the risk of malpractice by documenting your work.
Judges and Judiciary, Civil Procedure
Federal courts to out-of-state lawyers: Get lost
By Richard W. Morris
A bizarre maze of "local" and "local-local" rules keeps qualified lawyers from crossing district lines in federal courts--wher...
Insurance, California Supreme Court
The California Supreme Court's trilogy of 2024 insurance decisions
By Kirk A. Pasich
In 2024, the California Supreme Court clarified key insurance law issues, rejecting COVID-19 property damage claims, addressin...
Land Use, LA Fires, Government, Administrative/Regulatory
From ashes to action: Planning for a fire-resilient future
By Michael Patrick Durkee
California's wildfires highlight the need for proactive land use planning to mitigate wildfire risks through safety elements i...
Judges and Judiciary, Government
A president who was ahead of his time
By Nanci E. Nishimura
Jimmy Carter appointed more women and minorities to the bench than any prior administration in 186 years.
Civil Procedure, California Supreme Court
Ambiguity Times Three
By Michael J. Raphael
Statutes can be ambiguous in three ways--semantic, syntactic, and contextual--as illustrated by recent California Supreme Cour...
Environmental & Energy
California's Clean Air Act waiver victory is in for a wild ride
By Niran S. Somasundaram
The Supreme Court's denial of petitions keeps the California Clean Air Act waiver intact, but California's vehicle regulation ...
Torts/Personal Injury, Immigration
Will our courts protect catastrophically injured immigrants?
By Raphael Metzger
Two-and-a-half years after highlighting a silicosis epidemic among Hispanic workers, legal efforts are now underway to protect...
Litigation & Arbitration
The master of the ship matters: Arbitrating individual PAGA claims after Leeper v. Shipt
By Landon R. Schwob, Harrison M. Thorne
The California Court of Appeal's Leeper decision empowers employers to compel arbitration of individual PAGA claims, ev...
Labor/Employment, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Faith, law, and the ministerial exception: The 9th Circuit's bold stand
By Baruch C. Cohen
The Ninth Circuit's ruling in Markel v. Orthodox Union upholds the ministerial exception, protecting religious organiza...